Both sides were waiting for the other to reveal a weakness.
Even with his intense hidden weapon training, Su Jie still didn’t have the strength to fight two opponents at once…but at least now he had the ability to take one down with him.
Still, he wasn’t satisfied with his hidden weapon skills. He felt he hadn’t yet found the critical breakthrough point.
In a martial arts novel, there was a protagonist who used flying knives…every throw hit its mark without fail. That was no longer just a flying knife…it was a symbol of the spirit. Though it was fiction, there was some truth in it.
After a month of intense hidden weapon training, Su Jie had made great progress, but he also knew he’d hit a bottleneck…further improvement would be difficult in the short term.
To fight two opponents at once and subdue Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting with hidden weapons, he still needed to advance his realm…to reach the Enlightenment level.
But that realm couldn’t be comprehended overnight.
Su Jie knew that this realm was a state of constant, great joy and satisfaction.
The Clarity realm…the Living Dead realm…was a state of constant, penetrating insight, where everything in the mind was clear and understood, every moment of one’s life fully recalled without error.
But this realm had not yet attained anything.
The Enlightenment realm was about attaining…and never losing again.
Attaining what one most desires.
Preserving it forever.
Su Jie had never slackened in his pursuit of this realm, but he always felt he was still lacking…he hadn’t fully “attained” anything yet.
Fortunately, he wasn’t impatient. He advanced steadily, using scientific methods to analyze the cultivation of psychological quality and spiritual states, finding certain patterns within the complex realm of intangible thought.
Science was something everyone could achieve…not a sudden, unreplicable mutation in one particular person.
“Your hidden weapons have already reached the level where the needle flies where the intention goes. And you’re still pushing for higher…I can’t even imagine what the next level would be like,” Liu Long said, watching Su Jie continue his relentless practice, tirelessly repeating the same motions, genuinely admiring his dedication to research.
“This is still far from enough.” Su Jie continued releasing needles, shooting out like shooting stars.
He had plenty of time now…summer break had begun.
His first year of university had passed.
Every summer break, he thought back to his time at Minglun Martial Arts Academy, braving the intense heat, digging and hoeing the earth, until he finally mastered the Heart-Mind Intent technique.
Last summer, he had also gone to Minglun, practicing in the mountains, letting out solitary howls, gazing at the starry sky alone, eventually pushing his Iron Shirt training to its peak.
Two years had passed without him noticing.
He’d gone from a high school student to a university student, experiencing things most people never would in a lifetime, and making contact with the upper echelons of the world.
Without that scorching summer, none of this would have happened.
“Should I go to Minglun Martial Arts Academy again this summer?” Su Jie thought of the academy, of Gu Yang, of Odell’s little courtyard, of Uncle Mang and Nie Shuang…and he also wanted to have a good talk with the old principal, Liu Guanglie.
Though Principal Liu Guanglie hadn’t personally taught him, Su Jie held no resentment…he deeply respected the old principal, who had built Minglun Martial Arts Academy into such a formidable institution.
He was grateful to the place that had changed his life, and truly considered it his alma mater.
As he practiced his hidden weapons and pondered these things, a commotion suddenly arose from outside.
“What’s happening?” Su Jie and Liu Long stopped and hurried out.
Liu Long’s Dragon Club had grown quite famous, operating successfully…it was now arguably the highest-level fighting club in the country, with several professional fighters signed to it.
These professional fighters were of decent caliber…among the top ten ranked fighters in the country, Dragon Club occupied three spots.
However, no one had yet emerged as a true successor to Liu Long.
Since Liu Long’s retirement, the domestic fighting scene had been without a leader…no one had achieved the same dominance. Many people were waiting for someone to fill Liu Long’s shoes.
Su Jie and Liu Long reached the training area and found many fighters gathered around the big screen, shouting and causing a stir.
Lin Tang, Tan Dashi, and Wang Shun were among them.
“What are you all making a fuss about?” Liu Long asked.
“The Heshan Cup just ended. A new fighter emerged…Kang Gu from Haoyu Sports. He swept through all the top fighters and took the championship. Just now, he faced our club’s Cao Jin…only one round, and Cao Jin was down and couldn’t get up,” several club fighters quickly explained.
“What?” Liu Long was surprised. “Cao Jin is our club’s best fighter…I’ve been grooming him as my successor. There’s no way he’d go down in one round, even in an international competition. Play it back?”
Dragon Club’s training facility was well-equipped. The big screen could broadcast and replay matches…virtually all fights were recorded so everyone could study and analyze them in slow motion.
