Chapter 652: Complete Defeat of Zhonghua Tower
Yue’s penmanship was fluid and natural, leaving a pleasant impression on the viewers.When everyone turned their gaze to Xiao Yu's handwriting, they were immediately captivated by it. As Xiao Yu moved...Chapter 652: Complete Defeat of Zhonghua Tower
Zhou Changxing nodded discreetly when he heard Kuroda Ichirou's words. As long as the other party hadn't broken through, it didn't matter why they had come. Regardless of their reasons for coming to challenge, Zhonghua Tower couldn't afford any retreat.
The two men gave each other a slight bow and began to move around, each trying to find an opening in the other's defense. However, at this level of mastery, any openings were extremely subtle and would be quickly corrected if noticed.
As such, after several minutes of circling, neither made the first move. The only sound in the dueling arena was Wang Jingming's cries of pain.
On both sides, everyone held their breaths, afraid to make any noise that might disturb the ongoing duel.
This was the first time Li Yao saw Zhou Changxing like this. They knew Zhou Changxing's prowess and could tell how seriously he took this opponent, indicating that Kuroda Ichirou was no simple old man either. After seeing Zhou Changxing’s serious demeanor, Li Yao realized he had initially underestimated the Japanese elder.
The name "Kuroda Ichirou" hadn't surfaced in twenty years, so even if it did appear now, given that they were from different countries, Li Yao and his group wouldn't likely know about it.
After all, the world of martial arts isn’t big enough to keep track of everyone's affairs across different nations.
"Doctor Xiao, what are they doing" Jin Xianglin asked Xiao Yu softly when he saw that both men had been circling for ten minutes without moving.
No sooner had Jin Xianglin spoken than several angry glares were directed at him. These people were martial artists of considerable skill, while Jin Xianglin was a mere civilian. When these martial artists' gazes fell upon him, Jin Xianglin couldn't help but shiver involuntarily, feeling cold dread run up his spine.
His voice may have been small, but the arena’s silence made it sound unusually loud.
The most crucial thing in a duel, especially between masters, is to remain focused. A moment's distraction could cost them their match and even their lives.
Hence, when Jin Xianglin spoke up, everyone glared at him fiercely.
Seeing the angry looks, Jin Xianglin involuntarily drew back his neck as his heart raced. Xiao Yu stepped in front of Jin Xianglin to shield him from the hostile gazes.
Only after Xiao Yu blocked their view did Jin Xianglin heave a long sigh and wipe the sweat off his forehead.
Jin Xianglin's words not only infuriated Li Yao and others but also distracted Zhou Changxing slightly. He had never met Jin Xianglin before and merely glanced at them when entering, finding their presence strange but dismissing it as spectators.
Now that Jin Xianglin spoke up, Zhou Changxing knew these two weren't part of the martial arts world. Thus, he just gave Jin Xianglin a brief glance.
Although Zhou Changxing only slightly lost focus, most people wouldn't notice. However, don't forget who was standing opposite him. The person opposite him could be called a peerless master of Japan. Therefore, the moment Zhou Changxing's attention wavered, Mushashiro Ichirou seized this opportunity and swung his palm fiercely towards Zhou Changxing.
Mushashiro Ichirou's palm seemed ordinary, not even stirring up any air currents.
Although the strike appeared soft and lacked force, it was as swift as lightning. In fact, Mushashiro Ichirou had exerted his full strength in this strike, aiming to take Zhou Changxing down with just one blow.
After all, his martial arts level was higher than Zhou Changxing's, so he believed that even if Zhou Changxing tried to defend himself, it would be impossible for him to block the attack. If Zhou Changxing really could parry this strike, then Mushashiro Ichirou would have to take him seriously.
When Zhou Changxing slightly lost focus, he sensed something was amiss. At their level of combat, distraction is most忌諱的。所以他稍一分神後，立刻回過神來。
Once he focused again, he saw Mushashiro Ichirou's lightning-fast palm heading straight for him.
Though the strike seemed ordinary, Zhou Changxing sensed a subtle threat from it. He did not meet it head-on but sidestepped, making his body seem to crouch slightly. Then, with just a slight push off the ground, before Mushashiro Ichirou could change his stance, Zhou Changxing lunged forward and crashed into Mushashiro Ichirou's chest.
