Chapter 6 Mastering Time

"Martial arts lesson six: Mastering time," Xu Jingming told his girlfriend.

"Mastering time?" Li Miaomiao asked, puzzled.

"Footwork is for mastering space," Xu Jingming said. "But actually, 'mastering time' is the key to becoming a top master. In combat, everyone's movements take time, arrows need time to travel through the air, and enemies need time to execute their moves. Neural reactions also require time!"

"We need to instinctively control these moments!" Xu Jingming said. "For example, when an enemy's move misses, it takes time to launch another attack. Or when I knock someone back with my spear, they need time to regain their balance."

"The passage of time on the battlefield is like flowing water," Xu Jingming said. "There's no need to calculate it deliberately, because there's no time for calculation in high-speed combat. But you need to experience this 'change of time'. With enough practice, you will naturally learn to control time."

"It's like walking. You don't think about whether to step with your left or right foot, but you still walk steadily."

"In combat, with enough practice, you will naturally find the changes in time on the battlefield. It's like being familiar with water and naturally using the changes in the flow. You will decide who to kill first and who to kill later based on time, and how to break the deadlock," Xu Jingming said.

"When I fight, I can only concentrate fully and dare not think about anything else," Li Miaomiao said.

"In intense combat, you may seem excited, but your mind will naturally grasp all the information and react quickly," Xu Jingming said.

"In intense combat, the mind grasps information faster and reacts faster?" Li Miaomiao asked, puzzled.

"Practice slowly," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "You just need to know that your goal is to master time! You can train in this area, and you will naturally become stronger. After cultivating the evolutionary method, people's potential is actually even greater, but many people don't know how to tap into it."

Li Miaomiao nodded.

"The first six lessons, when fully mastered and reaching a very high level, are enough to reach the second-tier limit," Xu Jingming said. "But if you want to reach the third or even fourth tier... it involves the mind."

"The mind?" Li Miaomiao listened.

"The will of the mind," Xu Jingming said. "Martial arts lesson seven: refining the mind (lianxin)."

"Refining the mind is about making the mind calmer. It's like being in the quiet of night, where you can hear the slightest sound," Xu Jingming said. "When your heart is calm enough, your body's senses will be much more acute!"

"The purpose of refining the mind is to make the body react more sensitively and quickly, and even to mobilize the deeper power within the body," Xu Jingming said.

"Is refining the mind really that magical?" Li Miaomiao asked curiously.

"I spend eight hours a day refining my mind; you know that," Xu Jingming said. "Actually, I only have a vague guess about refining the mind, and my understanding isn't very deep. But I can say for sure that the process of refining the mind can make the neural network signals in the body stronger, giving you greater control over your body."

Powerful nerve signals greatly improve the degree of body control.

"I myself am only at the fourth tier," Xu Jingming said. "So I can only give people a little guidance on this aspect of refining the mind."

"Oh."

Li Miaomiao nodded, still somewhat uncertain.

Refining the mind? Nerve signals? Body control?

"The eighth lesson is the shield technique course, and the ninth lesson is the spear technique course," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "The first seven lessons represent the basic system of martial arts and can be applied to the use of all weapons. But what I have accumulated the most deeply is shield technique and spear technique! So the last two lessons are about these two weapons."

Li Miaomiao understood. Since she practiced swordsmanship, she didn't ask any more about the shield and spear technique courses.

"Nine martial arts lessons," Li Miaomiao nodded slightly. "The power of moves, the speed of moves, footwork, the transmission of power, relative speed, mastering time, refining the mind, plus shield and spear techniques."

"I feel like martial arts weapon combat has suddenly become a lot clearer," Li Miaomiao exclaimed.

"You're a college graduate, after all, so it's easy for you to understand," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "But theoretical understanding is easy. The training methods I've put together still require hard work. And you need to experience and comprehend them yourself in training and actual combat! Only what you experience yourself becomes your own."

Li Miaomiao nodded and praised, "I think you teach better than Master Liu Hai."

