Exchange of Attacks

Chen Chuan saw Lu Ke's punch coming and instinctively pressed both hands down to shield himself, but it was actually a feint. Lu Ke's prepared follow-up smashed in swiftly as he stepped forward. His movements flowed together quickly. Although Chen Chuan leaned back, a punch still slammed into his chin guard, forcing him back two steps.

Lu Ke stopped, asking with apparent concern, "Young Master Chen, are you all right? My fists might have been a little heavy."

Chen Chuan looked at him and smiled. "I'm fine."

Yu Gang stood with his arms folded and said nothing. He could see through Lu Ke's little scheme. Actual combat had never been a place for reasoning, and such small tricks amounted to nothing.

Lu Ke had tried every possible way to land a hit on Chen Chuan right from the start. Aside from his lingering resentment and desire to vent, there was a tactical purpose: he wanted to provoke Chen Chuan, make him lose his cool, and make the rest of the fight much easier.

But he soon discovered that Chen Chuan had neither become angry after being hit nor grown timid and hesitant. He was as calm as when he had first stepped in, and that composure made Lu Ke more cautious instead.

Chen Chuan had no real fighting experience and could only throw moves according to his own understanding. Recalling what Yu Gang had taught him, he guarded against Lu Ke's attacks while slowly closing in, constantly probing the distance with his lead hand and disrupting his opponent.

Once he felt he had reached the right distance, he tried to throw a straight punch. Lu Ke easily swayed past it and returned a hook in passing. Fortunately, Chen Chuan had been alert in that regard and raised his guard in time, preventing Lu Ke from landing cleanly.

Lu Ke should have followed up with several more punches to seize the advantage, but instead of doing so, he retreated rapidly, as if wary of something.

Over the past few days, Lu Ke had learned that Chen Chuan's punches and kicks could be light one moment and heavy the next. Sometimes they were ordinary, but other times they erupted with tremendous force; not only was the power immense, but the speed rose with it. Lu Ke truly could not grasp the pattern, so he did not dare let himself be hit at all.

If Lu Ke would not come to him, Chen Chuan took the initiative.

He tried to close in and attack, but Lu Ke's footwork was nimble. The moment he detected any sign that Chen Chuan was about to move, he quickly shifted away. Sometimes, when Chen Chuan seemed to have drawn close, Lu Ke would snap out a kick to shove him back, all while repeatedly kicking at the bends of his knees and occasionally launching sudden cold strikes at his face.

Other than the first two punches, Lu Ke did his best to maintain the distance between them. Relying on his skilled kicks and quick movement, he kept Chen Chuan at mid-to-long range, leaving him unable to reach him no matter what.

His thinking was practical as well. Those who had just begun walking the path of fighting generally had little stamina in reserve. Especially in an intense confrontation, after several minutes of continuous evasions, they would collapse from exhaustion. He would barely need to do anything. Once Chen Chuan's strength was gone, Lu Ke would have even greater advantages in the next two rounds.

Chen Chuan tried many times, only to find that he could not land any effective attacks. He knew it was because his techniques and experience were lacking, which had led to this passive situation.

Under normal circumstances, he would lose no matter how he fought.

But he wanted to win.

If this had been a fight to the death, or under conditions like the academy's second entrance examination, he would naturally have used the Second Self without hesitation.

But this was only a sparring match. Pursuing a superficial victory alone had little meaning and would instead cost him a chance to train. So he not only had to win, but had to win without using the Second Self.

Lu Ke was not without weaknesses. His personal defense was tight, but he lacked sufficient pressure, giving Chen Chuan time to think of a countermeasure. After observing for a while, he really did discover a possible point to break the deadlock.

Lu Ke had a habit. Whenever he attacked, if they were in the open center of the space, he would shift his steps quickly. But when they were nearing a wall or pillar, he would most likely give Chen Chuan a front kick and send him flying back.

If so, perhaps he could give it a try...

Chen Chuan did not rush, nor did he impatiently expose his intentions. He simply waited patiently for an opportunity.

The two chased each other in attack and defense, and two minutes quickly passed. Time gradually drew near the end of the first round.

As Lu Ke dodged, he observed Chen Chuan. He realized that, even now, there was not the slightest sign of fatigue on him. This did not look like a beginner at all.

Then he understood.

