The Way of Restraint

Chapter 172: Fear Returns, Courage Returns to the Body

“Dian Dao Martial Arts: Su Jie; Haoyu Sports: Feng Hengyi.”

In the afternoon, as the names of the two contestants appeared on the screen, Su Jie’s heart stirred. He took a deep breath, his entire being calmer than ever before, and slowly walked onto the ring.

This was arguably the most important battle of his life.

He had experienced countless things before, surviving countless battles, but none were as perilous as today.

On the surface, this was a ring match, unlikely to result in death. But precisely because of this, a deadly intent lurked beneath the surface. Feng Hengyi’s methods of killing were varied and unpredictable, and even if death occurred on the ring, there would be no legal disputes; at most, it would be considered an accident.

In many combat sports, there were instances of accidental death due to severe injuries.

Su Jie keenly sensed that Feng Hengyi harbored murderous intent towards him.

His current mental sharpness far surpasses that of ordinary people. Through long-term training and the subtle influence of feng shui and physiognomy, his sensitivity has surpassed that of all combat athletes, even Liu Long’s mental fortitude.

After learning the Seven Characters of Minglun, Su Jie’s assessment of mental fortitude became even more nuanced.

In his view, Liu Long had likely reached the level of “Peace” and was beginning to explore “Severance.”

However, a high level of mental fortitude does not necessarily equate to superior combat power.

Mental fortitude is merely an aid. To transform it into combat power requires many external factors: scientific nutrition, kinesiologically sound training, real combat experience, and precise timing.

Many ancient masters also reached profound mental states, but their combat prowess was not outstanding, for this very reason.

Su Jie knew he was fortunate to be born in the modern era, and to have been exposed to an age of explosive technological advancement. Not only was his mental fortitude profound, but his physical abilities also matched it. This combination allowed him to achieve in just one year what many could not accomplish in ten years.

“If I can get through this hurdle today, I can be completely transformed. I feel this is the biggest hurdle in my life.” Su Jie seemed to have made a firm decision.

Up until now, his enemy was the Haoyu Group.

And within the Haoyu Group, Feng Yuxuan and Feng Qianzang were nothing special.

The most terrifying was Feng Hengyi.

Defeating Feng Hengyi would, at least in terms of confidence, make Su Jie feel that the future was bright.

Last time, also here, with the support of Coach Gu Yang, he was preparing to win the martial arts league championship sponsored by the Haoyu Group, but in the first match, he encountered Feng Hengyi and was instantly defeated with two punches. His opponent hadn’t even used a tenth of his strength; it was as easy as blowing a breath.

And now, a year later, Su Jie stood before Feng Hengyi again.

Feng Hengyi also stepped onto the ring.

His expression was calm, as cold as ever.

In his daily life, Feng Hengyi had some of the typical personality traits of an ordinary person: arrogant, domineering, and even somewhat spoiled. But once in battle, all his emotions vanished, leaving only the precision of a supercomputer.

Su Jie had already noticed this.

Perhaps, his outward personality wasn’t Feng Hengyi’s true nature.

Feng Hengyi’s true nature was the absence of a personality.

In other words, deep down, he lacked humanity, like a cold-blooded animal.

Those cold-blooded animals, even after being raised and tamed, would still lack emotion; when hungry, they would still bite or even eat their master.

Standing before Feng Hengyi, Su Jie suddenly realized this.

Because Feng Hengyi lacked humanity, psychological states related to human emotions, such as “stillness,” “stability,” “peace,” “severance,” “clarity,” “enlightenment,” and “emptiness,” were completely inapplicable to him.

“How did he cultivate to this state?” Su Jie wondered.

He knew that Feng Hengyi had been sent to the Typhon training camp while still in his mother’s womb, which had forged his current strength.

The current Feng Hengyi was the true Feng Hengyi.

In everyday life, Feng Hengyi was a “painted skin.”

To be precise, Feng Hengyi gave Su Jie the feeling of a devil in human skin.

For a fleeting moment, a sense of fear arose in Su Jie’s heart.

Logically, Su Jie, who had survived countless battles, shouldn’t feel any fear. He had faced bullets, death, and despair; his heart was as firm as gold tempered by fire. He shouldn’t experience fear. But now, facing Feng Hengyi, he felt fear again.

“I still have a weakness,” Su Jie sighed.

This fear came suddenly, beyond Su Jie’s control. When facing a devilish enemy, Su Jie was like a sturdy dam, normally indestructible, but when a violent flood erupted, when the heavens were enraged, and his limits were exceeded, even the most impregnable dam would crack.

“Damn it.”

Zhang Jinchuan, watching from the stands, already sensed something was wrong.

He also gained a lot this time. He originally thought his martial art was strong enough to defeat Liu Long and Feng Hengyi, but when he actually faced Liu Long, he realized his predictions were completely wrong. The number one was indeed number one.

