5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw8YT95aXoMartial Arts Boy
Chapter Six: Where Power Goes
The dust slowly settled.
The tense air in the alley also began to sink after the final close-range collision between the two of them.
Lin Hao and the other boy stood where they were.
Neither of them moved right away.
In that last exchange, they had both struck almost at the shortest possible distance. The other boy’s fist had driven into Lin Hao’s guard, while Lin Hao’s shoulder crash had struck the other boy’s chest. The two forces collided head-on. Neither of them was completely forced back, but Lin Hao could clearly feel his arm still trembling.
In the end, the other boy withdrew first.
He took one step back and lowered both hands. There was no pride on his face, nor anger. Only a calm kind of judgment.
Lin Hao was still standing.
His breathing was chaotic. His chest felt as if something heavy had pressed through it, and his arms were still going numb in waves.
But he had not fallen.
The boy looked at him.
“That’s enough.”
Only after those words fell did the tense atmosphere in the alley loosen slightly.
He looked at Lin Hao and spoke in a tone so flat that it sounded like he was only giving an ordinary name.
“My name is Hinata Kikuta.”
Lin Hao did not answer.
He only stared at him.
Hinata Kikuta’s gaze fell on Lin Hao’s footwork, then shifted to his shoulders, which had still not fully relaxed.
“That last exchange. You didn’t expect it either, did you?”
Lin Hao’s eyes moved slightly.
Hinata Kikuta continued,
“You have power, and your reactions are not slow. But you are too impatient. Every time you try to take the initiative back, you send your center of gravity out first. All I have to do is follow your direction and change the angle, and your rhythm is taken away.”
Lin Hao did not refute him.
Because he knew the other boy was right.
In that fight, he had clearly been punching, stepping in, and closing the distance the entire time. But the real position had never once been in his hands. Every time he tried to strike back, it felt as if he had first delivered himself into the distance the other boy had already prepared.
Hinata Kikuta looked at him and added,
“You were not here to cause trouble. You are just not stable enough yet.”
At that moment, Gu Chengyuan walked over, shaking out the wrist that had gone numb during the fight.
“Are you done talking?”
Hinata Kikuta glanced at him.
He did not answer.
He simply turned and left.
“Come again next time.”
When the others saw him leave, they did not dare say anything more. They quickly followed him out of the alley.
Only after the footsteps had completely faded did Lin Hao’s shoulders finally loosen a little.
But the moment he relaxed, his body swayed.
Liu Yeqing reached out and caught his arm.
“Stand properly.”
Lin Hao froze for a moment and lowered his head to look at her hand.
“…I almost lost just now.”
Liu Yeqing looked at him.
Her tone was calm.
“You were going to lose anyway.”
The words were so direct that Lin Hao did not know how to answer.
Liu Yeqing did not let go.
She only steadied his body.
“But you didn’t retreat. That is enough.”
The alley fell quiet for an instant.
Gu Chengyuan laughed softly from the side.
“Do you two want to go back and talk about it slowly?”
Lin Hao turned and glared at him.
“Shut up.”
Wind passed through the alley.
Liu Yeqing did not turn around, but the strength with which she held Lin Hao’s arm tightened slightly.
“Someone is watching.”
The corner of Gu Chengyuan’s mouth lifted.
“I know.”
Lin Hao froze.
“Huh?”
Footsteps came from the entrance of the alley.
“Looks like today was lively.”
Lin Hao raised his head.
Lin Jing stood at the entrance of the alley. Her teacher’s jacket moved slightly in the wind. She first glanced at the people on the ground who had not fully managed to get up, then looked at Lin Hao.
“Can you stand?”
Lin Hao nodded.
Lin Jing walked into the alley with steady steps and finally stopped in front of him.
She looked at Lin Hao. Her tone was light.
“That person just now. It is normal that you cannot beat him right now.”
Lin Hao frowned.
“Why?”
Lin Jing did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked at his hands.
“You were only fighting according to movements just now. Your fist went out. Your foot stepped in. Your shoulder also entered. But your power did not stay with you.”
Lin Hao froze.
Lin Jing raised her eyes and looked at him.
“You kept wanting to hit your opponent, so every time you moved, you gave yourself away first. Movements are only movements. They have not yet become your own thing.”
When those words fell, Lin Hao did not speak right away.
Gu Chengyuan chuckled softly beside him, but this time he did not interrupt.
Liu Yeqing also said nothing. She only continued supporting Lin Hao.
