Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Compared to the strength of the enemy, the betrayal of a teammate is undoubtedly more hurtful! Especially considering that the betrayer of Chen Rourou was none other than her own father, Chen Fenghua, her pillar of support! This made Chen Rourou feel incredibly helpless. Not to mention that she still had to address Zhang Beixing as uncle.

Watching Zhang Beixing stand beside her, smiling and chatting merrily with her father, Chen Rourou, for some reason, suddenly felt that his courteous demeanor now seemed menacing. His amiable smile also twisted, becoming mockingly sinister. In a daze, Chen Rourou seemed to see a Demon in Zhang Beixing. The Demon's figure enlarged continually, capturing her—a weak, pitiful, yet beautiful girl—in the palm of his hand. The Demon did not speak, but his playful expression seemed to say, "Woman, you have caught my attention, and you won't escape my grasp in this lifetime."

With this thought, Chen Rourou painfully closed her eyes.

Zhang Beixing naturally knew nothing of this rich inner turmoil. If he did, he surely would have commented, "Aren't you just overdosing on romantic novels and overlord TV dramas? With so many thoughts, why don't you go write a novel?"

...

While Chen Rourou was lost in her wild thoughts, Zhang Beixing and Chen Fenghua were also busy on the other side. Because Zhang Beixing was a student at Shi University, and so was Chen Rourou, the topic naturally came up as they chatted.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Beixing posed a question he couldn't understand, "Brother Fenghua, aren't we from the Chen Family, an Aristocratic Family of Martial Arts? Why did Rourou then..."

"Why did she go and study Karate, right?" Chen Fenghua understood Zhang Beixing's intent and added.

Zhang Beixing nodded.

As a Martial Artist, Zhang Beixing was well aware of how strong the traditional Martial Arts of Great Xia really were. Without any exaggeration, at the same level of competence, in a one-on-one, none of the world's recognized top six combat techniques could match the Martial Arts of Great Xia! The only advantage they had over the Martial Arts of Great Xia was that they could be mastered quickly, possibly achieving Great Accomplishment in just two or three months. Whereas the Martial Arts of Great Xia required long and arduous training to achieve the same.

If it had been an ordinary person, Zhang Beixing would not have remarked. After all, not everyone had the time to train in these usually unneeded skills, nor could everyone be as talented and blessed with advantages as him. But the problem was, Chen Rourou was not an ordinary person. She was born into the Chen Family, an Aristocratic Family of Martial Arts, so logically, she should be practicing the Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade. But Chen Rourou did not; instead, she went on to practice Karate, taught by those "little devils." Such a choice, dropping the melon to pick up sesame seeds, really made little sense.

Zhang Beixing waited for Chen Fenghua's response. He saw Chen Fenghua pull out a cigarette from his pocket, pause in silence, and then put it back.

Chen Fenghua sighed and said, "Ah, Brother Zhang, how should I put this... it's because of the rules!"

"Rules?" Zhang Beixing's brow furrowed, then he asked, "Brother Fenghua, may I boldly ask, what rules?"

Chen Fenghua replied, "It's a rule left by our ancestors: the Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade is passed only to males and not females."

"Why?" Zhang Beixing was even more perplexed. If it were like the Yue Family's chain boxing he was practicing now, then the rule of passing only to males and not to females, he could understand. After all, that martial art placed a great burden on the body and caused much damage; indeed, it wasn't quite suitable for girls. But the Eight Pieces of Brocade... isn't that a martial art for health preservation? Health preservation Martial Arts are inherently suitable for both men and women, for all ages. Why then would there be such an odd rule?

Seeing the expression on Zhang Beixing's face, Chen Fenghua guessed what he was thinking and explained:

"If it were the Southern Eight Pieces of Brocade passed down by Liang Shichang and Liang Taidou, there would be no such rule, as the Southern Eight Pieces of Brocade mostly employ standing postures, mainly using soft movements, and are suitable for both men and women, for all ages.

"But our Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade is different; it was passed down by the patriotic General Yue Fei. Our Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade involves lots of Horse Stance, primarily using firm movements.

"Those who practice our Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade can advance to battle enemies or retreat to strengthen the body and preserve health. This also results in a significantly higher threshold for our Northern Eight Pieces of Brocade, making it unsuitable for everyone to practice.

"Our ancestors from the Chen Family, considering the potential adverse effects of rash Cultivation, proposed this rule of passing only to males and not females.

"And so, this rule has been passed down to this day, and that is why Rourou went to practice Karate instead."

Slowly, he explained the reason behind this practice. Beside him, Chen Rourou remained silent; clearly, that was the reason.

Zhang Beixing suddenly understood. He had wondered why someone would foolishly neglect the better for the worse. It turned out to be due to the constraints.

However... "Are you sure that applying the old rules to the modern era is still appropriate?" Zhang Beixing pondered, expressing his doubts. In the past, these rules existed because people's diet was poor; taking the prosperous Kangxi-Qianlong era as an example, people were eating chaff and were physically weak, clearly unfit for practice. But now, with the help of various high-nutrition substances, even women's physical Constitutions might not be much weaker than men's. Especially for someone like Chen Rourou, born in a Martial Arts Training family. Even if she didn't practice Martial Arts, she often exercised from a young age. Her physical Constitution might even be stronger than many men's. Under these circumstances, still adhering to that outdated tradition... Is it really necessary?

