This trip to the Tai Chi martial arts exchange conference had been immensely beneficial for Su Jie.
His skill had gained progress and insight, and he had accomplished his plan—having a meal with Liu Shi. It was just that there was no opportunity to discuss specific details.
For now, he and Liu Shi were merely acquaintances.
A wealthy man like Liu Shi dined with many people. Perhaps after a single meal, he would not even remember who was who.
So this was not yet the time to speak. Being able to make an acquaintance first, and deepen the impression later, would allow many things to be accomplished.
Dishes were served one after another—exquisite Japanese cuisine.
But Su Jie was not very interested in Japanese food. In his view, most of these dishes were raw, sliced ingredients that had not undergone frying, stir-frying, boiling, or deep-frying. On the surface, it was about enjoying the original taste of fresh ingredients, but in reality, it was no different from eating raw meat and drinking blood.
Humanity invented fire precisely to eat cooked food. (G: the burn…)
“Young friend, after we finish eating, would you be interested in a judo match with me?” Takeshi Omoto extended an invitation during the meal.
This kind of exchange was private—what traditional martial arts called closed-door sparring. Once you walked out the door, no one would know who won or lost.
“I would be happy to oblige.” Not only was Su Jie unafraid, he was eager.
He had gained a great deal from his push-hands contest with Yang Shu. A judo match with Takeshi Omoto would surely bring even more insights.
To become a truly strong person, such exchanges were essential.
Every time Su Jie fought a great master, he underwent a transformative improvement. To date, the match that had influenced him most was naturally his fight with Feng Hengyi, which had directly propelled him into the Living Dead realm. Next was his encounter with Zhang Hongqing.
And just now, his push-hands contest with Yang Shu had been no less beneficial than those two.
So he greatly looked forward to a judo match with Takeshi Omoto.
“Truly, heroes emerge from youth,” Takeshi Omoto said again. “Young friend, you are only eighteen years old, yet you have already reached the realm of severing the impermanence of life and death, where wisdom and light shine eternally. I have traveled the world and seen countless outstanding figures, but I have never seen anyone of your age who has reached this realm.”
“I have,” Yang Shu spoke up at this moment. “It was last year when I went to Europe to teach. I encountered a young man wearing a mask who wanted to challenge me.”
“What kind of mask?” Su Jie asked.
“A dragon mask,” Yang Shu said.
“And what was the outcome of the match?” Su Jie asked again.
“I did not fight him. When he saw that I would not agree, he left,” Yang Shu shook his head. “I could sense that he had already reached the Living Dead realm.”
“You martial artists call this realm ‘Living Dead.’ It is quite fitting,” Takeshi Omoto said. “But in our Japanese Zen and swordsmanship, we call this realm ‘eternal shining of wisdom and light.’ When one reaches this state through Zen meditation or swordsmanship, they no longer have any fear of life or death.”
“It is all the same thing,” Su Jie said. “According to scientific research, this state is the result of psychological training promoting coordination among the brain tissues that govern negative emotions—the cingulate cortex, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, brainstem, and other regions of the cerebral cortex—causing these brain tissues to change their original habits. When a person encounters danger, the external stimulus triggers a conditioned reflex in the brain. The cerebral cortex produces panic. Panic dominates the body, causing flustered reactions and hormonal imbalances. Through training, all of this can be changed. That’s all it is.”
Through detailed scientific research, Su Jie had already explained these psychological states and martial arts realms through the anatomy of the brain.
Human emotions were all generated by the brain. Brain training was still a blank space in current knowledge.
By understanding the principles of the “Living Dead” realm and conducting various experiments and simulations, one could determine which training methods were most suitable.
The men before him—Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu—were indeed martial arts grandmasters. But their understanding remained within the framework of traditional martial arts cultivation. Even if they had some scientific theories, they were mostly in kinesiology and far less profound than Su Jie’s research.
Su Jie himself was a life sciences major. His self-taught knowledge had already surpassed that of a doctoral graduate. Especially with his research in Larry’s laboratory, he had gained even more.
The more he researched, the deeper his understanding of martial arts became.
Hearing Su Jie rattle off a series of scientific terms, Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu could not interject. A hint of awkwardness appeared on their faces.
They truly did not understand the research on the secretory systems of the cerebral cortex.
Liu Shi’s eyes flickered. “Are you a specialist in this area of research?”
“I am contracted to Larry’s life sciences laboratory as a dedicated researcher, doing data analysis reports and live-body research experiments,” Su Jie said.
“So you are a scientist by profession?” Liu Shi grew increasingly interested.
