Chapter 691

Well, well. Who would’ve thought a young woman would practice this kind of... magic?

Evenson certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Someone had shown up looking for a fight and accidentally provided a free martial-arts demonstration. Passing up entertainment like that would have been criminal.

Lily Grant, the senior sister, and Walter Wong were already in the ring. They’d exchanged a few blows, but calling it a fight would have been generous. They were testing each other’s footing, probing with a few punches, working through their forms.

A warm-up.

This was a sparring match, after all. Neither of them was going to start by going for the kill.

Then Lily took a breath and shifted her weight.

Every joint in her body cracked in rapid succession.

She settled into a wide stance, her fists raised, her posture solid and immovable. Each step struck the floor with a heavy thud.

Evenson stared.

This wasn’t what he’d expected.

Lily dressed in a fairly masculine way, and her build wasn’t exactly delicate either, but she was still a woman. He’d assumed her martial art would be something elegant and technical, perhaps the kind of graceful close-quarters style where two people stood around a table and tried to outmaneuver each other.

Instead, Lily looked like she intended to flatten the room.

Evenson knew practically nothing about martial arts, but even he could tell that her style was broad, aggressive, and brutally direct.

Sure enough, once the warm-up ended, Lily attacked.

Her fists cut through the air with a sharp whistle. She followed with driving knees and crushing elbows, each strike covering an enormous range. Everything about her technique emphasized power.

Claire watched for a few moments before sighing.

"Her technique has improved again. No wonder she’s the senior sister."

"You can tell that already?" Evenson asked.

He was completely out of his depth here. He could appreciate the spectacle, but he couldn’t tell what made one punch impressive and another ordinary.

Lily and Walter had stopped treating the exchange like simple warm-ups, but neither seemed to be going all out yet. Walter’s intentions were hard to read. Lily, however, looked almost relaxed.

"Details matter," Claire said. "I know martial arts pretty well. Just looking at her posture and the way her punches move is enough to tell me she’s stronger than before."

She sighed again.

"And I’m not bragging when I say I’m talented. At Kamar-Taj, I’m one of the better students. But compared to senior sister..."

Claire shook her head.

"I’ve never beaten her. Not once."

"Not even once?"

"The only time I came close was when I developed my own style, Viper’s Hundred Arts. The movements were strange enough that she wasn’t prepared, so I managed to catch her off guard."

Claire’s expression soured.

"Next time we fought, she’d figured out the pattern. I got crushed."

Evenson opened his mouth, then decided there was no useful advice he could offer.

He certainly wasn’t about to solve Claire’s martial-arts problems by pouring a few pounds of fel energy into her.

"You two are sorcerers," he said. "If you can’t beat her in a fistfight, can’t you compete at something you’re actually good at?"

"Heh."

Claire gave him a cold smile.

"She’s even better with twin blades and a spear. Fighting her with weapons would just get me killed faster."

Evenson was speechless.

So that was their idea of sorcery.

Punching people and stabbing them.

Aside from the fact that they could open portals, he was beginning to wonder what distinguished Kamar-Taj from a particularly violent martial-arts school.

"HYAA!"

A sudden roar from the ring snapped him back to attention.

The two fighters had separated.

Lily landed heavily, then drove her foot into the ground.

The stone beneath her heel cracked.

Across from her, Walter’s eyes widened.

Not in anger.

In fear.

His expression had practically become a human version of ⊙_⊙.

Apparently, the senior sister had decided to stop holding back.

Lily exploded forward.

Each step landed with tremendous force, leaving cracks in the stone behind her as she charged.

Whatever she intended to do next, it wasn’t going to be gentle.

Walter saw her coming.

The two tiger tattoos winding around Lily’s arms seemed almost alive, their forms surging and twisting as though the beasts themselves were roaring.

His instincts took over.

He threw a right punch.

Lily didn’t dodge.

She raised her left hand and slapped the punch aside with brutal efficiency.

Walter’s guard opened.

Lily’s right hand followed immediately, rising and crashing down onto his forehead.

For an instant, Evenson could almost hear the roar of a tiger.

Golden light erupted around Walter’s head.

That, at least, he understood.

Walter had layered more than a dozen protective spells over his body.

At least half of them shattered under that single strike.

Even with the remaining wards absorbing the force, Walter staggered backward, dazed.

Lily followed.

She took one bounding step and drove a straight punch into his chest.

"Ugh!"

Walter folded around the impact, his mouth hanging open as though he’d forgotten how breathing worked. His face flushed dark red, his entire body clearly struggling to process the blow.

Lily didn’t give him a second to recover.

Another step.

Her fist retracted.

Her elbow slammed into the same spot.

