Madman!

Chapter 134: Dragon-Tiger Combined Force

The streets the Luoyue People controlled — Tongzhou Street and Qinzhou Street — were located in Shenshuibu, or the Deep Water Port district, less than five kilometers from the Walled City.

A day later. A dim sum restaurant on Waterloo Road, situated between Deep Water Port and the Walled City.

"Sooner or later, I'll deal with those Luoyue bastards..." Fire Dragon muttered darkly to Wen Long as they walked into the restaurant.

They headed upstairs and found over a dozen Luoyue People seated around three round tables.

At one table, only two people sat: a bald, burly man in a floral shirt, and a dark-skinned woman with a scar on her face and rather plain features.

These were two of Shengsha's Hall Masters — the man was Wu Yiyong, the woman was Po Li.

The other Luoyue sat at the adjacent tables. When Fire Dragon's group appeared, they all rose to their feet, eyes flashing with hostility.

Po Li raised a hand, and they reluctantly sat back down.

Fire Dragon and Wen Long dropped into the seats across from the pair without ceremony, signaling for their own lackeys to take the neighboring table.

"Are you Luoyue People out of your minds? Your fighters weren't good enough, you couldn't get the job done, one of your Hall Masters gets killed — and instead of going after the killer, you come shaking us down for money? You think Lidong is easy to push around?" Fire Dragon's expression was ugly from the moment he sat down."If our fighters weren't good enough, you wouldn't have come to us in the first place. The intel you gave was clearly wrong, and it got our people killed. Compensation is only fair." Po Li spoke up.

"Bullshit!" Fire Dragon slammed the table, cracking off a chunk.

Wen Long raised a hand to stop Fire Dragon from going further.

The two were playing their parts — one the aggressor, the other the diplomat.

"Po Li, nobody wanted things to go sideways. The intel we provided was solid. There's no way Nguyen Van Son and that many men couldn't handle Chen Wujun. Which means only one thing — someone else stepped in and killed Nguyen Van Son. And I'm sure you already have a good idea who that someone is." Wen Long said evenly.

"Everyone knows Chen Wujun and Shark Jiu trained under the same master. Yet you haven't gone after Shark Jiu. Don't tell me you're afraid of her?"

"Your Hall Master gets killed and you don't even dare retaliate? If word gets out, Shengsha might as well close up shop and eat dirt."

"Wen Long, Fire Dragon — did you come all this way just to tell us this?" Wu Yiyong sneered, menace flickering in his eyes.

"Wu Yiyong, don't bother trying to intimidate us. If it comes to a real fight, sure, we'd take some losses — but you wouldn't come out clean either. And that would only make Shark Jiu laugh. We came today because we share a common enemy." Wen Long met his gaze.

"Those are separate matters. Whether Shark Jiu was involved or not is something we'll look into. But as for what happened before — you owe us an answer." Po Li tapped her finger idly on the table's surface, punching a hole clean through the wood with each tap.

Both Wen Long and Fire Dragon's pupils contracted. They couldn't help staring at her finger and the holes it left behind.

Her finger looked utterly ordinary — yet it was as sharp and lethal as a dagger.

This was the mark of a high-level practitioner of the Qi Observation Way's Mantis Form — fingers honed into weapons.

"There'll be no 'answer.' Our intel was solid." Wen Long said firmly. "But I admit the kid turned out harder to kill than expected. On top of that, I recently had a shipment hijacked, and I suspect it was him. So here's what we'll do: we'll add another payment, and you make sure to take him out quickly."

Wu Yiyong and Po Li exchanged a glance. Wu Yiyong let out a cold laugh.

It was obvious — Fire Dragon and Wen Long were intimidated, and they were just looking for a face-saving excuse.

But Shengsha only cared about profits. They could yield on this point.

"Ten million." Po Li held up a single finger.

"Why don't you just rob us? That punk is worth ten million?" Fire Dragon slammed the table again, cracking off another piece.

"You said it yourself — he and Shark Jiu trained together. Right now Shark Jiu has the most prestige within Hetu. She's likely to become Dragon Head. And if she becomes Dragon Head, he's the next Hall Master."

