The next day, Ryo and his daughter start their journey to North Town. They will book a flight to Beijing, China, then arrange a trip to Shaolin Temple. As a foreigner, the Karateka may not know the way, however Songshan Shaolin has become a famous location for tourists, the Sakazakies can easily find a guide for their journey. Knowing their plan, Xiao Lon offers them an amount of cash to travel to China, and the contact information of a Hizoku member working undercover in Beijing who can lead them the way. And Ryo accepts that suggestion.

After 3 days traveling from the mountains to North Town and 1 day flying, the father and daughter of Kyokugen-ryu Karate has arrived at Beijing, China. Anh Thư spent her early years in Việt Nam and has not been in China even once, however her mother has taught her enough Chinese to communicate with the natives. Thanks to her, they quickly find the place of that undercover assassin suggested by Xiao Lon. According to her description, he is a tall and skinny man, his current identity is an owner of a traditional medicine store.

As Ryo and Anh Thư pass the store's entrance, they immediately meet a tall and skinny man, just like they were told.

"Are you A Ming, the owner of this shop?", Anh Thư asks in Chinese.

The man doesn't answer, he instead starts singing in Chinese:

"The Martial Art world laughs, ends all favors and grudges

Martial artists exchange strikes, smiles hide blades."

Those are the beginning part of "The Martial Art world laughs", a song about the Condor Hero Yang Guo, who was the ancestor of the Hizoku. Ryo does not understand Chinese, even if he did he would not understand why this person suddenly sings that song. However, Anh Thư was taught the customs of the Hizoku, she knows that it is a code for the assassins to recognize each other. The girl also starts singing, but it is a different song:

"My hand holds "Sun Ending Sword"

My heart has "Moon Spliting Saber"

Great mountains turn small

A man roams through the world"

It is the ending of "Roaming the Martial Art world". The man now knows that the little girl is one of his people, he slightly nods his head and asks in Chinese:

"I am A Ming from West Venom sect. Why are you here? And that person doesn't look like one of us?"

"I thought Xiao Lon had informed you of our arrival?", Anh Thư says. "We are going to Shaolin Temple to rescue my mother and Xiao Lon said you would guide us there."

Hearing that, the man suddenly gives Ryo a fierce glare. He slowly asks, this time in English: "So you are Ryo Sakazaki of Kyokugen-ryu Karate?"

Seeing that A Ming can speak English, Ryo feels delighted. After all, anyone would prefer a guide they can directly communicate with. The Karateka intends to reply, however he is interrupted by a sudden strike launching toward his eyes. Without any sign of an attack, 2 fingers on A Ming's right hand are approaching the Japanese's face. The technique is "Dragon Duo Steal Pearls", a wicked skill that can end a fight immediately.

As sudden as it is, that attack does not cause much trouble for such an experience martial artist as Ryo. "The Invincible Dragon" has already sensed hostility from A Ming since his suspicious glare, he immediately react when the assassin initiates the attack. He drags his right leg backward to create some distance, turning his stance into Kokutsu Dachi; he performs a Shuto Uke with his left arm, sweeping the strike away; meanwhile his right hand pulls Anh Thư to his back so that he can cover her with his big body.

A Ming's surprise attack has failed, however he does not give up. As soon as his right hand is parried, the Hizoku assassin immediately throws another finger strike, the target is a point at the armpit below Ryo's left arm. That point is on an important nerve connecting to the arm, if it is attacked, Ryo's left arm will be temporarily paralyzed.

"Nice move!", Ryo roars in excitement as he quickly raises his left knee up and slams his left elbow down, immediately trapping and crushing A Ming's left hand before it could reach his body. The Karateka can clearly hear the sound of the Hizoku assassin's bone cracked, however he does not see any sign of pain from A Ming's face. He secretly remarks the Chinese guy's incredible endurance.

The assassin tries to retrieve his left hand, however the pressure between Ryo's knee and elbow is too much for his hand to slip out, and despite standing on one leg, Ryo's stance is so stable that A Ming cannot break his balance.

"You see here, kid.", Ryo gives Anh Thư some guidance while maintaining his dominating posture. "Gankaku kata condition the strength of your legs and the stability of your stance."

"Don't mock me, Karateka!", A Ming shouts loudly.

