Maiden Galaxy

Chapter 8: One Inch Punch To Kill The Enemy

That man wore a face mask, a gray robe, boots, gloves, and he had a tall figure. From the looks of his attire, he was not a hunter from town. He walked out like this without any warning, staring straight at the Snow Fox that Chen Mo held.

The man's brow wrinkled. He retracted his qi and blood, expanded his pores, invigorating himself. Clearly, his qi and blood had been trained to at the power of Qi And Blood Five Turns at the very least.

It was currently midwinter. The beasts on the mountain were all hibernating, and very few people would venture out to the mountain now. This man's sudden appearance made Chen Mo sense a kind of danger.

"Brat, your luck's not bad, to surprisingly be able to catch a Snow Fox. How about you sell this Snow Fox to me?" The man took several steps forward. He appeared relaxed from head to toe and had no hostility. 

The little Snow Fox hid behind Chen Mo and shivered.

"Not selling!" Chen Mo flatly refused.

"You really won't sell it?" The man viciously grinned.

The figure in Chen Mo's eyes flickered. The man scuttled, his body stretched taut, ferociously divebombing straight at him like a falcon. A succession of cackles resounded: "You don't know how to appreciate favors."

This man came prepared. The Snow Fox was evidently an excuse. The moment he took action, he was ruthless beyond compare, moving to cut off Chen Mo's ways of escape. His fists became raptor beaks, mercilessly striking at Chen Mo's throat.

A cold wind pounced, and his throat dry swallowed. It was as if a knife was slicing straight at him.

He's an expert.

The man had only just moved, but Chen Mo knew his opponent's power was not low. Compared to those young warriors of Azure Dragon Town, he had experience with doing savage things.

Chen Mo hastily raised his hand to first protect his throat. The next instant, he gripped the enemy's hawk strike.

An unbearable pain came from his palm, radiating straight through his bone.

The enemy's strength far surpassed his own.

This bastard's cultivation was at least at organ level, already putting him at Inner.

From the exchange of blows, Chen Mo immediately sensed the enemy's cultivation had reached Qi And Blood Six Turns. If he persisted in a direct confrontation, he would be at a great disadvantage. Just as Chen Mo was about to draw back, somersaulting to evade, it was clear the opponent would not let him have his way. He changed the shape of his strike, counter-grabbing Chen Mo's arms and applying continuous pressure.

Chen Mo's arm went numb, and his back ached. His body subconsciously lost the strength to resist. 

Hawk Rips Apart Rabbit.¹

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The man's next attack scratched at Chen Mo, to harshly rip apart Chen Mo's arm. If his arm broke, then his martial arts would truly be crippled. Chen Mo's heart was suddenly alarmed. Fortunately, these days spent under the waterfall had forged his mind, and after playing chess against Xiyi, his mental state obtained unprecedented ascension.

The shock in his heart was promptly stifled into calmness. He turned his hand, using his taichi for a stance, then moving utilizing the Bagua body techniques he obtained from the Bagua Chant. At last, he evaded the opponent's slashing attack. 

He retreated backwards.

"Huh?' The man was very surprised to see Chen Mo unexpectedly escape from his Hawk Rips Apart Rabbit. This attack was capable of even restraining the opponent's body techniques. A warrior of insufficient strength was completely unable to break free.

But the currently Qi And Blood Five Turns bastard had surprisingly dodged it.

With no time to think, Chen Mo drew the Bagua in his mind. He let loose his fists, adopting some of the Qian Three Linked, but he had not practiced it proficiently enough. With merely the framework, this was completely unable to pose a threat.

The man sneered, his claw shadows bearing down.

Chen Mo could also tell that although his foe was Qi And Blood Six Turns, his was already at a level for his organs to exert power. The enemy's claw shadows whistled, incomparably ferocious. They occasionally stuck close, other times attacked from afar. If it was not for Chen Mo's persistence in training, his possession of the Bagua Chant, and his foundation as a Servant Star, he would perhaps have been taken in only a few moves.

The more the man fought, the more shocked he became. A Qi And Blood Five Turns warrior had unexpectedly traded more than a dozen blows and was still standing. From his perspective, this was an inconceivable thing.

