Chapter 73: Defeating Xu Fengbin

Lin Jian knew very well that Xu Fengbin was strong. His Inner Strength was profound, and his True Qi was pure and dense. Therefore, to defeat him, Lin Jian had to strike at his roots. And his root was his Qi.

If he didn’t sever the man’s Qi, Xu Fengbin would remain a difficult opponent to handle as long as he had a breath left in him, making it impossible to take him down. Furthermore, Lin Jian absolutely could not allow the opponent’s Qi to strike his own body, as its destructive power was immense. Because of this, he had been constantly looking for an opening.

In truth, if this were a life-and-death struggle, even ten Xu Fengbins wouldn’t be enough for him to kill. Under the shroud of his Thought, he could truly kill an enemy in a single move, achieving a one-strike kill! However, this was only a sparring match, not a fight to the death. He had to defeat his opponent using orthodox methods.

Naturally, while tangling with Xu Fengbin, he had already figured out a way to win: seal or disrupt his opponent’s Qi. Indeed, during their exchange, he had been observing the trajectory and fluctuations of Xu Fengbin’s True Qi. He discovered that Xu Fengbin’s True Qi was divided into two streams, front and back. Starting from three inches below the navel, one stream of Qi traveled upward to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head. The other stream of Qi flowed downward, passing through the Huiyin acupoint, moving upward along his lower back in reverse, and ultimately converging at the Baihui acupoint at the crown as well!

In ancient times, there was a saying called "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top," meaning that such a person was a martial arts prodigy. And Xu Fengbin was able to bring these two streams of True Qi together at the center of his crown, forming a massive circulation! This was perhaps his path of cultivation—the path of Qi Refining!

But what if these two paths were severed? If his two streams of Qi were cars and the two paths were highways, blocking these roads to prevent the cars from passing would completely shut him down. This was Lin Jian’s solution. No one else, probably not even Xu Fengbin himself, could actually see those two Qi pathways. Yet, Lin Jian could see them clear as day.

He also knew that these were two meridians: the front was the Ren Meridian, and the back was the Du Meridian. As a Martial Arts Student, he obviously knew about the Ren and Du Meridians. Therefore, blocking these two meridians would mean a guaranteed victory!

WHOOSH!

At this moment, Xu Fengbin fought with wide, sweeping movements. His dense True Qi surged like two rushing rivers, circulating along the Ren and Du Meridians before channeling into his palms to strike at Lin Jian! This palm strike seemed ordinary, but it actually contained fierce Gang Qi!

Meeting the attack, Lin Jian threw a punch directly against the palm! In truth, he wanted to test how much Power he actually possessed and how it measured up against his opponent’s dense True Qi!

BOOM!

His Power erupted in full force, even causing the Dao Tree in his mind to tremble. Fist and palm clashed.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Lin Jian was forced back five steps! Xu Fengbin, on the other hand, only took half a step back!

Indeed, he only yielded half a step because failing to do so would have compromised his center of gravity. Naturally, while it looked like he had won this clash, he was actually shocked to the core! How could someone’s physical punching force clash head-on with his Gang Qi palm strike? Just how much Power did this kid have?

At the same time, Lin Jian was secretly annoyed. "It seems there’s still a gap in Power between us!" he thought. However, it was merely a five-step difference. It wasn’t too massive, as the opponent’s True Qi Palm hadn’t snapped his arm. This proved that his punching force was also incredibly strong!

"Haha, again!" Lin Jian laughed heartily and suddenly took a step toward Xu Fengbin.

With this single step, he instantly crossed the five-step distance between them. When Xu Fengbin launched another palm strike, Lin Jian dodged sideways, blocking the man’s forearm with his elbow while violently slapping his other hand against the opponent’s lower back! This entire sequence of movements was incredibly fast—so fast that Xu Fengbin couldn’t defend against it at all!

Xu Fengbin was astonished. How had Lin Jian suddenly become so fast? Why was he this quick? But he had no time to analyze the reason behind Lin Jian’s sudden burst of speed. Lin Jian’s slap had landed squarely on the Du Meridian of his Qi Flow, exactly as a current of Qi was passing through that specific area!

It was as if the opponent could actually see the Qi flowing there. The forceful slap instantly shattered his True Qi! Once dispersed, the aura throughout his entire body became erratic. True Qi was essentially a connected system; when one part malfunctioned, the entire system would be affected!

Xu Fengbin felt as if he couldn’t catch his breath, his face flushing red from the suffocation! Before he could recover, Lin Jian suddenly feinted a squat. As Xu Fengbin tried to brace himself, Lin Jian unleashed a flurry of rapid punches!

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!

He threw over a dozen punches in a row. Although Xu Fengbin tried to block, one punch slipped past his defenses, striking three inches above his navel! Coincidentally, this was precisely where his other stream of Qi was currently flowing! Once again, the breath was knocked out of him, and his body stiffened mechanically.

At that exact moment, Lin Jian locked his arm under Xu Fengbin’s armpit and executed a flawless grappling takedown!

THUD!

Xu Fengbin was slammed into the ground. Lin Jian instantly wrapped an arm around his neck in a chokehold while pressing his other hand against the man’s chest. "Senior, you’ve lost!"

The chest was, in fact, a person’s vital point. No, it was the vital point of all human beings in the world! The human heart is a blood-pumping organ that supplies blood to every part of the body. Therefore, this area was extremely fragile. Even though it was protected by the ribcage, for martial artists like Lin Jian, a strike to the heart when an opponent couldn’t resist was absolutely fatal!

Moreover, even if Lin Jian didn’t strike his heart right away, he still had the man in a chokehold, which could easily cause suffocation or even snap his neck!

He had lost!

Xu Fengbin raised both hands above his head. Unable to speak, he could only use this gesture to admit defeat!

At this moment, Master Chen stood up. Qi stared in dumbfounded disbelief at his master caught in a chokehold! Jiang Xue, meanwhile, was starry-eyed. That guy in the long robe had actually been subdued by Lin Jian! How badass was that?

"Why do I want to run over and kiss him right now? He’s so handsome!" she thought.

Lin Jian released his grip and immediately helped Xu Fengbin to his feet.

Upon standing, Xu Fengbin suddenly furrowed his brows and turned around. "San, I finally understand! I’m going to break through the life-and-death barrier right here!" Saying this, he glanced at Lin Jian and added, "Young friend, you won. I must thank you. I’ve suddenly comprehended a profound truth. I will thank you properly after my seclusion!"

Looking as though he couldn’t wait another second, he turned and strode briskly into the small building!

"Quick, Qi! Guard the door! No one is allowed to enter!

"Also, Long, Huang Mao, call our people in Jiang City over immediately! Seal off all roads leading to the reservoir! No one is permitted to approach this side. Not even a fly is allowed near this gate!"

"Yes, yes, yes, right away!" Long nodded repeatedly, pulling out his phone to make the calls!

Meanwhile, Master Chen gave Lin Jian a deep bow. "Thank you, Lin, for helping my brother achieve Enlightenment in his Daoist Skill. I will transfer the eight million to you shortly. Just text me your bank account number.

"Once my brother finishes his seclusion, I will host a banquet for you at the best hotel in Jiang City. But for now, I must ask you and this young lady to leave temporarily. Also, please do not mention what happened here to anyone."

"Alright. Give me your number, and I’ll text you!" Lin Jian nodded. Naturally, he wouldn’t forget about his eight million!

He had just scored another massive windfall. But Xu Fengbin suddenly had an epiphany? What did he comprehend? And what did "seclusion" mean?

Lin Jian didn’t understand, but it was obvious that it had something to do with Xu Fengbin’s True Qi cultivation.