Gao Wu: A centenarian old man, many children and good fortune! Chapter 026

The bottleneck that had plagued him for months was finally broken, all thanks to his daughter’s call of “Papa” and the continuous boost from his new wife’s pregnancy. It was a natural breakthrough!

“Phew…”

Xiao Yan slowly retracted his cultivation, opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed and then faded, replaced by the deep, unruffled calm of an ancient well. He let out a long breath, and this time, the expelled turbid air seemed to contain a faint, almost imperceptible greyish-black impurity.

He did it!

He had finally taken the first step in cultivating the 《Imperial Tai Chi Art》!

His gaze once again fell upon his daughter, who looked bewildered, seemingly unaware of what had just happened, merely watching him curiously and making “咿呀” sounds. His eyes filled with unprecedented tenderness and doting affection.

This little one was truly his lucky star!

Beside them, Li Xiuying and Chen Yuyao, though they didn’t understand the specifics of what had just occurred, could clearly feel that their husband’s aura had undergone some inexplicable elevation, becoming even deeper, more powerful, and also… more reassuring and admirable.

The two women exchanged glances, both seeing the joy and pride of shared honor in each other’s eyes.

…

Xiao Yan calmed his mind. The joy of his cultivation art’s initiation put him in a great mood. He decided to go to the training room and test how much his fundamental strength had increased after this enlightenment.

The training room in this manor was located in the basement of the main building, spacious and equipped with extremely advanced facilities. It not only boasted top-tier dream-reality learning equipment but also various pressure-resistant training pods, energy sensing rooms designed for superhumans, and a latest-model multi-functional strength testing machine capable of withstanding the impact of a Battle King-level force.

When Xiao Yan pushed open the heavy, soundproof door of the training room, he found someone already inside.

It was his brother-in-law, Li Wei.

Li Wei was shirtless, revealing muscles that, while still somewhat raw, already showed good definition. His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat as he panted heavily, facing the enormous, sci-fi-looking strength testing machine.

The screen of the testing machine still displayed the previous test data— 985 kilograms.

“Phew… Ha… Just a little more! Just fifteen kilograms!” Li Wei looked at the number, his face filled with frustration and annoyance. He forcefully punched his thigh. “Why can’t I get it up!”

One thousand kilograms—this was the minimum admission threshold for the Alliance’s top martial arts universities, and also the threshold for a Warrior.

Over the past month, with the ample nutrition and resource support provided by Xiao Yan, his progress had been rapid, but he was always just a hair’s breadth away from his goal.

If he couldn’t break through 1000kg before the college entrance exam, Li Wei would be out of luck with martial arts universities.

This was a strict, principled regulation of the Alliance, and Xiao Yan couldn’t help even if he wanted to.

Just as Li Wei gritted his teeth, preparing to try again, his peripheral vision caught sight of the figure at the doorway.

Seeing it was Xiao Yan, the frustration and annoyance on Li Wei’s face vanished instantly. He immediately straightened his body, a look of utmost respect on his face, and quickly stepped forward to greet him:

“Brother-in-law! Why are you here?”

“Hmm, just finished cultivating, came to stretch a bit.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, his gaze falling on the strength testing machine. He casually asked, “How is it? Any progress?”

Hearing this, Li Wei’s face immediately fell. He scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. “Still… still a little short, just about to reach a thousand.”

Xiao Yan looked at his diligent yet somewhat dejected expression, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

It was good for young people to have drive.

“Your foundation is decent, but your power generation is too scattered. The strength from your waist and hips isn’t fully transferred to your fist, wasting at least ten percent of your force.”

He walked over to Li Wei, his voice calm. “Sink your qi to your dantian, focus your mind on your lower body. Remember, the fist isn’t isolated. When you punch, the power should feel like it rises from the Yongquan point on the sole of your foot, like a great dragon, winding its way up your spine, amplifying the force through the twisting of your waist and hips, and finally, like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, erupting through your arm! Watch carefully…”

As Xiao Yan spoke, he demonstrated a basic straight punch, incredibly slowly, as if in slow motion playback.

This time, he deliberately slowed down, clearly showing the entire process of power rising from the feet, transferring through the waist and hips, and finally exploding at the fist. Every subtle muscle exertion, every trace of qi and blood circulation, was displayed with utmost clarity.

Although it was just the most basic power generation technique, when demonstrated by Xiao Yan, a Rank 4 superhuman, combined with his understanding after initiating the 《Imperial Tai Chi Art》, every detail seemed to contain the profound principles of power utilization—great truths simplified, directly hitting the core.

Li Wei’s eyes widened, unblinking. His heart pounded wildly, as if a whole new door was slowly opening before him! He etched every one of Xiao Yan’s movements and every word deeply into his mind.

Though his realm was low, he wasn’t foolish. He immediately understood that his brother-in-law was personally instructing him! And in a way he had never encountered before, directly pointing to the origin of power! This kind of instruction was infinitely more precious than any textbook or any teacher’s explanation! Immense gratitude and excitement instantly filled his chest!

After the demonstration, Xiao Yan withdrew his hand and looked at Li Wei, who was deep in thought, eyes shining. He said calmly, “I’ve explained the principles and broken down the movements for you. How much you can comprehend depends on your own悟性. Go, try again.”

