Lian Youming's physique had now undergone a tremendous transformation. His sinews and bones grew stronger by the day, and his strength had increased enormously. Holding White Ape by the ankle, he swung him like a torn burlap sack. With a sweep of one arm, savage, overwhelming force hurled the man hard against the ground.
Caught off guard and robbed of the initiative, White Ape had no time even to scream before he slammed heavily into the ground, then bounced back into the air with a bang.
A dull, explosive crash rang through the woods.
"Argh!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed into the air.
But Lian Youming did not stop. Borrowing the force of the rebound, he swept his arm sideways again, sending the short man in his grip hurtling into one birch tree after another, striking them at the waist.
Smack!
Another sharp crack sounded. Lian Youming suddenly felt his wrist go numb-a kick had swept across it.
The short man tucked his legs up and covered his head, having broken free of his grip.
White Ape rolled several meters away and dropped to one knee. Shock and fury filled his eyes as he stared fixedly at Lian Youming, yet a trace of wariness was beginning to surface in their depths.
Standing beneath the moon, Lian Youming was simply too tall and powerfully built. At a glance, he looked just like a black bear in human form, his oppressive presence astonishing. Even Lei Hu outside fell short in sheer build. Coupled with the tremendous strength he had just displayed, he could not be underestimated even if he knew nothing of fighting.
White Ape cursed inwardly. He had grown too comfortable lately and never expected to fall for such a damned trick. After so many years roaming the martial world, he had capsized in a gutter.
Lian Youming flexed the wrist that had been kicked, circling on his feet. His expression was calm, but his eyes were exceptionally intent-so intent that they shone.
By his reckoning, this would be his first fight against a martial artist of this sort.
"Someone from the Taiji Gate?" Recalling the methods Lian Youming had just used, White Ape's expression grew extremely grave.
Martial prowess had its ranks, as did boxing, and naturally the various schools and sects had their own order of precedence.
In reputation alone, Taiji, Bagua, and Xingyi stood foremost among the internal martial arts.
Not only did they possess deep foundations, but they also had the greatest numbers of disciples. Even unorthodox experts of the martial world like them dared not provoke those schools lightly, for fear that killing a junior would bring out some terrifying old monster.
Lian Youming seemed to see what he was thinking and said mildly, "Relax. Mine's all stray-fox practice. No school, no sect. I just mess around with it for fun."
Lately, he had practiced by night and by day. Even while eating, sleeping, and working, he assumed the postures shown in the illustrated manuals. Whether he had established a foundation, he did not know, but his strength had certainly improved tremendously.
"Then you must be tired of living!"
White Ape's eyes widened slightly. Bracing both arms, he pushed off the ground with both feet and leaped up. He had been five or six meters away, yet that single bounding pounce brought him within two steps of Lian Youming. His long arm reached and hooked, his right hand stabbing viciously toward those shining eyes.
Lian Youming's gaze flickered. Seeing the man extend one hand for a long-range strike, he was about to parry when the corner of his eye twitched. He had spotted the man's other hand quietly gathering force, its fingers clenched into a fist.
The moon was dark, the wind high, and the two stood deep within the woods. As that claw swept in, Lian Youming suddenly found his vision darkening, more than half of it obscured. Then a murderous threat followed from his blind spot like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, striking straight for the vital point at his heart.
Well now. A reaching claw to cover the eyes, then a killing blow-was this how martial artists fought?
Yan Lingyun had explained it to him: internal martial arts had one set of methods for training and another for fighting. Training methods were fixed, but fighting methods were alive, because although the contest involved fists and feet, what truly competed were each fighter's ideas.
A signature skill someone had spent years painstakingly honing might settle victory or defeat in just one or two exchanges in a real fight.
These crucial methods of fighting were closely guarded secrets within the martial profession, the ultimate killing techniques that many great boxers and old masters kept at the bottom of their chests. They were taught only to true inheritors.
Though Lian Youming had obtained several training methods, his fighting methods remained lacking. He had no lethal signature technique.
"Hah!"
In a flash, White Ape's underhanded strike arrived, and he could not help letting out a derisive chuckle. This reaching claw could gouge out eyes, obscure an opponent's vision, or change midway into a killing move aimed at the throat. His other hand could adapt at any moment, striking or seizing, attacking only lethal points. Over his many years roaming the martial world, who knew how many people had died to this move?
