Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 13: The Technique of Life and Death Can Be Used

Chen Chuan looked at his opponent. Since this was not the usual training session, to avoid getting hurt and to win the fight, he decided to use the power of "Second Self'.

Due to his progress over the past few days, the overlapping time had increased again, now roughly around fifty-five seconds.

This time is not fixed, as if he suffers a blow and uses Second Self to transfer the damage and pain, then the overlapping time would be reduced.

Therefore, he needed to end the fight as quickly as possible.

The longer it dragged on, the lower the chance of winning.

At this moment, he had already formulated a tactic in his mind.

Ding Shuo stared at Chen Chuan for a while. He could sense from his aura that Chen Chuan was also someone who had mastered the breathing technique, and he excitedly clenched his fists.

Finally, an opponent who was somewhat interesting had come, and he could also show off in front of Mr. Qi.

After both sides saluted with fists, he was still the aggressive one, stepping forward and thrusting a punch towards Chen Chuan's face.

Chen Chuan didn't dodge at all, instead, he met it head-on with a high whip kick!

During the entrance exam, he had knocked down Shan Xiong with this move, so he had paid special attention to practicing this technique. When this kick was unleashed, "Second Self' instantly overlapped with him, and with a whoosh, the grass stems beneath his feet floated up.

This kick was incredibly fast, arriving before Ding Shuo's punch. Ding Shuo's pupils contracted. Fortunately, he remembered to protect his head while attacking, and the muscles in his arm contracted in time. With a slap sound, the powerful force of the kick made him stagger a few steps to the side, and he couldn't help but shake his hand.

Chen Chuan, having landed a kick, didn't let this opportunity go and immediately pressed forward. Ding Shuo was not one to prefer defense, and he was not willing to back down, wanting to engage in a counterattack. But then Chen Chuan launched another kick, bringing up a strong gust of wind, forcing Ding Shuo's movements to halt again. In a hasty defense, the whole person was kicked to the side, looking somewhat disheveled.

The spectators suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Wasn't this just a reenactment of Ding Shuo's fight with Lu Ke earlier? Only this time, the roles were reversed.

Mr. Qi showed a surprised expression, turning his head to speak to the middle-aged strong man behind him: "This young man is quite impressive."

The middle-aged strong man said: "Although his footwork and power generation look decent, they are still a bit raw, and the muscle coordination is not yet formed. He must not have been learning for long. But he has great strength, fast speed, and not weak reactions, and he knows the basic breathing technique. He's naturally talented. As long as this young man's stamina holds up, it will be hard for Ding Shuo to win."Mr. Qi smiled: "So, he's a talented young man." His tone seemed not at all worried that Ding Shuo might lose this fight.

Ding Shuo disliked being on the defensive and tried several times to counterattack, but without success. Once, he even carelessly left an opening and was kicked in the side by Chen Chuan, the pain making him grimace. Realizing he couldn't win in a direct confrontation, he decided to maintain his defense, waiting for Chen Chuan to make a mistake or tire out before counterattacking.

Chen Chuan, seeing Ding Shuo's attention almost entirely focused on defending against his kicks, felt the time was right. He slightly raised his knee, appearing to prepare for another kick. Ding Shuo instinctively raised his hand, but then Chen Chuan suddenly lowered his stance, reaching forward with both hands, preparing for a takedown.

Ding Shuo was startled, realizing the danger. Chen Chuan's previous series of kicks must have been to condition him into expecting another, with the real intention being to win with a takedown. He was too late to lower his center of gravity, but then he noticed with surprise that Chen Chuan seemed to have a slight delay in transitioning his movements, causing a rhythm hiccup.

An opportunity!

Sometimes the body reacts faster than the mind, so instead of choosing to retreat and lower his center of gravity, he directly kneed towards Chen Chuan's head.

Chen Chuan, however, charged forward, meeting the knee with his forehead. The knee strike was powerful, and for anyone else, the fight would have been over. But with the damage transfer of Second Self, his body didn't even stagger, and with his prepared backhand, he delivered a solid punch to Ding Shuo's face!

Ding Shuo grunted, his vision darkening and his nose stinging. If not for his well-developed neck muscles and the resistance provided by his breathing technique, that punch might have knocked him out.

After hitting his opponent, Chen Chuan didn't stop. He pushed off with his feet, his hands moving to grab Ding Shuo's neck, while simultaneously raising his knee, clearly aiming for a neck hold and knee strike.

Ding Shuo, now with blurred vision, couldn't see clearly, but he sensed the danger approaching through experience. His hair stood on end, and with a sharp exhale from his chest, he forcefully spread his arms outward, as if a burst of air exploded at that moment!

Before Chen Chuan's hands could close, he felt a powerful force forcibly pushing them apart!Yu Gang saw this scene and thought to himself, "Hmm, "Clothes Shedding Force'..."

After Chen Chuan's hands were forced apart, he lost his forward fulcrum, and his knee strike also lost its power, causing his movement to pause momentarily.

After Ding Shuo executed that move, he seemed unable to immediately launch another attack. He seemed to fear Chen Chuan pressing forward, so he quickly retreated, increasing the distance between him and Chen Chuan.