"Asking you to add ten million for a future Hetu Hall Master isn't unreasonable, is it?" Po Li said slowly and deliberately.

"Even if Shark Jiu takes charge, he doesn't have the strength to be a Hall Master. And when we originally came to you, he was a nobody — that's on you for botching the job." Wen Long's voice turned cold.

"Ten million is out of the question. We'll add three million at most. With the previous three million, that makes six total."

"Kill the target and the money's yours." Wen Long said.

"If you don't agree, then bring your people and let's go to war. Let's see if your men can even set foot in the Walled City!" Fire Dragon snarled beside him, fury blazing in his eyes.

"And the one laughing hardest would be Shark Jiu." Wen Long added pointedly.

What followed was a round of hard bargaining.

In the end, both sides compromised. Wen Long and Fire Dragon added five million.

"Goddamn it — eight million just to take out one punk. Is he worth eight million?" Fire Dragon was still cursing as they left the restaurant.

"He's Shark Jiu's Head Horse. Once Shengsha kills him, Shark Jiu won't let it go. Eight million to spark a war between Shengsha and Hetu — I'd say we came out ahead." Wen Long consoled him.

After all, he was the one dealing Number 4 and Wolf Drug — money was no object.

The single shipment that had been hijacked was already worth eight million on its own.

......

"Your Dragon Force has reached the point where punch and force arrive as one. Your Cannon Hammer is nearly there too. It's time I teach you weapons."

"The reason we train fists first and weapons second is that the principles of weapon use are the same as the fist. Once you've mastered the fist arts, weapons become intuitive. And learning weapons will in turn deepen your understanding of how to generate power with your fists."

"For example, the great saber trains the chopping force — like your chopping fist and smashing fist. It demands overwhelming weight and power. One swing cleaves man and horse alike."

"And the great spear trains extended force, explosive force, and silk-reeling force. These align perfectly with Cannon Hammer's characteristics — excelling at projecting power, with sudden explosive detonation."

Zhou Qing walked to the weapon rack and, with one hand, lifted a great spear. The spear was four and a half meters long, its shaft dark blue-black — a wooden core wrapped in woven metal thread. The spearhead was far wider and thicker than any ordinary spear's.

Chen Wujun had lifted it before. It weighed roughly thirty kilograms.

Zhou Qing gripped the butt of the spear with both hands and gave a sharp vibration. With a deep hum, the tip erupted into a bowl-sized blur of cold light. The sound it made cutting through the air was low and resonant, like a dragon's roar.

"Watch closely!" Zhou Qing called out. His feet shuffled into a sliding step, and his hips rotated like a millstone grinding.

The spear came alive in his hands — no longer a dead weight, but a living dragon.

A straight center-line thrust lanced out with such speed that only a dark afterimage remained. The spearhead tore through the air with a dull "thud," as if it could pierce clean through anything in its path.

"This is the thrust! It trains extended force, penetrating force! You take the headlong charge of the Opening Cannon and drive it out through the spear tip..."

In the next instant, Zhou Qing's wrist made an almost imperceptible flip and twist. The spearhead feathered inward with deceptive lightness.

"This is the seize! It trains the drilling-turning force of the Heart-Boring Cannon, the sinking crushing force of Mountain-Splitting Cannon. You bite down on the opponent's weapon so they can neither advance nor withdraw."

Before the words even left his mouth, Zhou Qing's wrist flipped again. The heavy spearhead carved an arc and snapped outward in an explosive block.

"This is the intercept! It uses the chain-blast rebounding force of the Chain Cannon! Not a hard block — it's counter and strike in one. Touch and detonate!"

......

Moments later, Zhou Qing tossed the spear to Chen Wujun.

"The great spear of Three Emperors Cannon Hammer was originally called the Zi Lu Great Spear. Over time, it was refined. Eventually someone merged the Zi Lu Spear, the Six Harmonies Spear, and the Eight Methods Spear into the Thirty-Six Roads Mountain-Crushing Spear — unifying spear and fist." As Zhou Qing spoke, something seemed to stir in his memory, and a rare smile touched his eyes.

