310: Chapter 307 The more they fought, the fiercer and more refined they became.

As their palms collided, Peter Guo felt as if his muscles and arms had been twisted and shredded by a meat grinder. It was a recoil force that had violently twisted him.

For a moment, his arm muscles and Meridians throbbed with pain, accompanied by a numbing, stinging sensation and a feeling of weakness, making it difficult for him to lift his arm for a short while.

If he went to the hospital for an examination, there might even be signs of a muscle strain.

Peter Guo panted heavily, cold sweat streaming down as he tried to ease the pain. Even clenching and unclenching his fingers caused waves of sharp pain.

Although he held foreign citizenship, he was well-versed in the study of Chinese martial arts. However, he had never crossed palms with a true martial arts expert before.

In the past, he was the one who dominated his opponents, unleashing Hidden Power with his fists, palms, and finger techniques to easily dispatch them.

His mind was a bit dazed, and he began to use his limited mental capacity to ponder how that hand had suddenly grown larger just a moment ago.

If it were just a matter of the palm growing slightly, he could easily achieve that as well; it was nothing more than a technique of exhaling Qi while practicing Standing Stake.

Ordinary people practicing Standing Stake for a period of time might occasionally feel a sensation of heat and swelling in their palms. During that interval, they might develop an illusion that their palm could smash through anything regardless of how they struck.

Even the sensation of pain would decrease significantly, and their strength might increase slightly, but in reality, this was just an illusion. Their strength might have improved a little, but once the feeling of swelling and heat faded, the pain from the previous strikes would come crashing down upon them.

Yet, just now, Li Changsheng's hand had clearly grown by a fifth, as if the joints had suddenly expanded, and the entire palm was almost large enough to wrap around his own.

Following that was an indescribable, terrifying force. The force originated from within and erupted outward, like a cannonball leaving the barrel. Without much buildup, it struck like a heavy artillery hammer, exploding with violent propulsion.

Peter Guo's expression was grave. His Great Grinding Palm and Tablet-Shattering technique emphasized a gradual approach. Although it was claimed to be able to wear down and neutralize most forces, human strength ultimately has its limits. That strike just now highlighted three things: speed, ferocity, and surprise.

It caught him off guard, making it difficult to parry.

In fact, it was normal for Peter Guo not to understand the ins and outs. After all, he was not someone who had lived in China his entire life. Unless he was a direct descendant of one of the three Internal Martial Arts lineages, he might not understand the complexities involved.

Meanwhile, in the lounge backstage, seeing this scene, everyone reacted with a mix of shock and confusion.

Both of them had struck with great force, and even through the screen, one could hear the heavy thud like a war hammer striking. Everyone just didn't understand why Peter Guo, who had initiated the attack with built-up force, had ended up at a disadvantage.

This time, Old Chen didn't say anything, only glancing at Old Zhang beside him.

His expression seemed to say, "Brother, we are already this close—we might as well be sleeping together—so you might as well spill the beans."

Being stared at by Old Chen with that gaze, Old Zhang's expression was very complex.

He didn't know when it started, but the way Old Chen looked at him had become a bit off.

Had he trained him too harshly, or perhaps overcorrected?

"Ahem!"

With a light cough, Old Zhang pondered for a long while, and to his surprise, he actually figured out the brilliance of Li Changsheng's move.

After all, he had spent a long time being influenced by a prestigious clan like the Gu Clan, and later spent many years at a major martial arts sect like Shaolin. Furthermore, he had also studied Sun Style Tai Chi and Xingyi, so he was not comparable to Peter Guo, who only studied strange martial arts.

This is all about having a foundation.

"Master Li's palm growing larger is actually not the key point. Theoretically, it is no different from the heat and swelling in the palms caused by the circulation of Qi during normal martial arts practice."

Zhang Zhao shook his head, paused for a moment, and then continued: "However, the real point is that Qi; it is extraordinary."

"For an ordinary Martial Master, reaching the first level of Qi is quite good. Those who can reach the second level are now few and far between and can be called a Genius! I, Zhang, am untalented, but I can be considered a Genius who has reached this second level."

Hearing this, Old Chen wore an expression that said, "You're trying to fool a ghost."

