"My friend, please!"
Jiang Nan wasted no time. Although his Battle Power was roughly equal to Pei Hu's, his actual combat experience was undoubtedly far inferior, so he held nothing back and launched an attack straight at Pei Hu.
Tang Fei saw only a blur before Jiang Nan was right in front of Pei Hu. Jiang Nan punched toward Pei Hu's chest, but Pei Hu simply turned sideways and dodged the attack.
Jiang Nan withdrew his fist and swept a whip kick toward Pei Hu's lower leg. Without panicking, Pei Hu raised his leg and blocked the attack with his knee.
Pei Hu easily neutralized Jiang Nan's first few attacks. Wanting to gauge Jiang Nan's abilities, he made no move to attack.
Jiang Nan suddenly stopped and cupped his fist. "Your strength truly is unfathomable, Brother Pei. Please don't hold back. I'm going all out now, too."
Pei Hu smiled. "All right. Come at me with everything you've got."
Jiang Nan tensed his entire body and lunged at Pei Hu again like a cheetah, his fists raining down. Below the platform, Tang Fei could no longer follow his movements.
Seeing Jiang Nan's speed increase so dramatically, Pei Hu dared not be careless and carefully countered his attacks.
Jiang Nan had never formally trained in martial arts, after all. His attacks lacked finesse; calling them wild flailing would hardly have been unfair. Pei Hu soon figured out his patterns. After blocking both his fists, Pei Hu drove his elbow forward, sending Jiang Nan staggering back.
Rubbing his aching chest, Jiang Nan's mind raced as he recalled their movements.
Jiang Nan realized that although his attacks were fast, his intentions were far too obvious. That was why Pei Hu could always anticipate his moves. Once he understood this, he charged forward again.
Now it was Pei Hu's turn to be startled. Jiang Nan stopped following predictable patterns, and his punches and kicks grew increasingly fierce. Pei Hu gradually began to feel the pressure as he defended.
After pushing Jiang Nan back again, Pei Hu shouted, "Watch out, Jiang Nan!"
Knowing that Pei Hu was about to get serious, Jiang Nan put himself on full alert. The two spectators below the platform had long since been left slack-jawed by the thrilling match.
"Winter Snowfall Palm!"
With a shout, Pei Hu unleashed both palms at Jiang Nan like a blizzard. Jiang Nan anxiously guarded against them with his arms. Each palm strike left his arms stinging, and his once-tight defense gradually began to open up.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His guard faltered, and Pei Hu landed three successive palm strikes on Jiang Nan's chest and stomach. Jiang Nan flew backward and crashed to the ground, sliding several more meters before coming to a stop.
"Thank you for the match, my friend!"
Pei Hu walked over with a smile and helped Jiang Nan up. Jiang Nan cupped his fist in return. "Your martial prowess is incredible, Brother Pei. You have my utmost admiration!"
"I can't compare with you youngsters anymore!" Pei Hu said modestly. "Youth has the advantage in a fight. I only managed to edge you out thanks to my experience. Give it a little more time, and I won't be a match for you."
Despite his calm appearance, Pei Hu was deeply shaken. In the few short minutes they had exchanged blows, Jiang Nan's fighting ability had improved at an astonishing rate. He had even forced Pei Hu to use his signature technique, proving that Jiang Nan possessed tremendous talent for combat as well.
Sure enough, everyone who becomes Master Roshi's disciple is a monster!
Jiang Nan said, "I've learned a great deal from sparring with you, Brother Pei. Today, I finally understood that there's always someone better out there."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Jiang Nan said he should head home.
"It's not far from here, so please don't trouble yourselves. A walk will help me loosen up anyway." Politely declining Pei Hu and the others' enthusiastic offers to see him home, Jiang Nan left the martial arts school alone.
"Dad, what do you think of Jiang Nan?" Pei Zheng asked his father after Jiang Nan had left.
Only then did Pei Hu rub his arms as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders. "That young man's future is limitless," he said gravely. "Zheng, you must build a good relationship with Jiang Nan. He seems inexperienced in the ways of the world. I shouldn't need to explain how to handle the social side of things."
"I understand." Pei Zheng nodded solemnly.
Tang Fei interjected, "Um, Uncle, I noticed you were treating Jiang Nan like a brother today. Does that mean Zheng and I have to call him Uncle Nan from now on?"
Pei Hu was speechless. He let out a heavy breath through his nose. "Your relationships are separate! A-Fei, stop messing around and learn from Zheng, understand?"
Seeing Pei Hu start lecturing again, Tang Fei hurriedly found an excuse to make himself scarce.
Just as Jiang Nan had expected, his Battle Power had surged through actual combat, reaching 85. But he knew the number did not represent his true fighting strength. Just moments earlier, once Pei Hu had unleashed his signature Winter Snowfall Palm, Jiang Nan had been utterly unable to defend himself.
I can't get complacent! I still need to keep training.
In the days that followed, Jiang Nan continued his weighted training and reaction drills. Disappointingly, however, once his Battle Power reached 90, he clearly felt he had hit a plateau. No matter how much he intensified his training, he could not break through again.
Pushing too far could backfire, so Jiang Nan simply stopped increasing his training load. He maintained a suitable level instead, waiting for the next qualitative leap.
During this time, Pei Zheng visited him several times. Seeing how cramped Jiang Nan's home was, Pei Zheng offered to give him a larger place. Jiang Nan was unwilling to accept such a gift for nothing and firmly refused on the spot.
Pei Zheng did not insist. There was plenty of time ahead. Showering someone with gifts too eagerly would only make them question his motives. He could slowly win Jiang Nan over later.
Tang Fei also came to see Jiang Nan often. Over time, Jiang Nan discovered that Tang Fei was different from Pei Zheng: he was simply a fool. Already in his early thirties, he spent his days doing things more suited to a teenage boy.
Sure enough, once his underlings recovered from their injuries, Tang Fei resumed running his Flying Dragon Gang, though he no longer harassed ordinary merchants.
Time flew by like this, and before he knew it, September had come around again.
That afternoon, Jiang Nan reckoned it was about time. He sat cross-legged on his bed and waited.
Ding! One year has passed since the last Battle Power doubling. Initiating Battle Power doubling!
A surge of power arose within Jiang Nan out of nowhere, making his muscles feel swollen.
"Battle Power doubling complete!" As the system spoke in a voice identical to Junjun's, Jiang Nan's Battle Power reached 180.
Was it finished already?
Jiang Nan clenched his fists. He could clearly feel how much stronger he had become. He threw a punch into the air, his lightning-fast fist slicing through it with an explosive crack.
As his Battle Power increased, Jiang Nan began to vaguely sense that the power within him had a tangible form. When he focused on it carefully, he could actually feel it moving through his body.
Could this be the legendary ki?
Jiang Nan tried gathering the energy within him at his fingertip, then thrust his finger forward. A streak of silver energy actually shot out of his body and struck the wall, blasting a small crater into it.
Fortunately, Jiang Nan had only been testing it lightly. Otherwise, he might have blasted straight through the wall!
Wasn't this the legendary Dodon Ray?!
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