Chapter 250: Battling the Fifth on the Tiger List (Part 1)
Qiu Wen, noticing Ling Chen’s confusion, explained, "It seems you don’t know much about us brothers. We practice Combined Attack Skills; we either win together or lose together, never alone. On the Tiger List, besides us brothers, there are also the Northwest Three Swords, ranked third; those three practice the Sword Array, moving forward and retreating as one."
"Is that so?" Ling Chen’s eyes widened. That’s just too shameless. Two against one; I have no advantage at all. It seems the evaluation criteria of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion have big issues.
"Ling Chen..."
Nanrong Wanqing couldn’t hide the worry in her beautiful eyes. She had heard about the Heaven and Earth Dragon and Tiger Four Rankings from Jiang Yunkai before, and although each list had ten names, the gap in strength was significant. While the ninth in the Tiger List might have a negligible strength difference with those ranked eighth and tenth, once the ranking difference is too great, the disparity in strength widens significantly.
Ling Chen is only tenth in the Tiger List, but the Qiu brothers are fifth; the difference in their rankings is too great. She was very worried, unsure if Ling Chen could handle it.
Hearing the concern in Nanrong Wanqing’s tone, Ling Chen turned back, cracked a smile, nodded slightly, and gave her a reassuring look.
Turning back, he looked at Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. Previously, he had crossed hands with Song Qing, ranked sixth on the Tiger List, and neither had outperformed the other. This showed that his comprehensive ability could match that of Song Qing. The Qiu brothers ranked fifth, higher than Song Qing, and it was unknown by how much stronger they were. Moreover, critically, they were two people. As the saying goes, one pair of hands is hard to beat four; he really wasn’t sure.
"Su Lin." Su Lin, unable to suppress her curiosity, asked softly, "What is the Tiger List?"
"The Tiger List ranks the top martial artists in the world," Liu Kun answered her from the side.
"Oh!" Su Lin appeared suddenly enlightened. "Uncle Liu, what ranking could you achieve?"
"Me?" Liu Kun gave a bitter smile, his eyes filled with longing. "I don’t even qualify to be ranked."
Nanrong Hao, holding the back of his head where it was injured, waved his fist excitedly. "I knew Brother Chen wasn’t ordinary!"
"Alright," Nanrong Wanqing frowned slightly, speaking softly. "Let’s not talk anymore."
Although Ling Chen appeared confident, the worry between her brows couldn’t be dissipated; she tightly clutched the armrests of her wheelchair, biting her lip lightly, her stunning face filled with tension.
"Please!" Ling Chen clasped his hands together, following the customary greeting before the start of a sparring match.
However, Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu showed no response. Instead, they took off their blazers, rolled up their shirt sleeves, and rubbed their hands together, their expressions coldly saying, "Today we are not here to spar and see who is stronger; there’s no need for so many formalities. Out of respect for you as fellow experts on the Tiger List, later we will only cripple your legs and spare your life."
Ling Chen slightly curled his lips as if he didn’t perceive the malicious intent in their words. Nodding, he said, "Then I shall thank you both for your mercy."
"Take this!"
With a roar, Qiu Wen made the first move, charging toward Ling Chen with a swift step, his right palm flat and striking like a venomous snake toward Ling Chen’s face.
Seeing this action, Ling Chen’s eyes narrowed, a cold light flashed. Such ruthless tactics, directly aiming for his vitals. In a high-level duel, it usually starts with probing and then gradually escalates to full strength. Yet, Qiu Wen didn’t hold back from the beginning, clearly underestimating him and aiming to finish the battle quickly.
As the wind from the strike approached, Qiu Wen’s fingertips were almost within reach; Ling Chen remained unphased, his expression calm, as he stepped back with his left foot and leaned back. Qiu Wen’s arm length was limited, unable to reach further; he had to change his move. His flat palm slightly twisted, transforming into a knife-hand strike, he raised it high above his head and, while lunging forward, chopped toward Ling Chen’s neck.
Ling Chen wanted to retreat further, but at that moment, Qiu Wu somehow flanked his side, sweeping a kick across targeting his back neck, coordinating with Qiu Wen’s attack, blocking his retreat.
Again, a deadly move!
Whether it’s Qiu Wen’s hand-chop or Qiu Wu’s whip-leg, both were strikingly close, targeting vital areas, almost wishing to cripple him.
Facing the combined attack of the two, Ling Chen remained calm amidst the danger. With a tap of his toes on the ground, his torso suspended in mid-air, his legs hanging upside-down, he kicked toward Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu respectively, neutralizing their attacks.
However, when their legs clashed, his pupils contracted, unable to suppress the shock in his eyes.
In terms of leg techniques alone, he had always considered himself second to none. Yet, after clashing with Qiu Wu, he was astonished to find that his opponent’s leg technique was no less superior than his own, even surpassing him in strength.
Utilizing the momentum from Qiu Wu’s sweeping leg, Ling Chen supported himself with his hands on the ground and performed a backflip, landing firmly on his feet.
"Cross Training in Hard Qi Gong!"
Looking at Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu, Ling Chen slightly furrowed his brows, for the brief exchange had already allowed him to discern the extent of their skill.
This is troublesome!
It’s Hard Qi Gong.
His greatest reliance was his own peak external skills, complemented by years of training, giving him a reaction speed far superior to ordinary people. However, his advantage seemed minimal against Cross Training in Hard Qi Gong. Practitioners of Hard Qi Gong cultivate both internally and externally, possessing not only immense strength but also formidable resistance, exactly what counters him.
In a split second of thought, the Qiu brothers attacked again.
Their steps interweaving, one in front and one behind, constantly changing positions, unpredictably left and right, confusing Ling Chen’s vision.
As they approached, a fist as large as a casserole pot rushed towards him, making it unclear who attacked, as Ling Chen could only see Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu shaking in front of his eyes, unable to accurately track their movements.
Ling Chen tilted his head, dodging the fierce punch, then followed through by closing in, his fingers tightly clenched, his fists like dragons emerging from the sea, riding the wind and breaking the waves, suddenly booming out.
Bang! Bang!
Accompanied by several dull thuds, in the blink of an eye, Ling Chen had exchanged several hard blows with the Qiu brothers.
Their style was Hard Qi Gong, with large and open moves, devoid of any fancy techniques, identical to Ling Chen’s method of attack, a pure head-on approach.
After several moves, Ling Chen felt a slight numbness in his arms, even a bit of soreness, something he had never experienced before. This clearly showed that Qiu Wen and Qiu Wu completely overpowered him in strength.
Suddenly, Qiu Wen leaned forward, the punch roared with the force of the wind, veins popping on the back of his hand, like a clump of solidified steel, indestructible, thunderously approaching.
Ling Chen’s gaze flickered, pushing forward with both hands, trying to misalign Qiu Wen’s line of attack. But at that moment, his vision blurred, and the Qiu Wen who was originally in front of him somehow switched places with Qiu Wu, their positions changing so fast they were nearly imperceptible.
Before Ling Chen could react, the oncoming fist had transformed into a whip-leg, sweeping in from the side, striking fiercely against his right shoulder.