Atlas of Heaven and Man

Chang Kuanghai stood there, the tear above his collarbone gradually closing and healing. Not even a trace of blood seeped out, having been contained by his internal mutated tissues.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, no trace of the injury could be seen.

He glanced at the axe still embedded in the ground, wanting to retrieve it. Fighting empty-handed put him at a disadvantage. Although his damaged flesh could rapidly repair, it still took time, and multiple wounds would affect his combat performance.

However, he noticed that Chen Chuan, though retreating, was clearly waiting for him to try and get it. Even a momentary delay would give Chen Chuan the opportunity to suppress him again.

After a moment's thought, he decided to abandon the idea, resolving to find another chance in the upcoming fight.

Chen Chuan adjusted himself slightly, gave the Snowdrift Saber a slight flick, and stepped forward. His first two steps were relatively slow, but with the third step, his figure suddenly accelerated, heading straight towards Chang Kuanghai.

With a weapon in hand, he didn't need to worry too much about some attacks, since his opponent was unarmed.

Chang Kuanghai split his legs, one in front of the other, crouching slightly. His arms were positioned high and low in front of him, his eyes fixed on Chen Chuan through the gap, ready to meet the attack.

Seeing the tip of the blade aimed directly at his face, he narrowed his eyes, arched his back, and moved forward to meet it. At the same time, he turned his arms outward, fingers splayed, attempting to use his body as an anvil to withstand the blade and then use his hands to seize and disarm Chen Chuan.

Before his move could fully materialize, Chen Chuan twisted his long saber horizontally, the blade brushing across the surface of Chang Kuanghai's thick arm, leaving a thin line of blood. However, Chang Kuanghai's expression didn't change, and the wound healed almost instantly as the blade moved away.

Chen Chuan stepped to his side and swung the saber backhand towards his leg, but Chang Kuanghai met the blow with his knee, blocking the strike.

Chang Kuanghai remained remarkably composed. These minor injuries were nothing to him, especially since those skilled in external martial arts were known for their combat resilience. He could endure this for days and nights without changing his expression.

But the problem was that he came here seeking a breakthrough in his mental strength, to perfect himself and reach a higher level.

The Heavenly Forgiveness Fist he practiced was a style that heavily emphasized aggression, requiring the practitioner to stimulate mental sublimation in battle. The more determined the fighting spirit and the more intense the battle, the higher the spirit would soar.

Now, simply staying in place and taking a beating was not only incompatible with the fist technique, but it would also prevent him from gaining any benefit from the opened Heavenly Gate.

Therefore, he had to find a way to change the situation.

After taking several more blows from Chen Chuan, his chest heaved sharply. One could almost hear the sound of his heart pounding like a drum at that moment.

He seemed to have become slightly thinner. As the saber light approached again, he raised an elbow to meet it, deflecting the blade with a clang. Then, like a bull's horn, he positioned his elbow in front. Keeping his upper body still, he subtly exerted force from his feet, and with a boom, he lunged forward.

This short burst was a special technique within the Heavenly Forgiveness Fist, called 'Elephant Bull Ram'. If one were trapped in a military formation, surrounded by layers of spears and shields, with no room to maneuver, this technique would allow them to instantly scatter the formation and break through the encirclement.

At this moment, his speed and strength would be doubled!

Seeing him almost instantly reach him, Chen Chuan had no way to avoid it. He stepped back with his rear foot, leaned his body forward, and reached out with his other hand, slapping it against the elbow of the charging Chang Kuanghai. A circle of dust and air waves exploded around them. Although he blocked the attack, he was still pushed backwards.

This time, he retreated a full seven or eight meters, the bricks and stones beneath his feet shattering and carving a trench in the ground.

As his figure stabilized, Chang Kuanghai exerted force in his waist and back, the raised elbow driving the forearm downwards, his fist suddenly smashing forward like an axe or hammer.

This was a unique 'Vibrating Void Hammer' technique from the Heavenly Forgiveness Fist. Because he was much taller than Chen Chuan, and this strike was delivered from above, Chen Chuan's entire body was almost within the attack range.

Chen Chuan seemed to have no way to dodge, but his eyes were calm. As the fist fell, his whole body seemed unaffected by the previous impact, shifting to the side to avoid it.

Chang Kuanghai didn't expect him to be able to dodge even that. However, having practiced the Heavenly Forgiveness Fist to his level, he could freely control his strength. Seeing this, he immediately stopped his fist, preventing his body from being carried away.

