Covering the Sky: I Prove the Great Dao Through the Gate of Immortality

Li Chenzhou's outstretched hand was unremarkable.

The surrounding disciples were completely bewildered, not understanding what kind of challenge this was.

Shaking hands and making peace?

But their master, Chen Xingwu, felt his hair stand on end!

Let me lend a hand!

This is a rule passed down from the martial arts world during the Republic of China era, a method of "civil combat" between masters who do not want to draw blood!

It looks simple, just a handshake, but a real, dangerous fight is anything but. It's a contest of subtle, hidden strength and surging power; without developing that hidden strength, you're not even qualified to put up a fight.

Looking at that excessively young hand, and recalling the eerie scene his eldest apprentice had described on the phone, Chen Xingwu felt a chill.

"Internal strength...it's definitely above internal strength! Even..." The guess that made his heart tremble—"Grandmaster of Internal Strength"—resurfaced!

Where the hell did this monster come from?!

Chen Xingwu's face was so solemn it was almost dripping with water. He took a deep breath and slowly raised his right hand.

"Snapped!"

A soft sound, like the flapping of a mosquito's wings, was clear and piercing!

The moment their palms touched, all the disciples held their breath, their eyes wide open!

How could there be such a sound when it was just a simple handshake?

Could this be... the true secret of a master?!

The moment they made contact, alarm bells rang in Chen Xingwu's mind. He dared not be negligent in the slightest. His dantian suddenly sank, and the great dragon of his spine was connected segment by segment. A surge of scorching blood and qi was instantly forced to his palm.

A hidden strength is emerging!

The pores under his palm opened instantly, condensing into needles and burning hot like branding irons, fiercely "stabbing" into Li Chenzhou's palm!

The hidden force is like a spray needle!

This is the threshold he reached after more than 20 years of hard work practicing Xingyi Quan and mastering Ming Jin. It is one of his most treasured skills.

This seemingly ordinary strike actually contains a vicious force that can penetrate the skin and directly injure the muscles, bones, and internal organs! If an ordinary expert with strong internal energy were to be struck by it, at best their arm would become numb and lose sensation, and at worst their internal organs would be damaged, leaving hidden injuries!

Chen Xingwu went all out this time; he wanted to see if this unfathomable young man was a real dragon or a paper tiger!

random!

Chen Xingwu's face paled in shock.

As their palms touched, Chen Xingwu's heart sank.

There was no real feeling of bones clashing against each other, no surging of blood and qi colliding. His penetrating force was enough to pierce through a cow's belly, but when it hit, it just made a hissing sound.

A deathly silence!

It was as if all the strength he had cultivated throughout his life had been blasted into nothingness!

"Ha!"

Chen Xingwu let out a short, startled sound, his pupils instantly shrinking into two points of cold light.

Do not believe!

The force was like a giant hammer striking a drum, and the soft, penetrating energy twisted again in an instant. The muscles on his arm twisted like steel wires, bulging out and frantically pouring into that warm, jade-like palm!

Three breaths!

Chen Xingwu trembled all over, and even emitted "white smoke".

Sweat!

Sweat was squeezed out of the skin and flesh, and as soon as it seeped out, it was evaporated by the blood and qi in the body and turned into white smoke.

Chen Xingwu's face was reddish-purple, with prominent blue veins bulging beneath the skin, indicating muscle spasms.

He felt that what he was unleashing was not physical strength, but life essence. Every burst of power he unleashed was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, with the backlash causing him to feel as if his bones and muscles were about to crack.

The air froze!

The disciples felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Their martial arts master, who was famous for his fist techniques, had collapsed from a towering iron tower into a "blood and sweat steamer" in just three breaths of shaking hands!

His whole body was steaming with white vapor, and his skin was cracked and bleeding!

This scene is not a martial arts contest, but a sacrifice!

It is a futile struggle of mortal body against the might of heaven!

"Well--!"

