Chapter 125: The Power of Ultimate Strength, No Secrets Can Be Kept from These Eyes (4K)

Chapter 125: The Power of Ultimate Strength, No Secrets Can Be Kept from These Eyes (4K)



"Then I'll call you Xiao Jing," Jiang Siwei said, suppressing her excitement and putting on a calm and sincere smile.

She opened her briefcase and took out a sealed manila envelope. Without breaking the seal, she tore it open and pulled out a document of about six or seven pages.

"The club used special connections to register you as a signed player and seeded you for this U19 elimination tournament ahead of time..." She explained as she presented the document. "This is your official contract, which they said could only be opened in your presence. I'm seeing it for the first time as well. Please wait a moment while I go over it."

"Take your time," Xue Jing replied with a smile.

A waiter in a server's uniform approached and politely asked, "Sir, would you like something to drink?"

Xue Jing glanced at Jiang Siwei, who was intently reviewing the contract, and said, "Bring me a bottle of Coke, and another cup of coffee, please."

Dressed so professionally, this urban beauty probably enjoys her coffee.

"What kind of coffee would you like?" the waiter inquired.

"I'm not sure," Xue Jing replied amicably. "You choose for me."

After a while, the waiter returned with a can of Coke and a cup of steaming coffee, setting them on the table. "Enjoy your drinks."

Xue Jing picked up the Coke, popped the tab, and took a sip.

Across the table, Jiang Siwei flipped through the contract, her frown deepening with each page.

'What a strange contract...' she thought. 'A one-year contract with a monthly salary of 2,300... This is just the minimum wage, a formality to comply with the law.'

'All competition prizes go directly to the individual... No obligatory requirements... All activities are based on their personal wishes...'

Jiang Siwei's lips twitched as her newfound ambition crumbled.

No wonder they had her take on this newcomer, who was clearly destined for stardom and a future Martial Arts megastar.

This person wasn't a serious competitor but more like a well-connected second-generation elite using the club's platform to enter the Martial Arts competition scene for the experience.

She had thought she would finally have a chance to shine and mentor a rising star.

Sighing, Jiang Siwei closed the contract and pushed it towards Xue Jing. "I've finished reading, and it looks fine. Xiao Jing, please take a look, and sign if you agree."

Despite her disappointment, she mustered a smile for Xue Jing. "At least you're a pleasure to look at."

Xue Jing took the contract, flipped it open, and quickly scanned the pages. With his enhanced mental abilities from his Martial Arts training and skill boosts, he could understand each of the dozen or so clauses on a page in just two seconds. He nonchalantly flipped through the pages, making it seem like he was barely skimming, and finished the entire contract in no time, as if speed-reading.

"Done," Xue Jing nodded.

Just as Wu Youqing had said, it was a contract with virtually no restrictions.

He took the pen and seal that Jiang Siwei offered and signed his name in the "Party B" section, then pressed his thumb into the inkpad and left his thumbprint.

"Great! Now let me brief you on the schedule for the U19 elimination tournament here in Fengcheng," Jiang Siwei said, putting away the contract and smiling at Xue Jing.

"There are a total of 32 participants in this tournament, 12 of whom are seeded players from various clubs..."

"The list of participants will be officially announced tomorrow, followed by a draw, and the tournament will kick off the day after tomorrow."

"The first round is a knockout from 32 to 16, spread over two days with eight matches per day. There will then be a day of rest before the second round, which is the round of 16, begins on the fourth day. After that, there will be three days of rest..."

As Jiang Siwei explained the schedule, Xue Jing calculated the timing in his head and realized it would work around his trip to the newly discovered borderland with White Crow.

There were five days left until the deadline they had set for their expedition.

'The first round, 32 to 16, will take two days, with a day of rest afterward...' Xue Jing thought to himself.

'That means the second round, 16 to 8, will fall on the fifth day, right at the deadline. I can finish the match and then head straight to the borderland for the mission. Perfect timing.'

After explaining the tournament schedule, Jiang Siwei reached into her briefcase and pulled out a thick stack of documents, placing them on the table with a thud.