Walter’s tongue came halfway out of his mouth.

Several onlookers winced.

Evenson thought that had to be the end.

It wasn’t.

Lily advanced once more, drew her elbow back, then drove her palm up into Walter’s face.

That was finally enough.

Walter’s eyes rolled upward.

He collapsed flat on his back, arms and legs spread wide.

The golden light disappeared.

Every protective spell had been broken.

Lily closed her eyes and slowly lowered her hands, ending the sequence with perfect composure.

Evenson sucked in a breath so hard it felt like his lungs were trying to fold in on themselves.

He stared at Walter.

Then he leaned toward Claire.

"You’re incredibly lucky to still be alive."

Claire glanced at him.

"Your senior sister isn’t heavy-handed. She’s just vicious. Every part of that combination was aimed at something vital. I thought she was going to kill him."

His gaze returned to Walter.

Head.

Chest.

Head again.

That first palm strike alone could probably have caved in Walter’s skull if those protective spells hadn’t been there.

Claire didn’t seem to hear him.

She was staring intently at Lily, her brow furrowed.

"She’s improved that much..."

Evenson looked at her.

"Improved at what?"

"That technique."

"What technique? Was there something special about that whole sequence?"

He had no clue what he’d just watched beyond the fact that Walter was now lying on the floor.

Claire slowly turned toward him.

"The finishing technique she just used was..."

Her expression grew serious.

"...the secret art of Bajiquan. Ferocious Tiger Climbs the Mountain."

"Bajiquan."

Evenson nodded slowly.

That explained a lot.

He might not know martial arts, but the name certainly fit the way Lily fought. Every strike had been brutally direct, built around overwhelming force and devastating vital targets.

For someone her age, her mastery was astonishing.

And she’d even learned Ferocious Tiger Climbs the Mountain, one of Bajiquan’s most closely guarded techniques.

That meant Lily had inherited the genuine art.

Martial arts were about lineage.

An outsider could copy the movements. Even fellow students from the same school might learn the same forms.

But unless you were admitted into a master’s inner circle, you wouldn’t learn the real secrets.

How to generate force.

Where to place your weight.

When to strike.

How to turn an ordinary motion into something capable of breaking bone.

Ferocious Tiger Climbs the Mountain wasn’t complicated to watch. After seeing it several times, someone could probably memorize the sequence.

That didn’t mean they could actually perform it.

Without the underlying principles, it would be little more than an imitation with no real power behind it.

Lily had used it differently.

Her movements had carried the ferocity of a predator descending on prey.

And Bajiquan was an exceptionally powerful external martial art. Practice it incorrectly, and you could cripple yourself before you ever mastered it.

Evenson’s expression suddenly changed.

"Wait."

A thought had occurred to him.

He turned toward Claire.

"She’s inherited the true Bajiquan tradition... and her surname is Grant."

He hesitated.

"Don’t tell me her family is descended from..."

"Exactly."

Claire nodded firmly.

"So you’ve heard of Master William Grant."

Evenson blinked.

It really was him.

William Grant.

The legendary martial artist famed for his fists and spear work.

Even Evenson had heard that name.

He wasn’t remotely an expert, but Ryan Mercer had spent enough time wandering around the internet during his previous life to stumble across stories about famous martial artists.

Claire’s expression softened with admiration.

"Master William Grant was unmatched with both spear and fist. He was called the Demon Fist, the Thousand-Spear Master, the Twin-Blade Victor. His martial skill stood above his contemporaries."

She looked toward Lily.

"Since Kamar-Taj was founded, very few warriors ever came as close to the level of the Sorcerer Supreme as Master Grant."

Evenson’s eyebrows rose.

"Wait. William Grant actually joined Kamar-Taj?"

"Yes and no."

Claire shook her head.

"He was essentially an honorary elder. With his abilities, he could have become the leader of the Hong Kong Sanctum and stayed there permanently."

"But he preferred traveling."

"And what he gave Kamar-Taj was worth far more than anything Kamar-Taj could have given him."

Claire continued.

"Back in his prime, Master Grant traveled all over the world. Alexander Crane, the man people praised for his supposedly unrivaled mystical martial arts. Marcus Kane, whose fists were said to be unstoppable. Nathan Cross, famed for his devastating Northern-style kicks."

She smiled faintly.

"None of them dared challenge his edge."

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

Apparently, William Grant had been a monster.

"That’s why Master Grant’s connection to Kamar-Taj was mostly about exchanging knowledge. He wanted to test himself, broaden his understanding, and continue searching for the peak of martial skill."

"So he stayed an honorary elder."

"Oh."

Evenson nodded.

