Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 164: Inspiration Like a Rainbow!

“Master Wang, you’ve finally arrived.”

Wang Chao, Huo Ling’er, Han Xiaoqing, and Lin Yanan were accompanied by Boulder, Hammer, Axe, and Zhao Xinglong as their bodyguards. Arriving at the Hong Kong Airport, Huo Qiyun had personally arrived to greet them before having them all take a car to take them to one of the more grand residences in Repulse Bay.

Repulse Bay was one of Hong Kong’s most famous geographical areas for residency. It was located just in the right spot to overlook the sea and was good for feng shui. Ten of the most well known mansions were located at Repulse Bay. The Huo family’s mansion had been built rather simplistically, but elegant. There was a medieval European castle style to it and was accentuated by the air of antiquity.

It was in the winter by now and close to the New Year, making everyone feel quite jubilant. The Huo residence was no exception to that. On the avenues that led into the area, giant red lanterns could be seen hanging everywhere. Not a single leaf could be spotted on the ground due to the excellent work of the sweepers. All in all, the people who would walk by would feel especially festive and peaceful.

“All of the well known celebrities and personages of the martial art or sports circles are now aware of your match. So half the reason why I invited you here today is to hold a welcoming party and the other half is to let you introduce yourself to them.” Huo Qiyun spoke while driving. On the way, he asked about what his little sister had learned in the previous two months while also explaining the situation.

“Ah, understood. Thank you for your troubles.” The car came to a stop on the left side of the mansion. Upon his arrival, Wang Chao had realized that there had been sports cars of every brand to be seen parked here. There were at least a few dozen of them–this had to be the celebrities and personages Huo Qiyun had talked about.

This competition of his had been planned two months ago in advance by the Huo family. With their wide influence and involvement, this would be the biggest match Wang Chao would be in as of yet. After his arrival in Hong Kong, Wang Chao would need to go through several social parties and do as society must.

Although Wang Chao had only just arrived in Hong Kong, Lin Yanan had prepared for a lawyer to arrive at least ten days in advance to draw out a proper contract with Nguyễn Hồng Tú ’s lawyer.

In an official match between masters of martial arts, to not bet with money would be in bad form. This time, Wang Chao and Nguyễn Hồng Tú had both used a hundred million to bet–the same amount as they did in the battle with Zhang Wei. However, this was not in RMB, it was not in the Hong Kong Dollar, nor the USD, but in Euros.

In other words, this match would be worth a billion RMB per person around.

Wang Chao had once added a dojo to his Tianxing Networking and had it expand greatly, but investing a billion in this would be impossible for them to do. However, from this wealthy sum, Wang Chao personally had only paid a tenth of it. The rest of it had been funded by Liao Junhua, the Chenshi Corporation, the Huo family, Han Xiaoqing, and even the younger aristocratic second generation that attended Wang Chao’s demonstration on dodging a bullet. The organization had even invested a hundred million RMB into it.

Liao Junhua and the rest knew of Wang Chao’s strength and had naturally wanted to help by investing their funds into it. Cao Yi and the organization knew that they could get a loan in this and invest it into Wang Chao. If they won, then their returns would be double the investment. Furthermore, this way of getting rich was all over the table in terms of legality. Even snow couldn’t be as pure and white as this.

As for Nguyễn Hồng Tú , Wang Chao knew a decent tidbit about his financial backers. A lot of it was funded by Choi Jang Baek. But the rest were founded by the Thai army, the drug cartels in the Golden Triangle, the society of Yoga in India, and even the Japanese limited companies.

Aside from the martial art funds, the casinos in Southeast Asia had begun to start their own bets. The payout had ended up to be 1:1, or in other words, fifty percent.

This was to say that everyone believed Wang Chao’s chances at winning was just about the same as Nguyễn Hồng Tú ’s chances of winning,

Wang Chao wasn’t some nameless general after all. He was famous and a progenitor to his own school of martial arts.

The witnesses to the actual event were especially important as well. Wang Chao knew of at least six of them, there was Iga Minamoto of the Japanese Martial Way. Aside from him, there was also “Iron Fist Hwarang” Choi Jang Baek, master of the world of fighting.

There was also the Taiwanese grandmaster of Xingyiquan, Hsueh Lien-hsin, a senior figure of the American Hongmen Society, Zhu Hongzhi, and Chen Aiyang.

Then there was also the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, master Shi Yongxin.

Aside from them, Wang Chao knew that the Huo family had planned for several others to bear witness. With so many representatives of the martial arts world here, there had to be celebrities of the surrounding circles as well. This one match had affected the Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the rest of Southeast Asia, so the amount of backers for this competition would be no small event.

