A Contest of Strength (Continued)

Seeing this, Hou Fei made a decisive move. He first circled his arms and embraced the air, then lightly flipped his body to avoid the opponent's strongest punch. Then, he swooped down from the air, attacking eight joints of his opponent's body with his palms, elbows, knees, and toes.

Seeing this, the bald, burly man was unwilling to exchange injury for injury, so he roared and changed his fist into a palm to meet the attack. A series of muffled thuds rang out, like an iron hammer hitting an anvil, and the two exchanged blows.

This direct confrontation was naturally disadvantageous to Hou Fei. Even though he had concentrated all his energy and spirit, he was still shaken so badly that his Qi and Blood surged, his face turned red, and he almost bled. But he knew that an even greater crisis was right next to him, so he dared not delay. He immediately activated his Internal Cultivation to forcefully suppress his Qi and Blood. Then he spread his five fingers, bent his fingertips slightly, and struck out in a plum blossom shape. A loud bang immediately rang out in the air.

The bald, burly man was in much better condition than Hou Fei. His hands were only slightly sore, and his internal Qi and Blood were not disturbed. The opponent's desperate attempt to kill him was exactly what terrified him, so he immediately threw a punch, and dragon patterns appeared on his fist.

However, Hou Fei swayed in mid-air, his body overlapping like several shadows, his body shifting from solid to ethereal, causing his opponent's Thousand Dragon Fist to miss. Then, as if he had grown wings, he drew an arc in the air that was almost a semicircle, circling behind his opponent and striking his right shoulder with his right hand.

The bald, burly man snorted coldly, thinking to himself that yet another one had fallen for his trap. He knew that his weakness was his slow legs and limited mobility. When he encountered an agile opponent, he was easily attacked from behind. Therefore, he had specially practiced a Spined Back Art. Whenever an opponent attacked his back, he would be injured by the force of his own attack.

However, when Hou Fei's palm strike landed on the bald, muscular man's back, he immediately sensed something was wrong, because the opponent's palm strike didn't use much force at all; it was all a soft, pushing force, leaving him with no way to retaliate.

Even with his stable stance, the bald, muscular man was caught completely off guard and was suddenly pushed off his feet.

Oh no, he's trying to escape!

The bald, burly man used a thousand-pound weight to barely stop himself. Turning his head, he saw Hou Fei fleeing rapidly in the opposite direction. After several leaps, Hou Fei disappeared into the forest, his terrified figure looking as if he were being chased by some horrible monster.

"Tch, you're lucky you ran fast!"

Knowing he wasn't good at light-footed skills, the bald, burly man decisively gave up the idea of chasing after his opponent. Although he hadn't managed to defeat his opponent and gain any points, he still felt a great sense of accomplishment for scaring him so much that he wet himself.

"That so-called 'Flying Spirit Monkey,' a star player on Sun Wu University's sports team, is all talk and no action. In a real fight, he's nothing special. He can't even beat one of my fingers in terms of strength."

The bald, burly man chuckled, then turned and caught sight of a figure close at hand. He was immediately startled, and his right fist clenched and swung out as if by reflex.

"Hey, hey, hey, while it was wrong of me to just stand by and watch your fight without saying anything, you didn't put up a sign saying 'No Watching,' so there's no need for such a strong reaction."

As Si Ming spoke, he reached out and grasped the other person's fist.

The bald, burly man exclaimed in surprise. Although the punch he had just thrown was not charged up, its power was still extraordinary and not something an ordinary martial artist could withstand. The fact that his opponent had taken it so easily was beyond his expectations.

He sized up the boy standing in front of him. He was of medium build and slightly stronger than Hou Fei, but far inferior to a body-refining martial artist. He didn't look strong at all, and was almost a head shorter than him. He had a somewhat delicate appearance, not effeminate, but not strong or imposing either.

"To be able to withstand a punch I throw casually, you're not bad at all," the bald, burly man praised.

"Huh? Don't you recognize me?"

Based on the previous buzz, Si Ming thought all the contestants in the Martial King Cup would remember his face. Could it be that the person in front of him joined later?

"What, do you think you're some big shot that everyone has to know?" the bald, burly man retorted, then continued, "However, I can understand your feelings. After all, those qualified to participate in the Martial King Cup are no ordinary people. Maybe you're a disciple of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, quite famous back home. But unfortunately, everyone else participating in the competition is a young genius like you, equally talented and famous at a young age. Here, you're nothing special."

Hmm, that sounds familiar...

Si Ming scratched his head and said, "I didn't mean that. I'm actually quite humble and like to keep a low profile."

