He's in Marvel, working behind the scenes.

Jessica snapped out of her shock and anger, rubbing her hands together as she approached the old man with a malicious smile on her face.

She was now certain that this old man was no ordinary person, whether it was his superpowers or his kung fu skills. It was a good opportunity to test him and, incidentally, reclaim the food.

“Jessica…”

Luke handed her the lunchbox and said, "Let me do it."

Jessica knew Luke was worried that her strength was too great and that she might act recklessly and cause an accident. Just as she was hesitating whether to agree, the old man's nonchalant words came again.

"You two can come at me together, you're no match for me anyway."

"Old man, you said it yourself, don't cry later!" Jessica could no longer tolerate this contempt and provocation, and threw a punch.

Of course, although she acted in anger, her yearning for the justice of superheroes made her subconsciously hold back, and the amount of force she exerted was something that even an ordinary person could withstand.

But the other party was a centenarian whose muscles had atrophied to the point of being skin and bones... Such an elderly person could very well die on the spot after taking such a punch.

Luke watched the scene intently, his body ready to spring into action at any moment, so that if the old man showed any signs of being unable to withstand the attack, he would immediately rush forward to save him.

Closer, closer, closer...

Under Luke's watchful gaze, Jessica's fist seemed to be slowed down as it slowly approached the old man's cheek.

But the old man seemed not to have realized what was happening, and stood there eating his shumai without any result.

No, this old man will die!

Luke made a decision in his mind and took a step forward to save the person.

But then the old man started to move.

It seemed that Jessica had hit him in the face and sent him flying, but the old man's body flipped in mid-air and landed perfectly ten meters away.

There was no sign of injury on him.

Ok?

what happened?

Luke stood there, bewildered.

Jessica was completely bewildered.

Judging from the tactile sensation she felt earlier, she had hit her opponent, but it felt like hitting a sponge—light and airy, with no point of impact.

Or is it just my imagination?

Just as Jessica was thinking this, she noticed the sunglasses hanging on her hand, and her pupils contracted sharply.

No, it's not an illusion.

I did hit that old man.

But the moment the blow struck him, the old man retreated, breaking contact before the force reached him.

This is truly a martial arts skill, not a superpower!

"You foreign devils, you really have no sportsmanship." The old man ate his food nonchalantly, glancing at them with disdain. "Although you said you could take on two at once, you didn't even give me a heads-up before suddenly attacking this old comrade who is over 140 years old. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Really? How about we give it a try?"

Jessica completely ignored the old man's teasing, smiled lightly, and instead provoked him.

After saying that, without waiting for the old man's consent, he took a step forward and punched him in the face again.

This time, Jessica didn't hold back, unleashing her full strength, and her punch created a sonic boom.

The old man glanced at her casually, and the half-eaten shumai slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.

Jessica was rushing too fast, and by the time she saw the shumai in front of her, she couldn't stop in time. She stepped on it and fell flat on her back.

Oh my god!

Luke couldn't help but facepalm, speechless at Jessica's recklessness.

"Forehead……"

Jessica stood up in pain, glared at the old man, and shouted, "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Don't you own a martial arts school?"

"Why not use martial arts to fight back, instead of resorting to these tricks?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's smiling face turned cold, and he shouted, "You brat, you're a hundred years too young to lecture me!"

The roar was so powerful that it seemed to unleash a strong hurricane, leaving the two momentarily speechless.

"I know you're trying to test me..."

The old man continued, "But no matter what your purpose is, it is impossible for an outsider to test an expert. Even if you have a super strong physique and can easily crush those martial artists who are not skilled enough, you will not be able to understand the essence of martial arts if you do not really learn and study it."

Martial arts is not a competitive performance, nor is it something with extremely low purity. Rather, it is a weapon that allows the weak to defeat the strong and protect their lives in dangerous situations.

Sharp teeth and claws, swords and spears, firearms and cannons, lime and poison, lies and sneak attacks... anything that can defeat a powerful enemy, whether internal or external, can be used.

Martial arts are not such an inconvenient thing!

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Master, I Want to Practice Kung Fu

"..."

Jessica and Luke were dumbfounded, completely unable to understand.

