Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 220 Fist Without Difference Beats God, Gun Without Invincibility
As Liu Xiaochen spoke, he dared not obstruct the way and voluntarily made way for her.

Chen Zhan walked in and said to the guilty-looking Liu Xiaochen, "Since I'm in Tianjin, I thought I'd pay a visit to Mr. Li. You must be Xiaochen, right? You're a fine young man with a promising future."

Liu Xiaochen gave an awkward laugh. He was certain that Chen Zhan had overheard their conversation. Although he hadn't said anything bad, it was never good to talk about someone behind their back.

"You flatter me."

Chen Zhan was only a few years older than him, and he was even of a higher generation than Chen Zhan, but Chen Zhan's tone of instructing a junior did not seem abrupt at all.

Liu Xiaochen himself felt it was normal.

His status and skills speak for themselves. The leader of the martial arts alliance may not acknowledge it, but who dares to deny the power of a Grandmaster who has reached the Dan level?

As Chen Zhan entered, Li Shuwen also stood up from his recliner. As fellow experts of the same level, this level of respect was necessary.

Taking a few steps forward, Li Shuwen smiled and said, "The Alliance Leader is truly young and promising. Your achievements are already astonishing just from what the Hall has told us, but seeing is believing."

Li Shuwen, this living grandmaster, was neither tall nor handsome, but he was recognized as a master of both inner and outer strength, and the most reliable top master recorded in the history of Chinese martial arts, with countless titles.

Six Harmony Divine Spear, Fist Soul, Fist Without Two Strikes, Divine Spear Invincible.

All those effusive compliments were earned through his own hard work and skill.

Moreover, Li Shuwen, nearly seventy years old, maintained peak fighting ability. His boxing style was upright and unyielding. No matter where he was in his life, he was well-liked. All the major warlords, Zhang, Yuan, and Li, respected him and treated him as an honored guest.

This is due to strength.

Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Zhan smiled at Li Shuwen's compliments and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "You flatter me. It is only by standing on the shoulders of predecessors that I have achieved this. How did you discover my talent, sir?"

Li Shuwen walked up to him and said, “Your skill is too high. You stood at the door for two minutes and your heart only beat once. And that was without deliberately controlling it. If you deliberately hide it, I wouldn’t be able to detect it.”

"Mr. Li has excellent hearing; I admire him greatly."

"Alliance Leader, please come in and have a seat." Li Shuwen waved his hand.

Leading Chen Zhan into the house, his two disciples wanted to follow, but Li Shuwen said, "What are you two doing following? Go and inform your senior brother."

"Uh, yes, Master."

The two went to inform Huo Diange, and Chen Zhan went inside and sat down.

A girl emerged from the inner room. She was pretty, quiet, and charming, around ten years old. She calmly prepared and poured tea.

“This is my granddaughter, Li Tingfang. If she falls into hardship in the future, please take care of her if there is an opportunity,” Li Shuwen said.

"Sir, you are joking. I have been a master marksman for forty or fifty years, never missing a shot. How could I be in trouble?"

Chen Zhan shook his head and smiled, saying that what he said was true. In later generations, Li Shuwen's lineage also did very well. His son, Li Etang, became a doctor and served as the vice chairman of the Shaoyang Martial Arts Association.

In recent years, the two apprentices he took in, Liu Xiaochen and Li Jianwu, have achieved greater success and have taken good care of the Li family.

"Ah, who can say for sure? Dian Ge went to the Northeast and almost lost his life. The world is in a state of chaos," Li Shuwen sighed.

Speaking of Huo Diange, this trip was also to see him.

Huo Diange fought Sato Nobunaga in Fengtian, and both were injured. However, Huo Diange's injury was more difficult to heal, as a large piece of flesh was cut off at his waist, and it would take several months for the flesh to recover.

Chen Zhan had fought with Sato Nobunaga before and naturally knew his opponent's strength, which is why he felt comfortable letting Huo Diange appear.

But unexpectedly, Nobunaga Sato also knew the 'sticky hands' technique.

These advanced techniques of Wing Chun have always been kept secret in Southern martial arts; it's unknown how Nobunaga Sato obtained them.

"How is Brother Diange? It's been two months since you returned from Fengtian. The situation was too chaotic back then, and there wasn't enough time to take care of you," Chen Zhan asked about Huo Diange.

But before Li Shuwen could speak, a sound came from outside the door, and footsteps quickly entered.

Huo Diange's face was somewhat pale; his injuries had not yet fully healed. Upon entering the room and seeing Chen Zhan, he looked him up and down for a long time, his eyes growing brighter with each glance, repeatedly exclaiming:
"Good! Good! Good!"

"Oh it's you!"

Chen Zhan laughed and said, "It wasn't a deliberate attempt to hide it. At the time, I was considered a thorn in the side by the Japanese. If I used my original appearance, the Japanese would not fight with us and would directly send a large army to kill me, and all my fellow martial artists would be implicated."

Huo Diange only confirmed the astonishing news after Chen Zhan personally admitted it.

Nodding, he said, "No wonder! I was wondering where all these heroes and valiant men came from, and why they've all gathered in Fengtian. It turns out it's all you!"

The three sat down to talk, and Li Shuwen's granddaughter poured tea again, respectfully addressing Chen Zhan as her senior uncle and Huo Diange as her senior master uncle.

Huo Diange patted the little girl's head, and Chen Zhan smiled and said, "This generation seems a bit messed up. You are of the same generation as my grandmaster and Liu Lanqi. Brother Huo is of the same generation as my uncle."

Li Shuwen waved his hand, "Hey, you can't say that. I may be of a higher generation, but I have nothing to do with your Xingyi lineage. I also call Li Cunyi my brother. Besides, you are now the leader of the martial arts alliance, with superior skills. You can't judge me by my seniority."

