The great monk nodded, his legs suddenly sank and bent, and his hands assud the form of claws in a gripping stance.
His entire body took on the posture of a tiger ready to pounce, with the muscles in his arms bulging.
Wang Longhu sensed the monk’s seriousness at this mont, and without delaying, he assud his own stance.
Whish!
Before the palm wind arrived, the monk had already launched an attack, his right hand’s tiger claw darting towards the face. Wang Longhu swiftly tilted his head, but the tiger claw followed closely, fiercely grabbing at his cheek.
Seeing this, Wang Longhu could only respond with a punch, but the monk’s other hand swiftly clawed at his chest, shaking Wang Longhu and forcing him to stumble backward repeatedly.
As Wang Longhu threw a punch, the monk parried, single-handedly grabbing Wang Longhu’s shoulder with a tiger claw, and forcefully pressing downward.
Each move flowed seamlessly, with speed that left no room for reaction, akin to a great tidal wave pressing down so one could barely breathe.
Wang Longhu’s eyes darted around, balancing on one hand on the ground, he flipped up with his legs to perform a scissor hold toward the monk’s neck. The monk hurriedly released Wang Longhu’s shoulder, using the back of his palms to fend off Wang Longhu’s intent.
At the sa ti, he reached for Wang Longhu’s hair, attempting to pull his head forcefully over.
But Wang Longhu wasn’t an amateur at this, crossing his arms to block, followed by a barrage of Cannon Fist punches. The sheer force numbed even the arms of a martial artist trained in External Boxing like the monk, forcing him to retreat several steps to escape Wang Longhu’s attack range.
"So this is the Tiger-Crane Double Form Fist, such a fierce technique." Wang Longhu rubbed his shoulder and said with a smile, acknowledging it.
The Tiger-Crane Double Form Fist was developed in the late Qing dynasty and early Republic by the martial arts master Lin Shirong, using Hong Fist as a base, combining forms of the tiger and the crane, with tiger forms focusing on fists, palms, and claws.
The tiger claw can fiercely attack the face like a tiger pouncing, grab the cheek as a variant move, and strike the chest as a killing move, which was the style the monk just used against Wang Longhu.
Further, the tiger claw’s moves include wrist wrapping, shoulder disabling, hair pulling, and throat-sealing, all aid at attacking vulnerable parts of the body.
The crane form uses fingers and hooks, with techniques like crashing and piercing, with the five fingers together forming the crane’s beak, capable of "pecking eyes," "pecking neck," "pecking ribs," and "pecking groin."
It can also use the crane’s beak to hit underarms, cheeks, and heart area. Overall, the Tiger-Crane Double Form Fist is characterized by a majestic stance, compact movents, and powerful force, all being lethal strikes.
Back in the Republic era, it was the most suitable killing technique, whereas today, the consequences can range from a fine of 160,000 for minor cases or 16 years in prison for severe ones.
"Martial Arts focus on speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness; all schools and techniques aim to knock down the enemy. No matter how fierce Tiger-Crane Double Form Fist is, if you can’t be faster in making a move, it is useless. Your punches are too slow." The monk said seriously in a teaching tone.
"My punches are slow?" Wang Longhu smiled inexplicably, taking off his coat to reveal a weighted vest and sandbags on his hands.
Under the monk’s gaze, Wang Longhu removed all this weight equipnt, instantly feeling much lighter, almost light as a feather, ready to leap effortlessly.
"Great monk, now let’s see if my punches are slow." Wang Longhu stomped hard, pounced forward, and in an instant arrived before the monk, throwing a punch as fierce as a tiger descending a mountain and as potent as an earthquake.
Boom!
A sound echoed in the air, and Wang Longhu’s step caused over ten cracks in the ground.
The monk hurriedly defended with both hands, but it was futile. He was instantly knocked back six or seven steps, relying on his monk shoes to carve a furrow a few centiters deep in the ground to reluctantly stabilize himself.
"How many pounds is that weight?" The monk asked incredulously, looking at his trembling arms after blocking Wang Longhu’s punch.
"Exactly 90."
