Chapter 348: One Punch

A roadside tree, neither particularly tall nor short, lay horizontally across the asphalt, perfectly blocking a quarter of the street. It gave off a strong "I built this road, I planted this tree; to pass, you must pay the toll" vibe.

Shocked gazes fell on me, and gasps echoed from all around.

"The tree... snapped?"

"This is too fucking surreal! Have I been reading too many novels?"

"Look for hidden cameras. It's probably a prank show."

"Could some kind soul help me pull my bike out..."

After a few seconds of silence, the crowd exploded, chattering endlessly around the broken trunk.

"This break doesn't look like it was sawed beforehand."

"It looks like it exploded from the inside. Did he hide explosives in there? How fucking bored is this guy?"

"Hello, 110? Someone is seriously disrupting traffic in front of an Adult Shop on Ting Tang Road. Yeah, he punched a tree as thick as a bowl in half! It scared me so much I dropped my bike! I'm not making a fake report! I'm telling the truth, why are you warning me?!"

It took a long time for the crowd to finally disperse. I stood by the broken tree, looking down at my right hand.

My entire arm was completely numb. The back of my hand was covered in blood, and my finger bones were nearly fractured.

'And that was with me pulling back ten percent of my power at the last second. Otherwise, this arm would probably be completely ruined,' I thought.

Having thrown twenty thousand punches in my dream, I had already mastered most of the internal strength techniques. However, my physical body in reality was still at the initial stage, having received no training or reinforcement. That was why throwing a full-power punch had nearly destroyed my arm.

'Just the Half-Step Crushing Fist places such a huge burden on my body. If I want to truly unleash the power of this boxing technique, I have to continuously temper my physique.' With Ghost Dao dual cultivation internally and the Eight-Step Crushing Fist externally, as long as I had time, whether it was the Jiang family or the Three Yin Sect, I would surpass them all.

After calling Er Gou over to help drag the tree onto the sidewalk, I went back inside to briefly bandage my right hand. Then, we headed to the taekwondo dojo together.

Unlike Er Gou, who was rubbing his palms together and gearing up to reclaim our pride, I just wanted to borrow the dojo's dynamometer to test my current punching limit.

The morning sun rose. The taekwondo dojo was packed; almost all the members had shown up.

Inside the eighty-square-meter training room, besides the Blue Belt youth who had been clamoring yesterday, stood a middle-aged man with a Black Belt tied around his waist. He had a weathered face, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light, giving off the aura of an unsheathed sword.

"Director Zhang, these are the two who challenged us yesterday," the Blue Belt youth said, pointing at Er Gou and me.

The middle-aged man swept his gaze over us and shook his head. "Their footwork is floaty and their center of gravity is unstable. They're just two laymen. Too many people in Huaxia blindly believe in ancient martial arts, only to be deceived by so-called masters. How could truly powerful experts pass on their best-kept secrets for a mere few thousand yuan in tuition?"

"That's exactly what I told them yesterday. But despite my good intentions, not only did they not appreciate it, they even hurled insults at us. Neither side would back down, so we decided to settle it with a fight." Seemingly afraid the director would get angry, the Blue Belt youth twisted the truth and pushed all the blame onto Er Gou and me.

"Teaching them a lesson is fine. It'll save them from being scammed again in the future." Hearing early in the morning that someone was coming to challenge the dojo, Director Zhang had rushed over in a hurry, only to find two laymen. He felt somewhat speechless and disappointed. "The legendary ancient martial arts are ultimately just legends. No one has ever actually seen them. The stuff circulating among the public nowadays can't even be called martial arts; it's nothing more than health calisthenics."

He sat off to the side, watching the crowd in the training hall with a distinct lack of interest.

Seeing Er Gou and me step forward, the Blue Belt youth took the initiative to walk out from the crowd. "I didn't expect you two to actually dare show up. Commendable courage. I'll fight you in the first match today. My name is Chen—"

I waved my hand impatiently. In just two days, it would be time for the Live Show broadcast again; I didn't have the time to listen to his nonsense. "Hurry up and start. Er Gou, go a little easy. Crushing force bursts from the inside out. If you're not careful, it could be fatal."

After giving my instructions, I strolled around the room with my hands behind my back, studying how to use the dynamometer.