“Yes! Brother-in-law!” Li Wei responded excitedly, his eyes filled with gratitude and unprecedented fighting spirit! He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, carefully replaying Xiao Yan’s demonstration and explanation, repeatedly simulating the feeling of power rising and penetrating like a dragon in his mind.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with focus and enlightenment!

He walked to the testing machine, sinking his stance, his feet firmly gripping the ground, feeling the power surge from his soles! He concentrated his mind, sank his qi to his dantian, and then violently twisted his waist and hips, coiling all his strength like wringing a towel, and then, along his arm, fiercely smashed it into the testing target!

“Bang!!”

This time, the sound of the punch was noticeably more solid and condensed than before!

The numbers on the screen jumped rapidly, more swiftly than any previous attempt!

Finally, the number stopped—

1005 kilograms!

He broke through!

Li Wei stared at the shining number, first stunned, then his face erupted into disbelieving ecstasy!

“I… I did it! Brother-in-law! I hit a thousand kilograms!! I really broke through!!” He jumped up and down in excitement, incoherently turning to Xiao Yan, his face full of exhilaration and gratitude, his eyes even slightly red.

The bottleneck that had troubled him for so long was broken so easily, just with a few words and a single movement from his brother-in-law! His brother-in-law was simply divine!

Xiao Yan watched him gesticulate wildly in excitement, merely smiling faintly and nodding. “Not bad, you’ve finally touched the threshold. Remember this feeling of generating power. Go back and practice more, solidify it completely, and make it your own instinct.”

With that, he no longer paid attention to the still-excited Li Wei and casually walked over to the massive strength testing machine.

Seeing this, Li Wei quickly reined in his excitement, quieted down, held his breath, and watched unblinkingly, his heart filled with curiosity and anticipation.

He knew his brother-in-law was incredibly strong, but he had no concept of just how strong.

Xiao Yan simply stood there, without accumulating power, without striking any pose, and even his breathing showed no change. He simply, casually, raised his right hand and lightly punched the thick, Battle King-impact-resistant testing machine!

This punch seemed unremarkable, even feeling a bit soft, not stirring the slightest breeze.

But the moment his fist touched the testing machine!

“Boom!!!!”

An extremely dull, heavy thud suddenly exploded throughout the entire training room!

The strength testing machine, made of special alloy and weighing tens of tons, visibly trembled violently! The numbers on the screen, like a rocket out of control, surged wildly at a speed beyond Li Wei’s comprehension!

Ten thousand!

Fifteen thousand!

Twenty thousand!

After breaking through the twenty thousand mark, the speed did not diminish in the slightest, still jumping frantically!

Finally, it stopped—

21350 kilograms!!

Li Wei: “!!!”

He was instantly petrified, as if struck by a bolt of lightning from the heavens!

His eyes were wide, like brass bells!

His mouth hung open unconsciously, wide enough to almost fit a goose egg!

His mind was blank, buzzing, with only the astronomical number “ 21350” spinning and jumping wildly before his eyes!

Twenty-one thousand… three hundred and fifty kilograms?!

What kind of concept was this?!

He had struggled desperately and couldn’t even touch the thousand-kilogram threshold!

And his brother-in-law, merely swinging a punch as casually as swatting a fly, had unleashed a force that was… more than twenty-one times his own?!

This… this was no longer a gap! This was a chasm! An abyss! A gulf between mortals and gods!

Li Wei felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head. All the blood in his body seemed to congeal instantly! He looked at Xiao Yan’s still calm profile, as if he had just done something insignificant, and the awe in his heart overwhelmed him like a monstrous wave!

At this moment, he truly, deeply understood what the words “Battle General” meant! It was not just status and power, but… absolute power like gods and demons, unimaginable to mortals!

Xiao Yan looked at the number on the screen and nodded with satisfaction.

Indeed, after initiating the 《Imperial Tai Chi Art》, although his true essence was still weak, his control and efficiency in utilizing his own strength had indeed improved by another level.

His base strength had steadily broken through the twenty thousand-kilogram mark.

Xiao Yan looked at the number on the screen and nodded with satisfaction.

The Alliance had clear standards for the strength division of superhuman realms: a base punch force of 12, 000 kilograms was Rank 1 Superhuman; 15, 000 kilograms was Rank 2 Superhuman; 18, 000 kilograms was Rank 3 Superhuman, the peak of early-stage Superhuman.

And once the base punch force broke through the 21, 000-kilogram mark, it meant officially stepping into the threshold of mid-stage Superhuman—Rank 4 Superhuman!

His punch, 21, 350 kilograms!

He had steadily entered the realm of Rank 4 Superhuman!

In less than two years, from a dying peak Rank 9 veteran, he had leaped to become a mid-stage Superhuman expert! If this speed were to spread, it would shake the entire Alliance!

He retracted his fist, turned around, and saw his brother-in-law Li Wei’s stunned expression, as if he had seen a ghost. He couldn’t help but chuckle, walked over, and patted his shoulder.

Li Wei, startled by the pat, snapped out of his trance, jolted, and looked at Xiao Yan with eyes that had completely transformed into fervent admiration and awe!

“Bro… Brother-in-law! You… you…” He was so excited he was incoherent, stammering, unable to form a complete sentence, just gesturing repeatedly, “Too… too strong!!”