A muffled groan, suppressed to the extreme.

Chen Xingwu's knees slammed as if struck by a heavy hammer, and his hand slipped limply, his fingers twisting and twitching uncontrollably.

Dead silence! A suffocating dead silence!

Chen Xingwu gasped for breath, his eyes as lifeless as rotten wood.

He looked at Li Chenzhou, whose face remained as calm as an ancient well, without even the slightest ripple.

Chen Xingwu seemed to have aged thirty years in an instant; his lips moved slightly, hoarse and chapped.

"I give up..."

"Your stance is solid, but your power is weak."

"My force... when it struck... felt like it pierced through a shadow... the power... completely dissipated into empty space... not a single trace... landed on anything substantial..."

His throat made a hoarse sound, like an old bellows:

"The principles of this fist technique transcend the flesh and blood. Even if a mountain collapses before you, you can still...remain unmoved."

"Sorcery?" A newly initiated disciple asked, his neck stiff with confusion.

Yuan Yanqing abruptly turned his head and slammed his fist into her: "Shut up!"

The boxing gym was deathly silent, save for heavy breathing.

Yuan Yanqing looked at his master, who was covered in sweat and blood, then his gaze returned to that unyielding, towering figure:

"Can't understand? Then we'll gouge your eyes out! Talking nonsense like that, you won't even know how you died!"

"The sweat isn't from the heat! It's from 'the body's energy being unable to be retained!'"

"Fists and kicks are just a shell; true skill lies in locking in the boiling 'qi' within! Once the pores loosen, the qi leaks out, and the person becomes an empty shell!"

"Master...exerted every last drop of strength, even his last breath...to end up like this!"

His gaze was fervent:

"This god... can kill you with a single breath! If you can't control your tongue... then get out of here!"

The disciple turned pale and staggered backward, not daring to utter another sound.

Li Chenzhou's gaze fell upon Chen Xingwu's face, which was streaked with sweat and blood, his voice flat and emotionless:

"Thank you for your concession."

Chen Xingwu's face was ashen, and he spoke with difficulty:

"The rules of the boxing ring... I admit defeat... Let's draw a line..."

Decades of reputation, half a lifetime of hard work... all hang in the balance at this moment, depending on the other party's single thought.

Washing one's hands of the trade? Removing the plaque and sealing the door?

This thought was like a venomous snake gnawing at his heart. Even if the young man didn't make a move, if the boxing gym still stood, the spittle of the martial arts world could drown him!

He can't afford to lose face like this!

Inside the boxing gym, the air seemed to freeze.

Li Chenzhou slightly raised his eyelids, his gaze passing over Chen Xingwu and landing on the old ebony plaque above the gate. His voice was not loud:

"Take down the signboard."

Four words, nothing to say.

Chen Xingwu shuddered violently, his back stiffened abruptly, then collapsed, the light in his eyes completely extinguished.

Take down the sign!

This is the most ruthless ending to a challenge, even more ruthless than retiring from the game!

Washing hands is a way to shut down one's fists; removing the sign is to erase all traces of his existence in this area—it's a complete annihilation!

All his hard work and the reputation he had built up over decades, the livelihoods of his disciples... were about to turn to dust in an instant.

The air inside the boxing gym was as still as lead!

The disciples' faces turned ashen; some clenched their fists so tightly their teeth chattered, yet none dared to utter a word.

Yuan Yanqing's fingernails dug into his palms, his heart filled with despair. This man wasn't after his master's life, but the very soul of their Xingyi Quan school!

Despair! Silence!

Li Chenzhou spoke again, his tone still calm and even:

"Change it to another one."

Chen Xingwu looked up abruptly, thinking he had misheard.

Picked it...and replaced it? What does that mean?

Li Chenzhou's gaze fell on the plaque above the entrance of the boxing gym. He stretched out a finger and pointed at it from afar:

"That plaque is too heavy! Your fists can't support it, and your heart can't bear it."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap.