Since Li Yongjun proactively challenged the instructors at the club, a period of quiet had settled over the martial arts hall of the Pegasus Fitness Club.
All the members and instructors present were intrigued. Everyone knew this would likely be Li Yongjun’s final bout at Pegasus Fitness. After this fight, such an arrogant manager would never set foot through the main doors again.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
With every footfall, the hard tatami beneath Li Yongjun would sink deeply, as if stomped upon flattened snow, or perhaps like an unresponsive sponge. Each step left a deep imprint, giving the impression the tatami had been crushed down to the consistency of paper.
Qin Fen retreated a step, making more room for Li Yongjun. The tatami beneath his own feet also retained clear footprints.
However, those shallow marks could not compare to Li Yongjun’s deep indentations. The crowd gathered to watch shook their heads quietly in private, sighing. Judging solely by the footprints, the difference in strength was too vast. This fight would likely be completely one-sided, offering little spectacle.
No, still not right. Qin Fen backed away, observing the marks on the mat. Even if he couldn't completely neutralize four thousand jin of force, he shouldn't leave such deep impressions. This only proved that his control over his power had not yet reached its apex.
A pleased smile played on Li Yongjun’s face. What master? He was merely posturing as one. A man who cannot even flatten this tatami—his practical knee strikes, one could guess, would be limited.
Manager Hua silently retreated into the crowd. A man who moves swiftly while wearing clothing weighted with four thousand jin, and who leaves only such faint marks on this mat, coupled with his endurance in the gravity room—fighting for a full hour under eight thousand jin without fatigue—such a monster certainly wouldn't be weak in a real fight.
“Since Mr. Qin wishes for it,” Manager Hua said, crossing his arms, watching the impending duel with a mindset completely different from the others around him.
If things truly go wrong, he could always take off the four-thousand-jin suit to fight. Manager Hua watched the impending duel with a settled heart.
“Both parties, prepare.”
At some unknown moment, a low table had appeared in the room, upon which sat a small, golden bell. This was clearly the signal for the match to begin.
Qin Fen was slightly startled. This Pegasus Fitness Club was truly thoughtful, having considered even such minor details.
Li Yongjun glanced again at the footprints Qin Fen had left. A flicker of disdain crossed his face, instantly replaced by extreme caution. He slowly spread his feet into a New Taekwondo stance. Unleashing his Ninth Star strength made the surrounding crowd gasp again. This man was only twenty-one, yet he had already reached the Ninth Star. How vast his future path must be; what realms might his even stronger senior disciples have attained?
Indeed, Ninth Star. Qin Fen allowed a small, satisfied smile to touch his lips. He hadn't misjudged the baseline of this man’s strength just now.
“Eh?”
“Oh.” “Heavens~”
A series of surprised exclamations erupted from the spectators. Almost no one had expected that this young man in his Lieutenant Colonel uniform possessed the same Ninth Star strength.
Ninth Star versus Ninth Star.
Those who had initially held little expectation for the duel were instantly filled with renewed curiosity, speculating that Qin Fen’s earlier measured steps had been a deliberate act of feigned weakness.
Li Yongjun’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. How old was this man? Ninth Star strength already? No wonder he dared to scrutinize others with that gaze earlier; he had the capital. However, being so young and yet looking down on others—that was perhaps too arrogant.
“Please, both parties prepare.”
The hastily formed referee stand called out again. They were clearly urging Qin Fen to quickly assume a proper stance, rather than standing rigidly upright like a signpost.
Qin ফেন slightly lowered his waist, spreading his legs into a wide Horse Stance. The moment his stance opened, Li Yongjun's two ink-like eyebrows converged—the starting posture of Luohan Fist?
The assembled crowd collectively let out a curious cry. What was this young Lieutenant Colonel playing at?
Li Yongjun’s eyes held a shade of disbelief, his pupils contracting instantly to needlepoints. This man’s appearance and movements were strikingly similar to the new recruit Park Jong-hwan had described.
“You are Qin Fen?”
Qin Fen nodded. Since this man was Park Jong-hwan’s senior brother, calling out his name at this juncture wasn’t entirely surprising.
“This fast?” Li Yongjun’s eye corners and the corners of his lips twitched simultaneously. According to the information Park Jong-hwan provided recently, the champion Qin Fen was only an Eighth Star martial artist. Now, he was Ninth Star?
Qin Fen’s eyebrows jumped upward a few times, his head tilting slightly to the side, displaying a helpless smile. “It seems it’s a little fast.”
A little? Li Yongjun managed a forced, humorless smile. This speed was no different from riding a rocket. And he called it a little?
After a bitter smile, happiness returned to Li Yongjun’s face. His junior brother Park Jong-hwan’s defeat was a disgrace to Taekwondo. He had initially felt that Qin Fen, who defeated Park Jong-hwan, was too weak, making his challenge feel like bullying. Now that both were Ninth Star, the match was considered fair, at least on the surface. Both were Ninth Star.
Li Yongjun lightly stretched his shoulders. How could a Lieutenant Colonel who had just reached the Ninth Star compare to a veteran Ninth Star master who had been at this level for over half a year?
Ding.
The match bell sounded. Li Yongjun’s legs acted like springs; the tatami beneath his feet instantly ceased being thin paper. The sheer force of his stomping caused grass burrs at the edge of the mat to fly out, creating two shapes resembling hen's nests out of thin air.
