Xu Jingming left the bedroom and walked down to the basement, which was over a hundred square meters. Three long spears were placed against the wall. Xu Jingming casually picked up one. The spear was silver-gray, two and a half meters long, with a cushioned tip. Although he had appeared relaxed and casual during his conversation with Senior Brother Fang, and had also enjoyed dinner and casual conversation with his good friend Liu Chongyuan that evening, Xu Jingming was simmering with anger.
"Xiaobai, start training monitoring," Xu Jingming said.
"Xiaobai got it."
Lights flickered in the basement, and cameras began to operate.
Xu Jingming pulled the spear with both hands, and it vibrated with a "bang." Xu Jingming held the spear in a reverse grip. Traditionally, most gun users hold the butt of the spear with their right hand and the waist with their left. But Xu Jingming held the waist with his right hand and the butt of the handle with his left.
He strode forward, and as he did, he exerted force, thrusting the spear forward.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The spear lashed out like an arrow, like seven or eight arrows in a row, aiming to pierce all the enemies ahead. Each shot ripped through the air with a shrieking sound.
Data displayed on the wall—"18.2 meters per second," "18.6 meters per second," "17.9 meters per second," "18.1 meters per second"—precisely measuring the maximum speed of each thrust.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, Xu Jingming thrust his spear forward with a sharp explosion, and the spear's shadow blurred. The wall's light and shadow data displayed: "25.3 meters per second."
Xu Jingming's most famous move: the shadowless stab!
Anyone in the field would understand the terrifying speed of such a spear. Finding an opportunity in close combat, even the world's top fighters would be unable to withstand it.
Xu Jingming took two steps to a hanging heavy sandbag. With a twist of his waist, like a giant gear turning, his entire body's strength was channeled into his arms. Using the spear's explosive power technique, he swept the sandbag. The hanging heavy bag weighed a staggering 300 kilograms and was suspended on a track above. It was a specially customized, extra-heavy bag.
"Bang!" A deep, rumbling sound.
The light and shadow data on the wall read: "625 kilograms."
It was this terrifying force, over a thousand kilograms, that sent the rifles of those provincial team members flying at the mere touch!
Xu Jingming moved, unleashing the force of his spear upon the heavy sandbag. Each sweep, each blow produced a deep, powerful sound. The 300-kilogram sandbag shook constantly under the impact. The light and shadow data on the wall continuously displayed: "656 kilograms," "689 kilograms," "630 kilograms"...
Suddenly, there was a pause. Xu Jingming rushed forward, his entire body like a cannonball, his spear as one with his body, the tip of the cannonball, impacting the sandbag.
"Bang~~" The heavy sandbag was blasted and slid along the suspension track to the other end, rising high.
The light and shadow data on the wall showed: "1138 kilograms."
Xu Jingming's other ultimate move: breaking the mountain!
From a young age, Xu Jingming, under the guidance of his father, learned Bajiquan, Chuojiao, and Liuhe Spear. In modern times, martial arts schools often absorb the essence of each other, such as the use of inch-force and whole-force techniques, and many schools share similar training methods.
At the age of 20, Xu Jingming suffered a broken right leg from an opponent's shield strike during a World Martial Arts Competition. Afterward, while recovering from his injury, he devoted himself to spearmanship.
In college, Xu Jingming studied physics, analyzing traditional martial arts techniques from a physical perspective. He always believed that all force generation is scientific. The body's bones, joints, and muscles are also levers, bearings, and power sources.
Leveraging this solid foundation from a young age, he deepened his understanding of force generation from a physical perspective, constantly experimenting with subtle adjustments to his techniques. Finally, he developed the Shadowless Stab, building on the traditional "inch-force" technique.
He then developed the "Mountain Breaking" move, drawing on the force generation techniques of the Baji Iron Mountain Backbone.
His other spearmanship techniques also improved significantly. Blocking, grabbing, smashing, chopping, and slashing... every move was significantly more powerful. Thanks to this mastery, despite a leg injury and significant limitations in his form, Xu Jingming returned to competition at the age of 25 and, the following year, reached the World Martial Arts Championships, reaching the quarterfinals.
