One Palm (Please Keep Reading)

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

Thunder Boy smiled. "They're fish balls too, but better quality. I had these left over from when I trained on the second floor. There are three left—take them as a reward for last time."

"I couldn't possibly." Li Xiuwen hurriedly waved his hands. He was not close with Thunder Boy, and this was no small favor. He would have to repay it someday.

Thunder Boy laughed. "Why be so polite? Whenever I come to the martial arts hall during holidays, I give people good things whenever the mood strikes me. You came late, so you wouldn't know."

Huang Sihai spoke up. "A Wen, take them... They'll expire if no one eats them. What a waste."

Since his master had spoken, Li Xiuwen accepted them. Otherwise, he would be slighting Thunder Boy.

The others could not have been more envious. Their eyes practically flashed red and green like traffic lights.

Liu Chun remained silent, expressionless, her fists clenched tight.

She did not care about those three fish balls. What mattered more was that Li Xiuwen had gained the favor of the Three Heroes.

That meant the Three Heroes might intend to bring Li Xiuwen into their circle.

It meant a higher perspective and status, along with broader connections.

After two months of hard training and a considerable drain on her family's resources, Liu Chun was certain of victory. She had sworn to defeat everyone today and enter the second floor in one stroke.

Huang Sihai said, "Everyone's here. This year's first-floor martial meet can begin. I specially invited your senior brother back from the Learning Society, so perform well."

Xiao Tianhong smiled. "Junior brothers and sisters, don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Just do your best and leave no regrets. There will still be chances next year."

The rules were simple. Every first-floor disciple participating in the martial meet would spar with every other participant once. Whoever had the most wins would be victorious.

Twelve people had signed up in total, but everyone knew there were only three seeded contenders:

The top seed, Liu Chun. She had entered the Black Membrane stage several months ago, and her combat techniques had long since reached mastery. Her family was well-off, making her the ceiling of first-floor strength.

The second seed, Li Xiuwen. He had kept a low profile before, but his comprehension was excellent and his combat techniques had improved rapidly. He had become famous in a single battle during the earlier hall challenge.

The third seed, Silly Qiang. Blessed with natural divine strength, he was considered by many to be on roughly the same level as Li Xiuwen. There would likely be a fierce clash between them.

Everyone else, including A Zhen, was merely making up the numbers.

Li Xiuwen calmly watched the matches already underway in the arena.

To avoid being upset by a dark horse, he had fought every first-floor disciple over the past few days and confirmed that no one else was hiding their strength like he was.

"A Wen, are you confident?" Old Chen asked after taking a sip of tea.

"I don't know. I'll know after we fight." Li Xiuwen smiled.

Old Chen patted Li Xiuwen on the shoulder and smiled. "You became a disciple late, and your finances can't compare to Liu Chun's. You should prepare yourself mentally."

It was clear that even Old Chen, who got along best with Li Xiuwen, did not think highly of his chances.

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Chen. By the way... what do you know about the martial arts schools around Thousand-Buddha Mountain in Qizhou Prefecture?" Li Xiuwen asked casually.

Old Chen murmured, "The Lu Region, Thousand-Buddha Mountain... I'm not very familiar with it. I've only heard that Buddhist and Daoist schools flourish there, with grandmasters as numerous as clouds."

Li Xiuwen did not ask further. Old Chen was not omniscient, after all; there were always things he did not know. Li Xiuwen could only investigate in person when he had the chance.

Suddenly, the disciples began cheering Liu Chun's name. Liu Chun was taking the stage.

Her opponent was A Zhen.

"Senior Sister A Chun, go easy on me. I'm a girl, you know," A Zhen joked.

Liu Chun nodded confidently. "A Zhen, I'll give you ten moves. If you can land a single palm strike on me, I'll admit defeat."

The young woman was full of high spirits. Having suffered a crushing defeat against Longlegs Seven earlier, Liu Chun naturally wanted to show off as much as possible and win back some face.

A Zhen smiled sweetly. "Your words, not mine."

The two moved on the stage.

A Zhen's palm technique was soft and unceasing. It had clearly reached minor accomplishment as well.

