Lin Huai brought Dao Zi over to the mini jungle where they stood facing each other. Lin Huai placed his arms behind his back as he circled around Dao Zi. With a smile on his face, he nodded and said, “Do you know why I think so highly of you?”
Dao Zi asked, “No, why?”
“Technically speaking, I defeated you before so you shouldn’t have caught my attention. Although you had better fighting prowess compared to Chu Wenxing, it’s only by a small margin. Thus, the only reason I think highly of you is because you have a lot more potential in the martial arts world compared to him.”
Dao Zi asked, “Is that because of my talent?”
“Yes, you are right.” With a serious look on his face, Lin Huai said, “Most people don’t think that talent plays a huge role. Although it is possible to make it up with hard work, at the end of the day, the most important thing would still be your talent. Anyone that watches the NBA would be able to understand that. Shaquille O’Neal works harder than the average human but he is considerably lazy in comparison to his peers in the NBA. However, he still dominated the league and that was purely based on his talent alone!”
Lin Huai said, “Hard work is important and I do admire people who are hardworking. After all, anyone without the talent could still be a master in that field if they put in sufficient effort. However, he or she would never be able to dominate the field and become the best of the best.”
Dao Zi asked, “What is considered the best of the best within the martial arts world?”
“The martial arts world is segregated into three stages which are the Observable Energy, Hidden Energy as well as the Neutralizing Energy. Most people are not even qualified to be in the Observable Energy stage. Let me give you an example. The thunder gang definitely have more than a thousand men and they are all thugs that are constantly involved in fights. As such, they would be considered as experienced fighters in the eyes of the public. However out of all of them, the only people I know that have taken a step into the Observable Energy Stage are the four Red Canes. In fact one of them is Gong Zhenglong who had only recently entered this stage. Therefore, it’s clear that the other thugs in their gang are no way near this stage.”
“In addition to that, they are gangsters that are constantly involved in brawls and live in danger all the time. So if they are not able to enter the Observable Energy stage, what more the average human being.”
Dao Zi said, “But these gangsters do not have the opportunity to learn any powerful martial arts skills.”
Lin Huai smiled and replied, “You’re right. However, don’t forget that anything can happen. In fact, martial arts skills are derived from the experiences and techniques gained during battles. For someone like you with immense talent, even if I don’t provide you with any guidance, you’d still be able to take a step into the Observable Energy Stage. It’s just that it would only occur after multiple battles over and over again. What I am able to do now is to help shorten the time you take to improve.”
Dao Zi said, “If the four Red Canes are only at the Observable Energy Stage. How powerful is someone from the Hidden Energy Stage?”
Lin Huai smiled, “Hidden Energy Stage? Someone like that would officially be considered as a master in the martial arts world. In fact, they would be able to freely apply all the martial arts skills and they would have full control over their power, technique as well as other aspects in a fight. It is extremely challenging to step foot into that stage. The Observable Energy Stage requires you to be talented whereas the Hidden Energy Stage requires more than just the talent alone, you also have to be a genius.”
Dao Zi suddenly asked, “Then what stage are you at now?”
With a smile, he replied, “Me? I’m at the peak of the Observable Energy Stage and I am one step away from the Hidden Energy Stage.”
Dao Zi was shocked as he said, “How are you so powerful? You are still so young.”
Lin Huai smiled and replied, “That’s because I had a powerful teacher and if you were guided by them, you would be as powerful as me too.”
Memories of his teachers back in his hometown flashed through his mind. Back when he was young, he stayed in a courtyard and there were a few tenants that rented a place in their backyard. The tenants each had different sets of skills and they were all Lin Huai’s teachers. In Lin Huai’s eyes, there was nothing in this world that could trouble his teachers. One teacher was an expert in astronomy and geography as well as the four arts; another teacher was a martial arts expert where Lin Huai had no idea how powerful he actually was; the last teacher was an expert in the art of healing. Therefore, Lin Huai picked up all kinds of skills from the three of them.
Dao Zi then asked, “How about the Neutralizing Energy Stage?”
“Neutralizing Energy Stage…” There was a yearning look in Lin Huai’s eyes, “Someone who is able to step foot into that stage would be extremely powerful. Their power and techniques would have reached perfection. Somebody of that level would have an established status wherever they went.”
Lin Huai emotionally said, “I feel like I am so close to making that breakthrough into the Hidden Energy Stage; I’m just one step away. I hope that I can make that breakthrough as soon as possible so that when I go against Thunder God and his men… I would be able to control my powers more freely.”
Lin Huai could feel that three of the four Red Canes were not as powerful as him but Thunder God’s fighting prowess was most likely greater than the four Red Canes. Thus, Lin Huai was uncertain if he was able to defeat Thunder God and that was the main reason why he did not act rashly.
Lin Huai said, “Alright. Dao Zi, by the looks of it your talent definitely exceeds the four Red Canes and I am sure in just a short period of time, you would be as powerful as Gong Zhenglong.”