New Taekwondo carried the advantages of the oldest forms of Taekwondo—namely, extreme speed. With his full Ninth Star power unleashed, many lower-ranked members couldn't even perceive how he moved; the man had already appeared above Qin Fen.
His body shot up into the air, diving down like a descending eagle. His right fist, hidden beneath his armpit, slowly extended, tracing a path that looked like slow motion to the eyes of the observing martial artists and instructors.
In that instant, the hearts of many martial artists lurched. This was the [Heavenly Fist] from New Taekwondo. My God, Li Yongjun had actually mastered the [Heavenly Fist]!
Qin Fen’s eyes brightened as he watched the fist enveloped by compressed air. The Heavenly Fist, within New Taekwondo, was reputed to contain the boundless philosophical mystery of the heavens. The slowness of the force generation during the punch, and the agility of its execution, were integrated into the vastness of the Heavenly Fist.
The speed of the Heavenly Fist wasn't truly slow; at least the lower-level martial artists couldn't track the trajectory of the punch. It was only because Li Yongjun's strike was so stable—an extreme degree of stability—that it created a visual distortion.
Qin Fen stepped forward with his left foot. As his right foot landed, his left foot snapped into alignment. His right arm drove vertically upward from beneath his left arm, a straight punch. The sound of his sleeve was no longer a mere flapping; it carried a slight whistle. Any veteran soldier would recognize it as the sharp shriek of a shell slicing through the sky.
Cannon Fist. After practicing the essence of Cannon Fist for so long, Qin Fen finally unleashed its true core—a punch hurled forth like a projectile.
Fist met fist. There was no grinding of bone or joint; instead, the compressed air pressure surrounding both strikes squeezed inward, exploding with a sound like a soccer ball being suddenly crushed.
The moment the fists collided, Qin Fen’s wrist gave an additional sharp twitch. The high-speed vibration of the Prajna technique acted as if the fired cannonball had detonated completely.
Li Yongjun’s Heavenly Fist wavered under the shockwave. In the flash of an instant, the true energy radiating outward struck an invisible, massive cosmic battleship and instantly dissipated. The force immediately felt like being pricked by ten thousand steel needles, followed by a tidal wave of power that broke through the surface of the fist, traveling up the wrist, through the elbow, and seizing the shoulder.
In just a fraction of a second, Li Yongjun let out a strange cry and spat out a spray of bright red blood. His body, which hadn't yet landed, was sent soaring even higher, completing one thousand and eighty backward somersaults in mid-air before slamming heavily onto the tatami over ten meters away. The tatami beneath him instantly became a massive, pitted nest. His slide carried him another dozen meters, carving a distinct channel through the matting.
It was only then that several sharp “crack” sounds echoed from Li Yongjun’s right arm. Anyone familiar with physical conflict knew that sound indicated broken bones.
Almost every instructor was stunned. A duel between two Ninth Star martial artists, decided by a single punch? And one combatant suffered such a devastating defeat?
This young man—as the crowd’s focus shifted to Qin Fen, their minds went blank. They stared stupidly at the tatami beneath Qin Fen’s feet.
The tatami under this man’s feet had not turned into a sheet of paper. At best, its thickness had been compressed by half.
After such a violent exchange, the mat hadn’t completely collapsed? The instructors exchanged bewildered glances. Achieving this result was hundreds of times more difficult than crushing the tatami to paper. To be able to manage the condition of the ground beneath his feet while fighting an opponent of the same star level? The instructors shook their heads in unison. They knew this was something they could absolutely not achieve themselves.
Li Yongjun’s vicious eyes held unconcealed shock. Did this kid really only possess Eighth Star strength a few days ago? Then how could he have such terrifying control? And how could his true energy vibration frequency be so high?
Li Yongjun tried to lift his legs to stand, only to find them paralyzed, completely unresponsive. He could only lie there helplessly, waiting for the numbness to subside.
“So strong at such a young age?” Li Yongjun’s brow twitched slightly. “He cannot be left alive. He absolutely cannot be left alive. If he continues to develop, in the future…”
Seeing the cold intent and resentment in Li Yongjun’s eyes, Qin Fen secretly regretted holding back his strike. He should have followed up, chased him down, and beaten him until he was permanently crippled or dead. This man’s expression and attitude had already shown that reconciliation was impossible; therefore, leaving behind a potential threat for the future was unwise.
Having experienced matters involving someone like Liang Tao once, how could he make the same mistake twice? A cold shadow passed over Qin Fen’s features as he rapidly calculated how to find an excuse to kill the man on the spot. After all, the terms of this fight were made explicitly clear: fight as he wished.
Ps: Trouble has arrived. Haha. Friends who broke into the top ten before told me that once you enter the overall top ten, the comment section starts buzzing. Negative remarks, which are rare to see in a hundred years, start appearing like a rising tide. I couldn't understand it before, but now I do. Calm down. I am only focused on finishing the sprint for 2009 strong. Why am I bothering any of you? I like what Lei Feng said: Be as warm as spring to friends, and as cold as winter to enemies. So, for every troublemaker, I will delete and mute that many. When it comes to killing, I will show no mercy. Finally, the same phrase: I hope for a perfect closing battle for 2009. My friends who like my work, please help me out. And those intentionally stirring up trouble, shut up. Accumulate some virtue for your relatives; be careful you don't end up having children without an anus.