After alighting from the car, Wang Chao entered the building, where sure enough, the entire place was buzzing with excitement from the dinner party. Upon his entrance, Wang Chao spotted Chen Aiyang seated with old bearded man in a yellow rosewood chair. To his other side, there was another middle-aged man and several youths that were no older than twenty years old.

This elderly man had been there for Wang Chao’s match with Zhang Wei as an impartial witness. This was Hsueh Lien-hsin of Taiwan, and the younger persons next to him had to be his disciples.

But when he had entered, the entire building had gone quiet in a flash.

“This is Mr. Luo, president of the Hong Kong Chin Woo gymnasium.” Huo Qiyun directed Wang Chao to everyone, “And this is Master Ma Hongjun of the Yuxing Corporation….”

After meeting with several officials of Hong Kong and exchanging several other words with several martial artists, Wang Chao finally met with the one known as the number one martial artist in Hong Kong, Ma Hongjun.

“Master Ma, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Master Wang, you flatter me.”

Ma Hongjun had grown quite plump and round. His ears were conspicuous, his hair was flat, and his beard was not quite there. But his eyes had been lit quite bright and energetically. However, this was not the look of a martial artist and resembled the physique of a Hong Kong or Taiwanese merchant that was having an affair with a mistress from the mainlands.

But Wang Chao didn’t dare underestimate Ma Hongjun’s skill at martial arts. Just from his presence alone, Wang Chao could feel that he was far stronger than his younger brother, Ma Huajun.

Ma Hongjun’s hands had been very smooth and smelled distinctly like medicinal water. His skin was sleek and glossy, and his fingernails were slightly cyan-green as a sign of having mastered his internal body as well as external body. Even his legs looked to be well built in a way that could be seen as a sign of an accomplished martial artist.

“Copper legs and iron hands. It seems that nickname is well deserved for him.”

Wang Chao had fought with Ma Huajun in Beijing before tossing him onto the roof. As the inheritor of the Ma style martial arts and younger brother, there would inevitably be hostility from Ma Hongjun to Wang Chao.

Even the people who weren’t chatting with the two would be able to see it.

Ma Hongjun and Ma Huajun were both brothers. One was a great martial artist of Hong Kong and was rich and powerful. The other was a head of the Ministry of State Security and was a member of the government. But both of them had relied upon their own strengths to get to where they were today.

He was a member of a martial artist family and proficient in the Ma style Xingyiquan, Cha Fist, Piguaquan, the Muslim Tantui, the Iron Palm, saber, spear, the Qimei staff, darts, and several other concealed weaponry of martial arts.

“How young you are, but how strong! If I were to fight you, I’d estimate a twenty to thirty percent chance of winning. No wonder you’ve earned yourself a nickname of being undefeatable in Beijing. Even Zhou Binglin who was known during the eighties to be the “Little Martial God” lost at your hand.”

During their conversation, Ma Hongjun had been observing Wang Chao at the same time Wang Chao had been sizing up the one known to have “copper legs and iron hands”. Having realized he stood no chance at winning, ma Hongjun had immediately given up any further attempts to press hands and to earn back the honor his elder brother had lost.

Several more words were spoken with false sincerity before Ma Hongjun excused himself and left.

“Senior Hsueh. Eh? Chief Liao, master Dai? This must be senior Zhu then.” After being called out by Ma Hongjun, Wang Chao had taken note of another elderly man wearing a black Tang suit and a dragon-topped cane seated right next to Hsueh Lien-hsin.

This elderly figure had no beard and his face was rather fair and clear without any liver spots. However, the corners of his eyes had a slight fish scale pattern to them as attributed usually to old age.

His dragon-top cane had been painted entirely red all over. Even more distinctively was the fact that it was not made of wood. Each time it clunked against the ground, a faint metallic ring could be heard–this cane was made of pure steel.

There had been plenty of people standing around where these two elders were. Even the more influential persons like Dai Jun and Liao Junhua were no exceptions. From the seated ones, Chen Aiyang could be seen.

It was very clear for Wang Chao to realize that this steel-dragon-cane wielding elder was definitely the very same Zhu Hongzhi.

“Master Wang, come and greet us old men!” Hsueh Lien-hsin called out to him in greeting before turning to the middle-aged people to his side. “Hsiao-hung, go and retrieve a chair for master Wang to sit in.”

The middle-aged man known as Xiaohong was one of the older disciples of Hsueh Lien-hsin. Within the Taiwanese world of martial arts, he was a very famous person and the head of the Guoshu Institute of Imitation Boxing in Taiwan. With such a title, he was one of the top two masters of Guoshu in Taiwan.

