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Chapter 238 - 215: Competitive Spirit, The Innate Ability of Men

Chapter 238: Chapter 215: Competitive Spirit, The Innate Ability of Men

Li San made the first move, his left-hand sword twisting inward, the blade cutting across the edge of Wu Li’s sword and aiming at Wu Li’s wrist.

Wu Li’s right-hand sword yanked back violently, then flipped the blade over, pressing down hard on his opponent’s sword.

However, the dagger, which had been ferocious just a second before, suddenly went limp. Wu Li pressed down with his sword, and both blades sank instantly; simultaneously, Li San’s right-hand sword sprang into action.

The right-hand sword powered forward, pushing back Wu Li’s blade, then suddenly relaxed and pulled back a little, the blade turning, ready to make a horizontal cut.

Wu Li’s left-hand sword immediately followed, crossing the front of his chest.

Clang!

As the two swords intersected, just as Wu Li was about to exert his strength, Li San’s previously limp left-hand sword surged like a submarine undercurrent, leapt upward sharply, and opened up Wu Li’s sword.

Wu Li frowned, his body’s center of gravity leaning forward, his right arm’s tendons tightening and then releasing, driving the short sword down fiercely.

Yet Li San’s upward striking left-hand sword went limp again upon contact, sinking downwards and causing Wu Li’s balance to falter slightly.

Seizing the chance, Li San’s right-hand sword turned and made a forward slashing gesture, resting the blade on Wu Li’s neck.

"One move!"

Li Li, who was watching from the sidelines, shouted excitedly and tilted her neck toward Tina.

The rules of sword-grasping varied, including competitions where both sides wore protective gear and the winner was determined by the number and deadliness of the sword marks on the opponent’s gear. Alternatively, like Wu Li and Li San, they would not wear gear, stop upon a hit, and compete over three rounds.

With his sword against Wu Li’s neck, Li San naturally won the first round.

Xingyi speaks of rises and falls, Bagua speaks of yin and yang, while Tai Chi speaks of the substance and the void.

Li San’s rapid changes between force and no force in the blink of an eye not only shifted Wu Li’s center of gravity but also his attention. That’s why Wu Li failed to react in time to that final strike.

One could say that Li San had fully demonstrated the Tai Chi principle of substance and void in their exchange.

"Again!"

Li San retracted his sword, and their blades crossed again.

This time, Wu Li didn’t wait for his opponent to make the first move and instead took the initiative to attack.

He leaned slightly forward, and his right-hand sword retreated a little bit before driving forward powerfully. Simultaneously, his muscles and tendons exploded in action, like drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.

Smash!

Wu Li employed Fist Power from the Half-step Break, having reached a realm in his Xingyi Fist where he was no longer confined to any set form, and could summon the power of the Five Elements Fist at will.

Li San blocked Wu Li’s attack with his left-hand sword, and the moment they made contact, he ’listened’ to the power on Wu Li’s sword.

Tai Chi’s Listening Skill and Hua Jin involved grasping the opponent’s center of gravity upon contact, then leading their force to break their balance.

Li San had trained with weapons as if they were his own arms, able to instantly ’listen’ to the power on an opponent’s weapon upon contact and adapt accordingly.

However, Wu Li’s sword carried the short, sharp power of the Half-step Breaking Fist, a force that was applied and withdrawn in an instant. Even if Li San ’listened’ to the power, he had no time to adapt.

Clang!

As their blades clashed, Li San’s sword trembled violently.

Wu Li seized the opportunity, his right-hand sword shifting forward, targeting Li San’s throat.

Li San’s body shifted to one side, his left hand lifting, the sword aiming at Wu Li’s right arm.

The two swords collided. Even as the aggressor, Wu Li’s blade was forced back, delaying his second strike and giving Li San the opportunity to aim for his arm, forcing him to defend.

Wu Li’s arm flipped over, his blade skimming along his arm to block Li San’s cut; simultaneously, his left hand sword also moved.

It was still a retracting motion, then a forward thrust, again utilizing the power of the Half-step Break.

At the moment Wu Li retracted his sword, Li San also exerted force. His muscles burst into action, shoulder following elbow, elbow following hand, hand following sword, his body rotating, his foot stepping forward as if to throw his sword out, clashing fiercely with Wu Li’s sword.

Clang!

Li San gripped the dagger tightly in his right hand to prevent it from being smashed away, while Wu Li stepped back half a step, his left arm slightly numb.

On contact, it felt as if he had collided with a siege hammer. The vibration of the blade resonated through his entire forearm.

This was the Tai Chi Ban Lan Chui technique!

The weapon corresponding to the Tai Chi hammering technique was the Heavy Hammer, one of the most ferocious and overbearing weapons on the battlefield. Historically, those who wielded hammers as weapons were fierce generals who didn’t need to specifically target vital points; a hit from a hammer anywhere on the body resulted in either serious injury or death!

And the Tai Chi hammering technique embodied this conception and dominance within the hammering technique, allowing one to transfer the impact from a single point to the opponent’s entire body, vibrating their bones and muscles.

When Wu Li’s sword clashed with Li San’s, not only did the blade vibrate, but Wu Li’s left arm tendons and muscles also tingled.

Swoosh!

Li San stepped back and then swung his arm again, wielding the sword.

Again, it was Ban Lan Chui!

Wu Li stood his ground, his short blade confronting the attack head-on.

Clang!

However, the moment they collided, Li San’s power shifted again, his blade deviating, not clashing with Wu Li, but directly targeting Wu Li’s throat.

