Turbulent

In the bustling city of Binhai in the Blue Star on July 2, 2081, at 13:50, dark clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled, signaling an impending storm.

"The summer thunderstorm arrives as if summoned." In a room on the top floor of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, a young man gazed through the French windows at the ominous dark clouds and lightning outside. The sound of raindrops tapping on the window glass started to accompany the scene.

The young man moved to the center of the room, supporting himself with both hands, performing a slow and steady handstand. Starting with a straight handstand, he then folded one hand, transitioning into a one-handed handstand with his right hand.

"Inhale~~~ Exhale~~~"

The rhythmic sound of breathing echoed in his ears as Xu Jingming felt the tightening of his core muscles and the weight of his entire body stimulating his right arm.

For the first three minutes, his arm felt comfortable, with the muscles and bones deeply stimulated. However, by the fourth minute, the muscles in his palm began to ache, becoming a bit painful. The fifth minute was even more excruciating. Yet, Xu Jingming was accustomed to it. After enduring the five minutes, he effortlessly switched to a one-handed handstand with his left hand.

"Wonder if Dad's back is feeling any better today." While in a one-handed handstand, Xu Jingming's thoughts drifted as he recalled his father. At sixty years old, his father had an old ailment in his back, and yesterday, his mom mentioned over the phone that his father had aggravated it while lifting heavy objects.

"After this busy period, I should visit my hometown." Xu Jingming contemplated.

The one-handed handstand was not a training method taught by the national team but rather a technique his father taught him during his childhood.

Xu Jingming had a weak constitution in his early years, and his father taught him martial arts for physical strength and health. One of the exercises included the "single-arm inverted stake." Due to its effective long-term results, it became one of the five major stake exercises he practiced daily. Rain or shine, winter or summer, he had been practicing for twenty years. Even when sick or injured, he persisted unless there were special reasons. As the saying goes, "Without practicing the fundamentals, all efforts will be in vain," and this so-called "fundamental" was his daily basic exercise.

If he skipped practice for three to five days, various aspects like muscles and bones would decline.

After completing the single-arm inverted stake, Xu Jingming walked to the desk, sat down, took a few sips of water, and looked at the heavy rain outside the window.

"With the increase in humidity, my leg starts to ache." Xu Jingming gazed at his right leg, gently massaging it. "I've never stopped my rehabilitation exercises every day, but my right leg... doesn't seem to be improving."

"If it weren't for the injury in my right leg, I might have a chance to strive for the world's top spot." Xu Jingming murmured to himself.

Injuries are the worst nightmare for every martial arts expert in their professional careers. For Xu Jingming, the injury of a "broken leg" would be a catastrophic scenario.

"Drip, drip, drip..." Suddenly, a sound echoed.

Xu Jingming raised his head and said, "Xiaobai, answer the video call."

Light converged in front of Xu Jingming, forming a two-meter-high image. In the image, a burly man was sitting in a car, smiling and shouting, "Lao Xu, we've already set off from the hotel. It should take about 20 minutes to reach your Starry Sky Fighting Arena. Haha, it's been over a year since we last met. We should have a good drink tonight."

"Don't worry, Da Xiong, I've already booked a barbecue restaurant." Xu Jingming saw his childhood friend, the jovial tone evident in his words. "The rain is quite heavy, be careful on your way."

"Rest assured, rest assured." The burly man continued, "The kids in the provincial training team all admire you. They want to see your marksmanship. You must give them some guidance later, let them understand the gap between them and the world's top experts."

"Nowadays, young people are getting more talented with each generation. I'll be lucky if I don't capsize." Xu Jingming laughed heartily.

"How could you capsize? I actually hope you capsize. If you capsize, it means our provincial team has produced another genius." The burly man laughed heartily, "Alright, let's stop chatting. We'll see you later."

"See you later." Xu Jingming gestured, and the image in the air dispersed.

Conducting a ten-day training for the Jiangnan Provincial Training Team, charging a fee of fifty thousand Blue Star coins, which was barely enough for the venue cost. However, for the Fighting Arena, providing training for the provincial team served as both advertising and an attraction for more combat enthusiasts to become members.

"Even retired professional athletes need to make money." Xu Jingming got up and went to take a shower to change clothes.

Being a professional combat athlete might sound glamorous, but in reality, they earned only a modest "appearance fee" during their peak. Those who accumulated over a hundred million in their careers worldwide were scarce, and most professional athletes struggled for their livelihoods.

As for making money after retirement, it became even more challenging. Although Xu Jingming was a world-class martial arts expert, his highest achievement in the World Martial Arts Championship was only reaching the top eight. In the combat sports industry, income forms a pyramid structure, with only a handful at the very top. The earnings of the first-ranked athlete are dramatically higher than those ranked second, third, and so on, causing a sharp decline.

Xu Jingming stood at the entrance of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, accompanied by several staff members. In the distance, an electric bus approached through the rain curtain.

As the electric bus came to a stop, the door opened, and more than ten members of the Jiangnan Provincial Training Team successively got off.

"Da Xiong." Xu Jingming saw the burly man who got off the bus first, recognizing him as his good friend Liu Chongyuan.