Taiwan currently had two top-notch experts. One was nicknamed the “Little Immortal Ape” Liu Chia-chun. And the other was known as the “Liger Champion”, Hsieh Hsiao-hung.

These two figures were masters on the same level as Chen Aiyang and Ma Hongjun. But because of Hsueh Lien-hsin, Hsieh Hsiao-hung could not sit down. This was one of the rules of old.

Although this was a gathering of celebrities, Hsieh Hsiao-hung could not sit down. But this wasn’t a sign of humiliation, for people had respected this and said it was a sign of respect for one’s master.

If Hsieh Hsiao-hung were to sit down, then it would be a tremendous loss of face and honor. It pointed out that this person was not morally upright and that the relationship between master and disciple was nothing special.

Chen Aiyang had reached the stage of transformation and was also the inheritor of the Li style Taichi and the Wudang style of Fishing Toad Jin. Because of these things, he had earned the recognition of Hsueh Lien-hsin and the right to sit down with him.

When Hsueh Lien-hsin had his disciple bring a chair over, it was an automatic sign of recognition that he saw Wang Chao as a person who was on equal footing with him.

Hsieh Hsiao-hung gave a nod to the youngster next to him, and in a flash, the youngster had brought forth a chair for Wang Chao to sit on.

“Chia-chun, you sit down as well! We are all practitioners, and so our gathering should be exciting and lively!” Hsueh Lien-hsin spoke to a youngster who was sitting on a sofa farther away.

The youngster let out a forced smile, “How could I possible dare sit in front of a senior figure like so? I’d best not come over.”

This youngster was Liu Chia-chun, yet another figure of the Taiwanese Guoshu circles and one of the strongest figures there. When Wang Chao had been introduced to people by Huo Qiyun, he had already made conversation with him as well.

Liu Chia-chun was wellbuilt and had long powerful fingers. His nose was aquiline shaped and his shoulders were broad. With a handsome face, he could sit anywhere and still have a regal air to him.

In this venue of martial artists and celebrities, he was one of the most handsomest of figures.

“What a large set of rules for this group of martial artists.” Han Xiaoqing could see just how Huo Ling’er was standing so respectfully right behind Wang Chao, and that was surprising enough. But to see even Liao Junhua follow suit, she was all the more surprised.

Liao Junhua was a high-raking princeling with influence in his circles, that much Han Xiaoqing knew. Even after seeing him stand behind everyone else, Han Xiaoqing had been unwilling to follow his example, but because of the atmosphere of the area, she did not wish to break it. So instead, she moved over to the sofa where Liu Chia-chun was and sat down.

Conversation was made from person to person before finally everyone found their own respective circle.

“Yanan, Xinglong, go and greet Xiaoxue.” This match involved plenty of people, and the future prospects of the Tianxing Networking Corporation was no exception so Yao Xiaoxue, who had climbed up the ladder of success with Wang Chao had came with him.

“Ling’er, you go as well.” Wang Chao spoke to Ling’er.

“I’ve finished listening to master’s talk with the two masters anyways.” She smiled sweetly.

“Martial arts fear the young. Youngsters can establish themselves and become famous. Three years ago when I watched your match with Zhang Wei, your martial arts had the essence and spirit of it. And three years later, your skill has reached the peak. This is only a reasonable outcome, but for the “Little Martial God” Zhou Binglin to have his arm crippled by you was something even I did not foresee. Your skill is enough for your own school of martial arts to pass on the secrets of Guoshu.”

Hsueh Lien-hsin let out a sigh of admiration as he admitted Wang Chao’s status as a grandmaster.

“Zhou Binglin’s strength in his Sun style Taichi was perfection itself. In the eighties, just which martial artist of our generation did not see him as an enemy? I’ve heard he once tried to challenge you and ended up fighting thirty of your disciples before your more senior disciple fended him off in two rounds. If you were to fight him now, what do you think your chances woul be?” Zhu Hongzhi asked the side as he tapped his dragon cane.

“Fifty-fifty I’d say. However he was young at the time and his skill was at its peak. The Sun style Taichi is a very exquisite school of martial arts, so while my skill may be more pure, it would be hard to say.” Hsueh Lien-hsin spoke.

It was from this that Wang Chao could tell that the reason why the two elders had seen him as a grandmaster of equal standing was because of his victory over Zhou Binglin.

Zhou Binglin was known as the “Little Martial God” in the past and his martial arts was exquisite beyond belief.

