Chapter 47: Zhou Family

The humiliation filled Zhou Bai with rage.

Yet, it also cooled him down.

Xianyang’s martial world was small, and Zhou Bai had long known this; even as a child he was adored and praised by elders, yet he yearned to leave and make his name abroad.

Then this Li Yan appeared out of nowhere.

A country brat, two years younger than him!

He’s a genius—what is this guy?

Along with the humiliation came a deep resentment.

Though Zhou Bai refused to admit it, he knew he had begun to envy him.

All his earlier boasts were forgotten; now, Zhou Bai unleashed his signature Monkey Fist, Zhixiangbayanqiandexiaozizaile ， Yixiexintouzhihen .

Zhou Bai leapt like a monkey, clawing at Li Yan’s head midair.

Li Yan gripped the wooden plank for leverage, then kicked upward with a Heaven-Pointing Heel.

Zhou Bai, as if expecting this, flipped in midair, descended from above, and swung his right leg in a full arc like a hammer driving down.

Boom!

Their legs collided with a muffled thud.

Zhou Bai’s agility was superior; on the vertical wooden wall, he held clear advantage, using the rebound to spin and lock his claws firmly back onto the planks.

Li Yan, suspended in midair, had only that broken plank as his sole point of support.

The impact jolted his arms, but he held on—yet the plank cracked with a snap, plummeting two meters before he punched into another plank to halt his fall.

“Down you go!”

No sooner had he stabilized than Zhou Bai attacked again from above.

This time he didn’t use his legs—his right fist clenched loosely, wind whistling around it.

He’s using hidden force!

Li Yan’s heart leapt—he shifted tactics instantly.

He knew if struck, falling from the platform would be the least of it—he’d risk internal organ damage, forcing him to heal with the Great Luo Body.

With Zhou Bai above him, Li Yan could only evade for now.

He twisted his body, kicked off the wall, and drove both fists into the wooden surface, punching out a string of dents, then flipped sideways to climb onto the opposite wall, aiming to leap back onto the platform.

But Zhou Bai moved faster.

Seeing Li Yan dodge, Zhou Bai smoothly retracted his attack, flipped his legs, and clung to the wall like a monkey scaling a cliff—arriving at the opposite wall ahead of Li Yan.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

He was about to pounce when Li Yan suddenly kicked forward, shattering the entire wooden wall, revealing the platform’s frame behind it, then dove straight through.

“Where are you running?!”

Zhou Bai sneered and moved to follow.

But before he could move, his heart jolted—he recoiled instantly.

Crack!

The wooden wall where he stood exploded outward.

Li Yan had climbed up along the inner timber frame, hidden behind the wall, and unleashed hidden force through the barrier—a Strike Through the Mountain.

The impact was terrifying.

Because he used hidden force, and specifically yang energy, the entire wooden wall detonated like buried explosives, splintering into a cascade of falling planks.

Once hidden force is applied, not only does the striking power surge, but countless variations emerge.

Yang force delivers explosive power; yin force penetrates deep into the organs; spiral and silk-reeling energies twist and coil endlessly, shifting in myriad ways.

But both were only newly entered into this realm—their cultivation was shallow; using it more than a few times would drain them, so they could only deploy it at critical moments.

If hidden force were mastered deeply, every attack and defense would carry it naturally, effortless and weightless, eliminating such concerns.

Li Yan’s ambush with hidden force nearly succeeded.

Zhou Bai barely dodged in time, but lost his footing—he grabbed the wall with both hands, executed a backflip, and landed back on the platform.

On the other side, Li Yan shattered the planks and leapt out from the opposite wall, flipping back onto the platform.

Beneath the platform lay neatly stacked thick timber beams; though hidden force could shatter them, there was no need to waste energy doing so.

Both sides faced off again on the platform.

This series of exchanges was like a sudden storm—fierce and perilous.

Not just ordinary civilians—even many martial artists held their breath, eyes wide, too stunned to even breathe.

Sha Li Fei and Wang Daoxuan were trembling, sweat beading on their foreheads.

Only when they saw Li Yan escape the crisis did they finally exhale.

“Good!”

At the same moment, cheers erupted around them.

Since stepping onto the platform, not much time had passed, yet the techniques, adaptability, and combat instincts displayed by both had left the crowd dazzled.

Some youths frowned tightly.

They had once been resentful—after all, they too had trained hard since childhood, each with their pride, merely feeling they were born at the wrong time or lacked patrons.

But now they knew: if they had stepped onto that platform, facing either opponent, they would already be defeated.

On the platform itself, the atmosphere grew heavier.

After this exchange, Zhou Bai dared not underestimate Li Yan again—he crouched low, hunched his chest and rounded his back, first assuming the Reverse Hand Gazing at the Moon posture, then scratched his neck, alternating his claws forward and back, fixing his gaze on Li Yan. Zhou Family Monkey Fist!

