291: Chapter 288 Breaking Your Perfected Body (Part 2)

Li Changsheng quickly changed his fist into a palm and intercepted horizontally. His arms were like steel whips, soft yet firm. As Odoba threw an uppercut, Li instantly deflected the force with a flick of his palm, immediately followed by a serpentine coil to strike and collide.

His entire body felt like a long spear. He stepped forward instead of retreating. One hand blocked while the other thrust like a spear, swiftly advancing to seize the center, much like a Middle-Flat Spear. With a snapping, vibrating force, he struck Odoba's shoulder hard and immediately retracted.

This Move was like a Phoenix nodding—touch and return. In Xingyi, defense and attack are one; the strike is the defense, and the defense is within the strike.

Although this strike appeared light, Odoba frowned again, feeling a needle-like pain in his shoulder.

It was incredibly annoying. Although his physique and Hard Qigong could withstand blades and guns, such sudden, unexpected strikes were truly bothersome.

He was even more shocked by why this person in front of him could inflict such intense pain with every casual strike.

He had conducted tests before, inviting over twenty heavyweight sparring partners for impact resistance training.

After two hours of twenty people taking turns, he hadn't felt the slightest pain. At most, his skin turned red and his energy was depleted, but while he was tired, the sparring partners were even more exhausted.

"Bang!"

Did he land it?!

Suddenly, after taking a punch from his opponent, he launched a swift counter-swing that accurately struck the opponent's left waist and abdomen.

However, before Odoba could rejoice, the sensation was soft at first, but in the next instant, it tightened like a spring, feeling like steel.

A counter-shock force made his right fist feel as if it had struck a non-Newtonian fluid, causing it to explode outward. He quickly shook his palm.

Pain, numbness!

Hard Qigong?

Odoba looked at his opponent in astonishment. This was clearly a method for channeling Qi used in Hard Qigong; there were slight differences, but it was very, very similar.

Looking at his opponent again, he saw him smile slightly. The next instant, an open hand rapidly appeared before his eyes.

The five fingers retracted, then clenched, gathering together like the beak of a rooster.

Snap!

This was clearly the Xingyi Chicken Form: the head strikes as the intent follows the feet, occupying the center before the movement even rises.

The Chicken Form is a head strike. "Chicken Pecking Rice" is when you seize the enemy's hands and use your head to "peck" the nasal cartilage and strike the chin. "Pecking" the nasal cartilage can make the enemy bleed profusely, while striking the chin can knock them out instantly.

But Li Changsheng used his hand instead of his head, transforming his hand into the Chicken Form. This strike was like a rooster pecking at a face. With a muffled thud, Odoba felt a sour sensation in his nose, and immediately, blood began to stream down.

He had managed to dodge in time, tilting his head to avoid having his eyes poked out, but his nasal bone was broken.

His Hard Qigong had indeed reached Major Achievement, and his body was truly terrifyingly strong with incredible impact resistance, but ultimately, he could not defy the vulnerability of human anatomy.

By now, the audience was silent. This eerie stillness lasted for a long time, followed by a wave of noisy whispers and discussions.

The situation was too much of a reversal; Odoba, who was as strong as a beast, was repeatedly suffering setbacks at the hands of this young Asian man who was several sizes smaller than him.

And it wasn't just this match. In the previous fight against Wan Qianhe, although Odoba was at a disadvantage early on, he had no injuries. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it was a typical defensive strategy, waiting for that moment to counter-attack.

The result was as everyone expected: Odoba successfully knocked out his opponent with a single strike.

"Don't worry, as long as Odoba gets one chance to strike, he will definitely KO this weak Kung Fu kid!"

"Bu...but Odoba just landed a hit on his opponent..."

"That was just a probing strike, not a heavy punch. As long as it's a heavy punch, with Odoba's strength, one punch is enough to destroy any opponent!"

Although the audience was worried, many had bet heavily. Even if the situation was dire, they had to grit their teeth and believe that there would be a moment of reversal in the end.

This is the gambler's way; they never give up until they lose everything.

However, the scenes that followed gradually made their hearts sink.

During this time, Odoba tried many times to find an opportunity to critically injure Li Changsheng, but all were neutralized by more agile and clever Moves. Instead, due to his eagerness to strike, he was counter-attacked several times.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, there was another collision between a fist and an elbow.

Odoba took a retreating step with a twisted expression, quickly shaking his right hand.

Looking at the young man opposite him again, he felt a sense of fear in his heart.

This person seemed to have been smiling faintly from beginning to end, as if he, Odoba, were nothing more than a joke in front of him.

Li Changsheng was no longer using much Xingyi Fist; instead, he used the Baji Quan method of transforming elbows into spears, fighting head-on and constantly clashing with Odoba.

No matter how Odoba threw his punches, the weaknesses he initially saw were quickly blocked by an elbow strike.

No matter how he attacked, it would eventually land on Li Changsheng's elbows or knees.

The consequence of fighting like this was, most directly, that his wrists could no longer bear the strain.

"I can't go on like this. The biggest problem for Chinese Kung Fu practitioners is stamina. Yes! Stamina. Just like when I fought 'Wan' earlier, defend! Yes! Defend. As long as I defend and wait for his stamina to run out, that will be the time for me to counter-attack!"