“Su Jie is already showing signs of defeat before even making a move. Is Feng Hengyi really that strong? Then I probably wouldn’t last ten seconds against him?” Zhang Jinchuan understood his shortcomings: “I was too distracted by business. But how could Feng Hengyi be so strong without powerful technology and financial support?”

Everyone had their own inner thoughts.

Even Liu Long’s expression changed.

Because he realized that Feng Hengyi standing on the stage was completely different from the real Feng Hengyi.

In reality, he knew Feng Hengyi was strong, but he was still confident of defeating him. But now, after Feng Hengyi truly entered his peak condition, he felt the same fear deep inside him as Su Jie.

Even when facing world-class fighters, he had never felt this fear.

“What kind of monster has Feng Shoucheng of Haoyu Group molded into his son?” Liu Long was frantically thinking of a solution. In his view, Su Jie and Feng Hengyi had already lost even before they made a move.

So tomorrow would be his turn to face Feng Hengyi.

Suddenly, Liu Long felt an inner conflict, a desire to forfeit the match.

He remembered his last match, where he lost to the top Muay Thai fighter, Bangalong, failing to break into the world’s top ten. He went on a trip to relax, and in the mountains, he met an old Taoist priest who taught him a technique called “Grip-Strengthening Technique.”

He applied this technique to combat and discovered it to be incredibly powerful.

It was also the first punch he used to defeat Zhang Jinchuan.

“Begin!”

The foreign referee seemed to sense Feng Hengyi’s strength; sweat began to bead on his forehead. He quickly gave the order to begin the fight.

Upon hearing the command to begin, Feng Hengyi moved forward with short, fast steps, swift as arrows, each step precise and terrifying.

As he moved, his fist also “spit out.”

That’s right, it was “spit out.”

His fist seemed to have perfected the “centerline strike,” striking from the shortest possible path.

Therefore, each punch felt like it was being “spit out” from his mouth.

The fist arrived as quickly as he did, the kinetic energy of each strike reaching the maximum explosive value achievable by physics.

Whoosh…

When the fist reached Su Jie’s face, it sounded like metal vibrating at high speed, like the roar of a train crushing rails.

This made one wonder if the bones in Feng Hengyi’s skin were truly made of steel.

Su Jie instantly realized that he couldn’t withstand this punch head-on; even with his hard qigong training, he couldn’t resist it. He didn’t even dare to parry, instead immediately activating his “Magic Step” to dodge.

Sizzle!

He narrowly avoided Feng Hengyi’s punch, quickly creating distance to observe and try to find an opening.

But in the instant he dodged, Feng Hengyi’s body seemed to move, yet also seemed not to move, yet his fist “spit” into Su Jie’s face again.

Even with Su Jie’s incredible speed, he couldn’t match Feng Hengyi’s attack speed.

Su Jie dodged again.

Feng Hengyi gave him no chance to breathe, another punch.

In less than a second, Su Jie dodged three times, while Feng Hengyi delivered three punches.

Each punch was less than millimeters from Su Jie’s head; to many, it appeared as if Feng Hengyi had already struck Su Jie.

After three punches, Feng Hengyi hadn’t knocked Su Jie down.

His speed, power, and precision were far superior to those two punches a year ago; this time, he was using eight or nine tenths of his strength.

Su Jie had actually managed to dodge.

Feng Hengyi was slightly surprised.

But this surprise was merely a facade; deep down, he remained as precise, ruthless, and cold as a robot.

Feng Hengyi paused, refraining from further attack.

He spoke, “Join me, become my subordinate, and I might spare you this time.”

Direct recruitment on the arena was extremely rare, but Feng Hengyi was an extraordinary individual who didn’t care what others said.

Su Jie ignored his words and distanced himself again.

In those three punches, he had witnessed Feng Hengyi’s true strength and successfully dispelled his inner fear, regaining his unwavering composure.

The battle had only just begun.

All of Feng Hengyi’s words were either misleading or nonsense; Su Jie didn’t want to hear them and wouldn’t care.

All his energy and spirit were focused.

A fire burned within Su Jie, and the grandeur of mountains and rivers filled his heart.

Boom!

He lunged forward, his hand arcing upwards as he moved, enveloping Feng Hengyi.

He actually launched an attack! Courage returned to his body, more intense than ever before. His courage surged like mountains and rivers, his hand like the heavens, sweeping down to utterly pierce, penetrate, crush, grind, and grind away anything that stood in his way.

Feng Hengyi didn’t move, didn’t even look, just threw a punch, a straight line aimed at Su Jie’s head.

Su Jie’s “Hoe Strike” strike followed a parabolic trajectory; Feng Hengyi’s punch followed a straight line.

Neither dodged; it was a battle of who would arrive first.

It was a battle of who would die first!