"I’m not fighting you anymore, I concede." Hearing the answer, the monk decisively ended his stance, with no intention of continuing the battle.
He realized that his ability to press Wang Longhu earlier was purely due to Wang Longhu being handicapped by the 90 pounds of weight. Otherwise, he couldn’t have had the upper hand against Wang Longhu.
Now that Wang Longhu had removed the 90 pounds, there was no point in fighting further; he would only be beaten.
"Concede already? That’s boring, master, I still wanted to go a few more rounds." Wang Longhu rotated his arms but was quite dissatisfied.
"If we spar again, this life might end up in your hands; you’ve indeed attained Ming Jin, and that punch had a feeling of Tai Chi Hamr Force." The monk shook his hands, quite impressed.
Wang Longhu picked up the weight equipnt from the ground, stepped onto the stairs into the courtyard where a pack of stray dogs had been waiting for a while.
Upon seeing the monk, each dog was extrely excited, wagging their tails like electric fans, and their paws kept touching the monk’s legs, showing a strong bond.
"You took good care of them, thank you." The monk said, patting the head of a large dog.
"After accepting your precious wild ginseng, it’s only right."
"Wang Longhu, have you considered leaving Dong County and moving to another place to live?"
Wang Longhu, who was initially going to walk into the house, suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning his head to stare directly at the monk.
"Master, which faction are you representing this ti?"
"You already know? Who told you, the master who taught you Xingyi Boxing?" The monk was slightly surprised, feeling unfamiliar with Wang Longhu for the first ti.
Logically, an ordinary person like Wang Longhu, who started practicing martial arts halfway, even if reaching Ming Jin, shouldn’t be able to contact that circle.
Unless he managed to achieve the rare Dark Force, only then might he attract the attention of influential figures.
"No, today while I was out, I t two strange people, they told ." Wang Longhu shook his head, and simply described the appearance of an old monk and a man without eyebrows.
"It’s Master Yan Jie and those from overseas." The monk instantly reached a conclusion upon hearing this.
"You know them?" Wang Longhu asked curiously.
"Ah, old acquaintances." The monk sighed, "I used to think that as soone who started martial arts in his twenties, there was no need to tell you about certain things regarding Dong County,
but I didn’t expect you to grow so fast, becoming an unstable factor. Now that you remain in Dong County, neither the Chao Gang nor Master Yan Jie, and the overseas group would overlook you,
even if you have no intention of getting involved, they would see you as a potential competitor. Wang Longhu, you don’t understand, over decades, this group has already been consud by greed."
Wang Longhu pondered: "So, monk, you’re with the Martial Arts Association?"
Wang Longhu had just ntioned Chao Gang and the Martial Arts Association but then only ntioned Chao Gang, not saying a word about the Martial Arts Association, which led him to his judgnt.
"Indeed." The monk did not hide it and nodded straightforwardly.
"What exactly are they fighting for, that they’ve contested on this small island of Dong County for decades?" Now, it was Wang Longhu’s turn to be puzzled.
From his recollection, Dong County was rely an island without much history, with inhabitants mostly having migrated during warti from coastal areas to seek refuge.
After the founding of the country, these people had developed their families on the island and decided against returning ho, which gradually gave Dong County the form of a town.
In such a place, Wang Longhu couldn’t comprehend what could entice a group of martial artists to spend decades contesting over this island.
"The Marrow Cleansing Scripture, one of the four ultimate inner power martial arts created by Dharma when he established the Shaolin Temple."
The monk took a deep breath, slowly revealing a secret that shocked Wang Longhu.
"You say... the Marrow Cleansing Scripture? Isn’t that sothing made up in martial arts novels, could it really exist in this world?" Wang Longhu’s face showed disbelief, finding it unimaginable.
The nas Yi Jin Jing and Marrow Cleansing Scripture are so well-known that even those who haven’t read martial arts novels have heard them.
Therefore, Wang Longhu found it hard to believe that such a thing as the Marrow Cleansing Scripture could truly exist, and according to the monk, this inner power technique seed to be hidden in Dong County.
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