Realizing that he cannot escape through brute strength, the assassin attacks Ryo's head with his right leg. West Venom Ouyang Feng was a master of taming poisonous animals, he also developed his own martial art "Divine Snake Kungfu" based on the movements of a snake. Thanks to this martial art, Hizoku members from West Venom sect are very flexible fighters, even with his hand locked, A Ming can kick his opponent from such a strange posture. Seeing the attack coming, Ryo has no choice but releasing the assassin's hand in order to block the kick with a Shuto Uke.

He cannot land that kick on Ryo, however A Ming now can retreat his left hand and move freely. His right hand is in spear form, he thrust it toward the Karateka's face. But before reaching the target, that hand suddenly changes it trajectory, it takes a quick turn to the left and whip back to the right, attacking the head from a different angle. It is another technique from "Divine Snake Kungfu", with its whip-like movement A Ming's strike can slip through his opponent's defense.

However, his rival is Nidaime Mr. Karate, the current head of Kyokugen-ryu Karate. Ryo is an experience martial artist, instead of chasing the hand, he blocks A Ming's forearm with a Soto Uke using his left arm. After stopping that attack, the Karateka immediately launches his own counter. In unison, Ryo's feet leap toward the opponent, his weight shifts forward, his elbow thrusts to the assassin's Solar Plexis.

"This is over!", Ryo roars loudly as his elbow connects to its target. This elbow strike does not involve big movement, however as his entire body moves in perfect synchronization, the attack is so explosive and powerful that A Ming's body is immediately blown away by it. Seeing his opponent has been knocked down, the Karateka quickly grabs his neck and forces him to lie on his stomach. With Ryo's hand on his neck and Ryo's foot on his back, A Ming is completely pinned on the ground. No matter how much he struggles, the assassin cannot escape this situtaion.

"Kyokugen-ryu Karate and Hizoku clan has no relation, why do you trick me here and assault me?", Ryo interrogates. He suddenly realizes one thing. A Ming's fighting skills are decent, however Ryo has met Hizoku members that are leagues above him, such as Ron, Lin, Dou Lon and Luan. Even Xiao Lon whom he met recently showed much more refined techniques. If the Hizoku planned to ambush him, they would have used more capable men.

A Ming remains silence. As expected of a trained assassin, it is impossible for Ryo to open his mouth. "The Invincible Dragon" is a prominent martial artist, however interrogating someone is more of Kim Kaphwan's job. Ryo gives up on figuring out what is going on, he starts considering his initial plan, which is to hire a local guide to Shaolin Temple. With that in mind, the Karateka raises his free hand, trying to knock the assassin off with a Shuto Uchi before leaving.

However, before he could deliver the finishing blow, Anh Thư has approached the assassin who is being pinned on the ground. In the blink of an eye, her fingers attack 36 different points on his back.

"This hand movement, did you use "Muscle Corruption Seal" on me?", A Ming asks in panic.

"So you want to talk now?", Anh Thư says. "As expected of Senior A Ming, you even know stuffs from South Emperor sect. Indeed, I placed "Five Element Corruption Seal" on you."

"Impossible!", A Ming says. "Only someone who has mastered "Yi Yang Finger" could execute this technique. You are too young to do it."

"You may be right.", Anh Thư replies. "However, are you absolutely sure? You can only start feeling the effect of "Muscle Corruption Seal" after the 49th day, but if you don't receive treatment within 36 days, you are going to suffer a horrible fate, and only the caster can deliver the treatment."

A Ming does not say another single word. From top position, Ryo can sense that he is trembling in fear. This is the man who showed no emotion when his hand was crushed, whatever "Muscle Corruption Seal" is, if it can instill such great fear in A Ming, it must be a very terrifying technique. However, if mastering "Yi Yang Finger" is the requirement to perform this skill, then Anh Thư definitely did not use it on the assassin, she was merely performing its form and not the actual thing. Nevertheless, that bluff is enough to threaten the assassin.

"If Senior A Ming does not want to work with us, we cannot force him.", the girl says. "Let's go, father."

Anh Thư turns her back and calmly walks out.

"Wait.", A Ming suddenly shouts. "I will guide you to Shaolin Temple. You will have to release me from "Muscle Corruption Seal" after that."

