The Way of Restraint

Chapter 171: Sorry, I’ll Apologize

“Su Jie, you must defeat Feng Hengyi and Liu Long.” Zhang Jinchuan sighed, seemingly having made up his mind, and said to Su Jie, “Do you know what the old principal told me when I went out with him?”

“The old principal doesn’t want you to tell me, so forget it.” Su Jie shook his head.

“No.” Zhang Jinchuan said, “I once wanted to recruit you, to make you my subordinate, to give my company wings. But now I consider you a friend. The old principal said we might be enemies in the future, but I want to change that. Actually, the old principal’s Minglun Daoyin Technique only uses seven words to summarize the essence of psychological quality training. These seven words are: 定 (stability), 静 (stillness), 安 (peace), 断 (severance), 明 (clarity), 悟 (enlightenment), 空 (emptiness).”

Upon hearing these seven words, Su Jie felt a sudden realization, as if a door had been opened. Some things he had been pondering were now confirmed. 

Seeing Su Jie deep in thought, Zhang Jinchuan continued, “The old headmaster said my mental fortitude has reached the level of ‘Peace,’ while you’ve already reached the level of ‘Severance.’ I originally thought my cultivation would surpass yours, but I never imagined I’d still fall short. For a moment, I was jealous, but now my perspective has changed.”

“How do you interpret the character ‘Ming’?”

Su Jie asked.

“On the eve of death, one’s life is at its clearest,” Zhang Jinchuan said.

“I see, I see.” Su Jie nodded, finally understanding what the living dead were all about—maintaining that state of clear, luminous awareness at the moment of death.

However, he hadn’t reached that level yet, but he was just one opportunity away.

“And the character ‘Wu’?” Su Jie asked again.

“Like a child who longs for something day and night, finally obtaining it. This longing is a hundred times stronger,” Zhang Jinchuan surprisingly spoke in classical Chinese. 

“Understood. The mind of a child, constantly focused, leads to enlightenment.” Su Jie didn’t press further: “What about emptiness?”

“I don’t know.” Zhang Jinchuan shook his head: “The old principal hasn’t reached that mental state yet.”

“If I’m not mistaken, after emptiness comes the Dao. Seven characters make eight.” Su Jie nodded: “The old principal is truly a learned man. The first three characters are the foundation of Confucianism, the last four the foundation of Buddhism. Ultimately, it all returns to the Dao. Let’s not talk about the Dao itself, just the first seven characters—every word is precious, revealing the entire process of mental training. Now I understand better.”

“Your only hope to defeat Feng Hengyi is to break through your current realm. Otherwise, defeat is inevitable.” Zhang Jinchuan said: “I hope the old principal’s knowledge will be of some help to you.”

“I’ve benefited immensely.” At this moment, Su Jie’s mind was clear, without a doubt.

He knew the direction of his efforts and was no longer doubtful.

Master Ma’s theories were also very helpful, but after all, Master Ma himself hadn’t reached the realm of the living dead, while Liu Guanglie had already done so.

Su Jie fell asleep contentedly, awaiting the final battle. Tomorrow is the crucial moment. If he can defeat Feng Hengyi, then defeating Liu Long will be no problem.

Even though Liu Long displayed amazing moves today, Su Jie believes there’s still a gap between him and Feng Hengyi.

On the fifth day of the competition, Su Jie arrived at the arena. With only five people remaining, the level of attention was even higher.

Today’s three matches were all highly anticipated.

“Dian Dao Martial Arts: Su Jie; Zhonglong Sports: Song Gua!”

Just then, the computer drew the opponents.

The other round would be between Feng Hengyi of Haoyu Sports and Ding Gang of Jiuding Security.

Ding Gang’s ring skills were very strong, no less than Shen Dao’s, as Su Jie had observed. More importantly, he was much younger than Shen Dao. This was why Jiuding Security had sent him to participate.

However, no matter how strong he was, he had no chance against Feng Hengyi.

“My sister invested in you, and judging from your performance in the past few days, she wasn’t wrong about you,” Song Gua said, standing in front of Su Jie. “It’s truly surprising that you’ve reached this point. Ever since my sister invested in you, I’ve wanted to test your mettle, but I haven’t had the chance. I hope you won’t disappoint me today; I won’t hold back.”

Su Jie nodded.

He knew Song Gua had a grudge against him.

Originally, Song Gua was in charge of the sports department of Zhonglong Group, but Song Qiong acted on her own, investing 30 million in Su Jie, which greatly impacted the sports department under Song Gua’s jurisdiction.

“Begin!”

The referee announced.

Su Jie bowed to Song Gua and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Song Gua was about to make a move when he saw Su Jie bowing and apologizing, and he was taken aback. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

After apologizing, Su Jie straightened up. “Because I might hurt you.”

