Sanda Level Up

Rainy night quietly descended.

It was as if the entire city had been shrouded beneath a mysterious curtain.

Global Elite Fighting Club.

After work at eight o'clock, the venue became empty and cold.

Under several dim floodlights, a figure kept rolling his shoulders, bouncing on his feet, throwing punches, and raising his legs.

As his body rose, fell, and sprang in motion, there was an inexplicable rhythm to it.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Along with the dense, muffled sounds of impact.

The sandbag hanging beneath the bracket seemed to have been struck by lightning, trembling incessantly with a rustle.

All of a sudden, the sounds stopped.

The figure retreated a few steps, then drove hard off his right leg, turned, pushed his hips through, and launched a kick.

The spinning heel kick carried the sound of breaking air and struck the very center of the Black Leather Sandbag with a clang.

The chain rubbed against the bracket, letting out an ear-piercing noise.

The sandbag, in the 90kg class and heavier than an ordinary adult, was flung away in an instant.

Only when it had swung out in a seventy-degree arc did it come whipping back with powerful inertia, whistling through the air.

With that weight and acceleration, it was practically like a black siege hammer.

At that moment, however, the figure suddenly darted forward, stepping straight toward the "giant hammer."

His arms reached out, caught it firmly, and lifted it into mid-air.

At the same time, his whole body jolted, the soles of his feet slid half a step back, and his fingertips sank into the leather with a creaking sound.

Several breaths later.

His fingers loosened, and the sandbag returned to its original position.

Sanda Experience Points +5

Boxing Experience +2

Focus Experience +3

Three pieces of prompt information emerged before his eyes in sequence.

Fang Cheng caught his breath, his eyes shining.

Then he looked at the other new messages that popped up afterward, glowing brilliantly.

You have diligently practiced Sanda. Your techniques have merged and become unobstructed. You have reached Expert Level.

Sanda Lv1 (0/250)

Congratulations, you have received a Skill Enhancement Reward: 5 Free Attributes.

Fang Cheng steadied his breathing while looking at the panel with a hint of pleasant surprise.

Finally, his Sanda had leveled up too!

That afternoon, a sparring session with Majima Goro had earned him fifty Sanda Experience Points.

His skill progress had instantly soared from 45 to 95.

Fang Cheng felt that if he pushed harder today, he could drive his Sanda level up to Lv1.

So after work, he simply stayed behind in the venue alone and focused on practicing all kinds of kicks, punches, throws, and grabs.

At last, before the shopping mall closed its gate, he got his wish and ground the skill level up.

"If it weren't for being able to see the experience progress bar, I definitely wouldn't be pushing myself this hard..."

Fang Cheng gave a faint, self-mocking smile and wiped the sweat streaming down his face.

Within a day, his skill experience had risen repeatedly, by nearly sixty points.

This kind of increase was something he would never have dared imagine before.

But on careful analysis, it made perfect sense.

Fang Cheng's fist techniques and leg techniques had actually already stepped into the Lv1 tier long ago.

His wrestling technique was also only missing the final step before entering the expert domain.

His only weakness was Chin Na.

Sanda's "Chin Na" and Karate's "locking techniques" were not exactly the same, but there were similarities between them.

Both used reverse-joint techniques, controlling the joints in various parts of the opponent's body and making them lose the ability to resist.

Chin Na emphasized intercepting the opponent's attack, and once it succeeded, it was often followed with a wrestling technique, then another punch and a kick.

Locking techniques were rarely used this way. They focused more on "locking the joint" itself and clinging relentlessly.

As a result, many vicious moves had also been developed.

Judging from the actual situation, however, Sanda and Karate instruction actually did not place much emphasis on this kind of technique.

Aside from its being banned in competition, the bigger reason was that it was very difficult for practitioners to pull off in real combat.

When facing an enemy, whether or not you could accurately judge which hand or leg the opponent would attack with first was crucial.

If you misjudged, what should have been a left-hand grab became a right-hand grab, and what should have been a right-hand grab became a left-hand grab.

