True Tai Chi Fist

A sudden voice rang out, startling everyone present.

They turned to see a slender, handsome young man slowly emerge from the back of the Tai Chi Fist group. The composure on his face seemed entirely at odds with his age.

"Another one with a death wish?" The young man in black on the platform glanced at Jun Wangchen, his face thick with contempt.

As far as he knew, the only capable member of the Tai Chi Fist group was their captain, Chen Fan. He had never even heard of Jun Wangchen, who was presumably another nobody among them.

Why would an ant like that deserve his attention?

The students in the Taekwondo group also looked at Jun Wangchen with disdain when he stepped forward.

Honestly, judging by how frail Jun Wangchen looked, a single punch from the young man in black would probably leave him with lasting injuries.

Sending someone like him out was nothing but filling a spot and courting death!

Among the Tai Chi Fist students, the eldest of their roommates, Zhang Zhengxiao, watched Jun Wangchen approach the platform. After a moment of surprise, his expression changed dramatically, and he shouted, "Fourth, what are you doing? Get back down here!"

He and Jun Wangchen had only ended up in Tai Chi Fist because they had chosen their PE classes at random. To put it bluntly, neither of them had ever seriously studied it.

In terms of fighting ability, they probably couldn't even beat some of the girls, while the man on the platform was an expert even their captain, Chen Fan, couldn't defeat.

If challenging an expert like that wasn't courting death, what was?

"Jun, you're no match for him. Don't try to act tough!" Chen Fan's expression also shifted as he called out to stop him.

As captain of Jinling University's Tai Chi Fist team, he knew every member's ability well. Jun Wangchen couldn't even execute the basic movements perfectly. Expecting him to defeat the formidable opponent on the platform was as absurd as plucking the moon from the sky with his bare hands.

"Did you hear that? Even your captain told you not to embarrass yourself." Another burst of mocking laughter came from the Taekwondo group.

They weren't worried about the outcome at all. After all, even Chen Fan, the strongest in the opposing group, had lost to their young man in black. Jun Wangchen stepping up was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a carriage.

"How will we know the outcome unless we try?" Unmoved by the Taekwondo group's contempt, Jun Wangchen calmly walked onto the platform.

The young man in black was a little surprised. He couldn't imagine what gave Jun Wangchen the confidence to stand there and challenge him. Was this what they meant by a newborn calf having no fear of tigers?

What on earth is Fourth thinking? Zhang Zhengxiao grew anxious as Jun Wangchen walked onto the platform, ignoring every warning.

Jun Wangchen was usually so sharp. Why did he seem like a completely different person today? He wasn't particularly sturdy to begin with, and the young man in black struck with such speed and ferocity that a few bandages wouldn't be enough to deal with a single punch.

Beside him, Chen Fan was about to try dissuading Jun Wangchen again when Huang Shihu waved a hand, his eyes gleaming. "Let Jun go. If he dares to step onto the platform, he must have something to rely on."

"Well... all right!" Chen Fan opened his mouth, then finally gave up.

Jun Wangchen, I hope you won't blame us later. You chose this path yourself, so you'll have to bear the consequences.

On the platform, the young man in black stared at Jun Wangchen as though looking at an ant.

"Kid, you still dared to come up after your captain lost. I have to admit, you've got guts."

Jun Wangchen smiled calmly. "I think so too."

"Do you?" The young man in black narrowed his eyes and sneered. "You won't think that in a moment!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged toward Jun Wangchen with overwhelming momentum. Bending his arm and closing his open hand into a fist, he drove a punch straight at Jun Wangchen's face.

Once again, the punch was incredibly fast and fierce. With Jun Wangchen's reaction speed, dodging was already impossible.

Sure enough, Jun Wangchen didn't dodge. Instead, he suddenly stamped his foot against the ground, and an imposing aura seemed to envelop him.

His hands quietly extended, tracing circles in the air as though feeling an invisible ball. His movements seemed to merge with the wind, becoming soft and gentle, yet giving the impression of boundless power hidden within, ready to surge out at any moment.

The instant he raised his hands, Jun Wangchen's entire presence transformed. One foot traced an elegant, unworldly arc across the ground. Though the movement looked light, anyone struck by it would surely take a nasty fall.

At that moment, Jun Wangchen's hands and eyes moved in harmony. With his waist as the pivot, he stepped like a cat, his solid and yielding movements indistinguishable. His form resembled a swan striking a rabbit, his focus a cat catching a mouse. Still as a mountain and moving like a river, he stored force like drawing a bow and released it like loosing an arrow.

The instant the young man's fist struck, an invisible force suddenly gathered, absorbing all the power of the punch like a sponge.

"What?" The young man's eyes bulged in utter shock.

His punch had indeed hit Jun Wangchen, but it felt as though he had struck a vast ocean, leaving his strength nowhere to take effect.

