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

Chapter 230 We can't afford to lose face after this!
The council chamber is very large. There is an open space directly opposite the seats, which can be used for meals or for passing things around.

Chen Zhan walked to the middle.

"We'll deal with the external matters slowly. We need to be united internally. There's no need for you all to be nervous. Uncle Li's actions were too ruthless and completely unnecessary."

"Let's put it this way: today we'll have a closed-door discussion, and I won't harm a single person. I want everyone to be convinced, not just outright, but also in their hearts. If even one person here is dissatisfied after today, then I, Chen, have lost, and I will leave the South immediately. How about that?"

Chen Zhan spoke simply and confidently, but it took everyone a moment to understand the meaning behind his words.

He meant that after today, anyone present who didn't need to physically defeat him, but simply expressed dissatisfaction verbally, would be considered a loser.
This confidence left those present speechless, exchanging bewildered glances.

Li Guangpu is the person in charge of the Cheng School of Bagua and one of the owners behind Jinlou. Everyone looks up to him.

He nodded and stood up, smiling, "What the Alliance Leader said makes sense. Let's stabilize our internal affairs first and establish some rules. It just so happens that the Golden Pavilion hasn't had any internal dealings for a long time, so let the Alliance Leader give some pointers to the juniors."

"That makes sense, that makes sense."

Cheng Yougong, Feng Junyi, and Li Wenbiao echoed his sentiments.

Chen Zhan also knew that these people had heard about it from secret letters and newspapers. Although countless people had confirmed it, and Xiong Hanshan had even moved his whole family to Foshan half a month ago and had been exchanging information frequently recently.

Xiong Hanshan's Xingyi Old Bear Form was no joke. Apart from Li Guangpu, who could steadily suppress him for a few moves, Cheng Yougong could only use Bagua Youdou to remain undefeated.

Moreover, Xiong Hanshan is almost at the level of mastery.

He held Chen Zhan in high esteem, but all he knew was hearsay; none of these people had ever actually met him.

While I wouldn't question whether Chen Zhan is a charlatan, I can't completely accept it.

It's perfect that you brought it up yourself now.

The younger generation on the side were also eager to try. Chen Zhan had said he wouldn't hurt anyone, so regardless of their martial arts skills or whether they were genuine or not, it was a good opportunity.

Even a lucky win, a single move or two, can make one famous throughout the world.

It's normal to lose. Given Chen Zhan's status, he'll be admired even if he loses.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

Light footsteps, accompanied by a thumping sound, indicate someone is going upstairs.

"Hey, the boss is discussing business, Master Xiong can't go in."

"Get out of the way, get out of the way! My sect leader is here. Old Xiong, lend a hand and don't cause any trouble."

How could Sister Fei and her apprentices possibly stop Xiong Hanshan? With a casual push, they were all pushed back a few steps, their steps quick and light as they made their way up to the fourth floor.

Ye Ningzhen took the initiative to stand up, walked to the stairwell, greeted Xiong Hanshan, and said to the people downstairs, "It's okay, you can leave now. Anyone who wants to come up can come up, no need to stop them."

The group readily agreed.

When Xiong Hanshan came up and saw this, he laughed heartily: "Grandmaster, you've finally arrived! There are many masters in the South, and I, Xiong, have been waiting for you. When will you hold a challenge and have a match with the martial arts heroes of the South?"

Chen Zhan responded with a smile: "No rush. Let's get things organized internally first and then face external threats together."

"Oh? There are people within our ranks who are not convinced by you?"

Xiong Hanshan's tone was slightly lower as he looked into the hall. Chen Zhan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Please sit down. We're all family here. I've always won people over with virtue, haven't I?"

"Hehe, that's right. The Grand Master has always won people over with virtue."

As he spoke, he sat down in the chair behind him and greeted Li Wenbiao beside him: "Old Li, we didn't settle the score last time, let's have another match sometime."

Li Wenbiao was straightforward and got along well with Xiong Hanshan, so he laughed and said, "No problem, we can go to the martial arts school tomorrow, we won't be able to show off our skills here."

Everyone was waiting for Chen Zhan to explain how he would handle the situation.

"Alliance Leader, how do you suggest we go through this?" Li Wenbiao asked directly. Behind them were several young disciples, all eager to try their hand at the challenge.

