Chapter Twenty-Four: The Decline of Martial Arts

  Wang Chan's eyebrows jumped violently twice, the resonance between his bones became more intense, like a large iron pot was stir-frying a big pot of soybeans, the crackling sound was continuous.

  Now he has already guessed that the so-called Lin Gongzi behind these two people is actually the "Lin Shao" who has been hiding behind the scenes, forcing Zhou Lin to make a desperate move and go to Beijing for help without showing his face. If it weren't for this person, he wouldn't have left Guandi Temple so quickly either.

  Wang Chan didn't bother to waste words with the two people in front of him, and stared straight at the tall and thin man's eyes, asking: "Your boss is surnamed Lin, that young master Lin from the capital?"

  "Except for the young master of my house, do you think there are a few more Lin Dashi in this world? Friend, let's not talk nonsense, your move just now was too heavy and has already injured my junior brother's lungs. Today we brothers have already made concessions, friend, show some mercy, leave some face, otherwise it will hurt the harmony, and I'm afraid it won't be good for you either."

  The tall and thin man's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his muscles tense like iron, clearly showing that he was still extremely nervous when facing Wang Chan, whose true nature he had no idea about.

  "Big brother, what's the point of talking so much nonsense with him? If he doesn't get out of the way, I'll go back and report to Master Wang. There will come a day when he'll regret it. We brothers have never suffered such a great loss in our lives. Sooner or later, we'll make him pay back in blood." Just then, that short and stout man spat out another mouthful of blood, his eyes completely red, and let out a loud and fierce shout at Wang Chan.

  "You'll have another chance to come back and say it again!"

  This short and stout man had a rough temperament, always seeking revenge for the slightest grievance. Even if it meant getting hurt to this extent, he couldn't hold back the anger in his heart, his blood boiling over as he let out a loud roar. As soon as these words left his mouth, Wang Chan, who was facing him, burst into laughter and with a sudden kick of his foot, actually charged forward, instantly covering a distance of five or six meters.

  That tall and thin man trembled all over, greatly shocked and pale: "What do you want to do?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, in the blink of an eye, Wang Chan had already arrived in front of the two of them.

  In the past, martial artists traveling the world were good at fighting and quarreling, actually not much different from modern gangsters. They emphasized "two knives inserted in the ribs, righteousness above all", if they didn't resort to violence, it would be over, but once a dispute arose between two parties, it would immediately become a life-or-death situation. Wang Chan had been influenced by his years of association with Wang Da Liangzi, this old "bandit", and often read books like "Outlaws of the Marsh" that were about sworn brotherhoods and settling scores. His methods became more ruthless and efficient, and since he already wanted to use these two sworn brothers to repay a debt of gratitude to Lei Xing, as soon as he heard that short fat man's threatening tone, his eyes widened and he had murder in his heart.

  The first time he killed someone in that cave, Wang Chan didn't hesitate for a moment, let alone now when it's become second nature to him.

  In the Chang Le Palace, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept across the flat ground. Wang Chan rushed forward, his feet not leaving the ground, and the sound of his soles rubbing against the bricks was like a sudden air raid siren ringing in one's ears, urgent and piercing. His body slightly crouched, he shot out like an iron arrow from a strong bow on a full moon night.

  The short and stout man's voice was still in his ears, when the next moment Wang Chan had already approached him, his fist like a fierce tiger pouncing through the air, directly punching his chest. The tall and thin man who was supporting him by the arm only managed to let out a loud shout before he felt a wave of darkness wash over him, his face stinging as if cut by a knife, an enormous force suddenly exploding on the half of his body that was holding up his junior brother, causing him to involuntarily stumble backward. Immediately after, he heard his own junior brother's short and terrified cry echoing in his ears.

  A loud crash was heard, and it seemed like a heavy object had fallen behind me. Fresh blood splattered everywhere.

  Wang Zhen's fist, one step urgent advance like a war horse galloping on the battlefield, a punch thundered out, just like that great general who killed people all over the field on horseback, with a fierce force, man and horse combined, thrusting out a long spear. The speed was so fast, shocking and unparalleled, until his fist hit the target, the tearing air and explosive wind sound still echoed in the Chang Le Palace.

  At this moment, Wang Chanren also followed the trend, rushing forward and standing in front of the tall and thin man who was knocked out by his own fist power, less than a foot away. His body rose and fell, one arm swung suddenly from bottom to top, like an iron whip, rising up, elbow joint, crackling sound.

  The tall and thin man was frightened, letting out a loud "ah" as he hastily retreated backwards. He never could have imagined that his own junior brother would be so short-tempered, yet still dare to threaten others despite being severely injured. Nor did he expect Wang Chan's attack to be so ruthless, showing no mercy or quarter, with each move aimed at taking his life.

  Just like this ruthless and merciless character, I had only heard of it from the old man's mouth, but never thought that one day I would be able to meet him. Someone like Wang Chan is simply a person without any worldly emotions or attachments, once you provoke him, he will show no mercy and kill ruthlessly.

