Although Li Zhonglou was somewhat puzzled by his attitude, he still said, "It's alright, there are no problems so far."
The old man's brow furrowed slightly, and he quietly looked at Li Zhonglou. Although he didn't speak, the suspicion in his eyes was quite evident.
However, in the very next second, the old man's right hand suddenly turned into a black shadow. Li Zhonglou's expression changed, and his right hand also moved instantly, catching the old man's punch.
"Old sir, what do you mean by this?" Li Zhonglou's eyes immediately turned cold.
However, the old man did not answer him. He gave his clenched right hand a slight shake, and a subtle force diffused Li Zhonglou's grip. Without any apparent movement, his right fist turned into a palm and, like a swift snake, struck directly towards Li Zhonglou's face.
But Li Zhonglou's movements were even faster. When his right palm was halfway there, Li Zhonglou grasped his arm and pressed down hard. With a bang, the old man's entire hand was slammed heavily onto the table. Yet, his expression remained calm. Abandoning the struggle with his pinned right hand, his left hand transformed into a black shadow and flashed over again.
The speed was still outrageously fast.
A flicker of surprise flashed in Li Zhonglou's eyes. He couldn't sense any other aura from this old man, yet his attacks were faster and more precise than any enemy he had encountered before!
Moreover, the strength displayed was not at all what one would expect from someone of his age.
This old man was no ordinary person!
As Li Zhonglou pondered, the two had already exchanged more than ten blows. Every attack from the old man targeted Li Zhonglou's weaknesses, but each was resolved and intercepted by Li Zhonglou.
Just as Li Zhonglou was beginning to lose patience, the old man suddenly changed his offensive strategy. He sprang from his chair like a hungry tiger, lunging towards Li Zhonglou.
While this momentum was fierce, it also presented many openings to Li Zhonglou. He immediately stopped holding back, his right hand instantly grabbing the old man's collar and pulling him down forcefully. Simultaneously, his right fist smashed towards the old man's head.
However, in the next moment, it was not the old man whose expression changed, but himself.
Because he then realized that although the old man seemed to have sprung up entirely, his feet were actually hooked around the table and chair. As Li Zhonglou tried to force him onto the table, the old man used the leverage to twist his body, breaking free from the control. At the same time, the old man's hands gripped his right hand.
The force was even greater than that of the fat man he had encountered earlier!
A scene flashed in Li Zhonglou's mind: the old man rolling with leverage, and himself, unable to retract his force in time, his entire right arm twisted into a pretzel!
So strong!
This was Li Zhonglou's first reaction. Although the old man before him was not the strongest enemy he had faced, he was the strongest displayed by someone of his age!
Naturally, he would not allow the predicted scene to unfold. Just as the old man was about to make a move, Li Zhonglou suddenly planted his feet firmly, shifting his entire body downwards.
As he transferred his center of gravity to his lower body, his hands were instantly liberated, and he flung the old man, chair and all, to the side.
The old man turned nimbly in mid-air, diffusing the force, and with a light touch of his feet on the ground, he sprang forward again.
His right foot became a black shadow. Li Zhonglou raised his arm to block. With a muffled thud, Li Zhonglou was sent staggering back a few steps.
The force had somehow increased from before!
But Li Zhonglou now understood the old man's intentions. His face regained its calm. As the old man attacked again, Li Zhonglou calmly circulated the internal energy within his body.
His right hand blocked the old man's kick with ease. Then, with a side-forward flip and a grab, the old man agilely bent his body. However, a black shadow appeared in his eyes – Li Zhonglou's knee.
The old man was slightly startled and quickly brought his hands up to protect himself. With a bang, he was kicked backward repeatedly. But the next moment, Li Zhonglou's voice reached his ears again.
"Is this enough now?"
At this moment, Li Zhonglou's hand was already around his neck.
After breaking away from the table, Li Zhonglou noticed that although the old man's every attack was aimed at his vital points, there was no killing intent in his offensives. It was clearly a series of probes.
Combined with the old man's earlier words, Li Zhonglou understood that the other party wanted to ascertain his strength.
However, to his surprise, even though he had now gained control of him, the old man did not stop his tests.
"Young man, there's still a long way to go."
As soon as the words fell, Li Zhonglou felt his hand suddenly slip. The old man was actually controlling his muscle contractions, instantly breaking free from his grasp.
This made Li Zhonglou even more astonished.
Controlling one's own muscles, while achievable by most masters, would gradually lose its effectiveness with age and muscle atrophy. This was an irreversible state and outcome.
However, the fact that the old man could still perform this indicated only one thing: he had maintained his body exceptionally well!
And someone who could maintain their body to such an extent, and possess such strength, was undoubtedly a true master of internal energy.
In that instant, Li Zhonglou became completely convinced of the old man's earlier words.
The old man, having broken free from Li Zhonglou's control, immediately launched a fierce and relentless barrage of attacks. Despite his advanced age, his physical condition, strength, and speed were in no way inferior to those of a young man.
Li Zhonglou even felt as if he were mistaken, as if the person attacking him was not an elderly man but a young man in his prime.
Moreover, the force of his subsequent punches continued to increase. The old man was clearly testing Li Zhonglou's limits. They fought from inside the hall all the way to the doorway. The neatly arranged tables and chairs were knocked askew, and some were even shattered into pieces by their unintentional movements.
Until three minutes later, as Li Zhonglou began to feel a little bored, he suddenly felt the猛烈ly incoming punches and kicks suddenly weaken.
"Oh? Reached your limit?"
Li Zhonglou murmured to himself. Falling on the old man's ears, it made his face flush, and a faint blush of anger flashed across it.
This was a sentence that should have been uttered by him. After all, he was the one who had initiated the attack to test Li Zhonglou's strength. According to the script, Li Zhonglou should have been left breathless from exhaustion, while he would still have some strength reserved.
Then, he would offer guidance from the position of a senior.
But now the script had only begun, and the middle and end had completely gone awry. Instead, he himself had become the clown.
The thought of the long string of guidance he had prepared being unusable made the old man feel incredibly stifled.