That figure flipping down the mountain wasn't an ape, but a person?!
But what kind of person could possibly descend a mountain in such an inconceivable way?!
The young men and women gaped, a sense of disbelief washing over them.
As the figure drew nearer, the group finally saw that it was an old man in a Daoist Robe. Judging by how wrinkled his skin was, he had to be quite advanced in years.
The old Daoist grabbed a nearby branch and, with a single swing, landed lightly before them. Only then did the group get a clear look at his face.
He had a gaunt figure, a full head of white hair coiled up high, a pale beard, and exceptionally thick white eyebrows, which gave him a transcendent, almost ethereal, air.
What was most striking were his abnormal proportions.
His shoulder blades were incredibly broad, and his gaunt arms, hanging at his sides, actually reached past his knees. The bones in his palms were abnormally large, as if he could wrap one hand around half of his own head.
Standing there, he gave the impression of an ape in human form.
"Immortal Ape Zhang Ling Heng?"
Zhou Yuanjue said, his eyes on the old Daoist before him, whose physique resembled that of an old White Ape from the deep mountains.
"Zhou Yuanjue? Follow me."
The old Daoist, Zhang Ling Heng, looked Zhou Yuanjue up and down, nodded, and spoke.
He then turned, sprang from the ground, and his aged, gaunt body leaped nimbly into the air. He grabbed a distant branch and, with a single swing, vanished into the distance as quickly as an ape, moving with the same form he'd used to arrive.
"Interesting."
Zhou Yuanjue muttered to himself. Springing from the ground, he launched his body upward, grabbed a branch, and followed Zhang Ling Heng, mimicking his movements.
The group of young men and women who had just invited Zhou Yuanjue and Li Qingxuan to join them stood frozen in place. They watched as the two vanished from sight in a nearly inhuman manner, disappearing into the clouds and mist of Da Kong Mountain. It felt as if they were dreaming.
"M-Miss... who in the world was that man?"
The cute, round-faced girl asked Li Qingxuan, her voice trembling as she stammered.
"Him? He's a twenty-five-year-old ordinary human male. Cold personality, and utterly clueless about romance."
Li Qingxuan said with a wink and a smile.
The round-faced girl was stunned for a good while before she processed what Li Qingxuan had said. "How can an ordinary person do something like that, like an ape?" she asked in disbelief. "Is he really not a Superhuman? Huh? Or... does he have special powers?"
"What are you thinking, sweetie? Didn't your teachers ever tell you to believe in science? You should flip that question around. If an ape can do it, why couldn't a human?"
Li Qingxuan said with a cheerful grin. With that, she resumed her pace, walking slowly toward the Cloud-Picking Temple at the summit.
The round-faced girl stood frozen, at a loss for words.
'Now that she puts it that way... it does seem to make a lot of sense...'
...
...
「Deep within the forests of Da Kong Mountain.」
Zhou Yuanjue discovered that, no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to catch up to Zhang Ling Heng.
Swinging through the trees like an ape, using the branches to propel himself forward, was not as simple as he had imagined.
First, every branch was different in thickness, structure, and shape, each with a different optimal point to apply force. Given a person's body weight, without mastering the proper method of Power Release, the slightest excess force would easily snap a branch.
While moving at high speed, one needed exceptionally sharp eyes to rapidly analyze the environment and the structure of each branch. Furthermore, the Power Release had to be incredibly precise, making full use of momentum and integrated body strength to advance at top speed without snapping the branches.
He looked ahead at Zhang Ling Heng. 'An aged body like his shouldn't possess this kind of stamina.'
Upon closer observation, he finally began to understand.
The man's movements were perfectly coordinated and natural; his entire body seemed to merge with the environment. As he swung and leaped, his aged frame constantly adjusted, making maximum use of factors like momentum and impact force. What looked like difficult maneuvers were likely easier for him than walking.
This was the power of "finesse" in the Martial Dao. It wasn't as simple as the Power Release generated by muscle contraction; it also cleverly incorporated momentum, speed, impact, the principles of leverage, and even the reactive force from an opponent's attack.
This was the so-called "Four Catties Move Thousand Pounds."
Initially, Zhou Yuanjue had been dismissive of the concept of Four Catties Move Thousand Pounds. He believed that strength and speed were paramount in the Martial Dao and in combat, and that "Four Catties Move Thousand Pounds" was nothing more than a charlatan's trick. That was what he had told Lin Heng when he was instructing him.
But in this moment, he understood the true meaning of Four Catties Move Thousand Pounds.
"Four Catties Move Thousand Pounds" was merely an exaggeration. Its true meaning lay in skillfully leveraging all kinds of environmental factors and conditions in a fight to unleash the most powerful attack with the least amount of force.
Ordinary Fist Techniques focused only on internal development—conditioning the muscles, bones, and skin, strengthening the internal organs—and then on combat applications and Power Release techniques.
Zhang Ling Heng's Fist Technique, however, had reached a state that connected man with nature.
He wasn't just leading the way; he was teaching the fist. Through his movements in the mountain forest, he was demonstrating the techniques of his Fist Technique to Zhou Yuanjue without reservation.
Zhou Yuanjue centered himself, carefully observing Zhang Ling Heng's movements and maneuvering his own body to imitate them.
Relaxing his arms, loosening his shoulders, his limbs became as fluid as whips...
Gradually, he became completely immersed in the sensation. The muscles throughout his body contracted and released in perfect rhythm, and he felt as if he had truly become an ape, swinging playfully through the forest.
His movements grew increasingly fluid and natural, and his pace quickened until he was gradually catching up to Zhang Ling Heng.
Ahead, Zhang Ling Heng glanced back out of the corner of his eye. When he saw that Zhou Yuanjue had not only caught up but was now moving with a form indistinguishable from an ape's, he was inwardly stunned.
'A true prodigy...'
He marveled inwardly. No longer leading Zhou Yuanjue in circles through the woods, he headed directly toward the Cloud-Picking Temple at the summit.
Moving at incredible speed, the two soon ascended through the dense forest to the Cloud-Picking Temple. They didn't stop there, however, instead continuing on to the mountain behind the temple. They climbed onto a great cyan boulder, a place shrouded in mist year-round, where Zhang Ling Heng usually sat to meditate and practice.
"Think carefully before you follow. One wrong step means death."
Zhang Ling Heng said, looking back at Zhou Yuanjue.
Then, Zhou Yuanjue watched as the old man's body leaped from the great cyan boulder. Ahead of them was a bottomless chasm, thick with roiling clouds and mist.
However, Zhang Ling Heng's body did not plummet into the abyss. Instead, he landed steadily within the fog, as if riding the clouds themselves. His feet seemed to tread upon the mist as he moved swiftly into the distance.
SCRAPE!
As he moved, the sound of scraping metal echoed from within the fog.
Only then did Zhou Yuanjue realize that hidden beneath the perpetual mist near the great cyan boulder was an iron chain, stretching off into parts unknown.