Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

This building is the most magnificent building in the entire French Concession of Tianjin. It is a three-story French-style building and is even taller than Gordon Hall in the British Concession.

The exterior walls are white limestone, with a semi-circular pilaster embedded every two meters, running from the ground to the eaves of the third floor.

The main entrance faces south, with four thick Roman columns supporting an arched portico. The capitals of the columns are carved with scrollwork, and the pediment above the portico is decorated with the French fleur-de-lis emblem.

The main gate was a pair of oak double doors with gleaming brass handles and brass rivets arranged in a diamond pattern on the door panels.

The layout of the first floor is open and airy.

Pushing open the main door leads to the main hall, with a ceiling over three zhang high. A crystal chandelier hangs in the center, its hundreds of bulbs reflecting golden light under the glow of the gas lamps, illuminating the entire hall.

To the left of the main hall are the reception area and archives, while to the right are the duty room and armory of the armed police, which normally store all the equipment of the French Concession police.

The guardhouse and the armory were separated by an iron fence, behind which were rows of Enfield rifles and ammunition boxes, in considerable numbers.

At the end of the main hall is a wide wooden staircase with mahogany handrails and cast iron railings. On the wall at the corner of the staircase hangs a French landscape painting with a gilded frame.

The second floor is the core area of ​​the Municipal Council.

At the top of the stairs, you are greeted by a long corridor running east to west, with five offices of varying sizes and a large conference hall on either side.

The meeting room is located in the center of the second floor, with double wooden doors and a bronze plaque above the door with the words "Meeting Room" in French.

The hall can accommodate thirty or forty people, with a long conference table placed in the center, on which are placed silver candlesticks and stacks of documents.

Three floor-to-ceiling windows were set into the north wall of the conference room, with heavy, deep red velvet curtains that, when drawn open, offered a view of the street below.

A huge map of the Tianjin concessions hangs on the south wall, marking the boundaries, main buildings, and street names of the four concessions of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, clearly delineated by lines of different colors.

A grandfather clock stands in the east corner, its pendulum ticking away, its ticking sound particularly clear in the quiet.

The third floor is much shorter than the first and second floors and is an auxiliary area of ​​the Municipal Council.

Several VIP lounges, exquisitely furnished, were provided for high-ranking officials and visiting dignitaries in the concession to rest temporarily.

There is a small door at the west end leading to the rooftop. The rooftop is not large, surrounded by cast iron railings. Standing on it, you can overlook most of the French Concession.

The third floor and the second floor are connected by the same wooden staircase.

All the doors and windows in the building are made of solid wood frames with imported glass. The windows on the first and second floors have iron railings, but the windows on the third floor do not.

Jason stepped into the main hall of the Public Works Bureau, where the lights were so bright they made his eyes water.

The guard at the gate verified his identity and let him in.

The dozen or so police officers behind him were blocked in the duty room on the first floor, and only Jason was allowed to go upstairs.

He hurried up the mahogany staircase to the second floor, turned into the corridor, and saw that the double wooden doors of the conference hall were half open, with bright lights and a cacophony of voices inside.

Jason entered the conference room.

A dozen or so people were sitting around the long conference table.

Seated at the head of the table was Bai Lang, the head of the French Concession Municipal Council. He was in his fifties, bald, with a round face and a white silk scarf around his neck. He was French, and when he spoke, his lips moved very little, but his voice could penetrate the entire hall.

To Bai Lang’s right sat Levi, a director of the Tianjin branch of Swire Group. He was in his forties, with neatly combed brown hair and long, slender fingers, and was annotating a document with a pen.

To the left is Hall, the acting director of the British Concession Municipal Council. He is not old, and his face shows undisguised fear.

Several foreign military officers, dressed in French and British garrison uniforms, sat around the table, their faces grave, exchanging opinions in hushed tones.

Two other Chinese compradors dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes sat at the very end of the table, their necks hunched, their presence barely noticeable.

Jason's gaze swept over the people around the table and finally landed on the corner of the east wall of the conference room.

There were two people standing there.

In stark contrast to the suits, military uniforms, and official uniforms that filled the room, these two were dressed in short, tight-fitting clothes with black leggings, no knives at their waists, and their hands were empty.

They didn't sit down or participate in the discussion; they just stood there.

The person on the left is extremely tall, a head taller than everyone else present. He has broad shoulders and a wide back, with his hands behind his back, and his posture is as steady as a pine tree.

His face was square, and his temples were already gray, but his complexion was rosy and full of energy. His eyes were half-open and half-closed, as if he were dozing off.

He Zhongming, whose ancestral home is Henan, is a direct disciple of Xinyi Liuhequan (Heart-Mind Six Harmonies Boxing).

Xinyi Liuhequan originated from Xinyiquan created by Ji Jike. It has been secretly passed down from generation to generation among the Hui people in Henan. Its transmission is extremely closed, and people outside the Hui community have almost no chance to see it.