"Yes, it's easy to handle."

After Chen Zhan finished speaking, he spun around on the ground with his feet, using Tai Chi steps to draw a circle.

A circle immediately appeared on the willow wood floor, as if it had been carved with a knife and axe, very clearly.

The circle was only big enough for one person to stand in, and Chen Zhan stood in it.

"I'll stand inside the circle, feet stationary, with only one hand outstretched. You can move me out of the circle however you like, and that's how you win, shall we?"

Chen Zhan didn't pay much attention to it; it was just an internal sparring match, a casual game.

However, several disciples of the Cheng School masters were immediately displeased upon hearing this.

"Isn't the Alliance Leader being too arrogant? Although we may not be able to defeat you, we don't deserve to be humiliated like this, do we?"

"Exactly! Without moving your feet, just use one hand to move out of the circle and you win. It's too easy!"

The two who spoke were Li Wenbiao's disciple and Feng Junyi's disciple.

On such occasions, those who come are all close disciples, and they don't bring many with them. Each person only brings three disciples, except for Li Guangpu, whose disciples often frequent the Golden Pavilion, so almost all of them are present.

The others whispered amongst themselves, expressing some dissatisfaction, but none of them spoke out loud.

"Hey, you think it's easy? Why don't you give it a try?" Ruan Zhi said with a giggle from the side.

"Okay! I'll give it a try."

Li Wenbiao's disciple looked to be in his thirties, with a broad face, and appeared to be a hardworking boxer.

Provoked by Ruan Zhi, he immediately jumped out.

"I am Liang Xing, the fourth-generation successor of the Cheng School of Bagua, and I welcome you to join me as the leader of the alliance."

"please."

Chen Zhan answered calmly.

The young man immediately rushed forward, his left hand making a single palm strike towards Chen Zhan's chest, while his right hand sank into his ribs to make a change of move. This was a standard move of Baguazhang, and he did it without any hesitation.

He switched palms to Chen Zhan's chest, and his right hand followed suit, thrusting towards Chen Zhan's ribs.

He naturally used all his strength; Chen Zhan's reputation speaks for itself.

But he didn't expect that Chen Zhan said he would only use one hand to defend, and that he didn't include Li Guangpu, a master of internal energy transformation, in his defense.

To Liang Xing's astonishment, he placed his palm on Chen Zhan's chest and his right hand also jabbed at Chen Zhan's waist. He hadn't expected this at all.

What about one hand?
Chen Zhan kept his hands around his waist and let him exert force.

"Bang~"

With a forceful palm strike, Liang Xing smiled. His internal energy technique allowed him to overturn even a two- or three-hundred-pound stone with a single full-force palm strike, let alone someone as muscular as Chen Zhan.

But the next moment it converged, or rather, it shifted.

It was transferred to Ruan Zhi's face.

He pressed his palm against Chen Zhan's body, but he couldn't feel any flesh or blood on Chen Zhan's chest. It was as if he was pressing on cotton, hitting empty air. The fist clearly reached the body, but it felt like it was missing a bit.

He looked on in shock, thinking Chen Zhan had retreated!
But Chen Zhan just stood there, letting him place his palm on his chest.

With a fierce determination, Liang Xing unleashed his hidden strength and thrust his right hand forcefully into Chen Zhan's waist.

This time it was the same. Chen Zhan didn't make a move, letting him exert his strength. The feedback from the hidden force was even more terrifying. Like mud sinking into the sea, Chen Zhan was like a bottomless whirlpool, accepting everything, both obvious and hidden force!
"Your internal strength is proficient, but your strength in Bagua Zhang is still lacking. Bagua Zhang is practiced with softness, and when used in combat, it combines both softness and strength, but you cannot transform your hard strength into soft strength."

"Logically speaking, if the first strike of Baguazhang fails, you should immediately start using footwork to fight. I can't move, so you can circle around and attack. Try it a few more times. Even if you don't have a chance, it's still a good method."

Chen Zhan even had time to offer guidance.

Before Liang Xing could react after saying that, Chen Zhan put his hand on his shoulder and a shockwave sent him sprawling.

He flew back and landed in front of Li Wenbiao.

Li Wenbiao reached out and grabbed him, bracing his arm against his back to help him regain his balance.

Liang Xing did not fall.

Li Wenbiao said, "Shameful! Go back and practice walking stances for a month!"

