Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 512 - A Fist Technique Master? More Like Grandmaster!

Bang!

In the arena, a black cloak fluttered as a pale hand emerged from wide sleeves and struck at the chest of the combat artist in front of them. The hand ripped through the air so quickly that it caused the surrounding air to shudder with a hollow roar.

A burly combat artist flew backward, then started spinning clockwise in midair as if propelled by an inexplicable force, suddenly whirling about like a giant windmill.

A few seconds later, he fell to the ground, reeling and dizzy. He tried propping himself up with both hands, yet kept toppling to one side. After several attempts, he finally managed to rise, pale-faced, by gripping the guardrail at the arena's edge. However, the moment he let go, he collapsed again.

He felt as though his vestibular organs in his ears had completely failed. He felt like his blood was flowing in reverse as he struggled not to vomit. He gasped heavily for air, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"The twelfth arena match has ended." An elderly man in a striking red combat outfit leaped onto the arena and announced loudly, "Match number seventy-seven has concluded, and the winner is Fog Man of the Golem Sect. Both contestants, please leave the arena so the next group may enter..."

Right away, a group hurried forward from beneath the arena to carry off the dazed combat artist, clearly to check his condition.

Meanwhile, the victor, Fog Man, strolled down at a leisurely pace.

The exchange tournament had officially begun an hour earlier. He had already fought three matches, all against Covert Martial Arts Practitioners who posed no threat whatsoever. Two were pugilists, while one was merely a fistfighter; they were simply too weak to be taken seriously.

Yet that was to be expected. It was unlikely to face anyone too powerful at the start of an international exchange tournament, and the combat artist opponents would come later.

As such, it was truly the ideal opportunity to test any new fist technique. Of course, Fog Man did not take these matches lightly, because his Covert Martial Arts fist technique had been acquired swiftly and was even newly developed.

Without real combat experience or actual application, he would suffer greatly when confronting true elites. Thus, it was essential to fight throughout the entire international exchange tournament, which would let him undergo dozens or even nearly a hundred sparring bouts. When facing these weaker adversaries, Fog Man purposely restricted his strength to the same physical attributes as his opponents. He then employed the Azure Wind Fist to refine all manner of basic moves, techniques, and most importantly, his force.

Spiral force had been the force most suited to him. More specifically, rotation. Rotation was inextricably tied to balance. Thus, after several matches, Fog Man rapidly grasped a crucial application of the Azure Wind Fist, namely, destroying an opponent's balance.

Whenever a Covert Martial Arts expert threw a punch, there had to be a point of balance in the entire body, centered around the core. Fog Man aimed to disrupt precisely that; once he pinpointed the position and released his force, he could destroy an opponent's physical equilibrium and strength almost instantly. He could even use rotational force to channel the enemy's strike back into his own body.

It caused the foe to effectively attack themselves.

Certainly, this was just Fog Man's hypothesis for the moment. Accomplishing that in combat required one to be highly adept with the Azure Wind Fist and keen enough to track the point of balance. Though he had not yet reached that level, he sensed himself improving at a tremendous pace.

He absorbed more of the Qi fragments instilled in his mind with each match, gradually gaining a deeper understanding of the Azure Wind Fist. In the first match, Fog Man had only been able to collide rotational force against his opponent's fists to cancel part of their strength. By the second match, he could target his opponent's point of balance and attempt to break their attack. Now, in the third match, he had used a single palm strike to shatter his adversary's physical balance.

It caused his rival to spin away in midair, nearly stripped of all fighting capacity. This was an extremely rapid and substantial improvement.

In several other arenas, the other three commanders of the Treatment Ward found themselves in similar situations. Nine Serpents seemed to generate shock waves with her fists. The air around her wavered in pale-white ripples, making her fists appear twice as large from a distance. When she threw a punch, her opponent's limbs went numb upon impact, and even their entire skeletal structure shook.

Often, after a few exchanges, the adversary's teeth chattered violently in their mouth, and if the bout continued, fractures followed.

Then there was Hermit, short, thin, and seemingly unremarkable at first glance. However, the moment he began fighting, his entire being became like a cannonball, and every punch he landed felt like an explosion. It was as if his fists had bombs packed inside them.

If his opponents were careless for even a split second, they would end up with torn skin and gaping wounds from the force of his punches.

And there was no need to elaborate on Odo, who had long since mastered Illusory Moon Fist and even invented moves unique to himself. Odo's Illusory Moon Fist was by far the most dazzling and elegant among the four fist techniques. His hands slashed through the air, leaving trails of white light. Even without considering the raw strength behind them, the sheer stylish flair of his technique revealed it to be anything but ordinary.

The first day of the international exchange tournament ended at sunset.

Cassius's four subordinates enjoyed a record of flawless victories. Rather than overwhelming their opponents with sheer power, they matched their opponent in raw strength and kept it low-level when their foe was weak in order to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of all four fist techniques for Cassius's quiet observation.

Sometimes, it was necessary to watch low-level fist technique contests. After all, once Cassius returned to the real world and wanted his Golem Sect to train these Covert Martial Arts manuals, it would no longer be feasible to rely on him infusing his Qi. His subordinates would have to practice bit by bit through successive levels, fighting enemies along the way.

Hence, the four commanders suppressed their strength in this international exchange tournament to showcase the effects of these Covert Martial Arts fist techniques, thereby simulating what the actual scenarios might be like.

Judging by the current results, the effects looked promising.

Cassius spent the day watching how his four subordinates fared in their matches as well as keeping a distant eye on that Gate Organization member. He noticed that, intentionally or not, this individual liked drifting toward the arenas where the United States of Yana team was competing, seemingly studying something.

Perhaps the Gate Organization was taking an interest in the Covert Martial Arts sects of the Southern Reef Continent?

After the exchange tournament ended, Cassius continued following the man until the latter arrived at a residence in East Sea City and ceased any further action. He did not see the man connect or communicate with any other Gate Organization members. It appeared that only a single advance scout had arrived for the time being.

Holy Fist Demon Phoenix and the First General King were the Gate Organization's main trump cards.

Moreover, there was also their elusive leader, Xiadu, who was rarely seen.

Cassius was unsure if he was merely imagining it, but it seemed the Gate Organization had an unusually strong zeal for the Covert Martial Arts community.

Whenever something occurred, they interceded, even going so far as to recruit certain sects' prodigies on the verge of breaking through to extreme combat artist. They sometimes even gave those geniuses newly acquired Gate Fragments.

Speaking of Gate Fragments, Cassius suddenly realized that every individual who possessed one happened to be a combat artist. Even in later eras, Reaper Amos from the Black Ops Agency who practiced an ancient Secret Technique, which was the precursor of Covert Martial Arts, also boasted formidable Qi. Why did it have to be a combat artist to accommodate the Gate Fragments? Could no other superhuman do it?

Given that Xiadu, the leader of the Gate Organization, maintained an ambiguous association with dark creatures, why not employ them as subordinates to enact his will instead of these combat artists from the Covert Martial Arts community? This dynamic felt rather complicated, yet Cassius believed there had to be a reason. Gate Fragments clearly were more than periodic power-amplifying devices. They clearly had a more significant role.

With so little information, Cassius could only hazard guesses, but he refused to believe the Gate Organization was just some loosely knit global faction.

They undoubtedly had goals, ones that were deeply concealed.

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