Liu Hai’s team won.
“Beautiful!”
“Nicely done!” The crowds cheered. Mrs. Xu and Li Miaomiao were also happy, and Grandpa Xu was all smiles. Wang Yi, Heng Fang, Yang Qingshuo, and Liu Chongyuan also felt admiration for the senior. Only Xu Jingming himself… stared at the scene in front of him in a daze.
When his father struck out with his dual shields, his entire body erupted with essence, energy, and spirit. His eyes were filled with fervor, and he was like a tiger in the flesh.
With a pounce, the enemy was sent flying!
Images flashed across Xu Jingming’s mind.
When he was young, his father taught him the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce. His father loved this move and practiced Tiger Pounce day and night for 40 years. To his father, it was a move that had been integrated into his life.
“I get it,” Xu Jingming murmured.
“Jingming, what’s wrong?” Li Miaomiao looked at Xu Jingming.
“I’m going to the martial arts arena to practice for a while. Get me when the competition begins,” Xu Jingming said.
“Ours is the 11th match, so you have about five hours. It’s still early,” Li Miaomiao said immediately when she noticed the change in her boyfriend.
Xu Jingming nodded and disappeared from the stands.
******
Xu Jing appeared in the martial arts arena in his personal space.
Very few people chose to stay in the martial arts arena and forgo watching the competition.
I love spearmanship and every move and stance of it!
“I’m obsessed with the speed of my spearmanship. I thrust my spear more than a thousand times a day. I remember that when my spearmanship reached 18 meters per second, I was so excited in the national team that I jumped for joy; I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” Xu Jingming murmured. “I even gave up on the combo aspect of spearmanship and pursued maximum speed. For this, I studied the anatomical diagrams of a body, the structure of the muscles, ligaments, and bones, and drew pictures of them. I studied my strength delivery using physics in a way I never did even for my exams. Finally, I created Shadowless Thrust! When I gave up the combo aspect of spearmanship and defense, my maximum speed for a thrust… reached 25 meters per second! In the World Martial Arts Tournament, as long as I found an opportunity to use Shadowless Thrust, the enemy would definitely lose!”
I love the Eight Extremities Fist. With the force delivery technique of Eight Extremities Iron Mountain, I created the ultimate move, Mountain Shattering. Xu Jingming thought to himself, I’ve practiced Eight Extremities Poking Foot and my spearmanship since I was a child. I only love spearmanship when it comes to weapons. In the virtual world, I mostly practice spearmanship.
As for shield techniques? Xu Jingming recalled the past. They were purely a tool. Master Liu Hai taught me, allowing me to control my body’s strength better. It’s a form of Taiji training. When I practice shield techniques, I do manage my entire body’s strength more and more meticulously… But from beginning to end, shield techniques were only tools for me.
When have I ever loved shield techniques? Perhaps… only at the moment when I unleash the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce using a shield technique, Xu Jingming thought to himself.
He recalled the first Divine battle, where he used his shield technique to unleash Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce and sent Sun Yuting flying. He felt delighted and euphoric then. This was because using this move gave him strong feelings; they were feelings that he had gained from practicing the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce since he was a child.
Xu Jingming thought to himself, Father didn’t practice shield techniques much in the past; he only started practicing shield techniques after entering the virtual world. He used his dual shields to unleash the Eight Extremities! Everything was fluid. In fact, after I retired, I gradually integrated the Eight Extremities into my shield techniques. It’s just that I didn’t continue in the virtual world!
I also love the Eight Extremities—it is the first kungfu I’ve practiced since I was a child. Eight Extremities Punch, Shoulder, Back, Fist, Palm… There’s nowhere I can’t exert force, Xu Jingming thought. The shield techniques Master taught me are very brilliant; they borrow the force of the impact and are very good at controlling the enemy. I’ve reached Lv. 2 99% from just practicing the basics, but a brilliant shield technique doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for me.
No matter what shield technique it is, I have to love it from the bottom of my heart. Xu Jingming came to a realization. If I don’t love it, how can my mind perfectly control every part of my body? I want to practice shield techniques—Eight Extremities Shield Technique!
Xu Jingming’s eyes burned as he tapped the interface and set up a sparring assistant—a metal dummy appeared in front of him. Set it to 100 tons.
The metal dummy connected to the base plate, and the plate probably took up half of its weight. It landed very steadily on the ground.
