Chapter 41: Sparring! The First Stop!

Canglang Martial Arts Hall.

The hour of Chen.

The sky was vast and blue, without a single cloud.

The great sun had already risen, making the courtyard sweltering with heat.

"Junior Brother Jiang, how about a spar?" Cheng Ran spoke suddenly, his eyes shining brightly as he looked at Jiang Ning.

Ever since Jiang Ning had extended a helping hand to him two days ago, Cheng Ran had been unable to find peace in his heart after feeling the explosive power in Jiang Ning's arms.

Since then, he had been intensely curious—curious about exactly what level of strength Jiang Ning possessed now.

At that time, he had already proposed the idea of sparring with Jiang Ning in the future.

His purpose for proposing the spar was merely to satisfy his inner curiosity regarding Jiang Ning's true strength, rather than his previous stated reason of exchanging blows to gain combat experience.

In his view, true combat experience is gained from opponents of similar caliber, not from sparring with someone of a vastly different level.

His blood qi was perfected and circulated throughout his entire body; the strength of his single arm had long since exceeded five hundred jin, more than twice the strength he had felt from Jiang Ning at the time.

Such a massive disparity in strength was, in a direct confrontation, the difference between an adult and a child—they were not opponents on the same level at all.

How could such a huge gap in strength possibly help him gain combat experience?

The proposal to spar was solely to satisfy his curiosity.

Curiosity about Jiang Ning's strength and the realm of his fist techniques.

In the courtyard.

Facing Cheng Ran's proposal, Jiang Ning merely thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Good!"

His reason for agreeing to Cheng Ran's proposal was very simple.

Xu Yunfeng possessed the strength of perfected blood qi circulating throughout his body.

He was currently the person posing the most direct threat to Jiang Ning, and the one most likely to strike against him.

And Cheng Ran also had perfected blood qi circulating throughout his body.

In Jiang Ning's eyes, the theoretical strength of the two was neck and neck.

By sparring with Cheng Ran, he could roughly gauge Xu Yunfeng's approximate strength.

As for any information exposed during the exchange.

In Jiang Ning's view, it didn't matter at all.

Hiding one's light and nurturing obscurity was not what he needed to do right now.

In this world, there is no such thing as "this child's talent is so terrifying, he must not be allowed to live."

Appropriately revealing one's talent carries far more benefits than drawbacks.

As long as it doesn't exceed the world's understanding, one can simply be demonized.

A moment later.

*Crack, crack, crack—*

Cheng Ran stretched his muscles and bones.

"Junior Brother Jiang,"

*Crack, crack, crack—*

He stretched his limbs.

"Junior Brother Jiang, you strike first! I will control my own strength," Cheng Ran said, maintaining his seniority.

"Then Senior Brother Cheng, please be careful," Jiang Ning replied.

In the next instant.

His figure moved, suddenly erupting. The blood qi within his body surged, flowing through his right arm, as he instantly transformed into the momentum of a tiger descending a mountain.

In a distance of less than two zhang, he closed the gap in just a few strides.

"Come then!" Seeing Jiang Ning's outstretched fingers, which looked like a tiger's paw reaching out, Cheng Ran's eyes narrowed.

He immediately shifted his right foot and lowered his center of gravity.

Facing Jiang Ning's palm, he had no intention of dodging.

In his eyes, it was unnecessary, and he couldn't afford to lose face like that.

Cheng Ran clenched his hand into a fist, directly erupting with half of his strength.

*Bang—*

As fist met palm, a dull thud immediately rang out.

The explosion of powerful force caused Cheng Ran to involuntarily take half a step back, but in his state of holding back strength, his body instantly stabilized in place.

What incredible explosive power!!!

Terror surged in Cheng Ran's heart, and the look in his eyes as he watched Jiang Ning changed abruptly.

Only after the exchange, by physically feeling Jiang Ning's strength, could he truly be certain of Jiang Ning's power.

The Tiger Form Fist had clearly reached the stage of minor mastery!

"With this single palm, Junior Brother Jiang carried the momentum of a descending tiger and erupted with a thousand jin of force."

"I underestimated him before!"

Cheng Ran couldn't help but feel a bit sour in his heart; such talent in fist techniques was something he had never heard of or seen before.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it.

A newcomer to the martial arts hall who had been practicing for just over ten days, practicing all five postures of the Five Animals Fist simultaneously, yet had already reached minor mastery.

This was what he envied most, and what shocked him most.

Such talent in fist techniques made him seem like a celestial being.

How wonderful would it be if I had such talent!

Having perceived Jiang Ning's talent, he couldn't help but feel a whirlwind of emotions.

"No wonder Teacher has been looking after Junior Brother Jiang so much these past few days."

"Not only has he allowed him to reside in the hall, but he has also provided him with some of the benefits of a true disciple, such as three bowls of medicinal soup a day."

"With talent like Junior Brother Jiang's, who wouldn't be tempted to take him as a disciple?"

Cheng Ran understood that the reason Jiang Ning's progress was so rapid and had achieved his current success was undoubtedly due to Wang Jin giving him special attention.

However, even understanding this, he felt no sense of unfairness.

Because in his view, this was perfectly normal; let alone Wang Jin, even he would do the same.

A good teacher is hard to find, but a disciple with excellent talent and character who can inherit one's legacy is even harder to find.

Now that he fully knew Jiang Ning's martial achievements, he had only one thought in his mind.

He can only be a friend, never an enemy!

Even if Jiang Ning didn't have the chance to join the Inspectorate, he didn't know how far the boy could go in the future.

But he knew that with such talent, even if Jiang Ning's background was poor, anything was possible in the future.

Perhaps one day, he might even make a name for himself in Guangning Prefecture.

Immediately, a sincere smile appeared on Cheng Ran's face.

"To erupt with a thousand jin of force in an instant—what talent, Junior Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Ning stopped his backward momentum and shook his hand; even with the explosion of blood qi, such a violent collision caused a slight ache in his right palm.

But this pain did not make him feel timid; instead, it made his blood boil with excitement.

"Senior Brother Cheng, again!" Jiang Ning's eyes were as hot as fire.

"Good!" Cheng Ran responded readily.

In the next instant.

The two figures moved.

They instantly entered each other's arm's reach.

*Bang—*

*Bang—*

*Bang—*

The two men's fists collided continuously, hitting flesh with every strike, erupting into the most primal form of combat.

"This is how men fight!" Cheng Ran grinned as they separated.

Jiang Ning also wore a wide smile, as a prompt that only he could see surfaced in his vision.

[Five Animals Fist Experience +1]

So, combat could also increase fist technique experience.

At this moment, Jiang Ning understood instantly.

Consequently, the gaze he directed at Cheng Ran was even more filled with battle intent.

"Again!!"

With a sharp shout, Jiang Ning's body moved, like a white ape lunging forward.

"Good!" Cheng Ran responded.

Facing the frontal assault of Jiang Ning, he directly erupted with fifty percent of his strength.

He spread his five fingers, striking out like a tiger's paw.

In the next instant.

Cheng Ran's expression changed.

Because Jiang Ning's movement instantly shifted from extremely fast to extremely slow, and then, with the agility of an ape, he struck at his opening with a single palm.

*Stomp, stomp, stomp—*

Cheng Ran retreated three steps, his face flushing slightly from the effort.

A breath later, he spoke: "Is this the method of dynamic change in the Deer Form Fist?"

"Yes! Please, Senior Brother Cheng, accept my move!" Jiang Ning said.

"Again!" After catching his breath, Cheng Ran's battle intent was high; he was not yet satisfied.

(End of Chapter)