153: Chapter 150 Tetanus Palm

After taking a stroll through the streets, Li Changsheng shook his head with some regret.

"There's simply no place suitable for long-distance running. It seems like trying to run long distances here is unrealistic."

Chinatown is quite crowded and not very spacious. There's a park nearby, but it's small, filled with tents and trash, and always packed with people during the day.

"Should I follow Brother Long's example? Go to the Golden Gate Bridge?"

Li Changsheng muttered. Whether Brother Long actually ran across the Golden Gate Bridge was likely; at least, that's how it was depicted in the TV series about him.

The Golden Gate Bridge, also known as the "Golden Gate Strait Bridge," is 2,780 meters long. It's definitely an exceptionally suitable place for running.

It's said that when Brother Kun, who played Brother Long in the TV series, was filming there, the foreigners nearby thought he was the real Brother Long. This shows just how popular Brother Long is abroad.

Checking the map, Li Changsheng found it wasn't far—about a dozen kilometers. Running back and forth across the Golden Gate Bridge was nothing for him now.

But looking at the sun, it was already nearing noon, so Li Changsheng headed to the Zhirou Martial Arts Club instead.

There was no rush to run. Running at noon in this heat could easily lead to heatstroke. Li Changsheng avoided anything detrimental to his health whenever possible.

But as soon as he stepped into the Zhirou Martial Arts Club today, Li Changsheng noticed it was unusually lively. Many people weren't practicing but were instead gathered in small groups, whispering among themselves.

And standing inside was an outsider.

He was certain it was an outsider because the man wore a loose-fitting, dark blue martial arts uniform that was different from those of the Zhirou Martial Arts Club.

The man was older, appearing to be in his thirties or forties. He had a large frame, standing 1.9 meters tall, with knotted muscles that could be felt through his clothes.

His face looked a bit travel-worn. He was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, while the surrounding students pointed and whispered about him.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on?"

Li Changsheng asked, greeting a few students nearby.

"Greetings, Master Li!"

Seeing Li Changsheng, the students didn't dare be slow and quickly cupped their fists in a respectful salute.

Although Li Changsheng was young, after seeing him chatting and laughing with Old Zhang and Old Yang yesterday, and knowing he had sparred with the Master...

...everyone assumed that despite his youth, he was a Senior with high seniority in the martial arts world.

"That man is from back home. They say he's a master of Hard Qigong and External Martial Arts, specifically the Iron Sand Palm. He was supposedly a Shaolin secular disciple before leaving the Shaolin Temple and learning the Gu Clan Iron Sand Palm and the Wuhai Iron Sand Palm."

It was Martin speaking. He seemed a bit excited; after all, public challenges like this weren't common.

"Hard Qigong? Iron Sand Palm?"

Li Changsheng muttered softly, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged man. Sure enough, the man's knuckles were significantly larger than an average person's.

However, his palms didn't have that abnormally thick callusing or swelling. While there were calluses and his palms were quite thick, it wasn't to an exaggerated degree.

This made Li Changsheng click his tongue in secret. Having read descriptions of various Schools and styles, he knew that the level of one's Iron Sand Palm couldn't necessarily be judged by appearance alone.

Because Iron Sand Palm is also known as Black Sand Palm, a form of external hard conditioning.

The man's knuckles were large because the Iron Sand Palm training in Shaolin kung fu thickens the skin of the striking surface, greatly increasing the adaptability of the bones, tendons, and skin to the environment, while making the wrist and finger joints flexible and the muscles and ligaments powerful.

The Gu Clan and Wuhai Iron Sand Palm styles were slightly different. One could say this man's training progression was very correct.

Using Shaolin Iron Sand Palm to build a Foundation, then subsequently cultivating the Gu Clan and Wuhai Iron Sand Palm styles.

So, it made sense that his palms didn't have many thick calluses. Aside from being larger and thicker than average, they weren't much different—they even looked more tender than the hands of some construction workers.

This reaction occurs because Iron Sand Palm practice requires the assistance of medicinal herbs.

Using iron sand and medicinal ingredients as training aids, it's a type of hard hand technique developed through specific methods that can be used for offense, defense, or demonstration. After long-term cultivation, the Iron Sand Palm possesses the power to shatter bricks and stones.

It involves specific ratios of medicine and fine iron sand, progressing from light to heavy, from slow to fast. Initially, the hands will inevitably swell and turn blue, or even lose skin and flesh.

After practicing, the hands must be washed with a secret formula to disinfect, reduce swelling, and strengthen the tendons and bones, making them solid both inside and out.

It can be applied after one hundred days of practice; after three hundred and sixty-five days—one year—the technique is fully mastered.

In other words, the technique is essentially mastered in about a year, but that's just the level of medicinal penetration. To maintain it and increase the palm's piercing power, one must continue.

This man had combined three styles of Iron Sand Palm, with at least ten years of cultivation. One could see a faint, subtle red tint on the surface of his palms.

At a glance, one might think it was just skin redness, but closer inspection revealed otherwise.

This was clearly a combination of medicine and accumulated iron rust!

Seeing this, Li Changsheng frowned. If there was one type of opponent practitioners of Internal Martial Arts loathed facing, it was those who used the Iron Sand Palm.

Perhaps in some Wuxia novels, the Iron Sand Palm sounds like something used only by second- or third-rate experts, an inferior technique.

But in the real world, some Iron Sand Palm masters are extremely threatening. Those who practice Internal Skill are especially wary of such people.

With a true Iron Sand Palm master, even a slight graze could nearly break your Internal Skill; a direct hit would leave a person crippled.

Furthermore, in a physical confrontation, clashing limbs is unavoidable. When clashing with an Iron Sand Palm master, even if your palm or fist power is equal, toxins and iron rust will eventually enter your body.

It's commonly known as the Tetanus Palm!

Internal Skill and Hard Qigong, such as the Golden Bell Shield, are actually more afraid of the Iron Sand Palm.

Internal Skill and Hard Qigong both emphasize cultivating a breath of Qi internally.

The Iron Sand Palm, however, uses the essence of iron rust to attack people and destroy this essence of Qi, ruining all their hard work. It's like "a single drop of rat droppings ruining a whole pot of porridge." Even a slight graze from the Iron Sand Palm can make a practitioner of Qigong or Internal Skill feel as miserable as if they'd been stung by a poisonous scorpion.

An actor once mentioned in an interview that he had a Legacy; his former master was a master of the Golden Bell Shield.

But after being struck by an Iron Sand Palm, he was completely ruined. His technique was broken, and he died soon after.

"So, this guy can just challenge whoever he wants? What does Master Yang say?"

Li Changsheng looked at Martin and noticed that Master Yang didn't seem to be here today.