Facing Sheng Xiong, who attacked like lightning, Mo Ling remained unfazed.
Her spirit entered a state of ethereal tranquility, bringing her entire being into a calm state.
Appropriate countermeasures were made almost without conscious thought.
She gently supported Madam Shen's arm and applied a slight force, sending Madam Shen flying.
Amidst Madam Shen's startled cry, she was propelled several meters away.
Landing on the ground, it was as if she had merely jumped, with no injury sustained, nor even the sensation of being thrown.
This required profound skill.
Madam Shen had experienced something similar from her father when she was young, during playful moments. However, in fairness, her father could not achieve the fluid grace that Mo Ling displayed.
Thus, Madam Shen gazed at Mo Ling, her beautiful eyes shining with admiration.
At this moment, Mo Ling paid no mind to having sent Madam Shen away.
Instead, as she flung Madam Shen, she simultaneously dodged.
She evaded Sheng Xiong's attack and, with a natural follow-through, threw a punch.
Almost as soon as they engaged, a powerful aura erupted, and they unleashed punches filled with killing intent.
Mo Ling had fought Sheng Xiong several times before and was familiar with his attacks.
At the same time, as he had stated, he was also very familiar with Mo Ling, so she dared not be careless.
She too, from the outset, employed lethal techniques.
However, she still maintained the appearance of using Xingyi Quan, while internally, she employed a completely new method.
She took a deep breath, and a powerful surge of energy rose from her Dantian, flowing upwards through the meridians of her torso, out through her arms, and finally from her palms.
Seeing Mo Ling's attack imminent, Sheng Xiong sneered, thinking that such weak and flowery movements were being flaunted before him.
He was about to meet it with his palm.
Suddenly, his heart cried out a warning, urging him to evade.
Though he didn't fully believe it, he still chose to follow his intuition.
So he took a deep breath and dodged to the side.
However, his momentum was already committed, and he was about to collide with Mo Ling's jade palm.
With no other recourse, he exerted a slight palm force into the empty air, creating a counter-force that spun his body, combined with the force from his feet, to complete his evasion.
But it was too late for him to do so now.
Bang!
Mo Ling’s palm struck Sheng Xiong’s arm, leaving it numb and in unbearable pain.
Simultaneously, this destructive force spread upwards along his arm, heading towards his chest.
Sheng Xiong's body tumbled and was flung through the air.
Upon landing, he continued to spin to dissipate the force.
Finally, he channeled his energy to neutralize Mo Ling's internal force, expelling it from his body.
Instantly, sweat beaded on his forehead.
After stabilizing himself, he looked at Mo Ling, his gaze filled with surprise. "Hmph, I never expected a mere woman like you to possess such formidable palm strength!"
"Today, I shall show you," Mo Ling replied.
She herself had not anticipated the power of her single palm strike.
This technique had been personally taught to her by Song Qiao, and its purpose was to enhance the robustness of her palm strikes.
She knew the technique was powerful, but she hadn't imagined it would have such a devastating effect on Sheng Xiong.
Having achieved success with one strike, she intended to press her advantage.
However, recalling Sheng Xiong's cunning and the immense pressure her own strike had placed on her body, requiring her to recuperate, she slowly advanced, regaining her strength while simultaneously applying pressure on her opponent.
"Alright, come again!" Facing Mo Ling, Sheng Xiong no longer dared to underestimate her, giving her his full attention.
His senses were fully engaged, leaving no room for oversight.
Mo Ling struck Sheng Xiong with a single palm, channeling seventy percent of her internal force.
Sheng Xiong, not to be outdone, extended his right palm.
Their palms met.
Boom!
Force scattered.
Madam Shen, several meters away, was awed by their aura, her face pale and her legs trembling as she stumbled backward.
She couldn't even muster the strength to push herself away with her hands and feet.
Further away, Cui Haoze and his assistant had also arrived nearby.
Of course, they were positioned at a much greater distance.
But even so, they were both paralyzed and sprawled on the ground, their faces ashen.
