Chapter 33

Fast! Fierce!

Chenggang stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him.

Peng!

Chenggang's swift punch should have hit Qin Lang's face, but just as his fist was about to strike, Qin Lang's palm suddenly shot out, blocking Chenggang's thunderous punch.

Chenggang was slightly surprised, but his fighting desire grew even stronger. Without hesitation, he turned his fist into a claw, grabbed Qin Lang's palm, and then kneed him in the abdomen. This move was not from Chinese martial arts but from Muay Thai, which emphasizes iron elbows and steel knees, making the knee strike incredibly powerful.

Peng!

Qin Lang's other hand pressed down, blocking Chenggang's knee strike once again.

In these two moves, Qin Lang was on the defensive!

Unable to land his knee strike, Chenggang quickly turned and struck Qin Lang's face with his left elbow.

This series of actions, though not true martial arts techniques, was exceptionally fluid, demonstrating Chenggang's rich practical combat experience and putting some pressure on Qin Lang.

Martial arts schools focus on countering techniques, while combat sports focus on powerful techniques, practicing only the most effective moves. Each attack is straightforward and incredibly powerful.

A martial artist trained in refined techniques, when suddenly facing a ruthless boxer, can suffer a significant disadvantage if their foundation is broken!

Although Qin Lang's techniques were not numerous, his foundation was incredibly solid. His movements, whether dodging, evading, or defending, were as steady as a drumbeat, maintaining perfect composure even while on the defensive.

"Such a solid foundation!"

Chenggang couldn't help but admire Qin Lang's skills. He had sparred with many young disciples from martial arts schools, and almost none of them had a stance as solid as Qin Lang's—truly as stable as a rock, impossible to shake!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two men's fists and feet collided, producing crisp sounds. The other prisoners in the adjacent cells were shocked: just the sound of their collision was so intense, how powerful must their strikes be!

In a flash, they had exchanged over thirty moves.

At this point, the difference in their skills began to show.

After this fierce attack, Chenggang was drenched in sweat, his back already dripping. Clearly, he had expended a significant amount of energy. In contrast, Qin Lang was much better off, with only his back slightly damp from sweat.

The advantages of the Dragon Coiling Stance began to show.

Qin Lang also noticed this and prepared to counterattack.

But at that moment, Chenggang suddenly leaped back, as if he was about to stop.

Just as Qin Lang was puzzled, Chenggang took out two capsules and swallowed them. Seemingly noticing Qin Lang's confusion, Chenggang snorted, "These are performance-enhancing capsules for boxers! You should be proud that I'm using them on you!"

"Proud my ass!" Qin Lang was furious. Chenggang's use of performance enhancers was clearly cheating, and to make matters worse, he was acting smug about it, saying Qin Lang should be proud.

"Angry? Great! This will be even more fun!" Chenggang sneered and swung his fist again.

Whoosh!

Chenggang's punch was accompanied by a fierce wind, and with the performance enhancers, he was even more powerful than before!

But Qin Lang was also furious. Initially, he had thought Chenggang was a formidable opponent and had some respect for him, but now, he only felt anger towards this despicable man!

Many people clench their fists when angry, but when Qin Lang was truly angry, he relaxed his fists, turning them into palm blades—

The Praying Mantis Blade!

A martial arts master once derived the famous Praying Mantis Fist from the movements of a praying mantis. Qin Lang, however, had derived the fierce and illusory "Praying Mantis Blade" from a blood mantis. During this time, Qin Lang had often released the blood mantis from the Poison Sack, both to feed it and to study its movements, integrating the Praying Mantis Blade into his own palm blade.

During his battle with the bull, Qin Lang had first understood the Praying Mantis Blade, but at that time, it was only in its initial stages. In the past few days, by observing the blood mantis and other praying mantises, Qin Lang had gained a deeper understanding of the Praying Mantis Blade.

However, a blade needs a whetstone to become sharp.