Footwork is crucial, accounting for half of actual combat. The fact that Xu Jingming could reach the quarterfinals despite significant footwork flaws speaks volumes about the formidable nature of his spearmanship. He was also ranked by the World Martial Arts Federation as one of the top ten spearmen of the past thirty years, earning him the nickname "Gun Demon."
However, that tournament also made Xu Jingming realize that with an injured leg, unless his spearmanship improved significantly, he had no hope of becoming the world's number one. The more competitions he participated in, the worse the injury would become.
After that tournament, he announced his retirement.
At the prime of his career as a professional martial artist, at the age of 26, Xu Jingming retired, plagued by injury.
In the basement, Xu Jingming had beads of sweat on his face. He walked to the wall and gently put down his spear.
Looking at the three training spears in front of him, Xu Jingming was silent. What does it matter if his spear skills are great? In modern society, martial arts fighting is just a sport. Facing Cheng Zihao's coercion, he can only endure it. There is no other way.
"Jingming." Li Miaomiao, who was wearing pajamas, walked down the stairs and looked at Xu Jingming with beads of sweat on his body. "What's wrong with you?"
According to common sense, after training in the fighting gym for a day, Xu Jingming usually rested when he came back and rarely practiced with a spear. Moreover, looking at the back of her boyfriend who was standing against the wall, she vaguely felt that Xu Jingming seemed to be in a bad mood.
"I'll talk to you when I go upstairs." Xu Jingming turned off the lights and took Li Miaomiao to the living room on the first floor.
Living Room
"Xiaowu, bring two bottles of juice," Xu Jingming said, sitting on the sofa. Li Miaomiao also sat down and asked, "Jingming, what happened?"
At this moment, a female robot, holding a bottle of juice in each hand, approached Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao, offering each a glass of juice. The housekeeper, Xiaowu, was familiar with the juice the host and hostess often drank.
Xiaowu was a housekeeping robot capable of doing housework, cooking, chatting, acting as a bodyguard... and had reached Level 3 intelligence. This level of intelligent robot cost as much as a luxury supercar.
"Hurry up and tell me," Li Miaomiao poked Xu Jingming's shoulder as he sipped his drink.
"As you expected, Cheng Zihao then took action and forced me to lose my job," Xu Jingming shook his head. "He's truly a lunatic, so shameless. Well, it was my senior who invited me to the fighting gym. With my marksmanship, I could make a living anywhere."
"Don't be angry," Li Miaomiao said soothingly, hugging her boyfriend's arm. "It's not worth getting angry at a scumbag."
Xu Jingming looked at his girlfriend and nodded.
Li Miaomiao was a talented singer. She wasn't signed to a company or had no agent. She attended the Binhai Conservatory of Music. During her college years, she did her first livestream, a self-composed song called "Pear Wood." It went viral and became a huge hit.
Her voice was pure, and her songs had a special power to soothe the soul. During her college years, she wrote over 30 songs, earning tens of millions from downloads alone.
She was a unique figure in the music industry. She didn't participate in any variety shows, had no company or agent, and livestreamed her singing once a month, occasionally posting videos. Besides her singing, she also posted gaming videos.
Training Session
Xu Jingming, observing their expressions, guessed what was going through their minds. He smiled and said, "I've seen your information. There are currently eleven members of the Jiangnan Provincial Team who wield spears, and all of you are here this time. Three of you are high school students, specially recruited. Take turns, little ones, and put on your armor."
In martial arts competitions, armor and helmets are mandatory, along with neck guards and other essential equipment.
Cold weapon combat, unsharpened and covered with cushioning material, still packs a terrifying punch. Without specialized equipment, it can be fatal.
Xu Jingming also donned his armor and helmet, peering at the players through the face mesh.
"Everyone enter," Xu Jingming said, spear in hand, as he entered the arena through the iron mesh gate. The eleven players and their team leader, Coach Liu, followed him in.
"Everyone else, stand aside. Feng Yu, go first, Liu Hao, get ready," Xu Jingming said.
In a regular competition, the arena should only contain two competitors, but this was merely a coaching match, a twenty-by-twenty-meter area... For Xu Jingming, coaching the provincial team, such a large space was unnecessary, so he invited the other team members to come in and observe. Without the barbed wire obstructing the view, the view was clearer.
