106: Chapter 106 New Technique "Form Extreme Fist" Prototype: A Balance of Hardness and Softness

Initial Exploration of the Deduced Move

The morning light of the Xingyi Sect branch had just spilled over the martial arts arena when Chen Wu's peace lock suddenly erupted with a light interwoven with dark gold and light brown.

Lin Mo's tactical tablet hovered nearby, the "Point Deduction" interface on the virtual screen still flickering. The Move charts for Xingyi Fist and Baji Fist slowly overlapped under the influence of Qi Energy, finally locking onto a trajectory where hardness and softness intertwined.

The System notification suddenly blasted: "Prototype of 'Xingji Fist' successfully deduced! Fusing 'Five Elements Combined Energy' of Xingyi Fist with 'Hard Energy Compression' of Baji Fist, basic Moves 'Xingji Collapse' and 'Xingji Strike' have been unlocked. Current Move completion: 65%."

"This trajectory... it's like the 'Crushing Fist' of Xingyi, yet it also has the 'Hard Strike' of Baji!" Li Xuantong's voice was filled with excitement. He walked quickly to the center of the martial arts arena, his fingertips lightly brushing across the virtual chart, causing the light brown Xingyi Qi Energy to resonate with the trajectory.

"Look at the force point of this 'Xingji Collapse'; it retains the soft rotation of Xingyi Fist's 'Dantian-driven Energy' while adding the fierce hardness of Baji Fist's 'Fist-surface Condensed Energy'. It has truly achieved the combination of hardness and softness!"

Zhao Lie also leaned in, injecting light black Baji Qi Energy into the chart, causing the hard energy nodes on the trajectory to suddenly light up.

"'Xingji Strike' is even more ingenious. It uses the 'Earth Element Energy' of Xingyi to stabilize the lower body, then erupts with the 'Mountain-Leaning Strike' of Baji. It has three parts more cleverness in dissipating force than a pure Mountain-Leaning Strike!"

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly displayed "Move Parameters": "The peak fist force of 'Xingji Collapse' is 1600 kg, a 20% increase over pure Baji Collapse, and the Qi Energy dissipation rate is reduced by 35%; the impact force of 'Xingji Strike' is 1800 kg, a 15% increase over pure Mountain-Leaning Strike, with counter-shock damage reduced by 40%."

The youth's fingertips flew across the virtual keyboard, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the touchpad. "The number of live viewers has exceeded 40 billion! The audience is spamming 'Want to see Xingji Fist in action'. Baji Sect fans are looking forward to the 'Hard Energy Explosion', while Xingyi Sect fans want to see the 'Soft Energy Dissipation'. Both sides are almost starting a fight!"

The tablet suddenly popped up a real-time poll: 62% of the audience wanted to see "Xingji Collapse VS Baji Collapse", 38% of the audience looked forward to "Xingji Strike VS Mountain-Leaning Strike", and the registration channel for the "Global Martial Artist Challenge" had just opened, with 1 million viewers already signed up.

Grandpa Wang tapped his dry tobacco pipe against the edge of the martial arts arena, making a dull thud. The old man pulled out the "Record of Move Fusion" left by his grandfather. Tucked into the yellowed pages was a hand-drawn diagram from 1956—a draft of Chen Wus Great-grandfather attempting to fuse Xingyi and Baji. It had 70% similarity to the current "Xingji Fist" trajectory, but the Move back then lacked the crucial step of "Qi Energy Coordination".

"Your great-grandfather was stuck on the 'clash between hard energy and soft energy' back then," the pipe bowl pointed to the conflict point on the diagram, "Today, with Yijin Energy acting as a buffer, you can solve this problem exactly!"

Two bronze fist seals suddenly flew out of the camphor wood chest, each engraved with the totems of Xingyi and Baji. They landed at Chen Wu's feet, and light brown and light black Qi Energy spread along the fist seals, drawing the basic footwork of "Xingji Fist" on the ground.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the dark brown petals of the inheritance grass suddenly twisted into the shape of a fist. Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the flow of "Xingji Fist" Qi Energy—when the hard energy of "Xingji Collapse" condensed on the fist surface, the dark gold Yijin Energy would automatically form a buffer at the wrist; when the impact force of "Xingji Strike" erupted, the light brown Xingyi Qi Energy formed a force-dissipating layer on the back.