"That will be our promise.", Anh Thư says with a cheerful smile. She then waves her hand toward Ryo, asking him to release the assassin.

"Why did you try to attack us?", Ryo asks again while pulling the Chinese man up.

"You must remember A Song, the assassin you defeated years ago?", A Ming replies. "He is my brother. It is a disgrace to my family that a Japanese barbarian like you defeated him and took away his fighting prowess."

A Song is a rogue Hizoku member who had mastered "18 Dragon Subduing Palms". In their battle, Ryo gave his shoulders injuries so severe that he cannot use his arms for fighting ever again. As his most powerful attacks are "18 Dragon Subduing Palms", losing his arms means that he is no longer a prominent fighter. So A Song attacking him was an act of revenge, or more precisely, he was only trying to wash away the humiliation Ryo put on his family.

"But don't worry, father.", Anh Thư says. "Senior A Ming is under my "Muscle Corruption Seal", he will passionately co-operate with us."

Ryo takes a look at A Ming as his daughter finishes her speech. The assassin does not speak a word, however his facial expression and body movement show a mix of fear and anger.

"What is this "Muscle Corruption Seal" thing?", Ryo asks.

Anh Thư answers:

"You know the origin of "Yi Yang Finger" of Hizoku's South Emperor sect, right? Before South Emperor Yideng passed a copy of this technique to Yanguo, it was originally the traditional martial art of Duan family, the royal family of Dali Kingdom. As their royalty status, members of Duan family only use this skill in direct confrontations and in honorable manners. However, after centuries of usage by the Hizoku, we had developed another application for this martial art. By using "Yi Yang Finger" to attack on different pressure points along the victim's spine in a certain order, we can put "Muscle Corruption Seal" on them. As I said earlier, they will not feel the seal's effect immediately, however since the 49th day, muscles on their body will gradually squeeze their entire body, slowly breaking the bones, twisting the joints and crushing the internal organs before their eventual death. This technique is not very useful in a fight, but it it a perfect skill for torturing and assassinations."

Ryo is shocked of how gruesome "Muscle Corruption Seal" is. Being crushed from the inside of their body by their own muscles, such a horrible death. The Hizoku clan is indeed an unorthodox sect, capable of turning a skill of nobility such as "Yi Yang Finger" into something this twisted and evil. That explains why A Ming is so terrified.

With the help of A Ming, Ryo and Anh Thư travels from Beijing to Songsang, Henan within 2 days. Songsang is a mountain of Wuyue, a set of 5 sacred mountains in Chinese culture. Shaolin Temple is located at the peak of this mountain and is said to be the root of all Chinese martial arts. In a sense, one could say Karate is also from this lineage, although it has been modified greatly for the use of Okinawan and Japanese people.

The father and daughter are on the main road to reach Songsang peak. Ryo already sees a sign written in both Chinese and English showing the path to Shaolin Temple. As it has become a tourist spot, the birthplace of Chinese martial arts has become much easier to visit. Seeing that they no longer need A Ming, Ryo says:

"Kyokugen-ryu want to avoid any grudge against Shaolin school. Approaching Shaolin Temple with a Hizoku assassin sounds like a bad idea. From here, we can manage ourselves, you can leave."

"Tell your daughter to release her "Muscle Corruption Seal" then.", A Ming says.

Ryo has already known Anh Thư did not place "Muscle Corruption Seal" on the assassin. However he does not want to reveal this detail to the Chinese man and humiliating him. Afterall, his family has suffered enough humiliation from Ryo, if the fact that he was tricked by a junior broke out, this guy may never see a bright future in his organization. The Karateka talks to his daughter:

"Release him."

Ryo wants Anh Thư to pretend to perform the releasing technique and call it a day. However the girl cheerfully says: "I didn't place "Muscle Corruption Seal" on him though."

"This foolish girl!", Ryo thinks to himself. "Things are going to get ugly here."

"What did you say?", A Ming shouts loudly. "You tricked me, mongrel?"

"You should blame yourself for being that stupid.", Anh Thư says. "How could you believe a little girl like me could master "Yi Yang Finger"? My mother was 17 years old when she mastered that skill, and she is the youngest woman in history to have ever done that. I'm only 7 years old."

