This Kid Has Quite Some Strength

Tong Tianba's words caught in his throat. Seeing that Fang Shuwen would not waste another word on him and simply raised his hand to strike, his already incandescent fury flared even hotter. Without minding Elder Shixian watching like a predatory tiger from the sidelines, he bellowed in fury, "Come at me!" Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, throwing a vicious punch. He possessed a burly physique—in Zheng Sihai's words, his foundational aptitude was exceptional. Naturally endowed with immense strength, and having cultivated iron-body techniques later in life, he was like a humanoid behemoth. The sheer size of his fist could almost rival Fang Shuwen's head. When this punch blasted forward, he put every ounce of his power behind it! Even Lu Guiyan and the others could feel the suffocating pressure radiating from the strike. If they felt this way despite standing so far back... what must it be like for Fang Shuwen, who was right in front of Tong Tianba at point-blank range? In the blink of an eye, Fang Shuwen's palm met Tong Tianba's fist. One used the Mahakala Palm, which embodied the principle of sheer might overpowering all finesse. The other possessed boundless brute force, heavy and devastating. The clash instantly produced a thunderous boom. Anyone hearing the sound without seeing the combatants might well suspect that two vicious beasts were slamming into each other. A ferocious gale abruptly billowed outward from the point where fist and palm collided. Standing closest, even Elder Shixian could not help but stumble backward several paces. He knew that in his youth, he might have been able to rely on his internal skill to take Tong Tianba head-on, but he was old now. Moreover, after an incident five years ago, his strength had drastically deteriorated. To think that he could not even withstand the aftershocks of a clash between two youngsters and had to retreat to dissipate the force—he could not suppress a twinge of sorrow for the fading twilight of a hero. Lu Guiyan and her companions were farther away. As the fluttering torchlight whipped and flapped noisily in the gale, the group fell back to dodge, remaining mostly unharmed. Peering up through the gaps in the rushing wind, they looked to see the outcome of the exchange. They had expected a deadlocked contest at the very least... yet when they looked up, everyone was struck dumb. Fist and palm were locked together, but while Fang Shuwen was entirely unscathed, a series of brittle snaps and crunches erupted from Tong Tianba's fist. The cracking spread upward from the fist, tearing through the entire arm in the blink of an eye. Bang!! A puff of bloody mist burst from Tong Tianba's rear shoulder. With a muffled groan, he finally gave out. He stumbled backward, his massive arm dangling limp like a wet noodle. His heart seized in mortal terror. His divine body-protecting art was completely useless before Fang Shuwen. The tremendous force he mustered had vanished without a trace the very instant his fist met Fang Shuwen's palm. Meanwhile, Fang Shuwen's power surged into him like splitting bamboo, crashing forward in an unstoppable torrent... Tong Tianba had been left completely helpless to resist! Just who on earth was this person? He was so young. Even if he had begun practicing martial arts in his mother's womb, how could he possess such methods? With just this single blow, Tong Tianba's courage was broken. Any thought of fighting Fang Shuwen vanished, replaced by an urge to flee. Yet at this point, how could Fang Shuwen let him retreat? Having gained the upper hand with that strike, Fang Shuwen instantly advanced. This time, however, he did not use the Mahakala Palm. His fingers swept forward in a fluid motion, executing the Plum Blossom Scattered Hands! Reaching out with an eagle-claw grapple, he went straight for Tong Tianba's shoulder. The moment Tong Tianba saw him strike, he knew what Fang Shuwen intended. Letting out a furious roar, he swung his remaining arm in a heavy sweep, trying to deflect the incoming attack. As the master of the Fierce Tiger Gang's East Hall, he could accept defeat, and he could accept death, but how could he let himself be captured alive by a wet-behind-the-ears kid? Little did he expect that holding back would have been better; striking out only gave Fang Shuwen an opening. With a hook of his fingers, Fang Shuwen gripped him right by the wrist. The Beiming Divine Art circulated smoothly, and Tong Tianba's formidable strength instantly drained away like water over a breached dam. Without the slightest ability to resist, he had his arm twisted behind his back by Fang Shuwen. With two crisp snaps, Fang Shuwen casually dislocated the joint. Immediately after, Fang Shuwen kicked forward, "Kneel!" A warrior may be killed, but not humiliated! Tong Tianba roared in anger and circulated his true qi once more, but it never reached his legs. Instead, it flowed along the meridians of his wrist straight into Fang Shuwen's body. His attempt proved entirely futile. When Fang Shuwen's kick landed, Tong Tianba had no choice but to collapse directly to his knees with a loud thud, despite his boundless humiliation. Fang Shuwen shifted his grip to the back of Tong Tianba's neck, reached down, and clamped onto a section of his spine with the Plum Blossom Scattered Hands. His fingers, hooked like talons, sank deep into flesh. With a sharp click, a section of his spine was wrenched loose, and Fang Shuwen hoisted him clean into the air. Tong Tianba's massive frame looked comical dangling from Fang Shuwen's grip. Yet in Fang Shuwen's grasp, he could not muster even a shred of resistance. Handled effortlessly, he was tossed right before Lu Guiyan, while Fang Shuwen remarked with a sigh, "This kid has quite some strength." Hearing this, Tong Tianba nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was born with divine might and peerless physical strength; countless heroic experts had died under his pair of iron fists. How had he been reduced to merely having "quite some strength" in Fang Shuwen's mouth? Lu Guiyan and the others had long since frozen like wooden chickens. Even after the Fierce Tiger Gang's East Hall Master was tossed before them, they still struggled to process what had just happened. Once Lu Guiyan finally grasped reality, she sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. In truth, she had entertained the thought that Fang Shuwen might win. But that was under the assumption that the Lu'an Escort Agency pulled together and Elder Shixian assisted; only then, relying on the unfathomable Fang Shuwen, would edging out East Hall Master Tong Tianba no longer be wishful thinking. Yet the reality was... From beginning to end, the people of the Lu'an Escort Agency, including herself, had not even had the chance to lift a finger. Tong Tianba, one of the Fierce Tiger Gang's four great hall masters, had failed to withstand even a single move before Fang Shuwen! With just one palm strike, an arm had been ruined. With a casual reach and grab, Fang Shuwen had hoisted this formidable expert and thrown him right at her feet. Lu Guiyan thought that grappling move had looked rather familiar... It was the Four Seas Martial Hall's Plum Blossom Scattered Hands. She had seen Mo Beidou use it before, more than once. Yet for the exact same martial art, the way Fang Shuwen used it and the way Mo Beidou used it were worlds apart. Lu Guiyan swallowed hard. A sudden realization dawned on her: an unimaginable stroke of good fortune had surely landed right on her head. With Fang Shuwen around, why would she ever worry about failing this client escort? At that thought, Lu Guiyan turned her gaze to Tong Tianba before her. She said in a low, steady voice, "Why is your Fierce Tiger Gang trying to kill these two people?" Hearing her words, Tong Tianba looked up, his eyes full of mockery. Splitting into a grin, he laughed, "Hahaha—" Smack! Before he could finish, a slap landed squarely on his head, cutting his laughter short... Fang Shuwen's voice sounded somewhat impatient, "Stop grinning like an idiot. She's asking you a question, so answer properly."