CHAPTER 194: CHAPTER 191 [TRAINING]

Chapter 191: Training

The Presidential Suite, of course, wasn’t really booked. Old Jiang wouldn’t let his disciple waste such extravagant, unnecessary money on him. Song Zhicun was quite magnanimous in his arrangements. The hotel was five-star, and the room was a king-size bedroom. It wasn’t very large—space is tight in Hong Kong, so even ordinary rooms in high-end hotels are quite compact. The amenities, however, were excellent, and all three daily meals could be charged to the room.

Old Jiang and Song Qiaoyun returned to their room. After setting down their luggage, Old Jiang sat on the bed, visibly upset.

Song Qiaoyun sighed. Her husband was agitated, she knew, but it wasn’t her place to say anything. It was one thing for Chen Nuo and the others to tag along; what truly worried him was the fear that this martial arts competition would disgrace his father, Song A’jin—the fear of losing the prestige maintained by three generations of Song A’jin’s lineage.

"In this match, we’ll just do our best," she said gently. "If we are truly inferior in skill, no one can be blamed. If my father knew, he wouldn’t fault you."

Song Qiaoyun whispered, "Actually... if anyone should be blamed, it should be me. If it weren’t for my illness..."

Old Jiang immediately turned to his wife. "What are you talking about!"

Song Qiaoyun gritted her teeth. "If it comes to that, I..."

"Impossible!" Old Jiang visibly tensed, quickly cutting his wife off. "That’s absolutely out of the question!"

The room Chen Nuo stayed in was naturally much larger than the one for Old Jiang and his wife. A Presidential Suite wasn’t available—true Presidential Suites require advance booking. In established luxury hotels with a certain prestige and corporate culture, such suites aren’t casually given out. However, with Chairman Dong Tian footing the bill, they had secured the largest suite available on short notice. It boasted three large bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a meeting room, and a gym.

Chen Nuo shared one room with his sister, Zhang Linsheng had one, and Brother Lei shared with Zhu Dazhi.

The meeting room was the largest space, and Chen Nuo led Zhang Linsheng inside.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Zhang Linsheng was a bit surprised.

"Not talk, an experiment," Chen Nuo said with a smile, producing a plastic bag.

Inside the bag was a pack of rice. He had just requested it from hotel staff. Although the attendant was quite surprised, the five-hundred-Hong-Kong-dollar tip ensured no questions were asked.

"Rice? What for? Cooking?" Zhang Linsheng asked, puzzled.

Chen Nuo waved his hand, pulled open the meeting room door, and took a deep breath. "Relax," he said. "Clear your mind. Don’t think about anything. And no matter what happens, don’t freak out! Understand? Just pretend you’ve fallen asleep."

"Might as well pretend I’m dead," Brother Haonan responded with a wry smile.

"It’s not that dramatic."

Chen Nuo shook his head and called out. Soon, Brother Lei, carrying Xiao Yezi, and Zhu Dazhi hurried into the room.

Chen Nuo handed the bag of rice to Brother Lei, then gave the three of them brief instructions.

Brother Lei immediately ran out and soon returned with a box of tissues and several bottles of mineral water, which he dumped into the hotel’s ice bucket. Then he quickly pulled out several dozen tissues and threw them into the water.

"...Understood? When I say start, throw them at him!"

Soaked in water and balled up, the tissues had enough weight.

Chen Nuo shouted, "Start!" Brother Lei was the first to grab a handful, balling it up and hurling it at Zhang Linsheng.

Zhang Linsheng, quick to react, dodged to the side.

Then it was Zhu Dazhi’s turn. He was a bit dazed at first, but seeing Brother Lei make a move, the Mallet eagerly jumped in! He immediately pulled the ice bucket towards him and, with hands moving like the wind, threw out seven or eight balls in one go.

Zhang Linsheng did his best to dodge, but the room was small, and the others were quite close. After dodging a few times, he was eventually hit in the face by a soggy tissue ball.

The spiritual power had already quietly unfolded, invisible tendrils surrounding Brother Haonan from several unseen angles. Chen Nuo meticulously sensed Brother Haonan’s will, his breath, and the trajectory of his movements.

"Again," Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes.

Zhu Dazhi laughed. "Again? This is fun!" Saying this, he grabbed another paper wad and threw it.

This time, Zhang Linsheng dodged the first two, and as he was about to evade the third, he suddenly felt a jolt!

A strange sensation surfaced within him. He felt as though all willpower and control over his body had vanished! Like stepping into The Abyss, a profound sense of weightlessness made his heart lurch!

But his body, like a phantom, swiftly twisted in place... WHOOSH!

A ball of tissue grazed Zhang Linsheng’s hair as it flew past!

"Brother Lei, join in!" Chen Nuo ordered, his eyes narrowed. "Ye Zi, you can play too!"