The little girl mixed the dark brown juice, and when the two-colored "Coordination Dew" dripped onto the leaves, the petals suddenly opened toward the center of the martial arts arena. "Elder Zhou said this is a 'Hard-Soft Conditioner'," her fingertips lightly touched the dew, "It can automatically balance the ratio of hard and soft energy when you perform Moves, just like installing a regulator for Qi Energy!"

The Section Chief of the Special Incident Response Department walked over, holding a holographic device. The screen displayed a live combat simulation of "Xingji Fist". "The Technical Department used AI to reconstruct the effect of 'Xingji Collapse' striking the bronze tripod," she suddenly aimed the device at the bronze tripod in the martial arts arena, "When the fist energy contacts the tripod, it first uses Baji hard energy to smash out a fist mark, then uses Xingyi soft energy to guide the Qi Energy to diffuse. This can cause damage without shattering the tripod, perfectly fitting the characteristic of 'combining hardness and softness'!"

The tablet showed that Zhang Hao had already put on protective gear and was standing on the other side of the martial arts arena. "He volunteered to be the 'target', wanting to test the impact force of 'Xingji Strike', while Love is prepared to use Taiji Power to intervene and prevent any accidents."

When Chen Wu's "Xingji Collapse" was performed in the martial arts arena for the first time, dark gold Yijin Energy, light brown Xingyi Qi Energy, and light black Baji Qi Energy intertwined on his fist. He slowly punched toward the bronze tripod, the wind of the punch carrying the fluctuating Qi Energy of interwoven hardness and softness—the slow-motion footage of the global live broadcast showed that the moment the fist contacted the tripod, the light black hard energy first smashed out a half-inch deep fist mark, and the light brown soft energy immediately diffused, causing the bronze surface around the fist mark to show no cracks, but instead emit a layer of soft halo.

"It's a success!" Li Xuantong suddenly burst into laughter. He walked quickly to the side of the tripod, his fingertips brushing over the fist mark, "This is the 'Hard-Soft Fist' I have dreamed of; it's more powerful than pure hard energy or soft energy!"

Practical Debugging of Xingji Collapse

Zhang Hao's iron arm tensed in the center of the martial arts arena. Although the alloy had been removed, under the nourishment of Five Elements Energy, the hardness of his arm had increased by 30% compared to before. He assumed a defensive stance against Chen Wu: "Come on, my iron arm can withstand an impact force of 1800 kg. Even if it's Xingji Collapse, don't think you can break through easily!"

Light silver Iron Arm Power condensed into a layer of Qi Energy shell on the surface of his arm, forming a standoff with Chen Wu's "Xingji Fist" Qi Energy—the barrage on the global live broadcast instantly boiled over. The "Zhang Hao, come on, don't lose face for hard energy" spammed by Baji Sect fans and the "Chen Wu is amazing, Xingji Fist will definitely win" spammed by Xingyi Sect fans intertwined, and the number of online viewers exceeded 41 billion.

Chen Wu's "Xingji Collapse" suddenly erupted. Dark gold Yijin Energy rotated at the Dantian, light brown Xingyi Qi Energy flowed along the meridians, and light black Baji Qi Energy condensed on the fist. The three Qi Energies erupted the moment they contacted Zhang Hao's iron arm—the slow-motion footage showed that the light black hard energy first broke through the outer Qi Energy shell of the Iron Arm Power, and the light brown soft energy immediately diffused along the lines of the iron arm, neither injuring Zhang Hao's arm nor causing the Iron Arm Power to experience a 0.5-second stagnation.

"This... this energy is too strange!" Zhang Hao's voice was filled with surprise. He retracted his arm, and a fine crack appeared on the Qi Energy shell on the surface of his iron arm. "The hard energy can break the defense, and the soft energy can dissipate the force. I simply can't withstand it head-on!"

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly displayed "Qi Energy Analysis": "The ratio of hard to soft energy in 'Xingji Collapse' is 6:4. The hard energy is responsible for breaking the defense, and the soft energy is responsible for dissipating the force," the youth's fingertips danced on the virtual keyboard, "But the test just now showed that when facing a pure hard energy defense like Iron Arm Power, the soft energy ratio needs to be increased to 5:5 to better dissipate the force!"

