Chapter 025: The Lost Youth Has Returned. _1

Ji Xinghe did not press his advantage. After all, it was not a battle for life and death, but just a fighting match. So at that moment, when the awkwardly standing Han Li looked at Ji Xinghe, he saw regret in Ji's eyes.

"Actually, I was aiming for your belt. I didn't expect you to move so quickly..."

Ji Xinghe whispered his apology, explaining the reason why he had grabbed Han Li by the neck to slam him to the ground earlier. He had dodged Han's flying kick and then quickly got up and reached out his hand, but due to his miscalculation of Han's speed, the hand that was supposed to grab Han Li's belt ended up catching his neck.

He could have let go, but if he did, Han would have flown past him. He could have grabbed Han's head instead of his neck. Ji Xinghe was 1.93 meters tall, which had been reduced to 1.9 meters due to age, and further adjusted to 1.91 meters due to the lower gravity of the alien planet. No matter how his height changed, his palm had not changed. It could easily grasp a basketball, let alone Han Li's head, but grabbing Han's head would have had more serious consequences than grabbing his neck.

Finally, Han Li understood and shook his head with a smile to indicate he didn't mind, but he had made a serious error in judgement. As he had only heard Ji Xinghe say that he was too fast, he assumed that Ji Xinghe's reaction speed was relatively slow, which would be a clear disadvantage in close combat.

"It's fine, Uncle Ji, I can take a punch. Don't hold back. Within a minute, I'll definitely hit you. The time for this conversation counts within the minute too, shall we continue?"

"Alright."

Ji Xinghe didn't explain further. Actually, the fact that he grabbed the wrong spot was not just because Han flew too fast; it was also because his body was stronger than he had expected on this alien planet. The sudden bending and rising power in his body had surprised him, causing him to falter momentarily.

The fight resumed. The crowd, who hadn't heard their conversation, gasped in surprise. This gasp was not because Han attacked again or because Ji Xinghe initiated an attack, but because of Ji's earlier grip and Han's fall. Their reaction speed was even slower than the little girl's.

Once again, it was Han Li who initiated the attack. He didn't have much time left. His talk had taken up more than ten seconds, and the previous move had taken another ten seconds. He calculated that he had only about thirty seconds left. If he couldn't hit Ji Xinghe during this time, he would have to use his maximum strength.

He didn't want to use his full strength, much like he didn't really want to win, so he aimed to hit Ji Xinghe first.

Moving as fast as a rabbit, Han Li didn't resort to any flashy attacks this time. He steadily stepped forward and threw a straight right punch at Ji Xinghe. He had already thought of his next moves, anticipating that he would hit Ji Xinghe regardless of whether Ji blocked or dodged his attack.

But this time, Ji Xinghe neither avoided nor blocked Han Li's punch. Since Han claimed that he could withstand a punch and seemed to be fine after the last one, Ji could use a bit more strength this time.

To Ji Xinghe, Han Li rushing towards him was no different from the wooden dummy in his study. Not the later metal dummy, but the original one made from actual wood that he had subsequently broken.

Ji Xinghe, who had no real fighting experience, only had experience fighting with the dummy and sparring with Ji Chenxing. He couldn't treat Han like Chenxing, so he treated Han like the dummy.

In a move just as straightforward, Ji Xinghe went for the center and countered Han Li's punch. His speed was so fast that Han Li had no time to withdraw his punch. The two fists collided, and an intense pain surged from Han Li's hand, rendering all his planned moves meaningless in an instant.

Han Li was really good at fighting and had only lost to Li Yuanba after disarming his mecha. But no matter how good he was, he never expected that someone would counter his punch with their own during a fight. This was completely against the norms of combat.

Normal people clenching their fists and hitting knuckle-to-knuckle would feel pain even with slight pressure, let alone Ji Xinghe and Han Li, who were exerting full force.

Han Li, whose eyes were watering from the pain, felt a strong gust of wind coming at him. In his vision, Ji Xinghe, who was already taller, became even more gigantic. He looked like a military off-road vehicle charging at full speed.

Before Han Li could completely retract his right hand, Ji Xinghe's body hit it and pushed him onto his chest. The force truly exploded at this moment. Although it was not Ji Xinghe's full strength, it was still enough to send Han Li's body flying into the air.

He really did fly. The gravity of the alien planet was only a third of that on Azure Star, which made Han Li, who weighed 180 pounds, effectively weigh only 60 pounds. However, in this low-gravity environment, the power of his ageing body had not weakened but had instead increased.

Han Li's body flew about two meters high and seven or eight meters away and skidded for several more meters on the smooth stone floor before finally stopping.

