The moonlit night over the Gulf of Tonkin was steeped in the salty, fishy wind.
Li Qingshan stood barefoot on the reef, his toes gripping the oyster shells in its crevices.
Seawater washed over his ankles, carrying the biting chill of late autumn into his pores.
But the Qi and blood beneath his skin were already circulating like a furnace. The moment the cold touched him, it steamed into a fine mist.
He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing, the tip of his tongue resting lightly against the roof of his mouth.
His spine rose and fell slowly like a great dragon lying dormant, and each time he lowered his shoulders, his Jianjing acupoints tingled faintly.
It was the thirteenth day since Sister Chen had left. Ever since learning the Dragon-Snake Joint Strike in the park, he had come here to practice his fists every day.
"Let the horse be the dragon, galloping across the waves; let the spear be the snake, its coiling force as fine as silk."
He murmured Sister Chen's parting instruction, and as his Adam's apple bobbed, his breathing fell into rhythm with the waves.
He suddenly moved, spreading his legs shoulder-width apart and planting himself firmly in the horse stance of Xingyi Fist.
As he pushed his knees outward, his quadriceps swelled like iron, and Hidden Jin sank down his thighbones to the soles of his feet.
The seawater beneath the reef shuddered into fine ripples, and several small fish darted away in panic.
His right fist punched through the air like a startling thunderclap, howling as it struck at an oncoming wave.
While his knuckles were still three inches from the crest, an invisible force suddenly pressed a dent into the seawater.
With a muffled smack, the wind from his fist collided with the water, sending spray as high as half a person.
It was the Dragon-Snake Joint Strike.
The Crystal Visualization Method ran to its limit in his sea of consciousness.
His mental power spread out like a fine spiderweb, and the flight of every droplet within three hundred meters registered clearly in his perception.
Even the angles at which droplets bounced back when the waves struck the reef registered without the slightest error.
His left palm slashed diagonally outward, its edge carrying a spinning force that drew a continuous line through the water.
The wind from his palm swept across the surface of the reef, shearing off several fingernail-sized chips of stone.
The instant the chips fell into the water, his footwork shifted into the Bagua Mud-Wading Step.
His left foot ground against the rock, and his right stepped out with the motion, his body spinning like a top around an enormous incoming wave.
His robes fluttered, yet not a single drop of seawater touched the front of his clothes.
His body rose and fell among the waves, his feet landing each time in the gaps between the troughs.
It was as though he were riding the wind through empty air, or walking upon the waves.
His Hidden Jin had reached the point where it was about to flow through his entire body.
His spine rose and fell at will.
"Transformation Jin requires you to 'move your force in a circle and listen for your opponent's center of gravity.' What you still lack is 'seamless integration.'"
Sister Chen's voice seemed to echo in his ears.
Li Qingshan drew back his fist and took a breath. Just as he was about to try circulating his Hidden Jin in a circle in his dantian, he suddenly stopped.
The sound of his palm wind striking the water was especially clear in the silent night, several degrees louder than before.
His brows twitched. He instantly concealed his breath, drew back his fist, and stood still.
His mental power swept across the sea like a searchlight, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
In the shadows three hundred meters away, a twenty-meter-long iron-hulled boat was quietly approaching shore alongside the reef.
Its hull was painted deep black, and even the rivets along the gunwales had been blackened, making it almost indistinguishable from the night.
Seven or eight figures could vaguely be seen moving on deck, as furtive as rats stealing food at night.
Someone was carrying things out of the cabin. When the tightly wrapped canvas bundles hit the deck, they landed with the dull thud of heavy objects.
Li Qingshan quietly retreated into the bushes behind the reef, bent his knees slightly, and dropped into a half-crouch.
The Crystal Visualization Method ran at full force, slowing his heartbeat from seventy beats a minute to thirty.
His blood flow slowed, and his body temperature fell with it, becoming almost indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks.
Low voices drifted from a distance, broken into fragments by the sea breeze.
"Chen Group's goods. This batch is pure enough..."
"That old bastard Cao Yi has been watching for half a month. We have to be quick tonight..."
"Leave as soon as the goods are inspected. Someone's waiting at the docks to meet us."
Li Qingshan understood. It was drug smuggling.
He had seen the Chen Group's name in old newspapers. It was well known throughout South China.
He had not wanted to get involved. He was only a passerby in this world, and there was no need to get caught up in the grudges of the jianghu.
He had just turned to leave around the other side of the reef when an urgent whistle suddenly sounded from the boat.