Or perhaps you realized you had made the wrong move, pulled back halfway, and switched to the other hand to grab the opponent again.

Then the follow-up techniques would be thrown completely into chaos.

Reaching out with a joint lock meant using speed to beat slowness; victory and defeat were decided in an instant.

In the split second of lightning-fast attack and defense, wouldn't doing that cost you the opportunity to strike?

This was not feeding moves or practicing forms.

Nor was it like fist techniques or leg techniques, which emphasized being crisp and clean, withdrawing from combat range the moment a strike failed.

Once both sides were tangled together, if your strength was lacking, you simply could not twist the opponent; if your body was not flexible, you would be countered; if your awareness was not up to par, you were just delivering yourself to them.

In close-quarters combat, any flaw would be magnified without limit.

Many traditional martial artists had similar common problems.

Off the stage, when drilling with their disciples, they could easily subdue an opponent with a single move.

But as soon as they stepped into the ring or got into a street brawl, it turned into wild, flailing punches.

When all was said and done, aside from a lack of real combat experience, their reaction ability was also slightly sluggish.

Joint locks, however, were a combat skill that placed particular emphasis on the combination of body and awareness.

They emphasized reading the enemy's intent in advance, requiring you to act one step ahead of the opponent: if they did not move, you did not move; if they moved even slightly, you moved first.

In other words, only by striking first and seizing the advantage could they truly be effective.

After Fang Cheng's Spirit Attribute exceeded 20 points...

His sensory perception, cranial nerve reactions, and observational ability all received unprecedented enhancement.

Facing an opponent on Majima Goro's level, he could easily predict every move he made and swiftly counter it.

After successfully grasping this concept of "intercept," he could even gain a slight upper hand while entangled with him in close-quarters combat.

The first time his joint-locking techniques were used in real combat, they produced remarkable results.

Since his weakness had been made up for...

His Sanda Experience surged, and a breakthrough in skill level became a matter of course.

Fang Cheng adjusted his breathing and heartbeat, then reached out and patted the slightly swaying sandbag.

Shadow boxing was an excellent way to simulate real combat.

Hitting a sandbag, however, was a different kind of experience.

It allowed him both to feel the thrill of each punch landing on flesh and to test his own physical quality.

With his current boxing technique, it could be said that he firmly surpassed Coach Hu and could beat him one-sidedly.

Even if he exchanged blows with that black Boxing King, he would only be slightly inferior.

The gap between them mainly lay in the fact that, in imagined combat, he had no way to accurately assess physical attributes.

Fang Cheng always habitually viewed his opponents as stronger and more physically enduring.

However, if he truly entered unrestricted real combat...

He could also use various techniques such as leg techniques, wrestling techniques, and joint locks.

He could also do what he had done against Majima Goro.

Relying on his reaction ability to strike first, he could disrupt his opponent's rhythm and create a brief suppression.

In the end, he had defeated an enemy whose strength was far above his own.

Moreover...

After Fang Cheng became a sparring partner, he could continue learning other combat techniques openly and have "tool people" to help him improve his experience.

There was no doubt about the speed of his progress.

Given enough time, all the opponents before his eyes would be completely crushed beneath him.

At that thought, his gaze focused as he looked at the enhancement reward from this level up.

5 Free Attributes

Compared with the rewards from the previous few level ups, it was not very eye-catching, but it excited Fang Cheng even more.

Because his current Constitution had already reached a full 16 points.

He only needed to add another 4 points to reach 20.

In other words...

After practicing pull-ups in the rain and achieving a breakthrough in Spirit, another attribute was about to break through its critical threshold.

"Maybe... I could experience that wonderful feeling again?"

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered as he murmured to himself.

After weighing it for a moment, he still decided to hold off for now.

"I'll wait until I'm prepared tomorrow..."

With other plans in mind, Fang Cheng quickly turned and walked toward the bathroom.

The pitch-black rainy night outside the window reminded him that he should leave.