Atlas of Heaven and Earth-Chapter 27: Breaking Limits and Clearing Obstacles

Chen Chuan noticed that Coach Gu's breathing remained unchanged from the moment he stepped onto the stage, indicating that he could maintain his breathing technique for a long time. As a coach, it was highly likely that he possessed internal strength, so Chen Chuan decided to be more cautious.

Coach Gu saluted with a fist and palm gesture.

Chen Chuan returned the salute in the same manner.

After lowering his hands, Coach Gu warned, "Young man, be careful."

With that, he extended his hand forward as if parting grass, lowered his head, and his body followed, darting forward. His movements were clear to everyone, yet he unexpectedly closed the distance to Chen Chuan in an instant. This move didn't seem to be part of the Xiujiang Boxing technique, catching everyone off guard.

Chen Chuan saw that Coach Gu's hands were feinting unpredictably, and his body was shifting left and right, making it unclear where he intended to strike. Chen Chuan had no choice but to stabilize his stance, ready to adapt to any changes.

Coach Gu's hands changed their feints, and suddenly, he stepped forward in a bow stance, throwing a punch straight down the center line. Chen Chuan lowered his center of gravity and countered with a piercing and blocking hand from Da San Shou[-], a move that combines defense with offense, allowing for a counterattack while blocking.

However, upon contact, Chen Chuan felt an explosive force emanating from Coach Gu's fist, lifting his heels off the ground in an instant.

Realizing the danger, Chen Chuan found himself at a disadvantage as Coach Gu didn't stop. Taking advantage of Chen Chuan's unstable footing, Coach Gu suddenly performed a spinning jump kick on the spot!

Chen Chuan crossed his arms and contracted his abdomen, managing to block the kick, but the force sent him flying sideways, eventually crashing into the ropes behind him.

After landing, Coach Gu maintained his side kick pose for a moment before slowly lowering his foot, eliciting cheers and applause from the onlookers.

Honestly, it had been a long time since they had seen Coach Gu take a fight so seriously, as most challengers were knocked out by senior boxers in a few moves, rarely requiring Coach Gu to step in.

Chen Chuan straightened up against the ropes, standing tall once more. Despite being kicked back at the start, his spirits were high because he had felt it—the internal strength!

He had found the right person!

This was the kind of opponent he had been looking for.

However...

He glanced at his "Second Self," which showed significant blurring. He hadn't expected to take so much damage from just one kick. Now, with only a little over a minute left in the overlap time, and based on past experiences, he estimated that he could only last for about forty to fifty seconds after such a blow.If he were to endure a few more hits, there would be no need to continue the fight, and there was also a possibility of getting injured. It seemed that to deal with this opponent, he needed to end the battle in as short a time as possible.

Coach Gu watched him stand up easily, his expression unchanged, but his heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

Just now, he had used the secret force of Xiujiang Boxing, which would normally leave the uninitiated immediately numb and their bones and muscles loose. As for the kick that followed, it seemed like it was just to push the opponent away, but in fact, it was to concentrate the force for a double strike.

He had thought that Chen Chuan would be out of fighting strength after just one hit, but now it seemed like there was nothing wrong with him. It didn't seem like he used force to resist, but rather, it seemed like he withstood it purely with his body.

This is troublesome.

He really didn't want to encounter opponents with such outstanding physical qualities because force is not only a weapon but also a tool for combat training. Although it's useful, using it too much is also a burden on the body.

What's more troublesome is that now the opponent knows his force, so he must be on guard, making it not so easy to hit him. If he can't hit the opponent, it's just a waste of energy.

He took a breath, then exhaled, his body rising and falling slightly, tapping the ground with the ball of his foot, assuming a stance, and in that instant, the ring floor actually sank slightly.

Chen Chuan didn't wait in place; if you're not coming, then I'll go. He stepped forward directly, guided by his breathing technique, quickly closing the distance.

Coach Gu watched him approach quickly, raising his knee as if to strike his face, and Chen Chuan, being on guard, slightly raised one hand, ready to change direction at any time. But at this moment, Coach Gu suddenly stomped down heavily with the raised foot, and as the foot landed, ripples actually spread across the ring floor.

Chen Chuan suddenly felt a fluctuation underfoot, and his body also experienced a sense of floating.

The issue with his center of gravity being affected could be seen by Senior Yan, and Coach Gu could also see it. This time, however, he transmitted the force of the secret force directly to the ground.

And now, with his body leaning forward, he quickly stepped up, grabbing Chen Chuan's right arm above the elbow, turning his foot, his back almost pressing against Chen Chuan's chest. All he needed to do was bend down and push to perform a solid over-the-shoulder throw!

Chen Chuan realized something was wrong and quickly raised his left hand to push against his waist, trying to free his right hand in time, but at this moment, Coach Gu suddenly shifted his center of gravity, leaning back with the force of the pull.If pressed to the ground, one could roll over him, and under such pressure, an ordinary person might suffer broken tendons or bones. Sensing this, Chen Chuan tightened his arm that hadn't been withdrawn, wrapping it around Coach Gu, and with a twist of his waist, attempted to flip the latter to a lower position in advance.

However, Coach Gu reacted quickly, spinning in the direction of the force exerted by Chen Chuan's arm while swiftly stepping back, instantly breaking contact.

Chen Chuan was pushed back a few steps by the force borrowed in the last moment, returning both to their previous standoff.

These exchanges required both sides to react in an instant, countering and being countered, with a slight difference potentially leading to being thrown down, which made the spectators below clap and cheer, finding it thrilling.

Coach Gu also sighed in admiration; the strength and reaction Chen Chuan displayed were not something one would expect from someone of his age, managing to turn a disadvantageous situation around.

Chen Chuan, however, knew his own situation well; it was all thanks to the Second Self's全面提升的身体素质 (comprehensive enhancement of physical qualities), otherwise, he would have been thrown to the ground at the start, and once on the ground, it would be the domain of grappling techniques, not to mention Coach Gu's internal strength. Even with the Second Self, the outcome would be hard to predict.

If it came down to skill, there was no way he could match the opponent's experience, so why compete in martial arts? He should have gone all out, fully utilizing the Second Self's advantage of being unafraid of damage.

At this moment, it seemed he had figured something out and said, "I realized I was wrong."

"What?" Coach Gu was somewhat puzzled.

Chen Chuan suddenly cleared his mind of all distractions, smiled, and for some reason, Coach Gu suddenly felt a sense of danger.

A sound of friction came from the ground under Chen Chuan's feet as he suddenly charged forward. At the same time, the Second Self instantly overlapped with him, and to the spectators below, it seemed as if a heavy shadow had swept across the ring.

"This..."

Coach Gu was startled by the speed. He knew he couldn't retreat at this moment; doing so might allow Chen Chuan to catch up in a step or half-step, which would put him at a disadvantage due to an improper stance. It was too late to kick, so he could only push forward with a palm.

Chen Chuan, however, did not dodge or avoid, instead extending his arm to block the obstructing hand. Yet, upon contact, he immediately felt a force identical to the previous one surge up, clearly indicating that the other had timely activated his internal strength.But this time, he twisted his wrist and used a hooking hand technique to firmly grab Coach Gu's arm, letting that force rush into his body without retreating a single step.

Coach Gu's pupils couldn't help but contract.

And in the next moment, Chen Chuan used his strength advantage to pull Coach Gu's arm outward, stepping forward with his foot to the side and thrusting his elbow horizontally towards Coach Gu's chest, driven by the force of breaking limits, executing a move from Da San Shou[-] called "Opening the Door Elbow'!

Seeing the danger, Coach Gu let out a "hi' sound in the critical moment. He did not dodge but pulled the grabbed hand back, using a countering force, with his hand as the handle and his body as the hammer, gathering strength to actively collide his chest forward.

The next moment, a dull thud sounded on the stage, and both men shook simultaneously.

The people below watched nervously, but both men remained as they were, with no further action.

"Let's stop here," Coach Gu said calmly, looking at Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan nodded.

Both men simultaneously withdrew their hands, stood up straight, and looked at each other.

"Good!"

A cheer came from below first, followed by a burst of warm applause.

Chen Chuan clasped his fists towards Coach Gu and said sincerely, "I've gained a lot today, thank you, Coach Gu."

He felt a bit regretful; even using the Limit-breaking Strike, he couldn't defeat Coach Gu, who was truly formidable.

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However, after a direct confrontation with such an opponent, he roughly understood the level of someone with internal strength, and he knew he needed to continue strengthening his training.

Coach Gu returned the salute with a smile and said, "You're too kind. Xiujiang Boxing Gym welcomes guests, and outstanding young people like you are always welcome to come."

Chen Chuan's eyes lit up, and he said happily, "Okay."

Seeing him agree so happily, Coach Gu's mouth twitched slightly.

Chen Chuan walked off the ring and noticed that a large crowd had gathered around at some point, filling most of the boxing gym. Seeing him come down, they automatically made way for him.

At this moment, someone in the crowd waved at him, "Hi! Classmate!"

Chen Chuan looked over and immediately recognized Liang Tong, a classmate from the next class who had given him a flyer before, and he nodded with a smile at the latter, then walked straight out of the boxing gym.After he left, Coach Gu said, "Alright, disperse, everyone go and train hard."

Upon hearing his words, the crowd scattered in twos and threes, but their excitement hadn't subsided, and they continued to discuss fervently.

Coach Gu was about to step down from the stage when Liang Tong eagerly ran up and said, "Coach Gu, Coach Gu, that's my classmate, it seems like he got into Wuda[-]."

Coach Gu looked at him and said, "Oh," then added, "You guys go and look around first." After leaving a bewildered Liang Tong, he returned alone to his own restroom.

After closing the door, he finally let go of his previous seriousness, clutching his chest and grimacing. He took off his shirt, revealing a black and blue bruise on his chest.

He took a bottle of medicinal wine from the cabinet and applied it, but as he did so, he hissed in pain.

"That kid's punches are really heavy, at least two ribs are broken, no, three..."

He was well aware that if he hadn't used the technique of counteracting force at the last moment to prevent Chen Chuan from fully exerting his strength, his internal organs might have been impacted.

"But this punch doesn't seem to be about force, it's just pure strength, plus some special technique..."

"Hiss, fortunately, there's no force, if he learns to use force with that strength, wouldn't that be something? I might have been killed by his punch today."

As he thought, he muttered to himself, "Wuda[-], huh? I wonder how many years he's been studying, these academy students are really formidable... Next time? I think you'd better not come next time."

Chen Chuan had already walked outside the boxing gym, seeing that his Second Self was almost completely faded. The last clash, besides suffering two consecutive force impacts, his own limit-breaking attack also caused some damage, now leaving him with less than ten seconds of overlap time at most.

He savored the experience just now, thinking that Coach Gu was indeed the coach of the boxing gym, his response was very seasoned, and he would have to seek more advice when the opportunity arose.

At this moment, it was the end of a busy day, the streets were bustling with traffic, everything was bathed in a golden-red under the setting sun. He exhaled a breath, stepped lightly, and soon disappeared into the bustling crowd.

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