The Way of Restraint

Chapter 170: Thunder in the Palm: A Reputation Well-Deserved

Any match Liu Long participated in was guaranteed to be the focus of attention.

Zhang Jinchuan, having bought media coverage for publicity, also garnered considerable attention.

In an instant, their duel on the stage had generated significant buzz.

“Liu Long has a much better chance of winning, but Zhang Jinchuan is unfathomable. Perhaps a miracle will happen,” Su Jie thought to himself.

In his heart, he still hoped Zhang Jinchuan would win.

If he won, Zhang Jinchuan would gain many points, which would be added to the Dian Dao Martial Arts team, potentially giving Dian Dao Martial Arts the chance to win the team championship.

The individual championship prize is ten million, and the team prize is thirty million.

If they could win all of it, Dian Dao Martial Arts’ reputation would increase, and there would be substantial profits and benefits, which could be used for many things.

Hua Xing had always wanted to buy a proper training ground with the best equipment, but unfortunately, they were still short of funds.

Liu Long and Zhang Jinchuan stood on the stage.

Zhang Jinchuan stared at his opponent, his eyes gleaming, a flame burning deep within his pupils.

Su Jie could see he was boiling over. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but his adrenaline was surging, making him feel like a powder keg, ready to ignite at any moment.

Liu Long, on the other hand, appeared relaxed, casually stretching a couple of times, showing no sign of tension.

He had experienced countless battles, especially in this kind of arena match.

He had faced off against top international fighting champions multiple times on the international stage. Today’s battle was nothing to him.

At the start of the match, he had smiled and nodded at Zhang Jinchuan: “I really enjoy watching your Magic Sound app. After today’s match, would you be interested in discussing our Dragon Club’s move to Magic Sound?”

Zhang Jinchuan simply nodded, remaining silent, as if speaking would betray his inner energy and spirit.

“Begin!”

The referee gave the signal.

Zhang Jinchuan began to move, his footwork agile, probing left and right, not immediately launching an attack.

Facing Liu Long, the top fighter in the country, he absolutely couldn’t afford to be careless or act rashly, otherwise he might very well be killed on the spot.

“If only we had a no-rules fight…” Suddenly, a thought flashed through Zhang Jinchuan’s mind: “On the street, I can use hidden weapons; that way, I should be able to defeat Liu Long.”

Liu Long stood still. Zhang Jinchuan probed left and right, but couldn’t find any openings. He even felt that if he attacked first, he might be intercepted and attacked, putting him at a disadvantage.

This feeling was very unpleasant, and Zhang Jinchuan desperately wanted to use hidden weapons.

“Not good, Zhang Jinchuan’s mentality is giving him problems in this fight.” Su Jie, watching from below the stage, had an extremely keen sense.

Not only him, but almost simultaneously, Liu Long also seemed to sense Zhang Jinchuan’s momentary distraction.

Whoosh!

He leaped like a shrimp, crouching low to snatch a punch.

The fist wasn’t fully clenched when it was thrown; air flowed between the fingers. Just as it was about to reach Zhang Jinchuan, Liu Long suddenly clenched his fist, forcefully expelling the air with a loud bang, like a balloon exploding—a chilling sound.

“What kind of martial art is this?” Su Jie’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Liu Long’s move, because he had never seen this kind of power generation before.

The fist was loosely clenched, then suddenly tightened at the last second, expelling the air within and creating a sound. Not only did the power reach its maximum, but it also felt like lightning was crackling in the palm.

It seemed he could unleash thunder.

Zhang Jinchuan barely had time to react. He raised his hands abruptly, sliding backward to cover his head, and kicked out to intercept.

But Liu Long’s foot followed, blocking Zhang Jinchuan’s leg with his foot, while the fist still struck, directly hitting Zhang Jinchuan’s arm protecting his head.

Bang! Zhang Jinchuan’s arms quickly turned red, congested, and then purple from the blow, clearly indicating severe injury.

“Zhang Jinchuan’s fighting power has been weakened. I couldn’t even perceive Liu Long’s punch just now. Don’t underestimate that small punch; it requires perfect coordination of the entire body’s strength, complete relaxation, and a sudden burst of tension at high speed to deliver such penetrating power and speed. If Liu Long could unleash that again, it would be an unstoppable force, even Feng Hengyi might not be able to defeat him.”

Su Jie’s mind raced with these thoughts.

Liu Long’s punch released airflow from his palm with a loud bang. This is actually a phenomenon of atmospheric pressure, a kind of “cavitation.”

This can be seen in pistol shrimp.

When a pistol shrimp suddenly clamps down in the water with its pincers, the speed generated can instantly raise the surrounding water temperature to 4500 degrees Celsius. Approaching the surface temperature of the sun, the resulting shockwave is like a miniature bullet, killing its prey instantly.

Of course, no human could possibly unleash such power.

Theoretically speaking, a human is even less capable than a shrimp.

This reminded Su Jie of a term: “Palm Thunder.”

Legend has it that ancient Taoist priests could unleash thunder from their palms to subdue demons, exorcise monsters, and steal souls.