Old Zhang was used to this. Old Chen was just a little rascal; as long as he explained everything thoroughly and honestly, he would have to behave.

"Regarding the so-called three layers of Qi, there is a boxing proverb: 'Without form and intent, one has not attained the truth; with Dantian storing spirit and breath, internal Qi extends. My master passed down the three adjustment techniques to me; I would not trade them for ten thousand taels of gold.'"

"The 'breath adjustment' in these three adjustment techniques refers to the three layers of Qi. Of course, you can question me, but you cannot question the Seniors; this was said by Seniors like Sun Lutang, Li Cunyi, and Guo Yunshen."

Speaking up to this point, seeing Old Chen's thoughtful expression, Old Zhang sneered inwardly, 'Heh, easy to handle.'

"There are three layers of breathing in boxing. The first layer is the rule of coordinating breathing with the movements of the hands, feet, and body, striving for naturalness, with every breath returning to the root and connecting internal and external—this is called 'breath adjustment.' It corresponds to Visible Power, where breathing is coordinated to integrate force, achieving the effect of power reaching the entire body."

"The second layer is when breathing has form within, with the intention stored in the Dantian, breathing internally—this is called 'embryonic breathing.' What is the Dantian? Old Chen, you should know this basic knowledge."

"Storing the intention in the Dantian is the work of Hidden Power. It truly begins from the outside and moves inward, shifting from external dominance to achieving the ability to use the Dantian to simultaneously mobilize the subtle forces of the whole body into a surging power."

"As for Master Li, that move just now already possessed a bit of the third layer of breathing and exhaling method."

"The third layer of the boxing proverb says: 'The miraculous use of breathing and spirit transformation, neither existing nor non-existing, silent and soundless; the skill of returning to emptiness is called true breath.' Master Li's breath has not yet reached the level of 'neither existing nor non-existing, silent and soundless.'"

"Senior Guo Yunshen once said: 'Twist the mechanism of Qi, reverse the Innate true breath.' This is not hard to understand, but it is difficult to execute; it already has a shadow of Transforming Power."

"That is, when twisting the mechanism of Qi, the outward bulging of the abdominal wall will react to the waist, causing it to bulge slightly backward—abbreviated as 'Qi bulging the waist and abdomen.' Some long-time experts of Internal Martial Arts can do this. Old Chen, your Tai Xu Fist has a similar effect; is there a term like 'Dantian bulging'?"

As he spoke, Zhang Zhao looked at Chen Youcai. Seeing this, Old Chen nodded without much hesitation.

"Our Tai Xu Fist also has some shadows of Internal Martial Arts, and the breathing methods are about the same. Beginners emphasize focusing Qi in the Dantian, and later begin to consciously adjust breathing to promote the circulation of Qi and blood through the Ren and Du Meridians. This stage is called the 'Yin and Yang circulation Micro-Cosmic Orbit.' This phenomenon is also known as 'Zi-Wu Gong.' The Ren and Du Meridians are the Zi and Wu of the human body. Those who can reach this step have attained a very high level of proficiency in Internal Martial Arts."

Hearing this, Old Zhang nodded. "More or less. As expected of you; you don't know any of the details at all."

"Take Master Li's Xingyi Fist for example. As the saying goes, Xingyi emphasizes the 'Three Talents' of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Heaven has the three lights of the sun, moon, and stars; Man has the three treasures of essence, Qi, and spirit; and boxing has the three practices of training form, training intent, and training Qi. Earth has the nine springs; Man has the three sections and nine orifices; and boxing has the three returns and nine turns."

"In the span of Master Li's single breath, his Qi gathers in one palm. The wind of his breathing—Wind; the sound of his feet shaking the ground—Thunder; the speed of moving clouds and power like lightning—Lightning. Wind spirals and rises, thunder roars and falls, lightning flashes and drills, clouds move and flip; the four methods of rising, falling, drilling, and flipping are all gathered in one palm."

"Hidden Power seems transformed; landing this palm can already be considered a Major Achievement of Xingyi. He, a fake foreigner, although using the Bagua Great Grinding Palm and Tablet-Shattering technique, only learned half of it before acting. How can he fight? There is no fighting back. If it weren't for his cleverness in unloading the force, that strike alone could have cost him his life. Even Odoba couldn't withstand it."