Chapter 10 The Deficiencies of the Province Team

Xu Jingming, seeing their expressions, guessed what these young people were thinking and said with a smile, "I've looked at your records. All eleven of you from the Jiangnan Province team who use spears are here. Three of you are high school students, specially recruited. You three little guys, come one at a time, starting with armor."

For martial arts competitions, wearing armor and helmets is mandatory, including neck protection and everything else.

Cold weapon combat, even with unsharpened weapons and materials with cushioning layers, still has terrifying impact. Without professional equipment, people could die.

Xu Jingming also donned armor and a helmet, looking at the team members through the mesh of his face guard.

"Everyone, enter the arena." Xu Jingming, spear in hand, walked into the arena through the iron gate. The eleven team members and Coach Liu also entered.

"Everyone else stand on the side. Feng Yu, you're up first. Liu Hao, get ready," Xu Jingming said.

A standard competition arena should only have two combatants, but this was just a training session. A twenty-by-twenty-meter space… for Xu Jingming, guiding the province team members didn't require such a large area. So he allowed the other members to come in and observe. Without the wire mesh obstruction, the viewing would be clearer.

"Watch carefully. If your spearmanship is half as good as Coach Xu's, you can make it into the World Martial Arts Competition," said team leader Liu Chongyuan. The other team members held their breath and watched carefully. Seeing a master like Spear Demon Xu Jingming in action up close was a rare opportunity.

A young man, also armored and holding a spear, walked to the opposite side of Xu Jingming, ten meters apart.

"Referee system, activate," Xu Jingming said.

Above the arena, a light and shadow projection descended, condensing into a giant face overlooking the scene below. It announced, "Match start."

Nowadays, martial arts competitions all use intelligent referees. The intelligent referee cameras can slow down the footage a thousand times, allowing accurate judgment without error.

"Come on," Xu Jingming said, looking at the naive young man, Feng Yu. Specially recruited high school students were generally weaker but had great potential and were recruited for key development.

"Coach, be careful. Many opponents can't withstand a single thrust from me when I compete," the naive young man, Feng Yu, said confidently.

"If you have the ability, try to touch me first," Xu Jingming teased.

Feng Yu confidently took a step forward, moving extremely fast and fiercely. In just a few steps, he rushed forward. The momentum of his charge turned into a thrust of his spear, creating a whistling sound in the air.

Feng Yu practiced this step-forward thrust five hundred times a day, each time with all his strength. Having practiced the spear since he was twelve, for five years, this thrust was now as fast as a blur. It could pierce through thick armor! Even with a competition spear, where the tip was rounded and wrapped in a cushioning layer, the impact still exceeded eight hundred *jin*.

"Boom!" The sound of the thrust tearing through the wind could be clearly heard, but Xu Jingming only took a step back.

The tip of the spear stopped twenty centimeters away from Xu Jingming, not touching him at all.

"Huh?" Feng Yu was slightly stunned. He immediately changed his spearmanship into a spear circle, with the spear tip pointing at Xu Jingming.

Each spear tip was a potentially dangerous attack, but Xu Jingming, like a cat, simply moved, causing all the thrusts to miss.

"A high school student in the province team." Xu Jingming thought of himself back then, when he was just as naive.

"Isn't his leg injury severe, and his footwork weak? How come I can't touch him? Every time, it's only twenty or thirty centimeters short?" Feng Yu reluctantly launched continuous attacks, his spearmanship dazzling, but he couldn't touch Xu Jingming at all.

After dozens of thrusts, Xu Jingming, who had been moving, finally made his first move. He raised the spear in his hand. The moment it touched Feng Yu's furious thrust, the shadow of Xu Jingming's spear blurred, and suddenly, a terrifying burst of power erupted.

"Bang!"

A muffled impact sound, the sound of the spear shafts colliding. The spear in Feng Yu's hand was directly thrown away.

Feng Yu's eyes widened. His hands, which were holding the spear, were trembling. He stared blankly at the spear that had fallen far away on the ground. "My one-handed grip is at least two hundred *jin*. How could it slip out of my hand with just one touch?"

He had been holding the spear with both hands just now. With just one collision of the spear shafts, his hands went numb, and the spear flew out.

"A little flashy. Your footwork is weak, and your spearmanship is average," Xu Jingming commented. This kind of opponent wasn't worth him wearing full armor, but martial arts events didn't allow carelessness; carelessness could lead to a lifetime of regret.

"I don't really understand spearmanship," Team Leader Coach Liu Chongyuan laughed. "But this kid's footwork is weak. To us, it's like slow motion."

Feng Yu looked at Xu Jingming with some confusion. "Coach, even if my footwork is weak, how come I can't touch you even with a two-meter-long spear?"

"Your arms and spear are only so long. The maximum attack range is fixed," Xu Jingming explained. "Based on your footwork, I can determine the maximum range your spear can reach. As long as I maintain the distance, you won't be able to touch me at all. This is a professional player's basic skill."

"The maximum attack range is fixed? Maintain the distance, and you can't touch?" Feng Yu muttered. He had felt it just now. Xu Jingming's movements were simple, but no matter how hard he tried with his spearmanship, he couldn't touch him.

"The essence of footwork is, first, neural response; second, spatial awareness; and third, body balance control," Xu Jingming said. "You're very rough in these three aspects. Like your Coach Liu said, your footwork is like slow motion in the eyes of a professional."