Unfortunately, Liu Chun merely tapped lightly with her feet, slippery as a loach.

A Zhen threw ten moves without even touching her once.

"Excuse me!" Liu Chun closed in and sent out a palm, lightly pressing it against A Zhen's lower abdomen. A Zhen lost her balance and retreated off the arena.

A Zhen smiled. "What an impressive movement technique. Senior Sister Liu Chun learned one too... It really is nice to have money."

A Zhen could not help grumbling inwardly. Master Huang's claim that only those on the second floor could learn movement techniques was all a lie.

As long as the money was there, anyone could learn.

When the disciples saw that Liu Chun had learned a movement technique too, they could not help silently mourning the other seeded contenders.

"Liu Chun is invincible on the first floor."

"There's no suspense anymore. This has killed the competition. I was hoping A Wen could rely on his movement technique to contend with Liu Chun and perhaps defeat the strong while weak."

"With money powers, you can do whatever you want in Fragrant Sea."

The matches continued.

Li Xiuwen took the stage as well. He held back a little, defeating his opponents only after ten-odd moves each.

Though victory was already assured, he was still thinking of lulling Liu Chun into complacency and catching her off guard.

Seeing Li Xiuwen's performance, Liu Chun relaxed slightly. Against those weaklings Li Xiuwen faced, Liu Chun had finished them all with a single palm strike.

Only a few second-floor disciples, along with Huang Sihai and Xiao Tianhong, vaguely saw what was going on.

Xiao Tianhong whispered into Huang Sihai's ear, "A Wen looks slow, but every move is actually effortless. He entered the Black Membrane stage long ago, didn't he?"

Huang Sihai smiled faintly. "Yes. He's hiding something. He's probably trying to ambush Liu Chun... After all, his overall strength is still a level weaker, so he can only rely on a few clever tricks."

"Oh... a level weaker?" A strange gleam appeared in Xiao Tianhong's eyes. He smiled faintly and said nothing.

In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed.

On the scoreboard, Liu Chun, Silly Qiang, and A Wen were far ahead of the rest.

At last, the three of them were matched against one another.

The first match was Li Xiuwen versus Liu Chun.

The laziness vanished from his eyes, replaced by solemnity as he smiled and stepped onto the arena.

Liu Chun stepped up as well. "A Wen, I'm sorry, but I really need that second-floor spot. Wait until next year."

This was the first time she had spoken to Li Xiuwen in two months.

Li Xiuwen smiled. "Then let our hands decide the truth."

They moved at the same time.

Liu Chun unleashed the Thousand-Wave Floating Radiance movement technique. Her goal was to defeat Li Xiuwen within thirty moves.

Li Xiuwen charged straight at her instead. His right foot struck the ground, power rising from below and traveling through his skin, membranes, and muscles in waves before gathering in his right palm.

Shark Shadow Strike!

What level of cultivation does he have that he dares clash with me head-on?! I thought he would rely on his movement advantage to circle around me.

For a moment, Liu Chun was filled with uncertainty.

But there was no time for thought. Her callused palm shot out from her sleeve as she unleashed the Hard-Soft Palm as well.

"Then I'll crush you head-on!"

The forceful winds crossed, and flesh palms collided!

A wave of air burst outward. Li Xiuwen staggered back three steps.

Liu Chun, meanwhile, felt a terrifying force no weaker than Longlegs Seven's travel from her palm through her entire body.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Her tendons and bones exploded with sharp pops like bursting beans, and her blood and qi churned violently.

She stumbled back more than ten steps in a row before barely steadying herself at the edge of the arena. Opening her mouth, she spat out a huge mouthful of blood, her eyes bulging wide.

Without giving Liu Chun a chance to catch her breath, Li Xiuwen rushed in again. He raised his palm, and a fierce wind struck her face.

Liu Chun shut her eyes. Her body trembled, and despair filled her face.

Li Xiuwen stopped, his palm hovering three inches from Liu Chun's face without coming down.

After a pause, Li Xiuwen smiled. "We stop here. You lost, but don't lose heart. You're still young. It won't be too late to enter the second floor next year."

He withdrew his palm, turned around, and joked half-seriously, "I'm old. I have to make the most of my time."