A Ming actually did not completely believe "Muscle Corruption Seal" was put on him. However, Luan is the youngest Hizoku female member to master "Yi Yang Finger", she may have found some shortcut and taught that to her daughter. Anh Thư's father, Ryo Sakazaki, is the current head of Kyokugen-ryu Karate, and although their methods of controlling Qi is not really remarkable, the Kyokugen-ryu school still retains hardcore Qi conditioning methods that results in their tremendeous prowess in Qi. Their founder, Takuma Sakazaki, was able to deflect the beam of NESTS' Zero Cannon while Ryo Sakazaki himself could use his internal energy to save 2 people from Ron's "Fire Phoenix" poison. A Ming did not know Anh Thư could not follow Kyokugen-ryu Qigong, he suspected that training under the Sakazakies may have boosted Yang qi in her system enough to shorten the process of mastering "Yi Yang Finger". In his mind, despite her age, it was not impossible for the daughter of Ryo and Luan to master "Yi Yang Finger" and "Muscle Corruption Seal".

"I am going to kill you!", A Ming screams in anger.

With swift movement, the assassin jumps over Ryo's head and thrusts his right palm down, aiming at the top of Anh Thư's head. His family has received too much humiliation from the Sakazakies, the assassin has lost all his calmness and teachings about Hizoku's stealthness as he assaults a kid in broad daylight. Ryo has expected this turn of event, in one quick movement of his body, "The Invincible Dragon" drags the girl out of A Ming's range and throws a spinning back fist, blowing the Chinese man to the side.

It is in the middle of the main road leading to Shaolin Temple, these actions quickly catches attention from the tourists nearby. Some scream and run away from the sight of violence, some are excited and gather around to watch. Ryo, however, does not want to continue this fight. As much as he loves martial art exchanges, after their first encounter, A Ming does not have anything else that could excite the Karateka, especially when his left hand isn't completely healed yet. He says:

"You should give up. Come back when you are ready."

Ryo's suggestion irritates A Ming even more. However, he remembers where they are, fighting near Shaolin Temple is not a wise idea for a Hizoku assassin. Even Ron did not dare to challenge Shaolin monks in their territory. Without another word, the assassin vanishes. Hizoku clan's Qinggong is indeed formidable.

As their threat has gone, Ryo intends to give the girl a scold for causing unnecessary problems, however he is interrupted by a group of 6 monks approaching. Although they do not show any sign of hospitality or intention of violence, but the Karateka can see their gestures are pretty tense, indicating that they are prepared for any sign of aggression. It is understandble that they would be cautious of someone making a scene near their establishment. One of them comes forward and asks in a manner of a Buddhist monk talking to a worldly man, his English is pretty fluent:

"May I ask what are you doing here?"

Ryo answers formally:

"I am Ryo Sakazaki from Kyokugen-ryu Karate. I come here to visit the leaders of Shaolin Temple."

"If you want to challenge our Kungfu, you should leave.", the monk says. "Shaolin may be a martial art school, however its main purpose is for practising Buddhism. We do not accept challenges."

"I am not here to challenge your school.", Ryo says.

"There are lots of natural and artificial wonders around Songshan.", the monk says. "If you don't have any interest in those, you should not waste your time here."

Although it is the holy ground of Chinese martial art community, Shaolin is mainly a place for Buddhist practise and tourism. After seeing Ryo fighting someone and hearing his identity, obviously the monks would not let him to meet their leader. If a fight happens between a pronounce Karateka and a Shaolin high monk, the chaos it causes will not be easy to solve.

"We want to talk about the person prisoned in your temple.", Anh Thư suddenly raises her voice. Seeing her father helplessly asks to meet the leaders of Shaolin, she has lost all patience.

The monk in charge of talking to Ryo suddenly turns his heat to look at the girl. His face shows that he is shocked and is hesitated on what to do. The monk then whispers something to another monk in Chinese, after which that monk quickly runs toward the peak of the mountain, where Shaolin Temple is. Ryo remarks that his movement is not as elusive and floaty as that from the Hizoku, however its tendency is much more fierce and the speed is only a bit slower. Shaolin is indeed a remarkable school.

The previous monk says:

"Please follow us. We will lead you to our place."