The tablet suddenly popped up an adjustment plan: "Reduce the compression of Baji hard energy, increase the circulation speed of Xingyi soft energy, and make the connection between hard energy and soft energy smoother." The barrage was suddenly flooded with "Technical Analysis" comments. An overseas martial arts coach uploaded their own adjustment suggestion: "The soft energy can diffuse 0.1 seconds after the hard energy breaks through. This way, it can ensure the defense is broken while maximizing the force-dissipation effect."

Grandpa Wang tapped his dry tobacco pipe against the edge of the martial arts arena. The old man flipped to the "Debugging Chapter" of the "Record of Move Fusion". The yellowed pages recorded the debugging insights of Chen Wus Great-grandfather: "The ratio of hard and soft energy is not fixed. When facing a hard defense, add more soft energy; when facing a soft defense, add more hard energy," the pipe bowl pointed at Zhang Hao's iron arm, "Kid Zhang's Iron Arm Power is pure hardness. You must use soft energy to entangle his Qi Energy, and then use hard energy to break through, just like tying a stone with a rope and then smashing it with a hammer."

The bronze fist seals in the camphor wood chest suddenly resonated with Chen Wu's Qi Energy, and light brown and light black Qi Energy spread along the fist seals, drawing a trajectory of "Soft Energy Entangling Hardness" on the ground.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the dark brown petals of the inheritance grass suddenly shimmered. Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the changes in Qi Energy on Chen Wu's fist—when he performed "Xingji Collapse" according to the adjustment plan, the light brown soft energy formed a rotating Qi Energy circle at the wrist, while the light black hard energy condensed in the center of the circle, like a steel ball wrapped in soft energy.

The little girl sprinkled the "Coordination Dew" into the air. The dark brown light fused with Chen Wu's Qi Energy, forming a miniature "Hard-Soft Regulator" on his fist. "Elder Zhou said this is a 'Ratio Controller'," her fingertips lightly touched the dew, "It can automatically adjust the hard-soft ratio according to the opponent's Qi Energy type, just like installing a smart chip for the Move!"

When Chen Wu's "Xingji Collapse" was performed for the second time, Zhang Hao's Iron Arm Power suddenly became chaotic.

The light brown soft energy first wrapped around the Qi Energy shell of the Iron Arm, making it unable to condense, and then the light black hard energy erupted, striking a shallow mark on the surface of the Iron Arm—the slow-motion footage showed that the ratio of hard to soft energy this time was perfectly adjusted to 5:5, which not only broke through the defense but also caused no harm to Zhang Hao, instead causing his Iron Arm Power to experience a brief "Qi Energy blank."

"I'm convinced!" Zhang Hao suddenly retracted his arm and cupped his hands at Chen Wu. "This Xingji Collapse is more comprehensive than my Iron Arm Fist; it has both the power of hard energy and the cleverness of soft energy. I have truly witnessed it!"

In the global live stream's comments, a uniform "Xingji Fist, King of Hard and Soft" suddenly flooded the screen, and fans of different Schools reached a complete consensus for the first time.

Impact Test of the Xingji Strike

Love's Taiji Power unfolded in the center of the martial arts field, the pale white Qi Energy like a layer of soft cotton, forming a sharp contrast with Chen Wu's "Xingji Strike."

The former boxing champion smiled at Chen Wu: "My Taiji Power can deflect 2000 kilograms of impact force. Feel free to use the Xingji Strike; if you can make me take even half a step back, you win!"

The pale white Qi Energy formed a rotating Taiji diagram in front of him, creating a standoff with Chen Wu's hard and soft Qi Energy—the global live stream camera zoomed in, and one could clearly see every rotation of the Taiji diagram predicting the impact direction of the "Xingji Strike."

Chen Wu's "Xingji Strike" suddenly launched. The light brown Xingyi earth energy condensed in his feet, making his stance as steady as a rock; the light black Baji hard energy erupted from his back, carrying a fierce impact force; the dark golden Yijin Energy formed a buffer at his waist and abdomen to prevent the hard energy from backfiring—he rushed quickly toward Love's Taiji diagram. The moment his back made contact with the Taiji diagram, the slow-motion footage of the global live stream captured a shocking scene: the light black hard energy first broke through the outer layer of the Taiji diagram's Qi Energy, and the light brown soft energy immediately spread along the rotation of the Taiji diagram, so the impact force was neither completely deflected nor caused harm to Love, but instead pushed his Taiji diagram backward slowly.