Meanwhile, in the arena, the battle had entered a fever pitch.
Sheng Xiong let out a great laugh.
"Ha!" he roared, the sound reverberating through the surroundings like a fierce tiger released from its cage, its roar echoing from the high hills.
He exerted force with both hands, hooking his fingers and transforming them into sharp claws, which he raked towards Mo Ling's throat.
Mo Ling let out a sharp cry and planted her feet firmly, halting her forward momentum. She stopped as if she were a massive boulder.
Beneath her feet, the ground erupted with flying earth and stone, like falling rain.
At the same time, she executed a 'iron bridge' pose, arching her upper body backward.
This immediately allowed her to evade the claws that were aimed at her throat.
Of course, she was not content with just evading. She applied force with her feet and delivered a kick towards his lower abdomen.
This kick was incredibly accurate.
Though she didn't see it, it was as if divinely guided, taking into account the opponent's trajectory of movement.
It was this very kick that neutralized the hidden move of his left hand, which was aiming for her heart.
Had she not evaded in time and delivered this masterful kick, her heart would likely have been ripped out by him.
Sheng Xiong dodged Mo Ling's kick with a swift movement and retreated a step, putting him three meters away.
Mo Ling stabilized herself, eyeing Sheng Xiong intently, her gaze taking in his every move.
This round, both combatants were evenly matched.
"Tiger Fist!" Mo Ling said softly.
"You recognize it, do you? Come again!" Sheng Xiong cocked his chin, shook his wrist, and charged forward again.
Mo Ling, not to be outdone, exerted a slight force with her feet and surged forward, leaping towards Sheng Xiong.
At this moment, she employed Xingyi Quan.
This was the martial art she had been using all along, making her more adept in combat.
Especially when countering his Tiger Fist, the Dragon and Tiger forms within Xingyi Quan were perfectly suited.
The dragon possessed the art of bone-searching, while the tiger embodied the momentum of the pounce.
Her movements, from bottom to top, were like a dragon and tiger, her momentum sinuous and powerful.
Sheng Xiong was in mid-air.
Mo Ling, however, was utterly fearless, her fist striking towards Sheng Xiong's jaw.
"Lur Hu Xu!" (Stroking the Tiger's Whiskers)
Sheng Xiong, still using Tiger Fist, dared not meet Mo Ling's technique head-on, as her punch carried immense power.
Sheng Xiong certainly did not want to take that punch with his head. He dodged to the side.
Mo Ling pressed her advantage.
Advancing, retreating, dodging, and turning incessantly, she unleashed the full power of the five basic fists: Splitting, Crashing, Drilling, Pounding, and Horizontal.
Crack, crack, crack!
Fists and feet collided incessantly, their energies bursting forth.
Bang!
She landed a punch on Sheng Xiong's shoulder, momentarily halting his attack.
However, her left arm's movement slowed.
Sheng Xiong, sharp-eyed, immediately noticed.
His eyes lit up.
Then, he shifted his body, charging to the side, and with another turn, struck towards her left shoulder.
He had discovered a weakness in Mo Ling.
"You're still too green!"
Before his words fell, his attack arrived. A large hand transformed into a tiger's claw, slashing down with force.
Mo Ling's body froze at this moment.
In her clash with Sheng Xiong, her left shoulder had been affected, causing a blockage in her meridians, which restricted her movements.
This discomfort was not outwardly obvious, yet Sheng Xiong seized upon it.
The best response would be to attack with her left hand.
As her left arm was not functioning smoothly, she had to twist her body to avoid the vital point.
But she was now in a perilous situation.
Because in the arena of martial arts, it wasn't about a single burst of power, but a continuous stream of techniques.
Once an opening was found, there was no room for mercy.
If her shoulder were to be struck, she would be forced to endure a relentless barrage of attacks from her opponent.
Sheng Xiong's tiger claw brought immense pressure, causing her shoulder to ache, and her blood felt as if it had stopped flowing.
Her life was hanging by a thread!