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Chapter 96: Chapter 88 Winning the Battle (Seeking Recommendations!)_1
January 2nd.
Sunday.
The weather was slightly chilly, and Tang Qing, glancing at the weather forecast, saw that temperatures would drop further next week — it might even snow. He thought it was rather boring to watch the weather forecast. It had nothing to do with him anyway, as he wouldn’t be affected by the cold.
After breakfast, Tang Qing announced that he would go over to Han Leng’s to continue learning self-defense techniques. Qin Yugang didn’t inquire about Tang Qing’s progress. He believed that after a few visits, at most, Tang Qing would practice some moves. But according to this learning frequency, it would probably take several months before he made significant progress.
If Tang Qing improved significantly, Han Leng would undoubtedly inform him, so he couldn’t be bothered to concern himself too much about it.
During the festive period, the teachers, not wanting to impose on the students, didn’t assign any homework. Tang Qing was happy for the break.
Originally, his aunt had intended to remind Tang Qing not to neglect his studies, but Qin Yugang stopped her. If missing one day of study would affect Tang Qing’s academic performance, what good was such fragile academic standing? Was it just for show?
When Qin Shiqi heard that Tang Qing could freely go out, she clamored to go along, which left Tang Qing with a headache. In the end, of course, she was properly lectured by her aunt and kept quiet. She sulked and watched Tang Qing from the side. Unable to bear her gaze, Tang Qing quickly promised to buy her treats, causing Qin Shiqi to bounce back to her room joyfully.
This situation left everyone exchanging glances.
What could they do with a food-loving cousin?
Spoil her more.
Pamper her more.
On his way to Han Leng’s shop, Tang Qing called Zhou Li, a customer recommended by the system last month, to arrange the repayment in the afternoon. This time, he didn’t plan to have dinner with Zhou Li. After a few meals, the novelty was beginning to wear off.
Of course, for now, the step of information investigation still needed to be done during meal times. Eventually, he would have to find someone to do this kind of work and switch the location to the office. Eating all the time was starting to annoy Tang Qing.
Meanwhile, he also called the customer recommended by the system for this month to arrange a meeting for tomorrow noon. This time, he wouldn’t use cash anymore. Counting one million in cash takes quite a while, and it also attracts unwanted attention.
In no time.
Tang Qing arrived at Han Leng’s shop. Not seeing Han Leng outside, he assumed he was inside. After all, only Han Leng had the keys to the shop.
"Su, is Uncle Han inside?" Tang Qing casually asked the bespectacled man who was mopping the floor. He initially wanted to go straight in, but not greeting the man after seeing him would be rude. It wouldn’t be courteous if he didn’t at least say something as mundane as "Have you eaten?"
This phrase was quite a universal greeting.
It wouldn’t make the situation awkward.
"Ah, Little Tang. You’re here. The boss is inside. You can go straight in." The bespectacled man looked up and smiled. Tang Qing had visited a couple of times, and he knew Tang Qing was Han Leng’s disciple. He admired his boss, who was a former special forces member. However, he was skinny and couldn’t tolerate hardship. Otherwise, he would have wanted to be Han Leng’s disciple as well.
"Okay, thanks." Tang Qing nodded and walked in.
Reaching the door, Tang Qing saw that Han Leng was cleaning the training room. Seeing that Han Leng had almost finished cleaning, he didn’t volunteer to help.
Following the system upgrade, Tang Qing’s physical attributes had significantly changed, and he felt an itch in his hands to spar with someone and test his strength. After all, he was now a quasi-martial artist, he felt no surprise about the desire to spar with other martial artists. Thinking about the intense fight that was about to come and the shock that Han Leng would get, Tang Qing became excited and shouted loudly:
"Uncle Han, I’m here."
"Smelly kid, I know you’re here. No need to shout." Han Leng looked up at Tang Qing and laughed.
Seeing the young boy who still showed traces of childishness, Han Leng was once again surprised. He noticed some changes in Tang Qing’s bearing after not seeing him for a few days, which made him appear a little more mature and confident. However, he didn’t know what caused these changes.
Naturally, he didn’t know what Tang Qing experienced the day before. The newly opened Euro function in the system and the subsequent arbitrage opportunity between the Euro and the dollar thrilled Tang Qing. However, the prospect of the system mall’s weapons scared him from cloud nine to the ground.
It was only after the system explained it to him that Tang Qing gradually accepted the fact. Trials and tribulations were the most significant factors contributing to growth. The two new functionalities boosted Tang Qing’s financial and physical strength. Money and guns were things that could make people feel secure, but Tang Qing could not perceive this change in mentality.
"Hehe, didn’t I get excited to see you, Uncle Han? So, what are we studying today?" Tang Qing asked sheepishly.
"Today, I’ll teach you some kung fu forms from various schools that I learned on missions or from my comrades in the army. I’m not too well-versed about the core philosophies of these schools of martial arts, and I only know some of the moves — not very complete ones either. After all, many moves are impractical in actual combat. Using them could be disastrous, so I didn’t bother remembering useless ones.
However, the remaining ones are more than enough for you. Though some of the kung fu moves may be a bit flashy, with sufficient practice and adaptability, they can inflict considerable damage. But first, I need to test whether your skills have regressed." Han Leng gradually said.
