Chapter 1: Stormy Chapter 1 Xu Jingming
On July 2, 2081, at 13:50, in Binhai City, the most prosperous city in Xia Country, dark clouds gathered, thunder roared, and a rainstorm was about to come .
"Summer thunderstorms come without warning." In a room on the top floor of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, a young man was looking at the dark clouds and lightning outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Raindrops began to hit the window glass with a "crackling" sound.
The young man walked to the center of the room, supported himself with his hands, and slowly and steadily did a handstand. He first did a handstand straight up, then put one hand away and did a handstand with his right hand.
“Huff… Inhale…”
The sound of breathing rang in his ears, and Xu Jingming felt the core muscles of his body tightening, and also felt the stimulation of his whole body weight on his right arm.
In the first three minutes, his arms felt very comfortable, and his arm tendons, bones and muscles were deeply stimulated. But in the fourth minute, his palm muscles felt a little twitching and painful, and the fifth minute was even more painful. However, Xu Jingming had long been accustomed to it, and after persisting for five minutes, he naturally switched to a handstand on his left hand.
"Dad's waist, I wonder if it's better today." While doing a handstand, Xu Jingming's thoughts were also floating, and he thought of his father . His father is sixty years old, and his waist injury is an old problem. Yesterday, I heard from my mother on the phone that my father's waist injury recurred when he was lifting heavy objects...
"After I finish this busy period, I will go back to my hometown." Xu Jingming thought.
One-handed handstand is not a training method taught by the national team, but was taught by my father when I was a child.
Xu Jingming was in poor health when he was young, so his father taught him martial arts to strengthen his body, one of which was "single-arm handstand". Because long-term practice has a good effect, it has become one of the five major piles he practices every day. He practices in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer. He has been practicing for 20 years. Even if he is sick or injured, he will persist. He will not stop unless there is a special reason. As the saying goes, "If you practice boxing but not kung fu, it will be nothing when you grow old." This so-called kung fu is the basic daily skills.
If you interrupt your exercise for three to five days, your bones, muscles and other parts will deteriorate.
After finishing the one-arm handstand practice, Xu Jingming walked to the desk and sat down, drank a few sips of water, and looked at the heavy rain outside the window.
"My legs start to hurt when the moisture gets heavy." Xu Jingming looked at his right leg and rubbed it gently. "I never stopped doing rehabilitation exercises every day, but my right leg...can't get better."
"If my right leg wasn't injured, I should have a chance to become number one in the world." Xu Jingming said silently.
Injury is the most feared thing for every martial arts master in his career. For Xu Jingming, the "broken leg" injury was a nightmare.
"Ding ding ding..." Suddenly a sound was heard.
Xu Jingming raised his head and said, "Xiaobai, answer the video call."
Light gathered in front of Xu Jingming, forming a two-meter-high picture. In the picture, a burly fat man was sitting in a car, smiling and shouting, "Old Xu, we have already set out from the hotel. We will arrive at your Starry Sky Fighting Arena in about 20 minutes. Haha, we haven't seen each other for more than a year, we have to have a good drink tonight."
"Don't worry, Daxiong, I have already booked a barbecue restaurant." Xu Jingming smiled and said to his childhood friend, "It's raining heavily, be careful on the road."
"Don't worry." The burly fat man continued, "The guys in the provincial training team admire you very much and want to see your marksmanship. You have to teach them some pointers later so that they can understand the gap between you and the world's top masters."
"Nowadays, young people are more capable than the previous generation. I'm lucky enough that I don't capsize." Xu Jingming said with a smile.
"How could it be possible to capsize? I actually hope you can capsize. If you capsize, it means that our provincial team has produced another genius." The fat man laughed, "Okay, no more small talk, see you later."
"See you later." Xu Jingming stretched out his hand and the picture in the air disappeared.
The training for the Jiangnan Provincial Training Team lasted for ten days and cost 50,000 Blue Star Coins, which was actually not enough to cover the venue fee. But for the fighting gym, being able to provide training for the provincial training team was also an advertising signboard, and it could also attract more fighting enthusiasts to become members of the fighting gym.
"Even after retiring, professional players still have to make money." Xu Jingming stood up and went to take a shower and change clothes.
Professional fighting players may sound glamorous, but in reality they only earn some 'appearance fees' at their peak. There are very few people in the world who earn over 100 million , and most professional players can only make enough to make ends meet.
As for making money after retirement, it is even harder. Although Xu Jingming is also a world-class martial arts master, he was only in the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition. The income in the fighting world is pyramid-shaped, and the top of the pyramid is very small! The income of the first place is ridiculously high, and the second, third, fourth... will drop sharply.
…
Xu Jingming was waiting at the entrance of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, accompanied by several staff members. He saw an electric bus approaching in the rain from afar.
When the electric bus stopped and the door opened, more than ten people from the Jiangnan Province training team got off one after another.
"Big Bear." Xu Jingming saw the burly fat man who got off the car first. It was his good brother Liu Chongyuan.