Damn it, it's the Breathing Method! With the Breathing Method continuously operating, Chen Chuan's physical qualities had been greatly enhanced in every aspect. Even though Lu Ke had trained for a long time, Chen Chuan could still use it to catch up to him. It was foreseeable that surpassing him was only a matter of time.

At that thought, a deep wave of envy and jealousy rose in him again. Catalyzed by those emotions, he lost a little of the calm he should have maintained.

Chen Chuan immediately sensed it. Lu Ke's mentality seemed to have changed subtly. He did not know why, but he knew the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.

He watched his surroundings. When Lu Ke once again moved near a wall pillar, Chen Chuan suddenly surged forward. Coordinating with the Breathing Method, he deliberately contracted his abdominal muscles, fixed his gaze on Lu Ke, and dropped a hand in a scooping grab! Just as expected, Lu Ke kicked toward him, as if delivering his leg straight into Chen Chuan's hands. Chen Chuan caught it in one sweep. Since he had prepared for it, the kick to his abdomen did not hurt him much. As he retreated with the force, he tugged Lu Ke's heel, trying to make him lose his balance.

Lu Ke was startled when his leg was caught. But he had some experience, and as Chen Chuan pulled his leg backward, he smashed a punch toward Chen Chuan's face.

Chen Chuan had originally intended to strike after disrupting Lu Ke's balance, but real confrontation was completely different from practice. There was simply no chance to complete every movement properly. He was a beat too slow, and Lu Ke's fist arrived first. He hurriedly lowered his head, letting the blow strike the protective gear on his forehead. His head jolted, but the punch still failed to injure him.

At that point, he no longer insisted on striking. Clamping one of Lu Ke's legs beneath his arm, he stretched out a foot below, trying to hook Lu Ke's other supporting leg. He had not yet learned how to attack after taking someone down, so he treated knocking his opponent to the ground as a victory by default.

But he quickly discovered that this move was easy enough during drills, while in actual use, the pulling and grappling between their bodies caused countless snags. His foot came out still some distance short of Lu Ke's heel, only barely brushing its edge. Yet Lu Ke was still startled and instinctively hopped backward on one leg to evade the hook.

That hop, however, created a pause. Chen Chuan felt the opposing force against his body suddenly weaken, so without thinking, he stepped forward and used the Coiling Palm Thrust from the Great Unrestrained Hands! It was a move that struck upward from below with the heel of the palm. It passed directly through the gap between Lu Ke's hands and hit him beneath the chin.

Struck heavily, Lu Ke's head snapped back. Even with the chin guard, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and staggered on his feet.

"Stop!"

Yu Gang spoke then.

The moment Chen Chuan heard him, he stopped. Lu Ke staggered backward, shook his head, and pressed a hand against the pillar. It took him quite a while to recover.

Yu Gang waited until Lu Ke had recovered before calling the two back in front of him.

He looked at Lu Ke first and assessed him. "Your technique and experience are clearly better than Chen Chuan's, but after landing that hit at the start, you thought you had already gained an advantage. Later, you were afraid of getting hit, so you kept dodging, trying to wear down Chen Chuan's stamina. Never mind whether that idea was right or wrong—your movements went back and forth between only a few patterns, without any shifts between substance and feint. I'm not surprised at all that your weakness was caught. Fortunately, Chen Chuan doesn't know how to use the Righteous Unrestrained Hands, and you were both wearing gauntlets. Otherwise, think about what the outcome would have been."

Lu Ke's expression changed slightly.

In the Righteous Unrestrained Hands, the move most commonly following the Coiling Palm Thrust was the Curtain-Ripping Hand. After striking the enemy, the five fingers would exert force along with the motion, tearing away the enemy's facial skin in one grasp or simply crushing their throat bones. It was an exceptionally vicious move. Yu Gang had not taught it to him, but Lu Ke knew of it.

Yu Gang looked at Chen Chuan again. "Chen Chuan, when you clasped hands in mutual salute at the beginning, given the positions you two were standing in, Lu Ke's first punch could not possibly have reached you. Your defense was completely unnecessary, and that gave Lu Ke the opportunity afterward. That was partly because you lack experience, but also because you did not observe the space carefully enough. Learn this lesson. In the future, at the very least, make proper judgments about distance."

Chen Chuan nodded and humbly accepted the criticism.

Yu Gang continued, "But I also have to praise you. Even though you took a loss right at the beginning, you never gave up looking for opportunities. You were very proactive, and most importantly, you won. So for this first round, I'm giving you two points."