Dao Zi coldly said, “I am not afraid of him anyway.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “I know you have a tough mentality and you aren’t afraid of him. Although he is in the Observable Energy Stage and you aren’t, there are still unpredictable moments during a fight. For example back then, Li Kandao was stronger than you but at the end of the day he lost to you.”
Dao Zi said, “Help me to get better.”
Lin Huai nodded and said, “Sure. By the looks of it, the biggest advantage you have other than your talent is your resilience. I still remember the first time we fought and it was a situation I had never experienced before. Both of your hands were controlled by me and yet you chose to smash your head into me. The tragic feeling of you having no hesitation to die together was rather shocking. Based on that imposing manner alone, you are able to defeat opponents that are just slightly stronger than you. However, if the difference between you two is huge, you wouldn’t be able to offset that with just your imposing aura.”
“Come and attack me.”
“Alright.” Dao Zi whipped out his dagger but after some hesitation, he put it away.
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Go ahead and use your dagger. You don’t have to hesitate.”
Dao Zi nodded and slowly shuffled his feet. Then, he leaped forward and stabbed Lin Huai with his dagger. However, Lin Huai was a step ahead of him. Lin Huai grabbed onto his wrist and snatched his dagger away.
Dao Zi was stunned as he did not expect the dagger in his hands to be snatched away so easily. How could that be?
Lin Huai passed the dagger back to him and with a smile, he said, “Have another go at it.”
“Okay!” Dao Zi took a stab at Lin Huai once more. Once again, Lin Huai easily grabbed onto Dao Zi’s wrist and snatched his dagger away.
“How could this be??” Dao Zi was dejected.
Lin Huai smiled and said, “You are quick and very determined. If it was someone else, they might only use seventy percent of their strength against their friend. However, you went all out against me. Nonetheless, you are still unable to hurt me. That’s because you lack the ability to control your technique. Therefore, despite having sufficient experience in fights, it’s still not enough to defeat me.”
Lin Huai then guided Dao Zi so that he could make some minor tweaks in his technique. Dao Zi did have immense talent in the martial arts world as he was able to basically understand everything Lin Huai said at that moment. Any other person would be surprised by the speed of Dao Zi’s growth but for Lin Huai, he was indifferent about it. That was because Lin Huai’s learning speed was even faster.
After some time, the bell rang which meant that classes were over. Lin Huai smiled and said, “Take your time to practice here. I am going to pay Mianmian a visit.”
“Okay.” Dao Zi was engrossed in the guidance provided by Lin Huai regarding his technique. In order to become good at something, you had to be constantly practicing. Therefore, even with immense talent and quick learning speed, Dao Zi still had to practice for a couple of days in order to fully assimilate the tips provided by Lin Huai into his techniques. That was also based on the fact that Dao Zi was a talented person. Otherwise, it would take even longer.
Lin Huai left the mini jungle and as he walked onto campus, everybody that bumped into him would stop orderly in front of him and greet him as Brother Huai.
Lin Huai walked to the entrance of his classroom and as he walked in, his classmates that were rowdy immediately fell silent and everyone stared at him. Lin Huai smiled and said, “You all don’t recognize me anymore? It has only been a few days since I left. Go on with your conversations. There is no need to be so uptight around me.”
Upon hearing that, everyone returned to their normal self.
Wu Jun and Wu Mengjie walked over and said, “Hello, Brother Huai. Why do you have the time to drop by today?”
“I’m here to pay you a visit.” Lin Huai stared at the empty seat next to him and asked, “Where is Mianmian?”
“She might be at the washroom.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Oh. I’m here to pay you all a visit.”
Fan Hanning who was next to him snorted and said, “You are here just to visit our sister-in-law.”
Everyone jeered and made fun of him.
Lin Huai smiled and returned to his seat. After some time, Wei Qimian, Song Tingting and Zhou Yuanyuan walked in together. The entire class fell silent and then everyone howled.
The three of them were shocked. Wei Qimian then saw Lin Huai who was at his seat. He was staring at her while grinning.
Wei Qimian was delighted but on the surface she groaned and exclaimed, “Why is there a need for such a huge uproar over your arrival?”
Lin Huai shrugged and with a bitter smile, said, “I didn’t ask them to do so. I have no idea why they are howling as well.”
“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law!” The class chanted and Wei Qimian got so embarrassed that she dashed back to her seat and buried her head under her arms.
Lin Huai laughed and waved his hand signalling everyone to quiet down. Then, he patted Wei Qimian on the shoulder and grinned. “My dear wife, did you miss me?”
“I have yet to be engaged to you.” Wei Qimian lifted her head up and said so in a serious manner. However, her face was flushed and she looked extremely cute.
Lin Huai smiled and said, “We can get engaged right now.”
Wei Qimian shyly groaned. “You wish.”
Lin Huai smiled and said, “Are you afraid that your family wouldn’t agree with it? I can get you pregnant first before getting married. Then, everything would be done and dusted…”
“Hey, you are becoming more of a rascal.” Wei Qimian’s heart was racing and she pushed Lin Huai away. She groaned and said, “I think you’re even naughtier now that you left college. I am sure you are picking up even more bad habits in the underworld!”
Lin Huai laughed out loudly.