"Lao Xu." Liu Chongyuan walked over excitedly, embraced Xu Jingming, and patted his back vigorously. Xu Jingming could only endure it, considering it a massage.

Liu Chongyuan, two meters and three centimeters tall, weighing over 180 kilograms, resembled an upright bear. In his prime, he was also a professional martial arts expert, wielding a shield in one hand and an axe in the other. At the peak of his career, he even reached the 39th position in the World Martial Arts Federation rankings, securing a stable position in the Provincial Sports Bureau.

"This is Coach Xu." Liu Chongyuan grinned, introducing Xu Jingming to the team, "The coach you've been eagerly anticipating!"

"Xu Jingming!"

"The Gun Demon Xu Jingming!"

"Seeing the real person!" The members of the provincial team were excited. As insiders, they naturally admired this senior figure.

Looking at these team members, Xu Jingming seemed to see his younger self.

Young and full of vitality!

Unlike himself, wandering through martial arts competitions with a body full of injuries, forced to retire.

Xu Jingming smiled, "A Chen, take them to choose their weapons."

"Yes, Coach Xu." A young staff member responded.

"Da Xiong, let's go to the third floor and wait for them." Xu Jingming and Liu Chongyuan, this pair of good friends, happily headed to the third floor.

...

The weapon room on the third floor of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena was a spacious 500 square meters, stocked with an astonishing variety of cold weapons such as knives, guns, swords, sticks, shields, axes, hammers, and flails. These were all used in martial arts competitions. For instance, the blades of knives and swords were not sharp, and covered with a layer of cushioning material to significantly improve safety. Long spears had data on their shafts: length, size of the head, diameter, and weight. There were hundreds of them lined up against the wall.

"It's indeed the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, the top-notch fighting arena in Binhai City. The variety of weapons is impressive." The eleven members of the provincial team all opted for long spears, the reason they joined Xu Jingming's training.

When it came to marksmanship, Xu Jingming was universally recognized as one of the top ten in the history of all professional martial artists.

The data on the competition's long spears were clear, and the eleven team members quickly chose their preferred weapons.

"The first time seeing Xu Jingming in person, he looks quite ordinary. Not as intimidating as in the videos." A tall man tried a long spear while commenting.

"He seems a bit slimmer than in the videos." Another young member said.

"Yes, he's lost weight." A muscular man nodded, "When he didn't retire, I saw him in person at some matches. According to the information publicly available from the Martial Arts Federation, he was 1.78 tall and weighed 93 kg. Now he seems to have lost quite a bit, probably down to around eighty-five kilograms."

These provincial team members discussed.

They were well aware that a height of 1.78m and a weight of over 80 kg might seem a bit heavy for ordinary people. However, for a professional martial artist, heavy bones, high muscle proportion, was considered relatively slim.

"Weight reduction probably means a decrease in strength."

"I wonder how much strength he still has."

"Some professional athletes, after retiring and giving up training, even had their bodies transformed, and their strength deteriorated significantly."

The members were discussing.

"I still want to see how much of a gap there is between me and the competitors in the World Martial Arts Championship. But who would have thought he would lose a portion of his weight, and I don't know how much strength remains." The sturdy man felt a bit unwilling. He was selected for the national training team last year and aimed for the highest competition in the combat sports world—the World Martial Arts Championship. Originally, he had expectations for Xu Jingming, who had reached the world championship twice before. Now, he was somewhat disappointed.

With the weight loss, how much of Xu Jingming's strength was left? Was the former "Gun Demon" still as powerful as before?

"Even if his strength has declined, he still has experience." The tall man beside him smiled, "His guidance will be enough for us."

"Maybe he won't engage in actual combat with us." The young member mumbled. They had seen many older coaches instructing and guiding, but few actually engaged in combat.

On the third floor of the Starry Sky Fighting Arena, there were martial arts platforms that met international martial arts competition standards. The platform was twenty meters long and twenty meters wide, surrounded by six-meter-high wire mesh.

The team members of the provincial training team entered this third floor and saw Liu Chongyuan and Xu Jingming standing there.

"Line up." Xu Jingming familiarly said; he was once a member of the Jiangnan Provincial Team and was later selected as a key player for the national team.

The eleven team members held long spears, lined up in an orderly manner.

Although Xu Jingming might have suffered a decline in strength after retiring, his past achievements still earned the respect and admiration of these team members. Naturally, they were obedient.

"Starting today, I am your coach. The training lasts for ten days, and except for today's training in the afternoon, starting tomorrow, it will be from nine to eleven in the morning." Xu Jingming's gaze swept across them, "I don't want anyone to be late or leave early."

"Yes." The eleven team members responded in unison.

"Good, as we meet for the first time, let's try our hands in a match. Let me see your skills." Xu Jingming said, "I want to tailor my coaching to your strengths."

"Try our hands in a match?" The team members looked at each other in surprise and joy.

"A real battle on the platform?"

"Xu Jingming dares to engage in actual combat?" The team members couldn't hide their excitement. Since Xu Jingming dared to do this, it meant that he still maintained most of his peak strength after retirement.