Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 92: Loosening the Muscles, Attacking With the Pores, And Having an Empty Intent

“Instructor, was there a reason why you didn’t kill Chen Aiyang?” Thomas asked in bewilderment as they walked out of the Chenshi Corporation.

“For a talent to die like that, it would be pitiful.” Tang Zichen stopped moving for a moment. “Thomas, you are not Chinese, you wouldn’t understand. Moreover, Chen Aiyang is the strongest within the Chen family. When he becomes the leader, he will gain the power to fight with the Li family for control over Singapore. If it were anyone else, then before ten years is up, the Chen family would be crushed by their surroundings. We do not have that many people available to help the Chen family.”

“Then instructor, what you are saying is…”

“You don’t need to ask, let’s go. I’ll hire some people to go do as I planned, you just need to do as I say.” A single car opened its door for Tang Zichen to sit in before speeding off.

“What a terrifying woman to hold all that power in her hands. She is truly the epitome of being a hidden dragon. Outside the heavens is another, and beyond a man is another. This is truly not fair to me.”

After Tang Zichen had left, Chen Aiyang remained standing right in the middle of all the rubble from their match. In the match, that woman’s movements had been eerily like a ghost and had a power that was formidable to even a mountain. No matter how much he prided himself on his whipping arm, movements, or technique, all had been useless within the scope of her power.

“Haaa…” A stinging pain could be felt in his chest that burned away at Chen Aiyang’s nerves. His clothes had been pierced and destroyed by Tang Zichen’s Hidden Jin. There were clearly two distinct finger sized holes where small drops of blood could be seen oozing through the skin.

“How fortunate that it was just an inch short from hitting any of my internal organs and was just a wound on the skin. If it were a true break out of Jin, then my entire body would have a hole through it.”

A single inch less could bring down the power of Hidden Jin by tenfold. If Chen Aiyang had time to cover his entire body with the Hidden Jin, then Tang Zichen would not have been able to jab him so easily.

Chen Aiyang had reached the Transforming Jin stage and could emit power from any part of his body. Even if someone were to hit him with a staff, then it would shatter and break away. But it hadn’t been able to defend Chen Aiyang from Tang Zichen’s Hidden Jin sword-like finger strike. In the end, she had been able to strike at an acupuncture point.

“Aiyang, are you well?” Chen Libo immediately called out for someone to meet Chen Aiyang as his white eyebrows were furrowed together in clear unpleasantry.

Clearly, Chen Aiyang had lost.

Seeing this sight, Chen Li and Chen Daquan had been extremely excited.

“No one will speak of what happened today.” Chen Libo suddenly declared, causing Chen Li and the others to be greatly disappointed. She had originally planned to talk of this matter straight away to deliver a crushing blow to Chen Aiyang’s reputation.

“Did you hear me or not? If this is leaked and I catch wind of it, then you will bear the consequences. In a moment, I will personally make a call to Mr. Thomas and have him hold back the results of this match.” Chen Libo spoke loudly, causing everyone to remember just how much power he wielded before nodding their heads.

“The family reunion meeting will be done another day. You may all leave.” Chen Libo announced more as he looked around the badly damaged structure of the building with an unhappy look.

Tang Zichen and Chen Aiyang had barely fought for two to three minutes. But in the end, the damage to the headquarters had been astounding. The damage done was far more astounding than what a team of construction workers using heavy machinery could cause.

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Even the extremely experienced Chen Libo had been utterly astounded by the amount of power caused in front of him.

With the support of Lin Liqiang, Chen Aiyang returned back to his own home to nurse his wounds.

His injuries hadn’t been heavy, but the Hidden Jin from Tang Zichen had served enough damage to his nerves. It hadn’t been enough for him to be immobile, and with him being a master proficient at the art of healing, it had only taken him around half a month to fully heal.

From this loss, the physical pain had been secondary to the pain from the strike to his confidence.

Chen Aiyang was not like Wang Chao.

When Wang Chao made his first appearance, while it had been grand enough to put his name out, he was not yet at a stage where his reputation was almighty. Even if he lost, it wouldn’t matter much. However, Chen Aiyang was already the number one expert within Southeast Asia, a loss was enough to signal a funeral for his name.

