With a secret force coiling beneath his cloak, a single move sealed the fate of the duel!

“Good lad! You've got guts!”
“You’re so young, you could be my grandson!”
“You still dare to boast you can defeat your grandpa in three moves?”
“Well then, this grandpa of yours is eager to witness this so-called Ship Fist of yours!”

The sturdy old man snorted coldly, his words unyielding, eyes glaring with the fervent spirit of his era.

But as he assumed the Tiger-Grasping Stance of the Three Emperors Cannon Fist, his demeanor shifted to that of a seasoned martial artist preparing for a bout. With fists clasped firmly, he declared, “Lin Yuanchao of the Northern Capital’s Three Emperors Cannon Fist school!”

“Chen Jue of Wenshi County Ship Fist!” Chen Jue returned the salute with a smile, assuming the Eight Immortals stance. He understood that the old man’s seemingly mocking words were in fact a tactical ploy to unsettle an opponent before combat.

Old masters called it “verbal sparring,” what modern folks call “trash talk,” meant to provoke and disrupt the adversary’s focus.

Yet Chen Jue had refined his core energy with perfect composure, his mind serene as still waters—such petty provocations could not ruffle him.

Seeing his master set his stance and announce his identity, aware this grudge wouldn’t be easily settled, Yao San—the instigator—wore a look of frustration, refraining from intervening, knowing his master’s stubborn temperament.

Like a rock in a cesspit—stinking and unyielding, incapable of compromise! Once convinced of a principle, it would never be abandoned, just as the old Northerners say: “Stubborn to a fault!”

Yao San hadn’t expected that after casually watching Chen Jue’s training and receiving a few pointers, his master would explode and challenge this young man to a martial duel.

To Yao San, a merchant who valued harmony for prosperity, this was utterly unimaginable!

...

“Watch closely, you little thief!”

Lin Yuanchao planted his feet in the Tiger-Grasping Stance, his body rising and falling rhythmically, pores bristling. With a sudden burst of force, he kicked up a swirl of mud from the lakeside ground. His left elbow drew back, and his right fist shot forward with fierce momentum.

That punch, powered by the undulating force of his spine, crashed forth like thunder—exactly echoing the verse from the Three Emperors Cannon Fist’s four-way punch song: “Dragon steps roam, clouds rise and fall; opening mountain like thunder, cannon leads the way.”

His arrow-step bow-pulling form struck toward Chen Jue’s chest with unstoppable vigor!

Chen Jue’s face remained calm. He assumed the “Zhongli Sitting Drum” posture of the Eight Immortals form, his left hand’s fingers spreading like orchid petals, lightly meeting this fierce cannon punch.

---

With a “dong” sound, fist met fingers. Chen Jue felt a sharp sting in his palm and fingers—it was the hidden force emitted by the old man!

“This old fellow is surprisingly formidable!” Chen Jue thought, astonished to encounter for the first time a master besides himself capable of projecting hidden energy.

However, Chen Jue’s fingers had been trained hard as iron; he was unfazed by this faint penetrating force. Curling his left fingers around the old man’s fist, he retracted them, skillfully neutralizing over ninety percent of both the visible and hidden force in the punch.

Lin Yuanchao’s eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn’t expected the young man to be so adept, able to counter such a punch with a strange five-finger grip! Relaxing his shoulders, he unleashed the cross-cannon technique from the Three Emperors Cannon Fist—a left punch to the ribs, right punch to the chest—flowing seamlessly from the bow-pulling stance, changing tactics with great versatility!

Chen Jue released his grip on the old man’s right fist, then hooked his right arm under to block the rib strike. Using an intercepting method from Ship Fist, he forcibly broke the incoming cross-cannon, smiling as he said, “Second move!”

Lin Yuanchao’s anger flared, feeling mocked by this youth. He spun both hands, emitting a fierce shout as his tendons and bones rang in unison. A blue vein throbbed at his neck as his right hand lashed out with lightning speed, the air crackling with a sharp “swish.” Just as he aimed this whip-like strike at Chen Jue’s face, his vision blurred. The fierce whip struck nothing but air.

A voice rang in his ear: “Third move! Careful, old master!”

