As Zhao Yun’s kick swung in, Li Yan swiftly sidestepped, shifting himself about a foot to the side while launching a side kick!

Both used nearly identical moves; Zhao Yun struck first, but due to his taller stature and aim to kick Li Yan directly in the face, his kick had a higher arc. As Li Yan dodged, Zhao Yun’s foot had yet to arrive, allowing Li Yan to rapidly launch a side kick targeting Zhao Yun’s thigh!

With Zhao Yun’s leg airborne, the power had already transferred from his waist and leg to his calf and foot. In mid-air, his thigh couldn’t evade or muster resistance. Suddenly struck hard by Li Yan, while also losing balance from kicking into empty space, Zhao Yun hurriedly retracted his leg, hopping backward in a single-foot jump, though unable to regain stability.

Li Yan’s first kick was merely a block, now comes the second kick—this time, it’s a counterattack!

Just as the intense pain from his thigh reached Zhao Yun’s brain as he struggled for stability, an immense force hit his chest and abdomen next. He suddenly found not only hadn’t he regained footing, but also was flung backward!

A bout of pain surged from the spot on his chest and abdomen where he was kicked, followed quickly by the rear impact against the wall. These three consecutive pains—Zhao Yun, habitually trained and resilient—could physically withstand, yet mentally, it started breaking him down...

Indeed, someone like him with such advantageous physical attributes and rigorous training was always quite confident in his strength. If defeated by technique, he wouldn’t concede, only a direct defeat would make him acknowledge and accept defeat.

"At this point, it wouldn’t be hard to beat you to death, would it?"

Li Yan had stepped up, his foot on Zhao Yun’s head, coldly looking down at him.

Sitting on the ground against the wall, Zhao Yun looked up at Li Yan, sighed after a moment, and said, "I lost, you’re stronger..."

Given his height, weight, and capability advantages, whether fighting, during missions, or in team practice, he had always been the one sending opponents flying. For him to be kicked by someone smaller, what does that mean? It suggests Li Yan, before him, was indeed stronger, even in direct confrontation! Let alone agility or technique advantages.

"Keep your word and I won’t be polite the third time!" Li Yan remarked coldly.

Actually, kicking out this battle-hardened big guy wasn’t easy; Li Yan was tactical. His first kick took advantage of position and force angle for an efficient effect rather than true brute strength. The second kick sent Zhao Yun flying as Zhao Yun was retracting his leg, off balance, and retreating on one foot with the trail of the first kick’s force, so the second kick lifted him effortlessly.

Of course, while easily analyzed separately, actually performing it in combat is very difficult. Like a sports commentator analyzing with multi-angle, slow-motion precision, but when on field, not achieving athlete’s level. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Zhao Yun, not being a novice, could realize this in hindsight, but also had to admit achieving this displays real skill.

After Li Yan spoke, he removed his foot. Zhao Yun stood up by the wall, forced a smile, "I’ve nothing more to say; your skills surpass mine, we won’t be back."

In merely two rounds, without injuring the opponent whatsoever while getting his own head, eye corner, throat, chest, abdomen, back, thigh, crotch targeted in various spots, it was indeed disgraceful! More troubling was that besides the hard collision and the chest-abdomen impacts, other injuries weren’t slight, including the thigh hit.

This made Zhao Yun inwardly curse: why only target spots not normally trained?

...

Li Jie and Zhao Chengyao kept checking the time, seeing less than three minutes passed. They opened the door and rushed forward.

"Are you alright?" Li Jie asked quietly. Zhao Chengyao, seeing the surface, felt assured, but as a martial artist, she knew sometimes surface wounds aren’t the major issues—unseen internal injuries are troublesome.

Li Yan smiled and shook his head, "Manager Zhao, show them out please!"

Towards Li Yan, Zhao Chengyao, previously admiring him, now harbored a touch of reverence. Such a formidable hulk, the First Security Company’s top strongman, and Li Yan handled him! Previously mistaken him for relying on Li Jie certainly was a misjudgment.

With Li Jie’s relation, it was initially hard for him to act decisively; now knowing Li Yan’s strength further, Zhao Chengyao felt no resistance to his commands. Moreover, with the Zhao Yun issue resolved, he felt quite relieved.

"Captain Zhao, please!" Now no need for courteous ties, in future, they’d be competitors, no further regard for family name ties.

Li Yan knew Li Jie might still worry; he planned to go to the office with her. But he sensed two concerned gazes, looked up—surely, Huang Ying. This young girl focused on her work, not noticing, but someone had whispered about the giant entering with Li Yan, provoking concern seeing the injured giant exiting, darkly relieved. She, aware of Li Yan fighting the giant inside, naturally worried.

"I’ll come to your office shortly," Li Yan said, then headed to Huang Ying, softly saying, "Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine."