Chapter 150: Chapter 149: Convinced
Fan Shiyan was sent flying by Zhao Xuanqi’s single strike. Feeling the intense vibration and numbness in his arm, his eyes were dazed; for a moment, he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.
’It was too fast. That instantaneous explosion was truly like a bomb detonating.’ The terrifying, earth-shattering boom almost made him think he was facing a cannon, not a man. His momentum hadn’t fully built, and the force of his Fist Technique was still gathering when the blow landed, sending him airborne.
Only after taking a moment to think did he realize what had caused that earth-shattering boom, a sound like a cannon blast.
Muscles, organs, Qi and Blood, heartbeat, Force, Gang Qi...
All of it, unified by his heart, had exploded from a state of stillness. All those forces layered on top of one another in an instant, creating such a terrifying presence and such a horrifying burst of power.
’But to be able to do this, how terrifying would one’s Heart’s Profound Ability have to be?’
’Won’t his heart explode?! Won’t his blood vessels burst?!’
’Is this the Tongxuan ability achieved after training in the so-called terrifying Five Evils Technique?!’
Fan Shiyan asked himself, and he knew he was completely incapable of such a feat. ’Not only is my Heart Tongxuan not powerful enough, but my control over my Qi and Blood, my heart, and my physical body is also far from sufficient.’
’My explosive power still needs improvement.’
Zhao Xuanqi shook his head slightly at the sight. Although he had sent Fan Shiyan flying in an instant, his opponent hadn’t actually been seriously injured. At most, his body was just temporarily stunned and numb from the impact.
Most importantly, he knew this wasn’t Fan Shiyan’s true strength. His opponent’s Training Method realm was higher than his own, and the White Tiger Sect had inherited many powerful Secret Techniques from the Hundred Beasts Fist. In a real battle, ignoring the risk of physical injury, stacking various Secret Techniques would raise his opponent’s Physical Ability and explosive power to a considerable level, just as Wu Yin had done in the past.
At that point, sending him flying with a single strike like this would be no easy task.
"Alright! Let me give it a try!"
Unlike Fan Shiyan, who was lost in the heat of the moment, Shi Huai’an had a clear view of the exchange. He had seen every detail of Zhao Xuanqi’s response and Power Generation, and his eyes glinted sharply.
That instantaneous switch perfectly demonstrated the Tongxuan ability of "heart like gunpowder, fist like a cannonball," and it made his own hands itch for a fight.
BOOM!!
Seizing the opening created as Fan Shiyan was knocked back, he stomped forward. The Black Tortoise True Form manifested, and his body abruptly swelled.
He wasn’t particularly tall, but his torso was astonishingly thick. As the Black Tortoise True Form manifested, his body’s thickness more than doubled compared to an ordinary Martial Artist’s, making it seem as if he were carrying a massive Turtle Shell on his back. He looked incredibly stable and unyielding.
At the same time, however, veins bulged across his body. As his Qi and Blood circulated, his blood vessels seemed to writhe like nimble snakes, and his skin and muscles rippled like waves, displaying immense flexibility.
This was the Profound Technique of the Black Tortoise True Form: the turtle and snake as one body.
HISS!!
He inhaled sharply, his chest swelling. As his breath surged, he let out a sound like the hissing of a snake.
His figure shot toward Zhao Xuanqi as he threw a palm strike of his own.
Power originated from his feet, traveling up through his muscles like a wave, gathering strength along the way. His heart pounded fiercely, his Qi and Blood surging like a tide along with the Force. At the same time, the essence of his kidneys was stimulated. This didn’t bring a burst of Physical Ability, but rather heightened the sensitivity of his muscles and skin to the absolute extreme.
Spiritual Snake Palm!!
This Palm Technique combined the Three Qi Tongxuan abilities of the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Its specialty was not explosive power, but the softness of Force Transformation and the coiling entanglement of a snake.
With his heart pumping like a churning current and his body moving like a snake, and with the stimulation from his kidneys, his muscles and skin became incredibly sensitive. He could instantly react to any stimulus of Force, maximizing his body’s ability for Force Transformation.
