Chapter 2396 – Initial Display of Strength
As Matt knelt, silence momentarily enveloped the entire training hall. The tall woman with short hair, in particular, wore a stiff expression, her mocking words forgotten.
“Impossible!”
“Matt, what happened?!”
Mythology’s members were dumbfounded by their comrade’s reaction. They were all quite familiar with Matt’s strength and defense, but they also knew his personality. Thus, they knew this wasn’t an act.
s.h.i.+ Feng’s palm strike had looked gentle. It hadn’t even seemed powerful enough to injure an ordinary person, much less a Henglian expert like Matt, yet after taking the hit, Matt had collapsed with his pale face twisted in pain. The strike had clearly left him with substantial injuries.
Even Lei Bao and Heaven’s Rumble’s disciples gaped in shock, not to mention Fang s.h.i.+han’s group.
“What did the Hall Master do?”
Heaven’s Rumble disciples were confused. They had already witnessed Matt’s strength earlier, when he had defeated Lei Bao in three moves. The man had such high defense that he had taken a full-powered blow from Lei Bao without issue, and yet, he couldn’t cope with one of s.h.i.+ Feng’s gentle palm strikes.
“Did that guy use some hidden weapon, Vice Guild Leader? How else would he have hurt Matt?” a male youth, who was as large as Fang Mingyu, quietly asked Fang s.h.i.+han.
Aside from the old instructor, who wasn’t in the hall, the strongest of Heaven’s Rumble’s visitors were Matt and Fang s.h.i.+han. Since Matt couldn’t speak at that moment, only Fang s.h.i.+han could inform her companions of what s.h.i.+ Feng had done.
The rest of Mythology’s group nodded, agreeing with the male youth. They a.s.sumed that s.h.i.+ Feng must’ve cheated.
“No. He didn’t just attack with one strike, but three, instantaneous palm strikes,” Fang s.h.i.+han said, watching s.h.i.+ Feng with an indescribably grim expression. “Moreover, all three strikes. .h.i.t the same location, so it looked like a single attack. His physical control has already reached the Spiritualization Realm.”
Three palm strikes?! How is that possible?!”
Their leader’s answer stunned Mythology’s members. Ignoring the difficulty of striking the same location multiple times, executing three simultaneous attacks was an unbelievable feat. They couldn’t even fathom what kind of mental and physical reaction speed one would need to accomplish it.
“That’s right, I executed three palm strikes, as agreed,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, not bothering to hide the truth. He was a little surprised to see Matt so pale, however. “Not only does combining three attacks allow me to increase my raw power, but it also doubles my hits penetrating power. To think you only received minor injuries, I’m impressed with your muscular defense. If you had come here a few days ago, I really wouldn’t have been a match for you.”
Adjusting to his Epic Mana Body in the Howling Wind Canyon had inspired him.
After he had become a neutralizing grandmaster in the real world, his mind had begun to secrete hormones to fortify his physical prowess. His mental and physical reaction speeds, in particular, had significantly improved, but superior reaction speed wasn’t enough for him to exhibit his full strength. His physical control wasn’t yet perfect.
However, by controlling the flow of Mana in his Epic Mana Body, he had come up with some combat techniques that would rely on his reaction speed. Although he couldn’t replicate these techniques perfectly in the real world, he was able to exhibit a fraction of the techniques’ power. Even that fraction greatly increased his strength and penetrating power, allowing him to drive the force of his strikes toward Matt’s organs.
Not even an adult bear would escape such an attack unscathed. Although Matt was in incredible shape, he was only human.
Once his pain had subsided to a bearable level, Matt stood, glaring at s.h.i.+ Feng with a hint of fear in his gaze. He abandoned any thought of fighting the younger man.
“You…Very good! I’ve lost this challenge!”
Henglian Style pract.i.tioners were famed for their brute strength and defense. The only reason that they dared to clash with neutralizing grandmasters was their ability to take a hit without sustaining significant injuries. On the other hand, if they got lucky and landed a bow, they could knock out their opponent with a single hit. However, they’d have to flee from a neutralizing grandmaster like s.h.i.+ Feng, who could ignore their defense. Fighting such an individual would only spell their death.
Still, the situation confused Matt. Aside from s.h.i.+ Feng, he had only ever taken such a serious blow from his old instructor. His instructor was an old monster who had become a neutralizing grandmaster several decades ago. The old instructor had also received help from plenty of state-of-the-art and medication to grow stronger. His strength had long since reached inhuman levels. In comparison, s.h.i.+ Feng was only in his early 20s. Just how did this young man become so powerful?
“In that case, will you fulfill your end of the bargain, Mis Fang?” s.h.i.+ Feng asked after Matt had admitted defeat.
After his fight with Matt, s.h.i.+ Feng’s mind spun. It wasn’t because he had successfully executed a G.o.d’s Domain combat technique in the real world, but because of how impressed he was with Mythology’s expert standards. He had never thought Mythology would be this powerful.
If even Mythology could nurture such incredible fighters, other superpowers shouldn’t be far behind.
More than anything, s.h.i.+ Feng needed a large stock of Life Potions to nurture his own fitness, as well as help Lei Bao and Fire Dance become neutralizing grandmasters. Otherwise, Zero Wing’s operations in the real world would be in grave danger.
The Three Palms, One Strike technique might have looked simple, but it was extremely hard to execute. If s.h.i.+ Feng hadn’t mentally prepared himself, and Matt hadn’t simply stood there to take the hit, he wouldn’t have been able to execute the technique.
“I don’t have 20 Life Potions on me right now, but I’ll have someone deliver them to you before the end of tomorrow,” Fang s.h.i.+han said, frowning. s.h.i.+ Feng’s strength had drastically exceeded her expectations. He certainly couldn’t be considered an ordinary neutralizing grandmaster. “We have other matters to tend to, so we will take our leave for now.”
After saying so, Fang s.h.i.+han left with her subordinates, and s.h.i.+ Feng didn’t try to stop her. Fang s.h.i.+han was the Qilin Corporation’s princess. She couldn’t afford to break a promise she made in public.
After Fang s.h.i.+han’s group left, cheers broke out in the training hall as the disciples celebrated. Everyone practically wors.h.i.+pped s.h.i.+ Feng’s display, which had renewed their confidence in the Heaven’s Rumble Training Center. Some of the normal members even considered applying to become true Heaven’s Rumble disciples.
However, the atmosphere in the luxury maglev car parked outside of the training center wasn’t as cheerful.
“We’re just going to leave, Vice Guild Leader? I know we only came here to test Heaven’s Rumble’s standards but wasn’t our main goal to compete with the training center virtually and steal its virtual combat platforms in Fenglin City?. s.h.i.+ Feng might be strong, but it’ll be a different story when we fight in a virtual combat platform. Not even Zero Wing’s Black Flame will be a match for you with your strength as a Tier 3 player, much less s.h.i.+ Feng,” Matt complained.
“No. We need to report this to the old instructor,” Fang s.h.i.+han said, shaking her head. “No matter how you look at it, it’s strange for someone as young as s.h.i.+ Feng to be so powerful. I’m sure there’s some big secret to his strength. If we can discover this secret, we’ll gain far more authority in Mythology. It might even be enough for me to become one of the headquarter’s Three Great Vice Guild Leaders!”