Chapter 30

Xu Jingming's fighting spirit ignited. When he joined the national team, his master was already over sixty and could no longer engage in full-force battles with him. Even during the first World Martial Arts Competition, his master was forty-five years old. Just how strong his peak was indeed remained a mystery.

"Put on your armor, and take up your spear," Liu Hai said.

"Armor against plain clothes?" Xu Jingming looked at Liu Hai, "Master is really confident. I won't hold back then!" As he spoke, dark red lightweight armor appeared on his body, and he held a large spear in his hand.

Wearing armor and holding a spear! He had an absolute advantage in equipment.

"Master, be careful." Xu Jingming was about to make his move.

"Wait a moment." Liu Hai extended his hand to stop him and asked, "What are your physical stats?"

"115," Xu Jingming replied.

"I'll adjust my physical stats first, otherwise, it would be too unfair to you." Liu Hai began to manually adjust, shortening the practice time of the Evolution Technique, which naturally lowered his physical stats.

Usually, he would adjust to the physical limit, like Xu Jingming, who adjusted to '735 days of practice' to reach the limit. If changed to '100 days of practice,' his body would be much weaker.

"Alright, practice time adjusted to 68 days, physical stats 115, the same as you." Liu Hai nodded in satisfaction.

Xu Jingming's face changed. He practiced the 'Heaven Python Evolution Technique,' reaching the intermediate level of 20%, which required 735 days to achieve a physical stat of 115.

Master only needed 68 days to reach a physical stat of 115?

"Master, has your Evolution Technique reached the advanced level?" Xu Jingming asked.

"Yes, the 'Fierce Tiger Evolution Technique' advanced level." Liu Hai nodded slightly, "Don't panic. I estimate that globally, the number of people who can currently reach the advanced level of the Evolution Technique is no more than a handful."

Xu Jingming was secretly amazed. Master was indeed formidable. He had fought with Gao Chong, Wang Qiao, and others, and the gap in physical strength wasn't that significant. They were all likely at the intermediate level of the Evolution Technique.

"A short-term lead doesn't mean much. After all, I've practiced for nearly fifty years more than you!" Liu Hai said, "Having a slight advantage at the beginning is normal."

"Now that our physical stats are the same, I'll be in plain clothes with a single saber." Liu Hai looked at his disciple with interest, "If you have the ability, defeat me."

"Master, be careful."

Xu Jingming's spear trembled, and the long spear, like a dragon, turned into a blurred shadow, heading straight for Liu Hai's chest.

Liu Hai stood still, not moving an inch, and directly slashed out with his saber.

"Bang!"

Liu Hai's saber light was like a whip, striking the spear. Xu Jingming felt the spear waver and veer to the side. At the same time, Liu Hai advanced, closing in on Xu Jingming.

"Single saber splitting the spear?" Although Xu Jingming was surprised, he immediately turned the spear and swept it horizontally at Liu Hai. The force of this sweep was enough to crush a house.

"Clang." Liu Hai blocked with his single saber, and the shadow of the saber blurred. Xu Jingming felt his spear as if it were stuck, unable to exert force.

After blocking the spear, Liu Hai took a step and swung his saber.

This saber was too fast.

Everyone said that Old Master Liu Jianfeng's sword was fast, but Liu Hai's saber... was even faster.

Xu Jingming tried to dodge, but his legs were fine, and his movement techniques were flawless. Yet, he couldn't make it in time! The spear tried to block, but it was also too late.

"Thud." The saber light flashed, and Xu Jingming felt it graze his chest. He looked down and saw that his armor, like tofu, had been neatly sliced, leaving a saber mark.

Xu Jingming looked at the saber mark on his chest and could only helplessly tap his personal panel to restore to his peak state.

"I lost." Xu Jingming stood there, full of confusion, "Master, with my spear against your single saber, why can you split my spear with a single strike?"

"Because my single strike is more powerful than yours," Liu Hai said.

"When I sweep with my spear, it doesn't move," Xu Jingming said, "The force is completely neutralized."

"My defense is better, so I can neutralize the force of your spear," Liu Hai smiled, "The reason I killed you with one strike is that my speed is faster than your spear! You couldn't block or escape."

