Great Eagle Claw! Thirteen Flying Eagles

A mere shopkeeper of Nine Harmonies Hall already possessed such strength?!

The Li Family, known as one of the three great clans of Shiwu County, truly had fearsome and formidable power.

Liang Qisheng's heart sank slightly. This was the first time he had encountered a martial artist stronger than himself.

Moreover, this was a life-or-death battle, leaving him no room for hesitation.

His hands transformed into tiger claws as he pushed off with his left leg.

His right leg stepped forward, and his claws thrust upward, meeting the descending eagle claws head-on.

Black Tiger Pounces on Prey!

Though facing a powerful foe, Liang Qisheng's mind remained utterly calm.

His expression showed only heightened caution, not a trace of panic or fear.

When two warriors meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins. The Black Tiger Fist grew stronger against stronger opponents.

Once fear took hold, his spirit would scatter.

And with that, the power behind his fists would scatter too.

His Black Tiger Fist was now at 75% completion, just a quarter shy of mastery. His Black Tiger stance rose naturally.

Almost by instinct, he met the screeching claws descending upon him.

Bam!

With a heavy impact, Liang Qisheng felt the sleeve he touched as slippery as oil, as heavy as water, forged like iron plate.

The moment contact was made, a continuous chain of overlapping forces slammed into him, causing his usual heavy, unstoppable power to strike nothing but air.

His feet stomped the ground, producing a dull hum.

His body couldn't help but stumble backward several steps, his expression growing even more solemn.

"The Tendon Refining realm is truly extraordinary, completely surpassing the power of the Flesh Refining level..."

"Even though the martial art my opponent practices clearly isn't focused on power, this overlapping force technique is exquisitely executed, at least thirty percent stronger than mine."

After retreating a dozen or so steps, Liang Qisheng planted his feet, his gait like a tiger's.

He steadied himself, and only then did the violent turmoil within him subside.

Though his opponent's realm and power both surpassed his, after that head-on clash, he could tell the other's strength wasn't overwhelming.

It was only thirty percent greater. There was still a chance to fight.

At the same time, Shopkeeper Lin's body was also sent flying by the terrifying force.

His entire form drifted backward like a hawk gliding, shooting several meters away, his expression growing increasingly grave.

"What fist is this?"

"...Bone Strengthening Fist, Rolling Stone Fist, or Tiger-Leopard Form Fist? Are you really only at the Flesh Refining realm?"

At this moment, Liang Qisheng had no idea.

His guesses about Shopkeeper Lin were far less shocking than Shopkeeper Lin's doubts about his power and realm.

Liang Qisheng had been training in martial arts for too short a time; he didn't realize that his own strength and power level far exceeded those of other martial artists at the same rank.

An old boxing master like Shopkeeper Lin had dealt with countless Flesh Refining martial artists over the years.

So while youth was feared in boxing, when it came to martial power, even a single line of difference was like the gap between heaven and earth.

With his realm and skill, he should have been able to crush his opponent effortlessly.

Yet after a full-powered strike, the other had only retreated a dozen or so steps.

And his complexion was ruddy, with no sign of injury. That was unexpected.

It even made Shopkeeper Lin wonder if there was some major flaw in his own fist technique.

Shopkeeper Lin also understood that although the Great Eagle Claw Technique wasn't a power-focused art, the fact that he couldn't defeat his opponent with a full realm's advantage already proved something.

"A tough nut indeed."

Shopkeeper Lin was truly angered now. His body leaped repeatedly, like a soaring eagle.

Power gathered on his fingers, tinged with a faint bloody aura, constantly cutting through the air as they rained down upon every part of Liang Qisheng's body.

Though a full realm separated them, and there was a considerable gap in power, Liang Qisheng relied on his Black Tiger Fist, which was nearing mastery, to defend himself airtight.

His hands constantly shifted, his tiger-form stance meeting the storm of attacks from above.

Muffled thuds echoed through the pitch-black night.

The terrifying sound waves made the surroundings grow even more eerie.

Night. Woods. By the roadside.

Two black figures, swift as lightning, exchanged fists and palms, their steps interweaving as if treading on constellations, yet moving with ferocious speed.

Occasionally they clashed and collided in the darkness, producing muffled thuds.

By the bright moonlight, even the air could be seen trembling.

It no longer seemed like two people locked in combat, but rather a fierce tiger and a soaring eagle entangled with each other.

Boom!

A thunderous sound rang out as the air suddenly split apart, and the ground trembled slightly.

The tiger could not hold its ground; its form flew backward and slammed heavily into a tree trunk. The trunk split open from the back with a sharp crack.

The eagle tumbled, gliding in an arc before flapping its wings again and hovering aloft.

"Eagle claw technique? Such swift movements!"

Pfft!

The exchange lasted only a brief moment, but how could Liang Qisheng fail to recognize the technique his opponent was using? It was clearly a hard-style skill like the Eagle Claw Technique.

In that instant, the opponent struck thirteen times in succession, piercing through his defense and landing blows on his chest.

Yet he only felt a sharp pain in his back as the force penetrated through his body and snapped the tree trunk behind him.

A coppery taste rose in Liang Qisheng's mouth, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

With the blood mist expelled, his chest felt much more comfortable.

The previously pent-up force was completely cleared, but his complexion was deathly pale—clearly, he had lost too much blood essence, and his spirit had become sluggish.

This brief exchange had exhausted him more than an entire night of practicing hard-style techniques.

"Not bad! At the mere Flesh Refining realm, crossing realms, you actually managed to withstand the Thirteen Flying Eagle Forms."

"For that, even if you die, you can be proud."

Shopkeeper Lin, perched on a tree branch, wore an expression as calm as ever.

Only the aura rising from his body seemed to push the surrounding air away.

"Pity that a skill like yours cannot be used by our Nine Harmonies Hall. Since you're a great enemy, you deserve to die!"

It was clear that when Shopkeeper Lin spoke these words, his expression was quite sincere.

Evidently, this was a recognition of Liang Qisheng's strength.

As a Tendon Refining martial artist, being unable to directly take down a junior of a lower realm was hardly a glorious matter.

If before he had looked at Liang Qisheng and already sensed a sharp edge being revealed, then now, after just a few dozen exchanges, he clearly felt that this man was different from other Flesh Refining martial artists.

Though young, this man had carved the Tiger Fist into his very marrow and refined it into his mind and spirit.

Fists and feet are easy to obtain, but spirit is hard to cultivate.

To bring a martial art's techniques to such a level—where the mind moves and the fist follows, able to wield the fist technique freely—was truly terrifying.

Even facing his relentless assault, the man revealed no openings, to the point that after this prolonged battle, Shopkeeper Lin still hadn't taken the junior's life.

This meant that the other party's mastery of this martial fist technique actually surpassed his own Great Eagle Claw Technique.

This genuinely shocked him, and it stirred his killing intent even stronger, more intense than before.

This man must die today; he could not allow someone like this to live.

Compared to Flesh Refining, Tendon Refining was not just a difference in realm—the difference in strength was also several hundred jin.

For a boxer practicing fists, a slight gap was the difference between heaven and earth.

Let alone such a vast disparity, which made battles between the two realms

sometimes like a force sweeping away all obstacles, easily suppressing a lower-realm martial artist.