Wu Li’s mouth curved upward, and before Li San could change his move, Wu Li had already powered his right hand, thrusted diagonally upward, breaking through Li San’s blade and targeting his throat.

Swoosh!

Wu Li’s right-hand sword rested against Li San’s throat, while Li San’s right-hand sword stopped on Wu Li’s shoulder.

In that instant, Wu Li had been half a second quicker than Li San.

"Double Harmony!"

Tina was momentarily stunned, then reacted and shouted loudly with a smile emerging on her face; she turned to glance at Li Li.

Li Li gritted her teeth and glared fiercely towards the center of the arena, "Bro, come on!"

Li San smiled as he looked towards Wu, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

Wu was obviously not familiar with the techniques of Sword Grasping, but after just one round, he had already found the knack: using the power of Beng Fist to counter his own Hua Jin, giving no chance for him to take advantage of the situation, while also realizing that Sword Grasping placed great emphasis on the transfer of attention. Therefore, he took the initiative to exert force before his own change in moves, striking suddenly when his opponent was focused on one side.

"I underestimated him," thought Li San, retracting his knife.

"Again!"

This time, Wu’s left hand and Li San’s right hand knife pressed forward simultaneously, locked in a stalemate, while the other knives began to collide.

Wu was still using the power of Beng Fist, while Li San continued to use the power of the Tai Chi Ban Lan Chui.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two exchanged three strikes, seemingly in direct clash, but the other locked knife was subtly changing power throughout.

Wu, using his right hand knife against Li San’s left hand knife, should have had the advantage in strength, but to prevent Li San from suddenly changing his tactics, he kept holding back some force, not daring to fully engage in the knife fight.

After two exchanges, Wu had to admit that Li San’s Tai Chi’s alternating between substance and void was truly divine; he couldn’t match his opponent’s speed of changes in power.

On the fourth strike, Li San indeed changed his tactic; as the blades touched, he instantly changed direction, slicing towards Wu’s neck.

Wu no longer held back, pulling his right hand knife forcefully back to knock away Li San’s blade, while at the same time, his left hand knife was exerting force, attempting to break free from Li San’s entanglement.

Li San did not stop Wu, letting Wu’s left hand knife swipe towards him. As his left hand knife was struck by Wu’s blade, his wrist twisted, drawing an arc with the knife still targeting Wu’s throat, now faster than before.

Tai Chi can not only dissipate force but also Borrowing Force to Strike!

Swoosh!

Li San’s knife ultimately was quicker than Wu and came to rest against his throat.

"I yield," he said.

Li San put away the double-edged knife.

"Triple Harmony!"

Li Li shouted excitedly, turning to Tina, "I won!"

Tina bit her lip, her gaze drawn to Wu in the center of the arena.

Wu’s eyes were bright as he slowly retracted his knife, addressing Li San, "Again?"

A smile appeared on Tina’s face. When she had first encountered Wu, their interactions always saw him calm and collected, rarely displaying much of any other emotions. The only exception was now, with the fighting spirit and stubbornness in Wu’s eyes, which Tina could see in an instant.

She couldn’t help but recall a phrase, "The desire to win is a capability innate to every man; if you lack it, it proves you lack this capability."

Right then, Wu might as well have had ’desire to win’ written all over his face. Tina wasn’t disappointed that Wu lost the spar, but instead, she found an even greater charm emanating from this man.

Seeing Tina smiling and staring blankly at Wu in the arena, Li Li couldn’t help grinding her teeth, about to speak, when Li San spoke first.

"Let’s not compare this anymore, let’s switch weapons."

Wu nodded, "Alright, you use a sword, I use a knife?"

"No," Li San shook his head, "let’s compare spears."

Wu was initially taken aback but then laughed, "Okay."

Wu had never practiced Sword Grasping and was not familiar with it, but when Li San suggested a comparison, he immediately agreed. In martial arts, Wu was actually a very proud person.

As a Hongmen’s Double Flower Red Stick, Li San was equally proud.

Tai Chi had the upper hand in Sword Grasping; a victory meant nothing, so they’d compare Big Spears.

Xingyi originated from wielding spears as fists, using the spear against Tai Chi held more advantage; having had the upper hand in Sword Grasping, he was now returning the advantage to Wu for another comparison!

Wu understood Li San’s intent, hence his laughter. Encountering such an opponent made him feel exhilarated.

The two put away their daggers; Li San walked towards the side of the arena, where a rack of weapons was placed.

Knives, spears, staffs, swords... all kinds of weapons were there, not the props used in TV series, but real sharp instruments.

Li San pulled out two iron spears from the rack, each measuring two meters and seventy centimeters.

He tossed one to Wu, who caught it with ease.

"The spear weighs about 7 jin and 2 liang, a bit shorter than the Xingyi Spear."

Wu held the iron spear and gave it a shake, causing the shaft to hum with a vibrating sound.

"Not bad, let’s go."

The two still stood facing each other in the center of the arena, only this time they were about six or seven meters apart.

"Hmph, my brother will win the spear comparison as well. If you lose this time, you’ll have to honor the bet," Li Li said to Tina.

Tina’s eyes were tightly fixed on Wu in the center of the arena, who held the long spear with a valiant stature.

"Sure."

Swoosh!

As her voice fell, both participants with spears in hand charged toward each other in the arena, their spearheads aimed directly at one another.

Xingyi Spear VS Tai Chi Spear!

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