60: Chapter 60 Testing the Fist

Leaving the small building, Lin Ning headed straight for the Fighting Gym.

He never regretted the things he decided on.

But regarding promises, he always followed through on his word.

Since he had said he would strive to become the best freelancer, he would definitely work hard to achieve it.

Time at the Fighting Gym seemed to stand still; the pure eruption of sweat and hormones was far removed from all the complex rules of the world.

He started with a warm-up, even increasing the workload beyond what the coach had planned for him. His physical stats were still growing at a steady rate, so the original amount was no longer enough to achieve a warm-up effect.

Facing the training post, he began his formal practice with standard movements.

With every movement and every strike, Lin Ning dedicated his focus to simulating and feeling the changes in his body in his mind.

If he exerted force this way, it would disperse; turning this way didn't fully utilize his reaction time, it wasn't smooth enough; at this step frequency, speed didn't seem to be maximized...

He hadn't been training for long and didn't know many basic principles, but he still made subtle adjustments based on his own feelings.

He didn't think he was better than the coaches; what they taught were mature fighting techniques.

Lin Ning just felt that, based on each person's different height, muscle, reaction time, etc., one should make some adjustments suitable for oneself, provided the movements didn't lose their form.

It was like the difference between mass-produced goods and haute couture.

Lin Ning was fully focused and didn't notice that the coach by the side of the ring had changed.

Coach Chen Hu was very dissatisfied with his inconsistent performance, so he had sent away Lin Ning's coach and stood by to watch personally.

He intended to find areas he was dissatisfied with, so he could give Lin Ning a good lesson.

As a result, the longer he watched, the more serious his expression became.

He was an expert in the field, and before retiring, he had ranked near the top in close-quarters combat in the special forces.

He noticed something off about Lin Ning's situation after watching for a while.

Oh, wow. Although Lin Ning's movements weren't as fluid as before due to his own adjustments, and in many places, they were even distorted.

But this wasn't a regression; it was an advancement.

Usually, this situation only occurred after learning for more than two years and with exceptional talent.

Having mastered skills and techniques, one day they suddenly have an epiphany and start adjusting and advancing based on their own situation.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ning had already realized and touched upon this threshold now.

Using his brain was exhausting; in less than half an hour, Lin Ning was drenched in sweat and sitting on the floor to catch his breath.

Coach Chen Hu walked up and threw a towel onto Lin Ning's head. "You can only just complete the movements smoothly right now, and you aren't even proficient yet. You're in such a rush to adjust your force exertion and step frequency; even if you have great talent, it's a bit too early."

"And, how did you think to do this?" This was the point that confused Coach Chen Hu.

Lin Ning wiped his sweat and said, "It's just that when I was practicing, I felt that a certain force exertion movement was wrong or something. I just went by feeling. Is that not okay?"

Coach Chen Hu fell silent. He couldn't say it was wrong; changing after mastering the movements might take more time to adapt to oneself, but for Lin Ning to start 'customizing' now was truly too early.

After thinking for a long while, he said, "You can try adjusting it yourself first, but ensure the movements don't lose form while following your feelings. After you've practiced for a while and feel you've adjusted it well, we'll do a test to see. You haven't been training in fighting for long, so there's a lot of room for adjustment. If it really doesn't work, you can change it back."

After saying this, Coach Chen Hu thought for a moment and added, "Spar with me first. I want to see what your original attack power is like, and then I'll compare it after you've adjusted."

Lin Ning made an OK gesture and began to seize the time to recover his stamina.

When the two of them stood on the training platform, the people nearby who were free gathered around to watch the excitement.

Everyone knew Lin Ning was a rookie and assumed he had offended Coach Chen Hu somehow, which was why Coach Chen Hu had personally stepped out to "teach him a lesson."

So, they didn't jeer, but with their sparkling little eyes, Lin Ning immediately saw through their gossiping nature.

Lin Ning rolled his eyes and stopped paying attention to them.

He began to stare at Coach Chen Hu with full concentration.

The whispering around him and the sounds of sparring practice from elsewhere slowly faded away in Lin Ning's ears; the world seemed to only consist of Coach Chen Hu opposite him and himself.

