Peculiarity

Chen Chuan looked Ding Mai over a few times. The man's upper body muscles were extraordinarily developed, while by comparison, his legs and feet—which were robust and powerful enough in their own right—appeared rather slender, looking distinctly unbalanced on the surface. Most fighters he had encountered possessed well-proportioned physiques that looked harmonious at a glance. A build like this could usually only be caused by the extreme development of mutated tissue in a specific part of the body, which meant this man possessed extraordinary capabilities in a particular combat style. Furthermore, this man actually commanded field techniques. At this moment, Chen Chuan could feel a dense aura, though the exact specifics couldn't be determined before he made a move. The man's claim that Iron Demon was originally supposed to be his assignment might not have been mere bluster. Besides, dealing with Iron Demon was never restricted to a one-on-one fight anyway. He had no intention of declining this challenge. Sparring with a skilled fighter was an excellent way to improve himself, not to mention that retreating in a situation like this was completely out of the question. He glanced at the man's epaulet and said, "Since Enforcer Ding is interested, let's give it a try." Seeing that the two were about to clash, the surrounding onlookers all showed excited expressions. They immediately backed away, clearing out a wide space for them. Some of them didn't know Chen Chuan, so they inquired with those nearby. However, most of the people who had come today were from the military in the Confluence and didn't know much about Chen Chuan's past. They only knew that he had defeated Iron Demon and was undoubtedly a formidable expert. "Can Old Ding win this time?" "Hard to say. You've all heard how difficult Iron Demon is to deal with, right? Even if this fellow beat him with help from his squad members, that's still no small feat." "So young, yet already a captain." Someone sighed with feeling. Though the tone carried a hint of envy, there was no jealousy. As frontline soldiers themselves, they knew very well that among fighters charging on the front lines, those with great strength might not necessarily hold high ranks, but those who held high ranks were never mediocre—incompetents would have been killed off by the enemy long ago. Even though Ding Mai was closer to them, they were all people who valued actual results; talking a thousand times wasn't as real as demonstrating one's power once. While they were talking, the teenage boy had also moved off to the side. He watched unblinkingly, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes. Just then, a taller young man walked forward and said, "Captain Chen, Enforcer Ding, I am Fang Zhixin, Teacher Chen's assistant and the temporary facility manager here. Since you two wish to compete, let me serve as the referee." He suggested, "However, both of you are key members of the defense forces. In my view, it would be best not to use weapons—it wouldn't be good if anyone got hurt. How about an unarmed spar?" Ding Mai tilted his neck to loosen up. "I'm fine with that." Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Works for me." The two went to the side to take off their shirts, then walked out into the center. Fang Zhixin looked at both of them and said, "Since you are both ready, let us begin." As he spoke, the low chatter around them vanished immediately, and everyone's eyes focused on the sparring area. Chen Chuan looked at Ding Mai. He could tell with certainty that the man had never trained mental power, but that didn't mean his combat ability was low; when fighters clashed, the outcome depended on all sorts of factors. Seeing that Chen Chuan stood still without moving, Ding Mai showed no reserve. Raising both arms to form a guard in front of his chest, he took a step forward, leaned slightly into the stance, and locked his gaze on Chen Chuan. A moment later, his entire body charged violently toward him. At the same time, the muscles of his upper body inflated suddenly like a pumped-up balloon, and the outer skin subtly shifted color, as if wrapped in a layer of silvery-gray iron sheet. As he drove his feet down and charged, the impacts against the floor produced a thunderous boom of astonishing momentum. As he ran, his eyes peered through the gap between his forearms, fixed steadily on Chen Chuan's figure. He had specialized his mutated tissue, concentrating all his advantages to the front. Once he gained momentum, he was virtually unstoppable; if Iron Demon were before him, he was confident he could knock him and his mount over together. Ordinarily, an opponent would choose to dodge at the very first moment. This had nothing to do with cowardice—when facing a ferocious assault without knowing the opponent's full details, anyone would instinctively evade to look for weak spots and openings to counterattack. Yet that was precisely what he hoped to see. The real killing move didn't lie in the initial charge. Because of the special nature of his force exertion, once he was in motion, if he changed direction mid-stride, his speed and power would abruptly double. At that point, dodging would be impossible, leaving the opponent no choice but to take the full brunt of his collision. Almost anyone facing this move for the first time would fall for it. When the onlookers saw Ding Mai charge, every one of them waited for what came next, eager to see how Chen Chuan would handle things after dodging and taking the impact. Yet when Chen Chuan saw Ding Mai's movements, he did the exact opposite of what everyone anticipated. Stepping one foot back and driving his center of gravity forward, he reached out with one hand and pressed it directly against the crossed forearms Ding Mai held in front! He had actually chosen to meet the attack head-on. At that instant, the jin of the two men inevitably