The Great Worm Lich

Zhang Lisheng’s generous offer made Dr. Song become stunned for a bit. “W-What did you say, boy?”

“Uncle, from today onwards until Christmas, I hope you can pour your entire effort into teaching me this Shape-Will Fist. I can pay you 10,000 dollars a day.” While speaking, the young man drew up a check and passed it to the dumbstruck old man.

Then, he walked to the wooden man in the dojo that was used to practice Chinese martial arts. Pretending to give it his full blow, he hit the wooden stick leaving an imprint of his fist till it cracked. “I’ve already practiced my strength before, so I don’t need any standing posture. I only need you to teach me the technique of Chinese boxing.”

When the wooden man, made from a wild elm tree, produced an ear-piercing sharp “crack” sound as it broke, Dr. Song walked towards the wooden man and touched the faint crack on it, before exclaiming in bafflement, “Boy! Are you here to insult me?! Your punch has made a fine line on the elmwood! This is an ability that could only be done by consuming a secret medicine since childhood and by training on the wooden man at least more than ten years! You already have such ability yet you still want to become my student? Aren’t you trying to make a fool out of me? No, I won’t teach you!”

“What makes a fool out of you? This is called having a high opinion of you! Song Zhixing! I think your mind has gone insane now! To think you’d even reject a student who is paying 10,000 dollars a day!” Upon hearing the old man’s words, Zhang Lisheng was at a loss of words on how to reply to him, but a sharp shrill female voice resonated from behind.

Then, he saw Connie lifting a tea bucket running towards them in haste. “It’s a good thing I came sending water here. Otherwise, such a good student would have been sent away by you already.”

“Oh m-my love, y-you don’t understand. This is about the Rivers and Lakes…” When Dr. Song saw his wife running towards him, he shrank by three centimeters, before replying in a stutter with a flushed face.

“Rivers and Lakes? What river and what lake? Are you a fisherman? A sailor? River and lake my ass. I only know that…” Connie snatched the cheque from Dr. Song’s hand before looking at it and continued to talk in pleasant surprise, “This 50,000 dollars would be our profit for an entire year! It’d be enough to pay half a year of our grandson’s living expenses when he goes to college in the future…”

“My dear, our grandson is only five years old. He’s too early for college…” Dr. Song smiled wryly as he said.

“Okay our grandson is five years old, but how about our son?!” Connie glared at her husband with a sharp look before turning her head to look at Zhang Lisheng with a smile. “Sir, don’t you worry. Our old man here may be harsh on the mouth, but in fact, he actually listens to me the most. Now that I’ve taken your money, he’ll definitely teach you with everything he got. It’ll be guaranteed you’ll learn!”

“Auntie, if Uncle Song really can guarantee I’ll learn something, then, in addition, I’ll help your son to look for an easy high-paying job.” When Zhang Lisheng saw Dr. Song and his wife argue because of him, in order to be certain, he threw in another tempting condition.

Of course, it was hard to believe the empty promises made by such a young man, but after this young man paid them 10,000 dollars a day, his credibility was different now.

“Really? Oh! Y-You must be Maddie’s company’s little boss right?! I-I…thank you so much! Thank you very much! Did you hear that, Song Zhixing? For the future of our son, you must make… Erm, may I know your name please?”

“Auntie, you don’t have to be so polite. I’m Zhang Lisheng.”

“Zhang Lisheng, Zhang Lisheng… What a good name! What a name of courage!” Connie complimented again before glaring into Dr. Song’s eyes. “For our son’s sake, you must also satisfy Mr. Zhang. Old man, I beg you, our son is about to be divorced because he has lost his job, so please, think about our family. Y-You… You…” This seemingly very strong woman suddenly wept as she said.

“M-My love, don’t cry. Don’t cry! I promise you!” Dr. Song became silent for a moment before replying in frustration.

He was the first batch of college students after China’s Cultural Revolution ended in the late 1970s. That time, the ancient Chinese boxing method was culturally dross and was difficult to be inherited. He was interested in the Shape-Will Fist, so he kowtowed twice to the old western doctor Song Jinfa, who served in the Southwest Medical University as a lecturer, who had been released in a cowshed, before obtaining the full knowledge of the orthodox Shape-Will Fist.

However, succumbing to the reality now, he had no choice but to pass down his entire knowledge of the Shape-Will Fist he had mastered to Zhang Lisheng, who had not even kneeled down, without any single knowledge left behind.

“Learning the fist for only five days is a joke! I can only teach you the technique of exerting your power and the combat technique at most. Once you’ve learned this combat technique, it’ll only be the framework. In the future, you should observe the movements of the twelve animal shapes of tiger, monkey… eagle and bear…” After sending all the other students who could not endure the hard work away, Song Zhixing began to start his lesson on the second floor of the Spicy Chicken Restaurant.

The old man began to explain in words and actions as he taught meticulously. However, Zhang Lisheng was not interested in the orthodox explanations such as “A genuine heart matters than form”, or “The five elements strengthen the five organs, which in turn would merge the five elements together” and so on. He was only willing to learn the techniques in the Shape-Will Fist to control his body muscles and power exertion.

