278: Chapter 275 Inhaling and Spitting, Form and Intention Tai Chi

"Master Li, this won't do. Since you want to speak up for Southern Fist, why have you been so passive? If this continues, if I, Zhang, cannot hold back my strength and break your Hard Qigong, that would be unfortunate."

Zhang Zhao had once seen Li Changsheng practicing Transformative Stance and noticed airflow expanding on his body surface, so he assumed Li Changsheng practiced something like Hard Qigong.

Actually, it was close enough; Iron Sand Palm was specifically designed to counter such things.

Clack, clack!

With his bones cracking, Li Changsheng twisted his neck, lowered his stance slightly, and his expression suddenly turned fierce. "Master Zhang, courtesy demands reciprocity. Watch out!"

In an instant, Li Changsheng suddenly lunged forward with a leaping step, and at that very moment, he and Zhang Zhao collided, quickly followed by a series of sounds from fists and feet clashing.

"Shaolin Great Strength Vajra Legs?!"

He saw Zhang Zhao's legs interlocked, attacking continuously from above and below, striking left and right; at times restrained, at others fierce and mighty.

The Zhang Zhao who seemed clumsy in his footwork and leg techniques a second ago now had legs more agile than his hands. No, 'agile' wasn't the right word, but they were definitely simple and practical, characterized by hard-hitting, aggressive advances without obstruction.

Li Changsheng felt a fire burning in his heart. Originally, things were amicable, but Zhang Zhao was really getting under his skin.

Hiding a complete set of Sun Style Tai Chi was one thing, but the claim that he wasn't good with his legs was total nonsense.

Why was it called the Great Strength Vajra Legs? Because this style, with its powerful momentum and wide, sweeping attacks, could be considered the Baji Quan of leg techniques.

It didn't play any fancy tricks. As the saying goes, 'Fists are three parts, feet are seven parts,' which shows how fierce and powerful the force can be when one's leg technique is good.

Furthermore, Zhang Zhao's leg technique was completely different from Wan Qianhe's. Wan Qianhe focused on technique, while Zhang Zhao focused more on fierce power and continuity. Plus, being in his prime with a rugged and powerful build, his strikes were even more lethal in a direct confrontation.

After several exchanges of blows, Li Changsheng couldn't gain any real advantage.

"It seems a large part of the reason why Southern Fist was inferior to Northern boxing and leg techniques back in the day was the massive difference in physical fitness."

Li Changsheng knew clearly that the further back in time one went, the greater the physical difference between the North and South; even now, Northern people were generally taller and larger than Southerners. In the past, it went without saying—with inadequate nutrition, physical strength relied solely on genetics.

The vast Central Plains of the North, where people had long thrived, naturally produced superior physiques through evolution compared to the Southern regions, which were then mostly hilly and forested.

"What a pity, my Southern Fist foundation is still a bit lacking."

Li Changsheng sighed. In terms of raw energy, he wasn't inferior to Zhang Zhao; strength now depended on techniques and skills.

"It's not hopeless; there's still a chance to fight!"

Just then, Zhang Zhao delivered a fierce knee strike aimed directly at Li Changsheng's lower abdomen. It was a hard, low knee thrust, already showing some of the style of Muay Thai.

The violent wind from the strike made Li Changsheng's clothes flap loudly, as if this knee strike alone would knock him over.

Facing such a fierce leg attack, Li Changsheng's expression didn't change at all. He let his arms sink naturally, immediately changing his Move to a 'Southern Branch Covers the Sun' fist.

He swung his arm up and slammed it down, like a pot lid being violently pressed, with the heavy force of a falling iron hammer.

Muscles and bones collided—Bang!—emitting a dull thud.

At the moment of impact, sweat sprayed out; both of them had unhesitatingly utilized their internal energy in this collision.

Taking advantage of the gap created by the rebound, Li Changsheng's chest and abdomen rapidly contracted, like a cat coiling up to pounce on a mouse. The next instant, he rebounded like a longbow, and his hands shot out like cannonballs.

