Hopeless

Duan Xuan and Song Dayuan assumed their stances at the same time. Though both used the Broken Mountain Fist stance, Duan Xuan's posture looked far more agile.

Song Dayuan, on the other hand, was rather rigid. Every movement followed exactly what Chen Feng had taught him back then, without the slightest alteration.

Neither spoke. When Wu Hui shouted for them to begin, Duan Xuan attacked first, while Song Dayuan, unsurprisingly, took up a defensive posture.

Seeing this, Duan Xuan drew upon his Manifest Force and opened with the first move of the Broken Mountain Fist, Break Ground.

This was a move meant to probe an enemy's true capabilities, especially against an opponent who assumed a defensive stance from the outset.

It was the most suitable choice, capable of sounding out the depths of one's opponent.

With a bang, Duan Xuan's fist shot forth like a cannonball.

It slammed viciously into Song Dayuan's wrists. The two currents of Manifest Force intertwined, faintly stirring an invisible ripple.

Song Dayuan's wrists visibly reddened, yet his face remained expressionless.

Though the pain forced him to retreat slightly, his defensive fist frame remained in place, without the slightest disorder.

When his first strike failed to land, Duan Xuan crouched low and sharply twisted his waist.

The second form, Split Stone, shot straight out. His arms drew left and right like a bow, both fists carrying the force to shatter mountains.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bursts of force howled through the air.

Song Dayuan defended actively. No matter how many punches Duan Xuan threw, he held firm to the Broken Mountain Fist frame, his feet rooted in the Broken Mountain Fist stance.

Like a great mountain, he intended to use this ultimate defense to buy time for his blood and qi to rise.

A full set of Split Stone failed to succeed, and the third form, Ape Severing, immediately followed.

It was at that moment that Song Dayuan moved. That honest, simple figure instantly became a moving wall.

With only an arm's length between them, the plain muscles on his body seemed like ancient trees, tightly interwoven together.

His punches were not as fast as Duan Xuan's, but after one or two years of honing these moves through practice,

they had acquired a distinctive rhythm.

Likewise, he used Break Ground.

Just then, Duan Xuan raised his blood and qi, along with his momentum,

from the initial stage of Manifest Force to the middle stage of Manifest Force.

The pressure between them immediately compressed, and the atmosphere turned tense in an instant.

A rapid series of bang, bang, bang collisions rang out.

Song Dayuan unleashed everything from Break Ground to Break Wall in one breath. The clash was so exhilarating

that Wu Hui watched with a sour thrill in his heart, but Duan Xuan shook his head.

After briefly separating, Duan Xuan directly used the third move, Peak-Crusher, and his momentum continued to rise.

Though he kept his strength suppressed at the middle stage of Manifest Force, with the first form of Peak-Crusher, Rage Charge, enhancing him,

the might it unleashed was far greater than that of an ordinary middle-stage Manifest Force practitioner.

This move required one to abandon defense and attack with everything one had. So long as one could withstand the opponent's damage

and one's own expenditure of stamina and blood and qi, the final outcome would surely be victory for one's side.

Yet Song Dayuan still dutifully used the second move, Mountain Rift. Drill Split, Mountain Sweep, and Rupture flowed forth in a continuous chain.

He gave no thought at all to what the battle required. Every motion was rigid and methodical, as though he were a precise instrument that could not permit itself a single error.

Meanwhile, Duan Xuan had already completed the rise of his blood and qi and force. When the two clashed again,

no matter how ferocious Drill Split appeared, Duan Xuan's fist carried solid, genuine force.

With a bang, Song Dayuan finally felt pain.

Screech—

His cloth shoes dragged black marks across the ground as he was forced back more than two meters.

From that single blow, Song Dayuan felt his arm go numb and weak, as though he could no longer exert any strength.

He did not understand why. He merely shook his hand and continued to meet Duan Xuan's incoming fists.

He rushed forward head-on, yet his feet shifted as he turned, swiftly withdrawing his hand. This was the feint of Mountain Rift.

