Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-adjective
Ji Dong was stunned.
He had sparred with Teacher Dagen and Sister Fan before.
Especially against Fan Hemian—who had experienced six more [Films] than them, had more experience, and was more ruthless—Ji Xiao’niao didn’t have any advantage in terms of strength. In the initial few matches with her, he was left in a difficult situation and was greatly struggling.
In the past, Ren Jianmo had never participated in his companions’ confrontations, and no one would foolishly attempt to challenge him either.
This time, however, it was Ren Jianmo who took the initiative to propose a match against Ji Dong.
Ji Xiao’niao nervously swallowed his saliva.
“Alright!” He nodded vigorously, clasping his hands together, and solemnly bowed, “Thank you for your guidance!”
Ren Jianmo found it secretly amusing and thought that Ji Xiao’niao was adorable.
He took a few steps and walked to the center of the field, giving Ji Dong a fist salute.
The artificial intelligence equipped by the coach robot was very obedient. It immediately flipped out the shell, and morphed into the shape of a mailbox with a “clatter” sound, automatically rolling to the wall and standing side by side with the small trash can, as if two people, one big and one small, were watching the crowd.
Ji Dong attempted to throw a punch at Ren Jianmo.
Ren Jianmo stood still and only raised his arm, blocking and pushing away Ji Dong’s attack effortlessly.
“Too slow.”
He beckoned Ji Dong with a wave of his hand, “Come again.”
Ji Dong was momentarily distracted.
Just now, when he threw the punch, he did indeed see a slow-motion effect.
Just in that brief moment, his dynamic vision and reflexes couldn’t coordinate well with each other. So he saw his movements also being slow. Ren Jianmo casually raised his hand and pushed him away, as if teasing a toddler in kindergarten.
Ji Dong took a deep breath and composed himself.
He attacked again.
The vertigo caused by the lack of coordination between his dynamic vision and inner ear balance system was still there, but Ji Dong felt that his movements were much faster this time.
He lifted his fist, pretended to sneak an attack on Ren Jianmo’s side ribs, and then as he lifted his hand, he flew sideways and kicked in the opposite direction.
——I got him!
Ji Dong said to himself in his heart.
However, before the kick landed Ren Jianmo suddenly raised his left elbow.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ji Xiaoniao’s heart skipped a beat.
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Ji Dong begun feeling a sense of urgency in his heart.
He crouched down, taking advantage of his slightly shorter stature compared to Ren Jianmo’s, and aimed his attack at what seemed to be the softest and least defended part of his opponent’s waist.
If we were to look at it from the perspective of an onlooker, the speed at which Ji Xiao’niao and Ren Jianmo clashed could be described as lightning-fast, almost to the point of being dazzling.
Ji Dong’s final move, especially, could have been said to be short and fast, seemingly aiming straight for the vital point.
The corner of Ren Jianmo’s lips suddenly curved into a smile, and then he made his first move, counterattacking.
He bent his arm, with just the right arc, precisely at the moment when Ji Dong was about to make contact with his body, and blocked his opponent’s wrist.
Then, Ren Jianmo straightened his fingers and grazed along the inside of Ji Dong’s arm, pushing to his shoulder. He then reversed his hand and wedged it against Ji Dong’s upper arm. With a swift motion, he flipped Ji Dong onto the ground and quickly pressed down on him.
Ji Dong was pinned down by Ren Jianmo, in a position where he was lying on the ground with all limbs spread out, looking up at the ceiling.
He immediately tried to struggle, but Ren Jianmo quickly twisted one of his arms behind his back and firmly held him in place with a knee.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts!”
Ji Dong’s one hand was tightly held, unable to move, so he extended his other hand and desperately pounded the floor, “My arm, ow ow ow, it’s going to cramp!”
“You little bastard!”
Ren Jianmo tightened his grip even more, “What were you trying to do just now?”
Ji Xiao’niao turned his head, tears welling up from the pain.
“What did I, what did I do?”
Ren Jianmo raised his chin and glanced toward his lower region.
Ji Dong immediately understood and his face turned bright red.
Indeed, the move he just made was quite misleading.
If it had been a bit higher, he would have succeeded, like a classic monkey stealing a banana.
“I’m not, I didn’t, I didn’t!!”
Ji Dong scratched the floor while repeatedly denying it.
Ren Jianmo smiled and relaxed his grip on him.
Ji Dong got up, wincing from the soreness in his shoulders, and gritted his teeth.
Ren Jianmo made a pressing motion with his palm, signaling for a momentary pause:
“How did you feel about those moves just now?”
He said, taking a towel from the nearby shelf and tossing it to Ji Dong.
Ji Dong took the towel and covered his eyes.
This time, he still felt a bit uncomfortable, but maybe because he was busy thinking about the counter moves just now, his mind was preoccupied and his attention was distracted, so the feeling of dizziness became more bearable.
“I think you’re amazing.”
Ji Dong honestly expressed his feelings.
