When I arrived at the martial arts club with the swordsman, the expected fierce fight didn’t happen.
Yang Xue and Yang Fan were sitting together, while Miyagi Sawano sat with another young man. Neither side was speaking.
The difference was that the young man sitting with Miyagi Sawano had his eyes closed until I entered. Only then did he open them, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
What surprised me, however, was that Miyagi Sawano showed no signs of any injuries!
The extent of the damage I had inflicted was beyond what modern medicine could treat.
And it had only been a few days since I injured him! To completely heal a cripple in just a few days? Could it be that there are also experts in Japan?
“You are Xia Tian?” Suddenly, the young man looked at me and asked in fluent Chinese.
This young man looked very ordinary, but he had an indescribable aura about him that made it hard to dislike him.
I nodded and said, “Yes, I am Xia Tian. I wonder if you are here to seek revenge for Miyagi Sawano, my friend?”
“Revenge is too strong a word. I merely came to spar with Mr. Xia Tian!” The young man stood up and extended his right hand to me: “My name is Takeda Genki. I look forward to learning from you.”
“You should be able to handle this guy. Although your dantian is shattered, your original physical prowess remains,” the swordsman’s voice suddenly came through. I turned to look at him, but his lips weren’t moving.
“I am Xia Tian. You already know my name!” I said, looking at Takeda Genki.
Takeda Genki smiled and said, “This place is too small. Let’s take our spar outside!” With that, he led Miyagi Sawano out.
I glanced at the swordsman and then followed them out.
Yang Fan and Yang Xue, seeing this, also came out. The swordsman, however, seemed quite relaxed. While everyone was heading out, he walked inward, directly sat on a stool, and started drinking tea.
“Please advise me!” Takeda Genki bowed to me and then got into a stance.
I was taken aback for a moment, then also got into a stance and said, “Please advise me!”
“Hyah!” Suddenly, Takeda Genki let out a loud shout and charged directly at me.
This punch was extremely fast, aimed straight at my neck. If it connected, it would undoubtedly make me unable to breathe briefly.
If I still had True Qi, I could use it to protect my neck, but now, I could only dodge!
Feeling the wind from the fist brush past my ear, I felt a bit of belated fear. This guy seemed polite, but his moves were particularly ruthless. It seemed to me he wasn’t here to spar; his real purpose was to get revenge for Miyagi Sawano!
The moment I dodged, I simultaneously threw a punch aimed straight at Takeda Genki’s chest!
Takeda Genki’s reaction was also very quick; he immediately turned to dodge.
However, I had been careless. His turning motion seemed like just a dodge, but he had kept a follow-up move in reserve!
During the turn, he somehow raised his arm and elbowed me in the back.
But thanks to my body’s inherent toughness, it didn’t cause much damage.
“Again!” I had lost the first exchange.
However, I roughly understood my current level. Although I couldn’t circulate True Qi now, my body’s inherent strength remained. In terms of ancient martial arts levels, I was currently at the Huang rank.
This Takeda Genki was probably also a ranked expert, because the speed and power of his punches were completely on a different level from Miyagi Sawano’s.
He was already about the same as the two bodyguards Wei Junzhi had by his side.
It seemed defeating him wouldn’t be easy.
Against someone of similar strength, I didn’t dare to use kicks, because in such situations, if the opponent didn’t choose to trade blows head-on, it would be easy for them to find an opportunity to counterattack.
So I once again threw a punch at him. Since he had shown no mercy earlier, there was no need for me to hold back either!
Seeing this, Takeda Genki smiled and prepared to catch my fist.
Even without True Qi now, my inherent strength was still powerful. To catch my fist, unless he was an Xuan rank or above expert who could use Qi!
Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen and staggered back several steps.
I gritted my teeth, enduring the intense pain.
His intention to catch my fist was just a feint, meant to distract me. While I was distracted, he quickly kicked me in the lower abdomen.
Normally, taking this hit wouldn’t be a big deal, but my dantian was already shattered. His kick happened to aggravate my injury.
Intense pain made cold sweat break out on my forehead.
Takeda Genki also seemed surprised, as if the effect of this kick was beyond his expectation.
“Again!” Once the worst of the pain subsided a bit, I launched another attack at Takeda Genki.
