Chapter 174: Even Disciples Have Killing Intent (1/2)

Chapter 174: Even Disciples Have Killing Intent

“Cough, cough cough!” The more and more Liu Qing felt Wang Chao’s curious glance at him, the more he tried to use his coughs to divert the attention and Huo Ling’er’s attempt to dredge up his old past.

“So miss Ling’er was at that diner party as well?” Liu Qing replied while wiping at his nose. The faint smile on his face had looked rather embarrassed, but he had looked quite pleasant to the others.

Liu Qing had been every bit the conversational person. His bearing and speech would sometimes reveal the frivolous nature of his. It was similar to Lu Xiaofeng and Chu Liuxiang’s nature from the works of master Gu Long. A man of riches, sex appeal, women, and capable of martial arts, such were those characters.

Young, handsome, carefree, distinguished, rich, a senior colonel, cocky, and strong in martial arts. These factors were more than enough to win over the heart of any woman.

From what Wang Chao knew of the martial arts world, the only person who could possibly compare to Liu Qing in appearance and nature was the “Little Ape Immortal”, Liu Chia-chun. But even while Liu Chia-chun was warm in nature, he wasn’t as carefree as Liu Qing. Even in his manner of speech to women, Liu Qing was far more entertaining and light-hearted.

The other young martial artists like Chen Aiyang were approaching their thirties, but they were modest gentlemen.

Even the Japanese martial artist Ye Xuan had been very cold. For the sake of pursuing his Martial Way, he had forsaken everything else including his emotions.

Duan Guochao had been gloomy and a calculative one while Jiang Hai had been proud in nature.

The inheritor of the Nine Palace Sword Style had looked soft on the exterior, but he was quite tranquil and firm in truth.

Liao Junhua was a rich and wealthy individual. With each and every action he made, his noble aura was noticeable to everyone. But sometimes, another incredible aura could be felt from him. This was what had been trained into him as a result of his overseas moniker of “Twin Flower Red Pole”.

Wang Chao himself was an accomplished youth. In each move, meal, and sleep, he would live appropriately while carefully sticking to his discipline of life. It was almost as if he had been born living this way instead of persistently trying to adhere to such a way of life.

Borrowing the words of Confucius, he once said that once man reached past the age of seventy, they do as they please as long as it is within their own rules. With each action, they are not forced but instead follow their ideology of cultivation to become one with the heavens.

“Carefree without deviation” was one step. And after that step was the “Most Sincere Way leads to foreknowledge.”

When Wang Chao looked at Liu Qing, he had a sudden moment of inspiration. His eyes glazed over as he thought back to the moments from when he made his way into the world of martial arts. From all the youths he had seen; whether they were opponents or friends, their faces and personalities had all unfolded in front of him in clarity as if drawn on a scroll within his mind.

At the same time, Wang Chao was examining himself on a closer level. Without even knowing it, Wang Chao’s own knowledge of himself had increased to an even deeper level.

This type of acknowledgement wasn’t something the body could explain, or what the written word could describe, or what the spoken speech would clarify. It originated from within the nature of the soul and gave a new source of knowledge to oneself.

And such a level of martial arts, Wang Chao was already attuned with his own body to know each and every part of it. Every muscle, every pore, every organ, he was capable of “Inner Sight”.

But to know himself was not something that could be so easily limited to the human body. Each and every outstanding youngster was like a mirror that reflected themselves rather than what Wang Chao saw.

To liken man to a mirror was to learn the good and the bad of the reflection.

“Ah, our food has arrived. Let us all drink and be merry. Sister Ling’er, will you be drinking juice or alcohol?” Liu Qing had once more the frivolous expression on his face and had immediately diverted the topic, “Instructor Wang, would it be possible for you to describe your battle with Duan Guochao to us, and perhaps the one with Zhou Binglin as well? With my strength, do you think I have any chance of winning? To tell you the truth, I have not found many people that could beat me in my entire life. You are among one of the only few. If you would please, let us have a toast.”

Breaking open a new bottle of Maotai, Liu Qing began to pour every a cup. Wang Chao had not declined one and took the cup into his own hand to drink. Soon enough, a warm and cheerful atmosphere had filled the room as everyone began to talk.

“Duan Guochao was an expert in many techniques, such as the Iron Eagle Claw, Iron Body, Shaolin Imitation Boxing, Eight Arts of the Snake and Crane, and even the dragon stance. He was pure in each discipline, but our fight in Hong Kong been a rather ordinary battle. He slipped up, and I killed him. As a result though, I was treated to the Shanggui treatment. The story with Zhou Binglin is a rather ridiculous story, so I won’t share it. But from what I’ve seen, your chances with Duan Guochao would be fifty-fifty. And with Zhou Binglin, I’d estimate thirty-seventy in his favor.”

“But why?” Liu Qing couldn’t help but question. “Zhou Binglin might have been great a long time ago, but he has to be around sixty years old by now. Could he even fight as well? How could he be stronger than Duan Guochao?”

“By the time I fought Zhou Binglin, his physical strength hadn’t lost any of it youthfulness, but he had indeed lost some of his drive. Like two opposing armies of equal strength, I managed to tear off his arm, but he managed to injure my internal organs so that we both ended up with major wounds. The Sun style Taichi emphasizes the cultivation of health so that strength does not atrophy with age. This particular secret is easy to hear, but hard to implement.”

After some thought, Wang Chao had then been hit with a moment of realization. “There is an expert of Baguazhang that has done plenty of things overseas before. Would you hapen to know the North American Cheng Shanming?”

“Cheng style Baguazhang?” Liu Qing raised his eyebrows up at that name. “Cheng Shanming is a big shot of the North American Hongmen Society. After establishing his own school, his disciples number in the hundreds. He used to be the boss of the Chengshi Corporation as well, which was involved in both the good and the bad side of the law. There’s plenty of people in the know that know about him. But he’s a rather low-profiled person. In the last few years, he hasn’t taken part of any official match. The common person wouldn’t even know much about him. Why do you ask, have you fought him before?”