Chapter 40: Using Their Moves to Forge My Path (Part 2)

The decisive battle of the second day spread across the entire martial arts community of the Southeast with astonishing speed. There was no other reason than the fact that the fruits of victory reaped by the Feng Estate were simply staggering.

The Four Hegemons of Guanzhong—the Hegemonic Hegemon, perished!
The premier master of jujutsu in Bitchu, the Jujutsu Fierce Ghost, perished!
The senior disciple of Kickboxing, the Steel Style, perished!
The Three Rivers Blade Master, perished!
The Master of the Secret courtyard of the Obe Assassin Syndicate, perished!
The most talented young prodigy in the art of the sword from the Wa nation, Yagyu Jubei, perished!
...

Following this single day, the Wa diplomatic mission suffered a continuous loss of thirteen elite and formidable experts, dealing a massive blow to the entire Wa nation.

Of course, the Feng Estate side suffered significant losses as well. The fierce tenacity of the Wa people at death's door dragged quite a few opponents down with them. Moreover, toward the end, Kou Li no longer used the Divine Eye Technique to interfere, wishing to temper his subordinates.

The Luan brothers, who wielded the exclusive weapon of the Eight Diagrams Meridians Yin-Yang Chicken Claw Awls; the one-eyed veteran master; the young genius of Mo fist from Guangdong; the newly defected Master Tiger of Suppressing the Sea; and Xu San'er, who practiced Dragon Gate boxing—ultimately failed to cross the dragon gate between life and death.

Those severely injured were countless: the Human Butcher Ba, Qingfeng, Liu Bo, Hong Xiaoqi...

Yet, having survived such a harrowing life-or-death arena—especially fighting formidable opponents from the Wa nation on behalf of Guangdong pugilists—the immense pressure, spiritual tempering, and the transcendence of life at its limits were profound.

Kou Li had already pointed out the flaws in their martial arts during ordinary times. Now, tempered by the baptism of life-and-death combat, once their injuries healed, their martial arts realms would undoubtedly experience a massive leap. The worst poverty could only lead to begging, but those who survived would always rise—the latter half of the saying held absolute truth in the martial arts underworld.

For those whose martial arts progress failed to keep pace had already been beaten to death.

Now, all factions and spheres of influence in Guangdong had temporarily quieted down. It was not because they wished for peace, but because they dared not be otherwise. The Feng Estate and the Wa diplomatic mission were now like two red-eyed beasts locked in a blood-frenzy; to meddle at this moment was courting death.

The Wa nation's "Emulate Bodhidharma's Mission" was practically on the verge of bankruptcy. If Bodhidharma had been beaten until his face was covered in blood in front of Emperor Wu of Liang, it was doubtful that Buddhism could have been successfully propagated. Given the Wa people's vengeful nature, who knew what they would do next.

Though the Feng Estate appeared to have suffered equally heavy losses, that very night, over a dozen Hong family boxing masters rushing in from various parts of the Southeast took up residence in the estate. Joining them were Liu Bo's father, Liu Wang, the current heir to the Liu family boxing; the head of the Mo fist clan; the ninth-generation master of the Cannon Hammer style, and others. They shared one common characteristic: their family nephews and disciples served within the Feng Estate.

Such a display at present made their stance crystal clear—they were drawing the battle lines and preparing to formally align themselves.

Even more martial arts masters, including the former elders of the Guangdong Guild, either sent calling cards or visited in person.

For everyone knew that Princess Feng's reputation was about to be firmly established in the Southeast martial arts community. To use the jargon of the trade—the grand momentum was about to be achieved!

At this juncture, if one failed to add fuel to the fire, even if Princess Feng did not settle accounts afterward, she would still view you as a stray dog by the roadside.

Deep within the Feng Estate, inside a room heavily guarded by layers of sentries, furnace-like heat continuously radiated outward, occasionally accompanied by the explosive sounds of completely distinct styles of martial arts force.

Sound after sound erupted like thunderclaps, vibrating the roof beams to the extent that wood shavings drifted down. The ground across several surrounding acres shook as if struck by a major earthquake, forcing even the guards to lock into their horse stances to steady their postures.

The essence of kickboxing leg techniques, Waterfall-Splitting and Water-Severing Stream—Shattering Water Force.
The Three Rivers Hand-Blade Style, Scale-Scraping Chaotic Method—Sweeping Scale Force.
The Sixteen Passes of Naha-Te—Air Burst.
Osaka Martial Arts—Orthodox Fist Force.

Coupled with the previously comprehended Twisting and Revolving Force, Tearing Force, Gathering Force, Flicking Snake Force, Stirring Ocean Force, Gunpowder Force, Explosive Force, Floating Water Force, Millstone Force, Axle Force, Hong Family Iron Thread Force, Flicking Leg Force, Bone Staff Force, and Mud-Grinding Force.

