When Yuan Xi saw that Taishi Ci was going to perform martial arts, he recalled the last time in Guangling City and whispered to Lu Lingqi, "General Taishi once suppressed Sun Ce, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong. He has a unique secret of breathing."
"I'm not capable enough to figure out the secret. It's up to you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Lingqi nodded. At this moment, they heard footsteps. Everyone looked and saw that it was Zhao Yun coming.
Yang Feng saw it from behind the iron bars, with his fists clenched tightly against the bars, but then he let them go dejectedly.
She had already understood from the last time she fought with Zhao Yun that even if she was fully victorious, she would still have no chance of winning against Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun saw that everyone was there, so he hurried up to greet them. Taishi Ci put down his halberds and came over to greet Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun hurriedly returned the greeting, and heard Taishi Ci laughing and saying, "Ci came too hastily, and I haven't greeted you yet. I will come to your house to bother you later."
Zhao Yun hurriedly said, "Ziyi, you are too polite. It is better to call me Zilong. There is only one envoy at the moment, and that is you, Master."
Taishi Ci understood immediately after hearing this and said with a smile: "I have not thought it through. It would be better to call him General Zilong."
"I am about to demonstrate a few martial arts moves in front of the noble lady of Wenhou. If there are any omissions, I hope Zilong can correct them."
Zhao Yun said a few humble words, and Taishi Ci returned to the courtyard, raised his double halberds in his hands, stood still, and began to move one move after another.
His moves were wide and open, and there were obviously many changes compared to last time, but with Yuan Xi's eyes, he couldn't tell what exactly had been improved. Then, when Taishi Ci made a move, Lu Lingqi's eyes lit up and she reacted immediately.
Taishi Ci's moves were all simple straight stabbing and slashing. These basic moves had quite abrupt transitions, but after a few moves, even Yuan Xi could see that something was wrong.
The ending gesture for a straight thrust must be standing with both arms hanging down, while the starting gesture for a chopping strike must be standing with both arms raised up.
However, Yuan Xi only felt his eyes blurred, and then he found that these two seemingly completely unconnected actions were actually connected. He didn't even see what changes had taken place in between!
It was not until after more than a dozen moves that Yuan Xi vaguely saw some afterimages and realized that at the moment of changing moves, Taishi Ci's movements sped up several times, which caused this effect!
Lu Lingqi's eyes lit up. A life-and-death fight on the battlefield was not a martial arts performance. How to attack had to be determined based on the opponent's momentum, and how to attack would also be predicted by the opponent.
This opportunity is when the moves are connected and changed, which is the so-called flaw.
However, Taishi Ci shortened the time it took for this flaw to occur several times, which not only made it impossible for the enemy to attack, but also allowed him to gain the initiative with every move!
On the battlefield, every fleeting moment becomes an opportunity for victory, and top generals can not only look for opportunities, but also think of ways to actively create opportunities. This is the difference between top generals and others!
Later, afterimages seemed to appear on the edge of Taishi Ci's body, his footsteps seemed to be stepping in four directions at the same time, and his two arms seemed to have turned into six arms, making it impossible for the onlookers to see where his real body was!
This seemed to have exceeded the limits of the human body. Lu Lingqi widened her eyes and her ears twitched slightly. She had already grasped the source of Taishi Ci's accelerated movements, which was the way he breathed!
Ordinary breathing can indeed give the body strength and sustain sustained combat, but Taishi Ci's breathing is like a drumbeat. In coordination with his heartbeat, his breathing vibrates the whole body, thus stimulating the body's potential!
Pa pa pa pa, subtle sounds continued to be heard. Lu Lingqi understood that the sound of Taishi Ci's joints, his breathing and heartbeat, actually transmitted the vibration to his bones and blood. At this time, Taishi Ci's body was like a big cowhide drum, which produced endless vibrations and echoes with the rhythm of the beating!
Yang Feng reached out and grasped the iron bars on the window tightly with both hands, watching Taishi Ci's actions without blinking, his fingertips turning white from exerting too much force.
"Hah!" Taishi Ci growled in his throat, his body speeded up again, his chest was like a bellows, his originally pale face was now red, the halberd flowers danced by his arms covered his whole body, reflecting countless silver lights in the sunlight, like another sun.
The next moment, silver flowers suddenly exploded, and everyone felt the murderous intent from the tip of the halberd flying towards them along with the silver light, and they subconsciously retreated one after another.
Among the crowd, Zhao Yun did not move at all, Lu Lingqi took a step back, but Yuan Xi and Lu Xun took three steps back at the same time and stood still.
When Yuan Xi saw this, he was amazed. In terms of martial arts skills, Lu Xun was obviously not as good as himself. The reason why he could perform so well was because of his composure despite the unexpected circumstances.
The worst was Guo Jia, who almost fell down due to excessive exercise in the past few days, and was in a very embarrassing state.
Taishi Ci put away his halberd and stood still. It took him a while to calm down. He looked at Lu Lingqi and said, "Did the girl see anything?"
Lu Lingqi hesitated and shook her head, saying, "It's too difficult to learn."
"The general is probably using heartbeats and breathing to create a startling effect, thereby stimulating the body's subconscious reaction. This is no longer a realm of strength, but a hint that allows the body to automatically stimulate its potential."
Taishi Ci showed admiration on his face, "The girl is indeed very talented. She can understand all the tricks just by hearing. This is the truth."