Chen Zhan naturally wouldn't dwell on such matters; he could only smile.

"It's not about suppressing anything. I sent Brother Huo to the hospital that day, and not long after, an explosion occurred. I was the one who caused the explosion. Fortunately, Brother Huo is unharmed."

Chen Zhan felt a little guilty when he spoke of it. Huo Diange was so badly injured that if something serious happened, he might be in danger.

But there's no other way; even knowing the risks, we have to do it. Such opportunities are rare, and besides, what strategy in this world is truly risk-free for defeating the enemy?
"What? You caused the explosion too? So, you not only killed Mitsui Hayato, but also Tanaka Taro???"

Huo Diange connected the events in Fengtian and Tianjin, but he never imagined that the bombing that ultimately caused the Japanese heavy losses was also carried out by Chen Zhan.

No wonder Chen Zhan subtly suggested the day before that if anything uncontrollable happened, they should leave as soon as possible.

He initially thought they were worried the Japanese would resort to underhanded tactics in the fight, but he never imagined they were talking about something so serious.
The news of Tanaka Taro's murder was kept secret by the Japanese and did not spread, but Huo Diange happened to know about it while he was in the Northeast Army.

Of course, fearing for his life, he dared not publicize the matter; only he and his master, Li Shuwen, knew about it.

Before Chen Zhan could answer, he continued:

"Alas, when the chaos broke out that day, Yuting and I didn't have time to leave the city. The Japanese surrounded the hospital. Fortunately, my master had some connections in the Northeast Army, and Staff Officer Zhang protected me. I was able to recuperate for a month before returning to Tianjin."

"After causing such a commotion, you still dare to show your face."

Huo Diange looked at Chen Zhan in disbelief. Chen Zhan was incredibly audacious; the Japanese hated him to the core at this moment.

"Yes, that's who I wanted to kill. Otherwise, what would I have been planning for months in Fengtian?"

"I even took photos back then. The foreigner who took the photos probably died in Fengtian. It's a bit of a pity."

Several months have passed, and the photo of the street lamp hanging in the lamp has not been published. Either the Westerner is dead, or the items have been confiscated by the Japanese.

"..."

Li Shuwen and Huo Diange exchanged a glance, their expressions a mixture of shock and bewilderment.

In their view, the Japanese occupied half of Northeast China, ruled the mountains as kings, and massacred Chinese people, which was hateful. However, from a military perspective, the world was already suffering from constant warlord civil wars, which had already taken a heavy toll.

Chen Zhan insisted on provoking the Japanese, completely disregarding the overall situation. If the Japanese were to march south, could we stop them?

If another massacre or tragedy occurs, wouldn't you, Chen Zhan, be a sinner?

This is something that even top martial arts masters, or anyone with a little knowledge and military insight, could understand. Chen Zhan couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

But neither of them asked.

Chen Zhan understood their thoughts, of course, and offered no explanation.

It can only be said that the Nationalist government was also so naive as to think that the three northeastern provinces were not enough for a small country like Japan to digest.

They only began to resist when the entire north was about to fall into Japanese hands.

The Japanese never acted suddenly; they always made meticulous plans, deployed their forces, and prepared various weapons, aiming to destroy China in one fell swoop.

Seeing that Huo Diange was alright, he was relieved and then looked at Li Shuwen.

Although Li Shuwen's hair had turned white, his eyes were still bright. He understood Chen Zhan's meaning and smiled, "Since the Alliance Leader has come all this way and has such a status, it would be inappropriate to leave empty-handed. Let's have a go."

The reputations of the five great masters of the Republic of China were so great that everyone understood when Chen Zhan came to visit.

However, due to their relationship, Chen Zhan couldn't force Li Shuwen to do it if he refused.

"Master, you are of a certain age." Huo Diange did not want Li Shuwen to take action.

Although he maintained his strength well after achieving the elixir of immortality, he was still too old, and every time he made a move, his vital essence would be depleted.

Older martial artists find it difficult to replenish their vital energy and spirit; every bit of energy lost can shorten their lifespan.

"It's alright. Mr. Chen has come all this way, we can't let him leave disappointed." Li Shuwen chuckled as he stood up.

The group walked into the courtyard, which was paved with mud instead of bricks and stones. There were weapon racks on both sides, mostly filled with long poles and spears.

The Eight Extremes School of martial arts almost exclusively practices the spear.

When Liu Xiaochen and Li Jianwu saw their master and senior brother come out, they thought they were seeing off guests and went to greet them. Li Shuwen said, "Go to the side and watch. You might not see an opportunity like this once in your life."

Upon hearing this, the two men's eyes lit up like chrysanthemums, and they immediately agreed to step aside.

They knew that their master was going to have a martial arts competition with Chen Zhan, a competition between grandmasters that was a once-in-a-century event!
Huo Diange still frowned, but didn't dare to offer any more advice. Chen Zhan walked to the center of the field and looked at the large gun barrels on the weapons rack.

There are two types of wood. One is ash wood. After drying, ash wood is dense with straight longitudinal grain, which can withstand greater bending force. When it hits a target, it can cushion the recoil and prevent numbness in the arm.

However, the cost is relatively high.

Another type is old jujube wood poles, which are hard, denser than ash wood poles, hard, heavy, less elastic, and cheaper.

There was a row of long spear shafts, but only two of them had spearheads.

The rest were all long poles, each with a single end, and wrapped in several layers of black cloth.

The tip of the pole is made relatively soft, so that if the apprentice gets pricked during practice, it won't cause serious injury.

If you really use the tip of the spear, several apprentices will die every day.
(End of this chapter)