"Something's up! There's movement on shore!"
The hoarse shout pierced the night, filled with undisguised panic.
Li Qingshan stopped and frowned inwardly.
The sound of his palm wind striking the water during practice had been mistaken for a police ambush signal.
Four or five flashlights came on at once on the deck, their beams sweeping toward the reef like sharp swords.
As the light passed over the bushes, Li Qingshan instinctively turned sideways, letting the shadows conceal him completely.
"Two of you, go take a look! The reef on the left!"
A gloomy voice gave the order, carrying the ruthlessness of someone long accustomed to command.
Two figures jumped from the boat with machetes and made their way unevenly across the ground toward the reef.
They wore black jackets, and the bulges at their waists made it clear they had handguns tucked there.
Their footsteps were unsteady and their breathing heavy. Through his mental power, Li Qingshan could even "see" their trembling knees.
They were just two ordinary lackeys who had never drawn blood.
Li Qingshan's gaze sharpened.
"Who's there? Come out!"
One of them spotted the swaying branches and leaves of the bushes and shouted the question.
His machete glinted coldly in the moonlight.
Li Qingshan did not answer, his breath as still as a reef on the seabed.
He could feel their gazes sweeping over his hiding place, but his heart did not waver in the slightest.
The state of mind he had cultivated through the Crystal Visualization Method had long since allowed him to control the ebb and flow of his emotions.
"Fuck, it's a police scout! Cao Yi really did set an ambush!"
The other man saw the indistinct outline of a figure behind the bushes and immediately shouted, waving his machete.
The two exchanged a glance, then lunged at him together, swinging their blades.
In Li Qingshan's eyes, the paths of the chopping blades were as slow as snails.
He could even make out the scratches on the blades and the opening beneath his opponent's arm as he swung.
As he turned sideways to dodge the first slash, his left hand darted out like a nimble snake, his index and middle fingers gripping the Yangxi acupoint on the man's wrist.
It was an "acupoint-gripping" technique Sister Chen had taught him, especially effective against someone wielding a blade.
"Crack!"
Hidden Jin burst from his knuckles, and the crisp sound of breaking bone was especially piercing in the night.
"Aah!"
The man let out a pig-slaughtering shriek, and his machete fell to the ground with a clang.
He crouched on the ground, clutching his broken wrist, cold sweat instantly soaking the hair on his forehead.
Li Qingshan bent down with the motion, scooped up the machete in his right hand, and backhanded it upward to block the other man's attack.
"Clang!"
The instant the two blades collided, he snapped his wrist, sending force along the blade.
The web between the other man's thumb and forefinger went numb, and he nearly lost his grip on his machete.
In that flash between lightning and flint, Li Qingshan's right fist shot out like a galloping horse, his knuckles cutting through the air with a sharp sound.
It struck the Shanzhong acupoint squarely in the man's chest.
"Pfft!"
Hidden Jin entered his body like a heavy hammer striking cotton, instantly shattering his heart meridian.
The man grunted, his eyes bulging wide, and fell stiffly onto the beach.
His body twitched twice, blood poured from his mouth and nose, and he soon stopped moving.
The thug with the broken wrist was scared out of his wits and scrambled back toward the boat.
"Police! The police have set an ambush! Open fire!"
His scream split the night, especially shrill amid the sound of the waves.
Li Qingshan's gaze turned cold, and he pushed off in pursuit.
He used the Bagua Mud-Wading Step, flitting across the beach like a ghost.
His feet left almost no trace in the sand.
He crossed the mere three meters in an instant.
His right hand flashed like lightning, its edge chopping precisely into the Fengchi acupoint at the back of the man's neck.
With a thud, the man fell to the ground, unconscious.
He had just started to bend down to deal with the traces at the scene when a flurry of footsteps and the sound of weapons being readied came from the boat.
"He's tough! Grab your weapons! All of you, get him!"
The same gloomy voice rang out again, carrying a trace of barely perceptible panic.
Seven or eight lackeys charged down from the boat with steel pipes and machetes, every one of them looking vicious.
At their head was a burly man with a face full of thick, coarse flesh. He was nearly two meters tall, and his arms were thicker than an ordinary man's thighs.
He stared at the corpse and his unconscious accomplice on the ground, his eyes as fierce as a starving wolf's.
"You dare ruin Boss Chen's business? Kid, you must be tired of living!"
The burly man spat and thumped his steel pipe against the ground with a thud, thud.
