43: Chapter 42 A Fist That Doesn't Beat a Fake One

"Master Luo, to be honest, I'm not some expert. This was actually my first real combat experience."

Li Changsheng decided to tell the truth; after all, he would be training at the gym, so it was better to be clear about certain things.

"Brother Li, you must be joking. If you're not an expert, then who is? I heard that sound clearly just now."

Luo practiced Traditional Martial Arts for ten years, but I could never produce that sound."

Master Luo looked skeptical; he knew very well how precious that sound was.

As the saying goes, 'A thousand gold pieces cannot buy a single crack,' and it wasn't just talk.

"Master Luo, I won't hide it from you. That was also the first time I made that sound; I just happened to have an epiphany on the stage. I really have no real combat experience."

Li Changsheng continued earnestly.

However, Master Luo still didn't believe him. What a joke—you don't know how to fight? If you don't know how, then how did you beat Tom like that?

——

An hour later, looking at the panting Li Changsheng covered in bruises, Master Luo finally believed him.

Li Changsheng was also frustrated. His opponent was a twenty-two-year-old youth who had practiced Chinese Kickboxing for three years.

He thought that by following his previous line of thought, he could settle the match with one hit, but the result was quite the opposite.

"Without channeling Liver Fire, it's still hard for power to penetrate the gloves. However, Elder Zhang said that the Crushing Fist would be much better if one masters Mixed Power. Under Mixed Power, moving one part Moves the whole body; the power is layered, continuous, and unpredictable."

"But the main issue is that once my first heavy attack fails to settle the deal, my fighting style quickly becomes frantic. In that panic, my force becomes uncoordinated. Even though I'm at the Visible Power level, I can only perform it under specific, focused intent."

Although he was roughed up, Li Changsheng was not discouraged; he had come here today to learn.

Defeating Tom was a coincidence; the opponent was careless and exhausted from a long fight, losing most of his Qi. With the unexpected attack and the channeling of Liver Fire, there was a certain probability of ending it in one blow.

After this battle, Li Changsheng also understood why the old man said that without real combat experience, martial arts forms easily turn into Flailing Punches.

Because forms are static, while opponents are alive. An opponent will never attack according to the routes specified in your forms; one can only adapt to the situation.

And this kind of adaptation can only be accumulated through continuous real combat experience.

"Thank you for the guidance, Brother Jiang!" Li Changsheng gratefully performed a cupped-fist salute to his opponent.

"Uh... likewise."

Jiang Yun, a tough young man with a square face, also returned the salute, his chest heaving violently.

That battle hadn't been easy for him either. Although he had been the one attacking the whole time, this man's stamina was freakish. He was trying to find an opening to attack throughout the entire match, forcing Jiang Yun to maintain a heavy offensive.

Even though the opponent's Moves were very green, after the fight, Jiang Yun felt more tired than when sparring with some Senior Brothers.

"Again?"

Hearing Li Changsheng's words, Jiang Yun's mouth twitched. This monster—his stamina was freakishly inhuman.

Li Changsheng indeed had surprisingly good lung capacity now. Months of Health-preserving Qigong cultivation, combined with daily running, had made his lung capacity quite impressive.

Moreover, the Abdominal Breathing Method of the Taiji Stance was very helpful for regulating breath during exercise. The only drawback was that when he finished his practice, the steam rising from his body easily attracted attention.

"Again!"

Jiang Yun hesitated for a moment but gritted his teeth and nodded. He didn't want to be looked down upon, especially since he had trained hard for three years and had just been suppressing his opponent.

After another round, Jiang Yun refused to fight any longer. He just shook his head and slumped to the side, taking small sips of water while gasping for air.

Seeing this, Li Changsheng didn't push it and began stretching his muscles nearby.

He was also somewhat tired after two consecutive rounds, but it was his habit to maintain light activity after intense exercise.

"I've gained a lot from these two rounds. In the first round, I was helpless and suffered a crushing defeat, not even grasping the opponent's techniques. In the second round, I still lost badly, but I could occasionally strike back."

With the System's stabilization and Li Changsheng's own focus on learning, he learned things very quickly.

"Chinese Kickboxing is not Sanshou. The old man said that Sanshou retains many traces of Traditional Martial Arts, inheriting many Moves meant to defeat an enemy in one strike during real combat."

"Chinese Kickboxing only has a few movements. Although it also incorporates Traditional Martial Arts, it only has the shadow of them, having been born to be more suitable for the ring."

"It mainly consists of jabs, hooks, and uppercuts for punches, and stomps, thrusts, and whip kicks for leg techniques, along with free combinations of these."

"It doesn't even have the elbow and knee strikes of Muay Thai."

"But it has an advantage: small-scale attacks. This makes the frequency of attacks in the ring faster and more agile. With year-round combination training, it can achieve unpredictable effects."

"And because the movements are small, there are very few defensive gaps on the body."

Li Changsheng recalled the previous two fights, combining them with some tips the old man had occasionally mentioned.

To put it simply, Chinese Kickboxing is a style born for combat sports. In the early days of the National Martial Arts Institute, what they developed by combining Traditional Martial Arts was called Sanshou.

Because the ideology of practicing martial arts back then was to save the country and the people, it needed to be aggressive, so Sanshou had many ways to defeat an enemy in one strike.

In contrast, the subsequent evolution into Chinese Kickboxing was much worse. Its movements are small, making defense easier, but it also loses lethality.

He knew this because the old man himself was a master of Sanshou and was also proficient in Chinese Kickboxing.

"But even so, I still can't beat Chinese Kickboxing. When the opponent attacks, it's hard for me to react in time. My mind always associates things with the fixed routines of the forms."

Li Changsheng understood that he had not yet broken free from the programmed routines of his martial arts. Once he could step out of those fixed routines and change his Moves and punches at will, he would truly have achieved something in real combat.

For several days in a row, Li Changsheng came to fight for several hours almost every afternoon.

At first, he was completely crushed by Jiang Yun, but then he could occasionally strike back, and eventually, they were trading blows. Li Changsheng's progress was rapid.

Almost every time Li Changsheng came, Master Luo was present in person, witnessing Li Changsheng's changes.

"Old Luo, how is this young man?"

At this moment, Manager Nie's voice came from behind.

Although Manager Nie was busy and often had to attend business events, he would occasionally drop by the training room.

"Old Nie, this young man is extraordinary!"

Seeing Old Nie, Master Luo felt like he had found someone to vent to and began telling him everything.

"So, you're saying he defeated that Tom on the first day he came? And he had zero real combat experience?"

After hearing Master Luo's description, Manager Nie was somewhat incredulous.

It wasn't that the gym hadn't seen cases of newcomers knocking down senior practitioners. Before, there was a naturally burly apprentice who knocked down a student who had trained for two years on his first day.

That person relied on a streak of ruthlessness and a reckless fighting style that didn't fear pain, causing the senior student's original Moves to collapse.

But Tom was professional-grade, and with such a large physique, a reckless fighting style probably wouldn't work.

"Old Nie, that's just the beginning. Look at him now. Look, do you think he looks like a newcomer?"