Cut off halfway through his self-introduction, the Blue Belt youth failed to even finish saying his name. His face looked awful, pinched as if he were constipated. "Arrogant! I was originally going to hold back a bit, but now it seems there's no need!"

His voice shook with suppressed anger. "When martial artists fight, life and death are decreed by fate. As long as neither side in the duel calls out the words 'I yield,' the fight will continue. Also, this is a battle between individuals; I hope everyone else refrains from interfering."

He had already planned out his attack sequence in his mind. With his right foot planted, he glared viciously at the side of Er Gou's face. Unsurprisingly, he was likely preparing a sidekick to heavily injure Er Gou's head first, rendering him speechless, before slowly torturing him to vent his hatred. "My name is one you'll forever carve into your heart. Today, I'll leave an indelible, painful memory in your life."

"Why haven't you started yet?" I stood off to the side, frowning as I fiddled with the dynamometer. It was similar to a punching pad, with a layer of genuine leather on the outside and pressure sensors inside. "My right hand is injured, so I'll just use my left."

After dawdling for a good while, the Blue Belt youth finally struck his stance. He wore a cold sneer. His movements were extremely professional, causing the surrounding members to nod in approval. Even Director Zhang, the Black Belt, revealed a hint of appreciation in his eyes. "Xiao Chen has only been learning for a year and is already a Blue Belt. He'll soon be able to test for the next rank. His talent and perseverance are top-tier; he's the best prospect in my dojo."

Hearing the spectators' praise, the Blue Belt youth felt smug. 'I have excellent talent, and I suffered so much this past year to successfully earn my Blue Belt. You two laymen grabbed some picture book, copied it for a single night, and now you want to fight me? Truly laughable!'

'Today I'm going to tear apart the fraud of ancient martial arts legends. I'll make you walk in and get carried out!'

He was in high spirits, as if he had already foreseen the outcome of this duel, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.

The moment Director Zhang called for the match to begin, the youth let out a fierce shout. With astonishing momentum, his planted right leg snapped out like a spring, aiming straight for Er Gou's head. "Once this kick lands, you've already lost!"

His kick was extremely fast. This was the result of thousands of practice reps; even Director Zhang might not necessarily be able to dodge it.

The Blue Belt youth's eyes shone. His foot grew closer and closer to Er Gou's head, yet his opponent didn't show the slightest intention of dodging.

'Heh, laymen indeed. He's probably been scared silly.' Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a tremendously strong impact strike his abdomen.

The moment he lifted his leg, Er Gou stepped half a pace forward and threw a right punch.

The punch was ordinary and unremarkable; its only defining trait was its speed!

The Blue Belt youth only saw the fist right as it touched his lower abdomen. By the time he tried to react, his entire body was already out of his control. It felt as if his stomach had been hit by a cannonball, and he was sent flying straight back several meters!

A Crushing Fist is like a loosed arrow—even the opponent's fall seems too slow to watch!

He knocked over a large swath of spectators as he fell. Director Zhang immediately sprang up from his seat. "Internal strength!"

Wails echoed throughout the training hall. The previously high-spirited Blue Belt youth was now slumped on the ground, his entire skeleton feeling as if it had fallen apart. He struggled a few times but couldn't stand up. Finally, he gave up completely, lying on the floor like a dead fish. His eyes were wide open, still unable to believe this was reality.

'This isn't how the script is supposed to go!'

Standing in the center of the hall, Er Gou also paused in shock. "He's this weak? I only trained for one night, and I only used half my strength just now."

The atmosphere in the dojo grew awkwardly silent. The spectators all felt a burning sensation on their faces, as if they had just been slapped across the cheeks.

Just as everyone wondered how to break the stalemate, another loud crash rang out from the dynamometer. The onlookers instinctively looked over.

I yanked my hand out of the dynamometer. A massive hole had appeared in the previously intact leather punching pad. Coughing dryly, I forced myself to maintain my composure. "This machine of yours definitely had problems before I got here. Don't even think about pinning this on me. Alright, you've finished your fight. Er Gou, let's go!"

Noticing that Director Zhang was looking at the two of us weirdly, I grabbed Er Gou and hurriedly left the taekwondo dojo.

"Jian Ge, what was the punch limit you just tested?"

"Tested my ass. I punched straight through it. Even the screen showing the numbers shattered..."