The smell of sweat and rubber filled his nose, and the dancing of dust in the light began to slow down.

Coach Chen Hu naturally wouldn't test him like in a formal match. Seeing Lin Ning was ready, he moved with extremely fast footwork—a low-angle sliding step—and rushed to close the distance, his right fist cutting straight towards Lin Ning's center.

This was a standard opening move, meant to get Lin Ning to move so he could adjust his offensive actions.

In Lin Ning's eyes, Coach Chen Hu's speed wasn't fast. He even had time to observe Coach Chen Hu's lower body trajectory and the direction of his upper body muscle activation, using this to judge his best defensive move to counter the next attack or defense.

He didn't retreat; instead, he lifted his knee and took half a step forward, lowered his center of gravity, and used his left upper arm, tensed tight, to block. He then followed Coach Chen Hu's force to turn his body to the left to dissipate the power. Using his right leg as a pillar, he quickly moved his left leg to insert it between Coach Chen Hu's legs, twisted his waist to exert force, and slammed his right fist straight into Coach Chen Hu's side.

Currently, Lin Ning's eyesight far exceeded his physical reaction speed, so although Coach Chen Hu was surprised by Lin Ning's offensive stance, he leaned back and followed up with a whip kick, neutralizing it.

The two exchanged blows for three or four rounds, and Coach Chen Hu became increasingly speechless. This had absolutely nothing to do with any style or routine; Lin Ning was like a wild fighter, completely relying on his attack trajectory to dodge and counterattack.

His speed, strength, reaction time, and eyesight certainly surprised him, but—

This is a load of crap for a test!

"Stop!" Coach Chen Hu took a step back and called a halt.

Lin Ning hadn't quite snapped out of it and looked at Coach Chen Hu blankly. "Huh?"

Coach Chen Hu was so angry he laughed. "What are you 'huh'-ing at? What kind of garbage were you fighting? I told you to spar with me using routines; I need to make records!"

"Oh, oh, oh, right." Lin Ning finally realized.

Coach Chen Hu was actually very satisfied with Lin Ning's performance just now, so he comforted him. "Real fighting is definitely based on the opponent's situation. You performed very well just now, but we are building a foundation for now."

Lin Ning, nodding like a chick pecking at rice, felt a bit embarrassed. "I forgot. I got nervous."

The several coaches and veteran members watching from below exchanged glances, their eyes full of surprise.

Experts look at the inner workings; with their discerning eyes, they could certainly see that Lin Ning had been exceptional just now.

Although he didn't knock down Coach Chen Hu, that combat awareness and ability to adapt— "Hiss..."

Restarting, this time Lin Ning became a punching bag. The continuous "bang, bang, bang" sounds of impact were mostly contributed by Lin Ning.

After being kicked to the ground for the Nth time, Lin Ning still wanted to get up, but was stopped by Coach Chen Hu.

Coach Chen Hu also caught his breath and looked at Lin Ning. "Good, I've recorded it. Let's stop here for today."

He spoke with a very casual tone, as if it were a very casual training plan.

But inside, he couldn't help but mutter: how long had he been training? Although his techniques were immature, his god-given talent was too formidable; it almost completely smoothed over this deficiency.

It seemed that letting him make his own adjustments for force exertion and transitions was the right choice.

It was a pity he hadn't joined the army; otherwise, all the major units would definitely have fought over him.

Thinking of this, his mind stirred.

He reached out to pull Lin Ning up from the ground. "What kind of work do you do now? Have you considered joining the army?"

Lin Ning: "..."

What was going on today? Had he become a hot commodity?!

"Are you a college graduate? The age limit for undergraduates is relaxed to 24, and it can be relaxed to 26 for graduate students." Coach Chen Hu was dead serious.

Lin Ning, feeling helpless, began to spout nonsense and fled from the Fighting Gym in a panic.

Standing at the intersection, Lin Ning looked back. He had just inadvertently seen Zhong Ming, who was always practicing boxing by himself in the corner. That faint red—was the color getting darker?