A fight to the death had never been a matter of trading blows back and forth.
A sudden chill crept over Lian Youming's nape, as though he too had felt that terrifying killing intent clinging like an abscess to the bone. But... who was better than whom could hardly be decided by words. Only a real fight would tell.
If he lost his nerve before fighting, that would not mean his martial arts were inadequate. It would mean he himself was fucking inadequate.
A man lived on a single breath of spirit; he could not lose that fire in his heart.
Their hands would reveal the truth.
"Hmph!"
His thick eyebrows lifted as he drew a breath. Without retreating a step, he tilted his head away from the claw before his face. At the same time, he bent and raised his left elbow, driving it toward the crook of the short man's arm. His other hand quietly gathered force and met the incoming fist squarely.
Bang!
The two fists collided in midair with a crack like a firecracker.
With a ripping sound, the entire right sleeve of Lian Youming's clothing burst apart like a trumpet flower in bloom. His exposed right arm swelled, its muscles trembling incessantly.
As for the short man called White Ape, the sneer in his eyes had vanished. Both feet sank sharply, nearly plowing two shallow furrows through the ground as he resisted Lian Youming's fist. His expression was a sight to behold.
"Brat, you actually dared meet my fist head-on to test its force."
The two fists parted as soon as they touched. Lian Youming shook his slightly numb right hand and teased offhandedly, "Yes. Shame it wasn't much."
Having witnessed Xue Hen's and Third Brother Xie's methods, he found this man undoubtedly far inferior.
As he spoke, Lian Youming's expression suddenly turned icy. He exploded into action, sweeping both arms around to seize the short man's waist in the most primitive, brutal manner.
Since his opponent's force was not enough to kill him, he could not allow an open fight. This man was agile, leaping and bounding about; once he gained some distance, Lian Youming would certainly be forced onto the defensive.
Moreover, this embrace was an attempt to trade injury for injury and seize the initiative. Otherwise, against such a seasoned veteran, the longer the fight dragged on, the more openings he would expose. And since his own approach emphasized "defense," he naturally had to catch his opponent unprepared and defeat him through his ideas.
"Aaah!"
With a furious roar, Lian Youming overwhelmed him with sheer momentum, his killing aura surging wildly as he lunged like an old bear embracing a tree.
The short man was only a little over one meter sixty, both short and thin. His gaze trembled as he felt as though a mountain were collapsing toward him. The sight made his scalp prickle, and a strange "squeak" escaped his mouth, yet a savage, vicious grin appeared on his face.
Dangerous though this embrace was, it left Lian Youming wide open-the perfect chance to deliver a killing blow.
"Reckless brat, you're courting death!"
White Ape neither ducked nor dodged. Instead, he bent his legs slightly, drew force up from the ground, and drove a heavy punch straight into Lian Youming's chest.
All these changes happened extremely quickly.
Yet the instant the short man's fist struck home, the blood drained from his face. As the force of his punch landed, an odd, muffled thud sounded, like a cowhide drum struck beneath a quilt.
"External body conditioning?"
Even as that startled cry left his mouth, White Ape reacted with extraordinary speed. He pulled back both feet, trying to disengage and retreat. But Lian Youming had seized one of his legs earlier and battered him about, and it had yet to recover fully. He was already half a beat too slow.
Lian Youming's expression twisted with ferocity. Pouring all his strength into both hands, he pressed against the fist at his chest and swept his arms in hard once more. His ten fingers raked ten bloody furrows across White Ape's shoulders, tearing his clothing into strips as well. Then he locked his arms tight and charged forward with his captive in a terrifyingly domineering rush.
Several birches as thick as the mouth of a bowl snapped in succession, swept aside like rotten wood and dry stalks, before he hurtled straight toward a jutting boulder.
White Ape coughed up great mouthfuls of blood, but with his arms pinned and his body suspended in the air, he could not break free. Seeing the huge rock behind him drawing near, his expression turned crazed. He opened his mouth and spat, suddenly spraying a jet of blood over Lian Youming's eyes. Then he wrenched both arms with all his might, veins bulging across his face, and screamed hysterically, "Break!"
Blood had appeared at the corner of Lian Youming's mouth as well. As he strode forward, he suddenly felt heat across his eyes, and his vision turned crimson. Alarm surged in his heart, but in that single instant of distraction, his arms abruptly emptied.
White Ape had broken free.
Shit!!!
(End of chapter)
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