The entire venue fell silent again at this moment. No one doubted the authenticity of the fight. The impact of the two punches might have been questionable, but Ji Xinghe bumping Han Li a dozen meters away with a shoulder charge couldn't possibly be fake, could it?

Was this old man really a peerless master?

The little girl in the front row widened her eyes. Her mouth, which had just let out a faint gasp, opened even wider. Excitement appeared in her eyes, and she wanted to cheer loudly, but she remembered that adults didn't like noisy children. So, she could only grip the sleeve of the nurse next to her. Her hand turned white from the excessive force she exerted - an unhealthy kind of white that lacked any color.

The nurse held the little girl's hand sympathetically and crouched beside her, giving her an encouraging look. Then, she also started cheering, triggering cheers all over the venue, and the little girl began to cheer as well.

The spectators on site didn't know that their cheered had given a little girl, who barely dared to cheer, the courage to do so. Similarly, they didn't realize that Ji Xinghe, who initially didn't intend to go so hard, chose this embarrassing method of fighting against Han Li simply because he spotted the little girl in the audience.

With one glance, he knew that she was his granddaughter, the only family he had left in this world.

My child, your grandfather is very strong, so I will always protect you, regardless of where we are or who we face.

Ji Xinghe knew that the little girl wouldn't understand the real battles, so he chose to fight in a plain but flashy way, hoping that would impress her.

I'm sorry, Little Han.

"Stand up."

When Ji Xinghe made his call, he no longer seemed like an old Ji weighed down by his age. Instead, he charged towards Han Li like a wild horse, stomping loudly on the stone floor, his tramping causing Han Li to panic momentarily.

Uncle Ji, doesn't your fist hurt?

Ji Xinghe's fists indeed didn't hurt, not only because he often practiced on Iron Man Stake, but also because his granddaughter was right by his side.

Uncle Ji, are you for real?

Ji Xinghe didn't intend to be too serious, because if he did, Han Li would already be dead.

Uncle Ji, it's me, Han Li, not an empire ape, you haven't mistaken, have you?

Ji Xinghe knew it was Han Li, but let's be clear, this had been Han Li's choice. Ji Xinghe had given him the chance to back out, but Han Li hadn't cherished it.

Ji Xinghe, who was racing on the stage of an Alien Planet base, suddenly felt as if the burden of his aging body had disappeared. As he ran wildly, he felt like he had returned to his long-lost youth under a certain sunset.

His punches and kicks made Han Li, who was hurriedly getting up, defend herself in panic. Ji Xinghe could block every move and every style of Han Li, but as he kept defending, his vulnerabilities kept getting exposed. At that moment, he had truly become the wooden mannequin that Ji Xinghe had been beating for years.

On stage, the movements of the two fighters were so fast that they were almost invisible, making many lean forward without realizing it. They were unaware of the one-minute agreement between Ji Xinghe and Han Li, and couldn't tell that the one-minute mark had passed and Han Li didn't manage to land a punch on Ji Xinghe.

They are both very principled. Fist against fist, elbow against elbow – none of these count as hits. It may not be an official martial arts match without a referee, but they are not any less earnest.

"Give it your all."

Ji Xinghe managed to remind Han Li, but Han Li had no energy left to return any words, as he had already thrown in all he had. His sense of timing was sharp, thus he had started to give his all ten seconds after the start of the minute.

He had given it ten seconds, but it now seemed that there was no need for him to do that; not even a minute was needed. As it turned out, even if he had thrown his all in from the beginning, he still wouldn't be able to land a punch on Ji Xinghe.

Ji Chenxing did not tell a lie. Ji Xinghe didn't need him to let him off because Ji Xinghe was truly a master beyond compare.

However, Ji Xinghe didn't know that Han Li was giving it his all. In his view, Han Li was just an exceptional fighter. Being inexperienced in actual combat, he didn't consider himself an unparalleled master. So, he felt that Han Li was still holding back.

"You don't have the energy to hit, and yet you call yourself a Special Level Mecha Warrior?"

An extremely disappointed Ji Xinghe angrily calls out, and after overpowering Han Li's defenses, he grabbed Han Li by the collar with one hand and belt with another. He then twisted his body and applied his strength.

Hence, Han Li was thrown up in the air once again. As he smashed to the ground, so did his reputation as a Special Level Mecha Warrior. By right, he should be crying, but he found himself laughing inside. Uncle Ji was truly an unparalleled master, he had nothing to worry about anymore.

However, Ji Xinghe still didn't realize that he was an unparalleled master, and he still thought that Han Li was holding back. Just like he didn't know that Ji Chenxing was the one who praised him as an unparalleled master. At the time of making the bold claim, Ji Chenxing was in the middle of the vast galaxy, fighting with confidence and witnessing the brilliance of humanity.