After several rounds, Natalie Sawyer was already gnashing her teeth in hatred. You have to know, just over a year ago when she and Paul Thompson returned to the capital, in her contest with Henry Harper, she had subdued her younger brother in just a few moves. Who would have thought that in just over a year, after Henry Harper had mastered that trashy boxing technique of his, she could no longer defeat him? How utterly absurd!

You see, her main purpose in coming back this time was actually to persuade Henry Harper to switch to another martial art. She had even obtained a set of top-tier second-rate boxing techniques from the Li family. As long as Henry Harper agreed to join the army, to serve under Paul Thompson's unit, this set of techniques would be available for him to practice. And as her younger brother, someone whose character she had known since childhood, there would be absolutely no concern about his loyalty. That would make him a direct member of the Li family, with limitless prospects for the future!

But the prerequisite was that she had to defeat him. Otherwise, if he really believed that even a trashy boxing technique could lead to a bright future once mastered, with Henry Harper's personality, there was absolutely no way he would ever switch to another martial art.

Thinking of this, Natalie Sawyer gritted her teeth fiercely. Her feet still used the Spirit Snake footwork, but her arms twisted and whipped about as if boneless. Even her neck took on this strange form. In the blink of an eye, she charged straight toward Henry Harper's incoming fist, and just before the fist was about to strike her head, she twisted her neck aside, moving her head out of the way, brushing past Henry Harper's fist. At the same time, her two arms, like whips, struck toward Henry Harper's body.

"Boom!"

A loud bang rang out, but it wasn't Natalie Sawyer's arms hitting Henry Harper. Instead, a figure suddenly flashed between them. One hand caught Henry Harper's arm, while the other directly pushed Natalie Sawyer away, forcing her to retreat seven or eight steps, nearly causing her to fall to the ground.

"Enough! Can you use the Spirit Snake Fist in your current condition!? Do you want to injure your body at its core!?"

The person who appeared between them was Paul Thompson. Only then did Henry Harper realize in shock that, in just the blink of an eye, Paul Thompson had crossed more than twenty meters, entering the battlefield between him and Natalie Sawyer. Where he had originally been standing, the ground now had a small pit, and he had stopped both of them at the same time. Such speed, such strength, such control—this had already surpassed the worldview of ordinary people. Could this be... internal energy!?

Paul Thompson immediately looked at Henry Harper, then clasped his fists and smiled, saying, "Sorry to make you laugh, Brother Hao. My wife was careless and forced herself to use the Spirit Snake Fist. Please give me a moment."

With that, he strode over to Natalie Sawyer's side, then began patting her body with both hands. As he did so, his palms grew redder and sweat began to steam from his body. After more than a minute, he finally finished, and Natalie Sawyer spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

As soon as she finished, Natalie Sawyer immediately said to Henry Harper, "I won, didn't I?"

Henry Harper could only nod helplessly and say, "Yes, yes, big sis, you won. Just now... Brother Li, have you already become an internal energy expert?"

Natalie Sawyer shook her head, but her face was full of pride as she said, "No, not yet. He only broke through to the quasi-internal energy level this year. It's nothing. If you switched to another technique, with your diligence and talent, it wouldn't take long for you to reach the quasi-internal energy level too."

So this still isn't an internal energy expert!?

Henry Harper was quite astonished. Over these nine years, he had read some martial arts books from this world, especially since there were martial arts courses at school. So he naturally knew what the quasi-internal energy level meant. It referred to someone who had trained their body to the limit, able to control every inch and every part of their body by feel—vitality, strength, perception, and so on—all reaching the human body's limits. Moreover, they could concentrate their strength in the dantian, forming a condensed force similar to a unified breath. They could also use their vitality to train parts of the body that were otherwise hard to strengthen, or to repair hidden injuries caused by years of martial arts practice and fighting. Generally speaking, a quasi-internal energy expert in this world could be called a match for a hundred men.

In Henry Harper's understanding, this was like the "Golden Core," "Gang Qi," or "Invulnerable to Weapons" experts in the martial arts novels he had read on Earth before he transmigrated—almost the very top tier of martial artists. Yet in this world, it was only called a quasi-internal energy expert... So just how powerful would a true internal energy expert be?

At this moment, Paul Thompson regulated his breathing for a while. When he opened his eyes, it was as if there was a flash of light in them, making Henry Harper not dare to look directly. But the light faded in an instant, and Paul Thompson smiled and said, "Brother Hao, I suppose you can guess the purpose of my wife and I coming here, so I won't embarrass myself further. How about I tell you a bit about martial arts, the quasi-internal energy level, and the internal energy realm? Consider it an apology for my wife's earlier rudeness."

Henry Harper was overjoyed and immediately said, "Then I shall respectfully accept."

At this, Paul Thompson glanced up at the sky and said with a smile, "It looks like it's getting late. I suppose you haven't had dinner yet, Brother Hao? My wife and I already made a reservation for dinner when we came. Why don't we go together?"