Full-Time Martial Saint

Behind the No. 1 canteen is a small martial arts training ground. Before the martial arts hall was built, some classes would come here to take martial arts lessons.

However, later, with donations from some martial artists who graduated from Xiangcheng No. 1 Middle School and funding from the municipal government, a comprehensive martial arts hall was built. All the classes for martial arts academy students, except for academic classes, were arranged in the martial arts hall. This small training ground gradually fell into disuse and few people came.

When Chen Cong and Zhao Cheng finished their meal and arrived at the small playground, Ning Yuhang and the others had already arrived ahead of them.

"These guys are even more impatient than us... Huh?"

Seeing Ning Yuhang and his group from afar, Zhao Cheng was making a fuss when he suddenly realized something was wrong!

"Brother Cong, it seems there's one more person!"

"That's... Lin Xiao!?"

Noticing the petite figure hiding behind Ning Yuhang and Huang Changhu, Zhao Cheng paused for a moment, then immediately recognized that the extra person was Lin Xiao.

"Why did those guys bring her here?" Zhao Cheng muttered to himself. "If word gets out, the academic affairs office might get involved..."

Chen paused for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head: "Let's go see what they have to say first."

The two quickly arrived in front of Ning Yuhang and the others.

"Chen Cong, I'm sorry, I let it slip."

Upon seeing the two, Ning Yuhang immediately explained, "Lin Xiao heard that we wanted to learn martial arts from you, so she insisted on coming along."

Having said that, he leaned close to Chen Cong's ear and whispered, "I haven't told her about taking the money yet. You can decide for yourself."

"If you don't intend for her to join, I'll advise her to leave right now."

Seeing that Ning Yuhang was quite cautious in his actions, Chen Cong smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you."

After ending his conversation with Ning Yuhang, he slowly walked towards Lin Xiao, sizing up the girl in front of him who seemed somewhat evasive and nervous, and said in a low voice, "You wanted to spar with me all yesterday, so why did you suddenly refuse during today's boxing class?"

Lin Xiao clenched her fist, met his gaze, and said seriously, "I don't want to humiliate myself."

"I thought about that punch last night all night, and I still don't know how to dodge it."

Chen Cong nodded.

Lin Xiao, who had only reached the threshold of minor mastery, found it difficult to understand and find a way to counter his punch, which had already employed techniques from a minor mastery level.

"So you've come here now because you want to...?"

"I want to learn boxing techniques from you, just like they do," Lin Xiao said, mustering her courage.

"I won't teach anyone for nothing."

"I can pay! I'll pay the price of a private tutoring session outside of school!"

"It won't take that long, I'll charge them 300 yuan for 90 minutes."

Lin Xiao was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then quickly raised the bracelet on her wrist: "300, I'll transfer it to you now."

Chen accepted the three hundred yuan without any formalities.

"It's 6:05 now. We'll have 90 minutes for the discussion, ending at 7:35."

"Since it's the first day, I think it's necessary to understand your comprehension of the boxing techniques first. Only in this way can I provide targeted assistance to you and prevent you from wasting this 300 yuan."

After Chen Cong finished speaking, the group exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

"Lin Xiao, you go first."

Seeing that they agreed, Chen turned to the girl on the far left of the line and spoke.

Lin Xiao took a step forward and stood quietly on the opposite side.

"When we fight later, don't hold back at all. Go all out, understand?"

Chen Cong looked at her and spoke calmly.

Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement and got into an attack stance.

After a few brief exchanges, Chen Cong had already grasped her skill level and weaknesses in boxing.

"Next."

……

Including Zhao Cheng, Chen Cong only spent a little over ten minutes conducting a basic investigation of the six people.

This brief exchange of just over ten minutes allowed the six to gain a deeper understanding of the minor mastery level of boxing techniques, and their expectations grew even stronger.

"I have a basic understanding of everyone's situation. There are quite a few problems, but none of them are too troublesome."

"Let me give you an overview first, and then I'll point out the details one by one."

Seeing that no one objected, Chen Cong continued, "Boxing, in essence, is a means of attack, using our hands, knees, elbows, and even our head; to put it simply, use whatever attack is fastest and most lethal."

"But precisely because we use various parts of the body, flesh and blood, rather than swords and spears, we need to incorporate various techniques and even body movements when using boxing, with the aim of killing the enemy without harming ourselves as much as possible."

"Bajiquan is a style of boxing known for its explosive power. Its strength lies in its destructive force, but its weaknesses are equally obvious."

"Ning Yuhang, tell me what the weaknesses of Bajiquan are?"