Lin Jing turned and walked toward the alley entrance.
“Let’s go. This is not a good place for a lesson.”
The three of them stood where they were.
The wind was still blowing.
Lin Hao lowered his head and looked at his own hand, slowly clenching it.
It was not about who was stronger.
Nor was it about whether the movements looked right.
Then what was it?
He raised his head and looked at Lin Jing’s departing figure.
No one answered.
Only the sound of wind passed through the alley.
Morning.
The air inside the dojo was slightly cold. The wooden floor had been wiped clean, and the light from outside came in at an angle, stretching long shadows across the ground.
Lin Hao stood in the center of the floor.
Gu Chengyuan had both hands in his pockets and leaned nearby.
Liu Yeqing stood by the wall and watched quietly.
The door was pushed open.
Lin Jing walked in. Her steps were as steady as they had been yesterday. She placed the materials in her hand to the side, then stood before the three of them. Her gaze first swept over Lin Hao, then moved to Gu Chengyuan.
“You will understand yesterday’s problem through actual practice.”
Lin Hao frowned, but before he could ask, Lin Jing had already looked at him.
“You first.”
Lin Hao did not ask anything more.
He sank his breath, stepped forward with his lead foot, and drove his fist straight toward Lin Jing’s centerline.
The punch was fast and direct. His shoulder did not have any unnecessary motion, and his rear foot had truly sent the force forward.
But the moment his fist entered range, Lin Jing’s hand had already risen.
She did not block it directly. She only placed her palm against the outside of Lin Hao’s forearm and moved half a step diagonally. Lin Hao’s fist was clearly still driving forward, yet her angle pulled it off line. His punch brushed past her side without touching her body.
Lin Hao immediately retracted his elbow, trying to recover the centerline.
But Lin Jing had already stepped outside his shoulder line. Her palm pressed down on the position of his elbow. It was not a heavy touch, but it landed precisely before he could issue force, preventing his elbow from opening and stopping his shoulder from truly driving forward.
Lin Hao’s heart sank.
This feeling was the same as when he faced Hinata yesterday.
He was clearly attacking the entire time, yet the position from which he could actually hit someone was never in his hands.
Lin Jing did not rush to throw him. She only dismantled his frame step by step. Lin Hao’s lead fist was guided away, his elbow line was pressed down, and before his shoulder could sink in, his centerline had already been forced open.
This was not an ordinary block.
It was the dismantling of his line of force, layer by layer.
Lin Hao’s fist was still moving forward, but the power was no longer in the fist.
Lin Jing Throwing Method — Dragon Disassembly.
Lin Hao clenched his teeth and tried to pull his hand back, wanting to seize the centerline again.
But the moment his body pressed forward, Lin Jing followed his momentum and entered the outside gate. One hand locked his wrist, while the other pressed against the back of his shoulder. Her footwork cut into the outside of his support.
Lin Hao had just tried to pull his weight back, but the space beneath his feet had already been taken.
He was not sent flying by a strike.
His entire body simply lost the place where it could stand.
In the next instant, Lin Jing followed his forward force and guided it outward. Lin Hao was thrown onto the ground, his back striking the wooden floor with a dull sound.
The throw was so clean that there was not even time to struggle.
Lin Jing Throwing Method — Hawk Drop.
The dojo became silent.
Lin Hao lay on the floor, his vision blank for an instant.
What just happened?
Gu Chengyuan raised an eyebrow from the side.
“Was that really necessary?”
Lin Jing glanced at him.
“One person is too simple.”
Her tone was calm.
“Come together.”
Gu Chengyuan smiled and walked into the practice area.
“Let me say this first. Don’t be surprised if I scare you.”
Lin Hao climbed up from the floor and stood beside Gu Chengyuan.
The two looked at each other.
Then moved at the same time.
Lin Hao pressed in from the front, his lead hand guarding the centerline and his shoulder sinking clearly, obviously trying to take the close range. Gu Chengyuan cut in from the side, his footwork half a beat slower than Lin Hao’s, but positioned exactly along the route Lin Jing would have to take if she avoided the front.
One from the front.
One from the side.
One pressing hard.
One changing the line.
This time, their rhythm began to show coordination.
Lin Jing watched them and did not rush to move. Only when Lin Hao’s fist pressed in and Gu Chengyuan’s hand also cut into her side line did she take one step forward.
Only one step.
But both of their positions were suppressed at the same time.