“Are you playing me?” Song Gua’s eyes narrowed suddenly, and hatred appeared in them. He thought Su Jie was toying with him, but Su Jie was actually apologizing. He needed to finish the fight quickly, so he was bound to be ruthless.

Just as hatred welled up in his heart, Su Jie attacked.

Boom!

The arena seemed to be crushed by a steamroller.

Song Gua’s vision went black; he didn’t even see how Su Jie got in front of him. All he saw in his pupils was a slap coming towards his face.

To be precise, it was a downward pressure.

“Hoe Strike!”

“Heart Intent Fist!”

Su Jie had been using wrestling techniques in his matches these past few days, but he knew that wrestling wouldn’t be very effective against Song Gua, so he unleashed his signature move.

Compared to his match against Shen Dao, Su Jie was now much stronger.

It was also because of the pressure from Feng Hengyi that Su Jie was constantly on edge, and the experience he had gained in the past few days of matches was considerable.

Especially last night, Zhang Jinchuan actually revealed the seven-word essence of the Minglun Daoyin Technique to him, which, for him, was a sudden enlightenment.

This attack, however, was completely different in Song Gua’s eyes.

It was like the sky collapsing and the earth sinking, like the sun setting over a long river.

Before the palm even reached his face, Song Gua felt as if his whole body was burning, his blood boiling involuntarily, and he felt paralyzed.

At this moment, Song Gua was like an ordinary person seeing a car speeding towards him, stunned, unable to dodge, and even if he wanted to, he couldn’t control his limbs.

This phenomenon is called “mental blank” or “brain failure” in psychology.

It is a temporary interruption of thought caused by a sudden shock or a strong accident that inhibits brain function.

Song Gua was a soldier who had undergone rigorous training, with extremely strong mental fortitude. Even if bullets were pointed at him, he probably wouldn’t experience this “mental blank.” But when Su Jie’s hoe strike came, he experienced a mental interruption, demonstrating just how powerful Su Jie’s attack was.

Ah!

Song Gua let out a long howl, finally regaining his senses at the most critical moment. In an instant, he raised his hands high, clutching his head, crouching, and leaping backward, attempting to block and deflect the force.

But even then, he was already at a disadvantage.

Su Jie’s strike was meant to be a killing blow, but Song Gua, a master among masters, regained his composure at the last second, blocking the attack. Even as he leaped backward, his stance remained intact, his balance impeccable.

The worst thing in a fight is having your stance broken.

And yet, Song Gua’s stance didn’t crumble under these circumstances—it was terrifying.

Boom!

Just as he leaped backward, clutching his head, Su Jie’s second strike came.

The slap landed on his face again. Although he covered his head with his hands, hiding his face completely, Su Jie’s expression suggested he was using absolute force to smash through him, like splitting a mountain.

Smack!

The slap landed on Song Gua’s arm.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bones echoed from within Song Gua’s arm.

Su Jie’s blow was indescribably fierce; he had actually broken Song Gua’s arm bones.

“Stop!” the referee immediately called out, rushing over to examine him and signaling the match to cease. The doctor also came and helped Song Gua off the stage.

“Sorry, I really couldn’t hold back,” Su Jie said helplessly.

However, fractures are common in competitions. In modern medicine, as long as they are set, with adequate nutrition and good physical condition, recovery is quick, and after healing, there’s little difference between before and after.

Fractures in the elderly are more complicated. 

“That kid really went all out.” Song Gua felt a sharp pain in his arm, but he didn’t care. He was a tough guy, but he didn’t hate Su Jie much anymore; instead, he admired him. “He’s really impressive. My sister’s judgment is sharp; it seems her investment was right. How did she develop such skill?”

For martial arts practitioners, fractures are commonplace.

Su Jie was declared the winner by the referee and returned to his seat. His mind immediately entered a state of severing the five senses.

No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, or body.

Only a trace of consciousness remained to observe the world.

This was a very strange mental state; very few people in the world could reach it, but Su Jie still felt it wasn’t enough.

Next, he would fight Feng Hengyi.

Bang!

On the ring, Feng Hengyi’s victory was simple again. He faced Ding Gang, approaching him with seemingly floating steps.

Ding Gang counterattacked fiercely, and Feng Hengyi also threw two punches.

The two clashed.

In an instant, Ding Gang was punched and fell to the ground.

No one saw clearly how Ding Gang was hit.

Su Jie, however, “saw” it clearly.

At the moment of contact, Ding Gang’s punch was completely neutralized by Feng Hengyi.

Feng Hengyi was like a highly precise computer; the minute points of force from Ding Gang’s punch never touched him, yet Feng Hengyi’s fist struck Ding Gang squarely.

This was not something a human could do; only a precise machine could accomplish it.

Feng Hengyi’s control over his body surpassed his.

The next match still offered little hope.

The morning’s matches ended, and Su Jie had secured a place in the top three, which was no surprise.

The afternoon’s match was between Su Jie and Feng Hengyi.