parentshiftbook Chapter 41: A Pair of Eyes, Seeing Through Illusion
Chapter 41: A Pair of Eyes, Seeing Through Illusion
"Hidden strength..."
Lu Cheng clenched his fist.
"Soon."
Once the performance of "Havoc in Heaven" is completed, and the system's rewards are obtained, along with the accumulation of these resources, everything will be fine.
He was confident that he could break through that barrier within three months.
At that time, even if it's a foreign-made gun team, Lu Cheng will dare to take it on!
"Shunzi" (a type of Chinese character)
"exist!"
"Get ready, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival."
Lu Cheng turned around, his eyes gleaming.
"Let's go sing that... 'Havoc in Heaven'!"
"Let the men of Beijing see if this 'Monkey King' can turn the Heavenly Palace upside down with his official robes!"
……
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.
This day marked the premiere of "Havoc in Heaven".
Deyun Tea Garden had already put up a sign that it was fully booked.
The carriages and horses lined up in a long queue at the gate, and even Division Commander Zhang sent his adjutant to deliver a flower basket.
Backstage.
Lu Cheng put on his makeup, dressed in a golden monkey king outfit, wearing a purple-gold crown with long feathers.
He stood there, motionless, and was none other than the unruly Monkey King.
"Master, I...I'm nervous."
Lu Feng was dressed as Erlang Shen, holding a three-pointed double-edged sword, his palms were sweaty.
This was his first official stage appearance, and he was even going to spar with his master.
"What's there to be nervous about?"
Lu Cheng kicked him.
"Remember what I said."
"Once you're on stage, you no longer have a master."
"Only that monkey god who wanted to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace!"
"This show isn't over until I beat you to a pulp!"
Lu Feng took a deep breath, and the fierce light in his eyes slowly gathered.
"yes!"
……
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A sudden gust of wind rises, and the curtain is drawn back.
This play, "Havoc in Heaven," completely ignited the Lantern Festival night in Beiping.
Lu Cheng's Monkey King is absolutely amazing.
No longer the kind of person who just scratches their head and acts silly.
Rather, it is a "divine monkey" that exudes spirituality and arrogance.
He tumbled and jumped on the stage, somersaulting as if he had no bones.
The most amazing thing is that "stick flower" technique.
A 30-pound iron rod was transformed into an embroidery needle in his hands.
When it dances, it's truly a ball of golden light, impervious to water.
The audience below the stage was dazzled by the sight, and their cheers almost lifted the roof off.
In the final battle, "Erlang Shen battles Sun Wukong".
Lu Feng has entered the game.
The moment that wolf cub stepped onto the stage, his ruthlessness came out.
Although his movements were still a bit immature, every slash he made was a display of genuine skill, accompanied by a whooshing sound.
"Good lad, you're serious!"
Lu Cheng laughed heartily and raised his iron rod to block the attack.
"clang!!"
Sparks flew everywhere.
The loud clang of metal striking metal made the audience in the front row cover their ears.
They're really going to fight!
This isn't acting; this is real fighting!
On stage, one was as nimble as a monkey, ever-changing, while the other pounced on his prey like a hungry wolf.
The battle was so fierce it was almost devastating.
Lu Cheng intentionally fed him tips, guiding Lu Feng to incorporate the Xingyi Quan foundation he usually practiced into the movements of this opera.
At last.
With a "rising incense stick towards the sky" move, Lu Cheng used his toes to touch the handle of Lu Feng's knife and leap into the air.
It did three somersaults in the air and landed steadily on top of the three-meter-high flagpole on the stage.
Standing on one leg, like a golden rooster standing on one leg!
He pointed his iron rod to the sky, looking down on the entire arena with arrogance.
"I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven—!!"
This shout used the breath control technique of "Fish-toad Strength".
The sound shook the heavens.
Countless people in the audience were moved to tears.
This is the kind of hero who dares to tear a hole in the sky!
This is the real Sun Wukong who refuses to admit defeat and refuses to accept his fate!
Amidst the cheers and applause,
Before Lu Cheng's eyes, the familiar golden characters, radiating a dazzling light, slowly emerged.
[Current Performance: Havoc in Heaven]
[Character: Sun Wukong]
[Comment: "His mind was wandering, unruly and unrestrained. He incorporated martial arts into his performance, displaying extraordinary agility. This single strike shattered the heavens and also revealed the carefree spirit of a grandmaster!"]
[Overall Rating: Lower Grade (Exceptional skill, a legendary figure)]
[Reward: Sharp Eyes (Beginner)!]
【Sharp Eyes (Beginner): Triples eyesight, grants night vision, allows you to see through opponents' moves, and intimidates!】
……
The Lantern Festival had just passed, and the lights of Beiping City were not yet completely extinguished, but the backstage area of Deyun Tea Garden had already become deserted.
Outside, the legend of Lu Cheng being "the reincarnation of the Monkey King" became more and more exaggerated. Some said that his eyes really shone with golden light on stage, bewitching several concubines in the front row.
Inside the room, Lu Cheng was sitting in front of the mirror removing his makeup.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
Even before the paint was completely wiped off, those eyes definitely looked different.
The Lu Cheng of the past had a deep gaze, a spirit honed through martial arts training.
But now, deep within those pupils, there is a faint ring of extremely fine golden lines, like a halo around the sun. With just a little concentration, the world before one's eyes changes.
Dust particles floating in the air, the grain of the wood on the corner of the table, even...
Lu Cheng turned his head and looked at Shunzi, who was brewing medicine for Ah Bing in the corner.