"I've prepared detailed information on about fifty potential competitors in advance. Although the official list of participants hasn't been announced yet, they're likely to be among these fifty. Xiao Jing, take a look and get to know your opponents." Jiang Siwei said, handing over a thick stack of documents to Xue Jing.

Xue Jing gave her a glance before picking up the stack and casually flipping to a page.

It was a profile of a competitor named Gu Hongding, complete with a photo, age, fighting style, martial arts school, things to watch out for when fighting him, past records, and detailed accounts of his matches. The information was extensive and presented neatly, making it easy to understand at a glance.

"You've put a lot of effort into this, Wei Jie," Xue Jing praised.

Although this information would most likely be of little use to him.

But Xue Jing took note of Jiang Siwei's dedication, capability, and attention to detail in her work.

"I'm glad to be of help," Jiang Siwei smiled.

"By the way, the list of participants will be announced tomorrow. After the draw, Fengcheng TV will be here to interview the competitors, and there's also a famous variety show that's currently filming and would love to have professional martial artists on their program..."

Xue Jing waved his hand dismissively, "No thanks, decline all of them."

Jiang Siwei's eyes showed that she had expected as much.

This guy was here for the experience and not to build a career as a professional competitor.

He had no interest in creating a personal brand.

"Then there's..."

...

After chatting a while longer about the competition, it was already past 11 p.m.

Xue Jing invited Jiang Siwei to a late-night supper at a well-reviewed restaurant before seeing her off.

Upon returning to the Yunlu Hotel, Xue Jing took the elevator up to his floor, located his room, and unlocked the door with his key card.

As always, Wu Youqing had arranged for him to stay in a luxurious suite.

The room was spacious, with elegant decor, soft beige carpets, and an enormous bed fit for a king—it could easily accommodate five people. It had a separate study, a living room, and even a wall filled with a wine cabinet and bar for mixing cocktails. There was also a room packed with fitness equipment.

Xue Jing unpacked his luggage, stretched, and then headed to the bathroom for a shower. After changing into a bathrobe, he lay down on the soft bed.

Finally, some downtime after a busy day.

He calmed his mind and sank into his consciousness space.

Countless pixels swirled and formed a spacious training dojo with a burgundy wooden floor.

Soon, a figure clad in a white training uniform appeared—Xue Jing.

He clenched his fist, sensing his body, and confirmed that the data was accurate before focusing his thoughts.

The pixels rearranged to form a sturdy figure.

With waist-length hair, a rugged face, and knotted muscles, it was Yin Mouhu.

Although they had only met recently, Xue Jing and Yin Mouhu had 'sparred,' and through that intricate exchange of subtle forces, he had gathered enough data to manifest Yin Mouhu in his consciousness space.

While he hadn't actually fought him and thus didn't know his combat style, school, or killer moves, Xue Jing only needed to replicate the unique way Yin Mouhu channeled his force for the 'Kongo Nyoi-Shu' technique. The current manifestation of 'Yin Mouhu' in front of him was more than sufficient for that purpose.

"The uniqueness of any martial arts school lies in how it pairs its distinctive force channeling methods with the physical conditioning cultivated through its training regimen to achieve maximum effect," Xue Jing mused.

"The same goes for the 'Kongo Nyoi-Shu.' Its distinctive force channeling technique also requires the physical conditioning cultivated through its specific training methods to achieve such remarkable results."

"However, the 'Canglong' school that I practice emphasizes versatility, and it also covers both strength and subtlety in force application. Adapting it to the force channeling of the 'Kongo Nyoi-Shu' technique may not yield the best results, but it won't be far off."

He turned his gaze to the 'Yin Mouhu' before him.

With the upgraded Level 5 [Observation·True] skill, the manifestation was incredibly lifelike, almost as if it had gained a degree of sentience.

Sensing Xue Jing's gaze, 'Yin Mouhu' nodded and extended his fan-like hand to grip Xue Jing's shoulder.

An immensely solid force penetrated Xue Jing's body through his fingertips.

Xue Jing made no attempt to defend, choosing instead to take the brunt of the force with his pure, unenhanced physical body.

It was an extremely pure force, untainted by any external influence.

Generally, martial artists' use of force, though distinguished by hardness and softness, doesn't adhere rigidly to extremes of 'absolute hardness' or 'absolute softness'.

