A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Beep!

When the other Qing soldiers noticed the unusual situation at Baoshengtang Medical Clinic and blew their whistles to warn the enemy, Guan Luoyang had already disappeared at the end of the street.

He hid the boat ticket in his belt, and his steps seemed slow but were actually fast, and he quickly turned two corners.

A small river, about six meters wide, lay across our path, with boats moored in its course.

Guan Luoyang took a big step forward and leaped forward, stepping on the bow of the boat for leverage. As the water rippled, he reached the other side and walked along the bamboo pavilion by the river.

Wow!

The very soft sound of water rippled into his ears, and Guan Luoyang suddenly slowed his pace and turned to look.

On this small river, within sight of all, there were four small boats moored. Some were unloading cargo, some were being used by their owners to rest in the cabin, and some were children playing in the water at the bow.

The sound of water just now didn't seem unusual in this environment.

But Guan Luoyang's gaze lingered for a moment on the small boat he had just used for leverage, a dozen steps away, and then he became more cautious.

As he turned and hurried on his way with a normal expression, most of his attention was actually focused on his hearing. As he walked, his earlobes would tremble slightly, almost imperceptibly.

The shadows cast by the bamboo sheds and pavilions varied in size. Where there were pavilions, the foundations were slightly higher. Some pavilions were elaborate, with railings on all four sides and steps. Guan Luoyang walked through these sections one by one, and when he reached the end of the corridor, he had quietly deviated from the route back.

He wandered further and further off course, always heading in directions where the crowds were thinner.

After circling around for almost half an hour, an unfinished building appeared ahead. The scaffolding was made of thick bamboo, divided into sections and layers, and inside were high walls and flying eaves that were already mostly built.

This is probably a wealthy merchant or nobleman who is building a new mansion. The courtyard wall has been built on three sides, and the inside is still a rammed earth floor, piled with various bamboo, sand, and bricks.

But it was around lunchtime, and most of the bricklayers and masons had taken the opportunity to go out and watch the excitement, so there wasn't a single construction worker around.

Guan Luoyang rested one hand on the bamboo frame beside him and said in a moderate voice, "Since I can't shake you off, how about we meet?"

No one answered from behind.

Guan Luoyang said, "Are you still hoping for a lucky break? You hid very well, but you couldn't escape my ears. It's impossible to follow the clues. Either you leave and we'll pretend we never met, or you set off some fireworks and see if you can hold out until the others hear the news and come to your aid."

As the last part was being spoken, Guan Luoyang's ears, which had been trembling slightly, tensed up, and he finally pinpointed the other party's location.

With a sudden jolt of his shoulder, his right hand, which was resting on the bamboo frame, pierced the end of a bamboo stalk with the tips of his five fingers and twisted his wrist.

Crackling sounds!

He twisted the nearly two-meter-long bamboo strip into a bundle of broken bamboo strips, pulled it out, and ran away. In one swift step, he was more than ten meters away, and swung it horizontally at a small tree about the thickness of a thigh.

Bamboo strips are resilient, and the edges of bamboo strips that have been violently twisted and broken are even more dangerous, as they can easily cut clothing and skin, scrape off flesh, and pierce blood vessels.

With this lash, Guan Luoyang's bamboo strip struck the tree trunk in the middle, then bent at the front and struck the back of the tree.

The person hiding behind the tree was caught off guard by the sudden use of this strange weapon. Unable to dodge in time, they could only pull their cloak over themselves and take the blow.

It was unclear what material his cloak was made of; it looked dull and unremarkable, but when a large bundle of bamboo strips was lashed at it, it was as if several layers of taut old cowhide had been struck, and with a thud, it was bounced off.

The follower blocked the blow, and without thinking, dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding Guan Luoyang's punch that pierced through the tree trunk.

He turned and swept his forearm across the tree trunk.

The tree broke off at the point where it was punched, and the upper half of the trunk crashed down toward Guan Luoyang.

Guan Luoyang didn't block directly. Instead, he took a large stride, his body making a full arc as he brushed past the tree trunk. With his long arms outstretched, like a nimble ape climbing a branch, he grabbed at the pursuer's head.

