When he saw that Qi Xia had no follow-up moves, he immediately took a great stride and charged forward. Qi Xia didn't hesitate either. He pushed the two chairs beside him forward once more, blocking the space between himself and Zhang Shan.
The tall Zhang Shan was already a bit slow on his feet, and now, hindered by these two chairs, he nearly stumbled and fell.
"When a dragon fights in the wilderness, its path has reached its end."
Qi Xia took a running start, stepped onto a chair, and leaped up. Before Zhang Shan could regain his balance, he pounced directly on top of him, straddling his opponent's body. He knew that Zhang Shan was fundamentally different from little glasses and Old Lu; there was no way he could be intimidated into compromising.
So, before his opponent could react, he straddled him and rained a flurry of punches down on his cheeks. Zhang Shan immediately raised his arms, protecting his chin and the sides of his face. At the same time, his eyes were fixed on his opponent's shoulders, constantly blocking Qi Xia's assault by judging his punches.
Qi Xia’s fists fell like raindrops on his opponent's arms, but it felt as hard as hitting a wall.
"Kid… you're courting death!"
Taking advantage of the moment his opponent spoke, Qi Xia drove a fist down between Zhang Shan's arms, aiming straight for his nose. But Zhang Shan, as if he had long anticipated it, clamped his arms together, stopping Qi Xia’s fist from advancing half an inch.
He locked Qi Xia's joint, then smoothly grabbed his arm and twisted it to the side. Qi Xia rolled away, and Zhang Shan broke free from his hold.
"I really underestimated you..."
Zhang Shan slowly got to his feet, patting the dust from his clothes.
"Were you an assassin before you came here, kid? Who fights like that?"
Qi Xia also rose, his expression grim as he gasped for breath. That attack had been his all-or-nothing gamble, but he hadn't expected his opponent to be almost completely unaffected.
"Hey, hey, hey!!" little glasses ran forward at that moment, his face full of anxiety.
"Why are you two fighting all of a sudden... Just calm down a little..."
"I can't calm down," Zhang Shan said with an angry laugh.
"Today, I must beat this kid into submission."
Before Qi Xia could think of his next move, Zhang Shan had already sent all the chairs flying and charged over. His thick arm swung toward Qi Xia's face like a pillar. In the nick of time, Qiao Jiajin reached out and hooked his arm.
"Big guy, you can't hit him."
Seeing that he was being blocked, Zhang Shan put more force into it, only to find that the lean, tattooed man before him was incredibly strong. He couldn't move at all.
"So another one sticks his neck out," Zhang Shan snorted coldly.
"On what grounds can't I hit him?"
"Because he's my 'brain'," Qiao Jiajin said with a harmless smile.
"If you damage his head, we'll both turn into idiots."
"He's your 'brain'?"
Zhang Shan found the man before him a bit interesting.
"Then what are you?"
"Me..."
Qiao Jiajin let go of Zhang Shan's hand and took off his jacket, revealing a body covered in tattoos and hard-earned muscle.
"If I have to say, I'm his 'fist'."
Zhang Shan raised an eyebrow.
"A bit interesting. In that case, I'll trade a few moves with you, the 'fist'."
With that, Zhang Shan adopted a boxing stance. One arm was bent to guard his chin, while the other, twisting with his hips, swung directly at Qiao Jiajin. Qiao Jiajin ducked and rushed forward, dodging the punch while instantly arriving in front of his opponent, then swung his right hand up in an uppercut.
Zhang Shan tilted his head back, dodging it as well. He immediately adjusted his posture, placing his right hand forward to create distance between himself and Qiao Jiajin. In that brief exchange, both knew that the other must have had some training; otherwise, they wouldn't possess such skill.
Zhang Shan thought for only half a second before stepping forward again, throwing a heavy punch with his left hand. This time, Qiao Jiajin didn't dodge. Instead, he grabbed his opponent's entire arm, then his body went airborne and spun around.
One foot hooked his opponent's neck, and he used his own body weight to drag his opponent to the ground. He grabbed Zhang Shan's arm with both hands, placed it between his thighs, and pulled back continuously. His feet were also searching for the right position—one pressing on his opponent's neck, the other preparing to press on his opponent's chest.
Zhang Shan was in disbelief, but he had already come to his senses. This was a common ground technique in mixed martial arts, a cross armbar. If his opponent managed to lock his arm, he would surely lose.
At this thought, he reached out his right hand and clasped it tightly with his left, interlocking the fingers of both hands to temporarily prevent Qiao Jiajin from straightening his arm. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how a thuggish-looking punk could execute such a textbook maneuver. Fortunately, he also had some knowledge of fighting techniques.
While he hadn't broken the cross armbar, he hadn't let his opponent succeed either. When Qiao Jiajin found he couldn't pull Zhang Shan's left arm, he extended one foot and pushed against his opponent's right arm, using the strength of his thigh to forcibly separate his opponent's hands. By now, Zhang Shan was drenched in sweat.
His hands were, after all, only held by interlocked fingers; the grip was not secure under pressure. Soon, Zhang Shan's hands were pried apart. His left arm was instantly straightened, and the immense pain made him cry out.
But he was a large man, after all. He quickly twisted his body and threw a punch with his right hand toward his opponent's abdomen. Qiao Jiajin pulled back the right leg that was pressing on his opponent's neck, blocking the blow with his knee.
Zhang Shan seemed to have found a path to life. He continuously punched at Qiao Jiajin, who could only keep blocking with his knee. To successfully execute a cross armbar, two points are key.
First, one must firmly control one of the opponent's arms. Second, one must use both legs to pin the opponent's neck and chest. To block his opponent's attacks, Qiao Jiajin had no choice but to pull his leg back.
Without the restraint of his right leg, Zhang Shan could now get up. He forcefully yanked his left arm free and flipped his entire body over, attempting to turn the tables and pin Qiao Jiajin down. Seeing his opponent break free, Qiao Jiajin immediately extended his right foot to block him.
Unable to get close, Zhang Shan relentlessly threw punches at Qiao Jiajin. Qiao Jiajin drew his arms in, blocking left and right, all while using his right leg to maintain distance from his opponent. While Zhang Shan was distracted, Qiao Jiajin's raised right leg suddenly dropped, kicking fiercely at his opponent's calf.
Zhang Shan lost his balance again. Just as he was about to fall, Qiao Jiajin seized the chance to get up, circled behind him, wrapped his right arm around Zhang Shan's neck, and locked his left hand with his right arm to increase the pressure. He then jumped backward, pulling them both to the ground again, executing a rear-naked choke.
Qiao Jiajin was just about to tighten the hold on his opponent's neck when he suddenly realized something was not quite right. Looking closely, he saw that Zhang Shan had managed to wedge a hand in front of his own neck, preventing the choke from being properly applied.
Although he had blocked Qiao Jiajin's attack, Zhang Shan was not in a good position either. He had protected his vital point, but now his own hand was trapped. At this moment, neither of them could break free.
They were locked together.
"Hey… big guy…"
Qiao Jiajin said through gritted teeth.
"Are you going to give up or not? Call me boss, and I'll let go right now..."
"Fuck! I'd rather die at your hands than admit defeat…"
Zhang Shan continuously tensed his muscles, trying to find an opening, but Qiao Jiajin's position was very stable. For the moment, he could find no flaw.