When he sought out Hsueh Lien-hsin, Zhou Binglin had personally visited him for a match. It was only after he fought with thirty people in a continuous manner that Hsieh Hsiao-hong had been the decided victor in several moves. Figuring that he was no longer in a prime state to fight Hsueh Lien-hsin, Zhou Binglin left afterwards.

Ever since his appearance, Wang Chao had experienced many battles. But the most outrageous one had been when he fought Zhou Binglin back in the park.

It was this preposterous battle that had finally cemented his status as a grandmaster and progenitor with the previous generation of masters.

For his friends and foes, this feat was variegated in light.

At the same time the welcoming party for Wang Chao was going underway at the Huo family’s residency, another welcoming party was only getting started on the other side of Hong Kong.

The main character for this welcoming party was only natural to be Wang Chao’s opponent in the match, Nguyễn Hồng Tú .

The malevolent scar on Nguyễn Hồng Tú ’s face had become a shadow of what it used to be. His skin was sleek and glossy, and his aura seemed to have a 180 degree change in comparison to his aura from before.

If words were used to describe Nguyễn Hồng Tú from before, then his killing intent was as sharp as a steel knife and just as conspicuous. But now, he was sharp blade hidden within its scabbard. His killing intent and bloodthirst had been completely tamed for a terrifying effect.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú was originally an expert of Muay Thai and Yoga. With it’s unbelievable intensity, Muay Thai was very similar to Bajiquan. Yoga emphasized the cultivation of the health, and any expert of Yoga would have an incredibly strong internal organ system, bone joints, ligaments, and tendons while remaining soft and flexible. A genuine expert of Yoga would even be able to lick their own butt with their tongue.

It was clear to see that Nguyễn Hồng Tú was one of these said Yoga experts.

Combining Muay Thai with Yoga would completely wipe out the dangerous self-mutilation aspect of Muay Thai while hi own health and body was nurtured to further enhance his strength.

Originally Nguyễn Hồng Tú had been an expert who understood the finger secrets of martial arts. But in two months, the window sheet that had been blocking him had finally been torn away. Under the tutelage of Zhou Binglin, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had arrived at the Transforming Jin as well.

The Sun Style Taichi was truly a traditional and secretive style. No matter if they had a magical level of martial arts or a cheat, without true strength, they would not improve effortlessly. But for an expert who reached the Transforming Jin, any path that would lead them astray from the truth.

Back then when Wang Chao faced off against Zhang Wei, he had trained as hard as he could to prepare himself. And like that, he improved by leaps and bounds. Today, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had done the same.

Zhou Binglin was more than aware of the fact that Choi Jang Baek had been pining for his techniques for a very long time and had given him such a wage for that very purpose. And yet Zhou Binglin had never revealed it. His eyes were sharp and could see that Nguyễn Hồng Tú was strong, but compared to Wang Chao, hsi chances of winning were slim. No matter what, whether if it was Nguyễn Hồng Tú or Choi Jang Baek that was fighting Wang Chao in revenge for him, Zhou Binglin couldn’t watch them get killed by Wang Chao in good consciousness.

“Master Nguyễn, your match this time isn’t just a revenge match, it is inherently a fight between the martial arts of Thailand and China! As I am here, I wish you good luck and major success.”

A short but thin man with a yellow-brown beard could be seen holding up a crystal glass in toast as he spoke to Nguyễn Hồng Tú .

“You needn’t worry, general. I will definitely to beat my opponent to death.” Nguyễn Hồng Tú laughed before turning his head to the perfectly still Japanese man wearing a sakura kimono and wooden clogs. “What is your speculation, master Iga?”

“Fifty-fifty I’d say. But the results aren’t clear.” This Japanese man was the number one Japanese fighter and the military instructor for the royal family, Iga Minamoto.

Half the reason why he had come was to act as an impartial witness. The other half was to verify Wang Chao’s strength with his own eyes. Several years ago, Wang Chao had killed his own disciple Ye Xuan. Furthermore, plenty of Japanese associations had placed their investments onto Nguyễn Hồng Tú .

Choi Jang Baek was close friends with the Japanese world of martial arts. The worlds of Japan and Korea oftentimes met with each other, but their martial arts were more geared towards economics.

“Master Nguyễn, your skill with Yoga has already reached the epitome of perfection. You must win at all costs for this match. Do not let us down, we came all the way from New Delhi to Hong Kong for this express purpose of aiding you.”

A turban-wearing Indian spoke to Nguyễn Hồng Tú.

This was the head of the Indian Yoga Society, Jeet Singh. A majority of the wealth behind Nguyễn Hồng Tú had came from that society.

