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

Upon hearing the last sentence, Chen Zhan's heart wavered; Liu Yunqiao's words certainly didn't seem false.

If Ye Ningzhen knew, how heartbroken she would be. The three sisters grew up together since childhood. Li Qingsu was the middle in age, but the most steady in temperament. The eldest sister was willful, and the youngest sister was mischievous.

She always silently cleaned up the messes; she was cautious from a young age and deliberately chose the most dangerous place, Beiping, to lie low.

Ultimately, this outcome is still his fault. The words he left for Ye Ningzhen back then led him step by step to the current situation.

He had promised to bring Li Qingsu back whole before he left, but he was going to break his promise.

His heart, which had remained calm for many years, was now heavy with melancholy. He looked up at the sky, where the night was dark and thick clouds pressed down on Beiping City. He could not find Li Qingsu's shadow under the clouds.

Just as he looked up, the body that had been standing straight to his side suddenly twisted and sank. Liu Yunqiao stomped his back foot on the ground, and with a stomp, he propelled the force up from the Yongquan point on his forehead. He twisted his waist and hips, lowered his shoulders and elbows, and half of his arm wrapped around his elbow tip as he slammed into him.

The most ferocious move in Bajiquan, the Big Opening, abandons all defenses, combining killing intent with inch-force, striking Chen Zhan's ear almost simultaneously, a complete attack with no defense.

Liu Yunqiao had been waiting for this moment. Chen Zhan's mind was in turmoil. This was the only opportunity he had, and the goal of the psychological battle had been achieved.

Liu Yunqiao was waiting for the moment when Chen Zhan looked up at the sky and lost his composure.

He stomped his back foot, using a powerful kick to draw energy from the Yongquan point (Kidney 1), which then twisted up his leg bone to his waist and hips. He lowered his shoulders and elbows, and his entire arm, including the elbow tip, slammed into the impact.

The eight extremes and six great powers opened up and twisted into one, abandoning all the gates of the body, and pressing all the skills accumulated over forty years into a half-step close-fitting stubble.

Chen Zhan's left rib was positioned directly above his elbow.

A muffled thud exploded under his ribs.

The inner strength of the Embracing Elixir was profound and powerful. As soon as it was poured in, Chen Zhan's body froze, two cracks appeared on the blue bricks under his feet, and he was sent flying by an elbow.

The car crashed through the pillars behind him, sending broken beams and wood chips sprawling to the ground. These chips then smashed into the brick wall of the barracks opposite, causing half of the wall to collapse and burying him and the bricks inside. Tables and chairs overturned, and dust billowed high into the air.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

The soldiers standing in the shadows with their guns at the ready all opened their eyes wide.

The living Yama, who had stormed in and smashed through the human wall with a single slap, was sent flying by his own bureau chief's elbow.

Liu Yunqiao's forearm was shattered in the instant of the collision, his thumb and forefinger split open, and blood flowed down between his fingers.

The elbow strike landed solidly, its weight making him feel uneasy. Chen Zhan's body was too hard; three-tenths of the force penetrated the elbow, while the remaining seven-tenths flowed back into his own bones, making a cracking sound from his wrist to his shoulder.

A chilling fear gripped him. 'Is this even a human body?' He had launched a sneak attack, a full-force attack when the man was completely off guard!

The feeling was no different from pressing an elbow against a several-foot-thick iron plate.

terror!
But despite the turmoil in his heart, he didn't even look at his hands.

He finally won Chen Zhan's heart.

Even the best in the world was sent flying by his elbow.

Liu Yunqiao's death wish turned into ruthlessness. What the hell is being the best in the world? What the hell is being unpredictable? Even if you are the Heavenly King descended to earth, I will fight you first!
Those who practice martial arts rely entirely on this sharp spirit; without it, they are no different from dead!
You only get one chance; if you miss it, you'll never get another.

Instead of retreating, he charged forward, striding into the half-collapsed barracks, his momentum unstoppable.