No feints or parries; it was one straightforward move. The essence of Ba Ji Quan is embodied in this kind of attack, and Zhou Changxing executed it to perfection.
Seeing his palm fail to achieve the desired effect but instead give Zhou Changxing an advantage, Mushashiro Ichirou's expression suddenly changed.
However, his expression quickly returned to normal, followed by a hint of excitement.
If he had managed to take Zhou Changxing down with that palm strike, he would have been very disappointed. But now, Zhou Changxing's response exceeded his expectations, causing him to feel excited.
It was important for him to find a worthy opponent through these challenges; the pressure from such an opponent could help him break through his current limitations. Thus, seeing Zhou Changxing suddenly attack, he felt truly exhilarated.
The moment Zhou Changxing's body approached Mushashiro Ichirou, he let out a sharp cry and attacked with a force that was as taut as a drawn bow and explosive like thunder.
But when his body met Mushashiro Ichirou’s, it felt like hitting cotton; there was nowhere for him to apply any strength.
Faced with this situation, Zhou Changxing took several steps back in shock, staring at Mushashiro Ichirou.
This was the first time his Ba Ji Quan had failed to work properly when used against an opponent. It had been easily nullified. Even if someone were slightly stronger than him and he hit them with this move, they would suffer broken bones and torn tendons. But now, using it on Mushashiro Ichirou seemed like it didn't even register a reaction.
In reality, although Mushashiro Ichirou appeared calm, inside he was quite startled. In his youth, he had studied the Tai Chi principle of turning four ounces into a thousand pounds and had reached a certain level, but just now, he hadn’t fully neutralized Zhou Changxing's attack; a mouthful of blood nearly forced its way up.
A person at the pinnacle of the Hua Jing realm was injured internally by a mid-stage Hua Jing practitioner, clearly showing the power of the Ba Ji Tieshan Kao technique.
The two men now stared at each other. Watanabe Ichiro had originally thought that relying on his profound internal strength, he could catch Zhou Changxing off guard. However, he did not expect to underestimate Chinese martial arts. Not only was one of his moves defused, but he also received a harsh counterattack; this move not only stemmed from him being careless but also revealed the brilliance of China's martial arts essence.
Back in the day when Watanabe Ichiro’s father invaded China and learned some Tai Chi there, Watanabe Ichiro integrated it into his martial art practice. Besides natural talent, Tai Chi played a role in him entering the Dark Force realm at fifty years old.
Since learning Tai Chi techniques, he had never dared to look down upon Chinese martial arts, but now that he had let his guard down, fortunately, he was well-versed and deep-rooted in training. Otherwise, just this one push and rebound would have rendered him unable to fight back.
After staring at each other for a moment, Zhou Changxing shouted, “Body like a bow, fist like an arrow!” With a determined aura, he rushed towards Watanabe Ichiro.
The present Zhou Changxing was exerting force from all directions, every part of his body ready to fight. His fists were like violent winds and rains pummeling down on Watanabe Ichiro.
It is well known that the Eight Extremities Fist style is an extremely hard martial art; with Zhou Changxing's lifetime of training in this fist style, he had perfected its essence: 'contact', 'support', 'pressure', and 'reliance'. His entire body was a point of attack.
“Head to press, neck to straighten, body upright, hips firm. Movements are swift, power is fierce, contact, support, pressure, reliance everywhere!” This was the song of the Eight Extremities Fist style, and Zhou Changxing had brought it to its peak.
This was Zhou Changxing's first time in over a decade using all his might against someone. When he used Tieshan Kao earlier, he felt danger approaching so now he did not hold back at all, showcasing everything he had learned and trained for.
Without mentioning other things, Zhou Changxing believed that ordinary Hua Jing experts could hardly withstand this round of attacks; however, considering Watanabe Ichiro's reputation and the strength he displayed earlier, Zhou Changxing didn't dare say if Watanabe Ichiro could defend against it. Regardless of how it would turn out, he had already exerted more than a hundred percent.
“Good timing!” Seeing Zhou Changxing’s assault, instead of being afraid, Watanabe Ichiro felt even more excited and shouted loudly when facing this fierce fist style attack.