The style of boxing is fierce and ruthless, emphasizing "rising like carrying a load and falling like splitting bricks," with each move being a killing blow, without any fancy transitions or build-up.

He Zhongming entered Prince Yi's mansion as a guard at the age of twenty, stepped into the Dark Force at the age of thirty, broke through to the Transformation Force at the age of forty-two, and is now fifty-four years old. He has been at the peak of the Transformation Force for twelve years and is only a thin layer away from the Core Formation. Once he breaks through, he will become a Grandmaster.

The man on the right is rather thin, with a short mustache, deep-set eyes, and his eyes move very slowly. When he stares at something, others always feel that he is measuring distances and estimating vital points.

Yan Chongfeng, a native of Cangzhou, Zhili Province, is a direct descendant of the Tongbei Quan (a style of Chinese martial arts).

Tongbei Quan is one of the oldest boxing styles in northern China, with its manual dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Its core techniques emphasize "long-range strikes, cold and crisp movements," with the arms like whips and the palms like blades. When exerting force, the spine is fully engaged, and the power travels directly from the waist and spine to the fingertips, resulting in an attack range far exceeding that of ordinary boxing styles.

Yan Chongfeng was three years younger than He Zhongming, fifty-one years old, and came from a military family in Cangzhou. He was known in Zhili as "Yan the Ape-Armed" when he was young.

His Tongbi Pigua is integrated into one, with extremely long and fast strikes, capable of hitting the opponent's face from three steps away, following the principle of "the longer the better".

His cultivation at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm was not as profound as He Zhongming's.

Both men were brought to Tianjin by Levi through a deal involving benefits, using his connections with Prince Yi's mansion. They arrived in Tianjin that afternoon.

The two traveled in separate carriages without exchanging a single word.

They were all top figures in their respective sects, proud and arrogant, and none of them were willing to submit to the others.

Leavis specially arranged the best chairs in the conference room for them, but the two of them did not sit down. Instead, they stood in the corner and listened to the meeting for the entire afternoon in silence.

When Jason entered the meeting room, Leavis was the first to look up, put down his pen, and asked, "How's it going at the police station?"

Leavis was asking about the daytime roundup in the old town.

He had already received news that the manhunt had failed.

But in his view, although the encirclement failed, there should still be some clues and gains, such as capturing a few minor characters, finding the hidden silver dollars, or finding Chen Zhan's whereabouts.

Jason stood in front of the conference table, his lips moving slightly.

"Something's happened at the police station..."

He had just uttered three words when a muffled thud came from above his head.

"Thump—"

A heavy tremor came from the third floor, penetrating the brick walls and oak floors, and the entire second floor shook.

The silver candlesticks on the conference table trembled, and wax dripped out.

The crystal chandelier overhead swayed slightly, the light beads colliding and making a crisp, clear, and jarring sound.

Everyone froze in their tracks.

The foreign officers exchanged glances and reached for their pistols at their waists.

At the east corner, the two who had been silent until now moved first.

He Zhongming suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, his pupils contracted, and his heavy aura tensed to the extreme in an instant.

He lowered his hands from behind his back, his fingers spread and slightly bent, his knuckles thick, his palms facing down, assuming the bear-like stance of the Xin Yi Liu He Quan (Heart-Mind Six Harmonies Fist). His feet were firmly planted, his center of gravity lowered, his waist and hips tightened, and the strength of his entire body was twisted into a single rope, ready to burst forth from any angle at any moment.

He silently took half a step, moving from the corner to a position between the conference table and the stairs, blocking the path to the stairwell.

Yan Chongfeng reacted almost simultaneously.

His eyes darted around quickly, first scanning the double wooden doors of the conference room, then the three floor-to-ceiling windows on the north side, and finally settling on the ceiling.

The two reacted a beat faster than all the foreigners present.

The moment the foreign officers' hands touched the gun handles, they had already completed the transition from stillness to movement.

He Zhongming spoke up: "Someone's come in, upstairs."

His gaze wasn't fixed on the ceiling, but rather on the direction of the stairwell.

The third floor and the second floor are separated only by an oak floor and a brick floor. The source of the vibration was just slightly to the west overhead.

West end of the third floor.

The people in the room finally realized what was happening.

Several foreigners retreated behind the conference table, using it as cover.

The two Chinese compradors were so frightened that they crawled under the table, huddled together, and didn't dare to breathe.

Jason paused for a moment: "It should be someone surnamed Chen."

Chen Zhan hadn't left at all; he had been waiting for him after the massacre at the police station, following him all the way through most of the concession area to the Municipal Council.

Jason thought he had come to report and request help.

But he brought death with him.

Levi turned his head sharply, glared at him, and said to He Zhongming and the other man, "Please make your move. In addition to the two cargo ship profits promised to Prince Yi, you two can each take a thousand gold coins."

A thousand pieces of gold!

One thousand taels of gold—that amount could buy two three-courtyard houses in the capital. Just the cost alone would last a family of over ten years, provided they didn't squander it!

He Zhongming and Yan Chongfeng were immediately intrigued. They exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

Push open the door.

