One hundred thirty-five, the Heaven-Piercing Cannon, followed by the Overlord’s Heart-Piercing Elbow!

"Chen Jue of the An County Ship Boxing. Master Li, if you please!"

Chen Jue returned a cupped-fist salute. He stared straight at his opponent, his spirit taut, yet his entire body appeared loose and relaxed. He knew this middle-aged man before him was no simple figure; abandoning his previous Eight Immortals Stance, he shifted into the Tai Chi Hunyuan Stance.

Li Xiang was indeed formidable. With a sharp intake of hot air through his nose, his chest swelled, his legs stepped forward, and his arms leveled out. Though his hands were empty, he held himself as if wielding a long spear. With a sudden, explosive tremble of his body, he assumed the Baji Boxing Liangyi Stance.

"Hmph!" A thunderous, booming grunt erupted from the depths of his abdomen. It sounded like rolling celestial thunder, instantly silencing the murmurs throughout the arena. His clothes rippled violently from the force of the sound. With glaring eyes and hair standing on end, he looked like a peerless warrior emerging from a battlefield of thousands, spear in hand.

This single grunt drew the attention of everyone in the arena, even disrupting the matches in the two adjacent circles.

"Hmph!"

Another rumbling sound emerged from his chest. Li Xiang took two steps, his figure advancing rapidly across the circle. He lunged forward with a primitive, earth-shaking punch, heading straight for Chen Jue’s center line. Starting with a left-handed lead, it was the first move of Baji Boxing—a variation of the Yama’s Three Point Strike!

Chen Jue did not dare to be careless. His body surged with a rhythmic tremor, his five fingers curled into a claw, and he lunged forward like a black tiger descending a mountain. Meeting force with force, he drove his hand straight toward the incoming punch.

*Bang!*

Fist and claw collided, emitting a crisp, explosive sound. A shockwave traveled down through their feet, pressing hard into the arena floor. The hardwood, much like a basketball court, groaned and splintered under the impact of their clash.

Taking the brunt of Chen Jue’s claw, Li Xiang frowned slightly. He had not expected this young man’s claw technique to be so terrifying. The strike, which hit with enough force to crack stone, left the back of his hand—normally impervious to injury—stinging with pain; it was clear the skin had been torn.

Chen Jue had tempered his fingers with the Golden Needle Finger and Tiger Claw techniques, making them as hard as iron. Having grasped the true essence of the Tiger Form, his lunge appeared to Li Xiang like the strike of a real tiger.

"A formidable Tiger Form!"

Li Xiang sighed inwardly, but his momentum—a forward-surging force—did not falter. The breath he had been holding in his chest was suddenly expelled with a "Ha!" sound, even more powerful than the previous grunt, roaring out like a charging army.

At the same time, Li Xiang lowered his stance, stomping his feet and shattering the floorboards beneath him. Instead of following up with the traditional Baji "Fierce Tiger Hard Climb," he unleashed an incredibly fierce "Cannon Firing into the Sky" strike, aimed straight at Chen Jue’s face!

This sudden, violent transition caught Chen Jue off guard for a split second. With a shake of his muscles and bones, he shifted his claw into a grip, hooked his elbow inward to block, and used the Tai Chi move "White Crane Spreads Its Wings." With a *bang*, his arm parried the incoming cannon strike.

The strike, however, was merely a feint. As soon as Chen Jue intercepted it, Li Xiang surged forward, twisting his body and stomping again. Shattering another floorboard, he retracted his fist and drove his elbow directly into Chen Jue’s chest.

As the saying goes, "The Overlord draws the bow, the elbow strike is fierce and ruthless." This was the Baji Boxing "Heart-Piercing Elbow," also known as the Overlord Elbow.

Chen Jue’s mind raced, marveling at the middle-aged man’s versatility. He knew he could not avoid this strike. His throat rolled, emitting a sound like a tiger’s roar, while his spine vibrated with a sound like a dragon’s hum. His entire body quivered, the air within two or three feet of him exploding like a string of firecrackers. A dark, metallic hue washed over his skin as he took the Overlord Elbow head-on with his bare chest.