"Although Master Liu Hai teaches in a simpler and more direct way, that's a fool's method. He doesn't explain the fundamental principles, but only makes people practice what he teaches over and over again," Li Miaomiao said. "You know what to do, but you don't know why. Over time, you'll become confused, and you'll also be confused when you encounter bottlenecks."

"Jingming, you teach the principles first, giving people a clear direction in their minds. Then you give the training methods. I think it feels more solid and gives me more confidence when I practice," Li Miaomiao said.

Xu Jingming smiled slightly, "Let's not talk about this. Hurry up and edit the courses!"

"Today's third and fourth lessons should start charging, right?" Li Miaomiao also felt a sense of urgency.

"Yes, the paid courses are about to begin," Xu Jingming nodded.

The first hour is free!

His first martial arts lesson was 28 minutes long, and the second lesson was 25 minutes long. Only a small part of the third lesson was free, and the rest would be charged.

Of course, no matter how long the entire paid course is, the fee is fixed at one Blue Star coin. The fee isn't expensive, and it's just a test for people. Do you really like it? If you don't like it, you probably won't pay for it.

At more than 11 p.m., Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao edited the courses and uploaded the third martial arts lesson, 'Footwork,' and the fourth martial arts lesson, 'Transmission of Power,' to the martial arts hall.

"The paid courses have begun," Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao were both nervous.

Xu Jingming was nervous about whether people would like the detailed nine martial arts lessons that he had prepared so carefully and spent so much effort on. What would people's evaluations be?

...

Time passed, and it was the afternoon of the next day in the blink of an eye.

In the Life Evolution Bureau, sunlight shone through the windows, and the sound of waves lapping could be faintly heard.

Director Zhou sat at his desk, also watching the courses in the martial arts hall, all of which were courses by the world's top masters.

"Although these people are all top masters in the world, most of them fail when it comes to teaching," Director Zhou shook his head as he watched. "But that's to be expected. After all, there are few who are strong and can also teach."

"Liu Hai's number of paid views has just reached 2 billion, and the rating is 8.7," Director Zhou looked at the data. "Xu Jingming's paid courses have been online for less than a day, and the number of paid views is 1.2 billion, and the rating is 8.3?"

Director Zhou frowned slightly.

From a personal point of view, he preferred Xu Jingming's courses.

They clearly analyzed the essence of martial arts weapon combat, with practical exercises and detailed training methods.

"It seems that I overestimated the level of education of people around the world. The level of education in many places, such as African countries and the Tianzhu Kingdom, is still not high enough. Although the Blue Star Alliance is popularizing welfare and making efforts to popularize education, many people just won't study even if you give them money," Director Zhou shook his head. "Maybe Liu Hai's fool-style teaching, which doesn't talk about the essence but only tells the simplest training methods, is more popular with these people?"

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Director Zhou said.

The secretary walked in and said, "I just received news that Tiano Xire will be live streaming at 11 p.m. tonight."

"Oh?" Director Zhou raised his eyebrows.

"Judging from the number of paid views, no one else can threaten Xu Jingming and Liu Hai at all," the secretary said. "But Tiano Xire's influence is no less than that of Liu Hai and Xu Jingming. I guess... the final total score ranking will still be a battle for first place among the three of them."

Director Zhou nodded, "Okay, I understand."

The three people's live broadcast times were separated from each other. Xu Jingming was at 9 p.m., Liu Hai was at 10 p.m., and Tiano Xire was at 11 p.m. The global public didn't need to worry about who to watch.

...

Virtual world.

Pang Ze sat in front of the window, facing the space view.

"As expected of Xu Jingming, who I'm optimistic about," Pang Ze looked at the courses. "Now he's starting to analyze martial arts with science. With such clear thinking, he can hope to go further in martial arts."

"The people of my hometown will only understand when they truly enter the universe that everything is in accordance with science."

"Martial arts also conform to science." Pang Ze looked at the evaluation score and shook his head slightly. "Even though he's explained it so simply, the rating is only 8.3? There's no way around it. This is, after all, the evaluation of people around the world, and it can't be changed by individual will."