The Way of Restraint

Chapter 166: Analysis of Strength: Hope Amidst Despair

Even with Zhang Jinchuan’s arrogance, witnessing Feng Hengyi’s match made him feel threatened, and he lost his former confidence.

Feng Hengyi had never fought in public before, and Zhang Jinchuan lacked video footage, making it easy to misjudge. However, now that he had seen his true strength, he immediately adjusted his mindset.

“Currently, our chances of winning against him one-on-one are almost zero,” Su Jie said. “Judging from today’s situation, I also underestimated him.”

“If we don’t win the championship this time, everything we’ve done will be meaningless; we’ll only become his foils.” Zhang Jinchuan shook his head. This was a matter of strength; his wisdom and strategies couldn’t solve it.

Faced with absolute strength, all strategies are futile.

The three of them were at a loss.

The atmosphere suddenly quieted down.

A gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, and the croaking of frogs filled the air, evoking the imagery of a bountiful harvest amidst the fragrance of rice blossoms. 

Although it was October, the weather was still very hot, everyone was wearing short sleeves, and there were many mosquitoes. Strangely, none of them dared to approach the three.

It seemed as if the three possessed an invisible aura of intimidation.

Knock, knock, knock…

A soft knock sounded, startling the three from their reverie.

“Who is it?” Zhang Manman frowned.

“I’ll go open the door.” Su Jie walked a few steps to the door, opened the courtyard gate, and saw a middle-aged man with a full head of silver hair, but his skin was remarkably smooth and radiant, almost like a baby’s.

Seeing him, Su Jie immediately thought of the phrase “white hair, youthful face.”

This man looked middle-aged, but he was definitely very old.

“You are…” Su Jie asked.

Zhang Jinchuan rushed to the door and invited the silver-haired middle-aged man in: “Principal, what brings you here?”

“Principal?” Su Jie recognized him immediately. This was Liu Guanglie, the founder of Minglun Martial Arts Academy, the former principal, a legendary figure, a grandmaster.

Last time, Nie Shuang said she would introduce him, but Liu Guanglie was abroad and they hadn’t been able to meet. Now, he had come to them himself.

Liu Guanglie created the “Minglun Daoyin Technique,” and it was said that he had taught it to some disciples, but only one had truly mastered it—Zhang Jinchuan before him.

“This courtyard was designed by a master.” After entering, Liu Guanglie sat down on a chair in the courtyard, surveyed his surroundings, and nodded repeatedly. He then asked Zhang Manman, “How is your father doing lately?”

“Not so well, he was slightly injured,” Zhang Manman replied.

She seemed to know Liu Guanglie, and her father, Zhang Hongqing, was quite familiar with him.

“The owner of this courtyard is getting more and more powerful,” Liu Guanglie said, seemingly implying something else. “He comes here every year trying to find me, but I always avoid him. It’s not that I’m afraid of him, but I’m worried he’ll learn some things and apply them to other situations. He didn’t come this year; it seems he’s already gotten what he wanted. Sigh… even Hongqing is injured. It seems no one can control him anymore.”

Su Jie listened quietly. He had already realized that the “he” Liu Guanglie was referring to was his coach, Odell.

He casually used his physiognomy and martial arts skills to examine this legendary figure.

Looking at Liu Guanglie through the lens of the martial arts theory of “root,” this person seemed to lack a “root,” appearing like an ordinary person. But upon closer inspection, he discovered that his “root” was hidden deep within, like a high mountain covered by the earth.

This was the image of “earth within a mountain” in the Book of Changes.

Shen Dao’s “root” resembled a pyramid, towering in the desert, retaining its original form despite centuries of weathering. Compared to Liu Guanglie, however, he paled in comparison.

Besides, Su Jie carefully observed this man.

If his guess was correct, Liu Guanglie’s mental state had definitely entered the realm of the “living dead.”

He immediately severed his five senses. His eyes were open, but he couldn’t see anything; his ears weren’t blocked, but he couldn’t hear anything…

He relied solely on his intuition to perceive Liu Guanglie before him.

He had never “studied” a “living dead” in this way before.

In the war-torn land, he had encountered Odell, but at that time, his realm wasn’t deep enough to perceive anything. Besides, Odell left immediately, giving him no time.

These days, Su Jie’s mind had become increasingly sharp, and he had entered a deeper state. He felt that the realm of the “living dead” was within his grasp.

Precisely because of this, he urgently wanted to see a true “living dead” to experience the other’s true state of being.

With a living example before him, the help it would provide was unimaginable.

Unfortunately, masters who have reached the “living dead” realm are extremely rare in this world; you couldn’t find one even if you searched high and low. Where could Su Jie find such a person to observe?

Just then, Liu Guanglie appeared.

To outsiders, Su Jie sat there silently, seemingly listening to Liu Guanglie’s casual conversation, but in reality, he was sensing Liu Guanglie’s life force fluctuations.

