Xu Jingming's fighting spirit burned. When he joined the national team, his master was already in his sixties; it was impossible for him to fight with his full strength. His master was already 45 at the first World Martial Arts Tournament, so it was indeed a mystery how strong he was at his peak.
"Put on your armor and get your spear," Liu Hai said.
"Armor versus cloth?" Xu Jingming looked at Liu Hai. "Master, you're really confident. I won't hold back then!"
As he spoke, dark-red light armor appeared on his body, and he held a huge spear.
He wore armor and held a huge spear—he had the absolute advantage in terms of equipment!
"Be careful now, Master." Xu Jingming prepared to deliver his first strike.
"Wait." Liu Hai stretched out his hand to stop him and asked, "What's your Physique index?"
"115," Xu Jingming said.
"I'll adjust my Physique index first; otherwise, I'll be bullying you," Liu Hai said and started manually adjusting. He shortened the amount of training time he had spent on the evolutionary method, naturally dropping his Physique index.
People normally had their physiques set to their limits. For example, Xu Jingming adjusted it to '735 days of practice' to have his body reach its limits. His body became much weaker if he changed it to '100 days of practice.'
"Alright, I've adjusted the training time to 68 days to have a Physique index of 115—the same as yours." Liu Hai nodded in satisfaction.
Xu Jingming's expression changed when he heard this. I cultivated 'Heavenly Python Evolution' and have reached Intermediate 20%. Even so, I need to practice 735 days to reach a Physique index of 115. Master only needs 68 days to reach a Physique index of 115?
"Master, your evolutionary method has reached Advanced?" Xu Jingming asked.
"Yeah, Ferocious Tiger Evolution Advanced level." Liu Hai nodded slightly. "Don't worry. I guess there are only a handful of people in the world who can reach the evolutionary method's Advanced level."
Xu Jingming was secretly surprised. Master is indeed impressive. I've fought Gao Chong and Wang Qiao before, and the gap in everyone's bodies wasn't that great. Everyone was likely only at the Intermediate level of the evolutionary method.
"A temporary lead is nothing. After all, I've trained for almost 50 years longer than you!" Liu Hai said. "It's normal to have an advantage in the beginning."
"Our Physique index is the same now. I'll use a cloth robe and a single saber." Liu Hai looked at his disciple with interest. "If you have the ability, defeat me."
"Master, be careful." Xu Jingming shook his spear, and a projection of a blurry dragon lunged straight at Liu Hai's chest.
Liu Hai stood still and didn't dodge at all. He immediately cleaved out with his saber.
Bang!
Liu Hai's saber beam struck the spear like a whip, and Xu Jingming felt his spear sway and move to the side. At the same time, Liu Hai was about to advance and close in on his disciple.
Parrying a spear with a single saber strike? Although Xu Jingming was surprised, he immediately spun his spear and swept it at Liu Hai. The might of this sweep could even pulverize a house.
Clang.
Liu Hai blocked with his saber, and the saber projection turned into a blur during the block. Xu Jingming felt as if his spear was stuck, and he couldn't exert any strength.
Liu Hai blocked the spear first before taking a step forward and swinging his saber.
This strike was too fast. It was said that Grandpa Liu Jianfeng's sword was fast, but Liu Hai's saber… was even faster.
Xu Jingming wanted to retreat and dodge. His leg had recovered, and his movement technique was fine, but he couldn't make it in time! He tried to block with his spear, but it was similarly too late.
Pu.
The saber flashed, and Xu Jingming felt the saber slice past his chest. He looked down and saw that his armor had been cleanly sliced open like tofu, leaving a gash.
Xu Jingming looked at the gash on his chest and helplessly reached out to tap his personal interface, restoring himself to his peak state.
"I lost." Xu Jingming stood still, feeling puzzled. "Master, I used my spear against your saber. Why did you manage to parry my spear with one strike?"
"Because a single strike of mine is stronger than yours," Liu Hai said.
"My spear swept out, but you didn't even budge," Xu Jingming said. "The force was completely diverted."
"My defense is also better than yours, so I can naturally deflect the force of your spear," Liu Hai said with a smile. "The reason why I killed you with one strike is that I was faster than your spear! You can't block it, nor can you escape."
"The difference is that great?" Xu Jingming was a little dazed. "I know that you're very strong, Master. You taught so many disciples, and you know all the weapons of the various schools. Your techniques are also very brilliant, enough to teach all your disciples. But…"
"But I was old back then and didn't fight with my full strength," Liu Hai said. "If I had a young body like yours, I would've long bullied you kids. Hahaha… Awesome. It feels good to be young again."