Outside the door is a long corridor on the second floor, which leads to a staircase at the end.

The third floor is at the top of the stairs.

The third floor was quiet; after that tremor, there was no second sound.

He Zhongming frowned. His perception was far beyond that of ordinary people. His peak cultivation level of Transformation Realm allowed him to be fully aware of the movements within a hundred steps around him.

He judged from the tremor that he had just heard that the iron gate at the entrance to the third-floor rooftop had been smashed open.

This is the only possibility; otherwise, the tremors wouldn't have been so strong even on the second floor.

The two walked out of the hall.

There are two corridors, one on the left and one on the right. The left corridor leads to a staircase, but for experts of their caliber, it's possible they might choose to use the stairs or not.

The oak floorboards creaked softly under their feet in the second-floor corridor.

He Zhongming walked in front, while Yan Chongfeng took three steps back.

The two did not speak or even make eye contact; they simply divided the tasks based on their positions.

He Zhongming approached the stairwell, blocking the passage between the upper and lower levels. Xin Yi Liu He Quan (Heart-Mind Six Harmonies Fist) is all about close-quarters combat, and the narrow stairwell was his hunting ground.

Yan Chongfeng trailed behind. The attack radius of Tongbei Fist was more than an arm's length longer than that of ordinary fist techniques. His killing range was three steps away. One in front and one behind, one near and one far, he blocked all directions.

Just as the two stood still, footsteps came from above the stairs.

I walked slowly and deliberately on the mahogany steps, which made a slight creaking sound, with a steady rhythm.

A person came down from the corner on the third floor.

He wore a brown brocade robe, had high cheekbones, a pointed chin, and a relaxed gait, with his hands hanging at his sides, without striking any pose.

He saw two people blocking the bottom of the stairs, but he didn't stop or speed up; he continued walking down.

He Zhongming opened his eyes wide from their half-closed state, a glint of light flashing in the depths of his cloudy pupils as he stared at Chen Zhan's figure walking down from above, his lips moving slightly.

"After all the commotion in Tianjin these past few days, it's time to see the real person."

Chen Zhan did not respond, and He Zhongming stopped waiting.

Xin Yi Liu He Quan has no starting stance, no palm strikes, and no warning signs.

His body suddenly sprang from a still position, his feet crossing over each other as he took a chicken-like step.

With his front foot digging into the ground and his back foot pushing off, he kept his body extremely low, leaned forward, and rushed up the stairs, hugging the surface of the stairs.

The chicken step is the foundational footwork of Xinyi Liuhe Quan (a style of Chinese martial arts), and the chicken possesses four virtues.

The character "勇" (yong, meaning courage/bravery) is prominent, and the movements are described as swift and powerful, advancing like an arrow.

His hands had already changed during the charge, with his ten fingers bent like hooks and his tiger's mouth wide open, thrusting forward from his sides.

"Hupu"

Among the twelve major forms of Xinyi, the Tiger Form ranks second, taking the meaning of a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey. Both hands are extended simultaneously, pouncing to the ground. The power starts from the back foot pushing off the ground, is transmitted through the waist and hips, flows into the arms, and finally gathers on the ten fingers.

Chen Zhan felt the force of the pounce even before the opponent's fingertips touched his body.

The air in front of his fingertips was compressed, forming an invisible wall of air that pushed his shirt inward.

The stairwell is too narrow.

There are walls and handrails on the left and right sides, and a low ceiling overhead. The only way out is the steps behind you.

To confront one's own desires head-on in this space is tantamount to putting oneself in the tiger's mouth.

Chen Zhan pushed off the steps with his feet, his body suddenly rising up. He braced his hands on the mahogany crossbar of the stair railing, used the momentum to flip over, and his whole body flipped over the top of the railing.

The double-height ceiling leads directly to the marble floor of the main hall on the first floor.

He didn't grab the handrail to slow down. Instead, he twisted his body slightly in the air to adjust his landing point. His feet landed on the ground in the center of the lobby on the first floor. His knees were slightly bent to absorb the force, and the sound of his landing was surprisingly soft.

He Zhongming's tiger pounce missed, his ten fingers gripping the mahogany stairs, leaving five deep marks, and wood chips fell down in a flurry.

He looked up and peered through the gap in the stair railing. Chen Zhan was already standing in the center of the lobby on the first floor, facing the stairs, his hands still hanging at his sides.

Without hesitation, He Zhongming pushed off with both feet and jumped directly down the stairs.

The height of two floors is nothing to a martial artist at the peak of the Transformation Realm.

His approach to landing was completely different from Chen Zhan's.

Without reducing force or slowing down, both feet slammed onto the marble floor with a muffled "boom," and the stone slab beneath their feet cracked open, sending fragments of stone flying everywhere.

The striking technique of Xingyi Quan (心意拳) is like lifting a load on a shoulder pole and landing like splitting bricks; the feet are firmly rooted, becoming more stable with each strike. (End of Chapter)