Their fists and feet clashing produced a loud "thud thud" sound. They moved very fast, so much that to ordinary eyes it would just be a blur, leaving only their figures visible but not the actions.
Xiao Yu watched in amazement, having fought against many experts, including two Hua Jing experts. But compared to Zhou Changxing, those opponents were far inferior. However, he did not看好周長興，因為周長興已經用儘了全力，而武藏一郎卻似乎遊刃有餘。
周長興的拳法有時很詭異，但武藏一郎的動作像棉絮般輕柔，即使被擊中也無法對他造成傷害。相反，當武藏一郎打到周長興時，因為他的內勁深厚，周長興的臉色會驟變。
十多分鐘後，豆大的汗珠從周長興的臉上滴落下來，臉色也有些蒼白，嘴角有絲絲鮮血流出。
Zhou Changxing was in such a state, but Wuzang Yilang wasn't doing well either. At first glance, he appeared relaxed, but his body was already hot and sweaty; despite the Tai Chi ability to release energy, his palms and arms were trembling slightly. The internal injuries sustained from Zhou Changxing's previous mountain-hugging technique attack were starting to act up again, though they had been suppressed.
Despite this, Wuzang Yilang didn't show any signs of dejection; instead, he became increasingly excited.
It turned out that he now felt the barrier preventing his breakthrough was becoming more and more unstable.
"Ah..........." Five minutes later, with a slightly pale face, Wuzang Yilang let out a long roar. His numb palms and arms instantly regained their strength; meanwhile, his injured internal organs recovered suddenly.
Just now, the thin membrane that had been blocking his breakthrough shattered under the impact of their clash, leaving him in an unprecedentedly good state.
Zhou Changxing heard Wuzang Yilang's roar and immediately showed fear on his previously pale face. He could tell from the roar that Wuzang Yilang was excited; only one thing could make Wuzang Yilang so excited now, which was...... he had broken through.
"Bang..." While Zhou Changxing was distracted, Wuzang Yilang punched towards his chest. Even though Zhou Changxing was distracted, he still saw the punch coming and blocked it with a palm strike, but the once evenly matched battle suddenly shifted in favor of Wuzang Yilang as Zhou Changxing flew backward and landed with a thud.
"Puh..........." Lying on the ground, Zhou Changxing spat out a mouthful of blood. His right arm dangled limply beside him.
After spitting out the blood, Zhou Changxing seemed to regain some energy and struggled to sit up but couldn't manage it no matter how hard he tried.
Zhou Changxing's entire body was drenched in sweat as his originally white martial arts uniform was now stained with blood.
When Li Yao saw this, he rushed over and helped Zhou Changxing to sit up. Li Yao’s face looked extremely grim; Zhou Changxing was the top martial artist of their Chinese Tower Martial Arts School, and his defeat meant that they had been thoroughly defeated. They would no longer have a reason to recruit new members for their school.
"You........ have you broken through" After Li Yao and two young men helped Zhou Changxing sit up, the latter asked Wuzang Yilang.
"Indeed, I've finally reached that legendary realm. Ha ha, Japan, wait for me; wait for my sweeping vengeance! Father, I can now sweep across the Chinese martial arts world and avenge you!"
Hearing Zhou Changxing's question, Wuzang Yilang who had been calm suddenly laughed madly.
It turned out that his father was injured by a high-level martial artist when Japanese troops invaded China during the war. The damage to his father’s meridians made him depressed and eventually led to his death upon returning home.
Wuzang Yilang's purpose in practicing martial arts was partly to avenge his father. When he initially broke through and entered the stage of dark energy, he had visited China once but was defeated by an old man with just a few moves. Since then, he returned to Japan, diligently trained, and aimed at one day avenging himself.
He had been quietly practicing for revenge for years; however, now that he reached the legendary realm, decades of pent-up emotions finally erupted. He didn’t believe there was anyone in China’s martial arts world who could be his match anymore, so he no longer needed to remain低調 (low-key).nearby.The two rode the elevator up to the twenty-third floor where a few young people were seated on chairs across from them reading newspapers and wearing headsets. These people glanced at Xiao Yu a...