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

Can't his fists support it? Can't his mind bear it? Does this mean he's unworthy to be a student at a Xingyi Quan school?

Li Chenzhou withdrew his fingers and stood with his hands behind his back:

"Chen-style Xingyi Quan martial arts school, that's fine."

He said no more and turned to leave.

After a long while, Chen Xingwu seemed to have been drained of his last bit of strength, and he collapsed, only to be caught by Yuan Yanqing in a flash.

He breathed heavily, staring intently at the empty street outside the gate, then slowly looked up at the old plaque that had been hanging there for decades that read "Xingyiquan School".

Those four familiar words now seem so strange and heavy.

"My fists... can't hold up... my heart... can't bear it!" he muttered to himself.

Chen Xingwu slumped to the ground, his sweat and blood mingling, his already ashen face now deeply lined. He stared at the empty gate, his Adam's apple bobbing, but no sound came out.

Where did this evil spirit come from?

"Master!" Yuan Yanqing's voice trembled, "Just now... what exactly happened..."

The disciples also gathered around, their eyes filled with fear.

Chen Xingwu gave a bitter smile. Today, he had completely lost face. However, since he ran a boxing gym, he wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat, especially since this formidable opponent wasn't being overly aggressive.

"To engage in combat... is to risk one's life! The strength flows through the skin, the power resides in the bones... the slightest mistake, and tendons and bones break, qi and blood collapse! Those three breaths... I was writhing on the brink of death!"

He pointed to his arm, which was steaming and still twitching, and said, "All my strength... I fed it all to him! The cunning, the penetrating, the forceful... I poured it all into his palm..."

Yuan Yanqing asked urgently, "Then who is he? Master, your strength is enough to penetrate wood and shatter stone, how could he...?"

Chen Xingwu didn't answer, but pointed to the spot where Li Chenzhou had just stood: "Go... touch it..."

A disciple stepped forward and pressed his five fingers onto the seemingly intact cement ground—

puff!

The knuckles went straight into the concrete without any resistance!

Everyone was horrified!

The disciple abruptly pulled his hand away, raising a cloud of dust, revealing two clear footprints in the ground.

The bottom of the pit was not flat, but covered with countless tiny holes, as if it had been repeatedly struck by steel needles.

"hiss--!"

Yuan Yanqing's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "He...he channeled all the force that Master used to blast him in...into the ground?!"

Chen Xingwu closed his eyes, his throat bobbing, his voice bitter: "Subtle... penetrating the body... surging through the earth... lifting heavy objects with ease, as if a thousand pounds were falling on him like a feather... this skill... is no longer of this world..."

……

Li Chenzhou left at noon and rushed to his next martial arts school.

But the results were increasingly disappointing!

From the height of the sun to the fall of dusk, he walked over all ten signs by himself.

Half of the boxing gyms couldn't even move him; he was utterly vulnerable.

That Xingyi Quan school turned out to be the only "tough nut" that allowed him to use his skills today.

For a moment, Li Chenzhou felt somewhat disheartened.

Inside an old courtyard hidden deep in the bustling city, the air was eerily solemn. A dozen or so figures, some sitting and some standing, were all prominent figures in the Hong Kong martial arts world.

"Where did this wild, unorthodox Zen come from!"

A square-faced man spoke in a deep voice, his knuckles white from clenching his fists, "One day! Ten places! My brothel... a reputation built over decades, trampled on like a stepping stone!"

He suffered a crushing defeat today; his opponent simply pushed him with his palm, and he collapsed.

Beside him, a middle-aged man in a moon-white training uniform spoke with sharp eyes and a deep voice: "Old Liu from the Xingyi School relayed the message: a mere three breaths between them... his strength crumbled at the first touch! That kid... he's not one to cross the river without a mighty dragon!"

"Hmph! Fame through a hundred battles?"

"Climbing over the bones of our ancestors? That's quite an ambition! Our reputation is built drop by drop with decades of blood and sweat! What gives him the right?" a thin man with a pipe in his mouth said angrily.

"On what grounds?"

From the corner, a resentful voice rang out, chillingly saying, "Based on what Chen Xingwu said himself—that kid, he's probably... touched the threshold of the Transformation Realm!"

He paused, his voice growing colder, "Fists and kicks have no eyes, and skill can kill! If he really comes knocking, will you fight or not? Can you protect your reputation?"

"fart!"

The previously gaunt man slammed his hand on the table, sending the teacup flying. "Transformation Realm? There are only four true masters in Hong Kong! Which one didn't cultivate for sixty years to reach that level? Eighteen or nineteen Transformation Realm? Chen Xingwu has lost his mind after such a defeat! He's just trying to cover up his shame!"

Chen Xingwu himself is currently recuperating in his own boxing gym and is too ashamed to come here.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

A martial arts master at eighteen or nineteen?

Arabian Nights!

But the defeats of those ten boxing gyms weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

"That's enough!"

An aged yet booming voice rang out, silencing all the noise.

At the head of the table, an elderly man dressed in a dark blue cloth jacket slowly opened his eyes and glanced at everyone.

His name is Xu Wenhai, one of the pillars of Hong Kong's martial arts world, and a master of Baguazhang's Huajin technique!

"Let's leave aside the origins and background for now."

The old man's words fell like hammer blows, "The lessons learned from those ten boxing gyms are a bloody reminder! That young man's appetite won't stop there! Tomorrow, the day after... one of our gyms will surely be his next stepping stone!"

His eyes, though cloudy, were sharp as they swept over the crowd:

"Gathering tonight, let me ask you just one question—"

"The face of Hong Kong's martial arts world is waiting to be crushed piece by piece by him..."

"Or... should we unite as one and build him a wall he can't break through?"

The hall was dead silent!

A heavy, oppressive atmosphere, like the impending storm, pressed down on people, making it hard to breathe.

Xu Wenhai's gaze swept over everyone, and they fell silent. Even the most indignant man lowered his head and asked respectfully, "Old Xu... what do you mean?"

Xu Wenhai tapped the armrest lightly with his knuckles, his voice low and deep:

"Instead of waiting for him to come, why don't we... set up a table?"

"It's always better to have the initiative in your own hands than to be cornered at your own doorstep and lose your composure!"

Everyone's eyes flickered as they weighed the situation in their minds.

"Oh…"

An untimely, cold laugh suddenly rang out.

In the corner, a karate dojo master leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, his face full of undisguised sarcasm.

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, the man only lazily uttered half a sentence:

"In my opinion... everyone, you're overthinking it."

After saying that, he fell silent, as if he had just let out an insignificant fart.

This hesitant manner instantly ignited the astonishment and suspicion within the courtyard!

They're all old foxes; who can't hear the hidden meaning in their words?

This karate dojo was one of the ten boxing gyms that were defeated today!

"You... could it be...?" an old boxer exclaimed, his voice trembling.

Seeing that he had been exposed, the karate dojo master simply stopped trying to hide it and said slowly and deliberately:

"What era are we living in? Still clinging to outdated almanacs from a hundred years ago, hoping to carve out your own destiny with your fists and feet?"

"That kid... is too green! He thinks he can carve out a path just by having strong fists? How naive!"

He spoke slowly and deliberately:

"The martial world... is no longer a world where you fight bare-handed!"

The room was deathly silent!

Even Xu Wenhai's usually calm and collected eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly!