Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 26: Striking the Gap

After standing opposite Chen Chuan again, Senior Yan did not become timid because of a single mistake. Instead, he pressed forward once more.

After a few tentative probes, he suddenly turned and kicked towards the liver area. As Chen Chuan blocked in time, Yan followed up with a backswing aimed at Chen Chuan's head and neck.

These two moves seemed similar to the previous ones, but in reality, the last time was a feint followed by a real strike, whereas this time both moves were real, and the transitions between them were extremely fast, leaving almost no openings.

This time, Chen Chuan first met the attack with a shoulder block, then raised his other hand to parry, successfully deflecting both kicks. Guided by his breath, his upper body barely moved. He did not use Second Self this time, relying entirely on his own strength.

Someone who noticed the technique whispered, "Breathing technique!"

If a boxer starts practicing the breathing technique without a foundation, it's like overdrawing life and potential, something most people can't handle. Those with a foundation usually start practicing when they're a bit older.

According to the general situation in various boxing gyms, boxers can only truly master it around the age of twenty.

In their eyes, although Chen Chuan is tall, he is probably only sixteen or seventeen years old? Mastering the breathing technique at this age, is he a disciple carefully cultivated by some boxing gym?

After these two kicks, Senior Yan basically understood the situation. Chen Chuan's quick reactions, ability to seize opportunities, and mastery of the breathing technique made things difficult for him. However, sometimes the outcome of a match is not entirely determined by the strength of both parties.

He secretly glanced at Chen Chuan's feet again. During the last two attacks, he noticed that Chen Chuan did not dodge at all; once he countered, and once he chose to block hard, without following up with a counterattack.

This confirmed to him that his opponent had indeed not yet adapted to the ring, as the elasticity of his feet affected his center of gravity and power.

Although it seems like a small difference, in actual combat, slight deviations in power can affect overall performance. By exploiting this weakness, he could keep Chen Chuan outside the circle, thus controlling the rhythm of the fight.

And if the opponent is always in a state where they can only defend and not attack, they are bound to become impatient, making it undoubtedly more advantageous to strike then.

In the next half minute, Senior Yan kept attacking, while Chen Chuan only defended, hardly counterattacking, seemingly stuck in a difficult situation.

But in reality, his goal at this moment was not to knock out his opponent, but to observe and find this person's breathing rhythm. He remembered Yu Gang's words: as long as the opponent's breathing rhythm is disrupted, whether it's the breathing technique or the force, it cannot be used smoothly.Although he didn't know if Senior Yan possessed any special force, it didn't stop him from using this person as a sparring partner to familiarize himself with the situation.

While Chen Chuan and Senior Yan were sparring on the stage, Coach Gu and two young men walked in from outside.

If Chen Chuan had glanced over, he would have recognized the two young men as Sheng Hai and Liang Tong, whom he had met at the graduation party.

As they walked, Coach Gu said, "You two can look around and walk around here. There are many young people here, and it's not much different from your place."

Sheng Hai hurriedly said, "Thank you, Coach Gu."

Coach Gu smiled and said, "It's nothing. Although we belong to different branches, we are all members of the Xiu Jiang Boxing Gym. In the old days, we could be considered fellow disciples. In the future, the boxing gym will rely on you young people to support it... Hmm, it's quite lively today. I haven't seen the young man sparring with Xiao Yan before."

At this moment, Liang Tong suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Coach Gu looked at him, noticing his gaze fixed on the stage, and gestured with his chin, saying, "What? Do you know this young man?"

Liang Tong said, "He seems to be a classmate who graduated from our No.1 Middle School. I even gave him an advertising flyer for our boxing gym."

"Is that so? No wonder he came to our boxing gym."

Liang Tong immediately felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly said, "No, Coach Gu, I..."

Coach Gu waved his hand with a smile, "No need to explain. We welcome all guests who come to do business with us, as long as they're not here to cause trouble."

Xiao Liang also saw Coach Gu and immediately stepped forward, relieved, saying, "Coach Gu, you finally came."

Coach Gu asked, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Liang pointed to the stage, "That young man, he's the one you asked me to inform you about last time."

"Last time?"

