Chapter 45 – Ten Transformations Xingyi Fist: Essentials

As the saying goes: Fists like crashing thunder must channel vigorous qi as radiant as a rainbow; drawing fists together in unity inevitably shifts between solid and void. Only when form becomes formless and intention becomes unintentional can true intention emerge from the unintentional—this is the essence of Xingyi Fist!

At this moment, Ma Qiang was executing precisely this Xingyi opening stance.

Though Ye Kuang had observed it numerous times, he never expected Ma Qiang to be so audaciously overconfident.

The distance between them seemed insurmountable, yet as Ma Qiang stepped forward, it narrowed to mere inches.

Ye Kuang’s eyes flickered as he tilted his head slightly left and right, evading two Eagle Claw Strikes in succession, while simultaneously launching his own counterattack!

When it came to martial techniques, he had never believed it was merely about brute force collisions. Now, Ma Qiang’s fistwork had unveiled an entirely new perspective.

This martial art could progressively build momentum through footwork, ultimately erupting with extraordinary power.

Meanwhile…

After repeated pleas from Flying TV Station, Tie Feng reluctantly arranged for a commentator to provide a live breakdown of the techniques employed by the two combatants.

The Elders from the Yuan-Ma Families were delighted by this development, so Tie Feng delegated the responsibility to Ma Wei.

Instantly, the venue erupted into a cacophony of excitement. Everyone seemed to hold genuine reverence for Xingyi Fist.

Even the martial world circulated the saying: “Xingyi can kill within a year; Taiji won’t leave the gate in a decade.””

This alone illustrates how ferocious Xingyi Fist is at its foundation.

Watching Ye Kuang and Ma Qiang fight to a standstill, the Ma Family Elder felt his face burning with shame, clearly frustrated by his disciple’s underperformance.

Ma Wei: “Xingyi Fist hinges on the decomposition of ‘form’ and ‘intention.’ Form refers to the twelve divisions of techniques, while intention embodies the artistic conception of the fist art!”

As he spoke, Ma Wei couldn’t help but subtly promote to the Flying TV crew.

“To maximize the power of Xingyi Fist, one must grasp the essence encapsulated in the Xingyi Manual: In combat, everything originates from the body, and the true pillar supporting the body is none other than footwork!Noticing the crowd’s attention focused on him, Ma Wei swelled with pride.

Though Xiao Xiang found it mystifying, she voiced the collective confusion: “Elder Ma, since you mentioned footwork, please forgive my ignorance, but from Senior Brother Ma’s movements, his steps seem to alternate between half-steps and full steps. Could you, Senior, unveil some of the mystery and enlighten us?”

Hearing this, Ma Wei adopted an approving expression and began his explanation: “This is precisely what I was about to clarify. Xingyi Fist embodies the accumulated wisdom of generations of masters, refining the essentials of hands, eyes, body movement, and steps. The steps encompass: one inch, two advances, three swift steps, four stomps, five presses, six harmonies, seven speeds, eight uprightness, nine shins, ten alerts, eleven rises and falls, twelve advances and retreats, thirteen yin and yang, fourteen five elements, fifteen motion and stillness, sixteen solid and void…”

Xiao Xiang felt overwhelmed by the profound complexity, unsure how to process it all.

Noticing her confusion, Ma Wei elaborated: “To comprehend the true secret, the profundity lies within a single inch. Whether advancing to attack or retreating to defend, the positioning of the front and rear feet is crucial.”

“…”

</translation>”In the Xingyi Sect, it is believed that the illusory represents essence, while the substantial embodies spirit. Mastery of both essence and spirit constitutes the understanding of illusory and substantial… The illusory is substantial, the substantial is illusory. True mastery of the illusory and substantial arts is extraordinary. Within the illusory lies the substantial, within the substantial lies the illusory. If the opponent attacks me, I evade the substantial and target the illusory; if I attack the opponent, I exploit the void and strike!”

After finishing his explanation, Ma Wei immediately pointed at Ye Kuang on the stage with a dismissive tone: “Although this young man’s palm techniques are domineering, in terms of Xingyi Fist, they are flashy without substance. If he were to face me, the outcome would be decided in a single move!”

“Oh…” Though Xiao Xiang still harbored resentment toward Ye Kuang for earlier events, she could clearly detect the old man’s ill intentions. Truly, appearances can be deceiving—if anyone deserved the title of a wicked old man, it would be the Elders of the Ma family.

But to the others present, his words carried a different implication.

That is, no matter how formidable Ye Kuang might be, this Elder of the Ma family seemed to regard him with contempt.

Boom!

At that moment, a loud crash interrupted everyone’s wild speculations.

They saw Ye Kuang force Ma Qiang back with a single palm strike, his entire aura erupting like a tiger breaking free from its cage. With both Iron Palms striking out, he seemed intent on completely overwhelming Ma Qiang.

Witnessing this development, Ma Wei couldn’t help but be startled.

He had just been boasting extravagantly about the miraculous prowess of Xingyi Fist. If their sect’s techniques were to be defeated by an unknown youngster, where would they hide their faces?

Thinking this, Ma Wei raised his voice and shouted: “In combat, the body must lead, hands and feet moving in unison to achieve truth. Fists like cannonballs, dragon coiling around the body—when facing the enemy, be like fire scorching the body.”

No sooner had his words faded than Ma Qiang on stage became invigorated, immediately grasping the hidden meaning.

Ma Qiang’s entire being suddenly surged with adrenaline, showing no fear as he pressed forward instead of retreating!

His unfolding fists moved like a dragon and tiger emerging, the resulting wind and thunderous force deafening to the ears.

Ye Kuang’s figure was violently repelled by this dragon-tiger power, stumbling backward repeatedly!