Lin Hao’s fist was caught against Lin Jing’s forearm. Before his force could fully leave, she folded it inward by half a step. Gu Chengyuan had just tried to take over from the side, but Lin Jing’s shoulder line had already turned, blocking his entry path perfectly.
Gu Chengyuan reacted quickly and immediately tried to change angle.
But Lin Jing did not give him that chance.
Her palm followed Lin Hao’s forearm and pushed outward, making Lin Hao’s body crash into the position Gu Chengyuan had originally intended to enter. Their rhythms jammed together in an instant.
Lin Hao’s frontal power was pushed off line.
Gu Chengyuan’s side entry was blocked.
The two lines had originally been meant to trap Lin Jing.
Now they had been tangled together by Lin Jing instead.
She followed the momentum, locked Lin Hao’s shoulder line, pressed Gu Chengyuan’s forearm with her other hand, and turned her footwork. Like a snake winding around both of their centers of gravity, she drew the two forces in opposite directions.
Lin Hao could not stand.
Gu Chengyuan’s angle was also pulled empty.
In the next instant, the two of them fell to the floor almost at the same time.
Lin Jing Throwing Method — Twin-Line Serpent Throw.
Lin Hao’s breathing was a mess.
Gu Chengyuan lay beside him, stunned for a moment. Then he laughed.
“What is this…? We’re not even on the same level.”
Lin Jing stood before them and looked at Gu Chengyuan.
“You are imitating.”
Gu Chengyuan’s smile faded slightly.
Lin Jing slowly said,
“Movements can be learned. Power cannot.”
She lifted her hand and lightly tapped her own wrist.
“A master’s counter is not something that begins after you finish attacking and I start thinking about how to respond. It returns the moment contact happens. The force does not drag. The rhythm is not borrowed. You two looked like you were cooperating just now, but in truth, you were still chasing my position.”
The dojo fell quiet.
Liu Yeqing stood nearby, her eyes shifting slightly.
Lin Hao slowly sat up, his arms still burning.
Gu Chengyuan looked at his own hand and fell silent for a moment.
Lin Jing turned toward the door.
“Same time tomorrow.”
She stopped at the doorway, turned back, and smiled faintly.
“If you still cannot touch me tomorrow, you will come to math class with me.”
Gu Chengyuan’s expression stiffened.
“Huh?”
Lin Hao also froze.
Liu Yeqing smiled slightly from the side.
Lin Jing had already walked out.
The door closed.
The dojo became quiet again.
Afternoon.
Behind the school.
Sunlight slanted down, and from inside the fenced area came the sound of orderly footwork.
Lin Hao, Gu Chengyuan, and Liu Yeqing stood outside the Karate Club, watching the practice inside.
The students in the training area were split into two rows. Every time they punched, their footwork pressed down with it. The front foot landed, the fist drove out, the rear foot stabilized, and there was no unnecessary movement in the body. The sound was orderly, clean, and without excess.
Lin Hao watched the training inside, his eyes slightly bright.
“So stable…”
Gu Chengyuan leaned against the fence and raised an eyebrow.
“The rhythm control is good, but it is too straight.”
Liu Yeqing did not respond to him. She only watched the two club members sparring inside.
“They are looking at each other’s position.”
Lin Hao froze.
Gu Chengyuan also paused.
Liu Yeqing continued,
“They are not only watching the fist. They are watching where the opponent will stand next. The fist is only the result. Position is the step before that.”
Wind passed along the fence.
The three of them were quiet for a while.
Gu Chengyuan suddenly chuckled.
“So we are not the only ones getting lectured.”
Lin Hao did not speak.
His gaze remained on the training area.
Lin Jing’s words from the morning returned to his ears.
Movements can be learned.
Power cannot.
Then where exactly was the position of power?
That afternoon, the wind was still blowing outside the dojo.
Lin Hao stood at the entrance, his brows tightly furrowed.
“That just now…”
Gu Chengyuan stood beside him with both hands in his pockets.
“Position.”
The two looked at each other and almost turned back toward the dojo at the same time.
Inside the dojo, Lin Jing was putting things away.
The door was pulled open.
Lin Hao and Gu Chengyuan walked in together.
Lin Jing glanced at them.
“So eager for math class already?”
The corner of Gu Chengyuan’s mouth twitched.
“…Who would want that?”
Lin Hao did not respond. He walked straight to the center of the floor.
“I want to try again.”
Lin Jing looked at him.
“Fine. Come.”
Lin Hao took a deep breath.
