Atlas of Heaven and Man

With his blade in hand, Chen Chuan returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, saying, "Senior Sister Zheng, please instruct me."

Teacher Zheng reminded him from the side, "Student Chen, I'm going to ask you to only parry, not to retaliate or dodge. Just stand there and use the methods I taught you to dissipate and neutralize the force. Once you've mastered these techniques, we'll move on to the next stage."

Zheng Tongtong twirled the thick-backed blade in her hand with ease, saying, "Junior Brother Chen, please draw your sword."

Chen Chuan reached out and gripped the hilt, slowly drawing the Snow Sovereign Blade. As a gleam of icy light gradually emerged, the entire training ground seemed to gain a touch of coldness.

"Oh? An Anomalous Weapon?"

Teacher Zheng was taken aback. They were rarely seen these days. There weren't many with that kind of craftsmanship anymore, and furthermore...

His expression turned serious. The cold light from the blade also gave him an indescribable sense of threat. He could immediately confirm that quite a few experts must have fallen to this blade.

Zheng Tongtong waited until the Snow Sovereign Blade was fully drawn and Chen Chuan had adopted his stance, then said, "Junior Brother Chen, be careful!" With that, she leaped and slashed down at his head. Her movements and posture were extremely agile, like an inflated ball, bouncing over in an instant.

Chen Chuan remembered Teacher Zheng's words and didn't dodge. He simply used the method Teacher Zheng had taught him to activate his Anomalous Tissue, using the Snow Sovereign Blade to meet the attack horizontally. With a clang, a powerful force was transmitted, and his feet sank. The special floor also sank with him, and this force suppressed him for quite a while before disappearing.

Zheng Tongtong didn't continue her attack, but instead retreated a few steps, giving Chen Chuan time to adapt and think. Clearly, this wasn't the first time she had sparred with someone, and she was very experienced.

Chen Chuan also understood her good intentions. He thought for a moment. Although he had neutralized the force of that attack, he had been too slow in doing so. Given the prerequisite of not being able to dodge, if Zheng Tongtong were to strike a second time, he would immediately be knocked out of position, and his entire defensive stance would be ruined. Therefore, he needed to increase the speed of neutralization as much as possible.

With that, she raised her blade and slashed down again, but this time it didn't end with just one strike, but rather she unleashed hundreds of slashes at him in a row!

And the posture of each of her slashes was exactly the same. Whether it was the distance of the swing or the force of the swing, there was no difference at all. And each time the next slash came, it was at the exact moment when Chen Chuan had just dissipated the force, not giving him any room to buffer at all, demonstrating an incredibly solid foundation and mastery.

Under such oppressive slashes, Chen Chuan had to do everything possible to mobilize his Anomalous Tissue to neutralize the force. Although he could barely adjust in the first dozen or so strikes, under Zheng Tongtong's superb sparring methods, he quickly adapted and mastered the technique of dissipating force. By the time he reached the last dozens of strikes, he became much more composed.

Teacher Zheng had been watching from the side. When Zheng Tongtong had unleashed a thousand consecutive slashes and Chen Chuan had fully adapted to this kind of slashing, he finally spoke, "Alright, stop for a moment."

Zheng Tongtong immediately retreated back to her previous position. Although she had maintained a high-intensity of slashing just now, her breathing felt very steady, and her whole state seemed relaxed, indicating that the amount of activity just now was nothing to her.

Chen Chuan adjusted his breathing and looked up at Zheng Tongtong, nodding to her to express his gratitude.

This person was not simple. Leaving aside her combat power, he had never seen this level of sparring before. He only had to think about how to do his best, and he didn't have to think about anything else, because the other side would naturally give him the appropriate response, guiding him to发挥out his best state.

If he were to practice on his own, the most optimistic estimate to reach that final state would probably take a whole day, but all of this was compressed into the thousands of strikes just now.

Now he felt that the technique of neutralizing and dissipating force seemed to have been remembered by the Anomalous Tissue in his body. This was actually an inevitable feedback after being stimulated by the outside world and the needs of his self-awareness.

No wonder those fighters would spend a lot of money to hire a good personal trainer. It really was different. A good sparring partner was of great help to a fighter.

Teacher Zheng said, "Student Chen, next I will have Tongtong increase the difficulty, you prepare." He called out to his daughter, "Tongtong."

Zheng Tongtong indicated that she knew, and she reminded Chen Chuan, "Junior Brother Chen, this time I will increase the force of my slashes, so be careful."

Chen Chuan said okay and straightened his stance.

Seeing that he was ready, Zheng Tongtong didn't hesitate and slashed down again, and it was obvious that the force she brought up was much stronger than last time.

After seeing this, Chen Chuan didn't just wait for her to slash down, but instead slightly raised his hand and placed the back of the Snow Sovereign Blade against her blade.

After this block, instead of the intense collision I felt earlier, the force from the blade only pushed me down slightly. It was as if the blade wasn't hacking down, but rather resting on me.