Finally, after a few days, the young man mastered the breathing technique of the Shape-Will Fist that allowed him to control his body and exert his strength by using only 10% while reserving the remaining 90% of his power. Not only that, but he had also learned the basic framework of chopping, drilling, crushing, exploding and crossing before finishing his training in satisfaction.

At this time, it was already the day before Christmas Eve so when Zhang Lisheng walked out of the Spicy Chicken Restaurant, he received a call from Edward. “Lisheng, the Beheader’s condition is stable now. He’ll be discharged in three to four months at most. WWE intends to sign a confidentiality agreement with us. What they mean is they would let this matter slip away and after that, neither side can mention about this entire affair in public.”

“The reason they made such a request must be because they’re afraid that it would affect the image of tough American wrestlers. Alright then, Edward. Sign with them on my behalf. That’s right! Merry Christmas to you in advance.”

“Thank you, Merry Christmas as well! Leave the agreement to me and all you need to do is to be rest assured. See you again, boss!”

“See you, Edward.” Zhang Lisheng hung up the phone and entered the Ford Explorer. Humming a song happily, he drove on the road.

After his transformation, the weakness of his body being frail was now removed and his life was assured now. The young man no longer had the pressure and desperation to cultivate from time to time in order to exert his might to make a breakthrough. Even though he would sometimes worry about the invasions of the supernatural realm’s civilizations, this problem was not something he could solve by himself. As he thought about it, the worries diminished and his mood gradually became brighter.

When he reached home, his mother Lili was sitting on a sofa, talking with a pleasantly surprised expression with a strange middle-aged Caucasian man in a suit. Casually, he called out, “Mom, I’m home,” before heading upstairs.

To his surprise, the tall Caucasian man with two small mustaches that was talking to Lili stood up and greeted him with a warm expression, “You must be Mr. Zhang Lisheng. Hello, I’m Myron Gernas, the editor of ‘Science’ magazine.”

“Hello, Mr. Myron. I’m Zhang Lisheng…”

The young man shook his head at the middle-aged Caucasian man in confusion before hearing his mother explain, “Baby, the Science Magazine is a top academic publication in the country. Dr. Myron is here to look for you with the intention of requesting a paper. He said that the beetle you found in Amazon is a very important new species that can make up for the missing link in the evolutionary history of insects…”

“That’s right, Mr. Zhang Lisheng, I saw your research post about the two soft beetles you posted on the ‘Biological Island’ website and have confirmed the beetle you found is a new species…”

“Oh, I’ve long determined they are a new species, Mr. Myron. However, new species of organisms are found on Earth, and, in addition to my research level, it’s very hard to imagine that the top academic journal in the country would ask me for a journal paper.”

Upon hearing Zhang Lisheng’s doubt, Myron was stunned for a moment before bursting out in loud laughter. “Oh, Mr. Zhang. Looks like you have a suspicious personality that does not match your young age. You’re right! There are tens of millions of biological species in the world. Every day, hundreds of species are going extinct and at the same time, many species are being discovered. However, among these species, there are very few species that could make up for the missing links in the history of evolution. If we could find one or two species every year, it would already be a big harvest in biology. As for your level of research, young man, do you understand the definition of originality?”

“Originality? Erm, it should mean a new thing that was created by people right?” Zhang Lisheng pondered over it before replying.

“Yes, that’s about it. However, the exact definition of originality is to create and invent a new ‘piece’, not a derivative work by copying, adapting, paraphrasing, imitating, plagiarizing, a second creation, or series. The key definition of originality is not at ‘level’ but in the word ‘new’,” Myron continued to say in enthusiasm, “Leeuwenhoek was almost illiterate but due to the reason he liked to grind mirrors in his spare time of selling clothes, he created the first microscope in the history of human beings and discovered microorganisms. As a result, this illiterate pioneered a new era of biology and became the father of modern microbiology. Thomas Edison only went to school for three months but he possessed a good and whimsical brain, the perseverance in running tests and a pair of skillful hands, so…”

“Erm, Mr. Myron. I merely caught these two beetles in Amazon by accident, and I have only done a series of studies that are within my ability. How can I be compared to Leeuwenhoek and Edison…”

“It’s more or less the same concept, young man. In fact, the progress of human science depends a lot on the existence of ‘good luck’. If the research posts posted on the Internet about the two soft beetles you found are compiled into a report, your contribution to biology will be far more significant than the research results of many Ph.D. students that graduated from many famous schools. This is the power of originality.”

“Oh, is it?” Zhang Lisheng had never heard of the things Myron said before. However, after he thought about it, he could not refute it at all.

“Yes, so, I intend to invite you to write a paper. Of course, the manuscript will be further deepened and modified by some high-level biologists. They will become the co-publishers of your work that will appear in the magazine. Before that, I must personally see with my own eyes the two soft beetles you found. ”