Chen Chuan looked at his opponent. This wasn't a normal training session. To avoid injury and secure a win, he decided to use the power of his Second Self.
Due to his recent progress, his overlap time had increased to about fifty-five seconds.
This duration wasn't fixed. If he took a hit and used his Second Self to transfer the damage and pain, the overlap time would decrease.
'I have to end this fight as quickly as possible.'
'The longer this drags on, the lower my chances of winning.'
He had already formulated a tactic.
Ding Shuo stared at Chen Chuan for a moment. He could sense from his presence that Chen Chuan had also mastered a Breathing Technique. He bumped his fists together excitedly.
'Finally, a decent opponent. I can put on a good show for Mr. Qi.'
After they exchanged cupped fist salutes, he was once again the aggressor, advancing and thrusting a punch toward Chen Chuan's face.
Chen Chuan didn't dodge at all, meeting it head-on with a high roundhouse kick!
He had used this kick to take down Shan Xiong during the entrance exam, so he had paid special attention to practicing it. As he threw the kick, his Second Self instantly merged with him. WHOOSH! The blades of grass beneath his foot fluttered up.
The kick was incredibly fast, striking first despite being launched second. Ding Shuo's pupils contracted. Thankfully, he remembered to guard his head even while attacking, and his arm muscles tensed just in time. SMACK! The powerful force sent him stumbling several steps sideways, and he couldn't help but shake his hand.
Chen Chuan landed his kick and seized the opportunity, immediately pressing his advantage. Ding Shuo wasn't one to play defense and tried to launch a counter-attack without showing any weakness. But at that moment, Chen Chuan threw another kick, generating a fierce gust of wind. Ding Shuo was forced to abort his attack once again. He hastily parried, but the blow sent him stumbling sideways, cutting a rather sorry figure.
The spectators suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Wasn't this a carbon copy of Ding Shuo's fight against Lu Ke earlier? Only now, the roles were reversed.
A look of surprise appeared on Mr. Qi's face. He turned his head to the stout middle-aged man behind him and said, "This young fella is quite impressive."
The stout middle-aged man said, "His footwork and power generation look decent, but they're still a bit raw. His muscle coordination isn't fully developed yet, so he probably hasn't been learning for long. But he has great strength, speed, and his reactions aren't weak. He also knows a basic Breathing Technique. This is natural talent. As long as this young man's stamina holds up, it will be very difficult for Ding Shuo to win."
Mr. Qi smiled. "Is that so? A talented young man, then." His tone suggested he wasn't the least bit worried that Ding Shuo would lose the fight.
Ding Shuo hated being suppressed. He tried to counter-attack several times without success. On one occasion, he carelessly left an opening and took a kick from Chen Chuan to his side ribs, making him grimace in pain. No matter how hard-headed he was, he now knew he couldn't win a head-on clash with Chen Chuan. His only option was to maintain a defensive posture and wait for Chen Chuan to either expose a flaw during his assault or run out of stamina before striking back.
After a barrage of kicks, Chen Chuan noticed Ding Shuo's attention was almost entirely focused on defending against his lower attacks. 'The time is right.' He slightly lifted his knee, feinting another kick. Ding Shuo habitually raised his hand to block. But at that moment, Chen Chuan suddenly ducked low and shot his hands forward in a takedown attempt.
Ding Shuo flinched, realizing his predicament. 'Chen Chuan's relentless kicks were a setup to condition my response! His real goal is a takedown!' It was too late for him to lower his center of gravity. But then, to his pleasant surprise, he noticed Chen Chuan seemed to have fumbled the transition, leaving him a beat slow.
'An opening!'
Sometimes, the body reacts faster than the mind. Instead of choosing to retreat and lower his center of gravity, he directly aimed a knee strike at Chen Chuan's head.
Chen Chuan, however, surged forward and met the knee with his forehead. It was a powerful strike; against anyone else, the fight would have been over. But with the damage transferred by his Second Self, his body didn't even sway. His readied rear hand then shot out, smashing squarely into Ding Shuo's face!
Ding Shuo let out a muffled grunt. His vision went black and a sharp pain shot through his nose. If not for his well-developed neck muscles and the Resistance to Impact from his Breathing Technique, that single punch might have knocked him out.
Chen Chuan didn't stop after the punch landed. He stomped his foot and reached up to clinch Ding Shuo's neck, simultaneously bringing up his knee for what was clearly a powerful knee strike from the clinch.
Ding Shuo's vision was blurry, but his instincts screamed of danger. The hair on his arms stood on end. With a sharp grunt, he let out a short, powerful exhalation from his chest as his hands simultaneously flared outward. For a moment, it was as if the air itself had exploded!
Before Chen Chuan could lock his hands together, he felt them blasted apart by an immense force!
Seeing this, Yu Gang thought to himself, 'Hmm, Clothes-Throwing Force...'
With his hands forced apart, Chen Chuan lost his leverage, and the power went out of his knee strike. His attack faltered.
After using that move, Ding Shuo also seemed unable to attack again immediately. As if afraid Chen Chuan would press forward, he quickly retreated, creating distance between them.