"Is the gap so big?" Xu Jingming was somewhat dazed, "I know Master is strong, teaching so many disciples, understanding various schools and weapons, and having excellent techniques to teach all the disciples. But..."

"But when I was old, I didn't engage in full-force battles with you." Liu Hai said, "If I had the same young body as you, I would have bullied you all, hahaha... It feels great to be young again."

"Don't be discouraged."

Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming, "After all, I've practiced for nearly fifty years more than you! And during the twenty years as the head coach of the national team, teaching disciples with various special skills, I've gained a lot. Teaching you also inspired me, and my techniques have matured. Seventy years of growth have led to my current skills."

Xu Jingming nodded.

"Now, looking globally, my combat skills might still have an advantage," Liu Hai said, "But today is the first day of the virtual world's opening! Whether it's the training ground function or the life-and-death battles in the combat space... people's skills will grow very quickly. In the future, you will all reach my level of combat skills, or even surpass me."

"Today, I called you here to teach you some of my insights," Liu Hai said, "To help you avoid detours and improve faster."

"Master..." Xu Jingming was somewhat moved.

"I'm not just teaching you alone. I'll teach the few disciples I see potential in," Liu Hai said, "After all, the future is about team competition. A team of five people, relying on one person won't work. In the future, when our country competes with other countries in martial arts, you will all be key figures."

"Starting now, listen and learn well," Liu Hai looked at his disciple, "What I teach you is the insight from my seventy years of martial arts practice."

Xu Jingming listened.

"In the past, I didn't want to force growth, fearing it would harm you. Now, with the virtual world, you can learn well." Liu Hai held his saber with one hand, "The first thing I'll teach you is how to generate power!"

"Power generation techniques?" Xu Jingming listened carefully.

His power generation techniques were already quite formidable, allowing him to create moves like the Shadowless Thrust and Mountain Breaker.

"Power generation is the key to combat. My power generation techniques are more advanced, so with the same physical stats, my speed is faster, and my strength is greater," Liu Hai said, "It's like an adult hitting a child, easy to do."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Wearing armor and holding a spear, he was still overpowered by his master. This was the huge gap in power generation techniques.

"I practiced Xingyi from a young age, and later, Grandmaster Liu taught me Tai Chi. Although I later studied various martial arts, the core... is still Tai Chi! Using Tai Chi to integrate all schools."

Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming, "You should know that the key to power generation is the spine! The spine is like a dragon, connecting the upper and lower body. Power transmission must flow through each joint to unify the entire body's strength, making the burst of power stronger."

Xu Jingming nodded.

"But to take power to the next level, it's not just about flowing through each joint," Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming, "It's about... the body being like water!"

"Body like water?" Xu Jingming was puzzled.

"The body is like water, flowing naturally." Liu Hai's body moved back and forth, like a large snake, with joints and muscles moving naturally, "Moving back and forth, swaying left and right, everything is natural."

"Once the body generates power, it flows like water, naturally, without any obstruction." Liu Hai slapped the ground, and the air exploded, creating a large pit in the ground.

"Generating power from the feet, the body moves quickly." Liu Hai's body moved, and his figure blurred, moving far away, faster than Old Master Liu Jianfeng.

"Generating power from the hands, it's as fast as lightning, with immense power." Liu Hai swung his single saber, and the saber light tore through the air, causing the ground to crack.

"Integrating the mind and will into every part of the body, sensing every part, making everything effortless." Liu Hai said, "With a single thought, the move is already made, speed and power reaching the highest level."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

"Remember this: the body is like water, the mind integrated into every part of the body, sensing every part, making everything effortless." Liu Hai said, "Strive to practice the shield technique in this state. For now, don't integrate 'Bajiquan' into the shield technique, just practice with Tai Chi methods. This is about practicing power generation and body control."

"Once your body control reaches a certain level, your power generation techniques will naturally reach new heights." Liu Hai said.

"Disciple understands," Xu Jingming said.

"Before, I was afraid you might practice incorrectly or even injure your body. In the virtual world, there's no need to worry about that." Liu Hai smiled, "What I just taught you is the first thing. Now, I'll teach you the second, practical combat!"