This punch of mine was executed according to the first form of “Dragon Battles the Eight Desolations.” Although it lacked the support of True Qi, it was clearly not comparable to an ordinary attack.
Takeda Genki also saw that this punch was different and hurriedly raised his hands to block.
The Qi of “Dragon Battles the Eight Desolations” was to use strength to overcome strength. Takeda Genki choosing to retreat obviously couldn’t unleash its great power.
But since he chose to block, I would seize the chance to make sure he couldn’t fight back afterward!
A series of punches rained down on Takeda Genki.
The expression on his face wasn’t relaxed, but he wasn’t nervous either; he seemed to be waiting for something!
Just as I was switching fists to attack, Takeda Genki suddenly thrust out his chest, preparing to take the hit head-on, while simultaneously throwing a punch at me!
*Smack!* A crisp sound echoed as our fists simultaneously struck each other’s chests.
Due to my slightly superior physical body, Takeda Genki took a step back, but only one step.
Because ranked experts also had enhanced physical toughness. Right now, aside from having better endurance than Takeda Genki, I held no other advantage.
After taking this hit, Takeda Genki wasn’t angered but instead smiled with satisfaction.
Then he quickly threw punches, attacking me. I was just preparing to meet force with force when I suddenly noticed that Takeda Genki’s right foot had somehow lifted and was also kicking toward me.
In this situation, I could only choose to retreat, but my inherent reactive ability was already insufficient to completely avoid this dual attack.
I wanted to use the Spirit Fox Steps, but before I could even take half a step, a pain shot through my dantian, forcing me to stop!
Although the Spirit Fox Steps were just a footwork technique, I still instinctively prepared to mobilize True Qi. And since my dantian was shattered, intense pain immediately swept through my body.
At the same time, Takeda Genki’s fist and foot both landed on me. My steps became unsteady, and I fell directly to the ground.
“Good!” Miyagi Sawano, seeing this, cheered loudly.
I thought Takeda Genki would press his advantage, but unexpectedly, he stopped and said to me, “You are injured?”
I didn’t speak. Takeda Genki sighed and said, “Mr. Xia Tian, you are injured. For me, Takeda, to win like this is dishonorable. Once Mr. Xia Tian has recovered from his injuries, I will come find you again!”
Although Miyagi Sawano seemed somewhat dissatisfied, he gritted his teeth and followed behind Takeda Genki as they left.
Yang Xue hurriedly helped me up, saying, “Xia Tian, are you okay? What did that Japanese mean about you being injured?”
“It’s nothing…” I shook my head. After the dantian shattered, pain only flared up when I tried to channel True Qi or received a blow, and this pain didn’t last very long. By now, I had already returned to normal.
Yang Xue and the others didn’t know about cultivation, and even if I told them, it would be too shocking for them.
However, looking at Takeda Genki’s departing figure, I felt a trace of admiration. His temperament was different from Miyagi Sawano’s; he seemed to emphasize martial ethics.
“Martial ethics my foot! If I hadn’t spoken up to threaten him, you’d probably be lying in a hospital bed right now!” The swordsman’s voice suddenly came through again. Somehow, he had already appeared by my side.
And Yang Xue and Yang Fan didn’t seem to have heard him.
“Xia Tian does indeed have some minor injuries, so he can’t stay with you for long. You understand what I mean, right?” The swordsman looked at Yang Xue and Yang Fan, startling them.
Yang Fan pointed at the swordsman and said in surprise, “When did you get here?!”
“Whoa! Someone’s here to sign up!” The swordsman suddenly pointed toward the martial arts club entrance.
But at the same time, another sentence from the swordsman rang in my ears: “Close your eyes and grab hold of me!”
Yang Xue and Yang Fan, greatly surprised, quickly turned their heads, while I grabbed the swordsman’s shoulder.
“You can open them now!” The swordsman’s voice came through again. I opened my eyes and found that I was actually back in my apartment bedroom!
“Have you decided to restore your strength now?” The swordsman looked at me and said directly, not mentioning the spar with Takeda Genki at all.
I was stunned for a moment, then said, “I want to restore it, but not to mention the danger involved, according to what you said, I hardly have any chance of even finding the Five Elements Qi! So how can I restore it?”
The swordsman, however, smiled and said, “Just because you can’t find them doesn’t mean I can’t.”