How could Duan Xuan fail to see through his intentions? The instant Song Dayuan's attack missed, Duan Xuan lashed out with his right foot.

Song Dayuan's fist, which had just gathered force from the side, did not even get the chance to strike before he was forced to clamp his arms together in defense.

In almost an instant, Duan Xuan's entire body drew tight, and his freed left hand tore through the air.

As his blood and qi continued to surge forth and his momentum steadily climbed, he directly linked into the second form of the third move, Wave Severing.

Layer upon layer, wave upon wave, it came without end, while the might of each strike multiplied continuously.

Once, twice—Song Dayuan raised his arms to block, mustering every ounce of strength in his body. At first, the wounds he suffered merely itched.

But when Duan Xuan threw his fifth consecutive punch, blood was already seeping from the corner of Song Dayuan's mouth.

Even his ancient-tree-like arms had been battered until the muscles slackened, leaving them covered in bloody marks.

He still wanted to defend. He had simply abandoned the first four words of the Broken Mountain Fist's creed entirely: press forward without fear.

Watching from the side, Wu Hui stamped his feet anxiously, but he could not say anything.

Duan Xuan felt his own force swell. Though he was only at the middle stage of Manifest Force, he already possessed the might of the late stage of Manifest Force.

With a swish, his fist stopped beside Song Dayuan's ribs.

Powerful blood and qi scattered outward, heavily shoving Song Dayuan away.

Yet it did not harm his bones, nor did it damage his skin.

"Why... did you stop fighting?" Song Dayuan panted heavily, utterly confused.

Duan Xuan merely shook his head. Wu Hui said from the side, "Brother Song, you lost!"

"How could I have lost? I was defending!

"I've practiced this defense for half a year. I could definitely hold it! Earlier, I blocked so many attacks from Junior Brother Duan with the might of Hidden Force.

"How could I possibly fail to block this one?"

Song Dayuan immediately grew angry, his face flushing red.

He felt that the two of them were deceiving him. He had clearly blocked so many Hidden Force attacks just now.

There was no reason he could not withstand that final blow.

He even believed that as long as he blocked it, light would await him—his moment to turn the tables.

Wu Hui hurriedly fanned Song Dayuan to cool him down. "Brother Song, stop being so stubborn.

"Junior Brother Duan never used Hidden Force at all. From beginning to end, he only used Manifest Force cultivation.

"Could you truly not feel that Junior Brother Duan's force and strength were steadily rising?

"He understood that you wanted to use him as a whetstone.

"So he rose from the initial stage of Manifest Force to the middle stage to test your strength.

"But in the end..."

"In the end, he did not even use the strength of the late stage of Manifest Force, did he?" Song Dayuan looked at Duan Xuan as if seeking confirmation. The latter silently nodded.

In that instant, Song Dayuan seemed to have all strength drained from his body. He staggered and sat down on the ground.

"Senior Brother Song, the creed of the Broken Mountain Fist is: press forward without fear, never give up.

"But it is wrong to take any four words out on their own.

"You cling stubbornly to never giving up, yet forget to press forward without fear. That makes your punches insufficiently fierce and insufficiently fast.

"It makes your punches hesitant.

"Yet the fist techniques you use press forward without fear, which is another extreme altogether.

"Though martial arts have their set forms, real combat demands adaptability.

"I can tell that your strength is in the middle to late stage of Manifest Force.

"You did not lose to me. You lost to the cage you drew around yourself!"

Song Dayuan's head buzzed. He could not take in a single word, and tears simply would not stop streaming down his face.

Wu Hui's nose stung at the sight. All three people present knew that Song Dayuan had no hope of reaching Hidden Force in this lifetime.

Wu Hui helped Song Dayuan to his feet. The latter cried and laughed at once, wiping at his tears while snot and everything else remained on his face.

"Junior Brother Duan, you must keep walking this path of martial arts for me. You must, you must..."

Watching the two figures leave, Duan Xuan remained silent for a long time.

Only when the night breeze gently brushed across his face did Duan Xuan suddenly come back to himself.

He gathered his things and headed home with incomparably heavy steps.