Coach Gu thought for a moment and suddenly remembered the incident with the sandbag last time. His expression became more serious as he looked at the stage, "Are you saying that young man is the one who cracked the sandbag last time?"

"Probably, there's no one else but him." Xiao Liang was also uncertain.

Coach Gu left the others behind and strode over, arriving right below the ring. Everyone who saw him greeted him and made way for him.

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Coach Gu responded to each greeting, then stood still and observed for a while.He noticed that Chen Chuan was always passively defending. Sometimes, even when there was an opportunity, he did not launch a counterattack. At first glance, it seemed like a matter of skill level, but soon he realized that wasn't the case.

From the defense alone, Chen Chuan was impeccable, hardly moving his feet, obviously at ease, and defense is actually much harder than offense.

So why was he fighting so passively?

Was it to save face? Wanting the opponent to surrender on their own? The boxing gym isn't a place for humility; you only gain respect by defeating your opponent.

But after observing for a while, through Chen Chuan's subtle movements and gaze, he vaguely had a guess, thinking to himself: "Is that it..."

Chen Chuan had gradually figured out Senior Yan's attack rhythm, which was closely linked to his breathing technique. When Senior Yan kicked again, Chen Chuan didn't stand still. Instead, he suddenly took a step to the right, simultaneously sweeping his left hand, brushing past the latter's side ribs.

Although Senior Yan was somewhat prepared, he couldn't react in time due to the inertia of his movements and failed to block.

Chen Chuan's strike was fast, but the power wasn't fully unleashed; it was more of a graze. Yet, this seemingly light touch caused a flaw in Senior Yan's otherwise cohesive strength, disrupting his breathing rhythm, which in turn affected his movements. His technique fell apart halfway, and his movements hesitated.

Chen Chuan didn't stop. Seizing the opportunity, he turned and elbowed Senior Yan in the side of the neck. Senior Yan fell forward without a sound, thudding onto the ring.

"Old Yan is down, quick, help him down."

"Splash water, splash water... No need? Last time he splashed me too!"

Coach Gu then stepped out from the crowd, coming to the front. The noise immediately quieted down. He said to Chen Chuan on the ring, "Young man, which boxing gym are you from?"

Chen Chuan shook his head and said, "I'm not from any boxing gym. I just practice on my own and came here to exchange skills."

Seeing that he didn't reveal his background, Coach Gu's expression relaxed somewhat. This indicated that Chen Chuan wasn't here to cause trouble; otherwise, he would have announced his affiliation.

He said, "So it's for exchanging skills. How about this, young man, I'll spar with you, how about that?"

Chen Chuan thought to himself that this must be the Coach Gu Xiao Liang mentioned. He became more serious and responded, "I'd be honored!"Is Coach Gu personally stepping up? That's quite an honor.

Young man, you better be careful, don't get splashed with water too.

Coach Gu went to one side, took off his coat, changed into a Xiujiang Boxing Gym training uniform, and started warming up below.

Meanwhile, below the ring, Sheng Hai whispered to Liang Tong, "He's your classmate? Even Senior Yan couldn't beat him, no wonder I thought he was extraordinary last time."

Liang Tong was also a bit stunned. Senior Yan is a veteran boxer, they had heard of him, but to think he wasn't a match, and remembering last time Chen Chuan mentioned he had some basics, is this what he meant by basics?

And now, he's about to spar with Coach Gu.

It's hard to imagine, someone they often saw, thought they knew, suddenly competing with someone seemingly out of their league, giving him an unreal feeling.

He thought again, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Right, I heard someone from Class Four got into Wuda[-], maybe it's him!"

"Wuda[-]'s? No wonder, no wonder." Sheng Hai immediately understood.

Liang Tong said, "Don't mention it, we never heard how amazing he was back in school."

Sheng Hai sighed, "He must have kept a low profile."

He suddenly felt a bit of admiration for Chen Chuan. To knock down Senior Yan, that's not something you can achieve in a day or two.

At that age, after learning some martial arts, who could resist showing off? He was like that too, especially wanting to show off in front of female classmates. But to have such skills and not let classmates know, that self-restraint is not ordinary.

Coach Gu had almost loosened up his muscles by now. He ducked under the ring ropes, stepped onto the stage, and after a few steps, stood opposite Chen Chuan.

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