The Bamboo-Joint Force, which originally required seventeen layers of force to be pushed to perfection, was forcibly driven to the eighteenth layer, truly surpassing the level of Luo Yanzong.

Once the eighteenth layer of force was perfected, the three major joints and nine minor joints of the body simultaneously emitted crisp, rattling sounds, resembling jade beads falling onto a silver plate, or raindrops pelting against a hollow bamboo. Qi force resembling a swirling pool of liquid mercury rippled around the body from time to time—this was the perfection of the Bamboo Hands, which automatically triggered the Mercury Force.

Unlike other martial arts styles, the Bamboo Hands did not require auxiliary boxing forms, nor did it necessitate the intentional cultivation of a unique perfected fist force. Theoretically, it could match any kind of bone-refining transformation.

In truth, Kou Li had already selected the perfected force that matched it. The palm bones, finger bones, forearm bones, wrist bones, scapulae, spine, coccyx, knee bones, and foot bones suddenly began to rotate and transform simultaneously. This transformation was not merely physical changes in the bones, but corresponded to the nine key regions of the body.

These regions seemed to come alive on their own; blood vessels, meridians, and nerve fibers began a complete readjustment and redistribution. Why was it said that once a unique perfected fist force was mastered, one entered the microscopic realm of transformation? Because this was equivalent to a micro-tuned version of body refinement.

Only after this body refinement was completed could the fist force be unleashed instantly with every gesture, propelling pugilistic might beyond the limits of the human body.

This time, Kou Li's readjustment officially established his second unique perfected fist force—the Nine-Section Force!

Palm, fist, elbow, wrist, shoulder, waist, hip, knee, and foot—linked end-to-end like a rolling tread-board, unleashing continuous chain attacks with infinite variations in qi force, pushing technique to its ultimate limit and making it exceedingly difficult to break.

Normally, this required a mastered bone-refining boxing form, a proficiency-grade skin-refining footwork, and a proficiency-grade flesh-refining body method. Such conditions made it one of the most difficult perfected fist forces to achieve.

According to Young Master Huang, the coordination between the Mercury Force and the Nine-Section Force was not only the most powerful combination among the Four Refinements, but also one of the combinations with the highest success rate in bone-refining. With infinite variations in technique and a fist force pouring forth like a mighty river, it was truly a match made in heaven.

Though Kou Li longed to test its power, he suspected that continuing to unleash it would collapse half the buildings in the estate.

With that thought, he abandoned the plan and instead slowly released the special tactile sensation of the Wordless Scroll. Spreading outward from the room, it gradually crept into the corridor, not only expanding its range by nearly half, but also growing sharper in perception.

During the day, he had uncovered the plot of the monks of the Incense God Path and engaged them in a fierce head-on clash. Through the boundless, surging spirit summoned via the Dragon-Rising Tiger-Transforming technique, he injected it into the Divine Eye Technique, thereby manifesting the substantial phantom of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird and routing the enemy in a single blow.

More importantly, he immediately followed this by using the Swastika Seal to seal the spirits of these Wa demons and monsters into the Wordless Scroll, much like the demonic consciousness he had absorbed back in the Valley of Lost Souls.

Such consciousness could stimulate the abilities of the Wordless Scroll while simultaneously deepening its eerie phantoms.

Just as it was now—deep in the night, the door was softly knocked upon, yet there was not the slightest trace of a figure outside.

*Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.*

The sound felt like a warning, a summons, and—an unbearable eagerness.

"I have no time to deal with you right now; I am very busy."

Accompanied by Kou Li's calm voice, the knocking sound eerily vanished.

Meanwhile, the moon reflected in the estate's lake looked as though something had taken a bite out of it, transforming into a crooked, incomplete smile.

...

The night was already deep, yet Bai He could not fall asleep. For some reason, the empty Five-Elephants Pavilion gave off a lingering sense of desolation and decay.

Finally, footsteps sounded. The person he was waiting for had arrived.

"In the pugilistic world, one's actions are never truly one's own," he sighed silently, feeling a touch of sorrow, yet stepping out with resolute determination.

...

Meanwhile, at the official guesthouse, the representatives of the Ten Hegemons lay awake all night. Although the diplomatic mission had not suffered total defeat and Maru Kishin had even concealed his death, the plan had unquestionably failed.

If they failed to whip up an unstoppable momentum at the outset, the sheer number of Central Plains martial artists would be enough to grind them all down through sheer attrition.

And once this group of people was trapped in the Central Plains, the current generation of martial artists in the Wa nation would suffer a generational fracture.

"We can only appease them," said the representative of the Oda clan, who had always fancied himself a hawk, with helpless resignation.

"There is still one chance: strike directly at the enemy leaders," a raspy voice echoed from behind the curtains—the voice of Monk Incense: "Princess Feng, and that enemy of the Shinto path—destroy them separately!"