“Let’s go sit over there.”
At this moment, Ning Zixi stepped in to diffuse the situation. She could see that Qian Zheng’s mindset had become unbalanced after consecutive setbacks—he needed to take a moment to compose himself before he could recover.
“Su Jie, you’re really amazing.” Qian Zheng shook his head and accepted reality. He quickly calmed himself down.
“I’ll have a chat with Xiaozheng about training.” Hua Xing noticed Qian Zheng’s shaken confidence, patted him on the shoulder, and led him aside for a talk.
“Su Jie, let’s go over there and have some coffee while we wait for them.” Ning Zixi invited Su Jie and led him skillfully to a nearby tea lounge.
Hua Xing took Qian Zheng to a quiet training room.
It was designed in a Japanese tatami style, with pure wooden decor and a faint scent of incense lingering in the air. A large “Zen” character was inscribed on the wall—an ideal environment for calming the mind and nurturing inner peace.
“Sit down.”
Hua Xing said to Qian Zheng, “Your mindset is off balance, making you prone to extremes. Sit down and practice the meditation technique I taught you. Clear your mind, stay calm, and reflect rationally.”
Qian Zheng sat cross-legged, but his face was flushed. Something was clearly weighing on his mind, preventing him from settling down.
“Coach, before the summer break, Su Jie couldn’t compare to me in anything. At school, I was always ranked first in exams, and he was always second. In combat training, I could take on ten of him at once. How is it that after just one summer, he has surpassed me in every way?” Qian Zheng lowered his voice, almost growling in frustration.
“Look at yourself—your expression is already twisted with resentment.” Hua Xing said, “No one remains in first place forever. Your long-standing excellence has made you accustomed to being at the top, and now that you’ve fallen, you can’t accept it. This is a critical moment for you—if you can’t overcome this, then there’s nothing more to say.
“In martial arts, you must face your opponents head-on and let go of personal pride. The moment you win a match, that victory becomes the past, and everything resets. Even world champions lose sometimes, don’t they?”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I just can’t accept it. I want to take back my place.” Qian Zheng’s frustration eased slightly.
“With your current mindset, trying to reclaim your position will only drag you down further.” Hua Xing said firmly.
“Coach, then what should I do?” Qian Zheng asked.
“It’s simple—know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated. You need to find out exactly how Su Jie managed to surpass you. Gather intelligence on his training methods and follow the same approach.” Hua Xing instructed.
“Coach, this is what puzzles me the most. Logically, you came from the national team, and their training methods are the most advanced. You’ve been training me using the same standards—so how is it that he’s…” Qian Zheng struggled to make sense of it.
“Hold on.” Hua Xing raised his hand to interrupt him. “While I have incorporated some national team training methods into your regimen, your training volume isn’t even a tenth of what those athletes undergo. Plus, you rarely engage in real combat. If you were to train in a national team camp for a while, you’d be several times stronger than you are now.
“As for Su Jie, I suspect he has undergone elite training similar to that of top international special forces. At the very least, his ability to withstand hits suggests as much. The level of suffering required for that kind of training is beyond what ordinary people can endure—even I struggle to understand it.”
“Coach, are you saying that even you wouldn’t be able to defeat him?” Qian Zheng asked.
“If we were competing under official rules, I would definitely win. But in a no-rules fight, the outcome would be uncertain. His moves are highly lethal and banned in regulated matches.” Hua Xing admitted without hesitation. “My strength lies in ring combat, while someone trained for real-life combat and assassination techniques has a different edge. That being said, if I observe him for a while and analyze his techniques, defeating him wouldn’t be a problem.
“You should actually be glad to have such a rival. He motivates you, pushes you forward, and prevents you from becoming complacent. Keep a calm mindset, observe him carefully like a strategist, and look for his weaknesses. Even Zhuge Liang, with his legendary brilliance, was eventually outlasted by the scheming Sima Yi, wasn’t he?”
“Coach, I understand now.” Qian Zheng finally calmed down.
“Good. Now practice ten minutes of diaphragmatic breathing and meditation. Settle your mind completely before going back out to face the challenge.” Hua Xing instructed.
Meanwhile, in another lounge area, the aroma of coffee and desserts filled the air, and soothing music played softly. At the center of the lounge, someone was playing snooker.
Billiards is considered a gentleman’s sport, much like golf and bowling, making it a favorite pastime for elites who prefer less intense physical activity.
Su Jie and Ning Zixi sat together, waiting for Qian Zheng.
“Su Jie, you hit Qian Zheng so hard this time that he completely lost confidence. Coach Hua Xing is helping him recover psychologically now. But I’m really curious—what exactly happened to you over the summer? Can you tell me?” Ning Zixi asked eagerly.
“I just went to Minglun Martial Arts Academy to train, that’s all. I studied traditional Chinese martial arts.” Su Jie replied with a smile. “You should give up practicing karate and learn Chinese martial arts instead. Actually, karate itself originated from Chinese martial arts—it was once called ‘Tang Hand,’ after all.” (G: It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called te (手), “hand”) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, Tang Shou Tao.)
“Then can you teach me?” Ning Zixi asked expectantly.
“I’m still learning myself—how could I possibly teach anyone?” Su Jie declined politely. Just as he was about to say something more—
Traang!
The sharp sound of a cue ball striking interrupted his thoughts.
“Nice!”
