The Way of Restraint

Chapter 160: Foundation as Solid as a Tower

“Your movements aren’t fast enough, your strikes aren’t ruthless enough. Real-world bodyguarding isn’t a ring fight. Whip kicks and sweeping kicks are useless. Punches, grappling, takedowns, splitting tendons, dislocating bones—these are what you need to practice more. Your lower body needs to be stable and agile. Practice this footwork first.”

Shen Dao was giving a lesson, with at least twenty or thirty burly men sitting on the ground, listening to his explanation.

He gestured casually, his hands and feet moving extremely quickly.

The fighting techniques he used were mysterious yet simple, each move a highly lethal strike.

“Coach.” Just then, a burly man stood up, walked to his side, and whispered something in his ear.

“Oh?” Shen Dao looked over.

Su Jie recognized the burly man who had spoken earlier; he was one of the six bodyguards he had taken down that day. He was still walking with some discomfort, clearly the cramp in his thigh hadn’t fully healed. “It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone,” as the saying goes, and only half a month has passed; they’re almost fully healed.

“Let’s go over there,” Yu Jiang said to Su Jie.

Su Jie also wanted to exchange blows with this expert, so he strode over. Several burly men whispered amongst themselves, some even exchanging unfriendly glances, their eyes filled with malice.

Clearly, news of Su Jie defeating six bodyguards had already spread.

These bodyguards were naturally resentful.

“Shen Dao, this is the expert I recommended to you, Su Jie,” Yu Jiang introduced, then sat down on the ground, letting Shen Dao and Su Jie exchange blows; he was there to watch the show.

He was familiar with Shen Dao’s strength, and Su Jie was even more unfathomable in his eyes. What sparks would fly when these two experts clashed?

Yu Jiang even started recording a short video on his phone.

“So you’re the one who beat up our six bodyguards?” Shen Dao’s first words to Su Jie were scathing, followed by a roar: “You all step forward!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the six bodyguards who had been beaten stood up abruptly.

“Apologize to him,” Shen Dao ordered. “Then punish yourselves: three hundred push-ups, three hundred crunches, one hour of planking, and a five-kilometer run.”

“Yes, sir!” The six bodyguards bowed deeply to Su Jie and accepted their punishment.

“Did you see that? Six well-trained men couldn’t even handle a college student! Where did all the training I gave you go?” Shen Dao roared. “Do you know how much of a rip-off this will be if Boss Yun finds out? I, your instructor, am losing face because of you all! And yet you’re all shamelessly bragging here. Which of you can step up and defeat him, salvaging the reputation of Jiu Ding Security?”

Su Jie, hearing this, remained unconcerned. Although Shen Dao was outwardly reprimanding the men, he was actually targeting him. “I came here today for an exchange, so this kind of scene was expected. Otherwise, how can we have a peaceful exchange?”

“I’ll go!”

A burly man suddenly stood up and walked towards Su Jie.

“So? Any objections?” Shen Dao didn’t even bother with a greeting, going straight to asking for his consent.

This was the style of a tough man.

“Forget it, he’s no match for me. You go yourself, no need for them to test me.” Su Jie waved his hand; he saw through Shen Dao’s little scheme.

“This kid’s too arrogant, beat him up.”

“Go for it!”

A group of burly onlookers were all enraged.

Roar!

The burly man who had challenged him pounced, not using leg techniques as expected, but suddenly diving in, grappling, and attempting a knee strike using a neck clamp.

These were all very practical, but very unsightly, barbaric tactics.

Without even looking, Su Jie slid to the side, suddenly thrusting his leg high into the air, striking the burly man squarely in the head, knocking him unconscious.

“A high kick can be quite useful sometimes,” Su Jie smiled at Shen Dao. “Come on, among all these people, only you can be my match.”

“Alright!” Shen Dao casually ripped his vest to shreds, revealing numerous scars—knife wounds, gunshot wounds—not as many as Daru’s, but many showing signs of fatal injury.

He didn’t immediately pounce, but instead took a few steps, observing Su Jie’s build, position, size, and striking area, combining all the data to formulate a battle plan in his mind.

Just like in battle.

Waaaah…

Suddenly, Shen Dao moved.

Su Jie felt as if a supercar was starting up and crashing violently towards him. The force was so great that even an elephant would be sent flying. Any expert would dodge at the sight of such a bloody impact.

But Su Jie didn’t dodge.

He met force with force.

After mastering his external martial arts, virtually no one could compete with him in terms of physical strength.

This rendered his “Thirteen Protectors’ Golden Bell Iron Shirt Dragon-Tiger Vajra Qi Gong” useless.

Now that Shen Dao was clearly going to fight head-on, he was completely unafraid.

A long roar erupted from his mouth, piercing the ears of everyone in the arena, making their eardrums feel like they were about to burst.

A dragon’s roar and a tiger’s howl.

An elephant’s cry and a monkey’s wail.