None of that had ever appeared in the things he’d read online.

"But if Lily is Master Grant’s descendant, how did she end up in Hong Kong?"

He frowned.

"And why is she running a business on the side?"

"That’s where the story gets complicated."

Claire folded her arms.

"Master Grant once had a disciple named John Grant. He was exceptionally gifted and learned much of his master’s true teachings."

"Unfortunately, he eventually chose the wrong path and was expelled."

"He regretted it deeply afterward and left the organization he’d joined. But he didn’t dare risk dragging his former master into the conflict, so he fled to Hong Kong alone while people were hunting him."

Claire glanced toward the building.

"White Rose Barbershop was the first shop he opened."

"Master Grant also had a younger son. That’s Lily’s grandfather."

"When World War II broke out, he joined the military. His martial skills were formidable enough to make him a force on the battlefield, but one man can’t win a war alone."

"During one major battle, his unit was destroyed and disbanded. He was badly wounded and eventually ended up in Hong Kong."

"John Grant remembered the kindness Master Grant had shown him, so he took care of his master’s son."

"The man’s injuries eventually stabilized, but his martial abilities were ruined. He wanted to return to the mainland and find his family, but his condition made that impossible."

"So he settled in Hong Kong."

"He married and had a son."

Claire’s expression dimmed.

"That son became Lily’s father."

"Unfortunately, Lily’s father was never healthy. He died while still a relatively young man, leaving behind a daughter who was still an infant."

"John Grant had no children of his own. He couldn’t bear to see his master’s granddaughter grow up alone, so he raised her as his own."

"He also taught her the true art of Bajiquan."

"And White Rose Barbershop was passed down to her as well. By then, it had already become a chain with shops across Hong Kong."

"But John Grant was already an old man. He knew he didn’t have much time left."

"He worried about what would happen to Lily after his death. Then he remembered that his master had once spoken of Kamar-Taj."

"So he entrusted Lily to the Hong Kong Sanctum."

Evenson nodded.

"That’s a pretty rough life."

Lily’s history really was one tragedy after another.

"But then how did she end up running a second business?"

"That part comes from John Grant’s other connection."

Claire sighed.

"John had spent his entire life seeing the ugly side of society. Hong Kong had been especially chaotic during the colonial era. Leaving a young woman responsible for an entire business empire wasn’t something he was comfortable with."

"Yes, he’d asked Kamar-Taj to look after her. But he also knew the order preferred to keep its distance from mundane affairs."

"Fortunately, around the time John Grant arrived in Hong Kong, he’d taken another student."

"Samuel Wong."

"He’d come from a criminal background. John beat him in a fight, and Samuel Wong became his disciple afterward."

"Unfortunately, Samuel lacked the talent to learn the true martial arts."

"So instead, he eventually inherited a leadership position in his family’s walled-city organization."

"That made him something like Lily’s uncle."

"John asked him to look after her."

Claire shrugged.

"But Samuel wasn’t much younger than John. A few years later, he died too."

"Afterward, Samuel’s son began pushing Lily aside."

"And Lily has a temper."

Evenson nodded.

"So she took her people and left."

"Exactly."

Claire’s lips curled.

"But here’s where things get interesting."

"Not long after Lily left, the Joint Declaration was signed. The walled city was demolished. Samuel’s son was arrested and sentenced to prison."

"The entire organization collapsed."

"The people Lily had taken with her were actually the most intact group left. The other people who escaped the walled city had nowhere else to go, so many of them eventually joined her."

"As for White Rose, after John Grant died, the Hong Kong Sanctum continued managing the business."

"That meant Lily kept coming here."

Claire spread her hands.

"So, in a roundabout way, she became part of Kamar-Taj."

"So that’s how she ended up here."

Evenson counted the relationships off on his fingers.

"Let me make sure I’ve got this."

"Lily inherited the barbershop and Bajiquan from John Grant."

"Then she inherited her... other business from Samuel Wong."

Claire gave him a strange look.

"That’s a surprisingly efficient summary."

Before Evenson could say anything else, a familiar voice came from nearby.

"Well, well. Look who it is."

Lily approached with a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

She stopped in front of Claire.

"Didn’t expect to see you here."

Claire’s smile was thin and thoroughly insincere.

"It’s been a long time."

Her eyes deliberately traveled down to Lily’s chest.

"But you don’t seem to have changed much."

Lily’s eyes narrowed.

"Hmph."

The two women stared at each other.

The atmosphere turned instantly hostile.

They’d made a promise once.

They were going to conquer the world together.

And then Claire had committed the ultimate betrayal.

She’d gone and grown up without waiting for Lily.

Some grudges were simply too important to forgive.