This time, his stance was steadier than it had been in the morning. His lead foot pressed the centerline, his rear foot rooted into the floor, and before he punched, he first sank his shoulder.
The movement was indeed better than in the morning.
It was also stronger.
But the moment the punch entered range, Lin Jing saw through it.
He was only repeating the same problem from the morning in a different form.
Lin Hao’s fist was heavier, and his shoulder was more stable, but all his attention was still on “hitting Lin Jing.” Because of that, before his body had fully entered, his center of gravity had already gone out first.
Lin Jing only waited for that step to land.
She turned sideways and entered, her palm pressing down on his elbow while her footwork cut to his outside. Lin Hao’s punch missed, his shoulder line was pulled off angle, and the support beneath his feet broke instantly. His whole body was thrown out again.
This time, Lin Hao understood what had happened faster than in the morning.
Still Dragon Disassembly.
Still Hawk Drop.
Only Lin Jing had dismantled less and thrown faster.
The dojo fell silent for a moment.
Lin Jing stood where she was and smiled faintly.
“After-school tutoring. Math.”
Gu Chengyuan could not hold back and laughed.
“Hahaha, that was too fast!”
Lin Hao lay on the floor with a confused expression.
“Why…”
Gu Chengyuan stepped forward.
“I’ll do it.”
When he took his stance, his eyes had already changed.
This time, Gu Chengyuan did not rush in at the start. His footwork was a little slower than in the morning, but every step tried to land where Lin Jing might move next. He first tested with his lead hand, then cut the angle and entered, trying to block the route Lin Jing would use to turn.
Lin Jing looked at him.
Gu Chengyuan was indeed better than in the morning.
He already understood that he could not only learn movements, and that he needed to catch the opponent’s position.
But he was still one layer too slow.
The instant Gu Chengyuan thought he was about to lock the angle, Lin Jing took the initiative and stepped forward.
That step was not an evasion.
Nor was it a retreat.
It landed exactly in the gap where Gu Chengyuan’s rhythm was about to change.
Gu Chengyuan’s eyes changed. He immediately tried to switch angles. But his reaction only began after Lin Jing had already stepped in.
Too slow.
Lin Jing placed one hand against his forearm and the other on his shoulder line. Gu Chengyuan tried to turn, but the moment his foot moved, Lin Jing followed the direction he wanted to cut in and guided him in reverse.
The place under Gu Chengyuan’s foot, which had been prepared for a rhythm change, instantly became empty.
In the next instant, his whole body was dragged down by his own rhythm and thrown cleanly onto the floor.
It was not heavy.
But it was precise.
Lin Jing Throwing Method — Counterbeat Drop.
Lin Jing looked at him.
“You are still far off. You also have math class.”
Gu Chengyuan lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
“…I was close.”
Lin Jing did not answer him.
She only looked to the side.
Liu Yeqing stood there. She had been quietly watching from the beginning.
Their eyes met.
Lin Jing spoke lightly.
“You want to try too?”
Liu Yeqing walked into the practice area.
She did not rush to take a stance, nor did she attack first. She only stood before Lin Jing and quietly looked at her.
The air became very still.
Lin Jing looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled.
“No need.”
Liu Yeqing froze slightly.
Lin Jing turned her head and looked at Lin Hao.
“You can tutor him.”
Lin Hao froze.
“Huh?”
Gu Chengyuan lay on the floor and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, you got promoted!”
Liu Yeqing looked at Lin Hao. Her tone was calm.
“That thing you did just now was not position. It was reckless charging.”
Lin Hao: “…”
Gu Chengyuan immediately added another cut.
“And straight-line charging too.”
Lin Hao turned and glared at him.
“Shut up!”
Liu Yeqing ignored both of them and looked back toward the center of the floor.
“You want to hit the opponent too much, so you keep sending yourself in.”
The dojo fell quiet.
Lin Hao froze.
Gu Chengyuan’s eyes changed slightly as well.
Sending yourself in.
Those words were even more direct than Lin Jing’s throws.
Lin Jing stood beside them and said nothing.
After a while, she looked at the two boys lying on the floor and spoke calmly.
“I am not throwing you down.”
Lin Hao raised his head.
Gu Chengyuan also looked at her.
Lin Jing said lightly,
“I am letting you see where your own power has gone.”
The dojo was so quiet that only the sound of wind remained.
Lin Hao lowered his head and looked at his own hands.
This time, he finally did not rush to clench his fists.5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHL37wcj9W
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