The screen began replaying the match.
In the ring were two fighters. One wore Dragon Club shorts…a young man in his early twenties, with perfect muscle definition, no excess fat, explosive muscle, and abundant energy. This was Liu Long’s disciple, Cao Jin.
He was Dragon Club’s most capable fighter of the new generation.
The other fighter in the ring was Kang Gu…a silent, almost dull-looking figure.
Su Jie had seen Kang Gu before…last year, at Minglun Martial Arts School, when he went to see Blind Uncle. Kang Gu was deaf-mute, and after Su Jie himself, he was the second person who could withstand Blind Uncle’s massage.
Su Jie had suspected he was also trained by Odell, and now it was confirmed…many of Kang Gu’s movements bore Odell’s signature.
Last year, Su Jie had sensed that Kang Gu would become extremely formidable, but he hadn’t expected Kang Gu to be recruited by Feng Hengyi.
At the time, Su Jie was still comprehending the Living Dead realm and hadn’t had the energy to intervene…now he felt some regret.
He had known Kang Gu would become a master, and indeed, he had grown so quickly.
On the screen, the two had begun fighting.
Cao Jin opened with Liu Long’s signature quick kicks…low, hooking, tripping, stomping, kicking, chopping, sweeping, snapping, scraping…an unpredictable array of leg techniques, using lower-body skills to bring down the opponent in an instant.
Over years of fighting, Liu Long had developed his leg techniques into a complete system.
And Cao Jin was the one who had best inherited his skills…Liu Long even believed Cao Jin could surpass him in the future.
After all, Cao Jin was ten years younger.
Boom!
The moment Cao Jin launched his first probing kick, Kang Gu struck.
He stepped forward with a big swing punch.
Just one swing punch, perfectly aimed at Cao Jin’s head, knocking him to the ground unconscious…he was carried off by medical staff.
“Pull up all of Kang Gu’s matches,” Liu Long said, his expression serious.
Soon, the club staff had it ready, and the screen began showing Kang Gu’s various matches, edited to remove unnecessary footage.
Indeed, Kang Gu’s fights were always clean…he’d rush in and finish with one swing punch.
His swing punch had a natural arc, a tricky angle, and impeccable timing. No matter how the opponent moved, he just threw one swing punch.
The swing punch’s trajectory perfectly followed the acceleration of centrifugal force.
Opponents knew Kang Gu’s signature move was the big swing punch, yet they could never defend against it…even preemptively guarding, the punch would still break through.
*Feng Hengyi uses straight punches; Kang Gu uses swing punches. Both push their power to the extreme…simple and effective,* Su Jie thought. *Given time, Kang Gu could become as powerful as Feng Hengyi. Then I’d be facing three exceptional opponents…I’d be dead for sure.*
Kang Gu was still slightly below Feng Hengyi for now, but Su Jie could see his immense potential. In every fight, no matter how strong the opponent, Kang Gu wore that same dull, almost simple-minded expression…making people suspect he was slow-witted. But the moment he moved, he revealed his decisiveness and ferocity, always seizing opportunities with precision, completely indifferent to his own life or death.
“Su Jie, what do you think of this Kang Gu?” Liu Long asked.
“If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll be the future ruler of the fighting world…taking your place, and even going further, making a big impact internationally,” Su Jie said.
“That’s assuming you don’t step in,” Liu Long said. “He belongs to Haoyu Sports. If this continues, Haoyu Sports’ influence and prestige will only grow. How about you step in, beat him, and put a damper on them?”
“There’s no need for that,” Su Jie said. “After Feng Hengyi’s match with me ended in mutual injury and he couldn’t win the championship, he changed his strategy…instead of fighting himself, he’s pushing Kang Gu.”
“I don’t think Kang Gu is inherently bad…we might be able to flip him,” Liu Long said. “If Dragon Club and your Diandao Martial Arts could get someone like him to fight on the surface, there’d be great potential.”
“He’s probably signed a binding contract with Haoyu. It’d be hard to poach him,” Su Jie thought of his sister…if not for a similar contract, why would she have endured so much fear and hardship at Haoyu?
“I’ll make discreet contact,” Liu Long said. “The most important thing is Kang Gu’s own willingness. If he wants to jump ship, I can handle the contract buyout. If he doesn’t, there’s nothing we can do. In the end, you might have to talk to him yourself.”
“No problem. It’d be good to meet him,” Su Jie nodded. “But this has to be kept secret…Haoyu must not find out.” Su Jie nodded, realizing that his counterattack could start with this move.