Chapter 1 Xu Jingming's Current Situation

Xu Jingming had no idea that his teacher, Liu Hai, had recommended his name. He had now handed over the work at his martial arts gym, and once the Jiangnan Province team training was over, he would be able to return to his hometown of Mingyue City.

In the afternoon, Xu Jingming was training in the martial arts gym's exclusive room, holding a solid steel rod that was four centimeters in diameter and three meters two in length. The rod head moved in a series of arcs—upper, lower, left, and right—each swing tracing a portion of a circle.

This steel rod was a common industrial stainless-steel solid round rod, weighing 64 *jin* (approximately 77 pounds). It was not suitable for combat, but it was excellent for building strength and whole-body power.

"Di di di..." A sound suddenly rang out.

Xu Jingming put down the steel rod, wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel, and looked at the name displayed on the screen. "Xiao Bai, answer the video call."

A light screen condensed in mid-air, displaying a young man.

"A'Shuo!" Xu Jingming said with a happy smile. "It's rare for you to call me."

The young man before him was named Yang Qingshuo, Xu Jingming's best brother.

They had attended the same university and were both members of the school's martial arts team. As teammates, they were assigned to the same dormitory, and he and Yang Qingshuo were even bunkmates.

In their freshman year, Xu Jingming won first place in the National College Martial Arts League, while Yang Qingshuo took seventh!

Xu Jingming joined the national team as a freshman, and Yang Qingshuo was selected during his sophomore year.

The bunkmates entered the national team together and stayed there for several years, practicing together every day and living in the same dormitory. Their brotherly bond was stronger than blood.

"Can't I call you if I don't have anything to say?" Yang Qingshuo smiled, a little shyly.

Yang Qingshuo was a very introverted and shy person, as those familiar with him knew well.

"A'Shuo, why do you look like you've gained a lot of weight?" Xu Jingming asked in surprise. Yang Qingshuo used to be very handsome and relatively thin. Now, he had gained weight and looked a little plump, and his eyes were not as sharp as before.

"My child is about to start elementary school this year. It's normal for me to gain weight," Yang Qingshuo said.

"That's right, your child is old enough to buy soy sauce, and I'm still not married. You got your marriage certificate as soon as you reached the legal age, making us old brothers feel awkward." Xu Jingming joked. Who would have thought that Yang Qingshuo, the youngest and shyest member of the national team, would be the first to get married?

Yang Qingshuo smiled and didn't say much.

"What's up with the call today?" Xu Jingming asked with a smile. After many good brothers from their university and national team days separated and scattered across the country, it was normal to only contact each other once every year or two.

"There's something I need." Yang Qingshuo hesitated and said, "Xu Ge, I've encountered some things and need to borrow some money."

"Borrow money?" Xu Jingming felt a knot in his heart.

It wasn't that he cared about the money.

He was worried about A'Shuo. A'Shuo used to be a main member of the national team, and after retiring, he was also in the Hebei Province Sports Bureau, with a good income. How could he be forced to borrow money?

"What happened?" Xu Jingming asked.

"My mother is hospitalized, and the out-of-pocket expenses for the special medicine are quite high," Yang Qingshuo said.

"How much do you need?" Xu Jingming asked.

"One million," Yang Qingshuo said. "It may take a year to pay you back."

Xu Jingming nodded. "Okay, I'll transfer it to you right away."

But he was thinking, A'Shuo was also a main member of the national team and had made it to the World Martial Arts Competition once. Although he was eliminated in the group stage, the competition prize money was only a basic one million. The appearance fee for the competition wasn't high either, but after several years of hard work, he should have saved several million. Now he was borrowing money from him, so he must have encountered a major problem.

When Xu Jingming lent money, he was prepared for the other party not to repay it.

He wouldn't be so generous with lending money to ordinary friends, but Yang Qingshuo was his best brother since childhood!

While still on the call, Xu Jingming operated on the light screen, opened his financial platform, and quickly handled the transfer, with stocks, insurance, and savings all clearly listed.

