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

The master of ceremonies raised his voice, his impassioned tone filling the entire venue:

"Next, please welcome the outstanding warrior of the British Empire, Mighty Kane!"

Lin Ji looked in the direction the Master of Ceremonies was pointing.

In the foreigners' rest area, a burly figure suddenly stood up.

The burly man was at least two meters tall, with messy blond hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time. His arms, exposed outside his military green cotton vest, were thicker than an average person's thighs, and the muscles under the vest were clearly defined.

His eyes were glazed over, his expression blank, staring vacantly at the ring, while the foreigners around him patted his shoulders.

"Kane! Kane!"

The foreign officer, cigar in mouth, slammed his hand on Kane's shoulder, pointed at the coachman Li Jinsi on the other side, and growled in a rough voice, "Go up! Kill that yellow-skinned monkey! Kill him!"

Kane's blank gaze shifted slightly, following the foreign officer's pointing finger. As if receiving an instruction, he nodded woodenly.

The onlookers around the ring gasped in surprise when they saw Kane.

"Is he even human?"

"With that physique, one punch would shatter an ordinary person's bones to dust, wouldn't it?"

……

A commotion arose in the crowd, and many people turned pale as they stared at Kane's muscular physique.

The martial arts practitioners in the crowd sneered and curled their lip in disapproval.

"It looks good but is useless! What's the use of piling up muscles if your tendons and bones are all stiff and loose? You'll even have trouble turning over."

"Don't even mention that the coachman is a master of internal strength; even if he encountered someone with external strength, he'd be a sitting duck, a walking target to be beaten!"

Bai Xiaonian stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to lean forward, his voice strained: "This foreigner is too strong... Can Master Li beat him?"

Bai Yu'er's palms were sweaty, and her gaze kept shifting between Li Jinsi and Kane.

Lin Ji frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over Kane from head to toe.

He possessed incredible brute strength, but his muscles and bones were stiff and his steps were unsteady.

However, when Lin Ji's gaze fell on his lifeless blue eyes, he always felt a sense of awkwardness.

Inside a private box on the second floor of the Linjiang Building, east of the arena.

Liu Qingzhu tapped her teacup with her fingertips, her brows furrowed, her gaze fixed on Kane, the foreigner in the rest area:

"Something's not right... This foreigner's muscles are swollen and his bones are stiff. He doesn't look like he's been naturally trained at all."

Across the table, a man in black robes stood by the window, his fingertips tapping casually on the railing, his eyelids slightly raised as he glanced down at the scene below. His voice deepened.

"I'm afraid they still have a backup plan; it's not that simple."

In the opposite Wangjiang Tower, the Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau, with a forced smile, began to flatter:

"The colonel's men are indeed all warriors! This physique! Even if Chinese warriors trained for twenty or thirty years, they might not be able to achieve such a physique."

Zack laughed triumphantly, swirling his wine glass as he looked downstairs:

"Kane is the British Empire's top warrior. Once he wins, let's see who dares to oppose the arms ban!"

downstairs.

In the rest area.

Kane moved.

He strode to the front of the ring, pushed off with both feet, and leaped into the air, his massive body, weighing over 200 pounds, crashing like a mountain onto the bluestone surface of the ring.

"Thump!"

A muffled thud.

The entire bluestone arena shook.

A cloud of dust rose up.

Kane's face was contorted, his fists clenched, and his eyes stared blankly at the audience below.

The crowd watching below the ring gasped again, their faces showing fear.

the other side.

Li Jinsi smiled faintly.

He took a half step back, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure, like a leaf swept up by the wind, spun and landed on the other side of the arena.

The toes landed steadily, so softly that not even the dust on the soles of the feet fell.

He then bowed and clasped his hands in a slight gesture of respect to the crowd below the stage.

"good!"

The martial artists in the crowd below the stage were the first to cheer.

The crowd then cheered again.

"Master Li is really skilled!"

"That damn foreign devil!"

"clang!"

The gong rang out crisply.

"The duel officially begins!"

With a command from the master of ceremonies, the martial arts competition officially began.

"roar--"

Kane roared and charged out.

The muscles beneath his military green vest and black combat trousers suddenly taut and bulged.

The exposed muscles bulged out like taut strings.

The soles of their feet stomped on the ground, making a "thump-thump" sound.

With a loud "boom," a punch slammed into Li Jinsi.

Li Jinsi stepped out with his hands behind his back, twisted his body, and barely dodged the punch.

Kane didn't stop his punch, slamming it into the wooden post of the ring.

With a "crack," the thick wooden pillar cracked, revealing deep, spiderweb-like patterns.

Kane, the foreigner, withdrew his fist, flicked his wrist to dispel the soreness in his palm, and lunged at Li Jinsi behind him again, his punching style exactly the same as the previous one.

Li Jinsi stood with his feet firmly planted, his hands behind his back, and took a step back. He dodged the punch by the slightest margin.

……

More than ten moves passed.

Kane was covered in sweat, his back was bent low, and he was breathing heavily through his nostrils like a beast gathering its strength.

On the other side, Li Jinsi stood with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.

The crowd below the stage gradually became anxious.

"Master Li, how can you just dodge and not fight back?"