The exclamation came from the snooker table.
The two players were a foreigner and a young Chinese man.
Both of them played exceptionally well, but the Chinese youth was clearly superior. His shots were smooth and seamless, balancing offense and defense perfectly—it was obvious he was giving the foreigner a lesson.
Su Jie watched for a few shots and found himself completely drawn in.
Trrraang!
The young man took a shot, and the cue ball struck the red ball, sending it straight into the pocket, while the cue ball took the red ball’s place, remaining completely still.
This was a stop shot.
When taking another stop shot, the young man sank unconsciously and thrust the cue stick with great force—as if wielding a spear. At the very moment of contact with the cue ball, he suddenly halted, as though he had transferred all his strength into the ball.
In this way, after the cue ball hit and sent the red ball flying, it would remain in position.
Trrraang!
Another shot followed, this time a draw shot.
The cue stick extended and retracted, quickly pulling back so that after the cue ball struck the red ball, it recoiled instead of continuing forward with its inertia.
Su Jie carefully observed the young man’s application of force in his billiards technique, along with the trajectories of both the cue ball and the red ball. He recalled that during his earlier match against Hua Xing, although his strike had pushed Hua Xing back, it had cost his opponent ninety-nine percent of his power.
If one could force the opponent’s shot to stop—or even execute a draw shot—wouldn’t that be even better?
“I understand now,” Su Jie thought as a flash of inspiration struck him.
In his mind, he began to combine the techniques and physics of billiards with martial arts, and many moves seemed to acquire subtle new variations and insights.
Especially with the “Hoe Strike” move, he discovered that it contained even more techniques and variations.
This move was simply marvelous—in every moment when he thought he had mastered all its subtleties, a new insight would emerge. It seemed that the art behind this move was truly inexhaustible.
“Hey, Qian Zheng and the others are here—let’s go train,” Ning Zixi said as she saw Qian Zheng and Hua Xing come out, snapping Su Jie out of his trance. She had intended to ask him about how he had changed over the summer, but he paid her no attention, fixated on the billiards, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“How’s the environment here?” Qian Zheng asked, seemingly completely recovered from the shadow of his previous defeat.
“It’s excellent—perfect for training,” Su Jie replied with a smile. “You usually train with Coach Hua Xing, right? May I observe?”
“From now on, we’ll train together,” Qian Zheng said earnestly. “Su Jie, you’re really impressive. I wonder if you’d be willing to accept my offer to become a coach here. I’ll learn under you, and you’d receive a monthly salary of 100,000. Would you be willing?”
“Are you serious?” Su Jie asked, looking at Qian Zheng. He hadn’t expected Qian Zheng to actually make such an offer.
“Of course I’m serious,” Qian Zheng nodded. “Please, I beg you! And it won’t interfere with your studies—you can even train me at school. Whatever training requirements you have, I can fulfill them, whether it’s training equipment, massage therapists, nutritionists, or health coaches. Everything you need is available here.”
“Um…” Su Jie considered for a moment. “Alright.”
“Then I’ll have someone prepare the contract immediately,” Qian Zheng said, his face lighting up with joy as he saw Su Jie agree.
At that moment, Hua Xing nodded slightly at Qian Zheng’s actions, a satisfied smile on his face.
It was clear that Qian Zheng’s mindset had completely transformed. The best way to surpass a strong opponent wasn’t through envy, but by learning from them and then using their strengths against them.
As early as the Qing Dynasty, wise men had proposed the idea of “using the strengths of others to defeat them.”
Soon, a formal coaching contract was drafted.
Su Jie picked it up and examined it carefully. He vividly remembered when Liu Zihao had tried to make him sign that so-called “sell-out” contract—which he refused. Later, Zhou Chun even staged a scam incident in an attempt to force him into signing a contract, and then Feng Hengyi sent “Gray Wolf” over, even pulling out a dagger to threaten him into signing.
After that, he had developed a certain wariness towards contracts, and over the past month he had learned a great deal about legal matters.
That was why he was now so sharp when reviewing contracts.
“This clause can be modified, and this one as well… also, the wording in this clause could be changed to this,” Su Jie said as he took out a pen and methodically made amendments to the contract, looking extremely professional—as if he were an experienced lawyer who negotiated regularly. This caused Hua Xing, Qian Zheng, and Ning Zixi to regard him with renewed admiration.
“Su Jie, have you studied law? How do you know so much about this?” Ning Zixi asked, growing increasingly surprised.
“I know a little,” Su Jie replied after finishing his amendments and handing the contract back to Qian Zheng.
Qian Zheng readily agreed.
Originally, the contract from Starshine Combat Fitness Club was designed to be extremely favorable to the company, but after Su Jie’s amendments, it had become very fair. Moreover, Qian Zheng’s real intention was to learn the secret of becoming stronger quickly from Su Jie—not to take advantage of him through the contract.
Su Jie had his own reasons for agreeing. The atmosphere at the Starshine Combat Fitness Club was quite good—it was conducive to training in martial arts, and provided many opportunities for exchange, especially since there was so much to learn from Hua Xing. Also, Qian Zheng had kept a humble attitude; after all, they were classmates, not enemies, so it would be nice to become friends.
Su Jie always believed that having many friends was better than having many enemies.
Of course, having enemies like Zhou Chun and Feng Hengyi wasn’t really in his control.