With a fame that preceded his name, a saint wouldn’t equate to his status, let alone a regular person.

Furthermore, his fame would implicate his family’s honor as well and not just him. The Chenshi Corporation had experienced a fast development these past few years, all of which was linked to his success.

Last year, the anti-Qing Party and the Chenshi Corporation had been in a dispute in regards to the foreign exports industry. As a result, both sides had hired mercenaries to act as pirates within the Southeast Asian oceans for a month, only for both sides to take up a heavy loss.

In the end, the Taiwanese martial arts world and the American Chinese Association had came in to intermediate with a proposal of a martial arts competition.

The result had been Chen Aiyang killing Zhang Guangming and scoring a victory for the Chenshi Corporation.

This battle had also led to the Chenshi Corporation raking in another profit of several hundred million Singaporean Dollars. It had also been that same battle that brought him his current position and so for the sake of preserving his family’s power and Chen Aiyang’s chance at being a successor, Chen Libo had intervened.

Otherwise, since both Chen Aiyang’s parents had died and he had no direct lineage, the family’s line of succession would never land upon him.

When in the Jianghu, one cannot move freely. Even though there were the open-minded, even they could not defend themselves against the turmoil of the secular world.

“For the elder to suddenly stop the reunion, does that mean he has another reason? That Tang woman, who is she? How did Chen Li come across someone as amazing as her? That Tang woman clearly let me go, just what is she getting at? This fight for the role of successor is something I cannot lose, what would happen to my sister? If I were to lose, then she would suffer! Sigh, with the matters growing that bad, just what proper preparations should I make? That Tang woman’s martial arts is too amazing, even if I were to become a hermit and dedicate myself to training for the next five years without a care in the world, I would still have no chance of beating her.”

“But even now, my heart is already a mess with the mundane events of the world. I cannot dedicate my heart to the pursuit of martial arts full-heartedly now.”

Chen Aiyang was very knowledgeable about his own situation and disturbances. Given some time for him to dedicate himself to the martial arts world, he would be able to catch up to the Tang woman in five years, not ten.

But the reality of the situation had been quite cruel and so there was simply no opportunity for him to pursue the pinnacle of strength.

Upon entering the Jianghu, he had been tied tightly to the secular world and so it had restricted his heart.

He couldn’t let go and he didn’t dare to let go.

When in the Jianghu, one cannot move freely. He still had his sister to take care of.

While Chen Aiyang had been worrying about everything incessantly, Wang Chao had been leisuring wandering about in Qingdao City. Like the sun and moon, he had took the best from the two and cultivated his health without anything bringing down his spirit.

Whatever troubles he had, the organization would take care of it.

Even when it came to communicating with the princeling Liao Junhua, Wang Chao had been able to establish a means of communication with him as a fellow martial artist instead of having to be burdened with a conspiracy plot.

Plus, after that one year of embarking on a long trek and having been influenced by elder Li’s emotions, Wang Chao had felt a sense of fearlessness which had slowly affected him. At the same time, he had begun to feel even more brave and determined.

Of course during that year long trek, it had given him enough strength, but not enough for him to soar into the skies. Yet, it had tempered his mind and reinforced his will so that he was born anew spiritually.

When a man’s heart was limited, they would be powerless against it and so their potential would be hindered.

As usual, Qingdao City was covered with a misty drizzle.

Hiss! Hiss! Wang Chao’s arm were serpentine in motion as it twisted and turned along with the movements of his legs. His vertebrae had similarly been raised in a manner that complimented the snake stance.

Liao Junhua’s body shrunk as he lowered in height to under 1.8 meters–roughly the size of a small child. His movements had been swift and used a combination of both his arms and legs. He occasionally struck out with a swipe to the face or sometimes a small kick of the leg similar in fashion to how a dog would raise its leg up to pass water.

Liao Junhua’s stance was hard to look at, but it’s potential to kill was unimaginable.

It was most especially hard to look at for the dog passing water stance. However, Liao Junhua’s kick at Wang Chao’s ankle had been especially fierce and was deceptively filled with Jin that forced Wang Chao to leap back.

This was the “Hidden Leg” of Xingyi Liuhe Boxing. It could break out with Jin at any given moment, and the center of gravity could be changed on a whim so that the leg could be thrown in any direction at ease.