Teacher Zheng observed this and was very satisfied with the move. The trick is to use all favorable conditions to reduce unfavorable factors. When the opponent's strength changes, you naturally need to find new ways to break the situation. This move is very proactive, and it doesn't exceed the limits I set.

Very good. No wonder his combat decision-making in the entrance assessment was rated as top-tier. He valued this point and decided to seriously teach Chen Chuan. Skills and physical fitness can be compensated through practice and other means, but this kind of combat talent is rarely possessed by anyone and is almost impossible to improve through acquired methods.

As a qualified sparring partner, Zheng Tongtong, seeing that he had begun to proactively change, also correspondingly increased the difficulty of her attacks. Her offensive moves were no longer limited to direct chops, but changed to left and right horizontal slashes, which were more difficult to block.

Chen Chuan initially found it a bit difficult to block, but he quickly adjusted. Once he was able to adapt, Zheng Tongtong changed her moves to upward slashes, followed by thrusts, and then sweeping cuts… Each time Chen Chuan adapted and kept up, she would change her attack method.

And after Chen Chuan was able to cope with all of these, she followed up with various combinations of blade techniques, leaving no gaps in between, connecting them exceptionally tightly. Under such high-tempo guidance and sparring, Chen Chuan's mastery of deflecting force techniques was also steadily improving.

Teacher Zheng then said, "Let's stop here for now, we'll continue in the afternoon."

Hearing this, Zheng Tongtong neatly retracted her blade.

Chen Chuan checked the time and realized that it was already 11:30 AM. He hadn't realized that a whole morning had passed by so quickly.

Teacher Zheng said, "Tongtong, go prepare things."

"Alright."

Zheng Tongtong turned and walked out. After swinging her blade for several hours, she wasn't even slightly out of breath, and hadn't even broken a sweat. It was evident that her power exertion and breathing techniques had reached an extremely high level.

Teacher Zheng walked up to Chen Chuan, looked him up and down, and, seeing that he also showed no signs of fatigue and his eyes were still shining brightly, was very satisfied. He said, "Chen, your foundation is very good, not bad. Based on your performance, we will increase the intensity this afternoon and focus on power exertion."

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Chen Chuan took a breath and said, "Okay, Teacher Zheng."

He knew that, until now, the training had been relatively simple, because Zheng Tongtong, as the attacking party, had only made changes in her blade techniques and had not used any changes in power exertion, the latter of which was the real test.

Teacher Zheng then pointed out some things he needed to pay attention to. At this moment, he smelled a wave of meaty fragrance wafting from the front yard. He smiled and said, "Let's go eat something first, come with me."

He led Chen Chuan to the front yard, where they saw a barbecue grill set up. Under Zheng Tongtong's operation, slices of meat were being skewered.

Teacher Zheng said, "Sharpening the knife doesn't delay the work of cutting wood. With good food to stimulate you, you'll have more energy to practice. I think that every academy, regardless of whether it's literary or martial, should have a ring of barbecue grills next to it. If you study well, you get to eat, if you don't study well, you watch others eat. I guarantee that every student will be screaming to learn."

Zheng Tongtong couldn't help but say, "Dad, this is just your personal hobby."

Teacher Zheng retorted, "How can this be my personal hobby? The most wonderful things in the world are eating and sleeping. We martial artists can only have the strength to fight if we eat well and sleep well."

He stepped forward, took a grilled skewer, and threw it to Chen Chuan, "Try it."

Chen Chuan took it and tasted it, and was immediately surprised.

The meat had a very good texture, with a crispy outer skin and tender meat inside. It was juicy and flavorful, and he felt a warmth spreading through him as he swallowed, quickly replenishing his energy. It even gave him the feeling of eating a nutritional supplement.

Teacher Zheng said with a smile, "This isn't ordinary mutton, but high-altitude sheep raised in special areas, obtained through the 'Zhan Tong United' channel, specially for us martial artists to enjoy. This is also considered a benefit from the Bureau for our teachers and students."

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. In fact, compared to providing expensive medicines, good ingredients actually require relatively less investment, but can bring great pleasure and satisfaction. The Bureau's arrangements in this regard easily enhance people's sense of belonging, which can be said to be beneficial and inexpensive.

As for Zhan Tong United, he had never heard of this company before. After checking its background, he learned that the company's business specializes in various niche items and rare things. No matter how novel or rare something is, as long as you can afford the price, this company has the channels to find a way to get it for you.

After eating the skewer in his hand, Zheng Tongtong handed him more than a dozen grilled skewers. He said thank you and took them.

Teacher Zheng said, "To fully absorb the nutrients inside, you need intense exercise. This meat is enough for your afternoon training."

"The power I taught you, you have initially mastered, but that is not yet your own."

"Just as everyone has their own habits, everyone also has their own unique power, so in the afternoon's training, you must try to find your own power!"

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