"This kid was just recruited into the province team after the college entrance exam," Liu Chongyuan said. "All wild moves. He needs to work hard on his footwork."

Feng Yu immediately asked, "Coach Xu, what are the problems with my spearmanship?"

He admitted his footwork was weak.

But he was most confident in his spearmanship.

"Your spearmanship… strictly speaking, only the initial thrust, which concentrated the force of your entire body rushing forward, is at a professional level. The other thrusts, strikes, parries, and other aspects are very weak," Xu Jingming said. Weapon combat wasn't child's play; it was the most dangerous form of combat. Serious injuries and disabilities occasionally happened. Since he was their coach, he had to make their problems clear.

The other ten team members felt Xu Jingming's pressure and were also eager to try.

…

"Bang." The spear in the second high school student's hand also flew out the moment it touched Xu Jingming's spear. Even with preparation, trying hard to grip it tightly, and trying to deflect the force, it was useless.

…

"Bang," "Bang," "Bang," "Bang," "Bang," "Bang"...

Spear after spear was thrown away in succession!

The province team members were dumbfounded.

Including the two veterans who had participated in the national training team, Huang Feng and Zhang Qi, were powerless against Xu Jingming.

Among them, only Zhang Qi forced Xu Jingming to use two moves! The first move knocked Zhang Qi's spear away. Zhang Qi tried hard to hold on to the spear and didn't let it fly out, but his defenses were wide open. Xu Jingming's second move then thrust into Zhang Qi's chest, the impact causing the armor to light up red, and Zhang Qi lost!

Against the other team members, Xu Jingming only used one move! And it was still a defensive parry. The members' spears flew out, and they couldn't hold on to them at all.

"This is the Spear Demon?"

"The World Martial Arts Competition has been held for nearly thirty years. In terms of spearmanship, Xu Jingming is recognized as being in the top ten in history among all professional players. Although I imagined it, I only realized how big the gap was after fighting him!"

"Spear Demon Xu Jingming's most famous move is the 'Shadowless Thrust,' but he doesn't need to use such a special move against us at all."

"If our spearmanship can reach half of his, it would be enough to make it into the World Martial Arts Competition."

The team members' eyes were excited and fanatical.

Only through personal experience could they understand how terrifying the spearmanship of the top ten in history was. They even felt that Spear Demon Xu Jingming still maintained his peak strength, and it was even possible that he was stronger than in his prime!

Two hours later.

"In today's initial training, I believe everyone is clear about their own deficiencies." Xu Jingming looked at the province team members. The members were all excited and fanatical, feeling that this training was really worth it.

"In the next nine days, we will focus on one basic training item each day. After the training camp ends, you must also add daily training when you return. Spearmanship requires years of practice. Naturally transferring the strength of your whole body into each thrust requires comprehension and hard work," Xu Jingming said.

"Yes, Coach," the eleven team members responded in unison, all clearly convinced and admiring Xu Jingming.

"Alright, dismissed," Xu Jingming nodded.

"You guys take the bus back to the hotel first," team leader Liu Chongyuan instructed.

"Okay," the team members put down their weapons and left in groups of two and three.

"Ah Chen, take Coach Liu to sit for a while," Xu Jingming said. "Da Xiong, I'm covered in sweat. I'm going to take a shower and change clothes first. Meet me downstairs later. The barbecue restaurant next to our martial arts hall is my favorite barbecue restaurant in Binhai City."

"Oh? Then I must try it," Liu Chongyuan, who was as big as a bear, also had expectations. These professional players trained a lot and ate a lot, and they all liked meat.

Xu Jingming hurriedly went to take a shower. After two hours of training, although he was the coach, he was soaked in sweat. But he was used to it. Martial arts training, clothes soaked and wrung dry, then soaked again and wrung dry, was a common occurrence.

…

Xu Jingming washed up and changed into a short-sleeved shirt and large shorts. He walked out and immediately saw a middle-aged man smoking outside the door.

"Senior Brother, why are you here?" Xu Jingming said with surprised smile. The person in front of him was Fang Xinglong, the owner of Xingkong Martial Arts Hall! Xingkong Martial Arts Hall was a first-class martial arts hall in Binhai City, with a construction area of over 11,000 square meters. Xu Jingming, as a professional martial artist, didn't have such a big investment. He was invited to be the curator.

Fang Xinglong's main business was selling alcohol. He was a boss with billions of dollars, a martial arts and weapon combat enthusiast, and willing to spend money. He was quite famous in the martial arts circle and had also become a disciple of "Fierce Tiger" Liu Hai.

Since the World Martial Arts Competition was created nearly thirty years ago, Liu Hai had served as the head coach of the national team for twenty years. Most of the national team members had to call him master.

During the first World Martial Arts Competition, Liu Hai was already forty-five years old. As a martial arts master of the older generation, he was ecstatic to discover such a competition. He continuously entered five World Martial Arts Competitions, fighting with masters from all over the world! In the early days, the competition was more dangerous than it is now due to the imperfect protection rules. Liu Hai had won two third places, two second places, and one world first place! After winning the world first place, he announced his retirement. He became the head coach of the national team at the age of fifty and announced his retirement at the age of seventy.

Xu Jingming was a main player in the national team back then and Liu Hai's beloved disciple. Fang Xinglong was an amateur player, but he loved combat and tried every means to become a disciple of Liu Hai.

"Jingming." Fang Xinglong smoked, looking at his good brother. "Did you offend someone?"