’His Physique is clearly inferior to mine, and his strength is less too. It’s only because he can instantly predict my attacks that I seem so much slower... In reality, my striking speed should also be a little faster than his.’

’If I could also strike without any warning, just like him... I’d definitely be able to suppress him!’

’But how... how does he manage to strike without any warning?’

Qin Fang frowned, deep in thought.

As long as you intend to strike, there will inevitably be tells.

For example, to throw a punch, you must first clench your fist, position your arm, coil your waist, and thrust with your hips before finally swinging...

It’s a complete process. If you miss a single step, you either can’t throw the punch at all, or it will have no power.

A Huajin Martial Artist, however, mirrors their own body to read their opponent. From the very moment an opponent clenches their fist, they can deduce the next move.

Of course, the opponent might change their Technique mid-motion...

But the principle is the same.

A feint has its own tells, whether it’s a sudden halt in momentum or an abrupt change in the arc of their movement...

To a Huajin Martial Artist, these tells are as clear as ripples on a mirror. They can see them at a glance and instantly predict the strike’s target and the proper counter.

...That was how it felt at the beginning of their fight today.

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged countless blows, matching speed with speed, trading Techniques and counters. Because Qin Fang had seized the initiative, he’d even held the upper hand for a while.

But once his opponent started striking without any tells, the situation became completely one-sided.

...Qin Fang was utterly powerless to retaliate.

It was hopeless.

...The opponent was Reading all his Techniques, while he could only react *after* a strike was already on its way...

Without that crucial ability to ’predict,’ he was completely outpaced.

He didn’t have a single opportunity to counter.

After all, while his raw power was somewhat greater, the advantage was limited. His opponent was a veteran Huajin Martial Artist, after all. That slight edge in strength wasn’t enough to compensate for such a huge gap in skill.

But that ability to strike without any warning... how on earth did he do it?

How did his opponent bypass his ’prediction’ to so naturally throw a punch or a kick?

Qin Fang sank into contemplation. Slowly, his mind drifted back to the day he killed the Treasure Fish...

’Back then, I used Contemplation of the Spiritual Snake, targeting the Treasure Fish, and built up my momentum before striking... My attack speed was incredibly fast. Could the key lie in ’building momentum’?’

He began to ponder this idea.

Building momentum... It’s not that there are no ’tells,’ but rather that all the preparatory movements are already completed naturally, just waiting for that final ’burst’.

To use punching as an analogy again...

A complete punch involves clenching the fist, setting the arm, coiling the waist, driving with the hips, and finally, swinging...

If you could, in a natural state, complete all the preparatory motions—the fist clench, the arm set, the waist coil, the hip drive—ahead of time, so that all you needed was the final ’swing’...

...then even if your opponent noticed it at the last second, they wouldn’t have time to predict anything. By the time they registered what was happening, your fist would already be in their face.

That must be the principle behind it.

But...

How exactly would one do that?

Qin Fang fell back into contemplation.

In what seemed like a flash, over two hours had passed. Qin Fang slowly exhaled.

’Huajin Level Martial Arts are something else... I’ll just have to take it slow. I suspect the method is still hidden within the Mental Pile...’

’Unfortunately, my Mental Pile has already reached Perfection. I can keep practicing the stance, but there won’t be any more Epiphanies.’

’I’ll have to figure it out on my own.’

A glint in his eye, Qin Fang looked up in the direction of Chen Shanhe.

’He left that parting message because he obviously still wants to ’eat’ me. But he also knows I’m faster, and with Xile’s help, he can’t catch me if I decide to flee... It seems he has no other tricks up his sleeve, or he wouldn’t have tried to lure me with the Path of Divine Power. He’s afraid I’ll just run for it.’

By the same token, his opponent probably wouldn’t keep looking for him...

After all, from Chen Shanhe’s perspective, what would be the point?

He couldn’t stop Qin Fang himself, so what could his disciples possibly do, even if they found him?

...Since he didn’t know the secret of Old Ox Back, he couldn’t predict Qin Fang’s next move.

’Mastering the technique of striking without warning will take a long time to figure out... Whatever. I’ll go to the Cold Cave first and see if I can reach the place Master mentioned. Maybe there’s some benefit to be gained there...’

Qin Fang made his decision.

His Physique, strength, and speed were all superior to his opponent’s.

But because his advantage was limited and his technique was completely suppressed, he had been helpless against him.

But if he could gain some new advantage in the Cold Cave—another boost to his strength, Physique, or even his speed—then things would be different.

Brute force overcomes all skill.

If he were strong enough, it wouldn’t be a problem to take down Chen Shanhe, even if all his Techniques were read.

At this thought, Qin Fang could no longer sit still. He got up and sprinted toward Old Ox Back.

He soon arrived near the cave, his eyes glinting.

’When I leave, I’ll have to block up this cave... But not yet.’

Qin Fang thought.

After all, plenty of disciples from the True Martial Boxing Hall had been to Old Ox Back.

Who knew if any of them had already noticed this cave but subconsciously ignored it, never giving it a second thought.

But if Qin Fang blocked it up now, and those disciples happened to come back and notice the change... wouldn’t that just be counterproductive and draw their attention right to it?