"Did it arrive?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Received," Yang Qingshuo said, also feeling invigorated after receiving the money. Money gave people courage, and being extremely short of money was indeed difficult. "Xu Ge, thanks."

"A'Shuo, I'm going to Beijing on a business trip today. When I pass by your Tianjin, I'll find you for a chat," Xu Jingming said. "Give me your address, and I'll come find you."

"Today?" Yang Qingshuo asked in surprise. "When will you arrive?"

"Around five o'clock, I guess," Xu Jingming said, calculating the time.

"Then I'll still be at work. I'll give you the company's address," Yang Qingshuo gave him an address.

Xu Jingming looked at it. Jiaxin Fitness Club. He was a little surprised. "You left the Hebei Sports Bureau?"

"Yeah, I came out," Yang Qingshuo nodded. "Xu Ge, I'm going back to class now. We'll talk when we meet later."

"Okay, we brothers will have a good chat when we meet," Xu Jingming said, gently swiping his hand, and the light screen in front of him turned into spots of light and dissipated.

Xu Jingming lost his smile and stood there silently. "A'Shuo doesn't seem quite right. This time, he even left the Sports Bureau and went to a fitness club, not even a famous martial arts gym. He used to be a main member of the national team. Now he's going to a fitness club?"

They were all professional martial arts athletes. How much of their skills could they use in a fitness club?

"Go to Tianjin, see him in person," Xu Jingming immediately bought a high-speed rail ticket. The high-speed rail traveled at 600 kilometers per hour and could reach Tianjin in two hours.

Saying he was going to Beijing on a business trip was a lie. Xu Jingming was worried about his good brother, so he was making a special trip to Tianjin to see Yang Qingshuo.

...

After booking a ride online, an intelligent dispatch system ensured a car arrived at the high-speed rail station in fifteen minutes.

Soon, Xu Jingming boarded the high-speed train and headed straight for Tianjin City in the north.

At 4:53 p.m., Xu Jingming arrived outside the entrance of Jiaxin Fitness Club in Tianjin.

"Here it is."

Xu Jingming looked up at the fitness club, which occupied a fairly large area. He walked in, and the female receptionist greeted him with a smile, "Welcome."

"My surname is Xu. I'm looking for Yang Qingshuo," Xu Jingming said. "I have an appointment with him."

"You're looking for Coach Yang? Please have a seat over here." The female receptionist was very enthusiastic, led Xu Jingming to the reception area, and poured him a glass of plain water.

...

At this moment, on the third floor of Jiaxin Fitness Club, Yang Qingshuo was teaching a fitness class to a group of female members.

After completing a set of boxing exercises, the female members were panting.

"Okay, take a two-minute break," Yang Qingshuo said.

"Coach Yang, I heard you participated in the World Martial Arts Competition?" one of the female members asked curiously. They had signed up for the class because they knew Yang Qingshuo had participated in the World Martial Arts Competition.

"Martial arts competitions are divided into C-level, B-level, A-level events, and the highest World Martial Arts Competition. Only those ranked in the top 32 in the world martial arts standings are qualified to participate in the World Martial Arts Competition!"

"Every year, only the 32 strongest martial arts athletes in the world can participate. Coach Yang, did you participate?" The female members were all very curious.

"I participated in the 26th World Martial Arts Competition," Yang Qingshuo said with a nod and a smile. This was his most impressive credential for finding a job.

"Wow."

"Coach Yang, can you teach us some self-defense techniques?"

"Yes, Coach Yang, we weak women have very little ability to resist those men with ill intentions. Do you have any self-defense moves that are easy to learn and can be used to deal with those strong men?" The female members all said.

"Easy to learn? Techniques for weak women to deal with strong men?" Yang Qingshuo thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "Okay, then I'll teach you a relatively practical move."

The female members immediately listened carefully.

"First, do as I say, lift one leg and stand on one leg," Yang Qingshuo said.

All the female members stood on one leg, which was still very easy, although occasionally they would become unstable and put their other foot down.

"Hop on one leg," Yang Qingshuo said, demonstrating by hopping lightly on one leg first.