"Back then, Li Muyu dominated an entire region with her Thirty-Six Roads Mountain-Crushing Spear. Nobody could break through her spear technique, so their only option was to close the distance and fight at short range. That's when they discovered what 'spear and fist as one' truly meant... Her fists were faster and more savage than her spear. More masters died under her punches than under her spear..."

"Li Muyu?" Curiosity and longing stirred in Chen Wujun's heart.

Yet another legendary master from his teacher's lips. He wondered what kind of person she'd been.

Zhuang Huai's Wolf Fist. Yin Zhou's Spirit Ape Hanging Beam Stance. Yang Dianqing's Old Bear Hugging Tree Stance. Cheng Lin's Swimming Dragon Palm. Deng Yuan's Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Cover and Master's Three Arching Hands...

Behind each of these arts stood a formidable Old Arts master who'd once reigned supreme over an entire region.

These techniques, and the names behind them, gave Chen Wujun a profound sense of grandeur.

He wondered what they'd been like in their glory days.

And what catastrophe had claimed so many of these great masters.

"Yes... Li Muyu... Her real name was Li Muyu — though written differently. But she was as thick-headed as a wooden fish. Besides martial arts, there was nothing else in her head. She couldn't even take care of herself in daily life, so everyone just called her 'Wooden Fish'..." Zhou Qing said a few words, then lost his mood for reminiscing.

"Master the fundamentals of the great spear first, and then I'll teach you the Thirty-Six Roads Mountain-Crushing Spear."

Chen Wujun nodded. He gripped the butt of the great spear with both hands. Even with his strength, the weapon felt impossibly heavy — the tip seemed weighted with a thousand-kilogram boulder.

It was the simplest lever principle at work.

Forget shaking out the graceful patterns Zhou Qing had demonstrated — even holding it level was a struggle. Attempting to vibrate the spear was utterly futile; the weapon refused to obey.

"Fist training cultivates the breath within the body. Weapon training cultivates the sky beyond it. The heavier the weapon you can command, the greater the force you can unleash." Zhou Qing said with a smile.

"Think about how you learned to punch."

Zhou Qing said no more. Chen Wujun's fist arts might still be far from divine mastery, but calling them consummate was fair. His understanding of martial arts ran deep enough.

With his talent and insight, a bit of exploration was all it would take.

Chen Wujun dug his toes into the ground. Force rose from the earth, channeled through his knees, hips, and waist in a seamless chain. Simultaneously, his back muscles rippled like ocean waves, and the spear shot forward in a violent thrust.

HISS!

The air seemed to tear, but Chen Wujun felt the spear utterly defying his will.

He yanked it back, tried a few more times, then — just as power surged toward his arms — he abruptly arrested the flow and wrenched his hips with explosive force.

HUMMMM!

The shaft emitted a deep, muffled drone. It shuddered reluctantly a few times. At last, the spearhead was no longer dead weight — it scratched out several tiny, laborious arcs through the air.

Though it was nothing compared to Zhou Qing's effortless fluidity, the embryonic shape of explosive, detonating force was unmistakably there.

Zhou Qing watched from the side, admiration in his eyes.

This disciple never needed much instruction.

And Chen Wujun, after that single trembling thrust, froze. He stood rooted in place for two full minutes. Then the corner of his mouth began to curve upward, spreading wider and wider until it nearly reached his ears.

"Dragon-Tiger Combined Force... Dragon-Tiger Combined Force! So this is how you train it!"

He knew Tiger Force — the power of the waist and hips.

He knew Dragon Force, too. But Dragon-Tiger Combined Force wasn't simply waist-hip power added to Dragon Force. It wasn't a simple transfer of strength. It demanded absolute command over the body, Tiger Force and Dragon Force fused into a single unified whole — hence "combined" force.

He'd never been able to achieve it.

But in that fierce, sudden twist of the great spear, the realization struck him like lightning.

"Dragon-Tiger Combined Force isn't transmitted — it's detonated! When the hips twist, the earth quakes. When the spine shudders, the sky trembles!"

Zhou Qing, watching from the sideline, was mildly surprised. He'd expected Chen Wujun to need considerably longer to grasp Dragon-Tiger Combined Force.

Compared to the Sixteenth, Li Yaozu was an absolute blockhead.