Chapter 18: Who Is Using Tai Chi!?

“This guy is really bad,”

Yang Liuqing said, his delicate brows furrowed.

“Should we go help?”

He had come to help; he didn’t want to just stand by and watch.

“No.”

Ke Ling looked over.

“Master, before we figure out whether the other party is good or bad, let’s observe first.”

“Xiao Qingqing, some people will first get close to you, and once they’re familiar, they’ll stab you in the back,”

Ke Li warned.

“That makes sense.”

Yang Liuqing bit his lip.

‘We’re not related by blood, yet she took a huge risk to help me.’

‘If I say she’s a good person, there aren’t many good people left in this world.’

‘The chances of me running into one don’t seem high.’

‘If I say she’s a bad person, she doesn’t give off that kind of vibe.’

‘If I trust my feelings, then she helped out of goodwill.’

‘Not with some ulterior motive.’

‘But as Ke Li said, some people are really good at acting.’

‘Feelings can’t be trusted.’

“Scram.”

Facing the black-clad men lunging at her, Chen Yanran merely snapped.

Then, Yang Liuqing saw a violent surge of aura burst from Chen Yanran’s body, like an invisible giant whip sweeping across.

“Waaah!”

The black-clad men were all struck at once, sent flying backward, accompanied by screams and the crisp sound of breaking bones.

Yang Xu’s expression changed slightly, his fists clenched. Because he could tell that this person was no ordinary powerhouse.

With just her aura, she had severely injured these trained fighters; her strength was clearly not inferior to his. It would be a tough battle.

“Awesome!”

Yang Liuqing’s eyes sparkled.

‘This is what a big sister should be!’

“Master, quickly steal that technique—it’s great for cleaning up minions,”

Ke Ling suggested.

“Do you think I can just learn it by watching?”

Yang Liuqing couldn’t even control his aura well; being able to instantly steal such an advanced technique would be ridiculously overpowered.

“Xiao Qingqing just hasn’t understood ‘Qi’ yet. Once you get used to it, you can steal it right away,”

Ke Li pointed out. It wasn’t that he couldn’t steal it, but that he had a problem with understanding.

As the three of them talked, Yang Xu made his move. He stamped his foot, cracking the ground, and shot forward like an arrow.

Chen Yanran stood in place, one hand extended forward, palm facing up, without even forming a fist.

It looked like she was underestimating her opponent, yet this posture somehow gave off an air of invincibility.

As a layman, Yang Liuqing didn’t understand the intricacies—he just thought this big sister was really cool.

The distance between them closed to the extreme, and Yang Xu’s fist hurtled toward Chen Yanran’s face.

But before the powerful fist wind could erupt, his body twisted weirdly and crashed heavily to the ground.

“Guwa!”

In an instant, all the air seemed to be squeezed out of his body.

“What just happened?”

Yang Liuqing looked completely bewildered. ‘I only saw Yang Xu about to punch Chen Yanran’s head off.

But in the end, it was Yang Xu who fell.

That Fist Overlord must have been hit by something. Could it be a special ability?’

“Master, that was force redirection. When that guy called Yang Xu attacked, Chen Yanran also made her move. It’s just that the speed was too fast and too clever, so Master didn’t notice,”

Ke Ling explained.

“Xiao Qingqing, that’s ‘four ounces deflect a thousand pounds.’ That so-called Fist Overlord was knocked down by his own strength.”

“‘Four ounces deflect a thousand pounds’? Tai Chi?”

Yang Liuqing didn’t know martial arts, but he had seen related movies and shows.

The two little ones’ description matched Tai Chi exactly.

Ke Ling pondered for a moment. “Very similar, yet subtly different.”

“Xiao Qingqing, the prerequisite for ‘four ounces deflect a thousand pounds’ is that you need to have four ounces of force. It’s not as simple as you think. This big sister’s strength is far more exaggerated than you estimate,”

Ke Li saw at a glance that Chen Yanran had a deep foundation.

Yang Xu did a ground roll, swept his leg, spun, and leaped up, his face full of astonishment.

That move from the opponent was indeed Tai Chi’s force redirection. However, there was a subtle difference. It carried a hint of terrifying fierceness.

“…Combining hardness and softness, Golden Snake Twisting Silk—you’re from the Chen family of Goose City?”

“Can your reaction be any slower? You don’t even know whose territory this is?”

Chen Yanran’s expression was cold, maintaining her posture with one hand extended.

As if to say one hand is enough to deal with you.

It was a great humiliation.

Yang Xu initially thought so too, but now he had to change his mind.

Because that was the standard stance of Chen-style Tai Chi.

At this moment, he was facing the true local power of Goose City, the Chen family!

He should have thought of this family from the start. But the prize that was almost within his grasp had blinded his eyes and mind.

This was a major miscalculation.

If the other party hadn’t announced her name, he could have claimed ignorance and found a way to save face.

But since it had come to blows, he had no choice but to tough it out.

In any case, he would first find a way to take down this greenhorn from the Chen family, then capture Yang Liuqing and escape back to Yanjing.

He refused to believe the Chen family would dare to cause trouble in Yanjing.

Yang Xu immediately made his decision, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

Then, he punched, and his aura shot out like a cannonball.

Chen Yanran stood unmoving, and with two small flicks of her fair hand, she neutralized the air cannon. Watching this made Yang Liuqing’s eyes sparkle even more. ‘I really want to steal that technique.’

Yang Xu clearly didn’t think those two air cannons would cause Chen Yanran any trouble.

They were just feints.

The moment Chen Yanran neutralized the air cannons, he lunged forward, a fist as big as a clay pot smashing toward her wide-open center gate.

“Heh.”

Facing the surprise attack, Chen Yanran curled her lips into a cold smile.

She sidestepped like lightning, stomped her left foot, and thrust her loosely clenched fist like a cannonball.

Yang Xu’s abdomen twisted, and his whole body felt as if it had been hit by a speeding dump truck.

Before he could even cry out in pain, he was sent flying over a dozen meters, the powerful impact creating ripples of energy spreading outward.

That was a fast, fierce, and precise cannon hammer!

“So strong.”

Yang Liuqing was in awe without fully understanding.

“The gap between them is quite large. If that Yang Xu wasn’t bragging and has A-rank strength, then Chen Yanran is at least AA-rank,”

Ke Ling gave an objective assessment. Just from that exchange, she could see a lot.

Chen Yanran wasn’t even fighting seriously. Otherwise, one cannon hammer could have shattered Yang Xu into pieces.

“Xiao Qingqing, don’t you know the Chen family of Goose City?”

Ke Li was concerned about something else instead.

“How would I possibly know?”

Yang Liuqing shrugged helplessly.

He was just an ordinary person; what qualifications did he have to interact with the Heavenly Families?

Even in an era of highly developed information, ordinary people and the Heavenly Families were separated by a chasm.

Those who didn’t know could never know.

Those who knew were tight-lipped. On the surface, they lived in the same world and might have opportunities to interact, but in reality, there was a dividing line.

If not for the appearance of God’s Gate, Yang Liuqing would never have been able to cross that line and enter the real world.

“…To actually push me to this extent.”

Yang Xu barely steadied himself, his eyes full of wariness as he looked at Chen Yanran.

She was by no means an ordinary member of the Chen family in Goose City.

So young and yet so skilled…

“No wonder I felt like I’ve heard your name somewhere.”

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up straight.

“You truly deserve to be called an outstanding member of the younger generation. Even in Yanjing, you could rank among the top of your grade.”