Choi Jang Baek sat in front of Iga Minamoto with a fan in his hands and a smile in his face. Clearly, it could be seen that he had confidence in him.

Zhou Binglin did not show up here. Having lost at the hands of Wang Chao, his battle strength was a half of what it would be. Plenty of martial artists would show up here, just how many of them had bore a grudge against him, and who wouldn’t decide to take revenge in this case?

The match had been influenced by many and surprised just as many people. Half of them were brought over by the Huo family and some were from Choi Jang Baek’s connections. Liao Junhua, Han Xiaoqing, and the rest of the second generation children had added onto that momentum.

The people behind Nguyễn Hồng Tú weren’t small in number either.

It didn’t matter whichever side one was on, they both were capable of amassing celebrities and famous figures. With this gathering and its hustle and bustle, there would naturally be a huge aftermath from this.

And so like this, the two sides continued to plan and prepare for the final three days.

The day of the match.

On this day, the atmosphere was gloomy and the jet-black clouds up overhead had a hidden red hue to it. The icy winds were blowing at great speeds, but for the entire mass of people gathered here today, they were lively and excited where they sat or stood.

The stadium they were in was kindly offered by the government of Beijing. Early that day, the police force had cordoned off the area so that no one could get in. Even the media themselves were unable to sneak past them.

The match between Wang Chao and Nguyễn Hồng Tú was very influential, but only amongst the celebrities and figures of the upper class. Civilians and the ordinary people wouldn’t know about it.

The stadium had been meticulously arranged from the audience seating to the central platform on top. Everything was neat and orderly and had plenty of strong-looking military members standing watch.

There had been no elevated platform in the center, as it was an all-or-nothing fight. There had been no referees either, as this was a fight to the death.

Hsueh Lien-hsin, Zhu Hongzhi, Iga Minamoto, Choi Jang Baek, Chen Aiyang and the plump and fat-eared Shaolin abbot Shi Yongxin were in attendance. Aside from those six, there was also the acting head of the Huo family and even the King of Gambling from Macau.

The entire audience platform was filled with celebrities, influential figures and martial artist. Wang Chao could see even the masters he had defeated back in Beijing at the Yiquan dojo as well as the three princelings from the Ike Corporation, Zhao Jun, Wang Xiaolei and Wu Yingda.

Other than that, there was Cao Yi, chief Zhou Liang, and commissar Yang. Seated with them were several plain-clothed men, but their aura had painted them out to be generals.

These were clearly the leaders of Wang Chao in the organization.

Even the “Dragon’s Iron Elbow” Liu Yi had arrived and sat next to Lin Yanan.

From the many well known martial artists, they brought with them one or two disciples who were more than happy to come and take notes. For research and training to become men capable of holding up the storefront for their masters, taking notes here between Wang Chao and Nguyễn Hồng Tú was a very beneficial thing.

Aside from the people that Wang Chao could recognize, there were also the few young martial artists from the Japanese and Korean martial arts worlds. Seated on the other side, there was Yagyu Haruko and Xu Zhen sitting together. Yagyu Haruko’s father Yagyu Suimei had not shown up.

Yagyu Suimei had Cheng Shanming shatter his bones and left him half-dead the last time they were in Singapore. Almost no better than being a cripple, Yagyu Suimei simply didn’t have enough face to come back.

And Wang Chao could distinctively sense the animosity coming from the martial artists from the Japanese world of martial arts. But that couldn’t be helped since he had used the Eagle Claw to force Miyagi Hanshin to piss blood and die and then also killing the genius Ye Xuan. These acts were more than enough to serve as a loud and clear slap in the face for the Japanese.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú stood at the center with his hands raised. A single white rope was tied tightly to his head. Without any layer of clothing to hide his upper body, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had only a short pair of pants beneath to show off the image of a Nak Muay fighting in a genuine match.

Wang Chao had only worn a single white upper garment.

The two of them had signed a contract with a death clause under the advice from their lawyers earlier, so there was no pulling out from this match now.

The two of them stood three or four meters apart on the center stage with a domineering aura pouring out from them. The clamor from the outside audience had instantly siphoned away so that even a needle could be heard dropping on the ground.

“Are you the Wang Chao that injured the elder Zhou?” Nguyễn Hồng Tú watched Wang Chao with a relaxed body and arms that drooped past his knee caps in a way that showed off the muscles.

Choosing not to reply, Wang Chao instead inspected the eyes of his enemy and the veins that bulged up from his fingers. Watching them fade back into Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s skin, a dark green color began to arise from the spot.

“Begin the match!” From the platform, a single judge had called out. As soon as the voice was heard, the sounds of both opponent’s feet could be heard tapping off against the ground and slam their bodies against each other!