  Moreover, Wang Chan's boxing skills and physical form were extremely fast, almost unseen. The first time he hit his own junior brother, who was still a short and stout man without any defense, could be excusable. But this time, the tall and thin man's only feeling in his heart was "terror". Before they even started fighting, Wang Chan's aura had already invaded him, taking away his spirit, courage, and energy.

  A strong gust of wind almost enveloped half his body, with his clothes tightly clinging to his skin, as if he had been blown by a massive air conditioning system. The cold wind was piercing, and before it even touched him, his entire body had involuntarily broken out in goosebumps the size of beans.

  Wang Chan's Iron Whip technique was fierce and violent, with power reaching his fingertips. If he were to be hit by this whip, even if one had a Golden Bell Cover and an Iron Cloth Shirt, they would still be beaten to pieces.

  The tall and thin man's face turned pale in an instant, without even the courage to block it head-on. He only managed to muster all his strength to retreat backwards desperately, barely avoiding Wang Chan's whip by a hair's breadth.

  Alas, the gap between them was not small, and the other person had already been scared out of his wits by Wang Chan. The ten successful couples were now reduced to only three, their hearts trembling with fear, thinking they had narrowly escaped disaster. As he turned to leave, he didn't notice that he had fallen into the opponent's trap. Wang Chan's whip struck empty air, but its momentum was not spent, and it swept down in a half-arc onto the tall thin man's head, his five fingers spread wide like a tiger's claw, striking downwards with a loud "thud", firmly grasping the back of the tall thin man's neck.

  With a forceful finger, he embedded it into the flesh, then pulled and pressed back, his strength penetrating throughout his body. In an instant, this tall and thin man was also pressed to the ground like a dead dog by Wang Chan, who was half-kneeling.

  It must be known that the human body is a vertebrate "animal", and all over the body, it relies on this spine to transmit and communicate. Inside, the spinal cord connects the brain to the whole body, with dense nerve tissue, its importance relates to almost all organs of the human body. So Wang Chan grasped the spine and neck of this tall and thin man, immediately paralyzing his central nervous system temporarily, no matter how great his skills were, he couldn't display them.

  And this tall and thin man was also a true practitioner, there was no reason not to understand this principle. As soon as he was caught, his heart and spine felt that Wang Chan's five fingers were hard enough to rival steel hooks, and with just a little force, his neck would make a series of "squeaking" sounds, like the feeling of being trampled on by someone in early spring, unable to hold up.

  At that moment, he didn't even dare to take a breath, fearing that Wang Chan would use force again, compressing the nerves and directly crippling his spine, which would immediately render him disabled.

  "Friends, let's talk this over. I'm also forced to work for others, my body is not my own, but the crime doesn't deserve death!" The tall and thin man looked at Wang Chan with a fearful expression in his eyes, after finishing speaking, he didn't dare move again.

  Although the decline of martial arts in today's society has become a foregone conclusion, this does not mean that this technique, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is completely eliminated today. It's just because of the emergence of hot weapons and the change of the times, so fewer and fewer people practice martial arts, and most of the masters who truly inherit this skill have quietly entered the civilian world.

  Although it's rare, once you've really come into contact with this line of work, you'll discover that the masters are actually hiding in plain sight around you.

  The tall and thin man, these two martial brothers are truly practitioners of the family, although they are still far from being true masters, but in this martial arts circle, they also have a small reputation. Many domestic masters have seen several of them, so they also know the horror of these martial arts masters.

  The true "martial art" is, in a certain sense, the technique of killing, and this technique has been passed down for thousands of years in China, and since modern times, it has been perfected to an unbelievable extent. A true martial arts master, even when facing modernized weapons, as long as he is not immediately forced into a desperate situation by a large number of people, the harm he can cause will absolutely not be inferior to any advanced firearm.

  These masters of martial arts and kung fu, after they have fully developed their skills, can kill people even more easily than a farmer cutting grass.

  So-called three hundred and sixty lines, every line produces a champion, any skill, as long as it reaches the level of mastery, will burst out brilliant sparks in any era. Just like the popular laser engraving now, no matter how perfect your program is, no matter how realistic the works you imitate are, they can never compare to the real master's knife in his hand.

  So even in modern times, there are not many people who are willing to spend ten or twenty years, or even a lifetime of effort to practice a single martial art, but true martial arts masters still hold a sufficiently high social status.

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  Thank you for your support, I bow to you all!! My new book has been uploaded, please give me more guidance and click on recommendations and collections. Additionally, I need to explain that in the past two days, some of you have criticized me for not being diligent enough, only updating one chapter in two days. I'm deeply sorry and would like to explain that it's actually due to the plot development. Originally, each chapter was less than 3,000 words, but the plot couldn't be fully expressed. Some people said I had a bad habit of talking too much, so I made an effort to change and upload new chapters according to the plot, hoping for a more coherent storyline. As a result, after merging two chapters into one, some of you again said that it was too long!!

  So today I updated according to the number of words again, please understand more, seniors!!!!!!!