The female members, wearing soft-soled fitness shoes, hopped easily on one foot.

"Isn't it simple?" Yang Qingshuo asked.

"I jump rope a thousand times every day, so hopping on one leg is of course simple," the female members said easily, including the relatively obese ones.

Who couldn't hop around a few times?

"Your weight is generally around one hundred *jin* (approximately 110 pounds)," Yang Qingshuo said.

"I'm more than one hundred *jin*," a large, fat woman said with a laugh.

"In other words, the force of your single leg can easily bear more than one hundred *jin*, and you can still jump up," Yang Qingshuo said. "Kicking off the ground with one leg and jumping up, it's easy to generate two hundred *jin* of force instantly."

The female members nodded.

"Now, lift your leg and kick out," Yang Qingshuo said. "Hopping on one leg is kicking downwards! Lifting your leg is kicking straight ahead. It's the same muscle exertion as kicking off the ground."

Yang Qingshuo instructed.

"The same exertion as kicking off the ground?" The female members lifted their legs and kicked at the sandbag in front of them. With a bang, the sandbag shook.

The female members were incredibly surprised.

"Before, when I hit this sandbag, my fist hurt and my wrist hurt. When I kicked it, my foot hurt, and the sandbag didn't move. This time, it moved?"

"Kicking the sandbag like kicking off the ground?"

"So much power?"

The female members were discovering for the first time that kicking the sandbag was easy, and the power was quite great.

"This is called a front kick. Don't practice it too much, just twenty times a day. After a month, when the exertion is smooth, even a woman can easily generate two to three hundred *jin* of force," Yang Qingshuo said. "But this isn't what I want to teach you."

"Look closely. When you lift your leg and kick out, don't use your entire sole, use the front of your foot, near your toes!"

Yang Qingshuo casually kicked out, the front of his foot hitting the sandbag like a steel rod, making a dull thud.

"Normally, when you're wearing sports shoes or high heels! You can use the tip of your foot, with at least two to three hundred *jin* of force, and transmit it through the tip of your foot, which will have much greater penetrating power," Yang Qingshuo said.

"I understand. With the same pressure, the smaller the contact area, the greater the pressure," one of the female members said. "Compared to the entire sole, the pressure of a toe kick might be ten times greater."

"That's right, the pressure is much greater," Yang Qingshuo said with a smile. "This move has the mystery of *chuojiao* (poking foot) in traditional martial arts. Although your feet aren't as hard as those of professional athletes, everyone usually wears shoes, and the soles are harder than those of professional athletes! With at least two to three hundred *jin* of force, a toe kick can be used to kick people... even if you kick someone's thigh, it will hurt terribly."

"What if you kick a man's lower body..." one of the female members said, her eyes shining.

Yang Qingshuo quickly said, "You can only do this when you're facing real danger, for self-defense. This isn't an ordinary groin kick. Even if you don't hit the vital spot, just kicking someone in the abdomen, a normal man won't be able to handle it."

This was actually a 'simplified version' of *chuojiao*!

"People use their legs every day, walking for several hours, but no one in the world walks on their hands for several hours," Yang Qingshuo said. "People's leg strength is naturally much stronger than their arm strength. Even women's leg strength can match the arm strength of strongmen."

"Match the arm strength of strongmen? Those strongmen have arms thicker than my thighs," one of the female members said.

"You can stand on one leg for several minutes, and even hop," Yang Qingshuo said. "Let those strongmen hold more than a hundred *jin* with one hand for several minutes. How many of them can do that?"

"Don't underestimate your leg strength. Strongmen have thick arms, but in terms of muscle efficiency, they can't match your thigh muscles," Yang Qingshuo said confidently.

He was a professional martial arts athlete and knew very well the potential of leg muscle strength. Humans were upright animals, and their legs were inherently much stronger than their arms.

Women, when they unleash their leg strength, can easily deal with men who don't know martial arts.

"Coach Yang, there's a guest with the surname Xu looking for you," a member of the fitness club staff called out.

Yang Qingshuo immediately understood that Xu Jingming had arrived.