And now, Chenggang was the whetstone Qin Lang had been waiting for!

Seeing Qin Lang abandon his fists and use only palm blades, Chenggang sneered, thinking that fists were the best way to attack, and palm blades and finger strikes were just showy and ineffective.

"Slash!"

Seeing Chenggang's punch coming, Qin Lang's mind was filled with the image of the blood mantis slicing a large snake. His body trembled, and his strength coiled into a single force, pouring into his palm blade, which he slashed at Chenggang's fist like lightning.

Peng!

The collision of fist and palm produced a dull sound. Chenggang felt a sharp pain in his fist, as if he had hit an iron hammer rather than a flesh palm.

But under the influence of the performance enhancers, Chenggang's pain tolerance increased, and his aggression was heightened. Ignoring the pain, he punched again.

Qin Lang repeated the move, slashing his palm blade down once more!

Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng!

Qin Lang's Praying Mantis Blade was not only powerful but also precise and swift. He had fully integrated the praying mantis's hunting techniques into his palm blade, each strike powerful and decisive, with the force to split stones and shatter bones!

Chenggang, who had initially looked down on Chinese martial arts techniques, now realized his mistake as he faced Qin Lang's relentless palm blade.

With Chenggang as his whetstone, Qin Lang's Praying Mantis Blade became even more proficient. Despite the performance enhancers, Chenggang was thoroughly overpowered by Qin Lang.

But Chenggang was a black boxer, and black boxing was brutal, bloody, and ruthless. Seeing himself at a disadvantage, Chenggang suddenly flipped a metal bed and threw it at Qin Lang. Qin Lang quickly dodged, and Chenggang took the opportunity to tackle him from behind, using a wrestling move to lock Qin Lang's neck and try to choke him unconscious!

"Get off—"

Qin Lang roared, stomped his feet, and exerted all his strength, shaking off Chenggang's arms and then throwing him over his shoulder, slamming him into the cell door with a loud bang.

Chenggang was dazed, but he was extremely fierce and had taken performance enhancers, so he quickly got up and pounced on Qin Lang again.

By now, Qin Lang's Praying Mantis Blade was razor-sharp. The image of the blood mantis slicing a snake's body flashed in his mind, and he suddenly understood a true killing move—

"Praying Mantis Shatters the Cart!"

Qin Lang let out a low cry, using the Dragon Coiling Stance to gather all his strength into the edge of his palm blade. His right arm swung rapidly downward, like Guan Yu's crescent moon saber, slicing down with the force of a charging horse, landing on Chenggang's chest!

"Bad!"

The moment his palm blade struck Chenggang's chest, Qin Lang realized the force was too strong and quickly reduced it by half.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Three crisp sounds echoed from inside Chenggang's chest. As a black boxer, he knew those were the sounds of broken ribs!

Qin Lang's palm blade left a foot-long blood mark on Chenggang's chest through his clothes, but the cut was not deep. However, the three broken ribs were enough to incapacitate Chenggang, even with the performance enhancers.

Qin Lang was secretly relieved that he had reduced the force, otherwise, he might have killed Chenggang.

But even so, it caused him trouble.

From Chenggang's actions, it was clear he would stop at nothing to win. Now that Qin Lang had broken his ribs with a "killing move," Chenggang would likely accuse Qin Lang of intentional injury to the guards, adding more charges against him.

At that moment, Chenggang, lying on the ground, said to Qin Lang, "You win... Master An wants to tell you something... Come closer."

Qin Lang approached, and just as he got close, Chenggang suddenly pulled out a very small knife from his back and stabbed Qin Lang's leg. The knife was so small, even smaller than a child's pencil sharpener, because even if the guards were bribed by Sang Kun, they wouldn't dare let Chenggang bring a weapon in to kill. But Chenggang clearly intended to kill Qin Lang, so he had hidden a small knife on his body, and the snake venom on the blade was lethal!