Ren Jianmo patted the floor, gesturing for him to sit beside him.
Ji Dong’s footsteps wavered for a moment, but he managed to steady himself and sat next to Ren Jianmo, holding onto the towel.
Ren Jianmo handed him a bottle of water. “So, do you think you were able to see my moves just now?”
“Yeah.”
Ji Dong took a couple of sips of water, gulping it down, then lifted the towel and looked at his beloved. “I could see them all clearly.”
He paused for a moment, then added:
“But seeing doesn’t matter because I can’t break through your defense at all.”
“If you can see clearly, it just means that your speed can be even faster.”
Ren Jianmo also took a sip of water. “It all depends on you starting now and gradually adapting to the strength of your enhanced body through a lot of practice.”
Ji Dong listened attentively, nodding along as he listened.
Ren Jianmo continued, “But do you know where your problem lies?”
Ji Dong shook his head.
“For now, your strength is far behind Teacher Dagen, so your advantage lies in dynamic vision and speed.”
As Ren Jianmo explained, he held Ji Dong’s arm and demonstrated a punching motion. “That’s why those power-based moves that require brute strength are not suitable for you.”
Ji Dong let Ren Jianmo hold his hand and turned his head, humbly asking for advice, “So, what should I do?”
“You should make good use of your elbows and knees.”
Ren Dameiren tucked Ji Xiao’niao’s forearm inward, while his other hand circled his chest, tapping his elbow joint.
“Because these are the strongest parts of your attack and defense in close combat. They can also shorten the momentum of your strikes and blocks, making you even faster than you are now.”
Ji Dong was completely focused on seeking advice from a master and didn’t pay attention to how intimate their current posture was.
He was embraced by Ren Jianmo, their chests pressed against each other, their body heat mingling through their thin clothes—at this moment if either of them just tilted their heads slightly, they could kiss each other’s cheeks.
But they just stayed like that, neither of them moving.
Ji Dong’s gaze remained fixed on his bent elbow, contemplating the dozen or so moves he had just exchanged with Ren Jianmo.
Indeed, just as Ren Jianmo had said, the techniques he used to block his punches and kicks seemed very simple at first glance.
Ren Jianmo let him attack his body, and then, at a very close distance, used his upper arm and legs to perform seemingly simple blocks, deflections, pushes, and intercepts, but each time, it landed exactly when he thought he could hit…
——That’s how it is!
Ji Dong lifted his head, his eyes shining.
“Let’s give it another try!”
He said excitedly,
“This time, I’ll try to shorten the distance of my attacks as much as possible!”
Ren Jianmo smiled and let go of his hand, watching as Ji Dong flew out like an excited little bird, darting to the center of the training ground and bouncing on the spot a couple of times.
“Alright.”
He stood up as well, “Let’s practice again.”
Ji Dong and Ren Jianmo practiced until 9 PM…
Ever since middle school, Ji Dong has been a training fanatic when it came to archery.
In terms of talent, intelligence, and physical condition, whether it was individual skills or overall performance, he had never been the most outstanding among his peers.
But Ji Dong, through his relentless and daily training, along with his consistent performance in competitions, achieved impressive results at the school-level competitions. Thus, he was selected for the city team and then advanced to the provincial team. Finally, he stood out in the youth training selection and joined the national youth team, becoming the team captain and leading the entire team to win a world-class gold medal.
Even now, in the [Peach Blossom Spring], Ji Xiao’niao’s diligence and hard work remained as strong as ever, and even more so due to the immense pressure to survive.
He could spend almost an entire month immersed in the training ground, practicing combat and archery, as well as various simulated battles. He only takes a few bites of food during training breaks, skipping proper lunch and dinner, until he was completely exhausted before crawling back to his apartment where he would quickly freshen up and then fall straight into bed.
Today, even with an additional person, that person being his beloved Ren Jianmo, Ji Dong still followed his usual routine and spent the whole day practicing with Ren Jianmo.
This time, after a solid day of training together, Ren Jianmo finally realized something.
This kid, even though he was a bit reserved at first, once he fully entered his training frenzy mode, his attitude towards his crush was no different from how he treated that combat training robot he left aside.
In Ji Xiao’niao’s mind, the words “romantic” and “tender” simply didn’t exist anymore.
“Ah… I’m exhausted!”
Ji Dong tilted his head back and fell onto the floor, lying there like a dead fish.
Even after a whole day of relentless effort, he still couldn’t lay a finger on Ren Jianmo.
But Ji Xiao’niao still didn’t leave empty-handed.
He learned how to utilize his elbows and knees more effectively through repeated practice, and his attack speed had indeed increased significantly.
More importantly, because of the frequent switching between fast and slow visual cues, Ji Dong’s balance system had also finally adapted.
Dang. Without the notifications, even though I check CG many times a day, I didn’t notice this updated until I manually checked.
💖✨💖✨
Damn I wish I had at least 1% of Ji Dong’s persistence