The Lost People of Teyvat

Chapter 14: Kung Fu and God's Eye
"of course can."

Zhongli seemed a little surprised and said, "This is a fair transaction. You naturally have the right to refuse."

Chen Tianfeng stared into Zhongli's eyes, trying hard to distinguish the truth from the false, but found nothing.

If I think about it carefully, there is really nothing about me that deserves Zhongli's attention, let alone him creating conditions to "sit back and wait". Even if I suddenly appeared in Liyue, can Zhongli still keep an eye on all of Liyue?
As for the possibility that Geo Emperor suddenly became interested and glanced at Liyue while wandering around the mortal world, and happened to see himself traveling through time... the probability of this happening is even smaller than the possibility that Silver Wing's brothers suddenly came back to life and cried and shouted that they recognized him as their leader.

So the revered Rock King Emperor wasn't coming for him?

Chen Tianfeng's heart moved, and he asked tentatively: "Mr. Zhongli, can I know the reward in advance?"

"A set of Qigong exercises."

Zhongli spoke calmly as if he was talking about a cabbage. Looking at Chen Tianfeng who was standing there in a daze, he reminded him, "My friend, if you don't drink the tea now, it will get cold."

"···oh oh."

Chen Tianfeng came back to his senses, picked up the teacup and drank it all in a panic. His face twitched again, and he spoke after a long while: "Qigong practice? Mr. Zhongli, you are kidding, right?"

Is there really a Qigong method in Liyue? Then why do not so many people know it?
Chen Tianfeng was full of doubts.

"Because the Eye of God is more convenient."

Zhongli saw Chen Tianfeng's confusion, but pretended not to notice his refusal. He picked up the teapot and poured him another cup of tea. He explained, "Although the Qigong method has been passed down in Liyue for a long time, there are still not many of them. They also place great emphasis on talent and character, and require hard work to see results. After the appearance of the Eye of God, the method will naturally be neglected."

"Nowadays, there are only a handful of forces that still maintain the inheritance of martial arts."

Practicing Qigong requires talent and character, and only those who meet these two points can reap the rewards, but most people who meet these two points can obtain the Eye of God.

As long as you obtain the Eye of God, you will have the ability to guide elemental forces.

At this point you are faced with a choice:

Should you practice hard, hone yourself over a long period of time, and look forward to the qualitative change that may come at an unknown time; or choose to develop the Eye of God and take this relatively "low investment, quick results, and significant achievements" path?

It’s not that no one has thought about doing both at the same time, but unless you are a true genius, who can do two things at the same time?
Human energy is always limited, and choosing to take both into account will often only result in mediocre results.

"But this is not right? No one can be sure when they will get the Eye of God. It is always better to practice the skills first. If it doesn't work, one main and one secondary can complement each other, right?" Chen Tianfeng asked doubtfully.

"Indeed."

Zhongli nodded and said, "This brings us to another drawback of the technique: it's too demanding."

When people's desires are too strong, they may attract the attention of gods and thus obtain the [Eye of God].

Whether one can obtain the Eye of God depends on how strong one's desire is, and the technique not only requires the inheritor to have a strong character, but also depends on whether the physical endowment is compatible.

Under various circumstances, it is only natural that the martial arts school has fallen into decline.

Chen Tianfeng roughly understood the situation.

Simply put, in Teyvat, developing the Eye of God is like practicing magic, which is quick and powerful, with many cool and varied moves; while the martial arts flow is like tempering the body, which is not only painful, but also ineffective if you don't have good talent.

People naturally know that by tempering the body and practicing magic, one can beat two, but due to reasons such as talent, age, and resources, they have to reluctantly give up this path of dual cultivation.

“Hasn’t anyone thought about changing?”

"Yes, but how to change it and what the effect will be after the change is not something I can know."

Zhongli shook his head, as if saying, "I'm just an ordinary guest of the Wangsheng Hall."

Chen Tianfeng immediately understood that this old but still strong Mr. Zhongli must know, but it was not convenient for him to know what he knew.

"What do you think, young friend?"

While Zhongli was asking, he urged Chen Tianfeng to drink tea with his eyes. "..."

Chen Tianfeng drank it all again, playing with the cup, unwilling to put it down: "I have another question, I hope Mr. Zhongli can answer it."

"Excuse me."

"Even if it is surpassed by the Eye of God, this kind of Qigong method is still a precious thing that ordinary people cannot obtain, right?"

"good."

"Then why did Mr. Zhongli give me the skills? Just one night of care is not worth such a high reward, right?"

"From a universal point of view, this is true."

"Then why..."

"Because the young friend has his own Qi in his body, he is a rare genius in Qi training."

Zhongli's eyes were serious, and his expression did not seem fake: "Even if ordinary people practiced hard since childhood, they would not be able to reach this level at your age. It just so happened that I found a Qigong method a few days ago, and I happened to meet you. This is God's will."

"The Qi is generated spontaneously?" Chen Tianfeng ignored Zhongli's last sentence which couldn't be more fake, and focused on the key words: "What does this mean? Can Mr. Zhongli explain it a little bit?"

"Generally speaking, the inheritors of a sect are exposed to the techniques and have been practicing since childhood. After about three to five years, those with talent will enter a mysterious state. After another three years, a wisp of [Qi] will appear in their bodies and flow through their bodies under the guidance of the techniques. Day after day, year after year, the [Qi] becomes stronger and stronger, and the inheritors become stronger too."

"But my friend is different. The Qi in your body is naturally generated and circulates on its own without any guidance from any exercises. The total amount of Qi is even more astonishing. It is equivalent to the hard work of others for several years or even more than ten years."

Seeing that Chen Tianfeng was listening attentively, Zhongli subconsciously put down the teacup in his hand, and then naturally picked up the teapot and poured him another cup: "My friend, are you stronger than ordinary people, and do you have a stronger recovery ability?"

"Well, sir, you have good eyesight."

The corner of Chen Tianfeng's eye twitched slightly as he looked at the refilled teacup and spoke with a double entendre.

"This is the effect of [Qi]." Zhongli smiled.

"What is [Qi]?"

"A kind of energy that floats between heaven and earth. In essence, there is no difference between [Qi] and [Elemental Force]. It's just that the latter has differentiated characteristics without the guidance of living beings, while the former will change accordingly due to the characteristics of the guide."

"So [Qi] is also [elemental force]?"

"Of course not, they are just essentially the same."

Zhongli thought for a moment and said, "When the elements rise, they become crystal butterflies, and when they sink, they become slimes. There are still differences between slimes and crystal butterflies, but the difference between [Qi] and [elemental force] is even greater than the previous two. Although they have the same origin, they have long been two different things."

"I generally understand."

Chen Tianfeng had a solemn expression, and he drank the tea again. He stood up with the teacup in his hand and said solemnly, "Sir, I will never forget your kindness in passing on my skills to me! If you have any requests from me in the future, I will do my best to help you. If you disobey my words, I will give you this cup!"

After he said that, he slammed the cup down, breaking it into pieces.

This crappy tea is nothing but bitter, he doesn't want to drink it at all!

To be honest, Chen Tianfeng felt extremely happy at the moment when he broke the teacup.

"My friend, you are too polite. You guard me for one night, and I give you the skills. It is a fair trade."

Zhongli smiled faintly, and under Chen Tianfeng's dull gaze, he took out another teacup, filled it with tea, and pushed it towards him: "My friend, please have some tea."

Chen Tianfeng: “...Ah, thank you.”

(End of this chapter)