collided, and Ding Mai's forward momentum abruptly ground to a halt. Sharp-eyed onlookers could see ripples of jin rising from Ding Mai's calves through the fluttering folds of his trousers, surging upward like expanding rings of waves before converging at the very front of the impact. Just by looking, one could sense the sheer power being unleashed. Yet Chen Chuan stopped it cold. What was more, he had countered with a single hand, and even the floorboards beneath his feet had only sunk slightly, seemingly bearing very little force. This was because his mutated tissue had dispersed the incoming force internally, transferring very little downward. Of course, that was not the most crucial part. The moment they made contact, the intersection of his spirit and field allowed him to clearly perceive the field information Ding Mai had previously kept hidden, thereby discerning the flow and direction of the man's power. Previously, even if he had perceived all this and managed to withstand the blow, he would inevitably have been pushed backward or driven his feet into the floor. But now, under the influence of his mental power, his mind and body were in exquisite harmony, enabling him to rationally distribute and adjust against every shred of the opponent's force. Furthermore, not only was he neutralizing the impact, he was simultaneously gathering power for a counterstrike. And the moment Ding Mai's power peaked, Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. The five fingers resting in front gripped tightly; his arm heaved upward, and he actually hoisted Ding Mai straight into the air! Riding that momentum, he spun around and slammed him violently into the floor! With a resounding boom, the training room floor rippled outward in a visible wave, and the spectators standing in the distance felt the ground lurch beneath their feet. Ding Mai did not seem to suffer severe damage from the throw. He flinched instinctively and scrambled to get back up, but at that moment, an incoming fist slammed into his forehead with a bang, knocking the back of his head hard against the floor with another heavy crack. The physical impact itself wasn't catastrophic, but the surge of jin carried by the punch penetrated straight into his brain. Darkness fell over his vision, followed by a sudden wave of weakness that robbed his limbs of all tension, leaving him staring blankly at the ceiling. Chen Chuan stood up and said, "Enforcer Ding, good match." The floor fell dead silent. The onlookers stared at the outcome in astonishment. They had anticipated that the spar might end quickly, but they had never expected it to end this fast—the victor had been decided in a single exchange. None of the scenarios they had envisioned had played out. Right then, a sharp crack rang out. Looking over in surprise, they saw that the noise came from one of the training dolls. It was the doll Chen Chuan had struck earlier. Snapping and splintering sounds began echoing from deep within its body, joint after joint fracturing until the entire construct shattered apart, collapsing to the floor in a noisy heap of debris. Chen Chuan's earlier strike had already fractured its internal structure and every single joint. The violent vibrations of the floor from the clash between the two men had finally caused it to fracture completely. While the others were baffled, the teenage boy stared in shock. Then he clenched his fists, looked up at Chen Chuan, his face filled with sheer admiration. Fang Zhixin came to his senses and announced on the spot, "Captain Chen is the victor." He hurried forward to help disperse the jin trapped inside Ding Mai, attempting to help him recover as quickly as possible. He had thought this would be a simple matter, having handled plenty of similar situations before. But upon trying, he discovered that Ding Mai lay completely motionless. His eyes could move and track the people around him, but he couldn't make a sound. Seeing this, several others stepped up to try, but nothing worked. Someone even produced medicine and used jin to help guide it down his throat, yet it still failed to get him back on his feet. Now everyone felt that something was amiss. Ding Mai was a third limit fighter. Forget taking a punch—even if his head had been struck with a warhammer, as long as it didn't burst open or turn to mush on the spot, he should have recovered rapidly. They couldn't make sense of what was happening before their eyes. Fang Zhixin knew he had to turn to the source. Approaching Chen Chuan, he said earnestly, "Captain Chen, please show mercy." Chen Chuan hadn't expected this either. He reflected for a moment: in his strike just now, there was not only jin, but also a surge of mental power channeled throughout. He had unleashed it purely on instinct without thinking much about it beforehand. Could that be the reason? He walked over as the crowd parted. Arriving before Ding Mai, he saw that the man could only stare at him, unable to move anything except his eyes. Reaching down, he placed a hand on Ding Mai's forehead to probe, and sure enough, that was indeed the cause. Because Ding Mai's mutated tissue had been disrupted by Chen Chuan's mental power, it was unable to receive signals from its host's consciousness—jammed, as it were. As a result, his body could not initiate self-repair, leaving him paralyzed. This had also happened because Ding Mai had momentarily blacked out when he was slammed to the ground. Under normal circumstances, when the mutated tissue and the host's consciousness were aligned, one wouldn't succumb so easily. It was largely a coincidence. Without offering an explanation, Chen Chuan dissolved that residual trace of mental power. With the interference gone, Ding Mai immediately returned to normal, and his body rapidly began repairing itself. Amid the questioning and faintly awestruck gazes directed at him, Chen Chuan stood up and said, "He's fine now."