That’s right, the term “life force fluctuations.”

In traditional Chinese culture, it’s called “vitality.”

It encompasses not only life itself, but also momentum, spirit, fortune, and various other aspects.

Life is life, vitality is the secret of heaven.

Su Jie carefully sensed it. Although Liu Guanglie was sitting in front of him, he no longer seemed like a person, but rather a warm, gentle light. This light was pure and changed very slowly.

With Liu Guanglie’s breathing, heartbeat, pulse, and the movement of his brain, there was a sense of perfect harmony and balance.

Su Jie sensed a unique law of life.

The entire human body is constantly in circulation: blood circulation, respiratory circulation, brain and nerve circulation—a chaotic and disorganized process.

Chinese Martial Arts emphasizes “whole-body power,” which uses coordinated movements to fully transfer the power of muscles, bones, legs, and waist to the fists. Therefore, it involves stance training to quiet the mind before coordinating movements. Like military training, it begins with standing at attention, motionless, followed by marching, transforming undisciplined students into disciplined, unified individuals, moving with lightning speed and efficiency.

Such a disciplined army can defeat ten times more undisciplined people.

“I understand.” A sudden realization dawned on Su Jie: “So this is the realm of the living dead? First, all the life fluctuations, training, and even thought within the body are temporarily halted for rest and reorganization, then restarted, achieving perfect coordination. The various life cycles in an ordinary person are chaotic; through cultivation, they must be brought to stillness. That instant of stillness is the threshold of the living dead.”

Su Jie completely understood what this meant.

In martial arts, mastering “whole-body power” grants far greater strength, speed, agility, and dodging than ordinary people. Modern combat is similar, only “whole-body power” is described as “coordinated force exertion.”

But perfectly coordinating and unifying all the life cycles is a thousand times more difficult than achieving whole-body power.

“No wonder,” Su Jie thought, “according to Professors Luo and Ma’s research, if one can enter the realm of the living dead, one’s body will become increasingly stronger, eventually surpassing the strength and speed of top athletes, breaking many limits. I think this makes sense. Many Olympic champions seem to be at the limits of the human body, but compared to those who have reached the ‘living dead’ realm, they are far inferior.” Su Jie, using Liu Guanglie as a research subject, thought of many things in an instant.

While he was pondering this, Liu Guanglie had only exchanged a few words with Zhang Manman.

In less than a minute of observation, Su Jie completely understood what the realm of the “living dead” was all about, and he proved his conjecture through Liu Guanglie, this “living specimen.”

Although he didn’t immediately achieve enlightenment and reach the realm of the “living dead,” it now seemed within reach, just waiting for an opportunity.

“I’m leaving,” Liu Guanglie glanced at Su Jie and suddenly stood up.

“Old Headmaster, why are you leaving so soon?” Zhang Jinchuan was puzzled. Liu Guanglie had only spoken a few words since he sat down, less than a minute later, and without even having a drink of water, he was about to leave. What was going on?

Zhang Jinchuan had initially thought Liu Guanglie had come to instruct them on how to defeat Feng Hengyi.

“My apprentice is truly inferior to a foreigner’s apprentice,” Liu Guanglie sighed. “It seems I’m no match for this Odell either. Are we so incapable of preserving our own culture that we must rely on a foreigner to carry it forward?”

As he spoke, he walked directly out of the courtyard.

Zhang Jinchuan sensed something was wrong and quickly followed.

Zhang Manman also wanted to follow, but Su Jie pulled her back.

Outside the courtyard was a path flanked by ponds and fields, a picturesque pastoral scene.

“Old Headmaster, what’s going on? Why are you leaving so soon?” Zhang Jinchuan asked, puzzled. “I know you came here because of Feng Hengyi. If Feng Hengyi wins, there will likely be a series of conspiracies targeting the reputation of Minglun Martial Arts Academy. But I’m not confident in Feng Hengyi’s abilities. You must have come to guide me.”

“I came to guide you,” Liu Guanglie shook his head. “Jinchuan, you’re too clever, too clever for your own good. Actually, my arrival itself is guidance. I’ve only been in the courtyard for a minute, and Su Jie has already grasped the essence of what I wanted to teach, while you still haven’t understood.”

“Old Headmaster…” Zhang Jinchuan called out. Liu Guanglie waved his hand: “I have high hopes for you. Do you know why I passed on the Minglun Daoyin Technique to you? Even my son Liu Zihao couldn’t master it, but you can. Let me ask you, what do you think of Su Jie?”

“He’s upright, honest, and not rigid. He sometimes knows how to be flexible, and he seems to have good luck. I wanted to recruit him into my company, but he’s always refused,” Zhang Jinchuan said.

“He’s not someone you can recruit,” Liu Guanglie shook his head. “You can’t control him; you’ll easily be overwhelmed. Also, the person who taught him is extremely powerful, both righteous and wicked. If you have karmic entanglements with him in the future, you might even become enemies.”