The bald, burly man said arrogantly, "I don't care if you're low-key or high-profile. Meeting me is just bad luck for you. What martial artists fear most is not an opponent whose style counters their own, but a similar martial artist whose strengths are suppressed. Your strength may be strong compared to others, but compared to me, it's nothing. Let me tell you frankly, that punch you just threw was less than 30% of my power."

Si Ming nodded and chimed in, "No wonder you're so weak; you weren't even using 30% of your strength."

Hmm? Although I received approval, something still feels off.

The burly man scratched his bald head, unable to figure out what the problem was, and could only continue, "That Flying Spirit Monkey ran away halfway through the fight, which was quite disappointing. Since you're here, you'll take his place. Watching others' private fights always comes at a price. I hope you won't be like him, always jumping around. A real man should fight head-on, every punch landing is the most manly way to fight."

Si Ming said with satisfaction, "I completely agree with this viewpoint. Unfortunately, my opponent always has other opinions. I am Si Ming, nicknamed the Son of Light. Please enlighten me."

"Son of Light, Si Ming, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before?" The burly man thought for a moment but couldn't remember. "Looks like you really are a celebrity. Even I have a vague impression of you... My surname is Gui, my given name is Zhenchuan, and my nickname is Iron-Spined Earth Dragon. Let me give you a heads-up: I'm going to use my full strength next. Don't think you can handle this as easily as before."

Si Ming, "Thank you for the reminder. I'll increase my power proportionally too. Come to think of it, the numbers we used are about the same."

Gui Zhenchuan didn't believe the other person's strength was the same as his own, assuming it was just a show of pride and an unwillingness to show weakness, so he subconsciously asked, "How much of your strength did you use?"

"Three percent, just like you, we both have a three percent."

Gui Zhenchuan's lips twitched, and he chuckled, "You're really quite 'modest'."

Si Ming sighed, "I think so too, after all, I didn't take into account forbidden techniques that can raise one's limits."

There's no point in talking when you don't see eye to eye. Gui Zhenchuan thought Si Ming was quite agreeable just now, but now he just thinks this guy is full of nonsense and is a liar. Dealing with this kind of person, saying more is just a waste of breath. It's more effective to force him to submit by force.

"Be careful, my Thousand Dragon Fist is a unique technique created by the legendary Grandmaster Baili Azure Dragon. Countless masters have died by this fist technique."

Gui Zhenchuan slowly raised both hands, his movements seemingly slow and without much complexity. However, when his interlaced palms combined with the yin and yang energies, they unleashed a magnificent aura that spread across the entire arena like moonlight and starlight.

At the peak of his momentum, Gui Zhenchuan threw a punch straight at his opponent. It was a simple, Wuhua straight punch, yet its immense power enveloped the surrounding area, leaving the opponent nowhere to dodge and forcing him to meet it head-on. The simpler it was, the more powerful it was.

But it was meaningless to Si Ming. He didn't even think about dodging. He stretched out one hand, bent four fingers, leaving only the index finger, and met the attack head-on.

As their fists clashed, Si Ming slightly bent his index finger, successfully deflecting Gui Zhenchuan's fierce punch.

Gui Zhenchuan stared wide-eyed like a goldfish, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. He subconsciously suspected that the other party might have used some kind of Divine Arts to neutralize his force. However, the residual force generated after the fist and finger collided formed a ring of air that spread out, causing the nearby trees to explode. This scene proved that it was a real collision of forces, and there was no hidden technique involved.

"Twin Dragons Fetch Water!"

Gui Zhenchuan roared, unleashing a burst of energy from his palms. Two powerful palm strikes swirled and intertwined, creating a magnificent spectacle and a sweeping gust of wind.

This time, Si Ming raised two fingers, one in each hand, and thrust them forward, shattering the two powerful palm strikes and re-forming a ring of energy that spread out like ripples.

"Azure Dragon Shatters the Mountain!"

Gui Zhenchuan used the recoil to spin and leap into the air. Just now he had mocked Hou Fei for only knowing how to fly in the sky, but now he was the one leaping into the air. However, he did not leap into the air to avoid the attack, but to make a more ferocious descent.

With a dragon's roar, Gui Zhenchuan unleashed his fists from the sky. The fierce fist force combined with his True Qi formed the image of a dragon's head roaring. Before he even arrived, the force of his energy had already caused ripples to spread across the ground below, scattering countless grains of sand and grass outwards.

Faced with this punch, Si Ming had no choice but to take it a little more seriously. This was because, when combined with his ultimate move, Gui Zhenchuan could unleash his power several times over. If he relied solely on his own strength to withstand it, unless he activated the Asura Divine Power or the Vajra Demon-Subduing Power, he would inevitably suffer a loss.

"Well done! Take this—the 'Haven't Thought of a Name Yet Palm!"