The pursuer shrank back, whipping his cloak around and sweeping it away.

A metal ball the size of a bull's eyeball flew out from inside the cloak, and with a whoosh, it almost hit Guan Luoyang's chest.

Guan Luoyang gained the upper hand by breaking the bamboo unexpectedly. He wanted to withstand the iron ball and finish off his opponent as quickly as possible, but for some reason, the hairs on his body stood on end, and he moved to the side in extreme fear.

The iron ball flew out and hit the scaffolding more than ten meters away.

Boom!!!

Seven or eight bundled bamboo poles broke in the explosion, their joints shattered into pieces, and a section of the newly stacked bricks was also blown up, with smoke and dust exploding everywhere.

Guan Luoyang broke out in a cold sweat.

If it weren't for that subtle premonition from his mastery of skin-strengthening techniques, which made him instinctively dodge, that power would probably have blasted a huge hole in his chest.

Inside that seemingly ordinary iron ball was actually a yellow, semi-solid explosive. This explosive was extremely dangerous; friction, collision, or even a sudden change in temperature could trigger an explosion.

Ordinary grenades are too big of a target for boxers, requiring preparation before throwing and easily dodged. However, this kind of explosive can be made into a concealed weapon to hit people without any prior preparation. Just a glancing blow can send a person's limbs flying.

In the old-school slang, this kind of hidden weapon is called "thunderbolt," and it was notorious for its ferocity. It was popular in a small circle for a period of time.

However, precisely because such hidden weapons were so dangerous, if a user dared to carry them, they might blow themselves up first, so they quickly disappeared from the martial arts world.

This follower actually dared to wander around in a crowded place like Guangzhou with Pilizi; he was incredibly audacious.

With the explosion of the thunderbolt, Guan Luoyang's initial advantage gained through the surprise attack on the broken bamboo was completely destroyed.

The follower had taken off his dusty gray cloak, swung it around in an arc, and twisted it into a cloth stick, then chased after Guan Luoyang and lashed out at him.

The cloth stick itself wasn't scary, but Guan Luoyang was afraid that the stick might be hiding something like thunderbolts in its cloak, so he didn't dare to take it head-on and could only dodge it repeatedly.

According to the instructor, among the many experts in the Imperial Household Department's Sticky Rod Office, only one had left traces of gunpowder explosions at multiple murder scenes.

That is the Arhat and the Goddess of Lightning, and "Dragon and Tiger" among the four swift-knife dragons and tigers.

This man's nickname was Tiger, and his real name was Dragon. He was the only one who was not trained by the Imperial Household Department, but was first famous in the bandit camps of seven provinces before joining the Imperial Household Department—"Winged White-browed Tiger," Dragon Impermanence.

The reason he was forced to go into hiding and join the Imperial Household Department was because he specifically targeted martial arts masters from escort agencies and martial arts schools, which aroused public outrage among martial artists in seven provinces.

The more renowned and skilled the opponent, the more excited Long Wuchang becomes. Just as a hunter boasts about his feats of hunting tigers and leopards, killing these famous boxers is a way for Long Wuchang to prove himself.

It's not about proving something to others, it's about proving something to yourself.

To prove that I am strong enough, to prove that my vitality will not fade.

The cloth stick coiled like a dragon or snake as it was swung and struck. Long Wuchang's sallow face had ordinary features, but his eyes held a thirst for blood and excitement. He increased the force in his hands with each strike.

As Guan Luoyang dodged, he inhaled and exhaled, his breaths growing longer and longer. In the instant between inhalation and exhalation, he suddenly lashed out with his whip, making contact with the cloth stick.

But the moment they made contact, Guan Luoyang's whip-wielding hand transformed into a cloud-like grasping hand. With a flick and a twist, Guan Luoyang's hand was so supple and boneless that it seemed as if his hand was a piece of soft silk cloth wrapped around the stick.

With this twist and shake, everything hidden inside the cloak and stick was shaken out in the same direction.