In this very moment, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had looked as if he had transformed into a merciless beast.

In two steps, he had already reached the front of Wang Chao. With both hands bent over his face to protect both it and his chest, his right knee immediately shot up to strike at Wang Chao’s abdomen.

This low-striking knee had been as defensive as an iron shield and brought forth a fierce gust of wind with its delivery. Even Wang Chao’s clothes had been sent a flutter, and it seemed as if the gust of wind that accompanied Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s strike would be enough to knock over a person.

For the iron knee of Muay Thai to reach such a degree of strength like this, it was absolutely mind boggling!

But Wang Chao didn’t even flinch in the face of this fearsome strike. Arching his back ever so slightly, Wang Chao’s right arm came dropping down in a hammer motion onto the iron knee of Nguyễn Hồng Tú.

Bang! The sounds of bone meeting bone could be heard with a distinguishable sound like a heavy weight dropping into water. With the impact of the strike came a explosion of sweat everywhere.

In between strikes, both combatants had used Hidden Jin to force out droplet of sweat!

Author note: Legend has it that Bruce Lee once struck his fist against the chest of a person with enough force that sweat splashed onto the camera. Everyone can imagine from this that this would be a great representation of Hidden Jin caught on film.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s iron knee had made contact with Wang Chao’s “Step Forward and Punch Downwards”, forcing the bodies of both to begin to shake. Immediately switching from hammer to claw, Wang Chao imitated the eagle style of Chin Na to overturn his hand and clutch onto the muscles and ligaments of Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s knee cap.

In a match of close combat, there was also the concept of Chin Na that the hammer, smash, chop, or pound could turn into.

From the hammer came the grab, and from the grab comes the stab. To tear apart afterwards would be the more advanced form of attacking.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú had only felt a cold sensation rise up from his knee cap before his muscles twitched anxiously in response. Knowing that Wang Chao had grabbed onto his knee cap, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had felt his heart skip a beat. No matter how strong his muscles were, they could still be torn out. The nerves in his leg traveled down and through his knee to respond in a similar fashion to a switch knife. With a clattering sound, it swished through the air and tried to strike at Wang Chao’s chest.

His leg had been soft but unyielded to nothing like a rattan whip. When soft, his bones were soft too. When hard, his bones were like iron.

Up against this flick blade of a leg, Wang Chao extended an arm of his to block it before carrying out the motions for “Lifting the Beam Onto the Roof” with it.

In an instant, his fist had transformed into an eagle’s claw once more. The webbing near his thumb and forefinger had immediately protruded like it would in the claw of a bird with a healthy size to match the muscles in it.

Twisting and turning his arm, Wang Chao’s arm quickly maneuvered like a snake around Nguyễn Hồng Tú leg and onto his calf.

Use the arm like a snake to immobilize and squeeze to death. Then use the eagle’s claw to stab into and tear out the flesh.

And so Wang Chao’s claw had already made contact with Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s calf.

But in the same moment, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s calf muscles had loosened. Then rebounding with the elasticity of rubber, it became as hard as iron and slipped away from Wang Chao’s eagle claw.

While that was going on, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms had swung out while his body leaned forward. Like a mountain collapsing, the elbow joints of his arm had moved to strike at both sides of Wang Chao’s neck ruthlessly.

When Wang Chao saw that his attempt to crush and tear out the calf mucsles had bore no effects, Wang Chao knew that his opponent’s mastery over Yoga was incredibly deep if he could control the muscles of any part of his body to become soft or hard at will.

Concentrating heavily on his ers, Wang Chao could hear the winds change from whenNguyễn Hồng Tú’s body come crashing down with his elbows moving towards his neck. Before the energy of the attack could even reach ,Wang Chao’s neck had already began to prepare for it.

In a battle between experts, one didn’t even need to sense the Jin of the enemy for their muscles, skin, and flesh to naturally respond. This was the result of thousands of battles that would become honed as a battle reflex.

Up against the leg strike and the heavy upper body strike from Nguyễn Hồng Tú, Wang Chao didn’t dare to belittle them. Contracting his body and head within himself, Wang Chao had looked similar to a turtle hiding from thundr.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s strike had ended up with his eyes fluttering wide open as he felt his elbows hit nothing and his feet give the feeling of whiffing the air. In his eyes, Wang Chao had seemingly contracted his neck so that it had instantly sunk deep into his chest.

In this moment of contraction, Wang Chao’s elbows had been hidden along with the arms and legs of his body. Stepping on Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s knee, he had been like a giant turtle that had just successfully whirled away from him on the waters. In the next moment, Wang Chao had already spun behind Nguyễn Hồng Tú and had once more exploded into action.

