Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 10: Exchange of Blows

Seeing Lu Ke's punch coming, Chen Chuan instinctively lowered his hands to block, but this was a feint. Lu Ke's prepared follow-up quickly struck, and he moved forward simultaneously. His movements were swift and connected. Although Chen Chuan leaned back slightly, he was still hit by the jaw guard and took two steps back.

Lu Ke then stopped, seemingly concerned, and asked, "Young Master Chen, are you okay? My punch might have been a bit heavy."

Chen Chuan looked at him and smiled, saying, "I'm fine."

Yu Gang, with his arms crossed, remained silent. He could see through Lu Ke's little tricks. In real combat, there's no room for reasoning, and such small moves were nothing.

Lu Ke had come up with the idea to hit Chen Chuan, not only because he had always been unconvinced by Chen Chuan and wanted to vent his frustration, but also for tactical reasons. He wanted to provoke Chen Chuan, to make him lose his cool, which would make the fight easier.

However, he quickly realized that Chen Chuan was not angered by the hit, nor did he become timid. He remained as calm as when he first stepped up, which in turn made Lu Ke more cautious.

Chen Chuan didn't have much formal fighting experience and could only act according to his understanding. He recalled what Yu Gang had taught him, defending against Lu Ke's moves while slowly closing in, constantly using his front hand to test the distance and disrupt his opponent.

Feeling that he had closed into a suitable distance, he tried to throw a straight punch, but Lu Ke easily dodged it and countered with a hook. Fortunately, Chen Chuan was attentive enough to block it with his hand in time, preventing Lu Ke from succeeding.

Lu Ke should have taken the opportunity to throw more punches and gain the upper hand, but instead, he quickly retreated, as if wary of something.

Over the past few days, Lu Ke had come to understand that Chen Chuan's punches and kicks were sometimes light and sometimes heavy. Sometimes they were ordinary, but other times they were explosive, not only powerful but also fast. He truly couldn't figure out the pattern, so he dared not get hit.

If Lu Ke didn't come forward, Chen Chuan would take the initiative to approach.

He tried to close in and attack, but Lu Ke's footwork was very agile. As soon as he detected any sign of Chen Chuan's move, he would quickly move away. Sometimes, when he felt Chen Chuan getting close, he would kick him away swiftly, while continuously kicking his knee bend, occasionally suddenly attacking his face. Apart from the initial two punches, Lu Ke tried his best to maintain the distance between them, relying on his proficient footwork and quick movements to keep Chen Chuan at a medium to long distance, making it impossible for the latter to reach him.

His idea was also practical; people who have just started on the path of combat generally don't have much stamina reserve, especially under intense confrontation. After a few minutes of continuous dodging, they would tire themselves out, without him needing to do much. If stamina runs out, he would have more advantage in the next two rounds.

Chen Chuan tried many times but found that he couldn't land an effective attack. He knew this was because his skills and experience were insufficient, leading to the current passive situation.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how he fought, he would lose.

But he wanted to win.

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If it were a life-and-death battle or a premise like the entrance re-examination, then he would naturally not hesitate to use "Second Self".

However, this was just a confrontation, and merely pursuing a formal victory didn't hold much significance, instead losing the opportunity for training. So he not only wanted to win but also to win without using Second Self.

Lu Ke was not without flaws; although his defense was very tight, it lacked enough pressure, which allowed Chen Chuan to think of countermeasures. After observing for a while, he indeed found a possible breakthrough point.

Lu Ke had a habit; whenever he attacked, if he was in an open central position, he would move quickly. But when he was close to a wall or a pillar, he would most likely give a straight kick to push him away.

In that case, perhaps he could try...

Chen Chuan was not in a hurry, nor did he impatiently expose his intentions, but patiently waited for the opportunity.

The two chased and defended against each other, and soon two minutes had passed, gradually approaching the end of the first round.

Lu Ke, while dodging, observed Chen Chuan and found that so far, the latter showed no signs of fatigue, which was not like a novice at all.

He also realized.

Damn, it's the breathing technique!

