368: Chapter 365: Success?

"How is that possible?!"

"How is this possible? Master Guo! You saw that just now, didn't you? How could he do that? I've heard of borrowing force from water, but what's with this borrowing force from the Void Realm?!"

At this moment, Master Ye and Master Guo, who were watching the scene from the railing, were completely shocked. Master Ye couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I saw it, I saw it." Master Guo waved his hand, signaling Master Ye to stop shaking him.

"But he isn't just messing around. We underestimated Grandmaster Li before. 'Rising, falling, drilling, and turning, rising from level ground; the spine opens and closes like a hanging toad.' With this level of foundation, I'm afraid even my Ancestral Master wouldn't be his equal!"

"What technique is that?" Master Ye asked curiously.

Master Guo's expression was grave. He tapped the steel railing with one hand and sighed, "Toad-Catching Jin! That sound from Grandmaster Li's chest and abdomen just now was Toad-Catching Jin, also known as the Cross-Towing Technique or the Dan-Embracing Skill."

"It's common in Internal Martial Arts, and even more so in Taiji."

"Its essence is the operational mechanism of a vibrating force."

"Practitioners of Internal Martial Arts need to learn to expand their ribs as a foundation; that way, they can exert horizontal force anytime, anywhere."

"Like the opening and closing of fish gills, the horizontal force developed this way is heavier than that of an ordinary person. But with a heavier horizontal force, there's also centrifugal and centripetal force, allowing the flinging and throwing power within the Toad-Catching Jin to be even more ferocious."

"He's treating himself like a combat opponent and throwing himself out."

"Of course, with just this and no solid point to borrow force from, he wouldn't be able to borrow force from the Void Realm at all. The key lies in his next few moves."

"Those moves? Why couldn't I see them?" Master Ye frowned.

Hearing this, Master Guo glanced at Master Ye and said in a low voice, "It's normal that you couldn't see it. Master Li's methods seem to involve techniques from Taiji and Bagua."

"When he borrowed force from the water, he used the Xingyi Swallow Form. His movements were swift and agile, possessing the skill of skimming water, the distance of leaping mountains, and the lightness of a landing swallow. His body was light yet stable, with spirit and form united as one."

"And when he borrowed force from the Void Realm, his spine looked like a surging Dragon's spine. This seems to be Dragon Form force."

"It's a technique of Spinal Snapping Power. Many martial artists practice for decades and still find it hard to achieve Spinal Snapping Power."

"We martial artists all know the principle of the body possessing five bows, and the spine is the core of the main bow!"

"If Grandmaster Li's Spinal Snapping Power had been used to hit someone just now, like a whip, it would have shattered their skull!"

"As for that skill of stepping on his left foot with his right, like the Cloud-Ladder Leaping from Wuxia novels, I originally thought it was just some nonsense made up by Old Man Jin to fool people."

"Seeing Grandmaster Li today, I feel I've gained quite a lot."

"So there are so many subtleties involved. However, with the right foot stepping on the left, the force is always acting on oneself. How can one complete the borrowing of force while away from the ground?" Master Ye rubbed his chin, looking confused.

Indeed, the reason Wuxia novels are novels is that this is a paradox.

The legs borrow force from each other, but the force remains on oneself, unless the leg being used isn't one's own and is in a separate state, unaffected by the other.

Master Guo also furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and sighed, "I'm not exactly sure how Grandmaster Li did it. But seeing his force-shedding process just now reminds me of a metaphor once used by a Bagua master: a cannonball comes flying, and a dragonfly deflects it."

"And this move, in Bagua techniques, is also called Finger Power—a technique that uses the small to transform the large, neutralizing internal force."

"Treat the body as a spear and the finger as the spearhead. During practice, the finger presses against the opponent's chest while the opponent pushes back with all their might."

"If the finger doesn't bend but can push the opponent back, then this Finger Power is considered mastered."