The seven or eight men spread out in a fan to surround him, deliberately softening their footsteps. Clearly, they were habitual brawlers.
Their steel pipes whistled through the air, forming a seamless net of attacks.
Li Qingshan took a deep breath, his right hand gripping the machete.
He did not take the initiative to attack, instead using the Bagua Step to move along the edge of their encirclement.
His mental power spread out, locking onto the paths of seven figures at once.
"Surround him! Don't let this bastard get away!"
The burly man shouted and was the first to swing his steel pipe at him.
The pipe howled through the air, aimed straight at the top of Li Qingshan's head.
The blow was heavy and powerful. If it struck an ordinary person, their skull would shatter on the spot.
Li Qingshan neither dodged nor retreated. His left foot suddenly stepped half a pace forward.
His body dropped three inches, and the steel pipe skimmed over his scalp before smashing into the reef behind him.
With a bang, sparks flew, and a shallow dent appeared in the rock.
At the instant his opponent's old force was spent and his new force had yet to rise, Li Qingshan slashed diagonally with the blade in his right hand.
The blade traced a nimble, snakelike path, slicing precisely through the artery in the man's thigh.
"Aah!"
The burly man let out an earthshaking scream. Blood spurted like a fountain, instantly staining the beach red.
He staggered back two steps, blood filling the gaps between the fingers he pressed against the wound.
When the other lackeys saw this, they did not retreat. Instead, they charged even more wildly.
"Hack him to death! Avenge Brother Hu!"
One man roared, sweeping a steel pipe toward Li Qingshan's waist and ribs.
Li Qingshan's expression did not change as he fully incorporated the principles of the Dragon-Snake Joint Strike into the fight.
His left foot ground against the sand as he turned, and his right leg sprang out like a horse's kick, striking the inside of the man's knee.
"Crack!"
Another bone snapped, and the man screamed as he fell to his knees.
At the same time, the machete came down with the motion, its blunt spine smashing into the back of another man's head.
The man grunted and fell stiffly to the ground.
In the space of an instant, two men were down.
The remaining men's pupils contracted, and their attacks visibly faltered.
Li Qingshan shifted his footwork, sometimes charging like a galloping horse, his shoulder knocking aside one man's attack;
At other times, he moved like a nimble snake winding silk, turning his wrist to deflect the force of a steel pipe.
Every punch carried penetrating force.
One lackey attacked from behind, his steel pipe aimed straight at the back of Li Qingshan's head.
As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Li Qingshan suddenly dropped low while whipping his right leg sideways.
"Smack!"
His foot struck precisely behind the man's knee, throwing him off balance and sending him pitching forward.
Li Qingshan turned and thrust his blade into the gap by the man's shoulder blade, precisely avoiding the bone.
"Ugh..."
The lackey grunted and fell, blood dripping down the blade.
In just over ten seconds, four men had fallen and could not get up.
The three remaining lackeys were pale with fright, their weapon hands trembling uncontrollably.
They stared at the blood dripping from Li Qingshan's blade, their eyes filled with terror.
"Monster, you're a monster!"
A tall, thin man backed away trembling, his steel pipe falling to the ground with a clang.
He turned and ran, not even stopping to look after his companions.
When the other two saw this, they turned and fled as well.
Li Qingshan did not give chase. There was no point in killing these small fries.
He stood where he was, gripping the dripping, bloodied blade, his breathing as steady as ever.
He kept the sweat that had seeped out firmly locked in, without looking the least bit disheveled.
That was the subtlety of Guoshu: Qi and blood surged when force was unleashed, then returned to calm once it was withdrawn.
Just then, the crisp sound of a gun being cocked suddenly rang out from the boat.
"Get back, all of you! Use your guns!"
The grim voice carried a trace of panic. Clearly, Li Qingshan's skills had shaken him too.
The fleeing henchmen, as if granted a pardon, scrambled back on hands and knees.
A man with a crew cut appeared at the side of the boat. He wore a black suit, and his face was dark and sinister.
He held a Type 54 pistol, its black muzzle trained unwaveringly on Li Qingshan.
"Kid, which precinct are you from?"
The crew-cut man's voice was icy, and his finger was already on the trigger.
"You dare meddle in the Chen Group's business? Tired of living?"
Li Qingshan said nothing. He slowly took two steps back, putting his back against a reef rock.
His mental power was so intensely focused that he could even "see" how much force the man was exerting through his finger joints.
As soon as the man pressed the trigger a fraction harder, he could immediately dodge to the side.