Take the Shaking Star Fire, a killing move of the Canglong style; while it's inherently a soft force technique, it also incorporates a hint of hardness as a trigger.

Without that touch of hardness as a signal for the attack, pure softness, or absolute gentleness, becomes a 'benevolent move' with no offensive capability, theoretically unable even to kill an ant.

Moreover, achieving absolute softness or hardness is unimaginably difficult.

However, the force entering Xue Jing's body was different.

It was - pure hardness.

Starting from his shoulder, countless bloody holes were punctured into Xue Jing's skin.

As if pierced by sharp, thick steel needles, the extremely forceful strike wreaked havoc inside Xue Jing's body.

"Undiluted by any soft force, pure hardness, in principle, should be impossible to shape; it can't even change by a hair's breadth. This force, once unleashed, maintains its form."

"However, the force of the Kongo Nyoi-Shu technique, upon entering my body, can be molded at will, transforming into blade-like or needle-like shapes... It's truly incomprehensible."

Ignoring the intense pain in his shoulder, Xue Jing fell into deep thought.

This almost shattered his current understanding of martial arts.

"Again," Xue Jing said, restoring his body to its pre-injured state and addressing Yin Mouhu.

The latter nodded and switched to a different approach, throwing a punch aimed at Xue Jing's abdomen.

The louder the strike, the higher the proportion of hard force in the fist. Unyielding hardness in a fist makes no concessions to air resistance, showing no intention of following the airflow. A punch like that, when unleashed, creates intense air friction, sending out a circle of huge white waves that extend for several meters.

"Bang!"

The size of a sand pot, Yin Mouhu's fist landed on Xue Jing's stomach, emitting a sound painful to the ears. Xue Jing's abdomen was almost pierced through, leaving a large bloody hole. His body was sent flying dozens of meters, sticking to the wall of the dojo, leaving a human-shaped dent.

Viscous and fragrant, like shimmering rubies, blood oozed from Xue Jing's mouth, but he paid it no mind, intently feeling and comprehending every detail of this strike.

His mental willpower had become increasingly resilient, and even this level of pain, enough to knock out an ordinary person, posed no challenge to him, unable to interfere with his clear consciousness.

Only after committing every detail of the strike to memory did Xue Jing open his eyes.

"Again!"

Bang!

"Again!"

Puh...

"Again!"

...

Countless times, Xue Jing endured the blows of Yin Mouhu's Kongo Nyoi-Shu technique.

His waist halved by a hand chop, his heart pierced by a finger, kicked flying into the sky by a foot...

From countless angles and through countless parts of his body, Xue Jing experienced and comprehended the secrets of the Kongo Nyoi-Shu technique.

"Puh—"

His waist pierced through by a spear hand, Xue Jing felt the countless subtle forces rampaging and tearing at his internal organs, his eyes revealing a hint of enlightenment.

"Extreme hardness begets extreme softness... Excessive hardness invites breakage..."

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he mused, "I think I understand now...

"So, the principle is unexpectedly simple."

The pixel blocks rotated, repairing his injured body.

Xue Jing extended his palm, manifesting a transparent glass in his hand.

He clenched his fist, shattering the glass into pieces.

"Glass is an extremely hard material; a gentle bend will cause it to shatter, making it impossible to knead and shape. Pure hardness is like glass."

"And when hardness reaches its extreme, its structure becomes equally fragile, for extreme hardness begets extreme brittleness!"

"A slight touch will cause it to disintegrate."

Xue Jing kneaded the glass shards in his palm, and when he opened his hand again, only a pile of glass powder remained.

"When extreme hardness shatters, it's like glass turning into glass powder... Naturally, the powder can be molded into any shape!"

"The secret of the Kongo Nyoi-Shu technique lies in this: first, shatter the pure hardness into powder, then control these 'powder forces' to move as one wishes..."

"In this way, this extremely hard force is even more malleable than soft force."

Xue Jing struck a chuunibyou pose, covering half his face with one hand as his pupils turned silver, gazing at Yin Mouhu.

"I see through it all.

"Before these eyes, you have no secrets."

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end