Chinese martial arts: From being shot and killed by the armed police during a mountain search to bec

Takeda Sokaku parted the crowd and stepped out.

He was barefoot, his wooden clogs dangling off. White cloth socks covered his feet, and with each step he sank half an inch into the bluestone slabs, raising a light dust, like an elephant passing by.

The men in black behind them retreated, and the Japanese soldiers also put away their guns.

These people are just here to boost morale; the real main event is still Takeda Sokaku.

Everyone knows that ordinary firearms cannot stop a master like Chen Hongwu.

"Chen Hongwu." Takeda Sokaku stopped five zhang in front of the gate. His Chinese was surprisingly good. "Ueshiba Morihei was my student. You killed him."

Chen Hongwu stood like a pine tree, the hem of his clothes fluttering gently in the wind.

"Between you and me, there's no need for further words." Takeda Soukaku slowly raised his head, his eyes narrowing into two cold stars. "Today, you will fight me. Life or death is irrelevant."

He paused, then said, word by word, "After this battle, today's matter is over."

Chen Hongwu looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Okay!" He slowly stepped down the stairs, and with each step, his muscles and bones cracked softly, like bamboo splitting in a fire.

Chen Hongwu stepped into the arena, crushing a corner of a blue brick with the sole of his shoe. "I'll beat you to death, as a way to bring good luck for today's opening."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind stopped.

The surrounding crowd retreated like a tide, instantly clearing out a space several dozen feet square.

Chen Gongzhe, Hu Baoyi, Lu Xiaojia and others retreated inside the door.

Tian Zhaolin and Lu Songgao stood side by side on the steps, Tian Zhaolin's hand resting on the teapot. Lu Songgao's brows were furrowed, his gaze fixed on Chen Hongwu.

It's true that the two of them had old grudges against Chen Hongwu, but at this moment, as Chinese people, they could put aside their personal grudges for the time being. More than anyone else, they hoped that Chen Hongwu could win and crush this little Japanese devil.

"Brother Tian," Lu Song asked in a low voice, "what do you think?"

Tian Zhaolin paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "I've heard that among those who openly claim to be masters in Japan, in terms of the purity of martial arts, Takeda Sosaku should be ranked in the top five. His Daito-ryu Aikijutsu can throw someone to pieces the moment it touches their clothes, and break something upon contact with the body; it's most effective against close-quarters combat."

In the arena, Takeda Sokaku had already taken his stance.

His feet were parallel and turned inward, his palms cupped as if holding an invisible giant pillar. His feet seemed to be gripping the ground, even his toes were slightly clenched downward.

"Please," said Takeda Sosaku.

Chen Hongwu didn't answer, but immediately started moving.

He stepped forward with his left foot and pushed off with his right, unleashing a burst of energy from his scalp. Thunderous sounds rolled through his body, and the sound of his bones trembling was like dense rain hitting tiles.

"boom!"

The man had already arrived in front of Takeda Sosaku.

Xingyi Bengquan!

The fist pierced the air with a dull whistling sound, striking directly at the opponent's heart and chest.

The force of the punch originates from the Yongquan point (Kidney 1), passes through the knee, rotates the hip, propels the shoulder, penetrates the elbow, and finally explodes on the fist.

Takeda Soukaku slightly turned his body, raised his right arm, and with his palm as sharp as a knife, he slashed along the outside of Chen Hongwu's forearm. Like a snake sucking a pillar, he twisted his wrist inward, trying to twist Chen Hongwu's entire right arm outward.

Great East Flow - Wrist Lock!

This technique emphasizes touching without applying force, but rather gripping the body and using the opponent's strength to break their center of gravity.

He was most skilled at this technique, using the opponent's force against them, and releasing them the moment they made contact. Takeda Sokaku's twist contained a neutralizing force, like an old vine entwining a tree, continuous and unbroken.

Chen Hongwu felt a surge of blood in his right arm, as if the opponent's force was about to seep into the gaps between his fist bones.

"Good judo."

He suddenly laughed.

But in that instant of laughter, instead of pulling his right arm away, he used the momentum of his forward thrust to advance another half inch, his shoulder blades relaxed, and his elbow, like a spear, suddenly flicked upwards.

Bajiquan - Welcoming Elbow Strike!

This elbow strike, like an iron tower swung upwards, collided with Takeda Sokaku's right elbow with a "bang." The blue bricks beneath their feet cracked simultaneously, and brick fragments shot up more than a foot high, flying in all directions and stinging the trouser legs of onlookers like mud splatters.

The two men each took a step back, then simultaneously pressed forward.

Takeda Soukaku's kick was like a knife, striking Chen Hongwu's chest and abdomen from below. The force was extremely subtle and didn't produce a sound.

This technique is similar to the hidden leg technique in Xingyi Quan, where the power is concealed and not released until it explodes upon contact with the body.

Chen Hongwu refused to back down.