Among the six, Ning Yuhang frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Their power is explosive and their moves are wide and sweeping, making them good at offense but lacking in defense."

Chen Cong nodded: "That's right."

"But this understanding is precisely the main reason why your boxing skills have been stuck at the threshold of minor mastery."

What I'm about to say can be summarized in 14 characters.

"First, practice brute force like a madman; second, practice soft, closed-off techniques."

Chen slowly uttered the words he had said to Xu Baiwei a few days ago. After hearing this, everyone frowned and pondered the words carefully.

"Chen Cong, can you explain this sentence? I... I don't think I understand it."

Yang Can, who had a buzz cut, pondered for a while, and finally scratched his head helplessly, feeling very embarrassed to speak.

Chen Cong smiled and said, "You can ask me anytime if you don't understand. I'm getting paid for this, so don't be shy."

Changing the subject, he said seriously, "You all should have some understanding of these 14 characters. Now I will talk about my understanding."

"I think these 14 characters can be seen as an interpretation of the threshold from minor mastery to true minor mastery in Bajiquan."

"The first half of the saying, 'Practicing brute force is like a madman,' describes the 'power explosion' of Bajiquan. This can be achieved by mastering the basic power generation techniques and making full use of the power of each part of your body."

"The second half of the sentence, 'Practice soft, soft, closed, and pulling,' is the most difficult. If you can understand and master it, you can basically reach the level of minor mastery of the boxing technique."

Upon hearing this, the six people in front of them all stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

Among them, Lin Xiao and Ning Yuhang have been at the threshold of minor mastery in their boxing skills for almost a year, but they have been struggling to break through to the next level.

Before Chen Cong arrived, whether in class with Zhang Kui or in private tutoring sessions, he would talk at length. But now, with Chen Cong, one only needs to comprehend seven words to have a chance of achieving a minor success.

"A fist is not just a weapon that generates power."

"When fighting, the opponent's moves can be varied. When we attack, we must not fall into the dangerous situation of using the same moves until we are completely overwhelmed by the enemy's sudden changes in moves."

"Therefore, one must conserve one's strength and wait for it to be unleashed. If one cannot guarantee a decisive victory, one must leave oneself some way out."

"Like this."

Chen Cong stopped in his tracks and slowly clenched his fist.

Although his punch was extremely fast, the force of the punch felt weak and lacked any lethality.

However, just before his fist reached its peak, within a mere inch of its distance, an even stronger force suddenly surged from his body, running down his waist to his arm, and finally condensing in his fist before exploding outwards!

Bang!

A dull whistling sound rang out, startling the group and causing them to pale.

"Watch the variation of my move now."

Chen withdrew his arm and, just like before, lightly swung his fist.

This time, however, his fist suddenly transformed into an elbow halfway through its trajectory. A horizontal elbow strike, so fast that none of them could react, once again produced a muffled sound of air being torn apart!

"Do you understand the difference between these two moves?"

Chen Cong straightened up and quietly looked at the six people in front of him.

The group of people all looked thoughtful, and Huang Changhu and Ning Yuhang even unconsciously raised their hands and began to imitate Chen Cong's earlier actions.

However, the two of them always unconsciously channeled their power into their arms or even fists the moment they threw a punch.

Seeing this, Chen Cong reminded him again: "The process should be gentle; the burst of power should be instantaneous, not continuous."

"You must shut down and restrain your instincts, and try to control your power instead of letting them pour out like a flood."

……

Chen Cong's explanation was detailed and easy to understand. He also occasionally gave hands-on pointers. The short 90 minutes passed quickly, and everyone could clearly feel the benefits they gained.

Similarly, after ninety minutes of analysis, Chen also gained some different insights into this boxing style.

At 7:40 p.m., when everyone was still enjoying themselves, Chen Cong suddenly stopped.

"Let's stop here for today. You can go back and think about it carefully. We'll see how much you've actually understood tomorrow."

The group nodded and left the small playground.

Chen let out a long sigh. On his way back to the dormitory alone, after much hesitation, he finally sent a message to "Karaputi's Sorrow" using his communication bracelet.

"Do you have time to go to the Void Realm and spar?"

Shortly after the message was sent, the bracelet received a very brief reply.

"What time is it?"

With a smile on his face, Chen Cong quickly replied, "I'll be waiting for you in the lobby of the Divine Strike Arena at 8:10."

"Okay." This time, Karapti's sorrow was answered almost instantly.

Upon seeing the message, Chen Cong immediately hurried towards the dormitory building.