Even from four or five meters away, he could clearly see the bulging veins on the back of Shunzi's hand.
【Sharp Eyes (Beginner)】
This isn't some kind of magic trick, it's a magnifying glass!
"call……"
Lu Cheng closed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing temples.
This ability is too mentally taxing; I just got it, and I still can't control it very well.
"Mr. Lu, your eyes... why do they look so unsettling?"
Shunzi brought over the medicine, but Lu Cheng suddenly opened his eyes, startling him so much that his hand trembled and he almost spilled the medicine.
In that instant, he felt like a rabbit being watched by an eagle, every pore on his body bristling, as if all his little thoughts had been seen through.
"It's nothing, just from practicing martial arts."
Lu Cheng took the bowl of medicine, casually placed it on the table, and suddenly asked:
"Shunzi, how much cash do we have left in the account?"
Shunzi was taken aback, then quickly pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, moistened it with saliva, and flipped through it.
"Reporting to you, sir, after receiving the reward money from yesterday's Lantern Festival and the box office profits, and after deducting the red envelopes given to everyone, there are still more than four thousand silver dollars in the account."
Four thousand yuan.
These days, that amount of money could buy half a street in the south of the city.
"Go to the foreign firm in Dongjiaomin Lane first thing tomorrow morning."
Lu Cheng gave instructions while wiping his face.
"Buy me a mirror."
"Mirror?"
Shunzi scratched his head. "Sir, we have a mirror in the house. Isn't there one on this dressing table...?"
"Not big enough, and not bright enough."
Lu Cheng stood up and gestured.
"I need a full-length dressing mirror. It has to be a Belgian-imported mercury mirror, the kind that doesn't distort your reflection."
"It needs to be on all four sides."
"Buy them and move them to my practice room in the backyard, arrange them in a circle."
Shunzi didn't understand why her master needed so many mirrors. Did becoming a star make him more vain?
But he dared not ask; Lu Cheng's current authority was such that a single glance from him could make his legs go weak.
"Alright, sir, don't worry. As long as the money's right, I'll remove even the foreigners' windows for you!"
……
The next day, four huge Belgian-imported mercury mirrors were carefully carried into the Lu family's backyard.
This thing is ridiculously expensive. One side costs two hundred dollars, and with shipping costs, it'll cost a thousand dollars in total.
In other words, Lu Cheng is now so wealthy and powerful that anyone else would definitely call him a spendthrift.
The backyard, the practice room.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and heavy cotton curtains blocked out the light.
Four extremely bright gas lamps were lit inside, illuminating the room in every detail.
Lu Cheng stood shirtless, wearing only a pair of training pants, in the center of four mirrors.
Four Lu Chengs were reflected in the mirror.
His back was broad and thick, his muscles were smooth and not exaggerated, and his skin had a faint jade-like luster, which was the result of the [Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound] cleansing.
"open!"
Lu Cheng gave a low shout and activated his Fiery Eyes of Truth.
A golden light shimmered in his eyes.
He saw a different version of himself in the mirror.
In the past, when I practiced boxing, I relied on feeling, the master's oral instruction, and my own control over my body.
Even after reaching the level of Ming Jin, Lu Cheng felt that his posture was already perfect and his strength was clear and penetrating.
But now...
Under these discerning eyes, and under the all-encompassing illumination of these four mirrors.
He saw the "flaw".
"Chopping Fist!"
Lu Cheng faced the mirror and threw a simple chopping punch.
Snapped!
The air exploded with tremendous force.
But under the scrutiny of slow-motion replay and X-ray vision, Lu Cheng's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"wrong."
"At the moment of throwing the punch, the trapezius muscle in my right shoulder was delayed by one second."
"When the force passes through the elbow, the joint wobbles slightly, and a little of the force is lost."
"When I landed, the order in which my toes gripped the ground was messed up, and my big toe was a beat behind."
shocking!
To ordinary people, and even to the older generation of masters, his punch was textbook perfect.
But in the face of "reality," this punch is riddled with flaws!
This is like looking at a piece of jade with the naked eye before, and finding it smooth and flawless. Now, looking at it under a microscope, you see it's full of cracks and impurities.
"That's why..."
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, which was full of "flaws," Lu Cheng muttered to himself.
"Why is it that even if one has entered the realm of Ming Jin, one still cannot withstand weapons and will still have moments of exhaustion?"
"The energy isn't pure!"
"Lack of strength!"
The so-called minor achievement of Ming Jin is nothing more than roughly twisting that scattered force into a rope.
But inside this rope, there are still many loose and tangled strands of thread.
"There's still a way."
Lu Cheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter, a kind of fervent excitement born from the sight of a prey.
"Before the internal strength, there is another realm."
"The pinnacle of Ming Jin!"
"Adjust this body, flesh, muscles, and bones to be like a precision instrument, perfectly fitted, without the slightest damage."
"By then, one unit of effort will be worth ten units!"
Lu Cheng took a deep breath.
Looking in the mirror, I began to readjust the most basic "Three-Body Pose".
"Shoulder, sink a little more."
"Wrap your hips tighter."
"The spine... the twelfth vertebra, was shifted half a centimeter to the left, now it's straight!"
This adjustment is extremely painful.
That's fighting against the muscle memory you've built up over a decade ago.
Every muscle was protesting, every tendon was trembling.
Sweat poured down like water from a tap that had been turned on, instantly soaking through my workout pants.
But the golden light in Lu Cheng's eyes grew even more intense.
He is reinventing himself.
He is refining his mortal body towards a "non-human" realm!