Chapter 1033: Fake Fall

Within arm's reach, Zhang Shan stepped forward to face him.

He stared at Qiao Jiajin's arms, which were moving up and down, and seized the opportunity to reach out and grab.

But Qiao Jiajin seemed to anticipate his move, lifting his hands to evade the grab and countering by reaching for Zhang Shan's arm.

Zhang Shan wanted to seize his own arm, but Qiao Jiajin was equally intent on dragging his opponent to the ground.

To defeat an opponent of this level by skipping ranks, the success rate of "suo ji" was higher; as long as he could lock the opponent's limbs firmly, he could restrict their movements.

Qiao Jiajin's fingers pinched Zhang Shan's wrist, but before his second hand could reinforce the hold, Zhang Shan twisted his arm free from Qiao Jiajin's grasp.

Seizing the moment when Qiao Jiajin's hands were wide open, Zhang Shan shot his hands out like clamps toward the opponent's throat. In a flash, Qiao Jiajin's neck was seized, and fingers as hard as steel dug into the flesh.

But before Zhang Shan could apply pressure, Qiao Jiajin struck down hard on his wrists with both hands, causing Zhang Shan to lose his grip, and the second attempt at seizing failed.

Qiao Jiajin then followed up by kicking upward, landing a blow on Zhang Shan's chest that sent him staggering back.

The two separated by a few steps, both seeming to understand each other's intentions—it was now a matter of who could grab the other first.

Zhang Shan could rely on brute force to break the opponent's arm, while Qiao Jiajin would use "suo ji" to twist the opponent's limbs.

Normally, many techniques in "qin na," "suo ji," or "rou dao" become unbreakable once formed, and such lethal moves are often used to force surrender.

But in this death match, neither seemed willing to surrender.

The two crouched cautiously, lowering their centers of gravity in unison, resembling wrestlers.

Leveraging his size advantage, Zhang Shan charged forward like a wild bull, his broad arms sweeping in like scissors, one from the left and one from the right toward Qiao Jiajin's waist.

Qiao Jiajin leaped half a step to the side, narrowly dodging the embrace, and smoothly wrapped his arms around Zhang Shan's right arm.

With one hand gripping the forearm and the other seizing the upper arm, Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, placing his foot between Zhang Shan's legs.

Zhang Shan tried to pull his arm back, but Qiao Jiajin sidestepped, using his shoulder to press against Zhang Shan's chest.

This created three points of force from Qiao Jiajin, with his shoulder as the pivot and his hands locking the arm tightly, making it impossible for Zhang Shan to break free for the moment.

Since he couldn't escape, Zhang Shan had to quickly figure out what technique his opponent was using; without a way to counter, he would be subdued.

Zhang Shan rapidly analyzed the situation—hands holding the arm over the shoulder... was it "guo jian shuai"?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Zhang Shan's other hand shot out to block Qiao Jiajin's waist, shifting his entire weight backward. Even if it was "guo jian shuai," as long as he couldn't be lifted, no harm would come.

Qiao Jiajin yanked downward on the arm, but it felt like pulling on a massive mountain; Zhang Shan's body leaned back, his incredible strength resisting, so the "guo jian shuai" couldn't be completed.

But Zhang Shan should have realized that if a regular whip kick could use feints, why not a throw?

Qiao Jiajin only tested it lightly before abandoning the "guo jian shuai." Since all of Zhang Shan's weight was shifted back, he kicked off with his left foot, hooked his right foot behind Zhang Shan's heel, and followed through.

Building momentum, he hugged Zhang Shan and leaped back half a step, slamming him heavily to the ground.

This was a Chinese wrestling technique called "tang dao shuai," disguised as a feint for "guo jian shuai."

Qiao Jiajin rolled to the side and struck like a long blade at Zhang Shan's chest, while Zhang Shan hit the ground flat on his back, letting out a muffled groan followed by a loud thud.

Ordinary throws couldn't shake Zhang Shan, but by borrowing and redirecting his force, even a mountain could be toppled.

Yet in the next second, Qiao Jiajin knew he couldn't relax; given Zhang Shan's tough skin and muscles, this throw alone wouldn't cause real damage. If Zhang Shan locked him on the ground, the vast strength difference would make escape impossible, so Qiao Jiajin quickly flipped up.

Zhang Shan also saw this as a chance to counter, and before Qiao Jiajin could release his arm, he grabbed Qiao Jiajin's wrist. Qiao Jiajin retreated a step, using that momentum to pull Zhang Shan to his feet.

Zhang Shan thought he had seized Qiao Jiajin, but once upright, Qiao Jiajin didn't stop and grabbed his arm again.

In just half a second, Zhang Shan realized something was wrong, but Qiao Jiajin was no ordinary foe; before he could react, Qiao Jiajin leaped up, wrapping his legs around Zhang Shan's neck.

Qiao Jiajin tried to straighten Zhang Shan's arm for a "shi zi gu," but found his own strength lacking; relying on brute force to pull the arm wouldn't work, and he couldn't drag Zhang Shan down, so instead, he clamped onto Zhang Shan's head and yanked the arm, flipping himself backward onto the ground.

Dragged by Qiao Jiajin's over 100 jin of weight, Zhang Shan thudded to his knees.

Qiao Jiajin held onto Zhang Shan's thick arm, clamping his legs around the armpit and head, while pulling the arm upward and applying pressure with his legs.

This was the ground submission technique, "san jiao suo."

Once this hold was locked, it was extremely hard for most people to escape; the arm was trapped, the neck compressed, making it difficult to exert any force, and even risking suffocation.

But in this fight, the weight difference was immense—Zhang Shan, at nearly 1.9 meters and almost 100 kilograms, had muscle mass far beyond the ordinary.

With a muffled roar, Zhang Shan began kicking rapidly on the ground, pushing Qiao Jiajin along.

Qiao Jiajin, already shirtless, felt a burning pain as he was dragged across the ground, but releasing his hold would be even more dangerous, so he kept pulling upward on the arm while pressing down with his legs as hard as he could, drawing screams from Zhang Shan.

After kicking for over ten steps, Qiao Jiajin suddenly felt a massive impact on the top of his head, followed by a loud crash near his ear.

It seemed he had been forced against the wall, his head smashing into it.

The blow made Qiao Jiajin's vision go black for a moment, but he continued gripping by feel and pulling with all his strength.

In the earlier battle at Tian Tang Kou, he had used this move to break the arm of someone from the "Cat" team, but Zhang Shan's massive arm was like reinforced concrete—trapped yet still resisting fiercely. Without exhausting his strength, breaking it was a pipe dream.

Seeing that Qiao Jiajin hadn't let go despite the injury, Zhang Shan gritted his teeth and roared, attempting to stand up.

Qiao Jiajin found the situation absurd; with over 100 jin pulling down on his head and neck, what kind of core strength allowed Zhang Shan to rise at that moment?