Chapter 4: A Fist Technique That Has Reached the Pinnacle of Understanding the Human Body
Chapter 4: A Fist Technique That Has Reached the Pinnacle of Understanding the Human Body
"There's no need to tell me about this, is there?"
Sage bowed slightly, his body tense like a hunting beast about to pounce. His bones seemed to tighten as he lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "I don't recall offending your kingdom in any way."
Well, it looks like his career as a bounty hunter is coming to an end.
Ennio bared his teeth in a menacing grin. "Didn't I tell you? I like your white hair!"
Sage took a swift step forward, and with a wave of his hands, he delivered a fierce chop towards Ennio's face.
"Twin Mountain-Splitting Waves!"
If they didn't want him to have an easy time, then he wouldn't hold back either!
Ennio didn't try to dodge the hand chop that was headed straight for his face. He let it strike him.
Bang!
Twin Mountain-Splitting Waves was a move from the Northern Dipper God Fist style. Sage could easily split rocks with this technique, but when he struck Ennio's face, he couldn't even make a dent in his fat.
"Hunk of iron."
Ennio's face was as hard as steel. He grabbed Sage's wrist and slowly pushed it away. "Not bad."
Swish!
He quickly lifted his leg, sending a light blue slash straight at Sage's body.
At such close range, there was no way to avoid it.
But Sage leaped into the air, dodging the slash that came dangerously close. Using the wrist that Ennio was still holding, he twisted his body gracefully, slithering his arm free like a snake. He flipped behind Ennio, and his hands became like stabbing needles as he swiftly struck towards his temples.
Ennio was about to block with his iron-like face, but suddenly, his pupils contracted as if he had sensed something. His massive, obese body softened like a candle in the wind, swaying gently as if it had turned malleable.
"Paper Drawing!"
His twisting body dodged Sage's strike, and Sage immediately kicked out. His extended leg turned into countless shadows, aiming to capture Ennio's contorting body.
"Northern Dipper Soft Break Chop!"
"Moon Step!"
Just as Sage kicked out, Ennio stopped twisting. He stomped on the air, bouncing into the air and then stomping again, suspending himself mid-air.
"He knows Moon Step and Paper Drawing, and he's mastered all six Navy styles?"
Sage landed on the ground and turned to Lily, who was standing there dumbfounded. "Your stepfather is quite something."
To know all six Navy styles, one would have to be at least a minor general in the headquarters, and an elite at that. And his senses were keen; he must have sensed the danger in Sage's move, or else he wouldn't have used Moon Step to dodge.
Is this the caliber of a usurper?
Where did he come from?
Lily, still dazed, could only stammer, "I-I don't know."
In her memory, aside from Ennio's indulgent lifestyle, there was no recollection of his strength.
During the last assassination attempt, Ennio had also been completely unprepared and would have been successful if not for his guards.
"Hahahahaha!"
Ennio, still bouncing in the air, laughed wildly. "What does she know? She's been raised in the palace since she was young, unknown to the outside world. I was thinking of using her as a tool for political marriage with another country, but she dared to try and assassinate me! And now she wants to go to sea? Going to sea means avoiding taxes, but do they dare?"
Ennio fixed his gaze on Sage, his eyes filled with an inexplicable emotion. His voice turned low, "Why don't you go to sea, a man like you?"
Sage assumed a fighting stance and exhaled a breath of turbid air. "What's it to you?"
The Northern Dipper Soft Break Chop that he had just used was a typical hard-to-soft kicking technique designed to counter large and flexible opponents. It was especially effective against Ennio, who had used 'Paper Drawing', and if it landed, it would completely destroy his body tissue.
Unfortunately, he saw it coming.
Ennio continued to bounce in the air, deep in thought. Then, as he stomped on the air again, he curled his legs and furiously kicked downwards.
"You can dodge a single attack, but what about this? Storm Leg: Chaos!"
Countless slashes rained down from above, indiscriminately attacking the ground. Sage's pupils contracted.
An advanced version of the six styles?
This was no ordinary user of the six styles!
He stared intently at the slashes that flew towards him, and his body began to move with a strange flexibility. Amidst the torrent of slashes, he danced nimbly, skillfully avoiding the attacks that could plow deep furrows into the ground with the slightest touch.
Swish!
The last slash aimed for Sage's head, but he easily leaned back, spinning in the air before landing steadily on the ground.
