Fang Mushan, grasping his spear, thrust it forward fiercely. The tip resembled a swift dragon's head, swirling with a fierce gust of wind as it charged straight into the heart of the enemy's formation.
The spear moved with him, his body swirled with it, each movement radiating a shimmer of light and shadow.
The tassel whirled like the shimmering scales of a dragon, its cold light piercing. Xu Yun, a master of the art, had died, but Fang Mushan, with his extraordinary talent, seemed unstoppable against the disorganized soldiers.
Enemies fell wherever he went, some sent flying by the spear's tip, others swept down by its shaft, a scene of agonizing cries.
But soon, a veteran soldier shouted, "Form a formation!" The soldiers, already showing signs of unrest, braving the casualties of several others, forced themselves into a semicircle, spears in front, swords and shields intertwined.
Seeing this, Fang Mushan couldn't help but feel cautious. He swung his spear, charging left and right, but with little success.
A battlefield was unlike the solitary martial arts world. Attackers came from all sides. If he wasn't careful, even a highly accomplished martial artist would be killed.
Fang Mushan gritted his teeth.
If he were fully armored, these men before him would be nothing but humble chickens and dogs...
They might be humble chickens and dogs, but the thirty elite soldiers Zhang Shuyang had dispatched were at best beginners.
Strictly speaking, Fang Mushan's ability to hold his own for so long was a testament to his incredible physique.
On Xu Yunfan's side, he leaped out of the hole with a single hand, casually grabbing the longsword at Xu Yun's waist and swinging it towards Yang Gan above.
He couldn't wield a sword, but his exceptional arm strength allowed him to wield it like a heavy weapon.
Yang Gan narrowed his eyes, his hands drooping, and remained motionless, his head tilted slightly as the longsword descended upon his shoulder and neck.
Ding!
A sudden clang of metal clashed, and Xu Yunfan was surprised to discover that his sword couldn't penetrate even a fraction.
Then, Li Haomiao's voice drifted from the depths of the cave.
"This man has mastered the Black Body Iron Armor technique. He's mastered it to such perfection that his skin is as thick as a suit of armor, and his veins are densely packed like a green python. Ordinary swords and knives can't injure him. If you had a heavy hammer, you could easily strike him."
Hearing Li Haomiao's disparaging remarks, Yang Gan's eyes twitched slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Yunfan suddenly raised his leg, aiming directly at his groin. The force of the attack was so fierce that even the air whirred.
"What a powerful force!"
Yang Gan's pupils constricted. The kick was so swift and powerful that he had no room for error.
Years of combat experience forced him to instinctively close his thighs inward, barely blocking the fatal blow.
"Why are you keeping your legs together like a woman?"
Xu Yunfan sneered, his hands moving without a second's hesitation.
Before he'd finished speaking, he decisively released his longsword, instantly clenched his fist, and stepped forward, his fist whirring as it swung straight at Yang Gan's temple.
If one hasn't mastered horizontal martial arts to the highest level, achieving the state of golden skin, there will always be weaknesses. These
weaknesses are most likely located in vital areas such as the eyes, groin, back of the head, navel, and temple.
A flicker of shame and annoyance crossed Yang Gan's eyes at Xu Yunfan's sarcastic taunt.
His previous move to block Xu Yunfan's kick had indeed been rather childish, a move that, for this 5'9" tall man, had hit a sore spot, deeply wounding his pride.
"You're courting death!"
Yang Gan roared, advancing instead of retreating against Xu Yunfan's powerful punch.
He thrust his massive hand up and away, precisely blocking Xu Yunfan's attack. Simultaneously, his other arm, bent into an elbow, thrust upward like a sharp battle axe, fiercely aimed at Xu Yunfan's jaw.
If this strike had landed, even if Xu Yunfan wasn't injured, he would have been left dizzy and dazed.
Xu Yunfan's mind suddenly cleared up, secretly regretting his lack of combat experience.
If both opponents practiced horizontal training, simply dazed and slowed the opponent, allowing them to easily strike at their vital points and kill them with a single blow.
A fierce melee ensued, with punches and kicks flying, each side abandoning defenses except for their vital areas, each unleashing every ounce of force, each attacking with all their might.
Yang Gan grew increasingly frightened as the fight progressed .
His horizontal training had reached such a high level that ordinary swords and knives proved invulnerable, and punches and kicks were like tickles to him.
But Xu Yunfan's fists struck him like a thousand-pound hammer, each one sending shudders through his internal organs, causing him to feel excruciating pain.
This forced him to defend himself, or else, as the number of internal shocks mounted, he might actually be shattered to death by Xu Yunfan.
Although he had achieved great success in his horizontal training, his skin as tough as armor, he was only at the first level. While his muscles and bones had dabbled, he was still a long way from achieving the outer three-fold integration.
Not to mention his blood, marrow, and internal organs, which were still fragile and delicate, they naturally couldn't withstand the continuous hammering.
Xu Yunfan keenly sensed the shift in Yang Gan's attack. Seeing him constantly blocking his chest punches, he understood that Yang Gan was afraid of his two-handed hammering.
He no longer held back, and his fists bombarded Yang Gan with a frenzied torrent of force.
With his extraordinary arm strength, each of his punches carried the weight of a thousand pounds, like a mountain bearing down. Yang Gan was beaten back step by step, until his arms, which had been used to block the blows, became numb, his blood circulation was sluggish, and his movements became much slower.
"Wait, I need to say something!"
Yang Gan finally gave in and spoke.
If this continued, he might be killed instantly by Xu Yunfan, and he was already thinking of retreating.
But Xu Yunfan ignored him, his punches only becoming more powerful. Each swing seemed to tear through the air, emitting a chilling whimpering sound.
Yang Gan, startled and enraged, tried to withdraw from the fight.
But Xu Yunfan would not let him escape so easily. Taking advantage of the moment when the other retreated, he flashed and swiftly approached, grabbing Yang Gan tightly.
Then, exerting force from his waist and abdomen, he unleashed an incredible burst of strength, lifting the nearly 300-pound man into the air and then hurling him down heavily. "Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Yang Gan fell to the ground, a muffled groan escaped him, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. However, his movements were not affected in the slightest. He quickly twisted his body and kicked his legs, breaking free from Xu Yunfan's grasp. He then rolled on the ground several times before standing up.
"You can't even kill him with this!?"
Xu Yunfan was filled with surprise. He finally understood why Li Haomiao had said that martial artists practicing horizontal training were a bunch of tough nut to crack.
At the same level, if one didn't have a sharp weapon, as long as the opponent's weak points were tightly guarded and not seriously injured, they would be forced to exhaustion.
(End of this chapter)