Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Chapter 125 Shattered Jade Hand

The moment the sword was drawn, the air on the arena seemed to freeze for a split second.

Luo Qingshan's pupils contracted slightly. He felt a heavy, suffocating force emanating from Sun Fan. It wasn't killing intent, nor was it oppressive aura; it was pure "heaviness"—like a mountain pressing down, making his breathing quicken.

Late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm.

He judged Sun Fan's level of skill.

The late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm is just one step away from the Qi Gathering Realm. But that one step makes all the difference.

Luo Qingshan took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort, and slowly raised his hands. His fingers were long and slender, white, with distinct knuckles, like a fine piece of porcelain, looking as if it would shatter at the slightest touch. But Sun Fan knew that those hands were harder than steel and sharper than swords.

The name "Shattered Jade Hand" comes from the martial art's unique characteristic—the ability to compress internal energy to the fingertips, creating a blade-like effect. A single strike may appear effortless, but the compressed internal energy is released instantly upon contact with an object, shattering it from the inside. It's like crushing a piece of jade; the exterior may appear intact, but the inside is riddled with cracks.

In the third grade, there were no more than five people who dared to take a blow from Luo Qingshan head-on.

Sun Fan, however, did not intend to take the direct confrontation.

The referee lowered his hand: "Begin!"

Luo Qingshan made a move.

His movements were astonishingly fast, not with the ferocity of a tiger pouncing on its prey, but with an elegant, flowing lightness. Like the wind, like water, like moonlight filtering through leaves, silent yet omnipresent.

That's a very skillful form of lightness skill.

In terms of agility, even ten Sun Fans couldn't match Luo Qingshan.

Sun Fan's sword also moved.

His sword followed Luo Qingshan's every move.

This time, he didn't use the casual thrusts of the first round, nor the forceful slashes of the second. Instead, he used the technique he had honed for two months with Feng Congyun: "Where the mind goes, the qi goes, the sword goes."

The heavy ball of internal energy in his dantian released its power, and a warm current surged up from his chest. The two forces merged into one, flowing along his meridians to his wrist and then to the sword. The entire sword emitted a deep hum, like the roar of an ancient beast.

Sun Fan thrust out his sword, neither hurried nor slow.

The sword tip aimed straight at Luo Qingshan's chest.

Luo Qingshan sidestepped the sword, dodging the blade, and struck the sword with his right palm from the side. He used only thirty percent of his strength in this strike, but it was enough to deflect Sun Fan's sword.

But the moment their palms clashed, his expression changed.

Sun Fan's sword wasn't imbued with ordinary internal energy, but with an extremely concentrated and powerful force. His palm strike landed as if on a mountain, leaving the target completely unmoved. Sun Fan's sword thrust continued unabated, aiming for his chest.

Luo Qingshan took three steps back to create distance and re-examined Sun Fan.

"Your internal strength—is not that of an ordinary Qi Opening Realm cultivator." For the first time, uncertainty appeared in his voice.

Sun Fan did not answer, but turned his sword and thrust it forward again.

This sword strike was faster and heavier than the previous one. The blade sliced ​​through the air with a sharp screech, as if it were tearing the very fabric of the air apart. Luo Qingshan dared not take it head-on, and quickly turned, circling around to Sun Fan's left, his right palm striking towards Sun Fan's lower back.

He was too fast; so fast that Sun Fan couldn't retract his sword in time.

But Sun Fan did not sheathe his sword.

With a flick of his wrist, the sword drew an arc in the air, turning from front to back, its tip heading straight for Luo Qingshan's palm.

Luo Qingshan's palm stopped half a foot away from Sun Fan's lower back—not because he withdrew, but because Sun Fan's sword had blocked his attack route. If he continued to strike, his palm would hit the tip of the sword first.

But this brief pause is not an attempt to avoid the situation, but rather a demonstration of strength.

He slammed it down hard.

He slammed his sword against Sun Fan's blade.

Sun Fan's sword was knocked away by those jade-like hands.

Startled, Sun Fan immediately parried with his sword.

But it was too late.

The hasty parry left no time to deflect the powerful palm strike.

Sun Fan was sent flying.

Luo Qingshan clapped his hands, quite satisfied with his slap.

Sun Fan was injured, and the injury should be enough for him to see clearly the gap between the two of them.

It's not shameful to admit defeat now.

Unexpectedly, Sun Fan stood up again.

He leaned on his sword and sighed.

When the fourth sword was thrust out, Sun Fan knew he was wrong.

He misjudged the gap between himself and Luo Qingshan—not a gap in cultivation level, but a gap in the application of power. Luo Qingshan had honed his skills in the Qi Gathering Realm for at least two years, controlling the force of each palm strike perfectly, just enough to knock away his sword without injuring his wrist.

And what about him? He had only been able to establish himself in the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm for less than a month, and his internal energy had been reduced by half. The coordination between his swordsmanship and internal energy could barely be considered "smooth," and he was still far from being "free."

Under normal circumstances, he couldn't beat Luo Qingshan.

Sun Fan, leaning on his sword, slowly stood up from the arena. The dull pain in his chest was still there, a result of Luo Qingshan's palm strike. His ribs weren't broken, but his muscles were strained. He took a deep breath, channeling the internal energy of the Divine Illumination Scripture to the injured area. The warm energy enveloped the strained muscles, easing the pain slightly.

On the arena, Luo Qingshan stood still, not pressing his advantage. He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, watching Sun Fan stand up again, his eyes showing no mockery, only a faint scrutiny.

"Your internal strength is not bad," he said, his voice still cold, but his tone was gentler than before. "But your fighting style is wrong. You're fighting someone in the Qi Gathering Realm using the methods of the Opening Meridian Realm—the sword follows the person, and the person follows the mind. The mind is too slow; it can't keep up."

Sun Fan remained silent. He knew Luo Qingshan was right. His swordsmanship was excellent, and his internal energy was solid, but he didn't know how to use it.

He was using the methods of the Force-Generating Realm to control the internal energy of the Meridian Opening Realm—infusing the internal energy into the sword and then thrusting it again and again. This is the most basic usage, but also the most wasteful.

It's like begging for food while holding a golden bowl.

Luo Qingshan realized this.

"It's not that you can't beat me," Luo Qingshan continued, his tone still calm, as if stating a fact. "It's that your body hasn't learned how to use your internal energy. Your sword and internal energy are separate, like two people fighting separately, without any coordination."

He looked Sun Fan into the eyes: "If this is all you're capable of, then I advise you to admit defeat. I don't want to cripple you, but without crippling you, I can't win. The Queen told me to take every match seriously."

Sun Fan gripped the sword hilt tightly.

The scar on the web of his right hand, left from his fight with the Blood Saber Ancestor, gleamed dimly under the lamplight. He lowered his head, looking at the scar, and suddenly remembered the Blood Saber Ancestor's dying words—"This old monk has killed countless people in his life, and has never thought about how he will die."

To die by the sword is not unjust.

And what about him now?

Is it unfair to lose in the ring?

Doesn't count.

Because he hasn't drawn that sword yet.