"Fight back! Hurry up and take that foreigner down!"

Amidst the noise.

A group of martial arts masters responded.

Lin Ji was also puzzled as to why Li Jinsi was acting this way, and turned his head to look.

"The layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details."

"The worst thing a master of internal strength can do is act rashly. Master Li is currently testing his strength and technique. Once he understands his weaknesses, one punch will be enough to decide his fate!"

"Yellow-skinned monkey!"

Kane, panting heavily, growled hoarsely as he lunged at Li Jinsi again, his chest heaving violently, his movements noticeably slower than before.

Lin Ji, sitting in the audience, narrowed his eyes slightly.

This foreigner is exhausted!

Kane missed his punch on the stage.

The old forces have been exhausted, and new forces are hard to generate.

Li Jinsi's gaze sharpened as he dodged again.

It finally moved!

He pushed off with his feet, his figure flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he was close to the foreigner Kane.

The onlookers below didn't even see how he made his move.

There was a soft "thump".

Li Jinsi casually flicked his hand, lightly placing it on the foreigner Kane.

However, Kane's massive body remained completely still.

However, in everyone's eyes, Li Jinsi put his hands behind his back and a faint smile of strategic planning appeared on his lips.

Just as the audience was wondering why Li Jinsi wasn't going all out.

"Um--"

On the stage, Kane suddenly let out a muffled groan.

His enormous body was thrown backward without warning.

With a "crack," it slammed into the wooden pillar at the other corner of the ring, nearly breaking it, before finally stopping.

"puff--"

A spray of blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto the arena floor.

Kane stared blankly at his chest, his skin perfectly intact, without even a red mark.

Kane wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up again, and stomped his feet hard on the ground, kicking up dust and even denting the bluestone floor several inches.

He mechanically uttered the English word: "Kill!"

They charged forward again.

"Is this all the strength a master of internal strength possesses?"

"With national affairs at stake and a formidable enemy at hand, Master Li, please don't joke around."

"Cough cough..." The crowd below the stage coughed from the smoke, and just as the smoke cleared, they were about to start making a fuss.

Li Jinsi made another move.

To everyone's eyes, the foreigner Kane's fist landed squarely on Li Jinsi's face, who was standing with his hands behind his back.

Just as everyone was about to cover their eyes and cry out in pain, Li Jinsi's figure, dressed as a coachman, suddenly vanished from the spot.

Immediately afterwards, he appeared like a ghost behind the foreigner Kane, a smile playing on his lips as he casually struck a pose and repeatedly swung his fist.

The first punch landed on Kane's ribs.

The second punch landed on Kane's shoulder.

The third punch! He transformed his fist into a palm strike, slamming it into Kane's lower abdomen.

After delivering three punches in the blink of an eye, Li Jinsi withdrew his fists, twisted his waist, and stood back with his hands behind his back, looking at the crowd below the stage with an indifferent expression.

Kane couldn't even utter a complete cry of pain; his muscles twitched uncontrollably as he leaned against the edge of the ring, his face ashen.

"puff--"

A mouthful of black blood suddenly spurted from his mouth.

Its massive body could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"boom!"

His body slammed into the ring, sending up another cloud of dust.

Bloodshot veins spread across his blue eyes, and a hoarse sound came from his throat. He tried to prop himself up, but could no longer get up.

The audience was initially deathly silent, then erupted in cheers.

"You won?"

"Master Li is really amazing!"

The cheers were deafening, and the crowd jumped for joy.

Many people looked puzzled: "He didn't seem to hit her that hard, so how could she have coughed up blood and collapsed like that?"

A proud voice rang out from among the martial artists:

"That's what's called hidden strength. It looks like you're just hitting the skin and flesh, but the internal energy has already penetrated deep inside, shattering and tearing apart the internal organs."

"Our Chinese martial arts are far superior to the mere muscles of foreign devils."

Beside Lin Ji in the audience, Bai Yu'er breathed a long sigh of relief, her heart finally at ease.

Bai Xiaonian jumped up and down so high that his voice was almost hoarse from shouting.

Lin Ji stood in the crowd, his brows furrowed.

He didn't understand it at all.

Li Jinsi's punching power doesn't look exaggerated.

But why were those foreigners so badly injured?

This is called hidden strength.

If I were to encounter such a master, I'm afraid I'd end up like this foreigner.

We must find the key to internal strength as soon as possible!

The thought had just popped into my head.

Lin Ji caught a glimpse of a foreign officer in the foreigners' rest area. He was leaning back in his chair with a smile on his lips, exhaling a puff of smoke and smacking his lips, seemingly discussing the flavor of the cigar in his hand with someone else.

The foreigners around him were chatting and laughing, and not one of them went up to pay attention to Kane, who was lying on the ground in the ring.

It's like watching a well-written drama with a predetermined ending.

Something is wrong!

Lin Ji's heart skipped a beat.

The foreigners lost, so the ban on arms was lifted. How could the foreigners still be so complacent?

On the stage, Li Jinsi clasped his hands and bowed to the audience, a faint smile on his face, as if he had already anticipated the outcome of the match.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave the stage, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end.

A cold and violent aura slowly rose behind him.