A complete Eight Extremities Shield Technique! Just the thought of it makes me excited! Xu Jingming extended his hands and held a shield in each hand as he walked in front of the metal dummy. He then raised the shield in his right hand and leaned his shoulder against the shield before slamming it into the dummy.
Bang!
The dummy trembled, and the base plate moved slightly back.
I’ll warm up first. Xu Jingming leaned his right shoulder against the shield and slammed into the metal dummy a few times; then, he switched to his right shoulder and did a few more slams.
Following this, he simply slammed his body into the dummy, slamming his chest and back. Xu Jingming was overjoyed. His entire body swayed like a bear, leaning against the dummy using one side one moment and another side another moment.
Every Bear Leaning caused the 100-ton dummy to tremble and move; it was obvious that Xu Jingming could exert all his strength through every part of his body.
Weapons are only an extension of the body. The body has to exert its full strength first before the weapon can exert its full strength, Xu Jingming thought. Physical force delivery was the most basic part of weapons.
Xu Jingming used Bear Leaning on the metal dummy a hundred times before stopping.
I’m done with the warm-up. Actually, Bear Leaning is quite comfortable. Xu Jingming looked at the dummy in front of him.”Next is… Eight Extremities Crush!
His father loved the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce the most.
Xu Jingming wasn’t as obsessed as his father; he loved many of the Eight Extremities moves, such as Eight Extremities Crush. His love for it wasn’t inferior to the Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce.
Bam.
Xu Jingming exerted strength with his foot, and the ground trembled faintly. The shield in Xu Jingming’s hand then struck the dummy like a bolt of lightning, causing the dummy to move more than ten centimeters back from the impact and leave a ditch in the ground.
Eight Extremities Crush is like a burst of lightning. Its force is delivered faster and more expeditious. Xu Jingming practiced happily. He stomped his foot, and the shield crashed into the dummy, causing it to move back by more than ten centimeters again.
Xu Jingming constantly executed his attacks, every move at close range. Every time the shield collided with the metal dummy, the impact was terrifying.
Eight Extremities Crush was the most practiced move among the Eight Extremities Fists. There were relatively fewer Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce practitioners.
Eight Extremities Tiger Pounce was the most ferocious move, but that was a pounce—it needed a distance of two to three steps! This distance was needed to raise one’s speed fully; it was a pounce that was powered by the momentum of one’s entire body. Sometimes, one didn’t have the chance to use it in combat.
For example, in the first Divine battle, Xu Jingming only suddenly charged out and lunged forward when Sun Yuting was about to charge at the sharpshooter.
But Eight Extremities Crush was different. He didn’t need distance; he could even use it at close range. Xu Jingming’s sweeping technique originated from Eight Extremities Crush.
He practiced more than 100 Eight Extremities Crushes in one go.
Eight Extremities, Mountain Cleave! Xu Jingming switched moves again. He held his two shields and looked at the metal dummy in front of him before suddenly raising his two shields and advancing.
Whoosh.
He suddenly exerted strength with his raised right shield, and the right arm holding the shield swung down like a huge ax!
Heaven and earth are connected in one breath! Mountain Cleave! Xu Jingming still remembered the Eight Extremities Fist technique from his family’s books. The ancients might not have studied the body so thoroughly, so they could only guide it with their intent.
Xu Jingming struck the metal dummy with the edge of the shield. The edge of the shield was also very sharp, not inferior to a heavy weapon’s chop!
This strike naturally fused his body and strength. From a physical point of view, it also carried gravitational potential energy!
Bam.
The metal dummy’s chest caved in from the strike, and it trembled before moving back a little.
Eight Extremities, Mountain Cleave! Xu Jingming continued practicing, and the edge of his shield struck the metal dummy like a huge ax.
As Xu Jingming practiced, he subconsciously smiled.
Just like when he was a child, he happily practiced the Eight Extremities Fist in front of a target. Back then, he practiced Bear Leaning, Shoulder Leaning, Back Leaning, Elbow Strike… He also practiced the five killer moves his father had taught him: Tiger Pounce, Crush, Mountain Cleave, Sky Piercing Cannon, and Tiger Climbing.
Other children were having fun in soccer classes or other forms of entertainment, but Xu Jingming was practicing the Eight Extremities Fist. He enjoyed practicing.
After mastering the Eight Extremities Fist, he practiced Poking Foot and then the spear.
He had practiced the Eight Extremities Fist the longest.