He stared at Li Yan, his eyes glowing with malice; his empty claw clenched, emitting a sharp crackling sound.

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, shifted his stance, and raised his guard.

Monkey Fist claws must be hard.

Zhou Bai had clearly trained hard—each finger was like steel wire.

Red Fist emphasizes agile bodywork and deceptive strikes; the Zhou family’s Monkey Fist fused with White Ape Immortal Backfist, stressing attack within defense and defense within attack.

As soon as contact is made, you must adjust your technique by ear.

Combined with his familiarity with Red Fist variations, one misstep could mean defeat.

“Hmph, scared?”

Seeing Li Yan retreat, Zhou Bai’s eyes flashed with fury—he leapt forward like a monkey, arms bent, mimicking a ferocious ape lunging to claw.

But midair, he suddenly changed tactics—twisted his body, planted his right palm on the ground like a slide, and kicked straight for Li Yan’s groin.

!.

This move was called Monkey Lying on the Lotus.

Monkey Fist is deceitful and agile; many techniques appear comical but target the lower body, eyes, or throat without warning.

Li Yan reacted faster—he sidestepped the vital point, then whipped his right leg out like a whip, executing a Blocking Horse Leg.

In combat, power rises from the ground.

Though Zhou Bai’s move was fierce, it left him sideways and prone, making it hard to generate force—and exposed his face.

If Li Yan’s kick landed, he could shatter Zhou Bai’s skull.

But Zhou Bai reacted just as swiftly—missing with Monkey Lying on the Lotus, he twisted his legs, used the rotational force to spring upright, then rolled sideways to circle behind Li Yan’s weak side.

Li Yan’s whip kick had not yet retracted.

Zhou Bai reached out, seized his leg—Monkey Pulling the Snake—and locked onto Li Yan’s right thigh.

This was a joint-lock technique; a single twist could topple the opponent, expose the groin, and follow with a crushing kick.

But Zhou Bai abandoned the follow-up.

His eyes blazed with malice—he unleashed hidden force, his steel-wire claws squeezing with full strength, aiming to cripple Li Yan’s right leg outright.

Feeling searing pain in his leg, Li Yan gritted his teeth—he bent his body, surged hidden force, and slapped his palm toward Zhou Bai’s forehead.

If his leg was damaged, fine—he could heal it with the Great Luo Body. But if this palm landed, he’d crush Zhou Bai’s skull instantly.

Madman!

Zhou Bai’s heart jolted—he twisted aside.

Even so, his shoulder took the blow—he flew sideways, twisted midair, forced himself to stop, and glared furiously at Li Yan.

His left arm hung limp—dislocated.

And the hidden force in that palm was brutal—his muscles and fascia were severely injured, visibly swelling into dark bruises.

On the other side, Li Yan was no better off.

Though he held his stance, five bloody holes marred his right thigh, blood seeping steadily, staining his leg bindings red.

The spectators below were stunned.

They hadn’t expected such speed—within a few strikes, both were wounded.

If this continued, death would come soon.

“Hmph!”

Zhou Bai sneered, slowly rising, gripping his left arm with his right hand, twisting it with a crack to reset the joint, then shook his shoulder.

“Brat, your leg’s ruined—how are you going to fight me?”

The Zhou family’s Monkey Fist was already agile; with Li Yan’s injured right leg, Zhou Bai now held complete advantage.

No sooner had he spoken than Zhou Bai shot forward.

He moved on hands and feet like a nimble monkey, closing the distance in an instant, feinting as if to strike—then twisted around behind Li Yan.

Li Yan swiftly shifted his stance, preparing to attack.

But Zhou Bai moved with extraordinary agility, drawing in his chest and hunching his back like a spinning top, darting around him, switching between feints and false strikes, impossible to distinguish.

Li Yan finally remembered what Master Zhang Tong had said.

When he had been about to leave the martial arts school, Master Zhang Tong had told him: if you cannot break through Zhou Bai’s “circle,” victory is hopeless.

The so-called “circle” is the essence of Monkey Fist: the entire body is a ball, twisting without pause, the whole frame a circle—without the circle, there is no fist.

At this moment, Zhou Bai’s movement was perfectly circular and fluid, swift and sharp, his techniques real and fake intertwined, making it hard for him to tell.

Hiss!

He failed to guard in time and took another strike from Zhou Bai.

Though no internal force was used, the opponent’s grip was astonishing—he tore five bloody streaks across Li Yan’s back.

Li Yan reacted instantly, delivering a sweeping groin kick.

Too bad—Zhou Bai rolled on the ground and dodged effortlessly, then sprang up, chattering like a monkey, seemingly thrilled.

His eyes were sharp, cruel, and brimming with wildness.

Every movement, every leap and bound, was indistinguishable from a monkey’s…

(End of Chapter)