Across the ravaged land, Sage stood up, his gaze challenging as he stared at Ennio.
"Paper Drawing?" Ennio asked, taken aback. "Do you know the Six Styles?"
When it came to martial arts, there were universal principles that transcended even a change in worlds.
That move, 'Paper Drawing', Sage could tell, involved shedding one's physical strength and relying solely on manipulating air currents to alter one's body and evade attacks.
As for his 'Northern Dipper Empty Extreme Flow Dance', the principle was the same—by harnessing the changes in air currents, his body would flow and change with the air, allowing him to dodge with ease.
Since the principles were the same, it could indeed be considered a form of 'Paper Drawing'.
But why reveal this? Sage let out a cold laugh. "Care to guess?"
His eyes narrowed as he watched Ennio's body bouncing in the air.
Ennio kept bouncing, and Sage would...
BOOM!
Like the sound of a cannon being fired, Ennio's obese body resembled a spinning sphere as it rapidly descended towards Sage.
"Iron Mass: Cannonball!"
A deep voice, accompanied by immense gravity, pressed down with such force that even Sage's hair fluttered, and his facial skin seemed to stretch.
Such might!
Impossible to counter!
Sage, who had been considering a counterattack, immediately retracted his plan. As his body retreated, he allowed the 'cannonball' to descend, but just before it made contact with the ground, Ennio suddenly extended his limbs. With a light tap of his hands on the ground, his legs opened wide, and with a fierce spin, he unleashed his power.
"Storm Leg: Chaos!"
WHOOSH!
A circular storm of wind erupted from his legs, slicing towards the surroundings.
Sage was startled. His body arched backward, forming an inverted U-shape, barely dodging the slicing attack. The windstorm rapidly expanded outward, cleaving through nearby buildings. The extending stairs behind him were also sliced open by this powerful strike.
Such power!
Before Sage could catch his breath, a massive shadow loomed over him. He had just lifted his head when a fist slammed into his face.
BOOM!
Sage's head snapped back, and blood trickled from his mouth. Before his body, which had been falling backward, could right itself, Ennio's arms were already wrapped around his legs. With a forceful twist of his body, Sage's legs were freed, and as he tumbled backward, he stretched out two fingers, aiming to strike Ennio's arm.
If he could land that strike...
"Iron Mass: Cross Lock!"
Sage felt the arms he was gripping suddenly harden like iron. Ennio forcefully swung his arm, and the transmitted power caused Sage's grip to fail. Not only did Ennio's arm slip free, but it also wriggled out from between Sage's legs like an eel, forcefully throwing him off.
CLANG!
The immense force also sent Sage's waist-bound sword flying, and it tumbled in the air before landing at Lily's feet.
"A combined technique?!
Sage, hanging in the air, was astonished. That last move—was it a combination of Iron Mass and Paper Drawing? Sage glanced at Ennio with newfound understanding, and his body began to spin in the air. But before he could land, Ennio's feet were already in motion.
"Moon Step!"
His body blurred as he swiftly appeared before Sage, who was still hanging in the air. Ennio's fingers became blades as they swiftly stabbed forward.
"Finger Gun: Blade!"
The hand blades slashed through the air, piercing towards Sage's chest with incredible speed.
BOOM!
Like steel meeting steel, a dull but incredibly solid sound rang out as the hand blades struck Sage's chest.
Ennio's eyes widened in surprise. "You..."
Sage finally landed on the ground, his head slowly lifting. "Iron Mass."
The Northern Dipper God Fist was an art that had reached the pinnacle of understanding the human body. With that understanding, one technique could lead to mastery of countless others. Though Sage had never encountered the Six Styles before, he could observe and grasp their essence.
The principle behind 'Paper Drawing' was identical to the 'Empty Extreme Flow Dance', and without prior knowledge, he could naturally employ it. As for the rest, observation was key.
And now, after witnessing those techniques a few times, if he couldn't grasp them, it would be a waste of this assassination art that had reached the pinnacle of understanding the human body.
Iron Mass required a well-trained, robust physique, coupled with accelerated blood flow to increase muscle movement and harden the body. Well, the principle behind that...any man would understand, and it was simply a matter of enhancing local effects and extending them throughout the body.
Sage certainly possessed a well-trained physique.
As for accelerating blood flow, he had witnessed it enough times to replicate it with ease!
(End of Chapter)
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