"What a good boy. If I don't cripple you today, then you will definitely be a scourge upon me in the future!" The man suddenly took a step back. He exhaled a breath like an arrow, drilled down with his foot and spread his body, as if he was a hawk about to launch and divebomb. He was using his most powerful technique, "Golden Eagle Wave Turner."²

An afterimage and claws followed close behind. The snowflakes covering the skies were shredded to powder snow by the claw shadow.

The man's execution speed was both swift and fierce. Chen Mo could only take it on directly. Riiip, blood splattered. Chen Mo's body was all of a sudden covered in a dozen claw marks deep enough to expose bone, overturning his flesh, leaving him badly mangled.

The man had judged accurately that Chen Mo's martial arts cultivation was too shallow, that he was without any special moves. It was practically impossible for a Qi And Blood Five Turns to have a winning chance against a warrior who had entered the Inner's Qi And Blood Six Turns. In his eyes, Chen Mo's current cultivation was nothing more than a deathbed struggle.

The man's eyes glinted. Eyeing, Chen Mo's temple, his claw shadows whistled. The boy was wide open. 

A chance!

The qi and blood of the always passive Chen Mo suddenly rocketed into the heavens, bursting forth like a mountain torrent. His whole body stretched taut. He launched a close range punch against the exposed chest weak point of the man.

At this time, the opponent still had time to evade, but the enemy merely broke into a big grin.

Too naive.

His qi and blood was already refined into his organs. The punching strength of a Qi And Blood Five Turns at most could only injure him slightly, but his own strike nevertheless could turn Chen Mo into a cripple once it landed on his temple.

The son of Lord Chang'an will be throttled by my hands.

The man's arrogant grin blossomed. Chen Mo's punch landed against his chest, but the moment this punch connected, the man's smile immediately twisted. Excruciating pain. Powerful strength passed through from Chen Mo's short distance punch through his skin, his flesh, straight to his heart. His Qi And Blood Six Turns strength would be sufficient to stop the injury this punch could bring.

But an unbelievable scene occurred.

The man's claw attack ended. His heart sustained a tremendous blow and temporarily stopped. An unimaginable power practically dashed his internal organs. Vomiting blood, the man took a series of steps back, unable to catch his breath, surprisingly unable to stand firmly.

"Impossible, impossible…"

The enemy's voice was hoarse. He could scarcely believe that unremarkable punch fo Chen Mo's would unexpectedly be so powerful. Unlikely as it was, his organs had been ruptured.

At that short a distance, to be able to unleash a punch that even a Qi And Blood Six Turns warrior like himself was unable to receive, even a Super First Rate martial art could not compare.

"That just now is called a one-inch punch."

Chen Mo breathed deeply. The one-inch punch, able to attack the target at very close range or at the moment an action was about to be completed, then suddenly rapidly contract muscles to unleash an explosive force. As a result, this punch was not just all of the power a Qi And Blood Five Turns Outer. It even affected the heart and lungs, all tissue on the body. With a full turn of its power, it would not be outdone by Inners.

The man was also completely unprepared. The organs in his body were practically smithereens. If he fled at this time, perhaps he could treat his vitality, however, that would depend on whether or not Chen Mo was willing to let him go. The one-inch punch had scattered the qi and blood gathered in the man's body. The hunter had now already become the prey.

Chen Mo coldly glared at him, turning around and heading to the waterfall.

"Why don't you kill me? Someone ordered me to come cripple you." The man shouted.

"You go back and bring that person a message. Don't challenge my bottom line."

The man's expression twisted. He suddenly fished out a silver box of "Torrential Downpour Pear Blossom Needles."³ "Naive brat, die!!!" With a whoosh, the box opened, and a bunch of needles shot towards Chen Mo. Just like blossoming pear flowers, like piling snow, an extremely pleasant sight.

This rain of needles was a Star Tool, his trump card. In normal times, he had only used it once against a Qi And Blood Seven or Eight Turns warrior. Once the concealed weapon was brought out, a thousand Pear Blossom Needles could penetrate into a warrior's body and orifices. Even a warrior that had cultivated to their bones would inevitably die miserably.

Chen Mo was stunned, not expecting this guy to surprisingly not recognize good luck. In his mind, he was somewhat infuriated, but this concealed weapon's approach was vicious. He shouted to himself that things were bad. He was just about to activate the Star Mark⁴ of Auntie's Heavenly General Star. In the case the Star Mark was activated, Auntie would receive a signal, his own power would substantially increase, and he could possess the "Invincible" Innate Skill.

