172: art of war

“...Master, in this situation, with Buddha Dharma and the Universe combined, my power has long surpassed that of all previous Saint Seiya. Even ordinary gods are no match for me. So what is the use of me practicing the martial arts and combat you mentioned?”

Shi Jingmo once asked Tang Ku during a sparring session.

Tang Ku, however, smiled and told him, “To adapt. Because we don’t know what kind of opponent we will face in the future. If all our abilities become ineffective, then the martial arts we practiced will come in handy!”

Shi Jingmo nodded thoughtfully, then, under Tang Ku’s guidance, began to practice some Buddhist boxing martial arts. Tang Ku even meticulously explained to him the Tai Chi and its principles, which he often saw in his previous life.

Now, this Dead Silent Wasteland, which can strip away all energy, leaving only pure physical power, isn't this the special situation Tang Ku once spoke of?

And to fully unleash his physical strength, he even directly abandoned the defense of his golden saint cloth.

In the wind and sand, his monk robes flapped loudly. Hades remained silent for a moment, then, relying on his powerful physical strength, attacked again.

Shi Jingmo’s expression was neither sad nor joyful. He could not use any energy now; all he could rely on was his boxing and kicking skills.

Saint Seiya are actually very skilled in the Dao of combat. After all, they exist as Athena’s guardians, so it’s not that he doesn’t understand ordinary boxing and kicking skills. But because their power grew stronger and stronger, they long ago stopped delving into this fighting style.

And after following Tang Ku, he finally picked up this fighting style again, only to discover that there were so many Daos and incredible things in ordinary human combat.

For example, the principle of using a small force to deflect a great one in Tai Chi, this made him feel very fresh.

The long sword danced, moving extremely fast, leaving momentary afterimages, but Shi Jingmo’s hands spun and waved continuously along strange trajectories, like grinding stones. Hades’s long sword almost always missed, unable to hit the opponent at all.

His power was immense, and he couldn’t understand the principle behind it, but as the long sword in his hand became increasingly uncontrollable, the dread in his heart was triggered. Thinking of the mysterious trajectories of the opponent’s hands, he realized there must be something strange about it.

“He is using strange circles to redirect my power elsewhere…”

After all, he was a god, and with a little thought, he understood the principle of the opponent’s Move. But what he couldn’t understand was why the opponent could keep up with his speed, even though his physical strength was clearly much weaker than his own!

Shi Jingmo, however, became more and more excited as he fought. He had gradually grasped the most essential principle of Tai Chi, which is to control speed at will.

Tang Ku had once told him how to fight if the opponent’s strength and speed were much greater than his own.

“Run if you can!”

Tang Ku threw out a very shocking statement.

But Shi Jingmo listened very seriously. He knew that this Master was exceptionally wise and would not say useless words.

“As the saying goes, ‘where there's life, there's hope.’ If you absolutely cannot deal with the enemy, it’s better to live to take revenge than to die in vain… But if you truly encounter a situation where you must fight, then… use the principle of controlling speed at will from Tai Chi to deal with him!”

I don’t necessarily have to be faster than all of the opponent’s movements. As long as I accurately observe the opponent’s attack methods and patterns, and just be a fraction of a second faster at the crucial nodes, I can stand invincible.

In martial arts, this is an almost impossible task to accomplish.

Because to achieve this goal, two essential conditions must first be met!

Firstly, you must be able to fully grasp the opponent’s movements; you need to be intimately familiar with the opponent’s attack methods.

Secondly, you must have the ability to be faster at the crucial nodes.

However, if the opponent’s attack power is very strong, much stronger than yours, and their attack speed is also much faster than yours, how can you accurately observe the opponent’s attack methods and patterns? And if this first condition cannot be met, you might not even see the opponent’s shadow before being knocked to the ground.

In reality, this is completely fallacious reasoning!

However, when applied to Shi Jingmo and Hades, it was completely different.

Hades’s attack Moves were powerful and fast, but… too monotonous. Although Western sword techniques were formidable, their biggest drawback was their lack of variation.

Therefore, after just a few simple rounds, Shi Jingmo truly became intimately familiar with his swordsmanship. He could even guess where Hades’s next attack would appear just by him raising his hand.

As for Shi Jingmo’s physical ability… Honestly, although it couldn’t compare to the tempered body of a god, after being refined by Buddha Dharma, it was already not far from Hades. So, to a large extent, as long as he didn’t lose focus, it was entirely possible for him to be a fraction of a second faster at the most crucial nodes, causing all of Hades’s attacks to miss.

After fighting for so long, Hades finally discovered Shi Jingmo’s strangeness. He couldn’t help but frown slightly: “…He doesn’t have the ability for long-range attacks… I need to create distance and use sword wind to deal with him…”

It must be said that Hades’s mind worked very well; he instantly thought of a way to break through. But how could Shi Jingmo, who had already gotten into the rhythm of the fight, let him leave so easily?

He saw Shi Jingmo’s hands Move in a continuous chain, using the most famous “Chaotic Ring Secret Art” of Tai Chi in actual combat. Hades’s long sword was almost impossible to hold onto, on the verge of losing control. And at the most critical moment, Shi Jingmo discovered that the opponent actually wanted to escape. His heart stirred slightly, and then his palm adopted a “Cloud Hand” posture, actually pulling Hades’s entire body in front of him.

Hades had overexerted himself at this moment, and his body uncontrollably stumbled forward. In his great shock, he was already too late to defend.

Shi Jingmo was more than a head and a half shorter than Hades. He suddenly bent down, letting the long sword pass over his head, and thrust both palms directly into Hades’s groin area, on either side of his pants.

Hades was wearing a Netherworld Cloth, which had strong defensive capabilities, but the Netherworld Cloth did not cover his entire body. Otherwise, he would lose his ability to Move. Therefore, whether it was a Saint Cloth or other armor, there were connecting seams at the joints.

His hands were sharp as knives, plunging fiercely into the gaps where the hip and thigh connected.

“Ow…”

Hades immediately felt excruciating pain, and his legs involuntarily trembled. He couldn’t help but want to curse, “You despicable fellow, do you have no warrior’s dignity?!”

However, before he could speak, a fist had already lightning-fast smashed into his face. The immense force almost caved in his nose bridge, and his head buzzed as if it had been swung by a sledgehammer.

“I know what you want to say…” Shi Jingmo suddenly smiled brightly, his hands alternating between fists and palms, continuously striking at Hades’s softest spots. He chuckled, “But, you and I are mortal enemies. I understand the principle of taking advantage of your illness to take your life. This is called… military strategy!”