He took a few deep breaths, then couldn't stop himself from glancing at Chen Chuan, who stood a short distance away. He was baffled that Chen Chuan was completely unharmed after taking his knee strike. Just then, he felt a sudden warmth in his nose. He touched it, and his hand came away with blood. A wave of fury washed over him.
More than the pain, he was furious at the humiliation of losing face in front of Mr. Qi.
Chen Chuan watched Ding Shuo as well. 'I didn't expect him to have such a strange power-generating technique. I put all my strength into that last punch; Lu Ke would have been knocked out for sure. But this guy, apart from some blood on his face, seems completely fine. He's still full of life, and even his nosebleed stopped after a moment. His Recovery Power and Resistance to Impact are just absurd.'
His mind raced as he considered his next move.
'Even though I only merged with my Second Self when I attacked, I've already used about fifteen seconds. And I estimate that absorbing the damage from his knee cost me another five or six seconds. Just like that, a third of my time is gone.'
'But this guy is so durable. I doubt I could take him out of the fight even if I landed a few more clean hits.'
'Thankfully, this isn't a tournament match or a fight to the death. I don't necessarily have to knock him out to win. Maybe there's a condition I can exploit…'
He quickly devised a new strategy and took a deep breath.
Ding Shuo immediately became vigilant. For someone with a Breathing Technique, a change in breathing when their stamina was still abundant was very likely the prelude to a burst of power.
Chen Chuan stomped his foot and suddenly rushed forward. This time, his sprinting speed was extremely fast. One moment he seemed to be in the distance, the next he was right in front of him, his fists and feet raining down like a violent storm.
Ding Shuo hurriedly dodged and parried. He felt his opponent's fists and feet hammering against him like hailstones, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
Moreover, if one paid close attention, one could see that the reddened areas on his skin where he was hit would fade away after just one or two breaths.
Mr. Qi watched with rapt attention. Even though he wasn't skilled in combat himself, he could tell the turning point of the match would likely come after Chen Chuan's current assault ended.
After continuously attacking for more than ten seconds, Chen Chuan threw a punch straight down the centerline. This time, the force didn't seem great. However, as he withdrew his hand, he grabbed Ding Shuo's wrist and used the momentum to pull, yanking the latter off balance.
Those in the know would recognize this as the "Hook-and-Grasp Hand" from the Great Scattering Hand style, a technique designed specifically to break an opponent's balance and pull them in.
Pulled off-balance, Ding Shuo immediately tried to exert his strength and break the hold. However, Chen Chuan's entire flurry of attacks had been a setup for this exact moment. As he pulled Ding Shuo in, he simultaneously closed the distance and executed a Pan Tuo Palm, slamming the heel of his hand into Ding Shuo's chin. Ding Shuo's reactions were incredibly fast, though. Just before the impact, he pressed four fingers into the crook of Chen Chuan's elbow, preventing the blow from landing with its full power. Nevertheless, the remaining force of the palm strike still snapped his head back.
At this moment, Chen Chuan suddenly stepped back. As he withdrew his hand, his fingers came together and lightly brushed past Ding Shuo's throat. He then voluntarily retreated to a safe distance, dropped his guard, and looked toward Mr. Qi and the others.
Seeing this, Ding Shuo was stunned and said with displeasure, "What's the meaning of this? It's not over!"
The stout middle-aged man whispered something in Mr. Qi's ear. The latter nodded slightly, then looked at Yu Gang and said, "Teacher Yu, we have lost."
Ding Shuo was stunned. He looked at the stout middle-aged man, suppressed his anger, and raised his voice, "It's not over! How did we lose?"
The stout middle-aged man said in a calm, unhurried tone, "That last move the young man used was the Curtain-Ripping Hand from the Orthodox Scattering Hand. If he had exerted force, your throat would have been torn out. Therefore, he won."
Ding Shuo said angrily, "Bullshit! I had his elbow pinned! How could he have exerted any force?"
The stout middle-aged man said, "I am certain he could have."
Still unconvinced, Ding Shuo stared at Chen Chuan and said, "I don't believe it. Not unless he does it for me to see!"
The stout middle-aged man said expressionlessly, "If this were a battle to the death, your life would already be over. You don't get a second chance to verify it."
Ding Shuo cursed inwardly. 'If this were a goddamn life-or-death battle, I wouldn't have fought like this in the first place!'
Hearing this, Chen Chuan inwardly relaxed. He knew his gamble had paid off.
'Given Ding Shuo's Resistance to Impact, winning with brute force would have been difficult. But since we agreed beforehand to pull our final blows, there was room to maneuver.'
'What counts as a "pulled blow"? It's when a winning, potentially fatal, technique makes contact with a vital area but is held back at the last moment.'
'By that rule, it doesn't matter if I've actually mastered the killing technique. As long as I can make contact with a vital spot under a plausible setup, it can be considered a decisive "touch."'
'Of course, this all depended on whether Mr. Qi's group would honor the spirit of the rule or just pay it lip service. If they were shameless enough to deny it, there was nothing I could do. But either way, it was worth a shot.'
'Fortunately, it seems these people do have a sense of honor.'
Yu Gang pondered for a moment, then walked forward under everyone's gaze until he was opposite Mr. Qi. He cupped his fist and said, "Mr. Qi, give me half a year. After I've handled some matters, if you would still have me, I will come to your organization."
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