A handgun's bullets were fast, but with the foresight granted by the Crystal Visualization Method, they were not impossible to dodge.
A vicious glint flashed in the crew-cut man's eyes, and his lips curled into a cruel smile.
"Since you won't talk, then die!"
He was just about to pull the trigger when a rapid burst of gunfire suddenly rang out.
"Don't move! Police! Put down your weapons!"
Powerful flashlights lit up the entire beach in an instant, more than a dozen beams converging on the smuggling boat at once.
Dozens of police officers in bulletproof vests charged out from behind the reef rocks and from the bushes, aiming their submachine guns at the deck.
Leading them was a middle-aged officer of about forty, with a square face and eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
He held a Type 92 pistol, its muzzle steady as a rock. It was Cao Yi, who had deployed his forces in advance.
Chaos erupted aboard the smuggling boat.
"Police! Run!"
"Return fire! Fight them!"
Gunshots, screams, and shouted curses mingled as bullets traced red streaks across the night sky.
Cao Yi lay prone behind a reef rock, calmly issuing orders. "Team One, flank them on the left! Block the escape ladder at the stern!"
"Team Two, board and search the boat! Watch the cargo's location. Don't let them destroy the evidence!"
His voice was steady and forceful, reaching every team member clearly over the radio.
He was clearly a veteran officer who had taken part in countless drug raids.
The officers were well trained. They quickly formed a crossfire, suppressing the gunfire from the boat.
Li Qingshan took the opportunity to retreat behind a reef rock and put away his blade.
He watched the chaotic scene, his gaze calm and unruffled.
The grudges of the martial world and the confrontation between police and criminals were nothing more than passing clouds to him.
What mattered more to him was that, during the fierce battle, his Hidden Jin had shown a trace of reaching through his entire body.
Was real combat the key to speeding up his breakthrough to Transformation Jin?
Li Qingshan pondered this to himself, his fingertips absently rubbing the long blade at his waist.
Sister Chen had said that Guoshu originated on the battlefield, and that someone who only talked strategy on paper would never become a grandmaster.
His life-and-death fight with the henchmen had just woken him up to that.
The fierce battle lasted less than ten minutes.
Under the police's suppressive fire, the criminals aboard the smuggling boat quickly fell apart.
Some tried to jump into the sea and escape, only to be scooped out with nets by officers on shore as soon as they hit the water.
Only the crew-cut man fought on desperately. He was shot dead in the gunfight, his body slumped over the side of the boat, blood running down its hull into the sea.
Cao Yi put away his pistol, stood up, and patted the sand and dirt off himself.
His uniform was covered in dust, and he had a graze on his temple, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.
His gaze swept over the henchmen lying on the beach before finally settling on Li Qingshan behind the reef rock.
Li Qingshan met his gaze and walked out, neither servile nor overbearing.
He knew his bloodstained clothes could never escape the veteran officer's notice.
Cao Yi walked over at an unhurried pace.
He sized Li Qingshan up, his gaze traveling from his bloodstained cuffs to his stance, steady as Mount Tai.
This young man was far too composed.
Most people, confronted with a gunfight like this, would either panic or show fear.
Yet he acted as though nothing had happened, his breathing steady and his eyes clear.
"Who are you?"
Cao Yi's tone held a professional caution as he asked, but no outright hostility.
His fingers absently rubbed the grip of his pistol, a habit he had developed over many years.
"Why are you here?"
"My name is Li Qingshan. I came here to practice my boxing."
Li Qingshan answered calmly, turning slightly to avoid the officer's direct scrutiny.
"I ran into them by chance. They attacked first, and I was forced to defend myself."
Cao Yi raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharpening.
He took two steps forward, stopping just three meters from Li Qingshan.
It was both a safe distance and close enough to observe the other man's subtle facial expressions clearly.
"Practicing boxing?"
Cao Yi's gaze fell on the corpses on the beach, a trace of doubt in his voice.
"What kind of boxing can shatter a man's heart meridian with one punch and precisely break a wrist bone?"
He was a martial artist himself. In his youth, he had studied under a Xingyi Fist master. Though an injury had forced him to retire after reaching only Manifest Jin, he had not lost his eye for it.
The corpse on the ground with its chest caved in had clearly suffered damage caused by Hidden Jin penetrating the body.
Looking across all of City C, no more than five people had the skill to do that.
"Xingyi Fist."
Li Qingshan gave a concise answer, offering no further explanation.
