Madman!

Chapter 26: Offering Incense and Entering Membership

At the martial arts school, Chen Wujun sat on the floor resting while Senior Brother Li sipped tea from his cup and explained some fundamentals.

"Master should have already told you that Old Arts are divided into external and internal styles."

"Beyond that, there are also tiers of progression: Body Forging, Qi Refining, and the Transformation Realm. But these only gauge what level your skills have reached and how to hone them further — they don't determine actual combat strength."

"Body Forging is about tempering your muscles, bones, and sinews, building raw power. Your strikes are fierce and your force is displayed externally."

"Qi Refining, on the other hand, cultivates the internal organs through breathing exercises. Force is contained rather than shown — it can penetrate through the body to injure an opponent. And because the organs are strengthened, your endurance and recovery improve dramatically."

"Body Forging and Qi Refining are simply different tiers. The gap in actual fighting ability isn't necessarily that large."

"Think about it — everyone's physical constitution is different. Some people punch with two hundred to two hundred fifty kilograms of force, while others are born gifted and throw punches at three hundred fifty to four hundred kilograms. If the first person reaches the Qi Refining tier while the second is still at Body Forging, it's far from unusual for the second to beat the first to death."

Chen Wujun mulled it over. It did make sense.

"That said, the weaker one killing the stronger one isn't unheard of either. At the end of the day, the divisions of manifest force, hidden force, and transformative force are just ways of measuring what level your skills have reached."

"Martial arts are forged in real fights, not in practice alone!""As for who's truly stronger or weaker — you only find out when fists fly. The winner is strong. The loser is weak."

"What about the Transformation Realm?" Chen Wujun pressed.

"You've heard the phrase 'Reached the Transformation Realm,' right? It means someone's skill has become utterly transcendent!" Senior Brother Li explained in his unhurried manner.

"The Transformation Realm means your martial arts have reached a state of perfection. Your force flows seamlessly through your entire body — Not a Feather Can Be Added, Nor a Fly Can Land. You have absolute, microscopic control over yourself."

Chen Wujun listened with open longing.

"But the Transformation Realm... is extraordinarily difficult to reach. That's why many Old Arts practitioners who reach Qi Refining but can't break through to the Transformation Realm switch to New Arts instead."

"New Arts work differently. Through meditation and absorbing Magnetic Field Crystals, you sense and strengthen your own magnetic field, reconstruct your biological magnetic field, amplify your bio-currents, and ultimately feed all of that back into your body, enhancing every physical function."

"New Arts aren't like our path, but they're similarly divided into tiers: Induction Phase, Initial Construction Phase, Resonance Phase, Harmonization Phase, and Reconstruction Critical Point. These correspond to Enhancement Reconstruction of your magnetic field at 0%–25%, 25%–40%, 40%–65%, 65%–90%, and 90%–99% respectively."

"New Arts seem more finely divided then — Old Arts only have three tiers while New Arts have five," Chen Wujun remarked.

"Not quite. Old Arts actually have four." Senior Brother Li chuckled; he'd asked the same question once himself.

"First you must achieve Entering Force, then Body Forging, then Qi Refining, and if you have enough talent and fortune, you can break through to the Transformation Realm."

"Entering Force isn't a tier — it's a threshold. Once you cross it, your whole body's force unifies. You have root and reach, and you can release and retract power at will."

"Most people can't achieve Entering Force even after a year of training, let alone advance to Body Forging. But since we all treat it as the baseline for studying Old Arts, it rarely gets mentioned."

"Starting from standing post practice, someone with good talent might achieve Entering Force in half a year. Someone less talented might take a full year." Senior Brother Li spoke fluently and at ease, then glanced toward the corner where the other disciples used to practice their standing posts — but the space had been empty for a long time. Those students had stopped coming ages ago.

"Those students you saw before couldn't even achieve Entering Force. Only after Entering Force have you truly stepped through the door of martial arts."

"So Senior Brother Li... were you just stringing them along the whole time?" Chen Wujun's eyes widened with sudden understanding. No wonder Senior Brother Li had barely paid those students any attention back then.

He silently speculated that he himself was probably at the Body Forging tier now. All the daily standing post practice and boxing drills were tempering his muscles, bones, and sinews.

Back then, he hadn't even noticed the threshold of Entering Force before he'd already crossed it.

He asked immediately, "Senior Brother Li, when exactly did I achieve Entering Force? I don't feel like anything was different."

He figured Senior Brother Li would praise him. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

Sure enough, the moment he asked, Senior Brother Li didn't want to talk anymore.

A long silence passed before he finally spoke: "One month. You achieved Entering Force in one month. In other words, the martial arts had become part of you."

...

After leaving the martial arts school, Chen Wujun was still thinking about New Arts.

According to Senior Brother Li, the entry level of New Arts was the Induction Phase. At this stage, practitioners had already begun sensing and initiating Enhancement Reconstruction of their magnetic field, and their physical attributes would gradually increase — typically improving by about fifty percent across the board.

Once Enhancement Reconstruction reached 25%, you entered the Initial Construction Phase. During this stage, the body's bio-currents would progressively integrate, and both physical attributes and explosive power would grow ever stronger, with overall ability nearly doubling.

At 40% Enhancement Reconstruction came the Resonance Phase. The body's bio-currents would fully integrate, and the New Arts practitioner's nervous system would begin optimizing. Reflexes grew faster and faster, all five senses became extraordinarily sharp, and physical capabilities would already be several times that of a normal person.

And it wasn't just physical attributes that multiplied — sensory acuity and reaction speed became equally formidable.

New Arts practitioners who reached this level were already extremely tough opponents.