At the same time, the Tongxuan of his lungs provided his body with a continuous supply of oxygen, allowing him to attack relentlessly without needing to breathe.
Once ensnared by this Palm Technique, an opponent’s Force would be constantly neutralized and weakened, until the target was finally hunted down!
In a way, it was remarkably similar in principle to Zhao Xuanqi’s Exotic Beast Form of the Taotie.
This Secret Transmission was not part of the Hundred Beasts Fist; it had been created by the ancestors of the Black Tortoise Sect based on the characteristics of their own arts. Its level of sophistication was no less than that of the Exotic Beast Forms of the Hundred Beasts Fist!
Water douses fire. Shi Huai’an intended to use Soft Overcomes Firm!
ROAR!!
The next moment, Zhao Xuanqi once again unleashed his Force. The sounds of multiple types of force erupting at once layered on top of each other, creating an earth-shattering boom.
BOOM!!
Yet, when their palms collided this time, Shi Huai’an was not sent flying uncontrollably like Fan Shiyan. He was like an invertebrate, the muscles of his body exquisitely sensitive to Force. He instantly channeled the impact into the courtyard ground, which exploded as if it had been shelled.
He had already analyzed the technique and made preparations. How could he be caught so easily?
A hint of a smile flashed in Shi Huai’an’s eyes. The instant he dissipated the Force, he prepared to press the attack and bring the "coiling" principle of his Spiritual Snake Palm into play. But then, something unexpected happened.
THUMP!
A deep, muffled heartbeat reached his ears. From their palms, locked in a stalemate, he clearly felt a new kind of Force transmit—one that surged like a great ocean wave.
It was pliable, yet unstoppable.
WHOOSH!!
The next instant, in the brief window where his old force was spent and new force had yet to rise, this power, generated from mere inches away, exploited the opening. Incredibly, Shi Huai’an’s body was also lifted into the air, just like Fan Shiyan’s, and he floated lightly for two or three meters before landing.
’This is...’
’Inch Force? Double Strength?!’
In his shock, Shi Huai’an instantly understood. His opponent had used his formidable heart’s ability to forcefully control his Qi and Blood immediately after the first collision, using the surging Qi and Blood to release a second, Soft Force. The transition from hard to soft happened in an instant.
"Impressive. Truly impressive," Shi Huai’an said as he exhaled, deactivated his Black Tortoise True Form, and spoke to Zhao Xuanqi with immense admiration. "The Five Evils Technique is an advanced form of the Mystic Tortoise Inner Breath. It embodies the intent of the turtle and snake’s Hard and Soft Power, and your transitions are nearly seamless. It’s simply amazing."
"Heart like gunpowder, fist like a cannon. Layering multiple forces for an earth-shattering impact... It’s truly incredible," Fan Shiyan also said with a sigh.
If the two of them had harbored any reluctance to concede before, they were now utterly and completely convinced.
"We’re all just exchanging pointers to improve together..."
Zhao Xuanqi didn’t put on any airs and quickly began a discussion with the two of them.
He genuinely respected their strength. In his past life, anyone who reached their level at that age was a genius, the kind you only see once in tens of millions of people. What’s more, they were both diligent and eager to learn, and their Fist Technique was related to the Hundred Beasts Fist.
In his past life, the legacy of the Hundred Beasts Fist had dwindled. By the time it was passed down to him, he was its sole inheritor. Encountering a related Fist Technique in this Otherworld gave him a sense of kinship, making him willing to share some of his personal experiences with them.
They discussed the Exotic Beast Form and Hard and Soft Power. Although it was framed as an exchange, it was more like Zhao Xuanqi giving them pointers. The two men discovered that not only was Zhao Xuanqi exceptionally strong and talented, but his understanding of the Martial Dao had also reached an incredible height. He even had answers to questions that some of their sect Elders couldn’t explain clearly. By the end of their conversation, it was almost entirely Shi Huai’an and Fan Shiyan asking questions, with Zhao Xuanqi providing the answers.
This raised their admiration for Zhao Xuanqi to an unparalleled level. Given their standing, he was the first person to ever make them feel such profound respect.