"Master Guo, are you saying Grandmaster Li used Bagua force-shedding techniques to instantly neutralize the force in that leg, as if separating the leg's force from his own, thereby completing the act of borrowing force from the Void Realm?"

"Have you ever seen a Bagua master who could do that?"

"Never," Master Guo shook his head decisively. "Although there is a saying in Internal Martial Arts: 'To shed another's force, one must first shed one's own.'"

"But I've never seen anyone do what Grandmaster Li did. And looking at Master Li's move just now, it's clearly not something that can be used frequently."

"His legs seemed to experience an electric shock; this kind of force-shedding puts an immense burden on the body."

"However, I did see some clues when he stepped on the iron rod the second time, triggering that muffled thunder in the water."

"Bagua places extreme importance on penetrating power—hitting someone is like walking the stakes. With that step, he channeled his Dantian Qi."

"It had the light and agile posture of the Alligator Form gliding on water, and the Crushing Fist's arrow flying from the bowstring. The explosive force was revealed without a doubt!"

As Master Guo spoke, he couldn't help but swallow hard. When he looked at that figure again, his eyes were filled with deep respect.

"Only after hearing this do I realize how extraordinary the Grandmaster is. I'm afraid even Grandmaster Dong Haichuan, Cheng Yenhua, and Sun Lutang were only at this level back then," Master Ye marveled.

"Yes. Back then, Grandmaster Dong Haichuan took several steps through the Void Realm, but it wasn't nearly as shocking as this. One doesn't even need to see Grandmaster Li's actual combat ability; this feat of crossing the sea alone is enough to see his prowess."

At this point, Master Guo and Master Ye didn't even need to see Li Changsheng successfully cross the sea; what they had seen already was enough for them to study for a lifetime.

Li Changsheng was still advancing rapidly. He had already covered more than half the distance, nearly fifty meters.

At this moment, Zhou Sheng's heart tightened further. But seeing that Li Changsheng had already used the iron rod and one of the plastic pipes, yet still had half the journey left, he suddenly felt relieved.

"Sigh, Master Li is already very impressive. This skill truly belongs to an expert." Boss Ma had no other thoughts, only sighs of admiration. Although he felt a bit of regret, he was also quite satisfied.

However, as luck would have it, at that very moment, several sea fish leapt out of the water; a small school of fish happened to be passing by.

Li Changsheng had also been feeling a bit dejected. After borrowing force from the iron rod for the first time, he knew he likely wouldn't be able to complete this feat.

Even if he threw the last plastic straw, he would only surge forward a few more meters—ten meters at most. But there were still nearly forty meters left, which seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Heaven truly is helping me! Old Zhou, I'm going to damn well train you to death!"

Seeing the school of fish, Li Changsheng was overjoyed. At the instant he was about to fall, he stepped out with extreme precision, his foot landing right on a fish that had just leapt into the air.

The fish was a bit dazed. Why did it go right back in after just leaving the water?

Li Changsheng continued to tap lightly on the fish, interspersed with secondary bursts of force in mid-air. He unexpectedly covered another forty-plus meters in an instant.

There were less than six meters left.

At this moment, the hearts of the onlookers were in their throats. Zhou Sheng's eyes widened even more, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed, leaving him breathless.

"It won't happen! It's impossible! There are still six meters left, and there are no more points to borrow force from at this distance!"

Zhou Sheng was anxious, his only consolation being that they had already passed the school of fish.

However, in the next instant, Li Changsheng used the last plastic pipe.

He threw it, and the moment it fell, he tapped it again, generating a second burst of force in mid-air. He made several leaps, but because he was so close to the sea surface, it was clear he wouldn't reach the edge of the deck.

As he finally reached the hull, Li Changsheng looked like he was about to fall into the water, about a meter away from the ship's deck.

"Fall in! Fall into the water!"

Zhou Sheng felt his heart racing up and down. Fortunately, fortunately, it was all over.