He took a few deep breaths and then couldn't help but glance at Chen Chuan standing not far away. He was somewhat surprised and suspicious that Chen Chuan was completely unharmed after taking a punch. Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his nose, touched it, and found blood flowing down. He was instantly filled with anger.

Actually, more than the pain, he was more ashamed and annoyed at losing face in front of Mr. Qi.

Chen Chuan also looked at Ding Shuo. He hadn't expected the other to have such a strange way of exerting force. Especially considering, he had put all his strength into that punch, which would have definitely knocked down Lu Ke, but this guy, aside from a bit of color on his face, seemed unaffected, still lively and active. Even the nosebleed stopped after a while, his recovery and resistance to blows were excessively good.

He pondered, thinking about how to proceed next.

Although Second Self mostly overlapped only when he was making moves, it had used up about fifteen seconds, and the damage he took from that strike had reduced the overlapping time by another five or six seconds, which took away about a third of the available time.

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But this guy was so tough, he doubted if he could make the other lose fighting ability even if he successfully hit him a few more times.

Fortunately, this wasn't a fighting arena, nor a life-and-death match. To win, he didn't necessarily have to knock down the opponent. Now, there might be a condition he could exploit...

He quickly figured out a strategy and took a deep breath.

Ding Shuo immediately became alert. When someone who has mastered the breathing technique changes their breathing and still has plenty of stamina, it's very likely the prelude to an outburst.

Chen Chuan stepped forward and suddenly charged, this time at an extremely fast speed. It seemed like he was far away, but in an instant, he was close, and his punches and kicks came like a storm.

Ding Shuo hurriedly dodged and parried, feeling as if the opponent's punches and kicks were like raindrops falling on him, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

Moreover, if one paid close attention, they could see that the areas of skin that turned red from the blows faded away after just one or two breaths.Mr. Qi watched intently. Even though he was not skilled in combat, he could tell that the turning point of the match would likely come after Chen Chuan's offensive.

After continuously attacking for more than ten seconds, Chen Chuan threw a punch straight down the middle. This time, the force didn't seem great, but upon retracting his hand, he managed to grab Ding Shuo's wrist and pull him forward, causing the latter's body to shift.

Those in the know would recognize this as the "Hook and Catch Hand' from Da San Shou[-], specifically designed to disrupt the opponent's balance and pull them off balance.

Ding Shuo's body was pulled, and he quickly tried to use force to shake off the grip. However, all the punches and kicks Chen Chuan had thrown earlier were just a setup, preparing for this very opportunity. As he pulled, Chen Chuan stepped in and extended his hand, executing a move called Coiling Palm, striking the base of Ding Shuo's chin with the heel of his palm. Ding Shuo reacted quickly, pressing down on Chen Chuan's elbow with his fingers just before the strike landed, preventing Chen Chuan from fully exerting his strength. Nonetheless, the residual force of the strike caused Ding Shuo's head to jerk upward.

At this moment, Chen Chuan suddenly stepped back, withdrawing his hand with his fingers closing, lightly brushing past Ding Shuo's throat. He then voluntarily retreated to a farther distance, lowered his guard, and looked towards Mr. Qi and the others.

Seeing his actions, Ding Shuo was somewhat stunned and said with dissatisfaction, "What do you mean? It's not over yet!"

The middle-aged strong man whispered something into Mr. Qi's ear, who nodded slightly. Then, looking at Yu Gang, he said, "Teacher Yu, we have lost."

Ding Shuo was dumbfounded. He looked at the middle-aged strong man, suppressing the anger in his heart, and raised his voice, "It's not over? How have we lost?"

The middle-aged strong man said in a calm tone, "That last move by the young man was the "Tear Curtain Hand' from the Zheng San Shou[-]. If he had exerted force at that moment, your throat would have been torn apart. So, he has won."

Ding Shuo angrily said, "Nonsense! I had his elbow locked, how could he have exerted any force?"

The middle-aged strong man said, "I am certain he could have."

Still unconvinced, Ding Shuo stared at Chen Chuan and said, "I don't believe it, unless he shows me!"

The middle-aged strong man said expressionlessly, "If this were a life-and-death battle, your life would already be over. So, you don't get a second chance to verify."Ding Shuo cursed in his heart, thinking that if it were a life-and-death battle, he wouldn't fight like this either.

Hearing this, Chen Chuan felt slightly relieved, knowing that he had won the bet.

Given Ding Shuo's resistance to strikes, it would be difficult to win by brute force. But since both sides had agreed beforehand to stop at the point of contact, there was room for maneuver.

What counts as stopping at the point? It's when a lethal technique touches a vital area but is retracted in time.

According to this rule, regardless of whether he truly mastered the technique to kill the opponent, as long as he touched these parts under reasonable premises, it could be considered as "stopping at the point'.

However, it also depended on whether Mr. Qi and the others took it seriously or were just paying lip service. If they shamelessly refused to acknowledge it, there was nothing he could do. In any case, it was worth a try.

Fortunately, it seemed that these people still had some sense of honor.

Yu Gang pondered for a moment, then walked forward under everyone's gaze until he stood opposite Mr. Qi. He clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Qi, give me half a year. After I've taken care of some matters, if you still welcome me, I will come to your esteemed gang."

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