At 65% Enhancement Reconstruction came the Harmonization Phase. The practitioner's magnetic sensitivity fully awakened, and certain parts of their body began to mutate. Practitioners at this stage were likely to be exceptionally powerful in one particular aspect.

At 90% Enhancement Reconstruction came the Reconstruction Critical Point. Practitioners at this stage actually didn't show many drastic changes.

But once Enhancement Reconstruction hit 100%, the New Arts practitioner would undergo a metamorphosis, becoming a Magnetic Field Powerhouse.

At that level, you'd be considered an elite fighter across the entire Federation.

Chen Wujun was trying to estimate the strength of Ji Xiang, Ah Hao, Flower Boy Rong, and Cun Bao. They were most likely at the Initial Construction Phase or the Resonance Phase.

Even at the Initial Construction Phase, physical capabilities were already formidable.

He'd spent the last two days mulling over ways to make money and establish a long-term operation.

Making quick cash was simple enough — find a target somewhere and rob them. But running a business? He hadn't the faintest clue. He knew nothing about any of that.

Yet he had to figure it out, because only a proper operation would provide a steady income stream.

Shark Jiu held a number of businesses that she'd delegated to her key people to manage.

Through these operations, each of them pulled in a handsome sum every month and could also support a crew of their own.

Chen Wujun figured that if one of those people happened to die, that would be rather convenient.

He bore them no particular ill will.

He just felt... they were blocking his path upward.

...

"Jun!"

"Brother Jun!"

The staff at Jindi Finance all looked up and greeted him.

Chen Wujun rapped on the door, then stepped into Shark Jiu's office.

"Senior Sister!"

"I heard you stirred up trouble last night?" Shark Jiu looked up and asked.

"Two punks from Lidong. But I wasn't in the wrong!" Chen Wujun gave her a rough summary, then added irritably, "They still owe me 5,600."

Shark Jiu burst out laughing. "I just now realized how tight-fisted you are."

"It's not about being tight-fisted — it's about getting back what's owed to me!" Chen Wujun retorted.

Sure, those two pairs of pants were the nicest things he'd ever owned growing up. But this wasn't a matter of stinginess.

Shark Jiu's smile faded as she considered for a moment. "Jun, those two guys are small-timers. But it's a slap in Wen Long's face. He won't let it slide — if he does, someone else will be stepping on him tomorrow."

"For people like us, face is worth more than life."

Chen Wujun nodded. "I understand."

People in their world survived on two things: strength and reputation.

If you lost face, everyone would come trampling over you. No matter how well you could fight, the constant harassment would be unbearable.

And even if you were a good fighter — could every one of your people fight too?

If your crew was wiped out, if you had nobody left, if it was just you standing alone — what could you possibly do?

"You've been following me, flying under my banner, but you haven't gone through Offering Incense or Entering Membership."

"If something happens to you, Hetu has no ground to step in."

"So I'm going to have you go through Offering Incense and Entering Membership this time. From now on, your problems are Hetu's problems."

Chen Wujun had been working under Shark Jiu, but he'd never sworn his oaths at Hetu's incense hall.

If trouble arose, only Shark Jiu herself could intervene. Even if things escalated to a full-blown fight, other Hetu members had no justification to get involved.

So Shark Jiu intended to use this opportunity to formalize Chen Wujun's membership. That way, any future issue would be Hetu's business.

Why fight a war alone when you could drag everyone else into it?

This wasn't just about this particular incident — it was about the future.

After all, every last one in their faction was boldly reckless.

...

Hetu's incense hall was located behind Tin Hau Temple. Normally, few people came around here.

But now the hall's doors and windows were sealed shut. Inside, the shrine of Lord Guan held the central position, the candles before it flickering ceaselessly.

"From this day forth, Chen Wujun is a member of Hetu!"

"Enter the Life and Death Book!"

Chen Wujun took the pen and signed his name in the registry — the Life and Death Book. Once the name was written, the membership was official.

After signing, he poured tea and offered it to Shark Jiu. "Sister Shark Jiu!"

Only Ji Xiang, Karen, and a very few others knew that Chen Wujun was Shark Jiu's junior in martial arts.

In front of everyone else, Chen Wujun always called her "Sister Shark Jiu."

...

Eight o'clock in the evening — peak hours at the Dance Hall, when patrons were streaming in. The front door burst open with a resounding "BANG" as someone kicked it in.

A man strode inside. He wore a button-down shirt and glasses, looking almost refined, but his tall frame was packed with muscle that shattered any scholarly impression.

Close behind him, seven or eight followers surged through the entrance, every one of them corded with muscle, their entire bearing radiating a fierce, battle-hardened edge.

Wedged between them were two "critically wounded soldiers" hobbling on crutches, their legs and arms bound in splints, their heads wrapped in layer upon layer of gauze.

"Brother Wen Long, bringing this many people to show your support?" Karen sauntered up with a beaming smile, simultaneously signaling her staff to lower the music.

"Show support? Who'd dare show support at one of Shark Jiu's venues? Afraid of getting beaten to death?" Wen Long sneered.

"Yesterday, two of my boys came here to patronize your joint and got an arm broken each plus a shattered leg. Tell Shark Jiu to come out here and give me an explanation — and hand over the punk who did this!"

"Wen Long, that voice of yours — did you come here just to scare off my customers?"

A woman's voice drifted out from a shadowed corner.

The moment Wen Long heard it, his brow twitched. He followed the sound and saw Shark Jiu emerge from the corner.

Beside her stood a sharp, clean-cut young man with extraordinarily vivid eyes.

The instant the two injured men spotted the youth, they grew agitated, their words whistling through gaps in their teeth: "Boss, that's him!"