"Absolutely not. I’ve been practicing all this time." Tang Qing declared with conviction. He was getting more adept at maintaining a poker face while bluffing. Of course, he would not admit that he hadn’t practiced a single time since he left. However, thanks to his muscle memory, even if he didn’t train for a long time, he wouldn’t regress. Besides, after the upgrade, he could execute the moves more agilely. To say that he was significantly stronger than before wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
"Alright, we’ll do it just like last time. I won’t hold back." Han Leng nodded, not minding whether Tang Qing lied. He would find out during the sparring session.
At this point, he felt slightly embarrassed. He was a special forces soldier trained by the nation. He had exerted his full strength and almost lost to a high school student, despite not using any illegal moves. This was the truth.
Every time he thought about it, he would question his own ability. In his previous army unit, he was one of the best. He completed numerous missions and defeated many enemies, but in the end, he was almost defeated by a kid.
He couldn’t deny that there were many hidden talents among the common people.
But now he believed it.
"No problem," Tang Qing agreed, eager to show off. He planned to use the same strength as last time. Firstly, to hone his skills. Secondly, to not let Han Leng lose too horribly.
"Alright, here I come," Han Leng declared, posing in a fighting stance.
No sooner had he finished speaking, a punch appeared in front of Tang Qing’s before he had time to react.
Again?
What happened to fairness?
Where’s the honor of the Special Forces?
Do you not need it anymore?
Tang Qing remained calm. Although he couldn’t use his full strength to attack, that didn’t affect his abnormal ability to dodge and his higher-than-average reflexes. His dynamic vision, far superior to ordinary people, instinctively grasped the trajectory of Han Leng’s fist.
To Tang Qing, Han Leng’s punch, which seemed extremely fast to others, wasn’t fast at all. Of course, he knew that Han Leng wasn’t using his full strength on his first punch. Tang Qing guessed Han Leng probably wanted to gradually increase his force.
Tang Qing moved aside leisurely and effortlessly avoided the punch.
Seeing Tang Qing easily dodge his seemingly unexpected attack, Han Leng wasn’t surprised. He knew he wasn’t exerting full force and it was only normal that Tang Qing would dodge it. Just as he had this thought, Han Leng lifted his leg and launched a full-force kick towards the direction where Tang Qing was moving.
A smile appeared on the corner of Tang Qing’s mouth.
Now this is starting to look like a fight.
In a quicksilver moment, Tang Qing instinctively raised his right hand to block Han Leng’s blow. To avoid injuring Han Leng’s leg with too strong of a defense, Tang Qing purposely withdrew some of his strength.
After that, the intensity and speed of Han Leng’s attacks increased.
However, under Tang Qing’s monstrous senses and speed, they were all in vain. Tang Qing couldn’t always be defensive, he wasn’t a tortoise. At this point, Tang Qing began to attack, too.
He didn’t dominate Han Leng right away. No rush, just slowly increase the speed.
In this way, at first, Han Leng could still keep up with Tang Qing’s full strength. But as Tang Qing’s speed escalated, Han Leng began to panic. In less than ten minutes, Han Leng was completely on the defense.
Because he no longer had time to attack. None of his attacks could hit Tang Qing. Not being able to hit him was one thing, but every time he attacked, he was guaranteed to take a heavy hit from Tang Qing.
It was at this point that Tang Qing knew it was time to end the fight. In this situation and with this speed, no matter what killer moves or unique fighting techniques Han Leng had, they were useless. No matter how powerful a move is, it’s rubbish if it can’t hit the opponent. After all, Tang Qing was only using sixty percent of his speed.
Immediately, Tang Qing suddenly boosted his speed by at least another ten percent. At this point, even though Han Leng could still see Tang Qing’s movements, he couldn’t defend himself. Tang Qing made ten moves, and Han Leng took ten hits. It was...
He knew, under this speed from Tang Qing, even if he used his killer move, if the two of them each had a knife, he would definitely be the one dying. Tang Qing might just be injured, or... not lose even a single hair.
He had a hard time accepting this outcome.
Han Leng, who knew his current situation, didn’t want to continue the fight. Being beaten is not fun. He took a step back and said, "Stop." 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Upon hearing this, Tang Qing immediately stopped his attack.
"Little Tang, your speed... it seems a lot faster."," Han Leng inquired. This was what he cared about the most. With speed, Tang Qing would be invincible.
"Um, just the result of my regular punch training," Tang Qing made up an excuse. At least this sounded scientific... right?
"Sigh, fine. You really are exceptionally gifted. I hate to praise you, but you are indeed extraordinary. I admit, even if I tried my best, I wouldn’t be your match," Han Leng said with a bitter smile.
There isn’t always a number one in literature.
Nor a second best in martial arts.
He was really impressed. Perhaps only those supreme soldiers in the army could possibly defeat Tang Qing, but he was not sure anymore.
"Uncle Han, you flatter me. There’s still a lot I need to learn from you," Tang Qing said modestly.
"Heh heh, then let me teach you some other moves. They’re not hard. With your skills, I estimate you’ll empty out all my techniques by noon," Han Leng laughed and said.
....
PS: Chapter two came a bit late, sorry about that.
Thanks to readers Imhx^_^, Beautiful Big White Rabbit, Magic Card Alliance, Xiaoqiang Riding a Snail Around the World, Lonely Brother, ~Seabiscuit, Fengchui’s ox for their votes of recommendation. Thank you all for your support.