"Old Xu." Liu Chongyuan came over and hugged Xu Jingming excitedly, and slapped Xu Jingming on the back with big slaps. Xu Jingming had a bitter face and could only think of it as a massage.
Liu Chongyuan, 2 meters tall and weighing over 180 kilograms, looks like a big upright bear. He was also a professional martial arts master, holding a shield in one hand and an axe in the other. When the World Martial Arts Alliance ranked the highest, he once ranked 39th, so he was able to hold a stable position in the Provincial Sports Bureau.
"This is Coach Xu." Liu Chongyuan grinned and said, "The Coach Xu you've been thinking about day and night!"
"Xu Jingming!"
"Gun Demon Xu Jingming!"
"We saw the real person!" The members of the provincial team were all excited. As people in the industry, they naturally admired this senior.
Xu Jingming looked at these team members and seemed to see himself back then.
Young and full of vitality!
Unlike me, I fought in martial arts competitions and had to retire with injuries all over my body.
Xu Jingming smiled and said, "Achen, take them to choose their weapons."
"Yes, Brother Xu." The young staff member responded.
"Big Bear, let's go to the third floor and wait for them." Xu Jingming and Liu Chongyuan, a pair of good brothers, happily went to the third floor first.
…
The weapons room of the Starry Sky Fighting Hall is 500 square meters, with an astonishing number of cold weapons such as knives, guns, swords, sticks, shields, axes, hammers, flails, etc. These are all martial arts competition tools. For example, the swords are not only not sharpened, but also covered with a layer of cushioning material on the surface, which greatly improves the safety. For example, the spears used in the competition have data on the gun barrels: length, head diameter, weight, and there are hundreds of spears, lined up against the wall.
"It's worthy of being the Starry Sky Fighting Gym, a first-class fighting gym in Binhai City, with a full range of weapons." The eleven members of the provincial training team all used spears, so they participated in Xu Jingming's training.
In terms of marksmanship alone, Xu Jingming is recognized as one of the top ten professional martial arts masters in history.
The data for the long spear in the competition was clear, and the eleven team members quickly chose their commonly used weapons.
"This is the first time I see Xu Jingming in real life. He looks very ordinary and not as intimidating as he is in the video." A tall man said as he tried the rifle.
"He looks a lot thinner than in the video," said another young boy.
"He has lost weight." A sturdy man nodded. "Before he retired, I watched him compete live a few times. According to the information released by the Martial Arts Alliance, he was 1.78 meters tall and weighed 93 kilograms. He has lost a lot of weight now, probably only 85 kilograms at most."
The provincial team members were discussing.
They all knew that a height of 1.78 meters and a weight of more than 80 kilograms might be a little fat for ordinary people, but for professional martial arts masters, who have heavy bones and high muscle ratios, they seemed a little thin.
"The weight has gone down, and the strength has definitely gone down."
"I don't know how much strength it has left."
"Some professional players give up training after retiring, and their bodies become deformed and their strength is much worse."
The players were talking.
"I wanted to see how big the gap is between myself and the players of the World Martial Arts Championship. Who would have thought that he has lost a lot of weight and I don't know how much strength he has left." The sturdy man was a little unwilling. He was also selected for the national training team last year. His goal was also the highest event in the fighting world - the World Martial Arts Championship. He originally had high expectations for Xu Jingming, who had entered the World Martial Arts Championship twice, but now he is a little disappointed.
After losing weight, how much strength does Xu Jingming have left? Is he still as domineering and powerful as the "Gun Demon" in the past?
"Even if your strength has declined, your experience is still there." The tall man beside him smiled, "It's enough to guide us."
"Maybe they won't even fight with us." The young boy muttered. They have seen many coaches of the older generation teaching and instructing, but very few of them can actually fight with them on the field.
…
On the third floor of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, there is a martial arts arena that meets the standards of international martial arts competitions. The arena is 20 meters long and 20 meters wide, and is surrounded by a six-meter-high wire fence.
When the members of the provincial training team walked into the third floor, they saw Coach Liu and Xu Jingming standing there.
"Line up." Xu Jingming said familiarly. He was also a member of the Jiangnan provincial team back then, and was later selected as a main player of the national team.
The eleven team members each held a spear and lined up in a row in an orderly manner.
Perhaps Xu Jingming's strength has been greatly reduced after his retirement, but his past achievements still make these players admire and respect him , so they are naturally very obedient.
"From today on, I will be your coach. The training camp will last for ten days in total. Except for today's training time which is in the afternoon, starting from tomorrow, the training time will be from 9 to 11 in the morning." Xu Jingming glanced at them, "I don't want anyone to be late or leave early."
"Yes." All eleven team members responded in unison.
"Okay, this is our first meeting, so go down and give it a try, and let me see how strong you are." Xu Jingming said, "So I can teach you according to your aptitude."
"Let's try it on the field?" The players looked at each other in surprise and joy.
"Actual fight in the ring?"
"Does Xu Jingming have the courage to fight in actual combat?" These team members could hardly hide their joy. Since Xu Jingming dared to do this, it meant that after retiring, he still maintained most of his peak strength.