Chen Zhan sat up from the pile of bricks. Two of his left ribs were broken. The smell of blood rose in his throat, but he swallowed it back down.

The news of Li Qingsu's death did indeed have a certain impact on him, and he was momentarily distracted, which led to his being ambushed.

Just as I came to my senses, Liu Yunqiao arrived.

Tie Shan Kao slammed into Chen Zhan's chest, sending him and half a pile of broken wall flying through the air and crashing into the warehouse behind.

Chen Zhan had just stood up and hadn't even regained his balance when Liu Yunqiao's hammer came crashing down on his shoulder. The warehouse beam snapped in two, and half of the roof collapsed, hitting the two men on the head, only to be dislodged by Liu Yunqiao's arm.

Bajiquan close-quarters combat, every inch shorter, every inch more dangerous.

Liu Yunqiao risked his life, clinging to Chen Zhan and biting him, not letting him go even a step.

Elbow strikes, leaning blows, supporting punches, and stomping kicks—each strike was linked to the next, with immense force. Every blow that landed on Chen Zhan shattered a brick into dust.

The courtyard of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics collapsed inch by inch beneath their feet.

The house with lights on at the east end collapsed in an instant, followed by the barracks, then the storehouse, the stables, and half of the courtyard wall. Piles of bricks fell down one after another, and smoke and dust filled the air.

No one dared to pull the trigger on the two remaining machine guns on the guard tower. In the darkness, it was impossible to tell where their own director and the assassin were entangled. Soldiers and plainclothes agents who could run all rushed to the outer courtyard. Those who couldn't run were knocked to the ground by flying brick beams and buried under them, unable to even groan.

Chen Zhan was being held back by Liu Yunqiao, retreating and defending himself all the way.

His muscles and bones were so dense that his qi and blood did not leak out at all.

Liu Yunqiao's inner strength rolled over Chen Zhan's body again and again, striking him with his elbows, his iron back against his shoulders and back, and his fists on his head. Each strike was powerful and heavy, sinking into Chen Zhan's body and leaving only a few bruises.

If it were someone else, a blow to the heart with an elbow would be enough to disembowel them, and a leaning blow against a mountain would be enough to displace their internal organs.

The impact on Chen Zhan didn't even break his skin, let alone draw blood.

Liu Yunqiao saw it clearly, and became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed, yet he dared not stop.

He knew he only had the immediate task at hand.

At this moment, he was performing the most complete Bajiquan routine of his life. He poured out all his inner energy, launched a successful sneak attack, seized the initiative, and pressed forward with all his might, not allowing his opponent to gain any distance.

The aggressive steps and shifting positions push the danger of close-quarters combat to its peak, from the expansive and powerful style of the large frame to the compact and ruthless style of the small frame, and then to the continuous progression of the eight major postures.

Seventy punches in total, one punch after another, not one missing its mark, not a moment's pause. Bricks and stones shattered beneath their feet, and half of the Security Bureau's barracks, warehouses, stables, and courtyard walls collapsed due to their onslaught.

He believed that even if his master, Li Shuwen, were alive today, he might not be able to surpass him in a single round of boxing.

The pinnacle of the Eight Extremes lineage has reached its zenith in him.

Chen Zhan retreated to the west wall, where he had nowhere left to retreat.

Liu Yunqiao's life's work was all concentrated in this final gamble.

The most ruthless of the eight moves is a lunge to seize the center, a feint with the elbow pointing forward, and the real force landing in close combat, the entire arm wrapped in the internal energy surging from the dantian, directly hitting Chen Zhan's heart.

He abandoned even his own home and his own bones, launching a full-scale attack with no defense, risking his life to save others.

Chen Zhan stopped and did not retreat.

Two half-foot-deep footprints rolled into the brick floor, and the west wall behind him collapsed a bit due to the impact. He stood in the dust and ash, with several bruises and fractures on his left rib, shoulder, and chest. His long robe was torn in several places, and blood seeped from his brow bone.

That's it.

