Chapter 14 - 14 010 Ancient Martial Arts Practice

14: Chapter 010 Ancient Martial Arts Practice 14: Chapter 010 Ancient Martial Arts Practice The night was deep, and the hustle and bustle of Hua Hai city had slightly subsided, but it was far from gone. Hua Hai’s prosperity destined it to be a city that never sleeps. The Imperial Bay Villa community was a haven of tranquility. In his spacious bedroom, Ye Fan stood with a solemn face, in a strange stance that resembled a dragon ascending to the heavens. A powerful aura emanated from his body, faintly accompanied by the sound of dragon chants. Had any ancient martial arts masters seen this, they would have been shocked, for Ye Fan was practicing the long-lost Rising Dragon Stance. Ye Fan was fully concentrated, circulating his mental technique. His strong Qi-Blood followed a predetermined route, his blood as dense as mercury rushing through his veins like the mighty Yangtze River, the sound of its flow merging into a chorus like the droning of dragons. After a full two hours of training, Ye Fan stopped. Feet together, he lowered his palms slowly to the height of his eyebrows, then down to his navel. Opening his mouth, he exhaled a long stream of white breath which shot out, yet did not disperse, extending two meters away. Feeling his Qi-Blood had become more vigorous, Ye Fan cracked a smile and said to himself, “Right now, my cultivation is at the mid-phase of ‘Hidden Strength’. I should kick it up a notch and strive to enter the late phase of ‘Hidden Strength’ within this year, and then reach ‘Transformed Strength’ within three years.” Ancient martial arts cultivation was divided into four levels: ‘Visible Strength’, ‘Hidden Strength’, ‘Transformed Strength’, and ‘Dan Strength’. The most obvious sign of ‘Visible Strength’ was the ability to twist all the muscles in the body into a single force. With each punch and kick, one could explode the air and produce an audible crack akin to firecrackers, possessing the strength to tear apart tigers and leopards. As for ‘Hidden Strength’, its hallmark was cultivating the legendary Inner Strength. Cultivating ancient martial arts required immense talent, comprehension, and perseverance. Those lacking in talent and comprehension, no matter how diligently they practiced, could never reach ‘Visible Strength’. Many ancient martial arts experts spent their whole lives practicing without advancing past ‘Visible Strength’. Only a few with exceptional talent, comprehension, and the necessary perseverance might reach ‘Hidden Strength’. As for ‘Transformed Strength’, perhaps one in dozens of ‘Hidden Strength’ masters might achieve it after painstaking cultivation. ‘Dan Strength’ was a mysterious and unpredictable realm, referred to as the presence of earthly immortals. Throughout the ancient martial world’s many years, the total number of individuals who had achieved ‘Dan Strength’ could be counted on two hands. Ye Fan, merely twenty-two, had already reached the mid-phase of ‘Hidden Strength’, which could be said to be a genius among geniuses in the ancient martial world. The next morning, close to ten o’clock, Ye Fan leisurely drove his used Alto to the Emali Group building. As he stepped out of the elevator, a slender and graceful figure in the hallway to his left hurried towards him. “Ye Fan, how could you be late again?” Lu Xiaoman called out in a suppressed voice, iron not turning into steel, her tone laced with anxiety. Ye Fan spread his hands in a helpless gesture and feigned a sigh, “No way around it, I got stuck in traffic.” Lu Xiaoman obviously wasn’t in the mood to dispute the validity of Ye Fan’s excuse. She said with a face full of worry and urgency, “He Jiaqiang knows you’re late. He’s waiting for you in our office right now. You offended him yesterday, and he’ll definitely take this opportunity to fire you.” “Hehe, no worries,” Ye Fan replied with a relaxed smile. While walking, he said, “He Jiaqiang really stooped low, not only did he not take a detour around us, but he also came straight to our office.” “Ye Fan!” Lu Xiaoman suddenly called out in anger. Startled, Ye Fan halted in his steps and turned to look at Lu Xiaoman. He saw anger spread across Lu Xiaoman’s pretty face, her beautiful eyes wide open, her nostrils flared—she was clearly very angry. “What’s wrong?” Ye Fan replied, restoring his nonchalant grin, with a teasing tone, “Who has upset our beautiful and adorable Sister Xiaoman?” Lu Xiaoman looked