“I wouldn’t call myself a scientist—more of a researcher. I am still a university student, not very highly educated,” Su Jie said. “Of course, my side job is being a bodyguard. I study martial arts to do better research. I am also a live subject for experiments.”
“Interesting.” Hearing Su Jie say this, Liu Shi nodded. He had not expected that Su Jie’s bodyguard work was merely a side job—his true profession was scientific research.
“Would you be interested…” Liu Shi was just about to say something.
Suddenly, Su Jie’s expression changed, and he lunged at Liu Shi.
Jin Xin, standing behind Liu Shi, immediately moved to intercept Su Jie. He had not expected Su Jie to attack Liu Shi either. Even Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu had not reacted in time.
Bang!
Jin Xin could not intercept Su Jie at all. Instead, Su Jie knocked him aside with a single palm strike.
Then Su Jie grabbed Liu Shi, lifted him up, and dodged to the side.
In that critical instant, a bullet pierced through from outside, striking the spot where Liu Shi had just been standing.
“An attack!” Jin Xin reacted as well, immediately moving to protect Liu Shi.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets from outside were sniper shots, fired in succession. The sniper’s position was impossible to determine. Every bullet was aimed at Liu Shi.
But Su Jie, gripping Liu Shi and moving his feet, dodged between each shot, all the bullets missing. He then crashed through a wall into another room, cutting off the sniper’s line of sight and making it impossible to aim.
Sure enough, the bullets stopped. As if nothing had happened.
Liu Shi was held in Su Jie’s grasp, still not recovered from the shock, his face somewhat pale. But he was, after all, a man of extensive experience. Within a minute, his racing heartbeat had slowed.
“It’s over.” Su Jie set him down, as if he had done something trivial. “That sniper fired six shots total, with no result, and has already left. The killing intent has dissipated. There should not be a second assassination attempt. And even if there were another attack, it would not matter. As long as I am within five steps of you, no one can kill you.”
At this moment, Su Jie displayed his dominance.
During the gunfire, Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu had not detected anything, and even Jin Xin had been completely unaware. But Su Jie had sensed it in advance—not because his realm was higher than the two martial arts grandmasters, but because he had undergone specialized training many times.
Not to mention his time in war-torn regions, later when he became Larry’s bodyguard, he trained daily in bullet-dodging drills. He had developed a sensitivity to calculating ballistic trajectories and detecting the aim of a gun behind him.
This kind of skill required long-term training. Even with a martial arts realm this high, without professional training, it was useless.
Just as a person could practice routines and strength all day, but without stepping into the ring to fight, they would never become a skilled fighter.
Of course, without reaching the Living Dead realm, training to dodge bullets was extremely dangerous. If Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu underwent this kind of training, they would also develop effectiveness within a few months—just not as good as Su Jie.
Because Su Jie was younger, had faster reflexes, and his physical limits surpassed those of these two grandmasters.
Hearing Su Jie’s words, Liu Shi felt an absolute sense of security.
He was not alone. Larry had also made the decision to have Su Jie as his personal bodyguard for the very same reason.
Now Liu Shi understood why Larry trusted Su Jie so much.
“Boss.” Jin Xin ran over, his face full of shame. If it had not been for Su Jie, his boss would likely have been shot dead, causing enormous trouble.
He was not without ability. But who could have anticipated encountering such a terrifying sniper here?
He had special agent experience too, but after spending too long in China’s safe environment, he had lost some of his vigilance. Besides, Japan was also very safe.
If Liu Shi were assassinated today, it would be an absolute headline.
Fortunately, Su Jie had saved him.
“Immediately contact the owner of this establishment. First, do not call the police, do not notify the media. Act as if this never happened. Second, take all the video surveillance data back to our headquarters. I want to find out who is behind this,” Liu Shi ordered.
He had already regained his composure.
Su Jie did not interject, letting Liu Shi handle it however he wanted. He did not treat this as a major event. He continued eating and drinking as usual—for him, this was practically routine.
Takeshi Omoto and Yang Shu, seeing his demeanor, were quite surprised. Both were practitioners of traditional martial arts and had rarely experienced such situations. They knew that no matter how strong one’s martial arts were, they were powerless against firearms.
“This matter should indeed not be leaked to the media. Otherwise, it would become a frenzy and put us in a very passive position,” Su Jie said.
“Let’s move to another place. It’s not safe here,” Takeshi Omoto said. “The Japanese cuisine here is usually excellent, but I never expected something like this to happen. This is my fault—I should not have brought us here.”
“It’s fine. It is safe now as well,” Su Jie said. “Mr. Liu Shi, have you offended anyone recently? That sniper could conceal their presence, their killing intent condensed without leaking—even I did not notice at first. They are an absolute expert. There are not many people who can deploy such a sniper.”