BAM!
Fist and palm met in mid-air. The violent collision was so intense that the crowd could faintly see ripples spreading through the air.
Visible to the naked eye, the veins on Zhou Yuanjue's entire arm bulged, swelling it a full size larger than normal. Engorged with blood, his arm took on a purplish-blue hue. The massive limb looked completely out of place on his body, like the arm of a beast attached to a human torso.
'He... he blocked it? What in the world is wrong with this guy's body?'
Seeing Zhou Yuanjue's arm suddenly swell up like an inflatable ball, Sun Dao'an and Xu Yan couldn't help but gasp, unable to comprehend the phenomenon.
"Dragon Hiding in the Abyss, Free Will. I never expected this person's External Skills to have reached such a level?!"
A flash of surprise appeared in the scholarly woman's eyes.
True Martial Dao masters can change the state of their muscles through long-term, specialized training. Those who have achieved Great Success in External Skills can control their muscle contractions in their daily lives, keeping their physiques within a certain range. This maintains their agility while reducing stamina consumption. Only when facing an enemy with their full strength do they violently manipulate their qi and blood to swell their muscles, causing a drastic change in their physique.
In reality, the principle behind this phenomenon is simple. It's like how an ordinary person's muscles become engorged with blood and expand after intense anaerobic exercise, making their definition clearer. The same is true for martial artists, except top-tier ones can achieve this to a degree more than ten times greater than an ordinary person.
This phenomenon is known as "Dragon Hiding in the Abyss." According to legend, a dragon can change its size at will. It can grow large enough to blot out the sun and soar through the heavens, or shrink small enough to hide in the den of a snake or rat—achieving Free Will. Thus, the term is used to describe those with Great Success in External Skills. They may appear peaceful and unassuming in their daily lives, but once a fight begins, their clothes rip, their muscles swell, and they instantly transform into life-reaping demons.
"Excellent!!"
Seeing his punch blocked head-on by Zhou Yuanjue, Yan Hao let out a great roar. His heart surged as hot blood filled every one of his veins. His spine became like a soaring dragon, completely activating his body. Each of his punches was like an Azure Dragon Emerges from the Sea. Though they lacked a sharp, explosive burst, the power of his mighty spine integrated the full force of his body into every strike. The power was astonishing, and his fists whistled through the air.
Countless fist shadows enveloped Zhou Yuanjue. Yan Hao was like a tireless monster, his movements broad and open. He was a perfect example of "one force overcomes ten skills," suppressing his opponent with the most ferocious posture imaginable.
BANG BANG BANG BANG!!
The collision of fist and flesh created terrifying rumbles. The ground beneath their feet began to shatter, and Zhou Yuanjue was actually being forced back, step by step, under the ferocious assault!
'Even I have to admit, Red Falcon Fist isn't a Fist Technique that focuses on External Skills. Although we're both at the level of Mastery of Fist Techniques, the peak of human physicality, Yan Hao himself has extraordinary Talent and was born with Divine Power. Combined with his years of training in the Dragon Elephant Unmoving Style, I'm his inferior in terms of absolute Power and stamina!!'
'This is the number one man in Wuhai, a powerful Martial Artist who ranks in the top five among the tens of millions of people in all of Tianlu Prefecture!!'
'Each of Yan Hao's attacks is like a heavy hammer, constantly jarring my body and bones. That aching numbness, that real pain, that tangible pressure, that tension from knowing that a single moment of carelessness, one failed block, will result in my body being shattered...'
'It's truly wonderful!!'
At some point, Zhou Yuanjue's half-closed eyes had opened completely. They grew brighter and brighter, filled with a soul-stirring light.
Under the immense pressure from his opponent, he habitually entered a state of extreme focus. In that moment, his body, Spirit, and intuition became incredibly concentrated, and he forgot all external things.
Yan Hao's seemingly chaotic and undisciplined fists began to reveal a pattern. The malice his intuition perceived, which had covered his body like raindrops, also started to show a discernible sequence.
He was rapidly adapting to Yan Hao's fighting style. Or perhaps, Yan Hao's Fist Technique was not complex to begin with.
'When power can easily solve all problems, ingenuity is neglected.'
'His powerful body has given him indomitable strength, but by comparison, his training in technique has been neglected.'
'Besides, the Dragon Elephant Unmoving Style itself is not a Fist Technique that excels in skill and variation.'
'In terms of skill with Fist Techniques, Yan Hao is leagues behind the Profound Heart Fist master, Gong Shouzhuo.'
'Of course, Gong Shouzhuo's stamina, offense, and Power can't even be mentioned in the same breath as Yan Hao's.'
Amidst the clash, countless fist shadows intertwined before Zhou Yuanjue's eyes and within his intuition, weaving a great net. And in this net... there were obvious gaps.
SWOOSH!!
A shadow as fast as lightning shot up from the ground, passing through the gaps between the countless fist shadows in an instant!
A heavy side kick slammed into Yan Hao's abdomen. The ferocious force made him double over slightly, and the immense impact sent him flying backward through the air.
Zhou Yuanjue kicked off the ground and immediately shot forward, pressing his advantage to strike Yan Hao while he was still off-balance.
However, while Yan Hao was still in mid-air, his spine suddenly straightened. He recovered his balance with a movement that seemed to defy the laws of physics, then executed a Thousand-Pound Fall, forcefully arresting his backward momentum and shaking the ground as he landed.
At this moment, the spot on his abdomen where Zhou Yuanjue's side kick had landed was now grotesquely swollen. The muscles there bulged and had turned a deep purplish-red. The chiseled definition of those muscles was practically identical to a suit of armor.
Yan Hao snapped his head up. Zhou Yuanjue could feel the terrifying fury blazing in his eyes. It seemed that kick, delivered in full view of the crowd, had made him feel humiliated.
"Hah!!"
Yan Hao let out a furious roar. The next moment, every muscle in his body swelled to an extreme degree, just like those on his abdomen, turning his entire frame purplish-red.
Dragon Hiding in the Abyss, Free Will!!
The crowd witnessed a shocking scene.
In this extremely swollen state, what covered Yan Hao's body no longer looked like muscle, but rather a terrifying, angular suit of armor.
"'Elephant Armor'!"
The middle-aged man's pupils shrank abruptly as he spoke in a low voice.
Upon seeing Yan Hao's condition, even Jia Liming's eyes flashed with astonishment.
Dragon Elephant Unmoving Style. The "Dragon" represents the great dragon of the human spine, while the "Elephant" symbolizes the body's muscles and skin.
Through long-term, inhuman training in the "Elephant" principle and nourishment from large quantities of secret medicines, the body's skin becomes incomparably tough. Even the muscle structure changes, granting immense strength. When trained to Great Success, swelling the muscles causes them to expand to an extreme degree, forming a shape like armor. This is "Elephant Armor."
In ancient times, a master who had developed "Elephant Armor" was like someone truly covered in a layer of plate mail. Ordinary blades would have difficulty even cutting their skin. In a chaotic battle, they possessed the might to take on a hundred men.
The "Dragon" principle's method of controlling the great dragon of the spine integrates the body's strength, while the "Elephant" principle's inhuman training and expensive secret medicines forge an inhuman physique of unparalleled ferocity.
This was the Dragon Elephant Unmoving Style at Great Success, a realm no one in the Lanhai Society had reached for five generations!