Jiang Ning's Strength

Jiang Ning's Strength

Afterward.

The two clashed again.

Yet the longer they fought, the more alarmed Cheng Ran became.

Jiang Ning's movements were simply too agile, and there was no pattern to his attacks.

Especially the shifts between stillness and motion—his body and fists darted left and right, as if unbound by any inertia of force. It made Cheng Ran feel incredibly stifled.

He simply could not predict Jiang Ning's movements.

So this was the true strength of cultivating all five forms together? Technique could actually play such a huge role?

After Jiang Ning struck him in the chest once more, Cheng Ran could not help but have this thought.

The way he looked at Jiang Ning changed again and again.

He knew that if his qi and blood had not reached completion and flowed freely throughout his body, granting him a resistance to blows far beyond that of an ordinary person, those few strikes alone would have been enough to leave him unable to fight.

This first battle also gave Jiang Ning some insight.

Why had Wang Jin repeatedly told him that the Five Animals Fist ought to be cultivated in all five forms together?

Cultivating all five forms together made one outstanding in strength, explosive force, footwork, and speed. There were practically no weaknesses.

Though Cheng Ran was powerful, with qi and blood flowing freely throughout his body and over five hundred jin of force in one arm, capable of easily unleashing more than a thousand jin of force with every movement—

If Jiang Ning did not wish to meet him head-on, even Cheng Ran's full-force attacks found it difficult to hit him.

After the Ape Form Fist reached minor mastery, his footwork could be said to have attained a level of exquisite precision.

Even in close combat with Cheng Ran, he could make him miss by a hair and err by a thousand miles, while also seizing the openings when Cheng Ran's old force had faded and his new force had yet to arise.

Thus, Jiang Ning now realized that although Cheng Ran's explosive force was equal to his own, Cheng Ran was completely being pressed and beaten by him.

"Senior Brother Cheng, please go all out!" Jiang Ning said solemnly.

Seeing Jiang Ning's serious expression, Cheng Ran slowly nodded. "Very well. Junior Brother Jiang, be careful!"

As his words fell—

Cheng Ran moved again, utterly different from before, like heaven and earth apart.

With his qi and blood flowing freely throughout his body and his full strength unleashed, his speed suddenly increased by fifty percent.

With a sway of his body, he closed to within an arm's length of Jiang Ning.

Cheng Ran's arms suddenly whipped about like the wind, an immense oppressive force bearing down on Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning, too, circulated his qi and blood through more than one arm, striking as he retreated.

At that moment, Jiang Ning understood what it meant for one force to overcome ten techniques.

Cheng Ran's single-arm strength exceeded five hundred jin, more than twice Jiang Ning's own.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Ning found that even if he could seize the gap between Cheng Ran's old force fading and new force arising, needing to contend with only sixty or seventy percent of Cheng Ran's strength—

When their fists and legs collided, Cheng Ran's force still surpassed his by several times over.

He still could not withstand it head-on.

Every collision left Jiang Ning's arms aching and numb, while his body was steadily forced backward.

And with Cheng Ran erupting at full strength, the pressure was immense.

Jiang Ning had no way to unleash his full power at all. The force he hastily gathered only made Cheng Ran's arm sway slightly before it was completely neutralized.

Forced back into the corner, Jiang Ning leaped up. Like an agile white ape, he instantly appeared atop the courtyard wall.

"Senior Brother Cheng is indeed formidable. I am inferior!"

Standing on the wall, Jiang Ning cupped his fists.

Huff—

Huff—

Cheng Ran had now stopped his storm-like assault and was panting heavily.

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, Cheng Ran could not help but laugh bitterly to himself.

He had only managed this much by erupting with all his strength and using force to crush his opponent. Saying it aloud would be humiliating.

It seemed that he had won, but in truth, he had lost completely.

But now, he understood even more clearly that Jiang Ning's martial arts talent and fist technique talent far surpassed his own.

Then, he secretly felt fortunate.

Luckily!

Luckily, there were only around three months left until the Inspection Office opened.

If Junior Brother Jiang were given a year or half a year, Xiao Peng and I would not even need to compete. We could just give up directly.

