Xu Jingming was unaware that his master, Liu Hai, had recommended him. He had now handed over his responsibilities at the martial arts gym, and once the Jiangnan Provincial Team's training camp concluded, he would return to his hometown, Mingyue City.
In the afternoon, Xu Jingming trained in the gym's dedicated room. He gripped a solid steel rod, four centimeters in diameter and three and a half meters long. The tip of the rod danced repeatedly, moving in an upward arc, a downward arc, a left arc, a right arc... The instantaneous trajectory traced by the rod's tip was only a fraction of a circle.
The rod was a solid, round stainless steel rod commonly used in industry, weighing 64 kilograms. While it wasn't suitable for fighting, it was ideal for training strength and cultivating full-body power.
"Beep, beep..." a sound suddenly rang out.
Xu Jingming put down the rod, wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, glanced at the name displayed on the screen, and said, "Xiaobai, answer the video call."
The screen froze in mid-air, revealing a young man.
"Ah Shuo!" Xu Jingming smiled happily. "It's rare that you'd call me on your own initiative."
The young man before him, named Yang Qingshuo, was Xu Jingming's best friend.
They attended the same university and were both on the school's martial arts team. Back then, they were teammates in the same dormitory, and he and Yang Qingshuo even shared bunk beds.
In his freshman year, Xu Jingming won first place in the National College Martial Arts League, while Yang Qingshuo came in seventh!
Xu Jingming made the national team his freshman year, and Yang Qingshuo was selected as a sophomore.
The bunk-mates joined the national team together and stayed there for several years, practicing together daily and living in the same dormitory. Their bond was undeniable—not blood brothers, but closer than blood.
"Why can't you call me if you have nothing to do?" Yang Qingshuo smiled shyly.
Yang Qingshuo was known for his reserved and shy personality, and those who knew him well knew that.
"Ah Shuo, why do you seem to have gained a lot of weight?" Xu Jingming asked in surprise. Yang Qingshuo used to be handsome and thin, but now he had gained weight, looking a bit plump, and his eyes weren't as sharp as they used to be.
"My child is going to elementary school this year, so it's normal for me to gain weight," Yang Qingshuo said.
"Yes, your child is old enough to help with cooking, but I'm still not married. You, getting married right after reaching the legal age, how embarrassing for us old brothers," Xu Jingming joked. Who would have thought that Yang Qingshuo, the youngest and shyest member of the national team, would be the first to get married.
Yang Qingshuo smiled and said nothing more.
"What's the matter with your call today?" Xu Jingming asked with a smile. Many good brothers from college and the national team separated and scattered across the country. It was normal to contact each other only once every one or two years.
"Yes, there are some things." Yang Qingshuo hesitated and said, "Brother Xu, I've run into some problems and need to borrow some money."
"Borrow money?" Xu Jingming felt a knot in his stomach.
He wasn't concerned about the money. He was worried about Ah Shuo. Ah Shuo had been a key player on the national team and, after retiring, he worked at the Jibei Provincial Sports Bureau. He had a good income. Why would he be forced to borrow money?
"What happened?" Xu Jingming asked.
"My mother is in the hospital, and the special medicine she needs, which isn't covered by medical insurance, is quite expensive," Yang Qingshuo said.
"How much does it cost?" Xu Jingming asked.
"One million," Yang Qingshuo said. "It might take a year to pay you back."
Xu Jingming nodded. "Okay, I'll transfer it right away."
But then he began to ponder. Ah Shuo had once been a key player on the national team and had even made it to a World Martial Arts Tournament, though he'd been eliminated in the group stage and received a mere one million in prize money. His appearance fee wasn't high, but after years of hard work, he'd saved several million. If he were to borrow money from him now, he'd be in big trouble. When Xu Jingming lent money, he always expected the other party to not pay it back.
He wouldn't be so generous with a loan from an ordinary friend, but Yang Qingshuo was his best friend since childhood!