After suffering successive setbacks, Odoba's overheated brain finally cooled down, as if he had found a lifeline.

He quickly took a step back, even voluntarily backing against the side of the octagon cage.

At the same time, he covered both sides of his face with his fists, bent his knees naturally, and protected his ribs with his elbows.

In just an instant, he completed his full defensive stance.

Theoretically, relying on a corner of the ring is a major taboo, but he couldn't care about that now. He was also very tired and wanted to use this to catch his breath.

Seeing Odoba, who had been fiercely clashing with him just a second ago, suddenly turn into a turtle, Li Changsheng was momentarily stunned.

"Defending? But can you defend against it?"

Li Changsheng roughly guessed his opponent's intention; it was nothing more than wanting to drain his stamina.

As stamina declines, the fists naturally lose their power.

This is considered a common tactic in Boxing.

Especially with Odoba's physique and physical attributes, defensive counter-attacking is indeed the best method. He possesses an incredibly sturdy chin and unparalleled impact resistance.

But his, Li Changsheng's, Qi is far beyond that of an ordinary person!

If he had continued to brawl, he might have had a slim chance of winning, but playing the turtle is a path to death!

——

"Brother Jie! Brother Jie, is... is he about to win? This Li, is he really that powerful?"

Stallone was waving his hands excitedly, but when he remembered that he had bet on Odoba, his face fell.

Brother Jie shook his head, "Not necessarily. Stamina is a flaw for Martial Masters. Kung Fu experts rarely step into the ring; the gloves and rules are one aspect."

"Stamina is even more of a factor, that is, the Qi."

"Kung Fu experts pursue Moves that unleash the most intense and lethal power in one breath; Master Wan was like that earlier."

"Li was the same just now. It's already been five minutes; in terms of stamina, it's hard for him to outperform Odoba."

"Indeed. In the past, underground Boxing matches in Kowloon ended very quickly. If they dragged on, the ones with a Boxing background usually won."

Brother Long also nodded in agreement at this time.

The Martial Masters he had seen were all extremely valiant in the first half, but if a match dragged on past five minutes, their win rate would mostly start to decline severely.

Brother Hong, standing to the side, actually had the same thought, but perhaps because he had bet on Li Changsheng, he always felt that the young man on the stage had an unnervingly steady breath, not at all like someone whose Qi was insufficient.

"It just depends on whether he can break Odoba's... before that breath slackens."

Brother Jie was halfway through his sentence when suddenly—Boom!

Like a great drum being struck on an ancient battlefield, in the close-up shot, a fist with rotating force smashed directly into Odoba's abdomen.

The abdomen contracted and rebounded as if trying to deflect this force, but the moment the skin and flesh sprang back, Li Changsheng's fist retracted at the perfect moment, yet the force had been delivered solidly.

"How could this be?!"

At this moment, the whole arena was in an uproar. Although Odoba's expression couldn't be seen due to his fists blocking his face, his legs were already trembling.

This was clearly a sign that he had endured too much force and was struggling to hold on.

"He's finished!"

Backstage, Zhang Zhao, who was staring intently at the screen, curled the corners of his mouth. The heart that had been tense finally relaxed completely.

"Finished? Odoba is still very resilient, isn't he? Even Master Wan couldn't break his Hard Qigong." Chen Youcai, standing to the side, still couldn't hide his worry.

Zhang Zhao glanced at him, shook his head, and said, "When I say finished, he is finished."

"Although Odoba has studied our Chinese Kung Fu and thinks he has learned it all, in reality, he has only scratched the surface."

"Master Wan was too old to strike him effectively, but Master Li can. For a master of Hidden Energy, once the force can penetrate the body without reservation…"

"...then coming here and doing this is just like an old man hanging himself—he's tired of living."

"Didn't you see where Master Li's punch landed?"

"Where? The abdomen?" Chen Youcai really didn't understand. He practiced Kung Fu just to practice it; to reach this level by following the books was already quite good.

"This strike was hitting an acupoint! The punch hit the Qimen Acupoint, using the ultimate force of Xingyi, also known as Inch Force, Vibrating Force, Urgent Firm Force, or Cold Crisp Force. In Taiji, it is called Trembling Force."

"A single Trembling Force strike to an acupoint—the three sections unite, the four extremities rise together, the Five Elements close, and the Six Harmonies become one, sealing the Qi and blood, causing the liver to rupture."

Seeing that the other person had gained some understanding, Zhang Zhao shook his head. Master Chen's reaction was normal; nowadays, very few people can practice Boxing while also mastering the principles of how Qi flows through the human body's extraordinary meridians and numerous Acupoints.

"Look, Odoba's Hard Qigong is broken! Major Achievement Hard Qigong supposedly has no weak points, but when ravaged from the inside out, the liver ruptures, and that breath for Hard Qigong can no longer be raised."

Just as Zhang Zhao said, when Chen Youcai looked at the screen again, he saw Odoba's chest and abdomen trembling and slowly rising and falling, clearly trying to raise his Qi.

But this breath, halfway raised, suddenly gushed out like water from an opened floodgate. The trembling of his chest and abdomen intensified, triggering even greater pain.

This is a case of Qi deviation.