"This… this leaning force can follow my Taiji Power!" Love's voice was filled with surprise, his feet carving two faint marks on the bluestone slab. "A normal Mountain-Leaning Strike is either deflected by me or causes a backlash if resisted head-on, but your Xingji Strike can follow my Taiji Power to adjust its direction, like a steel column that can turn!"

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly popped up "Impact Force Data": "The impact force of the Xingji Strike is 1800 kilograms, of which 800 kilograms were deflected by the Taiji Power, and 1000 kilograms were converted into propulsion, making Love retreat 3 centimeters. This is the first time Taiji Power has not completely deflected a hard energy impact!"

The comments suddenly exploded with exclamations, and a Taiji Sect successor uploaded their own analysis: "The soft energy of the Xingji Strike can adjust along with the rotation of the Taiji Power, just like water flowing along a whirlpool; it's impossible to deflect it completely!"

Li Xuantong suddenly stepped forward to explain the optimization direction for the "Xingji Strike" to Chen Wu: "Your stance for this leaning force is very stable, but the cushioning at your waist and abdomen can still be improved," the light brown Xingyi energy traced a trajectory at Chen Wu's waist and abdomen, "Use the Xingyi 'waist-twisting and hip-turning' technique to add thirty percent more rotation when the hard energy erupts. This will not only make the impact force stronger but also allow it to better adjust its direction along with the opponent's Qi Energy."

Zhao Lie also added: "The 'sinking shoulders and dropping elbows' of the Baji Strike must also be added," the light black Baji Energy condensed at Chen Wu's shoulders, "This makes the hard energy more concentrated, breaking through soft energy defenses faster!"

In the Flower Girl's basket, the dark brown petals of the inheritance grass suddenly unfolded like a back. Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the flow of Qi Energy on Chen Wu's back—when he adjusted the "Xingji Strike" according to the two Elders' suggestions, the light brown soft energy formed a rotating Qi Energy ring at his waist and abdomen, while the light black hard energy condensed into a spiral shape on his back, like a rotating cannonball.

The little girl sprinkled the "Coordination Dew" into the air, and the dark brown light merged with Chen Wu's Qi Energy, forming a "rotational buffer" layer on his back: "Elder Zhou says this is a 'rotational energy buffer'," she lightly tapped the dewdrop with her fingertip, "It allows the hard energy to carry rotation when it erupts, better breaking through soft energy defenses, just like installing a propeller on a leaning strike!"

When Chen Wu's "Xingji Strike" was performed for the second time, Love's Taiji diagram suddenly showed a noticeable indentation. After the light black spiral hard energy broke through the outer layer of Qi Energy, it rotated forward with the light brown soft energy, pushing Love's Taiji diagram back by 10 centimeters—the slow-motion footage showed that this "Xingji Strike" not only increased the impact force by 20% but also adjusted its direction along with the rotation of the Taiji Power, making it impossible for Love to completely deflect the force.

"I lost!" Love suddenly retracted his power and bowed deeply to Chen Wu. "This Xingji Strike is the most perfect hard-soft Move I have ever seen; it has both the hardness of Baji and the softness of Xingyi. It is worthy of my study!"

The tipping section of the global live stream was suddenly flooded with gold gifts. Su Chen's "Xuanshui Pavilion Congratulates the Birth of Xingji Fist" and Liang Yue's "Wing Chun Sect Praises the Combination of Hard and Soft" took the top spots, and the number of online viewers exceeded 42 billion.

The Underground Palace Foreshadowing and Legacy of Xingji Fist

When the two basic Moves of "Xingji Fist" were debugged and completed, the banners of the eight Schools in the martial arts field suddenly lit up simultaneously. The eight-colored Qi Energy, including the light brown Xingyi energy, light black Baji Energy, and light blue Mystic Water Energy, intertwined in mid-air, forming a huge "Hard and Soft" totem with Chen Wu's "Xingji Fist" Qi Energy—Lin Mo's tablet suddenly popped up a System notification: "The prototype of 'Xingji Fist' has reached 85% completion. Unlocked the research and development authority for advanced 'Xingji Fist' Moves, obtained 2 million Legacy points, and unlocked the 'Legacy Array' hard-soft cracking module for the Underground Palace."