While talking on the phone, Xu Jingming navigated the screen, opening his financial platform. His stocks, insurance, deposits... everything was clearly listed, and he quickly completed the transfer.
"Did it arrive?" Xu Jingming asked.
"Got it." Yang Qingshuo was also somewhat excited after receiving the money. Money is a person's courage, and being extremely short of money is indeed unbearable. "Brother Xu, thank you."
"A Shuo, I'm on a business trip to Beijing today. I'll pass by your Tianjin when I pass by, and I'll talk to you." Xu Jingming said, "Give me your address and I'll find you."
"Today?" Yang Qingshuo was surprised. "When will you arrive?"
"I guess around five o'clock." Xu Jingming calculated the time and said.
"Then I'm still at work. I'll give you the address of my company." Yang Qingshuo gave an address.
Xu Jingming looked at the Jiaxin Fitness Club and said with some surprise, "You left the Jibei Sports Bureau?"
"Yes, I came out." Yang Qingshuo nodded. "Brother Xu, I'm going to class now. Let's talk later."
"Okay, let's have a good chat when we meet." Xu Jingming said, and with a light stroke of his hand, the light curtain in front of him turned into light spots and dissipated.
Xu Jingming's smile disappeared, and he stood there silently: "A Shuo doesn't look right. He even left the Sports Bureau this time and went to a fitness club, which is not a famous fighting gym. He used to be a main player in the national team, and he went to a fitness club?"
They are all professional martial arts players. How much can they use what they have learned in a fitness club?
"Let's go to Tianjin and meet each other." Xu Jingming immediately bought a high-speed rail ticket. The high-speed rail has a speed of 600 kilometers per hour and can reach Tianjin in two hours.
What he said about going on a business trip to Beijing was fake. Xu Jingming was worried about his good brother, so he had to go to Tianjin specially to meet Yang Qingshuo.
Journey to Tianjin
Online car booking, intelligent dispatch, arrived at the high-speed rail station in fifteen minutes.
Soon, Xu Jingming took the high-speed rail and headed straight to the northern city of Jinmen.
At 4:53 pm, Xu Jingming had already arrived outside the gate of Jiaxin Fitness Club in Jinmen City.
"We're here."
Xu Jingming looked up at the fitness club, which was quite large. He walked in and the front desk waitress smiled and asked, "Welcome."
"My last name is Xu, and I'm looking for Yang Qingshuo," Xu Jingming said, "I have an appointment with him."
"Are you looking for Coach Yang? Please come sit here for a while." The front desk waitress was very enthusiastic. She took Xu Jingming to the reception area and poured him a glass of boiled water.
At this moment, on the third floor of the Jiaxin Fitness Club, Yang Qingshuo was giving a fitness class to a group of female members.
After a set of boxing exercises, the female members were also panting.
"Okay, take a two-minute break," Yang Qingshuo said.
"Coach Yang, I heard that you have participated in the World Martial Arts Championship?" A female member asked curiously. They signed up for the class because they saw that Yang Qingshuo had participated in the World Martial Arts Championship.
"I heard that martial arts competitions are divided into C-level, B-level, A-level competitions and the highest World Martial Arts Championship. Only those who rank in the top 32 in the world martial arts points are eligible to participate in the World Martial Arts Championship!"
"Every year, only the 32 strongest martial artists in the world can participate. Coach Yang, have you ever participated?" The female members were curious.
"I participated in the 26th World Martial Arts Tournament," Yang Qingshuo nodded and smiled. This was also the most impressive resume he had for finding a job.
"Wow."
"Coach Yang, can you teach us self-defense?"
"Yes, Coach Yang, weak women like us are too weak to resist those men with bad intentions. Do you have any self-defense techniques that can be easily mastered and used against strong men?" the female members all asked.
"Easy to master? Techniques that weak women can use to deal with strong men?" Yang Qingshuo thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "Okay, then I'll teach you a more practical technique."
The female members immediately listened attentively.
"First, do as I say. Put one leg back and stand on one leg," Yang Qingshuo said.