Both of Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s elbows had struck nothing but air. Nguyễn Hồng Tú could see that Wang Chao had not been kicked by him and spun around his own body by using his knee as a foot hold. Having wished to smash Wang Chao flat, Nguyễn Hồng Tú hadn’t thought that Wang Chao would turn around his body so that instead of being face to face, they were now back to back.

Shua! Frightened, Nguyễn Hồng Tú immediately thought of a major issue in his head. Like a horse kicking behind itself, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s leg had rebounded backwards to attempt at kicking Wang Chao’s body.

This reaction had been so fast that even the heart didn’t have time to react to it.

Bang! Before his leg could even rise up to kick at Wang Chao, Nguyễn Hồng Tú could suddenly feel as if a giant turtle had smashed ruthlessly against his back. Numb from the resulting force, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s feet stumbled a bit before being blasted back four or five meters. Taking a tumble on the ground, Nguyễn Hồng Tú immediately caught hold of himself and shot back to his feet.

Previously, Wang Chao had used the “Tortoise Hearing Thunder” to contract and spin his body around Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s body to dodge his strikes. Then with the “Crocodile Swimming to Evade Danger” to segue into a slam against Nguyễn Hồng Tú, Nguyễn Hồng Tú was sent flying back from the “Turtle Exposing Back” move.

Because this move was to strike at the back with the back, there was no need or time to turn around, so it was natural that Nguyễn Hồng Tú hadn’t been fast enough to recover.

Flying roughly five meters away, Nguyễn Hồng Tú rolled across the ground before getting back onto his feet. Turning his eyes upwards to look, he could only see a white shadow sweep past his vision. And before his vision could even stabilize to see what Wang Chao was doing, his forehead immediately went numb.

“Raaa!” Nguyễn Hồng Tú howled as he brought both of his arms out to protect his chest. Bang! In another splash of sweat, he had blocked Wang Chao’s approach and struck at his chest with a fist.

Despite being unable to see clearly, the hypersensitivity of his skin had been nimble enough to feel the incoming attack. Nguyễn Hồng Tú had been given the quintessence of Chinese martial arts under the tutelage of Zhou Binglin instead of being taught of a fake version.

“A beautiful crocodile stance. In my previous years, I’ve heard an elder once say that Che Lizhai’s “Crocodile Swimming to Evade Danger” had been perfect. But it astounds me that today I will be able to see another show of such an exquisite art. A young grandmaster, that title truly befits him.” Hsueh Lien-hsin couldn’t help but praise Wang Chao after seeing that exchange.

In their respective seats, the “Iron Fist Hwarang” Choi jang Baek had gone slightly pale and grim. Even Iga Minamoto’s expression had hardened a bit as he continued to observe Wang Chao’s movements.

They were both masters of fighting and knew in that instantaneous exchange, Wang Chao had already taken the upper hand.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú was in danger!

The words of warning Zhou Binglin had given suddenly resurfaced into Choi Jang Baek’s mind. “Until you fight that youth, you won’t understand how truly dangerous he is.”

In that previous back slam, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had been sent flying, but he was not harmed. This was because the strength in the back slam was not the same as being hit with a fist. If it were a regular person, then they would have had their spine shattered and their internal organs displaced. But Nguyễn Hồng Tú was no ordinary person. His body was far stronger and so he had only felt a minor vibrational shock.

But! While he wasn’t injured, he had lost the upper hand. Losing this momentum was the biggest danger there was!

Having blocked Wang Chao’s Chopping Fist, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s body softened as if he had no bones. Like rubber, his elbows had softened in its muscles to follow the momentum of Wang Chao’s strike. Making use of the joint techniques from Yoga, he stuck close to Wang Chao’s body.

Close combat Chin Na was terrifyingly dangerous and a taboo method of fighting in general, but Nguyễn Hồng Tú was not afraid. Now that he had understood the extent of the terror that was Wang Chao, he had no other choice but to do all that he could to regain the upper hand.

But for what reason would Wang Chao give him that opportunity! At the very moment he had stuck close to Wang Chao, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s eyes widened in shock. As if a tremendous cannon had fired off nearby, the resulting shockwave had lifted both of his feet entirely off the ground. Every inch of his body began to tremble, and his skin began to shake.

“Bear Shaking Loose”, “Rooster Ruffling Feathers”, “Crane Extending Wings”, “Dog Shedding Water”, “Carp’s Exploding Scales” or the “Serpentine Strike”, and so forth. All of them were examples of the entire body pulsating with courage and vigor in an instant so that the muscles, bones, flesh and skin overflowed with it. This was one of the ultimate ways to show off the limits of how the human body could explode with instantaneous power.