The spectators below also looked puzzled. Logically, such a vicious punch should at least have had some effect on Jun Wangchen, even if it hadn't seriously injured him.

Only Huang Shihu's eyes suddenly widened, his face filled with astonishment. "Energy is nurtured upright without harm; force is stored through curves with strength to spare... Jun Wangchen has actually mastered 'Receiving Force'?"

Receiving Force was an advanced skill founded on rooted sinking force. When an opponent struck swiftly in any manner, the practitioner could receive all the force generated by the attack without suffering the slightest injury.

Receiving Force was the essence of Tai Chi Fist. It emphasized the body following the intent, using intent rather than brute strength, uniting intent and energy, sinking energy into the lower abdomen, and seeking stillness within motion while combining the two.

Mastering Receiving Force meant mastering the advanced skills of Tai Chi Sparring.

However, Receiving Force was extremely difficult. It took years of practice to master, and some people never reached that level in their entire lives. Even he had only developed rooted sinking force. Receiving Force was still far beyond his reach.

As he remembered it, Jun Wangchen had never displayed any talent for Tai Chi Fist in class. He had been more like a child learning to speak and taking his first unsteady steps. How could he now have mastered even Receiving Force?

On the platform, Jun Wangchen stood quietly in place, his expression calm, showing no intention of attacking.

Practical Tai Chi combat was like waging war: if the opponent remained still, so did you; if the opponent moved slightly, you moved first. Once in motion, nothing remained unmoving; once still, nothing remained unresting.

Seeing Jun Wangchen's calm demeanor, the young man in black scowled. "Don't think you're anything special just because you blocked one attack. I won't hold back this time!"

"Oh? Then come on!" Jun Wangchen smiled faintly and beckoned. Then he set his feet shoulder-width apart, bent his knees slightly, and raised his hands as though embracing a tree too thick for his arms to encircle.

"Damn you!" Humiliated and enraged by Jun Wangchen's contempt, the young man in black stamped hard against the ground and shot forward like the wind.

This time, he held nothing back, unleashing his full speed and strength.

The spectators saw only a black blur flash past. By the time they could react, the young man in black had circled behind Jun Wangchen, his massive fist radiating a chilling menace.

"Fourth, dodge!" Zhang Zhengxiao's expression changed drastically as the heavy punch came hurtling in.

If that savage blow landed on Jun Wangchen, even if it didn't cause severe bleeding, he would at least be spending a good while in a hospital room.

Chen Fan and the Tai Chi Fist students watched with their hearts in their throats. Jun Wangchen had been lucky enough to receive the first punch, but could he work another miracle this time?

"Ward off, roll back, press, and push with care; let upper and lower follow as one, denying entry. Let him strike with enormous strength; four ounces can turn aside a thousand pounds." With danger upon him, Jun Wangchen remained unhurried. His eyes gently closed, and he seemed like an ark drifting on the sea.

"We've won!" Everyone in the Taekwondo group broke into triumphant smiles. To them, Jun Wangchen had clearly decided he couldn't evade the ferocious punch and had already given up resisting.

Yet just as the young man's fist came within a centimeter of Jun Wangchen's head, Jun Wangchen suddenly crouched as though he had eyes in the back of his head.

The vicious punch skimmed past Jun Wangchen's shoulder, striking outward without actually hitting him.

"So fast!" The young man's pupils contracted. Despite his shock, his movements remained sharp. He bent his arm and brought his elbow crashing down.

"With energy comes no brute force; without it comes pure hardness. Seemingly relaxed, yet not relaxed; about to extend, yet not extended. The movement breaks, but the intent remains." Jun Wangchen stayed composed as the core principles of Tai Chi Fist flashed through his mind. At the same time, his previously motionless hands quietly shifted.

Receiving Force slowly emerged through his left hand, greedily absorbing every bit of power from the young man's fist like a sponge soaking up water.

His right hand seized the young man's fist with lightning speed. Leaning backward, he drove his shoulder into the young man's chest with fierce, unrestrained force.

That slight collision struck heavier than a mountain. Immense power, enough to uproot mountains and lift mighty cauldrons, swept through the young man's body, shaking him so badly that he nearly spat out blood.

Immediately after the impact, Jun Wangchen swiftly released the young man's right hand. Under the immense force of the collision, the young man flew backward like a kite with a severed string.

"Damn it, stop!" Enduring the searing pain in his chest, the young man roared. Only after both feet gouged deep tracks beneath him on the platform did he finally halt.

Yet before he could counterattack, Jun Wangchen had somehow closed the distance. A Tai Chi Fist push-hands movement settled gently against his body.

Unable to react in time, the young man in black was carried by his momentum straight off the platform.

The entire crowd fell dead silent!

Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded, their eyes filled with shock.

The young man in black, the Taekwondo captain, had actually been defeated... by a frail-looking kid?!