Using the “Hidden Leg” to injure someone was a simple but pure process of changing the center of gravity and stance. But breaking out with Jin required a high mastery. Oftentimes when someone was hit with this kick, they would be crippled, but only the person who sent out the kick would know the power behind the kick.

When I hit you, only I will know that I hit you.

Liao Junhua hadn’t made use of such a kick or movement on the beach. However, that couldn’t be blamed on him. In a match to compare notes, he had used the dragon stance which was brought to an arrest by Wang Chao’s Chopping Claw. In the end, he was forced to make use of the headbutt from the chicken stance to try and turn the tide. But Wang Chao’s Chopping Jin had resulted in Liao Junhua being stuck in the sand and had nearly met a sticky end.

After three exchanges, he hadn’t been able to display his full extent due to the defeat he had suffered at the hands of the environment, causing him to feel a little dissatisfied.

Within a spacious training room, Dai Jun, Liao Junhua, and Wang Chao were all fighting against each other.

Right now it was Wang Chao and Liao Junhua’s turn to fight. Because of prior preparations, this was a match between friends and not enemies. They were only fighting using techniques and lessened the amount of Jin in each move.

But because Liao Junhua was quite unhappy with the first match’s result, he had decided to bring out his specialty, the style of the 18 Swift Monkeys of Xinyi.

In accordance to the stance when used, one would leap up in a hurry and squat down like a ball with a short kick. Only a proper master would be able to make use of its true strength.

Against Liao Junhua’s agile but sinister movements, Wang Chao still had an easy time dealing with it, but scoring a hit against his opponent was no longer as easy as before.

As the two continued to fight, Wang Chao began to make use of his Bagua training to move as if he stuck to the ground but was still able to change his direction of movement in an almost mystical manner. In a single moment, he had slid three meters away before rebounding back forward with a fierce step to his feet that brought out a resounding slap when it made contact with the ground. Sometimes, the faint traces of sweat could be seen where the soles of his feet had been. As he moved, the wind blew past his body and legs while the slightly damp carpet blew up after being struck by Wang Chao’s Hidden Jin.

Wang Chao’s usage of movement from Bagua had been completely identical to the style of movement Tang Zichen had used in her match against Chen Aiyang in Singapore.

But there was a clear difference in strength. Wang Chao had only caused slight damage to the carpet while Tang Zichen had completely shattered the marble and steel rebar of the corporate building. With a single kick off the ground, the rubble had been blasted away and could be shot towards Chen Aiyang in a single moment.

There was no trickery behind it, just a tyrannical amount of raw strength.

The movements taught in Bagua could be used to dodge a move in an instant, but when it came to Tang Zichen’s feet, her strength was without equal and could shatter stones to pelt people with it. This was clearly an example of when the soft Jin became hard, in other words, when she went from dodging to attacking. No matter what way she moved in, it was able to kill someone.

Naturally, Chen Aiyang’s fight with Tang Zichen was completely unknown to Wang Chao. if he had known, then he would have thrown aside everything else to run off to Singapore.

Suddenly, Wang Chao emptied his intentions and loosened his muscles before feeling a strong gust of wind approach his left.

At a single thought, his left hand moved from his ribs in a drill like motion to meet with the incoming leg. Then, with all five fingers, he grappled onto the leg in an attempt to throw him aside. As Liao Junhua tumbled through the air, he finally brought his legs to the ground and stabilized himself after two steps with a startled expression.

“What’s going on, my monkey stance and Hidden Leg was a surprise, you were still able to grab it?”

“I don’t know either. After emptying my intent, I was able to realize just where you would attack. Some cicada’s don’t have the feeling of foresight after feeling the autumn wind, but in a match between us two, there is nothing to worry about and so I could relax.”

“I know, but loosening the muscles, attacking with the pores, and emptying the intent. Those are the three musts of the internal practitioner’s way of fighting.

Wang Chao had suddenly came to a realization.

Just as the three men were talking about this revelation, a single person came running in in a hurry with a letter. Liao Junhua turned it over to look at before suddenly narrowing his eyes.

Wang Chao’s eyes had narrowed as well as he realized that the letter was written in Japanese.