A crane’s cry and a lion’s roar.

All beasts gathered in one body.

Where his Qi went, nothing was left undisturbed.

In an instant, Su Jie’s mind, spirit, and form became one. There were no opponents before him, only himself and the void. With a series of roars, he transformed into a mighty war god.

Boom!

Facing Shen Dao’s charge, he spread his five fingers and brought them down, advancing head-on.

Mountains cleaved, rivers flowed.

Mountains blocking his path were not avoided; they were cleaved directly.

Rivers blocking his way were not crossed; they were cut off, forced to change course.

It possessed a spirit of fighting against heaven and earth, of supporting the sky with one hand and mending it with the other.

Bang!

The two collided, as if a grenade had exploded, and then separated.

Without a second thought, Su Jie lunged forward again, his hand striking downwards with another “Hoe Strike” move. This move, honed through repeated battles with “The Punishment” Kong Dian and the experience of farm work, had reached a level he himself didn’t know the exact depth of. It was a move that had become one with his mind and soul, and this was the first thing he used.

A heaven-splitting hoe strike.

Faced with such momentum, Shen Dao felt the pressure mounting.

But he grew increasingly calm. He realized that Yu Jiang wasn’t lying; this college student was truly formidable, and he wondered how he had trained so hard.

While he lacked Su Jie’s dragon-roaring, tiger-roaring aura, he was certainly not at a disadvantage.

On the contrary, in their first exchange, he had already discerned that Su Jie’s physical strength was exceptional; he was as solid as steel. A head-on clash with him would certainly be disadvantageous.

His opponent was young and strong, only seventeen or eighteen, while he himself was thirty-five or thirty-six. Physically, he was definitely inferior to the young man. Besides, he had many injuries, which, although healed, would still significantly impact his stamina in a fierce fight.

These were Shen Dao’s weaknesses, and he knew them well.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His movements were like a ghost, avoiding Su Jie’s attacks and looking for an opening to strike suddenly, aiming for a fatal blow.

Su Jie’s footwork was the “Magic Step,” the most magical footwork. No matter how Shen Dao dodged, he could keep up, and even preemptively block his opponent’s attack route, launching a barrage of attacks.

Looking at the entire arena, all the burly men were incredibly surprised, because Su Jie was the one pressing Shen Dao’s attacks.

Su Jie’s movements were simple: each time he slid forward, raised his hand, and chopped down—the movements were fast and simple, like a projectile.

All the burly men thought this move was just a haphazard punch used by ordinary people in a fight. Modern combat sports considered it too flawed and completely removed it, leaving only the straight punch and hook, without the chop.

“Why is the coach just dodging and not counterattacking? That kid’s move has many weaknesses. The downward chop has already proven useless; a straight punch would teach him a lesson. Why does the instructor seem so wary?” one of the burly men questioned.

“The instructor is much stronger than us. He has his own strategy. Didn’t you see the one who got his head blown off? That kid’s feet are incredibly fast. Maybe he deliberately created an opening, waiting for you to land a straight punch and hook.”

Su Jie and Shen Dao moved like rabbits and falcons, thirty seconds passing quickly, but neither was injured or rendered incapacitated by the other’s blows to vital points.

On the surface, Su Jie appeared formidable, but Shen Dao remained as solid as a rock, unmoved.

One was like a cascading waterfall, crashing down from the sky, while the other was like the rock beneath the waterfall, growing ever harder. “He’s a tough nut to crack.” Su Jie, having fought for a long time without gaining the upper hand, knew this man was indeed formidable. Although he couldn’t defeat Liu Long on the arena, he could certainly win off the stage.

From this man, one could glimpse just how strong Liu Long was.

Of course, Su Jie and the man were currently fighting unarmed, essentially on the arena.

Off the stage, however, hidden weapons, daggers, and other deadly weapons could be used.

In that brief moment of distraction, Shen Dao seemed to sense it, instantly seizing the opportunity. His five fingers, brought together like a knife or awl, suddenly pierced the air, hurtling towards Su Jie’s face!

Shen Dao’s aura surged, his entire being seemingly transformed, erupting completely. If the Shen Dao before was a cunning fox, now he had instantly transformed into a ravenous wolf, his killing moves unleashed.

His earlier feigned weakness served three purposes: first, to lure the enemy in; second, to wait for the opponent to weaken; and third, to observe his opponent and identify weaknesses.

Now, Su Jie’s prolonged attacks had failed, and an opening finally appeared—the moment for Shen Dao’s counterattack had arrived. He had completely figured out Su Jie’s tactics, knowing his strengths and weaknesses.

This counterattack was extremely deadly.

He unleashed his hand-blade technique, his hands coming together as if two daggers had appeared in his grasp. His strikes were ruthless, as swift as a snake’s tongue, a mantis’s blade, or a bullet, aimed straight at Su Jie’s eyes, throat, heart, and groin.

His imposing presence completely overwhelmed Su Jie.