"Don't be disheartened." Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming. "After all, I've practiced for nearly 50 more years than you! Moreover, I've benefited greatly from being the head coach of the national team for 20 years, having taught the national team disciples who have all kinds of unique skills. As I taught you, you were also giving me inspiration, allowing me to hone my techniques constantly. My current skills only came after 70 years of growth."
Xu Jingming nodded.
"In the backdrop of the entire globe, my combat techniques might still have an advantage now," Liu Hai said, "but this is the first day of the virtual world's launch! Be it the functions of the martial arts arena or the life-and-death battles in the combat space… It will allow people's techniques to grow very quickly. In the future, all of you will also reach the level of my combat techniques, and you might even surpass me."
"I invited you here today to share with you some of my insights," Liu Hai said. "It will also allow you to take fewer detours and improve faster."
"Master…" Xu Jingming was a little touched.
"I'm not just teaching you. I'll teach all the disciples I think well of," Liu Hai said. "After all, it's a competition between teams in the future. There are five people in a team, so it won't do to rely on one person. In the future, you will be the linchpin in the martial arts competition between China and other countries."
"From now on, listen and learn." Liu Hai looked at his disciple. "What I'm teaching you are insights gained from 70 years of martial arts cultivation."
Xu Jingming listened.
"In the past, I didn't want my excessive enthusiasm to harm you. Now that there's the virtual world, you can learn it well." Liu Hai held the saber in one hand. "The first thing I want to teach you is how to deliver force with your body!"
A technique for force delivery? Xu Jingming listened carefully.
His technique for force delivery was impressive enough, allowing him to create ultimate moves like Shadowless Thrust and Mountain Shattering.
"Physical force delivery is the key to combat. My force delivery technique is better than yours, so with the same Physique index, my speed and strength are greater than yours," Liu Hai said. "It's like an adult fighting a child. They hold the absolute advantage."
Xu Jingming nodded.
He had been crushed by his master despite wearing armor and holding a huge spear. This was the huge difference afforded by the force delivery technique.
"I have practiced forms since I was a child. Later on, Master Meng taught me Taiji. Although I later learned all kinds of domestic martial arts, became the national team's head coach, and even studied the various foreign schools of martial arts, my core… is still Taiji! Taiji is compatible with all schools."
Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming. "You should know that the key to force delivery is the spine! The spine is like a huge dragon that connects the entire body from top to bottom. Strength delivery needs to be done step by step to unify the entire body's strength. Only then can the strength unleashed be strong enough."
Xu Jingming nodded.
"But the next step to strength isn't about having one part in motion affecting the whole." Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming. "It's… to have the body be water!"
"Be water?" Xu Jingming was puzzled.
"Make the body as natural as water." Liu Hai's body lunged forward and backward like a huge snake, his joints and muscles incomparably natural. "Everything is natural when I move forward and backward, left and right."
"Once my body exerts its strength, it will flow like water. It will be natural and without any obstructions." Liu Hai slapped his palm down.
Bam!
The air exploded, and the ground was blasted into a huge pit by the airwaves.
"Force is exerted using the feet, and the body is fast." Liu Hai's body moved, and his figure turned into a blur as he appeared in the distance. He was even faster than Grandpa Liu Jianfeng.
"When delivering force with the hands, it should be as fast as lightning and extremely powerful." Liu Hai waved his single saber, and with a flash, the saber tore through the air.
The resulting wind caused the ground to crack.
"The mind and will need to fuse completely into every part of the body, allowing you to sense every spot with great ease," Liu Hai said. "With a thought, the move is executed. Speed and strength will reach an extremely high realm."
Xu Jingming nodded slightly.
"Remember this: Be water; have your mind be one with every part of your body. Feel every spot and have full proficiency in them," Liu Hai said. "Try your best to practice shield techniques in this state. Don't integrate the Eight Extremities into your shield technique for the time being. Just practice Taiji—this is force training! Practice controlling your body."
"Once mastery of the body is attained, the technique of force delivery will naturally be elevated to a whole new level," Liu Hai said.
"I understand," Xu Jingming said.
"I was afraid that you would go astray from training and even injure your body, but that's no longer a fear in the virtual world," Liu Hai said with a smile. "I was only teaching you the first aspect. What I'm teaching you now is the second—actual combat!"