Liang Xing quickly said, "Thank you, Master!"

"Why thank me? Go thank the alliance leader for showing mercy."

Liang Xing thanked Chen Zhan profusely. Li Wenbiao, his hands hidden in his sleeves, trembled violently. Even the force of Chen Zhan's casual flick of his wrist was extremely difficult for him to neutralize.

But he kept smiling.

Actually, if left unattended, Liang Xing wouldn't have been injured, but he would have been thrown to the ground and slid.
So embarrassing!

A person's reputation matters, and if his disciple is the first to make a move, it will be too tragic and Xiong Hanshan will laugh at him.

The disciples of the Cheng School all know each other. Liang Xing's internal strength skills are not bad; he ranks among the top five among the disciples.

Of course, it can't be counted as Ye Ningzhen.

Liang Xing's defeat was expected, but no one understood why.
Why did it fail?

As if in a performance, the two threw a punch, but Chen Zhan didn't move. After a moment of stalemate, Liang Xing was sent flying backward.

If I didn't know the two didn't know each other, I would have thought they were performing a magic trick together.

“You can have more people together, I didn’t say only one person could act.” Chen Zhan didn’t give them much time and said directly.

The three people exchanged a glance. They often practiced martial arts together and were of one mind.

Let's all jump out together.

After announcing their identities, two of them were Cheng Yougong's disciples, and one was Feng Junyi's disciple. The three of them then attacked Chen Zhan together.

Not daring to resort to underhanded tactics, they wanted to rely on their superior numbers and manpower to shake Chen Zhan out of the circle.

Six hands, three sets of double palm changes, perfectly synchronized.

They didn't believe Chen Zhan could handle it with just one hand.

But things didn't go as planned; it was like throwing a stone into the sea—the effort was directed at him but had no effect whatsoever.

Chen Zhan lightly touched each of the three men's hands with one hand, sending them flying backwards, just like Liang Xing.

Cheng Yougong and Feng Junyi naturally wanted to help their disciple deflect the force.

But this time was different. Cheng Yougong had two disciples, one in each hand. A terrifying force came from his back. He spun around and stomped hard, causing a piece of the wooden board to buckle.

Only then did he stop.

Neither of the two disciples fell flat on their faces.

Cheng Yougong couldn't help but look at Li Wenbiao, thinking to himself: I didn't even realize that the shockwave was so terrifying! This old guy is really good at pretending!

Chen Zhan was still standing there when Liang Xing couldn't help but ask, "How did the Alliance Leader do that?"

Only the three who had just made their move and Chen Zhan knew what he was asking.

Chen Zhan almost defied the common sense of martial arts training. Logically speaking, no matter how high one's skill level is, when fists or palms collide, the force should rebound, and whoever is stronger should be knocked away.

However, Chen Zhan absorbed it.
"It's very simple, just grab the sparrow's tail."

"Yang Luchan could use the 'Grasp the Sparrow's Tail' technique to prevent the sparrow from flying. When the sparrow exerted its strength, it would suddenly lose its strength, as if the sparrow could never exert any strength and remained in the same place."

"The moment you exert force, I deflect it, so you will feel like you are punching cotton, with nowhere to put pressure on it."

Chen Zhan explained in great detail that Yang Luchan performed "The Sparrow Does Not Fly" for princes and nobles in the capital, which was hailed as a miracle and spread like wildfire. Everyone present had heard of it.

"Grasp the sparrow's tail."

"It's true that 'grasping the sparrow's tail' deflects force, but can the Alliance Leader really deflect hundreds of pounds of force by performing Yang Luchan's act of deflecting force for the sparrow? Three living people, masters of internal strength."

"Yang Luchan was once known as invincible, having fought his way through the capital. The alliance leader's influence probably extends beyond the capital, doesn't it?"

As Li Wenbiao spoke, he began to shake his head, not because he didn't believe it, but because he found it unbelievable.

Chen Zhan smiled but did not answer. No one else came up to challenge him. The old guys would definitely not make a move; it would be too embarrassing to lose.

Apart from Ye Ningzhen, the most skilled of the remaining disciples were Li Guangpu's eldest and second disciples, but they had already left and were not present.

Seeing that no one else was making a move, Chen Zhan stepped out of the circle.

(End of this chapter)