Chapter 1808 908: Grandmaster Battle (Part 2)

After saying these three sentences, he sat down directly.

His back straight as a spear, his gaze fell on the empty center of the martial arts arena.

Ignoring everyone.

A look of truly watching the competition.

The whole venue fell silent for a moment.

Originally, many people - including Li Yan - speculated that Huo Yin had another purpose here: either representing the court to warn the Vassal Kings, acting on behalf of a certain faction to stabilize the scene, or perhaps even to stop this duel.

But his behavior made it elusive for people to grasp his intention.

Someone whispered in discussion.

"Could it be... that he's really here just to watch the duel?"

"Or perhaps the strength of the combatants is worthy of his attention."

This statement made several people around feel a chill in their hearts.

Looking back at the field, many who originally only cared about the power dynamics of the Prince Mansion had their expressions changed.

Those merchants, Magic Vein Masters, straightened themselves, their gazes shifting back and forth between Li Yan and Ba Donghai.

A duel worthy of Huo Yin's attention would not be simple.

"Please, both participants enter the arena."

Huo Yin's voice rang out again.

Li Yan took a deep breath, took off his cloak and Duan Chen Blade and handed them to Sha Lifei.

"Brother Yan, be careful," Wang Daoxuan said in a low voice.

Li Yan nodded and stepped down from the Martial Arts Observation Platform.

Opposite, Ba Donghai also stood up and entered the arena simultaneously.

The two stood three meters apart in the center of the arena.

Ba Donghai cupped his fists, "Daoist Li, please."

Li Yan returned the gesture, "Mr. Ba, please."

There was no superfluous word.

Ba Donghai moved.

No explosion of Astral Force, no precursor of spells, just the simplest starting move of Baji Fist.

Two feet placed apart, shoulder-width, knees slightly bent, right hand clenched into a fist held at the waist, left hand presented forward as a palm.

The movement was stable like a mountain, and as he stood there, it seemed the ground sank a few inches.

Li Yan similarly assumed a Red Fist stance.

Left foot stepped forward half a step, right hand forming a fist protecting his chest, left hand as a palm hanging by his side.

Unlike Ba Donghai's steadiness, his stance was livelier, center of gravity subtly shifting between his feet, akin to a bow ready to spring at any moment.

The two exchanged glances for three breaths.

Suddenly, Ba Donghai stomped his left foot on the ground.

Thud!

The bluestone ground burst into cobweb-like cracks, and he shot like an arrow off the string, crossing the three-meter distance in a single step, right fist thrusting straight into the Central Palace with simple, brutal force, like a "Fierce Tiger Climbing a Mountain."

Before the fist arrived, the wind generated by it already made Li Yan's clothes flutter wildly backward.

Li Yan advanced instead of retreating, his left foot stepping diagonally, his form like a fish slipping half a step sideways, avoiding the frontal fist force while his right hand formed a knife hand slicing towards Ba Donghai's wrist.

Red Fist "Hidden Flower in the Leaf," specializing in attacking joints.

Ba Donghai flipped his wrist, transforming his fist into a claw, his five fingers like hooks grabbing toward Li Yan's hand edge. Li Yan's knife hand turned to two fingers, formed like a sword pointing towards the Laogong acupoint in the claw's palm. Ba Donghai's claw then changed from grabbing to slapping, its edge chopping towards Li Yan's fingers like a blade.

In a flash, the two had exchanged three moves.

No Astral Force or spells, just pure martial arts.

But the spectators on the sidelines, all experts, were utterly focused and breathless.

"Very stable."

Yang Chongshan from the Xingyi Sect, known as "Iron Finger," stopped peeling walnuts, staring intently at the field, "Every step Ba Donghai takes falls on his previous footprints, his force like an Earth Dragon Rolling, demonstrating the authentic foundation of Baji, 'Stamping Foot Shocking Nine Provinces'."

A nearby elder continued the conversation, "Li Yan's movement technique is more excellent. Every step he takes is timed in the gaps of Ba Donghai's force. This technique can only be honed through extensive combat experience to become instinctual."

As they spoke, the two in the field had already exchanged over twenty moves.

Ba Donghai's boxing was fierce, the Baji's Six Major Openings — top, embrace, shoulder, lift, hang, entwine — each move like a giant axe splitting a mountain, power penetrating three feet through the body. Yet Li Yan was like willow fluff in the wind, always narrowly avoiding heavy strikes, close-in Red Fist like a serpent flicking its tongue, while the long-distance Splitting and Hitting struck like a whip cracking through air, near and far, making him unpredictable.

Bam!

Ba Donghai's "Sky-reaching Cannon" shot directly at Li Yan's face; Li Yan leaned back to evade, but his right foot lashed out like a scorpion's tail at Ba Donghai's abdomen.

Ba Donghai pressed his left palm downwards to block, the collision of their fists and feet producing a dull sound of flesh meeting flesh.

Both stepped back three paces.

The first round of probing ended.

The two of them weren't out of breath at all, but the blue stone ground beneath their feet had over a dozen shallow pits.

"Refreshing!"

Ba Donghai suddenly spoke, revealing a slight smile on his face, "Daoist Li's boxing is real skill honed between life and death."