"Look carefully, everyone! If your marksmanship could be even half as good as Coach Xu's, you'd make it to the World Martial Arts Competition," said team leader Liu Chongyuan. The other team members watched intently, breathlessly watching a master like the Gun Master Xu Jingming in action up close.
A young man, also in armor and holding a spear, approached Xu Jingming, ten meters away.
"Referee system, activate," Xu Jingming said.
Light and shadow descended from above the arena, condensing into a giant face that looked down and announced, "The match begins."
Nowadays, martial arts competitions are judged by intelligent referees, whose cameras can slow down the image by a thousand times, ensuring accurate and flawless calls.
"Come on," Xu Jingming observed the immature boy, Feng Yu. High school students specially recruited are generally relatively weak, chosen solely for their potential and the intensive training they receive.
"Coach, be careful! When I compete, many competitors can't even take my shots," the young Feng Yu exclaimed confidently.
"If you're capable, run into me first," Xu Jingming teased.
Feng Yu confidently leaped forward, his speed and ferocity unmatched. In just a few steps, he reached the target, his momentum transforming into a powerful thrust with his spear, sending a whistling sound through the air.
To achieve this, Feng Yu practiced 500 thrusts daily, each one with all his might. He began training at the age of twelve, and after five years, his spear now lashed out with the speed of a shadow, capable of piercing even thick armor! Even with the rounded, cushioned tip of the competition spear, the impact still packs a force exceeding eight hundred kilograms.
"Bang!" The sound of the spear ripping through the wind was clearly audible, yet Xu Jingming merely took a step back.
The spear tip stopped twenty centimeters from Xu Jingming, missing him completely.
"Huh?" Feng Yu was startled, then immediately shifted his spear technique, forming a circle with the tip of the spear, pointing it towards Xu Jingming.
Each thrust was a threatening attack, but Xu Jingming, like a cat, simply shifted his steps, making all the thrusts miss.
"A high school student on the provincial team." Xu Jingming thought of himself back then, so immature.
"Isn't his leg injured so bad that his footwork is weak? Why can't I reach him? Only twenty or thirty centimeters each time?" Feng Yu, unwilling to give up, attacked repeatedly, his spear skills dazzling, but he couldn't touch Xu Jingming at all.
After dozens of shots, Xu Jingming, who had been moving all the time, attacked for the first time. He raised his spear, and the moment it touched Feng Yu's angry spear, the shadow of Xu Jingming's spear blurred, and suddenly, a terrifying burst of power erupted.
"Bang!"
A low, crashing sound, the sound of spears colliding, sent Feng Yu's spear flying.
Feng Yu's eyes widened, his hands trembling as he stared blankly at the spear, which had fallen to the ground in the distance. "I have at least two hundred kilograms of grip strength in one hand. How could it have slipped out of my grasp with just one touch?"
He had been gripping the spear with both hands, and the mere collision of the spear shafts sent his hands numb and sent the spear flying.
"That's a bit gimmicky. Your footwork is weak, and your spearmanship is average," Xu Jingming commented. Such an opponent wasn't worthy of his full armor, but martial arts competitions didn't tolerate carelessness, which could lead to lifelong regrets.
"I don't know much about marksmanship." The team leader coach Liu Chongyuan laughed and said, "But this kid's footwork is weak. In our eyes, it's like slow motion."
Feng Yu looked at Xu Jingming with some confusion: "Coach, even if my footwork is weak, I can't touch you with a spear that's more than two meters long?"
"Your arms and spear are only this long. The maximum attack distance is fixed." Xu Jingming explained, "Based on your steps, you can determine the maximum range that your spear can reach. As long as you keep your distance, you can prevent him from being touched at all. This is the basic skill of a professional player."
"The maximum attack distance is fixed? If you keep your distance, you can't touch me?" Feng Yu murmured. He felt it just now. Xu Jingming's movements were very simple, but he couldn't touch me even if he used all his marksmanship.
"The essence of footwork is nerve reaction, spatial control, and body balance," Xu Jingming said. "You are very rough in all three aspects. Just like your coach Liu said, your footwork is like slow motion in the eyes of professionals."
"This kid was just recruited into the provincial team after the college entrance examination," said Liu Chongyuan. "He has a wild style and needs to work hard on his footwork."