The Way of Restraint

Chapter 169: Encountering a Formidable Enemy

Even with his relentless practice, Qian Zheng was no match for Su Jie.

Su Jie only wanted to save him, not wanting him to collude with Feng Hengyi.

“Qian Zheng is simply obsessed with becoming stronger. If he can see me defeat Feng Hengyi, he should finally wake up.”

Su Jie’s heart stirred slightly.

In his view, Qian Zheng had become much stronger, but his mental fortitude hadn’t changed at all.

He probably hadn’t even reached that level of mental cultivation.

“Speaking of which, in a ring match where striking vital points and weapons are prohibited, physical training combined with wrestling is practically invincible. It’s a pity I haven’t yet grasped the subtleties of air wrestling.” Su Jie stepped off the ring, carefully considering the matches of the past few days.

This Haoyu Cup Fighting Tournament was filled with top-tier fighters, significantly improving Su Jie’s ring skills.

On the ring, even his Hoe Strike wasn’t as effective as a wrestling move. Wearing fingerless gloves slightly impedes airflow, subtly affecting the Hoe Strike technique. Don’t underestimate that slight difference in airflow; it can be the root cause of failure at crucial moments.

Just like a fly swatter, if some of the mesh is blocked, you probably won’t hit a fly at all.

Wearing boxing gloves goes without saying; the Hoe Strike move is practically useless.

“Zhang Jinchuan of this Dian Dao Martial Arts actually defeated Gao Xiang?” Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the nearby ring.

Many reporters were frantically taking pictures.

“Gao Xiang is currently the second-ranked fighter in the country, and he was actually defeated by a nobody from a small club?”

“That’s Zhang Jinchuan. Doesn’t he look like the chairman of Moyin? They raised a huge sum of money a few days ago, and the company’s valuation has reached billions.”

“Really? A CEO worth over a billion actually came to fight in a combat sports competition and even defeated the second-ranked fighter in the country?”

Zhang Jinchuan’s identity was immediately recognized, causing quite a stir.

“Zhang Jinchuan is building momentum and boosting his personal brand.” Su Ta saw the attitude of some media reporters and knew that some of them were probably bribed by Zhang Jinchuan.

Otherwise, even if he defeated the second-ranked Gao Xiang, it wouldn’t cause such a sensation.

Unless he defeated Liu Long.

The combat sports circle isn’t small, but it’s definitely not large either. Among various sports, it’s a medium-sized industry. Unless you’re the absolute number one, like Liu Long who is almost undefeated, you can spread your fame. As for the second-ranked person, their fame is a hundred times smaller. This is like most people knowing that Mount Everest is the world’s highest peak, but nobody remembers which is the second highest.

However, Zhang Jinchuan’s actions actually benefited Su Jie’s overall plan. While Zhang Jinchuan gained the limelight, Su Jie also reaped the rewards.

“Zhang Jinchuan defeated Gao Xiang so quickly. His mental fortitude seems to have undergone a complete transformation overnight… Could it be that Principal Liu Guanglie truly possesses the ability to turn lead into gold?” Su Jie wondered. “What exactly is the core principle of the  Minglun Daoyin Technique? Principal Liu Guanglie’s research on psychological qualities is definitely superior to Master Ma and Master Luo. I now sense that Master Ma’s classification of psychological qualities—rough thinking, detailed thinking, neither thinking nor not thinking, the living dead—is correct in its general direction, but not in its detailed aspects.”

“I remember my psychological growth process involved self-discipline, achieving unity of knowledge and action, forcing myself to go to bed early and get up early, exercising and studying every day. This is the Confucian concept of ‘stillness.’ It was very hard at first, but after it became a habit, my whole being calmed down. I didn’t feel the hardship, but rather a sense of comfort. As my life became more and more structured, I became stronger and stronger, my spirit and temperament far surpassing that of ordinary people…”

Su Jie thought about Liu Guanglie he had seen yesterday, pondered the changes in Zhang Jinchuan, and simultaneously examined his own mental journey step by step. His thoughts were remarkably close to Liu Guanglie’s seven-character classification of mental fortitude:

“Stability, stillness, peace, decisiveness, clarity, enlightenment, emptiness.”

Su Jie didn’t know these seven characters. If he had, he would have improved far faster than Zhang Jinchuan.

But he was currently summarizing his understanding.

If Liu Guanglie knew his innermost thoughts, the old principal would be amazed, perhaps even terrified.

Because Su Jie was terrifying.

Liu Guanglie had spent his entire life, fifty or sixty years, to grasp these things, while Su Jie already had a rudimentary form.

The cultivation of mental fortitude was still largely unexplored. Perhaps ancient Buddhist and Taoist schools had profound research on it, but it had all been lost, with no systematic preservation.

This kind of inheritance was even more difficult than the inheritance of martial arts techniques.

Su Jie carefully savored his insights.