at Ye Fan’s carefree smile and felt a surge of grievance, angrily saying, “Why do you always look so lackadaisical? I’ve been worried sick about you, yet you don’t seem to care at all!” Speaking these words, her beautiful eyes brimmed with tears. Ye Fan was deeply moved and sincerely apologized, “I’m sorry, I…thank you for your concern.” “Who’s concerned about you? I couldn’t care less. It would be best if you got fired!” After saying this, Lu Xiaoman forcefully turned her pretty face away so that Ye Fan wouldn’t see her crying, and she sniffled. Seeing Lu Xiaoman’s petulant and sad expression, Ye Fan felt his heart being tenderly struck. He stepped forward, reached out with both hands to grasp Lu Xiaoman’s shoulders, so they were face-to-face, and then softly said, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault for making you worry and angry. I’ll never be late for work again, okay?” Pausing, he continued, “As for He Jiaqiang finding out I was late, it’s really not a big deal. The labor contract law doesn’t allow an employee to be fired for being late just once.” Upon hearing Ye Fan’s sincere apology, Lu Xiaoman’s anger had already dissipated by half. Her heart was still tense for Ye Fan. She quickly wiped away her tears, turned her head, and said with concern, “But you’re still on probation, not a formal employee. The group can fire you at any time.” “Heh, who said I’m a trainee? I signed a full-time employee contract with no probation period,” Ye Fan said with a smile. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “You’re saying you’re already a full-time employee now?” Lu Xiaoman asked in mild surprise. Ye Fan nodded with a smile. Lu Xiaoman visibly relaxed, then lightly punched Ye Fan’s chest with some reproach, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You had me worried for nothing.” “Heh, sorry about that,” Ye Fan replied with a laugh, retracting his hands, “To show my apology, how about I take you out for dinner tonight, okay?” Feeling Ye Fan’s hands leave her shoulders, Lu Xiaoman couldn’t help but feel a tinge of loss inside. However, upon hearing his offer to take her out for dinner, she immediately brightened up, “Okay, I’ll give you a chance to apologize!” After speaking, she felt her cheeks warm, wondering if she had agreed a bit too eagerly. At that moment, Ye Fan, with a joyous laugh, gestured forward as if a general leading his troops into battle, and said exuberantly, “Haha, let’s go and meet He Jiaqiang—no, I mean Qiang Jiahe!” Lu Xiaoman followed to Ye Fan’s left and behind, looking at his upright posture as he walked forward and the firm lines of his profile, her eyes filled with a layer of infatuation and fantasy as if seeing the scene from yesterday when Ye Fan single-handedly faced the Sky Wolf Security Company for her. Pushing open the office door, Ye Fan saw the portly He Jiaqiang sitting in his office chair, squeezing the poor chair until it creaked and groaned. “Hey, Qiang Jiahe, you’re so bulky; you must weigh at least a few tons. You’re going to break my chair,” Ye Fan strode into the office and called out to He Jiaqiang without any courtesy. He Jiaqiang had thought he caught Ye Fan on a sore spot with the tardiness issue, waiting just to lash out at Ye Fan with a torrent of scolding the moment he entered the office to avenge the previous day’s humiliation. He hadn’t expected Ye Fan to show zero shame about his tardiness, and before he could open his mouth, Ye Fan had already belittled his weight, accused him of breaking the chair, and dared to reverse the syllables of his name. He Jiaqiang’s well-thought-out tirade and the momentum he had mustered were instantly thrown off, leaving him red-faced with rage and managing only to scold, “Ye Fan, you have no respect for leadership! You, you…” In an attempt to bolster the force of his scolding, he pressed his hands onto the arms of the chair and violently attempted to stand, continuing his tirade. Whether it was because he was simply too heavy or the chair’s quality was lacking, as he tried to rise forcefully, the chair collapsed with a snap. The unfortunate He Jiaqiang let out a pained cry as he toppled backward onto the hard floor. “Hahaha…” Ye Fan hadn’t expected He Jiaqiang to actually break the chair, and after a moment of astonishment, he burst into boisterous laughter, “Serves you right! Ahahaha…” Lu Xiaoman couldn’t help but cover her mouth to hide her giggles, secretly reveling in schadenfreude.