Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

The man was hunched over.

It seemed as if he would collapse to the ground and die at any moment from a violent cough.

But the moment Lin Ji saw him,

Within the sea of ​​knowledge.

The martial spirit and the black and white jade pendant trembled simultaneously.

Alarm bells rang in Lin Ji's mind.

He spread his senses, enveloping the person, but could not detect any information; yet he could not detect any information at all.

The other person coughed lightly again.

He looked up and looked over.

Just one glance.

A thunderous explosion resounded within Lin Ji's mind, leaving him frozen in place.

……

"Old man, what's wrong?"

A long time passed.

With a soft cough, the other person looked away.

Liu Qingzhu gently nudged Lin Ji, and Lin Ji finally came to his senses.

At this moment, the government official on the observation deck stood up and shouted sternly at the people below:

"Quiet! The rules of the game will now be announced!"

"There are ten arenas set up on the mountaintop. Each arena offers three challenge opportunities. Chinese martial artists can take turns challenging. If a Chinese martial artist fails three times, the arena will be closed. If half of the arenas are closed, the foreign representative will be considered the winner."

He paused, his voice carrying a hint of cruelty, clearly echoing across the mountain peak:

"From this day forward, Chinese martial artists are prohibited from practicing martial arts privately. All martial arts under heaven shall be jointly managed by the government and foreigners!"

As the government official finished speaking, the entire hall erupted in cheers.

"Bullshit! Why should you acknowledge a foreign father as your 'favorite'?"

"That corrupt official, betraying his own people, deserves a terrible death!"

A chorus of curses erupted, but only elicited a sneer from the officials on the stage.

The official tilted his head back and sneered, pointing to the arena in the distance: "Not convinced? If you're not convinced, then fight your way through this arena. If you win, whatever you say goes."

Everyone looked up.

Ten arenas are lined up along the cliff.

Ten figures were already standing on the stage.

These were the ten people who had been sitting in the audience earlier.

"Let's begin!"

The deacon shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I'll do it!"

One figure darted forward in a single stride.

This man had two huge iron palms, as large as palm fans. As soon as he landed on the ring, he slapped the Western boxer with one palm.

"Bang bang bang!"

With three muffled thuds, the Western boxer staggered back three steps, his face flushed red.

"Hmph! Westerners are nothing special." The man slammed his iron palm down, his tiger eyes wide open, and with a roar, he slapped the Western boxer on the shoulder.

The iron hand, as big as a palm leaf fan, actually sent the person flying off the stage.

"good!"

The audience erupted in cheers, and many clenched their fists and waved them in the air.

But this excitement hadn't even lasted half a minute in the crowd.

A scream came from the fifth arena.

A slender young man wielding a longsword was slashed by a Japanese swordsman, his sword snapping in two with a "crack".

The Japanese samurai sword swept across his shoulder.

Blood splattered everywhere in an instant.

The slender young man, Li, clutching his wound, staggered back two steps, lost his footing, and fell off the stage, plummeting straight down the cliff.

offstage

The crowd's fists froze in mid-air, and their newly raised morale instantly deflated by half.

Battles broke out one after another.

On the third arena.

A man wielding a large knife had just jumped onto the stage.

The fat chef on the stage casually flicked his butcher knife.

A condensed blade of energy slashed out horizontally.

A state of perfection!

The man hurriedly raised his knife to parry, but there was a loud "clang".

The broadsword flew out of his hand, and he was struck as if by a heavy hammer, flying backward and crashing onto the stone ground, unable to get up for a long time.

The entire room fell silent.

Someone in the audience gasped:

"This cook... he was hiding his true abilities at Qingkeping! To injure someone from a distance—that's the kind of sword intent only a master of the highest level can possess!"

……

Below the stage, Liu Qingzhu lightly scanned the ten arenas, and finally her gaze settled on Wang Zhenhuai on the second arena.

Wang Zhenhuai was also looking at Lin Ji and the others. When he saw Liu Qingzhu's gaze, a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He spoke in a voice that echoed throughout the mountain peak: "Young lady, you've won first place at Qingkeping. Now, do you dare to come up and exchange a few blows with me?"

As soon as he said that, the surroundings fell mostly silent.

At Qingkeping, the two stood out from the crowd, with the icy beauty even holding her own against the northern warlord. If they were to actually fight, the beauty would probably be no match for Wang Zhenhuai.

Everyone looked at the two of them, their gazes shifting between Liu Qingzhu and Wang Zhenhuai.

Wang Zhenhuai is a master of the Transcendent Realm who has been famous for many years. No matter how powerful this Ice Beauty is, she is only a master of internal strength.

"Sister Qingzhu, this old man is deliberately causing trouble." Bai Yu'er whispered, tugging at her sleeve.

Liu Qingzhu didn't speak, but slowly unfolded the Heavenly Evolution Note on his body.

Lin Ji's smooth voice rang out from beside him: "Go ahead, you have to give it a try."

"Hmm." She tapped her forehead lightly, touched the ground with her toes, and lightly leaped onto the arena.

"Haha, I still don't know your name, young lady." Wang Zhenhuai laughed and looked the fairy-like woman up and down.

"Do we need to know each other's names on the stage?" Liu Qingzhu replied in a cold tone.

"Hmph, then make your move." Wang Zhenhuai snorted coldly, his tone arrogant, not taking Liu Qingzhu seriously at all.

Liu Qingzhu didn't answer, but instead crossed her palms and attacked first.

On Qingkeping, she was nourished by eighteen delicacies, and her blood and energy were several times more abundant than before she went up the mountain.

With a single, graceful move, he struck Wang Zhenhuai with a palm.

Wang Zhenhuai sneered and met the attack with his palm. As soon as their palms touched, Liu Qingzhu's arm went slightly numb, and she took two steps back by the force of the impact.

After thirty moves, the difference gradually became apparent.

Wang Zhenhuai has immersed himself in the realm of perfection for decades. His palm techniques are steady and skillful, and his internal energy is like a vast ocean, with the force in his fists rising wave after wave.

Although Liu Qingzhu's moves were agile, she ultimately lacked a layer of accumulated experience.

Her breathing gradually quickened, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Watch out!" Bai Yu'er exclaimed from below the stage.

Wang Zhenhuai seized an opening and slapped Liu Qingzhu on the shoulder.

She let out a muffled groan and flew backward, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She staggered a few steps before managing to regain her footing.

"Is that all you've got?" Wang Zhenhuai pressed on, sneering, "You're nothing special! Just that old man's mistress! If you're willing to be my concubine, I'll spare your life!"

These words were truly grating, and Liu Qingzhu suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with anger.

But just as her anger was rising, Lin Ji's voice suddenly appeared in her mind—it was what Lin Ji had said when she drank the bowl of plain white porridge at Qingkeping: "If you don't eat, you will become arrogant and think too highly of yourself, and your martial arts mindset will be flawed."

The desire to win, anger, the opinions of others...

A flood of random thoughts surged into Liu Qingzhu's mind, only to recede just as quickly.

She suddenly fell silent.

He ignored the stares from the audience, ignored Wang Zhenhuai's mockery, and even forgot that he was in a competition.

My heart is as clear as a mirror.

At that very moment, a sudden "boom" sounded deep inside her body.

Already at the peak of internal strength, and further empowered by the pure qi and blood accumulated from the eighteen delicacies, she suddenly had an epiphany and instantly broke through that thin shackle.

A more concentrated and profound power flowed through his meridians and throughout his body.

The ultimate state has been achieved.