He poured in forty years of cultivation and risked his life for this one strike, finally managing to wound the world's number one player.

Chen Zhan also realized that Liu Yunqiao was running out of strength, and this last move was his last resort.

He slightly raised his gaze and it fell on Liu Yunqiao, as if a bolt of lightning had flashed from the void.

When kung fu is practiced to its highest level, one can develop a divine strike, also known as eyewitnessing.

It's about courage and spirit.

When a top expert faces an ordinary sparring opponent, a single glance is enough to make the opponent intimidated and soften. If they hesitate even slightly, their ruthlessness will dissipate, and any further confrontation will be a certain death.

Liu Yunqiao came from a family with a long tradition of learning, so he was naturally familiar with such methods. However, even if he was familiar with them, he had no way to counter them. He knew that he did not have the strength of Chen Zhan, and if he forced himself to face him, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.

At this moment, he had only one last move left. If he couldn't kill Chen Zhan, he would die himself; he couldn't afford to lose even a shred of ruthlessness. The instant he looked up, Liu Yunqiao turned his face away, avoiding eye contact. He gritted his teeth and lunged forward!

The moment Liu Yunqiao looked away, Chen Zhan smiled.

"Ha, you're scared."

A soft "ha" reached Liu Yunqiao's ears, more chilling than the gunshots echoing throughout the courtyard.

Chen Zhan spread his arms wide, leaving his chest exposed, letting the people rush into his arms. The way he spread his arms was slow and gentle, but when it landed on Liu Yunqiao, all that remained was a chill running through his body.

The moment Liu Yunqiao pressed against him, he sensed danger.

It's too late to change tactics.

Chen Zhan brought his arms together, and a swirling force pressed down from his chest and back, combining the millstone-like force of the Bagua into a giant millstone that clamped Liu Yunqiao in the center and twisted him wildly.

The force he had used to risk his life was mostly dissipated by the twisting force of the embrace, and what remained was pressed against Chen Zhan's chest. Chen Zhan's blood and qi surged, and his body swayed slightly, but he did not retreat. He only let out a sigh in the dust.

"Impressive! Fierce Bajiquan! Fierce Bajiquan! Even Li Shuwen in his youth wasn't this good."

"I've always regretted not having the chance to fight a Grandmaster in his youth, but today I've finally made up for it. However..."

He paused, then said, "You lied to me just now; I won't leave you with a whole corpse."

Liu Yunqiao was unable to speak.

As soon as Chen Zhan finished speaking, his arms, which had been embracing, suddenly shifted from a clamping grip to a tearing one above the other, his left hand gripping Chen Zhan's right arm and his right hand gripping Chen Zhan's left arm, and he exerted a sudden force.

Eagle tear!

"Bah!"

This tearing sound wasn't from clothes; Liu Yunqiao's clothes had already been shredded into strips by the seventy punches. The crisp sound of the clothes hitting the ground was accompanied by the muffled crack of flesh and bones being ripped apart.

This tear ripped flesh apart, blood splattered everywhere, and the person was split in two.

Chen Zhan released his grip, holding one half in each hand, and threw the remaining half of the corpse into the ruins.

He remained expressionless, glancing down at the wounds on his ribs—a few scrapes of skin, nothing to him.

Turning around to check the current situation, the whole thing had only lasted a dozen or so breaths.

The attack was too fast and the destructive power was too great. The soldiers and spies who scattered and fled did not actually get very far.

Chen Zhan took a step, shrinking the distance to an inch, and his figure darted back and forth in the courtyard that had collapsed into ruins, dragging people back one by one and pressing them against the base of the broken wall.

He didn't kill anyone; he's still under investigation.

Chen Zhan had realized that Liu Yunqiao's words were a lie.

After catching up, the phrase "I personally saw Li Qingsu off" was all part of a carefully planned scheme, designed to distract him and create an opening for a sneak attack.

The facts speak for themselves: Liu Yunqiao did it, cleanly and decisively, sending him flying with an elbow and forcing him back against the wall with seventy punches.