He could feel Cao Yi's gaze lingering on his spine, his Jianjing acupoints, and other places. That was how experts in Internal Martial Arts sized people up.
A trace of surprise flashed in Cao Yi's eyes, followed by understanding.
No wonder the young man stood like a pine, his breathing deep and steady. He was a practitioner of Internal Martial Arts.
"Might I ask the honored name of your master?"
Cao Yi pressed the question, his tone unconsciously softening.
Anyone capable of teaching a disciple to the Hidden Jin level had to be a grandmaster.
In martial arts circles, naming one's master and school could save a great deal of trouble in many matters.
Li Qingshan smiled faintly, a hint of apology entering his eyes.
"My master is unwilling to reveal her name. I hope you'll forgive me, Captain Cao."
Sister Chen's identity was sensitive, and she had long been watched by various factions.
If her whereabouts in City C were exposed, it might bring unnecessary trouble.
Cao Yi stared at him for a few seconds, then asked no more.
The veteran officer's intuition told him that Li Qingshan was not lying.
Besides, if Li Qingshan had not stepped in and occupied most of the henchmen, the police arrests would not have gone so smoothly.
At least two or three more officers would have been injured.
"These men are core henchmen of the South China Chen Group."
Cao Yi changed the subject, his tone growing more solemn.
He nudged a canvas bag on the ground with his foot, exposing a small packet of white powder inside.
"Some men belonging to the local boss, 'Scar Qiang,' were involved too. They were dealing in meth, and this shipment is worth at least eight or nine million."
Li Qingshan nodded but did not reply.
Whether it was the Chen Group or Scar Qiang, neither had anything to do with him.
Once the stone gate opened again, he would return to the main world.
Cao Yi looked at Li Qingshan, open appreciation in his eyes.
He had worked in narcotics for twenty years and had seen too many young people.
Some were impulsive, others cowardly, but rarely had he seen someone so young carry himself like a grandmaster.
"Your skills are impressive. Would you be interested in working at the police bureau?"
Cao Yi made the tentative offer, his tone conveying a genuine desire to recruit him.
"Our criminal investigation team happens to need a combat instructor. The pay and benefits are excellent, and you'd even be issued a gun."
He knew that experts in Internal Martial Arts generally disliked being tied down, but he could not resist asking.
If he could recruit Li Qingshan to the police bureau, dealing with armed criminals in the future would be much safer.
Li Qingshan shook his head, his tone sincere but firm.
"I'm sorry, Captain Cao."
His goal was cultivation and exploring the secrets of the myriad worlds.
Working at the police bureau was honorable, but it was not his path.
Cao Yi sighed with some regret, but did not press him.
"What a pity."
Cao Yi took a business card from his pocket and handed it to Li Qingshan.
The card was made of ordinary coated paper, its edges already somewhat worn.
"This is my card. My name is Cao Yi, captain of Major Cases Team One in the city public security bureau's criminal investigation division."
He paused, his tone growing much more sincere.
"If you run into any trouble in City C, especially anything involving the Chen Group, you can call this number."
The Chen Group's people would take revenge for the slightest grievance. Li Qingshan had killed their henchmen, so he would likely face retaliation.
By giving him the card, Cao Yi also intended to look out for him.
Li Qingshan took the card, his fingertips touching its rough surface.
It bore only the name "Cao Yi" in bold black print, with a landline number beneath it and no other information.
It was simple, yet it conveyed an old-school police officer's straightforwardness.
"Thank you, Captain Cao."
Li Qingshan put the card away and spoke politely.
Cao Yi nodded, then turned to direct the follow-up work.
His officers had already begun counting the cargo and escorting the suspects away. The scene was a flurry of activity.
Before leaving, he looked back at Li Qingshan once more.
Moonlight fell on the young man's face. He was clearly only seventeen or eighteen, yet his eyes were as deep as the sea.
This young man was definitely no ordinary person.
Li Qingshan watched Cao Yi's retreating figure, thoughtfully rubbing the business card.
Cao Yi's presence was steady and substantial. He had clearly practiced Internal Martial Arts for many years as well.
Though only a skilled Manifest Jin practitioner, he was already a rare talent among ordinary people.
Li Qingshan turned and left the beach, his steps as light as a breeze.
He employed the Bagua Step, and his figure soon disappeared into the shadows among the reef rocks.
He left behind only the busy police officers, flashing police lights, and the smell of blood that still lingered over the sea.
After walking along the coast for twenty minutes, he returned to the private house he rented.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes, recalling the details of the battle.