Who could have imagined that two people who had been enemies before would now join forces against a foe?
Lian Youming had not expected it.
Third Brother Xie had expected it even less.
"This man is a Shaolin outcast, taught by an eminent Shaolin monk who went overseas. Not only is he proficient in the Shaolin Five Elements Fist, he also acquired an Iron Shirt training method. His Ming Jin is fully developed. Be careful."
Hearing Third Brother Xie's words, Lian Youming's eyes flickered. "Ming Jin?"
Third Brother Xie grinned. "What, the Mountain-Guarding Old Man never taught you how to distinguish the experts of the martial world? Told you long ago to stick with me. Stumped now, aren't you?"
Lian Youming did not answer. Yan Lingyun had also mentioned a few things about the paths these martial artists followed. There should be three training methods.
They were Ming Jin, Dark Jin, and Hua Jin.
These three methods had no prescribed sequence, nor were they ranked realms. As for which was stronger or weaker, that depended on how deeply one's own attainment had developed.
Again, victory and defeat were never decided by words, much less by appearances.
Some were full of cunning, some possessed powerful physiques, some had declining, depleted blood and Qi, and some were sinister and crafty, stopping at nothing. In a fight to the death, those who observed rules as Xue Hen and Gong Wuer did were probably few and far between. Timing, scheming, surroundings, adaptability, and even other external factors could all be the key to deciding victory or defeat.
That white ape had been quite skilled, yet had he not capsized in a gutter all the same?
In short, old or weak, young or strong, women or children, Daoists or monks-in the comings and goings of the martial world, who truly surpassed whom could only be known after a fight.
And the Mountain-Guarding Old Man had said that "Coiling Silk Force" was a Hua Jin training method.
At the time, Lian Youming had only felt that it sounded easy but was difficult to practice.
Recently, he had gained insight into many principles of fist arts. As it turned out, in a martial artist's eyes, the human body was born stiff and clumsy. Sinews and bones, flesh and blood, limbs and every bone in the body-all were shackles binding oneself. Just as an ordinary person went from toddling to walking, running, and jumping, from clumsiness to agility, every step was a process of breaking shackles and transforming clumsiness into skill.
This process reached its peak when a person grew into a vigorous young adult, because that was when blood and Qi were abundant and sinews and bones were strong.
But once that peak was passed and age began to show, it was like the sun sinking in the west. The body would grow increasingly sluggish, the shackles would return, and one would be trapped in a cage, until movement became slow and even taking a step became difficult.
What martial artists sought was to use "kung fu" to extend this process of "transforming clumsiness into skill," intending to break free completely from the cage imprisoning them, or to slow the decline of blood and Qi.
Thus, most martial artists began laying their foundations when their bodies first took shape, simply because the shackles were weak then.
As for what these shackles actually were, in Lian Youming's present understanding, they consisted of individual barriers within the human body and encompassed many things.
For an ordinary person, these included, for example, the gaps between bones and changes in sinew and muscle. Though the body's joints could move, they were limited to various angles and were also pulled and constrained by sinews and muscles. Strongmen, for instance, might have burly frames, powerful sinews, and sturdy bones, yet their movements were clumsy. Dancers, meanwhile, had supple bodies and could usually perform movements ordinary people could not, but sacrificed strength.
But these were all things on the surface, things that could be seen.
In the unseen places within the body, Lian Youming could already feel his force rising from his spine, only to diminish rapidly as it traveled to his hands. Presumably, this was his Inner Strength being obstructed by those barriers.
Then there were the strength of blood and Qi, the circulation of internal breath, changes in blood and marrow, and the strengthening of sinews and bones-all were for breaking through these barriers and completely shattering one's shackles.
Thus, in Lian Youming's view, these three training methods had emerged precisely because the human body possessed all manner of barriers.
The depth of one's mastery depended on how many barriers one had broken.
If every barrier was opened, force could penetrate the entire body, uniting essence, Qi, and spirit as one and bringing one's training to fruition.
Returning to the matter at hand, Lian Youming shifted his thoughts and moved his feet, taking up a flanking position with Third Brother Xie and trapping Lei Hu between them.
In the firelight, Lei Hu's face looked savage. His disheveled, shoulder-length hair resembled a golden-red lion's mane, while his hands were black and hard as iron, covered in calluses. A terrifying murderous presence spread invisibly from him, like a ferocious beast in human form.
"Hmph, then I'll simply send both of you on your way together!"
As his words fell, Lei Hu stamped one foot and twisted at the waist. Like a pouncing leopard, his whole body stretched into a bow. Raising his right arm, he actually attacked first, bringing his fist smashing toward Lian Youming.
Fast!
Not only was this man burly, his movements were not slow in the slightest. Perhaps he feared the two would attack together and so struck first.
Watching that savage, terrifying face rapidly approach, Lian Youming's heart jolted. Without thinking, he held his saber across his body.
Bang!
But as the force of the punch crashed down, an explosive report rang out, and the steel saber in Lian Youming's hands actually bent inward, twisting into an exaggerated arc.
Good grief.
Yet there was little panic on Lian Youming's face. He released the hilt and retreated, while an unmistakably clear toad's croak sounded in his chest and belly.
Facing Lei Hu's ugly expression, he quietly curled the left hand hanging at his side, leaving a hollow in his palm as he formed a hammer-like fist.