Brother Lei was somewhat puzzled, but without thinking too much, he reached for the wet tissues in the ice bucket.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH...

The two men and one child threw relentlessly. At first, the room was filled with laughter, as if it were just a game.

But gradually, Brother Lei could no longer laugh! He had thrown more than thirty times! He was only five or six meters away from Zhang Linsheng! All three of them throwing together, yet they could no longer hit Zhang Linsheng even once!

To Brother Lei, Zhang Linsheng’s movements now had a strange quality, as if every action was ethereal and elusive. The most terrifying part was that twice, Zhang Linsheng had managed to initiate a second movement before the first was even complete! It completely defied the principles of biomechanics! Watching it unfold was incredibly unsettling!

"Holy crap!! Lin Sheng, are you human or a ghost?!"

Even Mallet Zhu Dazhi sensed something was amiss. His throws gradually slowed as he stared at Zhang Linsheng, eyes wide.

The only one in the room still laughing merrily was the child, Xiao Yezi.

A moment later, Chen Nuo called, "Stop!"

Zhang Linsheng immediately slumped, plopping onto the ground. He looked up at Chen Nuo, his expression stunned.

"How... how did you do that?"

Chen Nuo didn’t speak. He closed his eyes, took a step back, and leaned against the wall. A faint bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

This was different from controlling the Guo Clan elder back in Xi’an, he reflected. Guo Kang had actively absorbed my spiritual power but couldn’t assimilate it. As a result, my spiritual power smoothly took control within Guo Kang’s body, allowing me to make him do somersaults or even jump off a building on command. But this was different. Zhang Linsheng hadn’t absorbed my spiritual power. To control Zhang Linsheng’s movements with my own spiritual power was akin to performing a brief, temporary Body Seizing.

There were two difficulties in this process. The first difficulty was completely overriding Zhang Linsheng’s spiritual power, his reactions, and his body’s own volition. Many human actions are instinctual; to completely overwrite them required incredibly subtle and precise spiritual manipulation. My spiritual power is strong enough, and my control is adequate. However, simultaneously calculating Zhang Linsheng’s spiritual reactions was incredibly mentally taxing.

The second point was even more critical: this kind of ’temporary Body Seizing,’ if not handled perfectly, could damage the target’s spiritual power! Back in Xi’an, I could control the Guo Family members, making them turn their guns on their own comrades. That wasn’t an issue; they were enemies, so I didn’t have to worry about damaging their spiritual power. But Zhang Linsheng is one of us.

Everyone’s spiritual power has a different magnitude and follows unique pathways. It’s like a road rated for a ten-ton load, but you insist on driving a multi-ton tank over it at high speed... Do that once or twice, and the road is ruined! To avoid harming Zhang Linsheng, I had to meticulously calibrate my spiritual power output—not too strong, yet potent enough to suppress his own will. I had to guide my spiritual power along that metaphorical ’ten-ton limit road’ within Zhang Linsheng’s consciousness.

After resting for a few minutes, Chen Nuo opened his eyes.

His fatigue stemmed mainly from the initial unfamiliarity and the mental strain of the calculations. A few minutes of rest were sufficient. Besides, as his proficiency grew, the process became increasingly effortless.

Eventually, they ran out of tissues. Chen Nuo simply picked up the ice bucket’s water and poured it into the bag of rice. He had the three of them grab handfuls of damp rice and fling it at Zhang Linsheng!

Human endurance has its limits, after all! Completely dodging handfuls of rice flung in such a confined space... I myself might have other ways to avoid it all. But Zhang Linsheng’s physical limits wouldn’t allow it.

However, after the entire bag of rice had been thrown, Chen Nuo carefully inspected Zhang Linsheng and found only a few grains clinging to his clothes.

Chen Nuo was pleased with this result.

「That night」

Old Jiang, back in his room, composed himself. He then sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate his Inner Breath. Regardless of his confidence in victory, Old Jiang resolved to at least bring himself to his peak condition, to the best of his ability.

「The next morning」

As daylight broke, Chen Nuo brought Xiao Yezi to Old Jiang’s door and knocked.

When the door opened, Chen Nuo saw Song Qiaoyun standing there. He smiled. "Good morning, Master’s wife. Shall we go for breakfast?"

Song Qiaoyun smiled and whispered, "Your master is still circulating his qi through the microcosmic orbit. Let him cultivate a bit longer."

With that, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. "I’ll go eat with you."

"Great!"

Song Qiaoyun naturally took Xiao Yezi’s hand and walked ahead with her. Chen Nuo followed behind.

When they reached the elevator, Song Qiaoyun suddenly turned to look at Chen Nuo.

"Little Chen."

"Yes, Master’s wife? What is it?"

"Could you... do me a favor?"

Song Qiaoyun sighed softly. "If it’s convenient, could you go out and buy something for me?"