Chapter 89: The First Attempt at Inner Power

The martial art practiced by Ohma Tokiguri, known as the "Two Tiger Style," is undeniably a highly adaptable discipline. The four major forms, each symbolizing earth, water, wind, and fire, possess their own secret techniques—the "Ultimate." Furthermore, they can be combined, giving rise to branch techniques such as "Oni Ao."

With the Water-Heaven Form, the body softens to absorb incoming attacks; the Fire-Heaven Form adjusts the center of gravity to find the optimal position and posture for receiving blows. The Vajra Form hardens the body, building a conduit for external force to flow through. Finally, the essential Flow-Control Form manipulates the movement of one's body and internal energy.

When all four are united, not only can the opponent's force be entirely returned, but one's own power can also be layered onto the attack—resulting in a double return!

Yet, this secret technique, born only from mastering and refining the fundamental skills of the style, seems to follow a different path from Ohma's unique method of accelerating his heartbeat to enhance his physical abilities. One is grounded, valuing the foundation; the other is wild and unrestrained, breaking all limits. It appears there are internal divisions within the Two Tiger Style as well.

As Ohma's knife-hand struck Hakudo Kyo's neck with unprecedented force, the youth's mind was still racing.

"Boom!"

The combined force of the two sent Hakudo Kyo flying across the arena. His solid body shot out like a cannonball, smashing straight through the concrete walls surrounding the ring—a meter thick, reinforced with steel bars. Even when Hakudo Kyo clashed against fighters like Julius and Taketsuki, they had only managed to shatter the outer layer of concrete. This time, the steel inside was torn apart as well!

Hakudo Kyo was knocked out of the ring, landing in the spectator area. Only in the world of underground fighting, where there are no ring boundaries, could such a blow not result in an immediate loss, regardless of whether the youth could continue fighting. Otherwise, being thrown out of the ring alone would have been enough to declare defeat.

Even so, everyone in the hall stared in silence at the gaping wreck left in the wall.

"Ha! Two Tiger Style! Still as troublesome as ever," Yurei Mio said coldly, arms folded, gazing at the ring. Remembering the relationship between the youth who was sent flying and his old friend, he glanced sideways at his companion, then was taken aback.

"Hm? Huirio, that kid just got taught a harsh lesson. Shouldn't you be happy?"

"That's right, that's right," the head of the Inaba Style, crawling upside down, chimed in, "He was really put in his place!"

"Ah," Wu Huirio ignored his friends' teasing, sighing instead. "Getting old... even my eyesight is failing."

The two white-haired elders turned to look at him.

"The nature of muscle determines that the more relaxed one is when delivering a heavy strike, the greater the force—like a spring." Wu Huirio, instead of answering their confusion, spoke as if teaching basic combat principles to his battle-hardened friends.

"From this perspective, that Tokiguri's 'Oni Ao,' the move that returns force at the moment of attack, is the harshest blow delivered when the enemy's defense is at its weakest."

"But look at Tokiguri's hand," Wu Huirio's tone was odd, slowly raising his hand to point at the ring. "Does that look like a strike to a 'weak point'?"

All eyes turned. Ohma, still lying on the ground unable to rise, had his skin returning to its normal color. Although he remained battered, he no longer looked like a demon from hell. Yet, the hand that struck Hakudo Kyo's neck—a notably vulnerable area—now had its four fingers twisted into a mangled mess.

Blood and shredded flesh dripped from his forearm, splattering onto the sand with a sticky "plop." Suddenly, from the silent hall, there was a rumble of falling debris from the dark hole in the wall. As chunks of concrete tumbled down, a handsome figure emerged from the swirling dust.

"...Hey, you've got to be kidding," in the stands, even Kanrin Jun, famed for his resilience, murmured in near disbelief.

A meter-thick cement wall, constructed under the supervision of the wealthy Dai Nippon Bank, reinforced with high-grade steel—now shattered, the steel bars torn apart. Any fighter besides Taketsuki and Julius would have been buried by such a blow!

He walked out of the ruins at a measured pace, Hakudo Kyo placing his hand on his chin. When the knife-hand struck, he had bowed his head at the last instant, using his jaw to take the hit instead of his vulnerable neck. Now, his jawbone had suffered a few fractures and dislocations.

"Crack—crack—"

With a calm face, he realigned the displaced bones, wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and smiled with delight.

"Well done, old man."

"You monster..." Ohma struggled to rise from the ground.

"That hardness," Ohma stared at his twisted four fingers, "isn't something the 'Unbreakable' technique can achieve."

As a practitioner of the Two Tiger Style, he knew the limits of its techniques. What the youth had just demonstrated couldn't be explained by 'Unbreakable' alone. That was a blow combining his 'Core Explosion' power and the full strength of his 'Possession' state!

"Ah, you mean this—snap—" The boy's clear voice was accompanied by a snap of his fingers, but the sound was not that of flesh and bone—it was more like thin, flexible metal sheets clashing!

"Borrowing force with force—a powerful technique. I spent a long time figuring this out." The youth smiled. Indeed, it had taken him a great deal of effort.

If he had used the 'Steadfast' ability, the recoil would have left Ohma unsure whether his hand still had four fingers. But if he only relied on 'Unbreakable,' his own injuries wouldn't have stopped at a fractured jaw; spinal trauma, even breakage, would have been possible.

So, there was only one answer. Although Dragon-Blood Internal Energy lacked matching techniques, when combined with 'Unbreakable' muscle hardening, its ability to transmit force could channel energy throughout the body. By using hardened jaw muscles to absorb the blow, and internal energy as a conduit, the force was dispersed across his entire frame.

Hakudo Kyo clenched and relaxed his hand, eyes shining with intrigue. This was his first time using internal energy in such a way. Perhaps most of the 'techniques' in the martial world began from innovations like this.

"It's over." The youth stood beside the fallen Ohma, declaring victory just as before.

Though both arms were nearly shattered and his body was battered, Ohma still tried to struggle to his feet.

"No, I haven't..."

But now, he didn't even have the strength to use 'Bone Embrace.'

Before he could finish, Hakudo Kyo pressed his hand to Ohma's carotid artery. The restricted blood flow quickly rendered the already severely anemic Ohma unconscious.

"The winner! Hakudo Kyo of Hakudo Storage and Logistics!"