*Thud!*

Li Xiang, standing right against Chen Jue, felt as if he had struck a half-meter-thick iron plate. As his elbow throbbed with immense pain, a blast of white air erupted from the young man’s mouth, striking his face.

"Wudang Taihe Sect’s Tiger Roar Golden Bell Cover! And the Dragon Hum Iron Shirt!" Li Xiang was startled by these two suddenly displayed hard-qigong techniques. He let out a sharp "Hmph!" to retract his elbow and inhale, followed immediately by a "Ha!" to exhale. He employed the secret Baji techniques of "Heng-Ha" breathing to cleanse the marrow and organs, dispersing the sonic wave of the tiger’s roar. Instantly, his fighting style shifted from hard to soft; he glided to the side, his fists turning into palms, and he struck at Chen Jue like a mass of yielding clouds.

"Bagua Continuous Palms!" Chen Jue was surprised by the sudden change in style. He stood in a horse stance, his fists flying out like a barrage of arrows, clashing repeatedly with the palm strikes within a few feet. The *bang-bang-bang* of their collision echoed through the arena like rapid-fire artillery.

Only when Li Xiang’s palms turned a bruised crimson and his hand bones ached with agony did he withdraw. With a series of steps, he moved like a swimming fish and retreated outside the red-lined competition zone.

"Master Chen! Your hard-qigong has reached the level of being impervious to blades and immune to water and fire. I am no match for you. There is no point in continuing; I concede!" Li Xiang stood outside the circle, regulating his breath. His pores opened, and steam rose from his body, soaking his black athletic shirt. He looked at Chen Jue with a complex expression.

Chen Jue, however, felt a sense of unfulfilled desire. He had intentionally suppressed himself to only thirty percent of his strength, wanting to test the foundation of this man’s martial arts. That Li Xiang could hold his own against someone like him—who relied on "leveling up" and physical modification—and still have the composure to retreat and concede was remarkable. This man’s skill, technique, and ability to know when to advance or retreat made him the strongest martial artist Chen Jue had ever encountered.

Even Yun Xiaomei, who was born with natural talent and learned from nature itself, might not be a match for Li Xiang.

"Master Li! You are too kind!" Chen Jue cupped his fists respectfully.

At that moment, the referee announced the end of the match, and thunderous applause and cheers erupted throughout the arena.

The bout had been spectacular. Though it lasted only a few dozen seconds, the entire arena had been silent. Whether it was soldiers like Zhou Gang or masters from traditional schools like the monk Yantong, everyone stared wide-eyed, fearing they would miss a single detail.

Only after the match ended and the concession was made did the arena erupt in cheers and private discussions.

The sight had been terrifying—every strike shattered the floor, and the sonic booms echoed throughout the building. Every move was like a textbook example of martial arts. Even the staff, who knew nothing of fighting, could see the brilliance; they knew that a video of this would surely go viral and earn countless likes online.

...

"Master Li, should you go see a doctor?"

"Let's talk as we walk!"

Having rarely encountered such a formidable opponent, Chen Jue felt a desire to befriend him. Seeing the man’s slightly trembling arms and knowing he had sustained significant injuries, he made the suggestion.

"Good!" Li Xiang, evidently feeling the same, walked out of the arena with Chen Jue to find the stationed doctors.

Among the doctors was an elderly practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who seemed to recognize Master Li. After a brief conversation, he examined the arms, used a sterilized needle to drain the bruised blood, and applied a poultice for the injuries.

"So, Master Li, you are the former chief instructor!"

"No wonder the soldiers looked at you like a star when you stepped onto the stage." Chen Jue learned much about Li Xiang from their conversation.

This master, proficient in both Baji and Bagua, had been the chief instructor for the previous ten martial arts competitions. He had only recently resigned to return to his hometown and run a martial arts school.

When asked why he returned to compete, Li Xiang replied, "My martial arts have reached a bottleneck. I’m getting old, and there’s no hope for further progress. I signed up this time just to see if there were any promising young talents to take over my mantle."

"I never expected to meet you, Master Chen!"

"It truly proves the old saying: there is always a mountain beyond a mountain, and a person beyond a person!"

"With your level of skill, Master Chen, there’s no need to compete in the remaining matches. They should just award you the top prize right now."