The way the Jin circulated after the heels lifted off the ground and through the vertebrae into the tailbone, one could move forward with the “Flying Horse Treading on Sparrow” or the “Cutting Tail of the Crocodile”.

And so in this development, Wang Chao had revealed the hidden strength he had to wrap around Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s hand. In a single explosion of Jin from Wang Chao, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had been sent flying once more with a bang.

Bang! Nguyễn Hồng Tú fell to the ground once more with enough force to splinter the ground beneath him. But as a testament to his strength, he had quickly risen to his feet. In that exchange, he had managed to dissolve most of the blowback to reduce the damage to his body.

If Nguyễn Hồng Tú had been able to successfully clinch with Wang Chao so that an embrace was possible, then the outcome would not have been so clear. Unfortunately, Wang Chao had understood that and made sure it didn’t go as Nguyễn Hồng Tú planned.

Despite his fast recovery, Nguyễn Hồng Tú hadn’t enough time to get his bearings straight before he felt his skin go numb again in his chest. Hurriedly throwing up his arms, he blocked Wang Chao who had stuck close to him like a shadow with a punch.

The reason why he had been sent flying was because he had lost the prior advantage and was unable to restart his momentum. Had Nguyễn Hồng Tú been able to burst with Jin, then Wang Chao wouldn’t have been able to send him flying.

Unfortunately, he was still on the receiving end. His assaults were repelled while being struck further and further away, further decreasing Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s momentum.

Unrelenting, Wang Chao’s foot brought him flying two steps past Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s left side after his initial punch was blocked and delivered yet another arrow-like fist.

Hurriedly swinging his knee out, he managed to block Wang Chao’s move. It had been a weak attempt to defend himself, and held no more strength to attack Wang Chao more than it had to defend himself. But to the eyes of those not in the know, these two men were locked in an ardent fight.

Continuing to deal his blows one after another with a huge advantage, Wang Chao circled around Nguyễn Hồng Tú with a series of crippling moves. In a spurt of energy, Wang Chao’s momentum had been as bountiful as a rainbow!

After a dozen or so blows, even the spectators who had previously been unaware of what was going on had begun to see the aftermath.

Each time Wang Chao punched, his entire vertebrae had snapped like an arrow at the point of releasing an arrow with a penultimate display of beauty and strength!

Verily, his entire body was like a brilliant archer. His vertebrae acted as the bow, and his arms and fists were the arrows. With each punch, he had fired yet another arrow in quick succession!

“Agh! Why don’t we die together then!” Suddenly, a furious roar like the bellows of an angry elephant could be heard. Nguyễn Hồng Tú had finally been pressed to the point of being unable to fight fairly. With a body that begun to leak a murderous intent, his bloodthirst begun to spike and his anger began to erupt. Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s eyes turned bloodshot and whirled his body around to stare vehemently at Wang Chao like a lion turning towards its prey. No longer caring for the strikes of Wang Chao, his elbow and shoulder points suddenly shrunk in as if being manipulated by his muscles.

In the next moment, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms expanded abruptly to latch onto Wang Chao’s shoulders.

Unflinching, Wang Chao shook his shoulder to the side and shrunk in his body to seem as if he had no shoulder to begin with. Leaning towards the floor to resemble that of a giant turtle, Wang Chao rolled down beneath Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s abdomen before abruptly springing back up.

Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms had clutched at nothing. With his arms contracted inwards and in a circular manner like a giant man bear hugging a tree.

Suddenly turning around so that his back faced Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s chest, Wang Chao’s arms pushed outwards to grab Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms. Then, with another twist, he bent Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms as he whirled around! With his hands now captured, Nguyễn Hồng Tú had no other choice but to use his knee to strike–but he had not thought that Wang Chao would use his hip to swing and slam into his pelvis, causing the knee to fly back down without being able to rise!

With both his hands captured and his advancement forced back due to the strike to his hip, Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s Jin had finally been fully dispersed by Wang Chao. As soon as he had accomplished that, Wang Chao’s eyes finally revealed a pitiful light. But his hands did not slacken in the slightest! With a rise and fall of his body, Wang Chao’s entire person seemed to look like a crocodile preying on its meal as it left the water and into the air. With both hands, Wang Chao forced apart Nguyễn Hồng Tú’s arms and then violently jerked at it to tear them apart!

“Cutting Tail of the Crocodile!”

Tzzkkk!!! In an instant, blood splattered everywhere and painted the entire platform with its color.

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