Though the Mountain-Guarding Old Man had never taught Lian Youming this "Tai Chi Hammer," back in that dark chamber he had somehow used it in a moment of desperation. Though he had merely copied its outward form and produced something neither fish nor fowl, he had unexpectedly discovered that if the force of this "Silk-Coiling Hand" spiraled, drew inward, and abruptly contracted, it possessed extraordinary penetrating power.
Today was a good chance to try it out.
Third Brother Xie, meanwhile, circled around behind, looking for an opening. Who would have thought that Lei Hu would suddenly use the force of the rebound to abandon Lian Youming and lunge at him instead?
"Old bastard, die!"
With a furious roar, Lei Hu smashed out a fist. His single arm moved with wild, overbearing power, his swollen right arm like a writhing python propelling his enormous fist forward. The wind of his punch shrieked piercingly.
But a figure followed close like an ulcer clinging to bone, stepping swiftly into the gap.
Lian Youming's expression was grave, his eyes shining, with even a trace of excitement. His left hand darted out and lightly settled onto Lei Hu's fist. Spreading his fingers, he seemed to knead and press, actually wrapping the other man's attack in a spiraling force and drawing it before himself.
He naturally knew he was no match for Third Brother Xie in offense, but in defense, perhaps he could hold out for a few moves.
And this move was modeled on the stance Gong Wuer had used to intercept Xue Hen.
He had no master anyway. He learned whatever he saw, so long as it worked.
"Good lad!"
Third Brother Xie immediately felt the pressure ease considerably. He gave a long, piercing cry, high and sharp as an eagle calling in the nine heavens, while his eagle claws struck in succession at four or five vital points on Lei Hu's throat, chest, armpit, waist, and belly.
His attacks were as fast as lightning, each move rising and falling in one unbroken breath.
Yet though they looked as smooth as flowing clouds and running water, they made Lian Youming's eyelids twitch wildly.
What was going on?
Was this old bastard putting on an act for me?
Every time Third Brother Xie's move landed and his finger force dug in, it actually left only a shallow dent in Lei Hu's flesh and a white mark. It did not even break the skin. Even a lethal weak point like the throat proved difficult to injure.
Looking at Lei Hu again, his Adam's apple shifted slightly, and the muscles and sinews all over his body immediately seemed to come alive, knotting and tightening like solid rock. Tendons bulged outward from his flesh like earthworms, his blood and Qi blazed with tremendous vigor, his bones crackled, and his presence was incomparably violent.
Lei Hu looked mocking as he stared fixedly at Lian Youming. "Let's see you block this!"
As he spoke, his fists were already smashing toward Lian Youming's chest like a flurry of hammers, their wind striking the air with muffled pops.
Holding his breath in his mouth, Lian Youming had no attention to spare. Watching the fists swinging toward him, he merely gave a muffled grunt and swung his own fists to meet them.
Third Brother Xie changed his moves as well. Seeing that his opponent's vital points were difficult to injure, he ducked low, his claws grabbing and seizing in succession. Catching Lei Hu's right leg, he reached straight upward toward the space between his thighs. Blood and Qi surged through his fingers, which looked rigid as iron, sinews and bones standing out.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Beneath the frenzied blur of fists, blood droplets instantly scattered, and dull impacts rumbled like thunder.
After just this exchange, Lian Youming realized he had misunderstood Third Brother Xie.
These fists were practically cast from bronze and forged from iron, and each carried fierce, hard punching force like a spear or awl stabbing forward, assailing him relentlessly like a raging storm.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged seven or eight punches. Lian Youming felt his chest and belly burning, his blood and Qi churning as though about to surge upward against their flow. Both his fists were also flecked with blood.
And Third Brother Xie?
One of his hands had actually been clamped between Lei Hu's legs. Just as his other hand was about to reach out, Lei Hu twisted his legs, changing position and neutralizing the attack at the same time.
Lian Youming thought things were going badly. Could this old ghost Xie be holding back, hoping the two of them would maul each other so he could pick up the spoils?
"Cough, cough..."
In this brief span, as his breath shook, a jet of blood burst chokingly from his nostrils.
Just as he was about to be beaten back, Lian Youming's tiger-like eyes suddenly widened, as though he had seen something utterly inconceivable.
Behind Lei Hu, a short, thin figure sprang silently up, swift as a ghost, his face vicious and ferocious, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
It was actually Third Brother Xie.
Hadn't he been trapped?
Before there was time to react, Third Brother Xie curled the five fingers of his left hand inward and raked them across Lei Hu's face like lightning.
Looking closely, Lei Hu's face was contorted, a claw mark stretching across it. Lines of blood streamed rapidly down his cheeks. His left eye was wide open, while his right had been clawed blind.
And Third Brother Xie had only one arm left.
He had actually severed his own arm.
Lei Hu first froze for a moment, then came a sound.
"Aah!"
A heart-rending scream rang through the night sky.
Having landed his attack, Third Brother Xie advanced rather than retreating. With a strange laugh, he pounced onto Lei Hu's shoulder, curled his left leg around, and reached out again with his remaining hand.
His leg wrapped around the neck; his hand reached for the other eye.
Another killing move.
"Die!"
(End of chapter)
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