"Now there are only three months left. No matter how astonishing Junior Brother Jiang's fist technique talent and comprehension may be, even if his fist technique reaches great mastery or even perfection and he grasps force—

—his qi and blood cannot possibly reach the level of completion, much less allow him to enter the Skin Tempering realm and unite skin and membrane.

These things all require the grinding work of water wearing through stone."

Thinking this, Cheng Ran felt immensely fortunate.

Fortunate that there were only barely three months until the Inspection Office opened.

He still had confidence competing on the same stage against Xiao Peng, whose qi and blood and fist technique were roughly on par with his own.

But after witnessing Jiang Ning's strength today, if he had to compete with him while their qi and blood were roughly equal, he had no confidence or assurance at all.

Afterward.

Cheng Ran steadied his rapid breathing, then looked up at Jiang Ning atop the wall, a strange light appearing in his eyes.

"Junior Brother Jiang has remarkable stamina. After such an intense battle, you are not even flushed or out of breath."

Jiang Ning smiled, leaping down from the wall and landing before Cheng Ran.

"With Senior Brother Cheng attacking like that, naturally your stamina expenditure was immense. I am different—I mainly fought while maneuvering, so my stamina expenditure was naturally lower."

"True!" Cheng Ran nodded, agreeing with the explanation.

But Jiang Ning knew in his heart that the reason he had not expended nearly as much as Cheng Ran was because his Inner Elixir Life-Nourishing Technique had already entered the introductory stage.

His internal organs had been tempered, granting him functions beyond those of ordinary people.

Therefore, an exchange of this intensity could not make him feel the exhaustion of depleted stamina.

Looking at the prompt that had long since appeared before him, he could not help but feel delighted.

[Five Animals Fist experience +1]

[Skill]: Five Animals Fist (Minor Mastery 50/500)

In just a few minutes of fighting, my Five Animals Fist experience increased by two points.

Battle truly was one of the ways to increase fist technique experience.

But my qi and blood did not increase!

Jiang Ning then closed the panel.

By then, Cheng Ran's breathing had gradually returned to normal.

He looked at Jiang Ning. "Junior Brother Jiang's overall realm in fist technique is above even Xiao Peng's. Sparring with you was indeed a wise choice. I feel that I gained a great deal!"

"So did I!" Jiang Ning said with a smile and a nod.

A moment later.

Watching Cheng Ran's departing figure, Jiang Ning fell into brief contemplation.

If I held a blade, with the advantage of my footwork and blade technique, could I defeat Senior Brother Cheng?

After briefly recalling their battle once more, Jiang Ning nodded slightly.

I should be able to!

With a sharp blade in hand, the advantages of footwork and technique outweighed the advantage of strength.

No matter how great one's strength was, so long as one had not entered the ranks of martial arts, one was still flesh and blood.

One slash would still leave blood splashing five paces away.

But what if Senior Brother Cheng were replaced by Xu Yunfeng?

Jiang Ning's gaze flickered as he sank into thought.

Senior Brother Cheng had already reached the level of qi and blood completion, flowing freely throughout his body. His single-arm strength exceeded five hundred jin, and he was on the verge of entering the ranks of martial arts.

Xu Yunfeng had likewise reached the level of qi and blood completion, flowing freely throughout his body.

But without question, Xu Yunfeng had to be stronger than Senior Brother Cheng.

After all, Xu Yunfeng was a constable of Luoshui County. He had surely experienced countless fights and killings, with abundant real combat experience.

Senior Brother Cheng was different. Like Jiang Ning himself, he was a flower raised in a greenhouse. With equal strength, if he faced Xu Yunfeng in a life-and-death struggle, he would undoubtedly lose to Xu Yunfeng.

With a blade in hand, I could probably defeat Senior Brother Cheng.

Jiang Ning then recalled that every time he had seen Xu Yunfeng, the latter had never been without his blade, his right hand always resting on the hilt at his waist.

He immediately shook his head slightly. "I may not yet be Xu Yunfeng's match!"

"I still need some time!" Jiang Ning murmured to himself.

(End of chapter)