Forty-Four: Bajiquan

Watching Feng Tianbao nodding beside him, Chen Fengyun was inwardly delighted. He glanced at his Cultivation System panel and found that his attribute points had risen to nine, indicating that the Water Moon Guanyin statue just now had provided him with five attribute points.

Although the antique market abounded with old items, those imbued with special energy were extremely rare—perhaps not even one in several hundreds or thousands. Since Chen Fengyun’s return from Yunnan, he had spent four or five days immersed in the antique market, yet had only found three items with special energy, gaining a total of ten attribute points.

Nevertheless, in this era of declining spiritual practice, he was still thrilled to continually discover items with special energy and convert them into attribute points to further his cultivation. Otherwise, how could he have raised his cultivation to the seventh stage of Mortal Grade in just half a year?

Moreover, were it not for the limitations imposed by his cultivation technique, he might already have reached the ninth or even tenth stage of Mortal Grade—an unprecedented speed, likely never seen before or after.

Soon, after about half an hour, Chen Fengyun had examined all the dozens of items in Feng Tianbao’s collection, yet only the Water Moon Guanyin contained special energy. The rest were merely ordinary antiques.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, any one of these antiques would fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions, but to Chen Fengyun, they were of no use whatsoever.

“Thank you, Uncle Feng, for letting me study your private collection. Please rest assured, I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” Chen Fengyun said as he finished viewing all the treasures and headed for the door.

Feng Tianbao understood his implication—this young man must have guessed something, realizing that not all these treasures had been acquired through purchase, for the value of this roomful of antiques alone was at least thirty or fifty million.

“Don’t mention it,” Feng Tianbao replied with a hearty laugh, closing the door behind them as he followed. But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly called out, “Little brother, forgive me!”

As he spoke, Feng Tianbao moved like a shadow, lunging at Chen Fengyun and throwing a punch at his back. The force of his fist was fierce, so much so that the air itself seemed to groan under pressure. Clearly, Feng Tianbao was a master of ancient martial arts, having attained inner strength, which made his punches so powerful.

“Well struck!”

Yet Chen Fengyun seemed to have anticipated the attack. Unperturbed, he sidestepped, turning half his body, and struck back with his palm.

With a resounding thud, their fist and palm clashed—not directly, but the violent recoil forced both men back several steps, each regarding the other with surprise.

Chen Fengyun felt a domineering force from his opponent’s fist invade his meridians, attempting to surge upward, but he swiftly dissolved it with his spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, Feng Tianbao was inwardly shaken, for when Chen Fengyun used the Eight Trigrams Palm, he hadn’t employed spiritual energy but had instead infused his palm with the power of the Golden Bell Shield. The sudden brute force nearly damaged his meridians, but his inner strength managed to neutralize it.

“So he really might be a Qi Refiner,” Feng Tianbao thought, having sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy when Chen Fengyun activated the Golden Bell Shield.

But Feng Tianbao did not pause. Immediately after retreating, he charged forward again, executing the Eight Extremities Fist he had practiced for over thirty years. His movements alternated between motion and stillness, supple and free, reminiscent of an old ape leaping or a spirit serpent coiling around a tree. The wind from his fists whistled, carrying tremendous pressure.

“This man’s strength far surpasses Yang Wanshi’s. All the better—I can secretly learn his techniques,” thought Chen Fengyun. His spiritual sense enveloped his opponent as he responded with the Eight Trigrams Steps and Palm, all the while memorizing Feng Tianbao’s moves and simulating them in his mind.

Perhaps because his mental power had transformed into spiritual sense, Chen Fengyun found he could multitask: fiercely exchanging blows with Feng Tianbao, recording his techniques, and even deducing and learning them simultaneously.

Within the small courtyard of barely a dozen square meters, the two traded blows in an intense battle. Fists and palms howled through the air, yet no damage was done to the surrounding buildings, for both men held their strength in check and did not fight with full force.

Moreover, Chen Fengyun sensed no killing intent from Feng Tianbao—only that he seemed to be testing him. Still, his strength was formidable, and every move carried great power; if Chen Fengyun was careless, he could easily be injured.

“Old Fourth wasn’t lying after all. This kid learned the Eight Trigrams Palm and Steps from Old Fourth, and already he’s mastered them, thoroughly grasping their essence.

“But can you learn my Eight Extremities Fist? I’d like to see if you’re truly such a genius. If you can pick up my technique in combat, then it’s your good fortune.”

As he watched Chen Fengyun display the Eight Trigrams Palm and Steps, Feng Tianbao was deeply astonished. Though Yang Wanshi had spoken of it before, witnessing it firsthand was another matter entirely.

For Chen Fengyun, relying on the Eight Trigrams techniques and his unusual strength, was able to contend with him using the Eight Extremities Fist. It should be known that, while not the strongest in China’s ancient martial arts world, Feng Tianbao certainly ranked among the top five.

Without a word, Feng Tianbao devoted himself fully to the Eight Extremities Fist, repeating its forms from beginning to end two or three times, eager to see if Chen Fengyun could master them.

“I wonder what fist technique Feng Tianbao is using—it’s truly exquisite, far superior to Yang Wanshi’s Eight Trigrams Palm and Steps. But no matter how advanced, I’ll learn it all the same.”

Indeed, the Eight Extremities Fist was both subtle and profound, and Feng Tianbao had reached a high level of mastery. Yet with his spiritual sense, Chen Fengyun had learned it within seven or eight minutes.

Suddenly, without changing his footwork, Chen Fengyun continued executing the Eight Trigrams Steps, but transformed his palm into a fist and began performing the very Eight Extremities Fist he had just witnessed, astonishing Feng Tianbao.

“A martial prodigy indeed! He can actually learn another’s technique in the midst of combat—utterly incredible. Or is it that Qi Refiners are truly different from ordinary people?

“After Thirteenth Uncle became a Qi Refiner, he too learned any ancient martial art quickly, though not as exaggerated as Chen Fengyun. He was still considered a genius.

“But does this mean Chen Fengyun’s talent as a Qi Refiner exceeds even Thirteenth Uncle’s? Otherwise, how could he master ancient martial arts so swiftly?” These thoughts swirled through Feng Tianbao’s mind.