Swords, spears, and halberds are relatively easy to deal with.

After all, cold weapons are an integral part of martial arts.

But guns and explosives... could this be some kind of unparalleled martial art of modern times?

What about those ruthless methods—lying attacks, using lime poison, even nails and teeth—that employ every possible means?

Is this also martial arts?

Isn't martial arts a fighting technique?

Seemingly sensing Luke and Jessica's thoughts, the old man scoffed disdainfully, "Kids, what do you know? What you're imagining is a contest, not martial arts."

A martial arts contest?

Martial arts?

The two of them had even more questions on their minds.

The old man continued, "You set rules in advance, fight within those rules, and determine the winner. But in reality, not everyone will set rules with you beforehand and then fight within those rules."

“Your enemy may be armed, outnumbered, or even a ferocious beast… In fact, even in a martial arts competition, there are situations where your opponent has been practicing martial arts for far longer than you or is much larger than you.”

"There is no such thing as an absolutely fair fight in this world, so don't think about fighting others fairly. Utilize every factor that can enhance your own strength and weaken the enemy's, and then win in various situations."

"My martial arts are not only about fighting with others in the ring, but also a weapon to protect the weak. Even children, women and the elderly who have no strength can have the power to protect themselves when facing danger."

"..."

Luke and Jessica fell silent.

They understood and agreed with the old man's views this time, but they couldn't help feeling disappointed.

Such ruthless tactics may indeed increase the win rate in battle, but they are useless against true masters.

Because all your intentions will be seen through.

"Don't be so skeptical when I say you don't understand."

The old man sensed what the two were thinking and continued, "There is an old saying in our country: 'In every profession, there are top performers.' Even in petty theft, there are different levels of skill."

Anything becomes very powerful once you reach a certain level.

Don't think that what I'm saying is lowbrow; there's a lot to learn about it.

If you can master it to the extreme, you can easily defeat even a grandmaster-level martial artist.

Don't underestimate human wisdom!

"Tch, after all that talk, didn't you just use your advanced force-dissipating technique to deflect my punch?" Jessica pouted, looking unconvinced.

Luke nodded in deep agreement, "If it weren't for that kind of skill, even a normal person with an iron shield couldn't stop Jessica's punches."

"Ok?"

The old man glanced sideways at the crushed shumai on the floor, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

To Jessica, this was nothing but mockery and ridicule, brimming with malice. She couldn't refute it; a surge of anger welled up inside her, but she had nowhere to vent it, a truly unbearable situation.

Seeing this, the old man stopped provoking her and smiled, saying, "Of course, although it is said that one should use every means possible, people living in this society cannot always carry weapons, nor can they always encounter terrain and things that can be used. Most of the time, one still has to rely on one's own fists and feet. Therefore, one's fist and foot skills also need to be trained to a high level."

At this point, he glanced up at Luke and Jessica, who were listening attentively, a sly glint in his eyes, and continued, "Based on my years of experience in martial arts, I can tell at a glance that your physical abilities are different from ordinary people, and therefore you look down on those low-down methods. But this is indeed a method that is on par with fist and foot skills. Believe me or not, I can kill you right now."

"...I don't believe it!"

Luke looked around the room to make sure there was no poison gas or anything like that, and then said confidently, "Even if I stood there and let you hit me, you couldn't kill me."

Although the old man did demonstrate superb force-dissipating skills, offense and force dissipation are different. Even if certain techniques can better utilize one's own strength, ultimately one still needs to possess that strength.

The old man was so thin he was practically skin and bones, and Luke didn't believe he had any ability to break through his steel body.

"is it?"

The old man smiled, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked towards Luke. "Then let's give it a try."

The old man came up to Luke and looked up at him.

Luke also kept his eyes glued to the old man, wary of any strange tricks he might pull.

Then, the old man moved.

His speed wasn't very fast, at least not in Luke's eyes.

But it happened slowly, suddenly, and absurdly, catching everyone off guard—he grabbed Luke's pants and pulled them down along with his underwear.

"What are you doing!?"

Luke felt a chill in his lower body, instinctively covering his groin with his hands and shrinking his body involuntarily.

The old man didn't answer, but instead stuck his index and middle fingers into his nostrils.