All the female members stood on one leg, which was quite easy, except for the occasional unsteady foot landing on the other.
"Single-leg hopping." Yang Qingshuo said, first demonstrating a light jump on one leg.
The female members were wearing fitness soft-soled shoes and hopped easily on one leg.
"Isn't it easy?" Yang Qingshuo asked.
"I jump rope a thousand times every day, so of course single-leg hopping is easy." The female members were very relaxed, including the fatter female members.
Who can't jump a few times?
"Your weight is generally around 100 pounds." Yang Qingshuo said.
"I weigh more than 100 pounds." A fat lady laughed.
"In other words, everyone's single-leg strength can easily support more than 100 pounds, and still be able to jump up." Yang Qingshuo said. "When you push off the ground with one leg and jump up, it is easy to reach 200 pounds in an instant."
The female members nodded.
"Now lift your legs and kick out." Yang Qingshuo said. "When you jump on one leg, you push off the ground downwards! When you lift your legs, you push off straight ahead. It uses the same muscle force as when you push off the ground."
Yang Qingshuo taught.
"Exerting the same force as kicking the ground?" The female members lifted their legs and kicked the sandbags in front of them. With a bang, the bags shook.
Each one was astonished.
"When I hit this bag before, my fists and wrists hurt. Kicking it hurt my feet, and it wouldn't budge. This time, it moved?"
"Kicking the bag like kicking the ground?"
"So much power?"
For the first time, the female members discovered how easy and powerful kicking a sandbag was.
"This is called a straight kick. Just twenty times a day, not too many. After a month, the force will flow smoothly, and even women can easily kick two or three hundred pounds," Yang Qingshuo said. "But that's not what I'm going to teach you yet."
"Watch carefully. When you lift your legs and kick, don't use the entire sole of your foot. Use the front of your foot, close to your toes!"
Yang Qingshuo kicked out casually. The front of his foot stabbed into the sandbag like a steel rod, and the bag made a low thud.
"If you're wearing sneakers or high heels, you can use your toes. You can apply at least two or three hundred kilograms of force, and the penetration is much stronger," Yang Qingshuo said.
"I understand. With the same pressure, the smaller the contact surface, the greater the pressure." A female member said. "Compared to the entire sole of the foot, a toe poke can exert ten times the pressure."
"Yes, much greater pressure," Yang Qingshuo said with a smile. "This move incorporates the secrets of traditional martial arts kicks. While your soles aren't as hard as a pro's, everyone wears shoes, and the soles of their shoes are harder than a pro's! With at least two or three hundred kilograms of force, a toe poke... even if you poke someone in the thigh, it'll be excruciatingly painful."
"If you kick a man in the groin..." a female member's eyes lit up.
Yang Qingshuo added, "You should only do this in self-defense when facing real danger. This isn't just a simple crotch kick. Even if you don't hit a vital part, just a kick to the abdomen, a normal man wouldn't be able to withstand it."
This was essentially a 'simplified' kick!
"Human legs are used every day. The average person can walk for hours, but no one in the world can walk for hours standing on their hands," Yang Qingshuo said. "Human legs are naturally much stronger than arms. Even women can rival the arm strength of a strongman."
"Reaching the arm strength of a strongman? Those strongmen's arms are thicker than my thighs," a female member remarked.
"You can stand on one leg for several minutes. You can even jump," Yang Qingshuo said. "How many of those strongmen could lift over 100 pounds with one hand for several minutes?"
"Don't underestimate your leg strength. Strongmen have thick arms, but in terms of muscle efficiency, they can't match the thigh muscles of you women," Yang Qingshuo said confidently.
As a professional martial artist, he understood the potential of leg muscle strength. Humans are upright animals, and our legs are naturally much stronger than our arms.
Women, using their leg strength, can easily defeat men who don't know how to fight.
"Coach Yang, there's a customer named Xu," a gym staff member called out.
Yang Qingshuo immediately understood that it was Xu Jingming.
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."