The young man's fingertips danced on the virtual keyboard, inputting the "Xingji Fist" data into the Underground Palace model. The System prompted: "After the hard-soft cracking module is activated, you can use the hard and soft energy of 'Xingji Fist' to crack the 'hard-soft counter-impact' trap of the 'Legacy Array'."

Grandpa Wang's dry tobacco pipe tapped out a brisk rhythm on the edge of the martial arts field. The old man flipped to the last page of the "Record of Move Fusion," where the eight characters "Xingji Unification, Hard and Soft Invincible" were written in cinnabar on the yellowed page, with Chen Wu's Great-grandfather's signature left beside it. "The Xingji Fist that your Great-grandfather couldn't complete back then, you have completed the prototype today," the pipe bowl pointed at the signature, "From now on, this fist technique is entrusted to you. You must make it a bridge connecting Xingyi and Baji, and let the philosophy of combining hard and soft spread across the globe!"

The bronze fist seal, peace lock, and Five Elements Source Pearl in the camphor wood box suddenly merged into one. Light brown, light black, and dark golden Qi Energy spread along the objects, condensing into an "Xingji Fist" totem in Chen Wu's palm.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the dark brown fruit of the inheritance grass suddenly split open, and countless tiny seeds carrying "Xingji Fist" Qi Energy flew into the air, landing on the shoulders of every Martial Artist—Chen Wu's Yijin Energy gained an "Xingji Resonance" halo, allowing him to call upon the Qi Energy of Xingyi and Baji at any time; under the influence of "Xingji Fist," Li Xuantong's Xingyi energy saw its hard energy ratio increase by 20%; Zhao Lie's Baji Energy gained thirty percent more soft energy, and his ability to withstand strikes increased by 35%.

The little girl sprinkled the last drop of "Coordination Dew" onto the martial arts field, and the dark brown light merged with the "Xingji Fist" totem, condensing into a miniature "hard-soft trap" model in Chen Wu's palm: "Elder Zhou says this is a 'trap key'," she lightly tapped the model with her fingertip, "It allows you to use the hard and soft energy of 'Xingji Fist' to crack the 'hard-soft counter-impact' trap in the Underground Palace's 'Legacy Array', just like equipping the trap with a master key!"

The Section Chief of the Special Incident Response Department walked over holding a holographic report. The tablet showed that 50 million Martial Artists worldwide had begun to learn the prototype Moves of "Xingji Fist," 30% of whom were ordinary people with zero foundation. "The Technical Department has uploaded the teaching videos for 'Xingji Collapse' and 'Xingji Strike' to the Global Martial Arts System," the Section Chief's voice was filled with excitement, "The eight major Schools have also decided to incorporate 'Xingji Fist' into their School teaching. In the future, Xingyi Sect Disciples must learn Baji hard energy, and Baji Sect Disciples must learn Xingyi soft energy, truly realizing the Legacy of 'combining hard and soft'!"

The tablet showed that the hard-soft cracking module of the Underground Palace's "Legacy Array" had been activated, and the Qi Energy fields of the eight major Schools resonated with the "Xingji Fist" Qi Energy. Tomorrow morning, everyone would be able to head to the Underground Palace to use "Xingji Fist" to crack the final "hard-soft counter-impact" trap.

As moonlight swept over the Xingyi Sect branch, the "Hard and Soft" totem in the martial arts field echoed with the Qi Energy from the direction of the Underground Palace. Chen Wu suddenly understood that the birth of "Xingji Fist" was never "simple Move Fusion," but a "Breakthrough in martial arts philosophy"—true strength is not merely hard or soft, but the combination of both; true Legacy is not holding onto the Moves of one School, but letting the wisdom of different Schools be reborn through Fusion.

The final image of the global live stream lingered on the moment Chen Wu performed "Xingji Fist." Dark golden, light brown, and light black Qi Energy swirled around him, weaving with the Qi Energy of the eight major Schools into the huge characters "Xingji." The "Xingji Fist, Spread Across the World" flooding the comments was lit up by 42 billion viewers simultaneously, like a river of light crossing mountains and seas, flowing forever above the Xingyi Sect branch, illuminating the ultimate journey of the Underground Palace exploration, and also illuminating the new future of ancient martial arts combining hard and soft.