He suddenly shrank back, his whole body resembling a turtle listening to thunder, his head, neck, limbs, waist and hips all tucked in, almost shrinking into a ball of flesh.

Takeda Sokaku's kick grazed his back, only lifting half of his clothes.

At the moment of "the turtle hearing thunder", Chen Hongwu's back muscles bulged violently, and his spine rose high like a tortoise shell.

"Bang!"

The residual force of the opponent's sweeping kick struck his back, but he remained as still as a rock.

"Dissolve the force!" Tian Zhaolin exclaimed.

Taking advantage of Takeda Sokaku's unsteady leg retraction, Chen Hongwu flipped over like a giant python and wrapped himself around the opponent's leg from an unbelievable angle.

With arms like vines and waist like snakes, the left hand grips the knee with its five fingers, while the right hand twists upwards along the inner thigh, wrapping the body with layers of Tai Chi silk-reeling energy.

Xuanwu coils around the body, and a giant python coils around the pillar!

Tortoise and snake are of the same body, one for defense, the other for killing. The tortoise shell absorbs force, the snake's body strangles and kills.

That is Xuanwu!

Takeda Soukaku felt as if Chen Hongwu had no bones. With a quick movement, Chen Hongwu wrapped his body around him, pressing against half of his body. His left leg was wrapped by a sticky force, and even his center of gravity began to tilt.

But he was, after all, a grandmaster, and his reaction was incredibly fast. He raised his right palm behind his ear and used all his strength to strike Chen Hongwu's crown chakra.

Great Eastern Flow - Harmony Through Palm!

This palm strike was powerful and heavy, like Mount Tai collapsing. Before the palm even arrived, the force of the wind had already forced all of Chen Hongwu's black hair to lie flat on the back of his head.

"Too late." Chen Hongwu hissed, exerting force in his groin, his body spinning violently, striking with his hips!

Xingyi Chubby Strike!

This completely shook Takeda Sokaku's center of gravity. Chen Hongwu uprooted him with a snagging motion, lifting his feet off the ground and spinning him halfway around, like a wild boar being tightly constricted by a giant python, before crashing to the ground with a thud.

"Boom!"

A square bluestone slab, more than ten feet in size, was smashed and cracked inch by inch, with fragments flying everywhere, making half the street seem to tremble.

Takeda Soukaku rolled over, but surprisingly did not lose his fighting ability. He propped himself up with his palms and sprang up like an old ape. His hair was disheveled and blood was visible from his mouth and nose.

His face contorted with rage, he roared and lunged forward, his palms outstretched, his ten fingers like hooks, grabbing Chen Hongwu's shoulders, as if to tear him apart alive.

Chen Hongwu met the onslaught head-on, neither dodging nor yielding.

He stomped his feet like horseshoes, leaped forward, and unleashed a dragon-shaped jumping palm strike straight at Takeda Sokaku's face.

Takeda dodged to the side, and Chen Hongwu leaped into the air, only to be met with a backhand slash aimed at the back of his leg.

Chen Hongwu, suspended in mid-air, suddenly felt his back stiffen like iron.

He actually rose a second time while he was in the air!

A hawk soars into the sky!

His body rose several feet into the air, like a broken-winged eagle in the clouds. In a flip, his claws locked onto Takeda's skull.

Eagles soar through the sky, dragons return to the sea!

Takeda dodged, and Chen Hongwu changed his claw into an elbow strike, using the Bajiquan elbow strike to bring all his strength to Takeda's left shoulder.

"Snap!"

Instead of retreating, Takeda used his head as a mallet to strike Chen Hongwu's chest. Chen Hongwu's knee rose like an iron tower, slamming into Takeda's forehead. Two sounds of bones cracking rang out simultaneously, and the two were thrown back.

Takeda knelt on the ground, his clothes soaked with blood.

Chen Hongwu's right palm was dripping with blood, yet he moved forward like a ghost, clasping both palms together and forcefully penetrating the center of his body, followed by a hip strike.

This blow was like a crocodile's tail being cut off; the fish remained trapped even after it died.

Chen Hongwu clasped his arms together, locking his shoulder with his left hand and gripping his hip with his right. He twisted his waist and hips with the force of a tornado and ripped it apart!

"laugh!"

Takeda Soukaku's tall body was like a broken withered branch, his bones and flesh torn apart, and his blood stained the blue stone.

A grandmaster, severed in two.

The streets were silent; no one uttered a sound.

"Snap!"

As if belatedly realizing what was happening, the plaque bearing the inscription "Sick Man of East Asia," repeatedly agitated by the force of the energy, broke and fell to the ground.

The moment it landed, it was as if a switch had been flipped; the crowd erupted in cheers, which surged and swept across the land like rolling waves.

"Master Chen, your kung fu is amazing! Well done!"

"Master Chen is awesome! When will you officially start accepting apprentices? I'll send my little rascal to be the first to sign up!"