With a muffled thud, two fists collided.
Pan Long frowned and swayed before steadying himself. The man he had struck grimaced in pain and retreated over a hundred feet in one breath, wind whipping around his feet.
Only after putting some distance between them did he look at his right hand. The skin of his fist had split and was bleeding, and even the bones of his fingers showed through.
"What a hard fist!" the Heavenly Secret Bureau Commandant cried despite himself. "This man is the perfect counter to me!"
He glanced around, then shouted to a young man who was steadily driving back two masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought with punches and kicks: "Military Commander, only you can face this man!"
At those words, wind surged around the young man's fists. With a booming blow, he forced the two masters back, then rode the wind toward Pan Long.
In the time those few words took, Pan Long had already shattered another True Person Realm Commandant's stance with a punch. Blood seeped from the man's nose and mouth; one more blow would turn his light injuries into grave ones, if it did not kill him outright.
But when the young man arrived and their fists and feet met, Pan Long could not help being startled.
This man's fists and feet seemed even harder than his own!
He had begun by practicing external martial arts and had always placed great importance on forging his body. Later came the Nine-Turn Mysterious Art and a round of Body Tempering through the Heavenly Stellar Force and Earthly Baleful Force. His body had long since grown far tougher than an ordinary martial artist's. Unless someone was a freak blessed with extraordinary gifts, there was no telling how much hardship and how much blood