Li Yan also nodded, "Mr. Ba's Eight Extremes has truly mastered the essence of stability, accuracy, and ferocity."

As the words fell, both of them moved again simultaneously.

This time, Ba Donghai no longer held back.

He stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, and his entire body's vitality surged violently. A faint red glow that was visible to the naked eye surfaced on his skin – Astral Force externalized!

At the same time, he formed a seal with both hands, chanting a spell:

"Primordial Emperor's Decree, summon Thunder Department General, urgently as the law commands!"

Hiss!

An azure electric light formed from nowhere in his right palm, as thin as a hair, yet emitted a piercing shriek.

This was not a common Thunder Technique but the "Heavenly Master Thunder Skill·Palm Heart Thunder" secretly passed down from the Primordial Emperor's Law Lineage.

Guided by Martial Arts Gang Strength, summoning thunder with a spell, it specifically breaks through Protective Gang Qi.

Li Yan's pupils contracted.

He was aware that Ba Donghai cultivated both martial arts and magic yet didn't expect the other party could integrate Thunder Technique into the Fist Force to this extent.

The Palm Heart Thunder was not cast independently but entwined with the fist edge, blasting out along with the Fist Force!

No time to think further.

Li Yan propelled himself with his left foot and retreated three zhang violently.

Activating the North Emperor Divine Travel Technique, his figure suddenly blurred, leaving behind three afterimages. Ba Donghai's punch shattered the middle afterimage, and the azure lightning exploded, blowing a face-sized, pitch-black pit on the blue stone ground, scattering debris.

"You can't escape!"

Ba Donghai gave a low shout, forming another seal with his left hand, "Flying and Concealing Nine Heavens, Shrinking Ground into Inches!"

Primordial Emperor Escape Technique!

In Primordial Emperor's Law, from small spells like Evil Suppressing to life protection to grand spells like Heavenly Master Thunder Skill and Flying and Concealing Nine Heavens, all forms existed, making it a major sect in Sichuan and Chongqing.

His figure suddenly vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already three feet to Li Yan's left, his right fist carrying lightning, smashing horizontally under the ribs.

Li Yan anticipated this, his body rotating sideways like a phantom, dodging the fist edge while his right hand palm struck toward Ba Donghai's side neck — the palm edge emanating a gray-black lightning glow.

North Emperor Yin Thunder Palm!

Ba Donghai retreated urgently, raising his left palm to block.

Gray-black lightning collided with azure lightning.

There was no loud explosion, only a teeth-gritting sizzling sound. The opposing thunder powers of contradictory attributes eroded and obliterated each other, exploding into a distorted electric arc turbulence between their palms.

The aftermath swept across the ground, causing the blue stone slabs to crack inch by inch, turning the broken stones into powder.

On the Martial Arts Observation Platform, there was a collective gasp of surprise.

"Astral Force integrated with Thunder Technique... both of them have brought Martial Arts and Magic Integration to completion!"

A High Priest from White Cloud Temple opened his eyes, the horsetail whisk in his hand slightly trembling.

"Ba Donghai's Palm Heart Thunder is fierce and violent, a Yang Thunder Righteous Method. Li Yan's Yin Thunder Palm is cunning and sinister, specifically damaging the meridians and soul," the Meishan Yellow Robe Old Daoist squinted his eyes, "One yang, one yin; if an ordinary cultivator were touched by this, they'd lose half their body."

In the arena, the fight between the two had reached a fever pitch.

Ba Donghai fought steadily, combining Baji Fist with Palm Heart Thunder, each punch like a heavy hammer beating a drum, causing the entire dojo's ground to hum and vibrate. Li Yan, on the other hand, fully unleashed his movement technique. With the North Emperor Divine Travel Technique combined with Red Boxing Splitting Hang, he was sometimes in the east, sometimes in the west, the Yin Thunder Palm appearing unpredictably, striking at vital points.

However, the keen-eyed could see clearly that Li Yan was in an unfavorable position.

His Astral Force had yet to stabilize, unable to externalize protective energy for long like Ba Donghai, relying solely on his movement technique to evade. Whereas Ba Donghai, protected by Astral Force, could withstand several Yin Thunder Palms with only some agitation in his vitality and blood. If Li Yan were hit by a Palm Heart Thunder, he might get severely injured on the spot.

"Daoist Li, your Astral Force isn't stable; prolonged battle is disadvantageous,"

Ba Donghai suddenly spoke, forcing Li Yan back with a punch, "Why not concede to avoid damaging your foundation."

Li Yan landed, yet he smiled, "Mr. Ba, in a martial arts battle, Astral Force is only one aspect."

As the words fell, he changed his seal technique with both hands again.

This time, it wasn't the North Emperor Seal.

But rather, his left hand formed the Yang Thunder Seal, and his right hand formed the Yin Thunder Seal, both slowly merging in front of his chest.

As the seals changed, a blazing white lightning glow appeared in his left palm, and black lightning arcs surged from his right palm.

"This is..." Ba Donghai's face changed.

Up on the Martial Arts Observation Platform, Huo Yin sat up straight for the first time.

"Yin Yang Combined Thunder," he uttered four words.