Qian Zheng had regained his senses, realizing he had been instantly defeated by Su Jie. Extremely depressed, he hurriedly left, something within him shattered.

He thought he could fight Su Jie, but he hadn’t expected the gap in skill to be so vast.

Next, Su Jie held two more matches.

One opponent was from the “Rock Fighting Club.” Su Jie immediately circled behind him, grabbed his neck, lifted him off the ground, and hung him in mid-air, knocking him unconscious.

The other opponent was from the “Warrior Club.” Su Jie quickly closed in, the two grappled, and Su Jie tripped him, using a judo “knee-carriage” technique, sending him crashing to the ground.

After falling, this opponent tried to get up and fight again, but Su Jie grabbed his hands, clamped his legs around his body, and submitted him with a “Kimura lock.”

The “Kimura lock” is a ground judo technique created by the Japanese practitioner Masahiko Kimura.

This man was a judo master, practicing with extreme ferocity. Before the match, he had vowed to commit seppuku if he didn’t win the championship. The night before the match, he repeatedly practiced seppuku with a samurai sword, leaving numerous bloody cuts on his stomach.

Driven by an almost obsessive will, he won the championship.

Su Jie had studied the materials of many martial arts masters, both domestic and international, and had a deep impression of this person.

Moreover, his “Kimura Lock” is still used in various competitions today, especially in mixed martial arts, where it is almost on par with the rear-naked choke.

Su Jie used it directly, at will, and indeed submitted his opponent.

Most Japanese martial arts originated from China, but there were also a group of masters who carried on the tradition and innovated, creating many things worthy of study.

These two matches deepened his understanding of wrestling techniques, which, when integrated into the “Hoe Strike” move, further enriched its system, forming Su Jie’s unique Heart Intent Fist (Xin Yi Ba).

The “Hoe Strike” move itself can incorporate all kinds of martial arts; everyone’s understanding will differ, resulting in variations in the moves, but the core remains the same.

The second day of competition ended.

Su Jie won all six matches, each time defeating his opponent in a single, decisive move. This clean and efficient style attracted the attention of many observers.

On the third day, Su Jie played three more matches against top-tier opponents, all at least national-level, yet he still defeated them all, securing a place in the top ten.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the loud foreign host roared again after the three-day competition concluded, “after three days of fierce competition, the top ten in the Haoyu Cup rankings have finally emerged. In the next three days, a new champion will be crowned from among these ten strong contenders. In addition, the top ten in the women’s group have also been successfully determined…”

Su Jie looked at the scores on the computer screen. The ten individuals were Feng Hengyi, Liu Long, Song Gua, Su Jie, Zhang Jinchuan, Ding Gang, Jiang Tao, Ma Heng, Zhou Chun, and Lei Heming.

Among them, Ding Gang represented Jiu Ding Security, while Jiang Tao and Ma Heng were athletes from the sports department of Mingxia Group, the top group in China, and Lei Heming was an athlete from Hedao Group.

Both Mingxia and Hedao Groups have their own sports departments, organizing various competitions and training athletes. This time, to suppress Haoyu’s arrogance, they sent athletes to win the championship, causing Haoyu to lose money and reputation.

Jiang Tao, Ma Heng, and Lei Heming, these three athletes, are not highly ranked domestically because they rarely compete in China. Instead, they have extensive experience competing internationally and are actually on par with any top professional athletes in China.

Su Jie did not underestimate them.

Of course, among all the athletes, he knew who his ultimate opponent was:

Feng Hengyi.

Su Jie had a feeling that he would definitely be able to face Feng Hengyi.

Therefore, on the evenings after the three-day competition, he did not attend any media events and returned to his courtyard to rest and reflect.

Zhang Jinchuan, following his plan, began appearing in the media to promote his company’s various products.

Zhang Manman was quite content, as there were no formidable opponents in the women’s group, and she felt she could easily win the championship.

That night, Su Jie slept exceptionally well, waking up in peak condition.

After his morning training, he arrived at the competition venue early to wait until the match began.

During this time, he didn’t speak to Zhang Jinchuan or Zhang Manman.

Of course, Zhang Jinchuan was also very serious, concentrating his energy and spirit to the extreme, preparing for the arduous battle ahead.

After three days of intense elimination rounds, only ten masters remained, and the number of spectators outside the venue increased; the duels between masters were what made the competition exciting.

However, the contestant seats were completely empty, with only ten remaining. Each person was far apart, silent, watching the computer screen to see who would be chosen as their opponent.

“Zhang Jinchuan of Diandao Martial Arts, Liu Long of Dragon Club.”

At this moment, the first match was scheduled. Upon seeing this arrangement, Su Jie felt a surge of anticipation.

He didn’t want to encounter Liu Long, not out of fear, but because he worried that a battle with Liu Long would drain him too much energy, leaving him less than his peak condition before facing Feng Hengyi.

Now that Zhang Jinchuan was taking over, he could focus entirely on fighting Feng Hengyi.