But to use the Star Mark so soon left Chen Mo considerably depressed. This would definitely make Auntie look down on him.

Just at this moment, the incoming Torrential Downpour Pear Blossom Needles were blown away by something, reversing their trajectories. The man's eyes widened. Before he could react, the Pear Blossom Needles stuck all over his body. With a wretched scream, he died on the spot.

The time elapsed was no more than a few blinks of the eye, but the man was killed by his own weapon instead. "Even God will not spare you." Chen Mo stiffened his face and looked up the waterfall, feeling he had been too merciful a moment ago.

Turning back, he searched the man's body. Chen Mo found some pills and herbs, but the most valuable thing was still that Star Tool "Torrential Downpour Pear Blossom Needles."

Star World had magic weapons, but only a Human Star with formidable magic energy who had cultivated to Three Flowers Overhead and undergone a tribulation was able to operate them. Star Tools did not have such a restriction. So long as one had stepped onto the path of a Star Cultivator, anyone could use them. If this killer had used the Torrential Downpour Pear Blossom Needles earlier, Chen Mo would have been defeated.

Inspecting it, these Torrential Downpour Pear Blossom Needles could still be used once more. Taking these for self-defense was not bad.

…

"Xiyi, many thanks for your intervention just then."

At night, Chen Mo came to the top of the waterfall to see the girl mulling over the chessboard for their daily game.

The girl's eyes were still shut, paying no attention to worldly affairs, but Chen Mo was very aware that even though her eyes were shut, the scenes she saw were unimaginable to all Human Star warriors.

The girl had placed the white pieces in a corner approach, her expression completely on the game's situation.

On the seventh move, Chen Mo went with a diagonal play.

Xiyi sunk into contemplation. "Fellow Chen Mo's chess is quite exquisite, very formidable. I am at a bit of a loss."

"Xiyi, that you can see this is very amazing." Chen Mo complacently said. The stratgey he used had a famous name in the world of go, the Little Eye Corner, also known as the Shusaku Corner. Indeed, it was none other than Hon'inbo Shusaku's famous "Shusaku Opening," also known as the "One Three Five Opening."⁵

In the era of go without komi, Hon'inbo Shusaku's "Shusaku Opening" was purported to be such that the first move by black never lost.⁶ Without the restrictions of komi, Chen Mo was very confident he could defeat Xiyi this time.

The corner of the girl's lips had an extremely faint smile, pondering a short while without fluster. The white pieces "pushed the boat with the current, attentive to the smallest detail, gentle and remote." The grand plan Chen Mo started began to unfold on the board. The black pieces left her no room to maneuver, flourishing on a large scale. The girl was unruffled, the wind gently blew.

Although Shusaku's Opening was strong, it only responded to the simple styles of go back then in Japan. Needless to say, in a short moment, Chen Mo was dismayed to discover that his defeat was already certain. None of his pieces could move, and he could only concede defeat.

This game again completely drained Chen Mo of energy, but his Qi And Blood cultivation had advanced very quickly.

The girl warmly put away the pieces and said to Chen Mo: "Fellow, each game I play against you opens my comprehension of a match. I truly never thought that other than Fellow Huang Longshi,⁷ Fellow Chen Mo could also have such profound wisdom."

"Xiyi, don't mock me. I did not win against you." Chen Mo forced a smile. After their relationship grew somewhat close, they did not use honorifics.

The girl slightly smiled. The topic suddenly turned to cultivation: "You are already Qi And Blood Five Turns. I shall teach you a technique."

She flicked a finger. A ray of white light shot into Chen Mo's mind, and a complicated stream of characters endlessly morphed, "The eyes see the nose, the nose sees the heart. Please cultivate this Nose Locking Art well, Fellow."

1. 雄鷹撕兔 ↩
2. 金雕翻浪 ↩
3. 暴雨梨花針 ↩
4. 星印, different from "Star Crest" 星符 ↩
5. Nooo, make it stop! No more go references… ↩
6. In go, the player with black makes the first move. ↩
7. 黃龍士 A famous go player. ↩