However, he still paused for a moment. At that instant, Chen Chuan released the Snowdrift Saber, using both hands to grab his arm, his fingers sinking deep into the solid muscle, using a grappling technique.

Chang Kuanghai sensed something was wrong. Thanks to his external martial arts physique, even with the grappling force attacking, he wasn't immediately disarmed. He immediately shifted his strength, smashing his other hand towards Chen Chuan, trying to force him to let go.

Chen Chuan raised his elbow to block the blow. The collision shook both of them, but Chang Kuanghai wasn't able to break free from the hold. He alternated his grip, moving up along the pulse points of Chang Kuanghai's arm, rapidly approaching his throat, while continuously unleashing grappling force.

Chang Kuanghai felt that half of his body seemed to be going numb and losing strength. If his throat was locked, the battle would be over.

He roared outwards, the muscles on his grabbed arm tensing outwards, a powerful vibrating force erupting outwards.

Chen Chuan's fingers were shaken open, but he didn't let go. Taking advantage of Chang Kuanghai's exertion, he leaned forward, pressing against his body, and slid both hands downwards, grabbing his waist and hips, intending to use a grappling throw.

From grappling to throwing, the transition of force was extremely natural.

Chang Kuanghai's expression changed. If he was grabbed firmly, he wouldn't be able to activate his strength, and he would still be at his opponent's mercy.

At this critical moment, he suddenly used a reverse breathing technique.

In that instant, his body instantly transformed from hard to soft. His originally strong and solid body seemed to have become boneless, and the penetrating throwing force dissipated. At the same time, he quickly reversed his breathing again, instantly transforming from soft to hard. With each contraction and expansion, a powerful force erupted from within his body.

This was the 'Heaven and Earth Pull' from the Heavenly Forgiveness Fist, using reverse breathing to invert hardness and softness, to respond to various forces.

Chen Chuan felt these changes and knew that continuing would be difficult to succeed, so he immediately retreated, grabbing the Snowdrift Saber, which hadn't yet fallen to the ground, and stopped only when he had retreated to a distance where he could fully wield the saber.

Chang Kuanghai, due to the several consecutive bursts of power, also needed to adjust himself, so he didn't rush to pursue.

Chen Chuan looked at his tall figure. If Wei Wusheng sought the harmony of hardness and softness, then Chang Kuanghai's external martial arts had reached the peak of both, and could be said to combine hardness and softness.

This person had almost no obvious weaknesses, and his spirit was firm and condensed. Such a person, unless his physical strength and essence were exhausted, could not be defeated no matter how one attacked him from the outside.

Then, it has to be like this… …

He raised his hand and stuck the Snowdrift Saber into the ground.

Seeing this, Chang Kuanghai said in a deep voice, "You don't need it anymore?" He was a little strange. Chen Chuan obviously had an advantage with a saber in hand, and he didn't know why he would make this choice.

Chen Chuan said, "Because it's not necessary anymore."

Earlier, he had been constantly dragging and cutting his opponent's body with the saber, ostensibly to circle around him, but in reality, he was trying to lure his opponent to attack him, and then use grappling and throwing methods to defeat him.

But now that it wasn't working, there was no need to continue fighting like this.

Even though the opponent seemed to have no weaknesses, it didn't mean there was really no way.

No matter how strong external martial arts are, there is an upper limit to what they can withstand.

He took a deep breath, and after the restraints of the mutated tissues in his body were released, the Furnace Breathing Technique was also fully activated, and wisps of white smoke rose from his body.

Then, he raised his head, and his hair was lifted by the strong airflow from the rift. The next moment, his figure standing there blurred.

Chang Kuanghai was immediately vigilant. He lowered his center of gravity, leaning his body forward, ready to defend against the impact.

But he had only completed half of this movement when he found that Chen Chuan had already reached the front, and was leaping into the air, and the fist raised high in his hand seemed to pause for a moment before suddenly smashing down!

In that instant, it seemed as if the surrounding air exploded!

He reacted quickly, and with the surge of breath, the strength rose from his feet, raising his hand to block upwards.

With a boom, a strong and abundant force was transmitted from above to the point of contact of their arms. He grunted, his nostrils dilated, his face flushed, and his whole body involuntarily sank downwards, the ground under his feet cracking and collapsing, and the legs of his trousers cracking under the bulging muscles.

However, before he could adjust, Chen Chuan's second fist smashed down. Because this fist was extremely fast, and the aftershocks of the previous fist had not yet dissipated, he couldn't transform and dissipate the force in time. With a boom, he knelt down on one leg.