Zhang Beixing thought for a moment and decided it was probably best not to voice his opinion. After all, no matter how unnecessary it might seem, it was still their family tradition, and it wasn't his place as an outsider to criticize their practices!

However, Chen Fenghua seemed to have sensed Zhang Beixing's thoughts and said with a bitter smile, "With modern advancements in science, these side effects can actually be completely remedied, but no one dares to break the rules set by our ancestors, so we still do not pass it on to females.

"Pardon my bluntness, but it's purely an outdated custom!

"But my father adheres to our ancestors' teachings and never agrees, so we younger ones can't do much about it; we can't go against Elder Chen."

Zhang Beixing suddenly understood and nodded, "So that's how it is."

...

As Zhang Beixing and Chen Fenghua were chatting.

「In the middle of the martial arts field.」

Liu Yi and Chen Hongguo finished their trash talk. They struck their starting poses, ready for battle.

Seeing this, Zhang Beixing and Chen Fenghua, who were just about to say something, instantly shut their mouths and swallowed their words. They focused their gaze on Elder Chen and Liu Yi, unblinking.

Under their watchful eyes, Elder Chen and Liu Yi silently gazed at each other.

A moment later,

BOOM!

A muffled sound erupted. Without any warning, both of them lunged forward, fists colliding.

It was unclear whether Liu Yi had become terribly lazy over the years or was deliberately going easy. Or perhaps it was Elder Chen, vigorous despite his age. The two of them had an age difference of over forty years, yet, incredibly, they appeared evenly matched!

Elder Chen was indeed a soldier from the battlefield. Even at his advanced age, he reacted with extreme speed. After his initial strike failed, he immediately shifted his stance, stepping back two paces and swinging his hands to his sides, regulating his breath. Then, he lowered his stance and stepped forward, his fists swinging up high like hammers, and violently smashed towards Liu Yi's chest.

Liu Yi was no pushover; seeing this, he stepped back half a step, using his arm to block. Upon catching Elder Chen's double fists, he flipped his hands, preparing to execute the Overlord Pig Binding Technique.

Elder Chen wasn't about to give up either and pressed forward, tackling each move head-on!

WHOA—

Seeing the two fighting so indecisively, the crowd erupted! All the younger members of the Chen Family stared wide-eyed, unable to look away from the duel, their eyes filled with amazement.

Meanwhile, Zhang Beixing was intently examining Elder Chen's breath-regulation techniques. His mind raced, memorizing every detail. As a Martial Artist, he could discern that Elder Chen was using a different style of combat while battling Liu Yi. The real Eight Pieces of Brocade was hidden in the brief breath-regulation techniques Elder Chen employed between his moves!

"Truly vigorous for his age!" Zhang Beixing muttered. Just such brief breath-regulation techniques allowed Elder Chen to maintain optimal condition, battling Liu Yi for such a lengthy period. If he, being so young, learned it, imagine fighting someone with that technique—it would send them flying! "I've really struck gold this time! Chen Family, my apologies!"

...

Zhang Beixing observed carefully, earnestly learning. Utilizing his high Spiritual Power score of 105, he etched every single form and movement of Elder Chen's breath-regulation techniques deep into his memory.

Just as he was internally exclaiming, "So satisfying! This was well worth the trip!"

"No more fighting, no more!"

"COUGH COUGH, I'm getting old, can't handle it anymore. Brother Liu, let's call it a day!"

During the fiercest part of the battle, Elder Chen suddenly took three steps backward, waving his hands, and addressed Liu Yi.

Liu Yi paused. Then, noticing the inscrutable smile on Elder Chen's face, how could he not understand that his thoughts had been seen through? Fortunately, his thick skin prevented him from showing any reaction.

Liu Yi kept his cool, giving a respectful hand gesture to Elder Chen, "Alright, since elder brother wishes so, I, as the younger, can't insist on continuing. Let's end today's exchange here."

"HAHAHA, good!" Elder Chen cheerfully agreed, not revealing anything. After all, having brought his disciple merely for a look, without dedicated teachings from his own Chen Family, they wouldn't really be able to learn much—picking up a move or two hardly mattered, so Elder Chen wasn't concerned.

He then dismissed Chen Fenghua and others, taking Liu Yi and Zhang Beixing back to the guest hall, where they started sipping tea and chatting about family matters.

...

By evening, when Zhang Beixing and Liu Yi left the Chen Family estate, it was already past five o'clock in the afternoon. Elder Chen personally saw them off, accompanied by Chen Fenghua, his three younger brothers, and Chen Rourou.

Watching the car slowly leaving amidst the continuous invitations from her father, uncles, and grandfather like "Come over when you're free," and "Brother Zhang, let's go out for drinks sometime," Chen Rourou felt her life was bleak.

She had hoped she could escape Zhang Beixing's Demon Claw by enduring through university. Now, it seemed she might never get away in this lifetime!

As she contemplated whether to move far away after graduation, suddenly, a large hand patted her shoulder.

Chen Rourou looked up to see her grandfather, who had always been kind to her except in the matter of Martial Arts Training, looking at her benevolently and asking, "Rourou, I remember you and little nephew Zhang are at the same school. Do you know him well? How are things between you typically?"

Chen Rourou: "???"

Grandfather, what do you mean by that? Why do I feel like there's a hidden meaning in your words?!