The “Thirteen Protectors’ Golden Bell Iron Shirt Dragon-Tiger Vajra Qi Gong” that Su Jie practiced incorporated elements of Taoist qigong, modified using artificial intelligence combined with kinesiology, anthropology, endocrinology, and psychology.

Odeli also mentioned in the video that there is a mysterious Taoist skill called “Palm Thunder,” but he had never seen it and was searching for it.

Su Jie saw a glimpse of “Palm Thunder” in Liu Long’s punch just now.

In that attack, Zhang Jinchuan ran extremely fast, almost using footwork and body techniques to neutralize nine-tenths of Liu Long’s punch force, but still managed to make slight contact, yet he was still struck like this.

Whoosh!

Liu Long seized the opportunity and pounced, unleashing his famous signature move, the “Liu-style Quick Kick.”

Crack! Snap!

His legs lashed out like whips, low and rapid, more agile than his hands—it was unclear how he had mastered it.

But in Su Jie’s eyes, while the “Liu-style Quick Kick” was powerful, it paled in comparison to his previous punch. If Liu Long had delivered that punch again, Zhang Jinchuan would have been instantly killed.

However, Liu Long didn’t throw it again. There was only one reason: he couldn’t deliver a second strike. That previous attack was his strongest, most focused strike, and it was impossible to execute it a second time in such a short time.

Moreover, Su Jie had never seen Liu Long use such a technique in a match before. Clearly, it was his secret killing move, recently mastered and ready for real combat, which he had used against Zhang Jinchuan on their very first meeting.

He dared not use it in the real final battle because, although the move was powerful, it was extremely exhausting. If he missed and the opponent dodged, his stamina would decrease, making him vulnerable to his opponent’s advantage.

“Zhang Jinchuan lost. Liu Long truly lives up to his name; the title of the number one fighter is well-deserved. Many opponents of similar skill have lost to him in matches. Some even lost inexplicably, but now it seems they deserve their defeat.”

Su Jie realized that Liu Long was the kind of “god of war” figure, strong against the weak and even stronger against the strong.

Sure enough, Zhang Jinchuan’s arm was swollen and purple, in excruciating pain. He seemed to have completely lost his fighting ability, unable to even lift it, only able to dodge.

Liu Long’s attacks grew increasingly fierce, a storm of punches and kicks.

After taking several blows, Zhang Jinchuan finally couldn’t withstand it and directly conceded defeat, deeply unwilling to accept it.

He knew that the reason for his defeat was that his first punch had landed on him.

If he could have dodged the first punch, he might not have lost.

But there are no “ifs” in this world; a loss is a loss.

Zhang Jinchuan acted decisively, immediately going to see a doctor. His arm injuries needed timely treatment, otherwise, there was a high possibility of long-term consequences.

Su Jie felt a pang of regret seeing Zhang Jinchuan lose, knowing that winning the team championship in this year’s Dian Dao Martial Arts competition would be very difficult.

“Second match, Ding Gang versus Zhou Chun.”

Su Jie was still observing; he didn’t take Zhou Chun’s strength seriously.

Sure enough, after three minutes of fighting, Ding Gang seized an opportunity and launched a fierce attack, knocking Zhou Chun to the ground.

Following that were Song Gua versus Lei Heming, Feng Hengyi versus Jiang Tao, and Su Jie versus Ma Heng.

Ma Heng was a fighter from the Mingxia Group, extremely strong, without a domestic ranking, but with considerable international recognition. However, he was defeated by Su Jie using wrestling techniques.

Su Jie used his magic steps and grappling techniques to grab Ma Heng, grappling and locking him to the ground, unable to move.

In the following matches, Song Gua defeated Lei Heming, and Feng Hengyi easily defeated Jiang Tao.

Only five people remained out of ten.

Liu Long, Feng Hengyi, Su Jie, Song Gua, and Ding Gang.

The circle shrank, and the fourth day of competition ended.

The fifth day was the most crucial, with two matches. Besides Liu Long, Feng Hengyi, Su Jie, Song Gua, and Ding Gang were drawn into a match-up. The winner of the four would then fight against Liu Long on the sixth day.

In other words, the rules of the competition meant that Liu Long could choose not to participate in the last two matches.

This was a rule agreed upon between Liu Long and Haoyu Group.

After all, for the Haoyu Cup to be a high-level competition, it was essential to have Liu Long participate.

Many spectators understood this.

A master of Liu Long’s caliber is qualified to discuss the competition rules with Haoyu Group.

That evening, Zhang Jinchuan, his arm wrapped in bandages, gathered again in the courtyard with Zhang Manman and Su Jie.

“Are you alright?” Su Jie asked immediately.

“I’m fine, just a fracture,” Zhang Jinchuan said, somewhat annoyed. “Although I neutralized most of his force, that punch was just too powerful. I don’t know the principle behind it; I’ve never seen such a punch before.”

“I don’t know either,” Su Jie shook his head. “If you’d been mentally prepared and avoided that punch, you wouldn’t have had no chance.”

“Tomorrow is up to you,” Zhang Manman said, looking at Su Jie. “I have no problem winning the women’s championship; there aren’t any particularly strong players in the women’s group.”