Before Lin Yuanchao could react, Chen Jue crouched low and dashed three steps with the speed of a butterfly flitting among flowers, circling behind the sturdy old man. Without uttering a sound, he applied the silent Eight Immortals grappling technique, entwining the opponent’s waist and soft ribs.

With a thrust of his hips and a shaking force, Chen Jue slammed the old man backward, launching him three to four meters away, crashing straight into the nearby park lake.

Chen Jue’s tactic combined grappling and hip strike, dispersing the old man’s power, breaking his Tiger-Grasping Stance, causing him to lose balance and destabilizing his lower body skill.

Yet Lin Yuanchao, a seasoned expert, performed a forward roll before hitting the water, planting both hands firmly on the lakeside paving stones. He managed to invert himself like a vertical handstand, dissipating Chen Jue’s shaking power.

Then, with his face flushed red, he flipped upright and prepared to face Chen Jue again. However, Chen Jue stood tall and respectfully clasped his fists, saying, “Please, elder, no more fighting! I fear for your safety.”

“You are older now. You cannot exert hidden energy recklessly—it might damage your internal organs. Better to preserve your health, enjoy your later years, and watch your descendants flourish, isn’t that preferable?”

“If you still wish to fight, take a look at the torn circle of cloth around your waist and reconsider.”

At Chen Jue’s words, Lin Yuanchao lowered his gaze and saw a large torn patch of fabric around his waist where Chen Jue had grappled him.

This showed Chen Jue had deployed hidden energy but held back his full strength.

If Chen Jue had fully unleashed his hidden energy needle technique, that close-in grappling wouldn’t have merely disrupted the old man’s stance with hip strikes—it would have tightened like a steel cable winch, swiftly wrenching the opponent in half.

With Chen Jue’s current explosive power after refining his core, one arm combined with visible and hidden energy could literally snap someone in two at the waist!

Just imagining that gruesome scene was enough for Chen Jue to refrain from overexerting himself.

After all, it was only a friendly sparring match, a casual exchange among martial artists—stop while ahead.

---

If it were a life-or-death duel, they would have signed a death pact and fought in a formal arena. But these are peaceful times; such practices are no longer in vogue.

“Hidden energy weaving and striking like a saw!”

“Impossible!”

“How could a young man have mastered such a refined heart-energy skill?”

Lin Yuanchao stared at the tattered cloth around his waist, his face ashen, realizing he had been utterly defeated.

The opponent had yielded three moves, and with a single counterstrike nearly sent him into the lake.

Now upon reflection, Lin Yuanchao suddenly felt that this mild-mannered youth, whose expression seemed to embrace all things, possessed boundless martial prowess!

Even if he were ten or twenty years younger and at his physical peak, he could not hope to match this young man.

At this thought, his old face flushed with shame for his earlier harsh words. Yet defeat is defeat, nothing to be embarrassed about. He sighed softly and bowed, saying, “Indeed, I am defeated! Master Chen, your grappling with hidden energy is extraordinary! I retract my earlier prejudice—you have the right to instruct my disciple. It was this old man’s foul mouth…”

“But Master Chen, was that close grappling technique truly part of Ship Fist? When I was young, I went south and sparred with a Ship Fist master surnamed Li. His style was all punches and kicks—no grappling techniques like that!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue smiled gently and replied, “Ship Fist has several branches, much like your Three Emperors Cannon Fist, each with distinct styles but the same essence. What you encountered must have been the Li branch; I practice the Huang branch, which contains a unique grappling killing technique not found elsewhere.”

“I see!”

“Since it’s a secret technique, my defeat is not unjust! It was this old man’s initial scorn that blinded him. I offer my apologies to Master Chen.”

Lin Yuanchao sighed deeply, performed a grand salute, then beckoned to Yao San, who had watched the entire exchange: “Third disciple, come pay respects to Master Chen and learn a move or two. Had you mastered heart-energy cultivation earlier, you wouldn’t have struggled these years to develop hidden energy under my tutelage.”

Here’s the second update to ensure steady progress! Writing steadily, feeling energetic today—looks like I can deliver several chapters to repay the debt (covering face).

(End of chapter)