"But because of this, this method overdraws the human body's potential. When using it, it is equivalent to the human body being constantly frightened. Coupled with the rhythm of the heartbeat, the damage to the body accumulates over time, and problems will occur sooner or later."
"When my master taught me, he said this method had great flaws, and he didn't have time to complete it, so he could only let me figure it out on my own."
"Over the past decade, I have been thinking hard, and all I can think of is to slightly stagger the rhythm of the heartbeat and the movements, so that the two will not affect each other too much and put too much pressure on the heart."
Yuan Xi blurted out: "Avoid resonance?"
Taishi Ci thought for a while and said with a smile: "My Lord, what you said is very appropriate. Using the heartbeat as a guide can indeed cause the whole body to vibrate."
"Staggering the rhythm of the two can reduce the damage to the body, but the power will also be weakened. After all, there is no perfect thing in the world."
"And when you start this method, you must move ahead to speed up your heartbeat. You can't stop or start it suddenly, otherwise it will put a great strain on your heart and it's not the way to longevity."
"These are the only two solutions I can think of. As for whether the defects can be completely improved, I have definitely not done so."
"Life is limited, but martial arts is limitless. Maybe someone will find a way to completely eliminate the hidden dangers in the future, but with Ci's aptitude, it will be difficult for him to make a breakthrough."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi praised: "Even a general like you cannot fully understand it. I wonder how powerful the person who taught you this method must be."
Taishi Ci gave a bitter smile and did not respond, but heard Lu Lingqi say, "I still have some doubts."
Taishi Ci said, "Young lady, please speak."
Lu Lingqi said: "This method, in the final analysis, is still to use breathing to induce changes in heartbeat. Everyone is different. To my ears, it is like music coming from the human body."
She hummed a tune and said, "This is the rhythm of General Taishi's heartbeat when he attacks with all his strength."
Taishi Ci showed surprise for the first time, "The girl has such sharp hearing, she has a bright future!"
"Some of the mysteries of martial arts can only be understood, not explained. However, the girl can listen to other people's heartbeats to understand the opponent's tactics, and in the future she can even predict other people's movements!"
"This kind of talent is unheard of. Just based on this point, the girl has the potential to surpass Wen Hou in terms of qualifications!"
Lu Lingqi added: "In the Battle of Black Mountain, General Zilong captured Yang Feng using this method."
"Did General Taishi teach you this?"
She hummed a rhythm casually, "This is the heartbeat rhythm of General Zilong, which is completely different from that of General Taishi."
Zhao Yun was surprised. "It's a pity that the girl is a woman."
Taishi Ci smiled and said, "Zilong's talent is different from that of the girl, but it is also top-notch."
"He figured it out on his own after fighting me dozens of times, and it's the method that suits him best."
"When Zilong performed his moves, his face showed no color. It was obvious that he had his own unique skills. However, the connection between his moves was not accelerated by force like mine. Instead, it was achieved through the flexibility and coordination of his body."
"But we have carefully considered this method and it is not suitable for me since my movements and power have already been finalized."
Zhao Yun nodded. "Using methods that are not suitable for you will only shorten your lifespan."
"So every martial artist who wants to make further progress must find the martial arts path that suits him best. It won't work if you just copy and paste."
After hearing this, everyone present suddenly realized that this was the case!
However, Lu Lingqi's next words surprised everyone, including Yuan Xi, "But why did the Black Mountain Captain Yang Feng also use a similar method?"
"She learned it when she attacked Xianyi and me before she fought General Zilong. Could it be that she learned it from General Ziyi?"
When these words were spoken, everyone was confused, but Taishi Ci seemed to have thought of something and his face changed drastically.
Yuan Xi keenly caught Taishi Ci's expression and asked, "Does Ziyi know something?"
Taishi Ci smiled bitterly and said, "I just suspected it, but it's true..."
Yuan Xi said: "If Ziyi has something to hide, you don't have to say it."
Taishi Ci looked helpless, "I dare not ruin your plans."
"I heard that Yang Feng was related to Dezhou's death..."
Guo Jia said, "Dezhou's death was caused by Yang Chou, who was manipulated by Cao Cao. Although it was related to the Black Mountain Army, it may not be related to Yang Feng."
"It might be a good thing if General Taishi tells the truth."
Taishi Ci hesitated for a while and then said, "I want to see her."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi called Sun Li over, and they all went over. Sun Li opened the copper lock on the door and removed the bolt.
Sun Li pushed the door open and saw Yang Feng sitting on a pile of straw in the room, with his back against the wall. His cheeks were thin and pale, and he was staring at everyone with a cold expression.
Taishi Ci took a few steps closer and first carefully identified Yang Feng's face with a look of doubt, because Yang Feng had experienced many battles and had many scars of varying sizes on his face. Taishi Ci could not tell whether he had any similarities with his master.
No one spoke in silence. After Taishi Ci gradually heard Yang Feng's breathing, his expression changed again.
"This breathing method has been integrated into daily activities, such as sitting, lying, walking, and standing. It will gradually become accustomed to the body and reduce the damage to the body when it is stimulated."
"I never thought that the method that Master passed on to me would lead to three different paths for me, Zilong, and Sheng..."
Yuan Xi couldn't help but ask, "Who is Master Ziyi?"
Taishi Ci hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Great and virtuous teacher, Zhang Jue."