That's all for now.

He's only at the stage of "emerging from the elixir," still a long way from achieving that.

Chen Zhan's body couldn't move the qi and blood circulating in his dantian, but his physical body had been tempered to its peak, and his muscles, bones, skin, and flesh had been refined to the extreme.

Liu Yunqiao was already quite proud that he could break Liu Yunqiao's ribs, but Lu Shouyi, at the Divine Realm, used all his strength and didn't even scratch Liu Yunqiao's skin.

There weren't many survivors left in the courtyard; after the killing just now, only a handful were still standing.

Chen Zhan asked them one by one, but he only got a limited amount of information: fragmented numbers, names of his contacts, and a few meeting points, nothing of great importance.

When asked if it was the third or fourth person, a man squatting at the foot of the crumbling wall suddenly looked up and asked to step aside so he could speak to him alone.

Chen Zhan's gaze fell on him.

A middle-aged man around forty years old, wearing a gray cloth short jacket like those worn by the Bureau of Secrecy, with cuffs worn shiny, was an office worker who spent most of his time hunched over a desk.

He had thin calluses on the back of his hands and the area between his thumb and forefinger, and his back was straight. During the earth-shattering battle just now, he stayed huddled against the wall from beginning to end, without touching a gun, running around, or making a move.

He possessed martial arts skills, yet he never revealed a single one.

Chen Zhan walked over and led him aside. The middle-aged man met his gaze and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Have the red leaves on the Western Hills faded yet?

Chen Zhan was taken aback.

The code. The secret code used by the Soviet faction in Beiping was known to fewer than a handful of people.

"One of our own?"

The middle-aged man nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing as he spoke, and his words left Chen Zhan rooted to the spot.

"Comrade. I know where Comrade Li is."

Chen Zhan stood there for two breaths.

His divine aura had long since returned, and every detail within a hundred paces was clearly visible. The middle-aged man's heartbeat was steady, his breath was long and deep, and there was not a trace of pretense or superficiality in his words.

This person is truly one of our own, and he really does know something.

"Which line are you on?" Chen Zhan's voice turned deep again.

"My surname is Qiao. I was buried in the document section of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics three years ago." The middle-aged man spoke slowly, each sentence precise. "Comrade Li had an accident half a month ago. She betrayed her people online. In order to send the last two comrades away, she covered the rear herself and was seriously injured. She fell into Liu Yunqiao's hands."

Chen Zhan did not interrupt.

“Liu Yunqiao didn’t kill her.” The middle-aged man surnamed Qiao shook his head. “He spread the word that he had set up a fake Comrade Li, who was dying, as bait at the mortuary near the city wall, just waiting for someone like you to come. He kept the real one locked up elsewhere, trying to pry the whole Su faction’s network in Beiping and North China out of her mouth.”

Every sentence matches perfectly.

The bait of the mortuary, Zhang Yuru's injury, and Liu Yunqiao's dying words, "I will personally send her away."

Chen Zhan had previously determined that Li Qingsu was still alive and being held in a secret place, but he was distracted by the news of Li Qingsu's death, showing that concern can cloud judgment.

Where is he/she?

The middle-aged man lowered his voice and gave a destination.

“In the west of the city, inside Fuchengmen, in Maweiba Hutong, there is a courtyard with a sign that reads ‘Yongshun Rice Shop’. There is a basement level, and the guards are members of the Qingyi Society.”

He paused, his expression turning serious. "Sir, you must hurry. Liu Yunqiao issued a notice yesterday, and at daybreak today, he will send the man to Tianjin in a freight car, and then transfer him to Nanjing. There are only fifteen minutes left until dawn."

Chen Zhan looked up at the sky.

The night was still dark, and thick clouds pressed down on the city of Beiping.

He didn't ask any more questions, turned around and walked out of the courtyard. His foot sank, and his figure swept past the collapsed wall and disappeared into the night.

Yongshun Rice Shop. (End of Chapter)