Under the continuous operation of the breathing technique, Chen Chuan's physical qualities in all aspects were greatly improved. Even though he had trained for a long time, Chen Chuan could still catch up with him, and it was foreseeable that surpassing him was only a matter of time.

Thinking of this, deep envy and jealousy rose in his heart, and under the catalysis of this emotion, he also slightly lost the calmness he should have had.

Chen Chuan immediately felt that Lu Ke's mentality seemed to have undergone a subtle change. He didn't know the reason, but he knew that the opportunity he was waiting for had come.

He paid attention to his surroundings, and when Lu Ke once again approached the wall pillar, he suddenly moved forward, while with the cooperation of the breathing technique, his abdominal muscles prepared to contract, his gaze fixed on Lu Ke, and at the same time, he reached out with a sinking hand! As expected, Lu Ke kicked over, seemingly delivering himself to Chen Chuan, who caught his foot. Prepared for this, Chen Chuan didn't suffer much damage despite being kicked in the abdomen. As he retreated with the force, he also pulled Lu Ke's heel, trying to make the latter lose his balance.

When his leg was caught, Lu Ke was startled. With some experience, he punched Chen Chuan's face as Chen Chuan pulled his leg back.

Chen Chuan originally intended to disrupt Lu Ke's balance before choosing to strike, but real combat and sparring are entirely different. There was no opportunity to fully execute his moves, so he was a beat slower. Instead, Lu Ke's fist came first. Chen Chuan quickly lowered his head, letting the punch hit the protective gear on his forehead. Although his head shook, it didn't cause him much harm.

At this moment, he no longer insisted on striking. With his arm clamping one of Lu Ke's legs, he extended a foot to hook the latter's other supporting foot. Not having learned post-fall attack methods, he considered it a win if he could knock his opponent down.

However, he soon realized that while this move was easy during sparring, in actual combat, the physical struggle between the two caused many hitches. His foot fell short of Lu Ke's heel, barely grazing it, but it still startled Lu Ke, who instinctively hopped back on one leg to avoid the hook.

This hop created a pause. Feeling the opposing force suddenly decrease, Chen Chuan stepped forward without hesitation and executed a Da San Shou[-]'s palm strike!

This move, from bottom to top, struck with the base of the palm directly through the gap between Lu Ke's hands, hitting the latter's chin.

The heavy blow caused Lu Ke's head to jerk back. Even with the jaw guard, he felt dizzy and staggered.

"Stop!"

Yu Gang called out at this moment.

Hearing the call, Chen Chuan immediately stopped. Lu Ke stepped back, shaking his head and leaning on a pillar for a while before recovering.

Yu Gang waited for Lu Ke to recover before calling the two back in front of him.

He first looked at Lu Ke and commented, "Your skills and experience are superior to Chen Chuan's, but after hitting Chen Chuan at the start, you thought you had the upper hand. Later, fearing being hit by him, you kept dodging, trying to exhaust Chen Chuan's stamina. Whether your idea was right or not, your moves were repetitive, and lacking variation, making it no surprise that you were caught off guard. Fortunately, Chen Chuan didn't know how to use "Zheng San Shou[-]" and was wearing gloves, otherwise, think about the consequences."Lu Ke's expression changed slightly.

In "Zheng San Shou[-]', the most common follow-up to the Coiling Palm is the Curtain Tearing Hand. After hitting the enemy, the five fingers exert force in one go, either tearing off the enemy's face or directly crushing the throat bone. This is a very brutal move. Although Yu Gang had not taught him this, he was aware of it.

Yu Gang then looked at Chen Chuan and said, "Chen Chuan, at the beginning when you both saluted each other, given your positions, Lu Ke's first punch could not have reached you no matter what. Your defense was completely unnecessary, which allowed Lu Ke to follow up. This is due to your lack of experience, but also your lack of careful observation of the venue. You need to learn from this lesson and at least make a good judgment on distance in the future."

Chen Chuan nodded, accepting the advice humbly.

Yu Gang continued, "But I also have to praise you. Even though you suffered a setback at the beginning, you never gave up looking for an opportunity, showing great initiative. Most importantly, you still won the fight, so I give you two points for this first round."

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