A dozen or so barbed blades burst from the cloth, flying horizontally a great distance before embedding themselves in the bamboo frames.

There were no more thunderbolts hidden inside the cloak, but even if there were, with that extremely gentle flick just now, the thunderbolts wouldn't have had time to explode and would have been shot far away.

Long Wuchang's eyelids twitched, and he blurted out, "Condensing Qi to achieve softness, mastering Qi cultivation?!"

The Great Completion of Qi Refining is a very special one among the Four Great Refining Techniques.

The mastery of muscles, bones, and skin requires arduous and rigorous training, and can be said to be a unique achievement for martial artists. However, the mastery of Qi cultivation has not only occurred in martial artists.

Monks, Taoist priests, scholars, and even some rural people who plant rice seedlings, wade through water, and turn the soil for planting may also experience the state of "qi cultivation" in their ordinary lives.

If muscles, bones, and skin are the foundation, the way to raise the upper limit of human physical ability, and the pursuit of increasing strength, then the main purpose of Qi cultivation is to pursue the control of the limbs and strength.

From the moment a person is born, every period of learning, labor, and exertion causes damage to their body. Even if you do nothing but maintain a certain posture, the weight of your own body will still cause harm.

This is why human lifespan is greatly reduced, and why hundreds of diseases related to skeletal deformities and muscle injuries occur.

Take the human cervical spine as an example. If a person's neck tilts forward by less than one-third, the muscles and bones of the neck will bear a great burden, equivalent to having a seven or eight-year-old child riding on their head.

Those who have mastered Qi cultivation see the five internal organs as one and the bones and flesh as inseparable. When in a stable state, they can distribute the weight and pressure they receive to every part of their body, as if their entire body, especially their head, neck, shoulders, and waist, has been freed from the shackles they have been bound by since birth.

In this way, one can maintain health and gain freedom.

In martial arts theory, only in this truly relaxed and free state can one unleash the essence of emptiness and softness.

Guan Luoyang clenched his teeth, grabbed one end of the tattered cloak, and lurched forward like he was on a roller. His hands moved like millstones folding clothes, folding the cloak in half and wrapping it around Long Wuchang's neck.

Long Wuchang shrank his neck, arched his shoulder blades back, and his arms were already in front of his chest. He put his hands on his neck and inserted them into the gaps in the cloak. His forearms were upright, and with a bend and a stretch, he broke the cloak that was wrapped around his neck. He also twisted his waist and half-stepped forward, swinging his arms to bump his elbows.

The distance was too close, and the changes were too sudden; neither side had time to dodge.

Guan Luoyang took an elbow to the shoulder and also punched Long Wuchang in the stomach.

This punch uses a sharp, penetrating force that can pierce through a person's stomach.

But when it hit Long Wuchang, it felt like hitting the surface of a trembling drum.

With a thud.

The two people stepped back.

Guan Luoyang's clothes were already quite torn, and with an additional small tear on his shoulder, it wasn't noticeably different.

Long Wuchang's two layers of clothing, from his collarbone to his belt, were all torn to shreds. Several pieces of rags, a razor blade hidden in his bosom, steel nails, and some small items of unknown purpose were lying on the ground.

This is because he had just dispersed the force of Guan Luoyang's punch, preventing it from penetrating his body, and instead spread it all over his clothes, causing such great damage.

He's also a master of Qi cultivation! No wonder he dares to carry something like the Thunderbolt with him.

"Your Qi Refining Great Completion is still unstable, but it seems you've already achieved Great Completion in Skin Refining. Tsk tsk, you're practically a master of the Second Great Completion of Qi Refining. That's truly rare."

Long Wuchang gave a sinister laugh, "I won't kill someone who isn't a master."

With a flick of his feet, he appeared in front of Guan Luoyang. His back resembled a crouching tiger reaching out its claws, and his arms resembled a green dragon drawing water. This move was light and graceful when executed, but if it were to strike, it could tear a person's entire face, skin, and eyeballs off.

