Wong charged at Domon. His punches and kicks came without reservation. His fists turned into countless as he used Hundred Lightning Hands, while his kicks were hard to spot as they attacked with Shadowless Kicks.
Domon took one step after another. His body continued to sway and shift as he moved using Eight Diagram Illusory Steps.
"Is dodging all the former champ can do?" Wong mocked.
"Your aggressiveness is just making your flaws more exposed," Domon replied.
"Flaws…? Absurd! I have no–" Wong's words stopped when he suddenly lost balance. He felt as if he had been sucked into an invisible vortex.
Domon had used Reversing Heaven and Earth. The art redirected the straight force from Wong's advancing momentum into a radial one. Wong was unable to resist the sudden change of force and his body was unwillingly lifted into the air.
But he was a martial grandmaster, he was not someone who panicked at a sudden change. With perfect control over his body, he made a quick flip in the air. He regained balance and landed back on the ground on his feet.
Domon didn't just let this chance go. He performed Death Carrying Cyclone using his leg. The sweeping move swept Wong's legs that just touched the ground. Wong's body unwillingly flipped again due to the powerful sweep. Domon's rotational movement didn't stop. His other leg came at Wong's head when Wong's body was upside down in the air.
Wong had no choice but to block this kick using his two arms. The impact threw him a distance away. He also received a little damage from the block. A battle monk had a passive ability that treated their arms as weapons with parrying ability. He also powered that arm with mana manipulation when blocking. Thus, the damage was greatly negated.
Still, he was very unhappy that Domon landed a first hit, even when that hit was not a clean hit.
Domon understood that pressing the opponent when the opponent was unsteady was the key to victory. So, he rushed forward when Domon was still on the ground.
Wong didn't stay on the ground for long. He did an armless kip-up once the momentum stopped dragging his body against the ground. When he stood back up, his vision was assailed by a multitude of palms.
Domon had used Eight Gates Illusory Palms with both hands. But from Wong's mana sense, he knew that Domon was not only attacking with his hands. Some shadowless kicks were also assailing him from unseen angles.
Wong didn't have a complex movement technique like Domon's eight diagram illusory steps, but his blocking technique was solid. His arms moved at high speed as they hit all the incoming palms and kicks. His arms' momentum made it so that the world system considered him as hitting Domon's attacks, not blocking. Hence, he didn't receive any damage since the damage from Domon's attacks didn't eclipse his own by three times.
Suddenly, Domon's momentum stopped abruptly. His palm stopped and rested on Wong's arm that was blocking the palm.
When Wong was puzzled by the sudden stop, he sensed a fierce mana brewing where Domon's palm touched his arm. He quickly channeled his mana to that point of impact and used the Iron Shirt technique to protect him from whatever art Domon was using.
However, he felt the energy of his iron shirt tremble and then just dissolved. In his bafflement, Domon's energy pierced through his protective iron shirt, went through his blocking arm, and struck his chest behind that arm.
A damage number of around 1,000 popped up on Wong's head. He was also knockback by the impact force.
Domon's palm art was the Penetrating Wave Palm which bypassed defense. If the palm hit Wong's body instead of his blocking arm, the energy would have struck Wong's inside, causing higher damage.
Domon didn't let Wong go. He kept up the pressure. He advanced again with a barrage of attacks, but an explosion of energy from Wong alarmed him.
As Domon felt that explosion of energy, a physical change happened to Wong's body. All his muscles bulged and became taut. His body mass seemed to increase. If other players saw such a change in Wong's body, they would have thought that Wong was using a game skill, but Domon knew that it was not a game skill.
Wong sprang forward with an elbow strike. His speed greatly increased after his body transformation. Domon was caught off guard.
Domon put his arms forward to block. But when his arms came into contact with Wong's elbow, they were smashed aside. The elbow strike landed on Domon's chest. A combination of attacks similar to what Wong had executed during the world tournament was repeated here. The elbow strike was followed by a backhand punch, then a four-finger stab, and ended with a one-inch punch.
Domon was pushed back several steps from the punch. His HP bar was reduced to almost half.
"Impressive defensive technique…," Wong praised. "Almost like my iron shirt. It is weaker but didn't just stop one impact."
"Thanks for the compliment. I call it Steel Shirt," Domon replied. "It is my modification on Iron Shirt. I reduce the mana consumption but make it more stable to be able to endure more hits."
"Hm…," Domon's words made Wong contemplate. Wong never thought about modifying any of his art. This was probably the biggest difference between him and Domon. He was somewhat surprised by Domon's willingness to share the tips. Little did he know that Domon simply did it out of his teaching habit.
"I must admit. I would have been a goner without this steel shirt," Domon said. "But I'm more impressed that you possess such a legendary martial art. Have you already learned that Muscle Tendon Transformation when you were fighting in the world tournament?"
The Muscle Tendon Transformation was what changed Wong's body. It gave an effect similar to the buff from game skills. This martial art improves all of Wong's attributes, making him much stronger and faster.
