“You are most familiar with the Dragon Concealment technique, correct?” The man smiled, adopting the same starting stance of the Shaolin Arhat Fist: “Then, I shall attack you with the technique you know best, and see if you can evade it?”

Crack!

The man’s leg struck like lightning; a figure was already before Qin Fen, the speed breathtaking!

Four-star! The man completely disregarded Qin Fen’s three-star status, launching a Fierce Tiger Strike directly at the center of the chest, aiming for the heart.

The timing was impeccable; Qin Fen had no room for protest. He elevated his Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill to its peak, shifted his weight back half a step, flipped his wrist to strike down toward the man’s head, twisting his waist violently while simultaneously dodging sideways.

The Leg Press Palm combined with Dragon Concealment was executed together—a chain move Qin Fen had previously devised during aerial combat, now deployed for the very first time in a genuine fight.

A flicker of surprise, uncalculated, crossed the man’s eyes. The momentum of the Fierce Tiger Strike suddenly surged, the fist trajectory unchanged, yet it forcefully broke through the Leg Press Palm to drive forward at extreme velocity. Qin Fen used the force of that shock to accelerate his evasion.

Both fighters were fighting for speed, and Qin Fen’s three-star speed was clearly a fraction slower than the man’s four-star. Had it not been for his prior insights from aerial combat studies, he would have already been defeated.

The initial strike missed. The man’s eyes showed a trace of admiration. Qin Fen himself felt astonished. His martial intuition had grown stronger recently; in a situation where a three-star should definitively lose to a four-star, the very first exchange had only resulted in him being at a disadvantage, not outright defeat?

Again came the identical Fierce Tiger Strike, only this time faster and imbued with even more crushing power.

Qin Fen’s eyes immediately lit up. He stepped forward half a step, sinking into a Horse Stance, channeling power from his heels up through his waist. He united this with the force from his waist, driven by the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, and surged it to his shoulders, then violently whipped out his entire arm: The Straight Step Single Whip!

Fierce Tiger versus Steel Whip. The moment their arms collided, the resulting sound was the loudest Qin Fen had experienced in this intense battle. The Dragon-Elephant Prajna energy concentrated on his arm instantly shattered. He was driven back a dozen steps before stabilizing his posture, yet a sliver of satisfaction lingered on his lips.

A strike from a peak four-star opponent had merely shattered the protective aura on his arm, failing to inject true energy into his body. For a warrior at the three-star level, this was already an incredible feat.

The man’s eyes shone with approval. Even if this punch had been evaded, the momentum and initiative would have been completely lost. Qin Fen’s Dragon Concealment, while evasive, was always used to exploit openings in the opponent’s attack. If no opening could be created, the style was useless; perhaps a direct, hard-on confrontation might yield unexpected results.

“I am surprised,” the man said, ceasing his offense. “You concentrated all your power into your arm, forming a state approximating four-star strength. This has a high chance of success when ambushing an unwary four-star opponent.”

Qin Fen offered a wry smile, acknowledging that he owed this development entirely to Squad Leader Hao, whose cheating tactics on the deck that night had left him stewing for an entire night.

In recent days, besides diligently improving his raw strength, Qin Fen had focused heavily on studying how to compress power into a single point for sudden detonation. This theory, often discussed on major martial arts forums, had never been successfully realized in any existing art besides the new Vajra Compression Yuan Technique.

Qin Fen had long toyed with similar compression research, initially just to lift heavier stone slabs, but the method had never worked. It wasn't until that defeat by Squad Leader Hao that he revisited the research and suddenly realized it wasn't as difficult as he had previously assumed.

Qin Fen was astonished to find that Professor Guangren's Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill contained similar profound essence, something he had simply failed to recognize or grasp until then. Once discovered, Qin Fen spent several days experimenting repeatedly. Though he hadn't fully mastered this compressed technique yet, he had gained significant insight. His original plan was to wait until he mastered it before challenging Squad Leader Hao again, hoping to stun him into submission.

The continuous victories on the Sky Martial Arts Combat Network had not extinguished Qin Fen’s thirst for winning; rather, it had intensified his desire for triumph. Even when facing the stronger Squad Leader Hao, he only felt more motivated to find a way to win.

“Do you know why I attacked you with power a whole rank above yours?” the man asked calmly.

Qin Fen pondered for a moment: “Are you trying to tell me that real opponents won’t fight me fairly?”

The man smiled with satisfaction again: “You are clever, but not entirely correct.”

A slight look of confusion crossed Qin Fen’s face. The man continued, “I am trying to tell you that in the face of absolute power, subtle techniques are not entirely effective.”

“Everyone knows that,” Qin Fen retorted without yielding an inch. “But what exactly constitutes true absolute power? Absolute power is always relative. When facing absolute power, isn’t the best solution the most exquisite combat technique?”

The man was momentarily surprised, then laughed heartily: “Excellent, truly excellent! I intended to lure you into a trap first before explaining, but I didn't expect you to grasp it all beforehand. It seems the integration of the Limit Codex increased your martial sense, unexpectedly stimulating the potential of some of your martial intuition. Your development is faster than predicted.”

“Limit Codex? Integration?” Qin Fen’s mind was filled with questions. “Are you referring to… that liquid metal? What is the Limit Codex? And what is this place?”

The man’s smile held a profound air. “It is best that your current strength level doesn't know about the Limit Codex and the integration. As for this place? This is a world of Super Martial Arts jointly created by the seven most powerful Black Hole level masters of Atlantis, along with one Heaven-Shattering level master.”

Black Hole level? Heaven-Shattering level? Atlantis? The lost civilization? Qin Fen’s eyes were clouded with confusion. What were these ranks? Black holes could devour entire galaxies—did this mean experts stronger than Galaxy-level?

Ignoring Qin Fen’s bewilderment, the man continued: “Time is limited tonight; I only came out to tell you this. Although you found the seawater training method, your current strength is not suitable for continuing to practice within it. Being able to return your true energy to your Dan Tian this time was a one-in-ten-million chance; next time, you will certainly die.”

Qin Fen desperately wanted to disbelieve him, yet he felt an unshakable certainty that the man was not lying. Finally, he nodded.

ps: Gao Lou has to lecture again early in the morning. Those on the weekly recommendation list are too fierce; there's no way to rally any votes against those powerful contenders. Without campaigning for votes, Gao Lou will be pushed down. For survival, to get noticed, Gao Lou has no choice but to beg for votes like Tang Monk again this early morning. Esteemed benefactor, do you have a vote? Please grant it to this old monk.