But that wasn’t all—seizing this rare opportunity, Ma Qiang’s arms became agile as snakes, like a spirit monkey swinging its limbs. With a nimble step forward, he directly breached Ye Kuang’s defenses. His cannon fists whirled up and down, their feint and real strikes becoming unstoppable at close range.

In contrast, Ye Kuang’s movements appeared somewhat sluggish, leaving him vulnerable to Ma Qiang’s relentless assault.

Seeing this, Ma Wei suddenly burst into loud laughter: “See? This youngster is now like a turtle caught in close combat—no escape to heaven or earth…”

Then his tone shifted to overwhelmingly arrogant: “The head leads the intention from the central position, the whole body advances irresistibly. Feet stomping through the central gate seize territory—even immortals couldn’t defend against it.”

Following this command, Ma Qiang closed to within an inch of Ye Kuang with speed that seemed to tear through space.

It then became apparent that Ma Qiang’s combat power had instantly skyrocketed!

His fists lacked only sparks flying from cannon barrels, but their destructive force soared exponentially!

Bang! Bang! Bang!…

For a time, not only was Ye Kuang at a disadvantage, but he became completely enveloped in Ma Qiang’s omnidirectional barrage of claws and fists.

This scene made all the attending hall masters’ expressions shift noticeably.

How could they not see that Elder Ma’s apparent explanations of Xingyi essentials were actually subtle instructions meant specifically for Ma Qiang?In contrast, Ma Wei felt no shame at all and continued his malicious commentary: “Shoulder strikes yin and returns yang, both hands hide in shadows. Left and right rely on covering momentum, the words ‘restrain’ and ‘extend’ bring fatal consequence.”

Hearing this, Ye Kuang immediately burned with rage, gritting his teeth in hatred toward this Ma Family Elder. But then, Ma Qiang’s fist struck him squarely in the chest.

As he stumbled backward, a mouthful of blood he could no longer suppress sprayed out.

Ma Qiang, seizing the advantage, pressed forward relentlessly. In that instant, he fully displayed the domineering nature of Xingyi Fist.

Witnessing this, Ma Wei couldn’t help but laugh heartily three times, nearly exclaiming “How satisfying!” aloud.

Of course, Ma Wei couldn’t actually say this, so he changed his words and began explaining the essence again: “Adapting to circumstances lies in the hands, but the hands depend on footwork. Advancing, retreating, turning – without footwork, how can one create surging momentum? Rising, falling, expanding, contracting – without footwork, how can one demonstrate marvelous transformations?”

At these words, the disciples lacked the discernment to remain composed. They each exclaimed excitedly about how thrilling, exquisite, and peerless it was.

Xingyi Fist was truly fearsome to such an extent, making everyone secretly unable to contain their excitement, each nearly howling like ghosts and wolves!

It wasn’t until Ye Kuang steadied himself and regained his footing that he managed to recover from his previous disadvantage…

Seeing this, Ma Wei’s lips curled in a cold sneer, and he once again offered guidance: “Hand techniques originate from the chest, their momentum like a tiger pouncing on a sheep. When making contact, use force with intent to expand, keeping both elbows hidden beneath the ribs.”

“Hip strikes flow between yin and yang, both feet alternating naturally. Left and right advances should employ piercing energy, achieving such proficiency that enemies overturn themselves.”

After several essential principles of Xingyi were spoken aloud, even someone as strong as Ye Kuang had to move cautiously, successively blocking left and right to avoid Xingyi’s sharp attacks.

Ma Qiang delved deeper into the profound aspects of Xingyi, his movements accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, his crushing fist truly earth-shattering.

BAM!!!

Ye Kuang, caught off guard once more, was struck unexpectedly by this ever-changing Xingyi Fist.

He couldn’t suppress the fury in his heart, hating this old Ma Family relic to the extreme – not only for repeatedly causing trouble but for shamelessly taking pride in it…

At this thought, Ye Kuang increased his power, wanting to see whether Ma Qiang, even with Ma Wei’s guidance, could truly match this old relic’s strength!

Roar roar roar!

Dragon Regrets!

Howling roar!!!

Ye Kuang pressed his palms together, his dantian immediately surging with turbulent waves of sound, like dragon roars and tiger growls, truly shocking everyone present!

Then he thrust both palms forward, golden light suddenly appearing. Even the remarkably fast Ma Qiang had to retreat violently, spitting blood…

The speed of this scene’s occurrence could truly be described as shocking hundred li.

Even the various hall masters couldn’t help but murmur in surprise, rising to their feet one by one, all astonished by Ye Kuang’s palm technique.

Ma Wei, however, grew livid with anger, no longer hiding his intentions as he directly instructed Ma Qiang: “Knee strikes to vital points can be fatal, both hands feint around upper and middle sections. I urge you to diligently practice wondrous speed, for strengthening your body and defeating enemies brings endless joy.”

“Steps must contain true intent without emptiness, momentum relies entirely on the back leg pushing off. Store intent while guarding against enemy detection, the rising momentum should be like a whirlwind sweeping the ground.”

Splitting Fist…

Drilling Fist…

Crushing Fist…

Cannon Fist…

Horizontal Fist…With the support of a century’s worth of inner strength, Ye Kuang, despite being heavily restricted, could not deny his own power. Not only did he forcibly turn the battle into a stalemate, but he also gradually delved deeper into his hidden potential. By now, he was already able to accelerate the fusion process…

Just as he could no longer suppress the fury in his heart, a single remark infuriated him to the extreme!

Ma Wei: “Well done, well done. Ma Qiang has already developed some proficiency in Xingyi Fist. He can stop now. After all, three minutes have passed…”

Upon hearing this, Ye Kuang inwardly cursed vehemently: “Damn old fool! Utterly shameless!!!”