Mid-air, he quickly changed his fists into claws, then swooped down like a falcon catching a rabbit.

His movements between inhalation and exhalation were in the style of Xingyi Fist. For a moment, it had the posture of an eagle—starting with Eagle Claw, transitioning into a tiger's pounce.

Clack.

He grabbed as soon as he struck, dug in once he grabbed, and pulled and tore—all in one fluid motion.

Zhang Zhao felt a burning sensation in his knee joint, and his tendons and bones twitched. He knew that if Li Changsheng completed this sequence, his leg would likely be half-ruined.

Subconsciously, his knee joint ligaments tightened, and his lower leg sprang out like a coiled spring, striking towards Li Changsheng's abdomen like a war blade—Pop!—it sounded like a firecracker exploding.

At this moment, Zhang Zhao's leg muscles were as flexible as a long whip, but when they hardened, they were like a spear snapping back into a straight line.

Facing this spring-leg strike, Li Changsheng had to change his Move again. He quickly brought one hand down in a chopping palm, leaned forward, and used the weight of his upper body to forcefully press down and block the leg.

Bang!

While hard-blocking this leg, Li Changsheng's other hand naturally changed from a claw to a palm. The palm expanded and contracted like breathing—the 'exhalation' used intent to guide Qi Circulation. In the midst of this breathing, he completed a shift in force, directly unleashing a palm strike that resembled the Azure Dragon Tail-Whip from Wu Style Tai Chi.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhao could only hastily slap out a palm in defense.

Bang!

Wind blasted outward, and the two separated, staggering backward to opposite sides.

Zhang Zhao's face flushed an unnatural red. He stared fixedly at Li Changsheng and complained discontentedly, "Master Li, this isn't fun. We agreed on Southern Fist, so why are you taking turns using Xingyi Fist and Tai Chi? Are you going to use Baji Quan to fight me next?"

The recent exchange had been truly uncomfortable for him. When he was hard, Li Changsheng was harder; when he was soft, Li Changsheng was softer.

Furthermore, his Moves were unpredictable in their expansion and contraction, while also maintaining the steady lower stance of Southern Fist. As the saying goes, 'When the hand techniques are fast, the horse stance emerges; when the horse stance is not chaotic, it has its own order.'

This was also a lethal aspect of Southern Fist. After all, Southern Fist masters of the past knew their physical strength couldn't match that of the Northern Central Plains people, so many Moves incorporated body weight to overcome strength with weakness, achieving excellent results in this regard.

"Master Zhang, who said Southern Fist doesn't have Xingyi or Tai Chi postures? Besides, did you see me use Tai Chi force? Or did you see me use Xingyi force?"

Li Changsheng chuckled. What he had just used was clearly the force of sinking and floating from Tuntuxu. This kind of force was very distinct, completely different from Tai Chi or Xingyi; it was a method of generating power that focused heavily on breathing and exhalation, combined with the sensation of the body's sinking and floating.

Every time he struck, he used a single point to carry the weight of his entire body, divided into sinking/floating, expansion/contraction, inertia, and hard/soft projection.

Simply put, it was a clever way to borrow greater force.

It was somewhat similar to Tai Chi, but different from Tai Chi's principle of 'everything is either a circle or an arc,' as well as its coiling, folding, and spiraling force.

Li Changsheng had just discovered the ingenious application of Tuntuxu. Since it was the general outline, he would treat it as such: use Tuntuxu as the core, and Xingyi Fist and Tai Chi for the external techniques.

Since his Tai Chi foundation was weaker, he would focus on Xingyi Fist, which could also be considered leveraging his strengths in Xingyi Fist.

"What kind of bird-brained martial art is this? Can you even do that?"

Zhang Zhao cursed and grumbled, but he still reset his stance. After all, he had also hidden too many tricks up his sleeve; neither of the two sly foxes could judge the other.