Guan Luoyang stepped back and used Crane Fist's short-range strikes. Facing Long Wuchang's fierce attacks, which were like the rise and fall of a dragon and tiger, kicking and grabbing things, Guan Luoyang defended tightly. He breathed heavily through his mouth and nose, his lower abdomen vibrated, and his eyes were fixed on Long Wuchang's movements without blinking.

With six years of foundational knowledge and the unreserved guidance of his instructor, Guan Luoyang was able to reach the state of mastery of Qi cultivation in the life-or-death moment of his duel with Kuai Dao.

There was also an element of luck involved in getting back into this state.

But when that punch landed squarely on Long Wuchang, the feeling in his heart suddenly intensified.

While the instructor's words and deeds are important, the instructor was already injured, and he couldn't fully unleash his full potential in terms of boxing techniques, given his advanced Qi cultivation.

And the person in front of me...

Guan Luoyang's eyes widened with increasing intensity. His Crane Fist transformed into Arhat's, and his short-range fighting style became long-range. With one stomp, he created a pit and moved more than ten meters away.

With one claw in front of him, Long Wuchang's entire body seemed to be chasing after that claw as he soared forward.

The footprints he left on the ground were very shallow, but the speed and distance he moved were no less than Guan Luoyang's heavy kick just now.

Guan Luoyang turned around and swept his fist, and in the blink of an eye, he simultaneously took in the faint footprint on the ground and the flying dragon Wuchang.

"The spirit is upright and vigorous, and the energy flows through the heavens..." That's the meaning!

It felt like a spark exploded in my mind.

Guan Luoyang's body swayed, and the intermittent agility he had been displaying suddenly accelerated, as if the center of gravity of his body had become something he could manipulate at will.

He has achieved mastery of both Qi cultivation and skin cultivation.

A unique move, perfected through two stages of mastery, was executed effortlessly.

A loud bang echoed in the air, and Long Wuchang was sent flying like a ball.

He flipped over in mid-air like a black cat and landed nimbly, but the moment his hands and feet touched the ground, he felt a piercing pain in his right hand, which had just collided with the opponent's fist.

The skin on his palm was torn open by the punch, and blood flowed freely.

What's even more uncomfortable is that a numb and painful sensation spread throughout my right arm, and it felt like my shoulder was numb too.

"What is this?!"

"The second-stage mastery of the Cannon Fist technique."

Guan Luoyang appeared beside Long Wuchang along with these words.

Long Wuchang's eyes widened in surprise. His abdomen trembled and his waist and spine surged with power. He was about to pounce and dodge away like a nimble cat catching a mouse.

But Guan Luoyang flipped his right hand up and down, the back of his hand slamming down, a blur in the air, as fast as thunder, striking his airborne body.

With just one blow, all his strength was dissipated, causing him to be thrown out like a sack of potatoes, rolling several times on the ground.

The crushing sensation from his shoulder blade caused Long Wuchang's rapid, smooth breathing to escape along with the blood from his mouth and nose.

"Second Training... Impossible. I saw it ten years ago, and even Second Training couldn't stop me..."

"That's because you haven't seen enough."

Guan Luoyang kicked him in the back of the head.

Only then did he dare to slowly exhale the breath he had taken when transforming Crane Fist into Arhat Long Fist.

In reality, even a master who has reached the pinnacle of martial arts skill may not necessarily possess pinnacle-level techniques. Zhu Changshou is a typical example.

Although they continue to use their old techniques and their power will increase accordingly, it will take a long time to explore and refine them in order to fully utilize the advantages of mastery.

Guan Luoyang was different; he possessed the most essential parts of the manuscript from the Tianjin Alliance, where a dozen or so great boxers gathered to exchange ideas.

Such selfless exchange between the Northern and Southern boxing styles is something that even the Manchu Qing dynasty's burning of the Southern Shaolin Temple could not achieve. It records some of the unique moves that they combined and studied from their own schools and that belonged to the second stage of mastery.

Among them, the one suitable for mastering both skin and qi training is this "Three Emperors' Continuous Force, Arhat's Flipping Hand Hammer".