Great Unrestrained Hands

Great Unrestrained Hands

Hearing Yu Gang's call, Chen Chuan stepped into the middle of the training ground and stopped in front of him.

Lu Ke had originally been training by himself nearby, but now he slowed his pace and glanced over.

Yu Gang stood there expressionlessly, without urging him with words, yet Chen Chuan felt an invisible pressure, as if reminding him that he needed to make a move quickly.

Instinctively, he used the Breathing Method, clenched his fist, and punched Yu Gang in the chest. With a bang, it felt as though he had struck a thick tire. A shock force surged back at him, driving him back several steps instead.

Yu Gang evaluated him without mercy. "Your punching posture is amateurish even among amateurs. Your strength is lacking, and you're as slow as a snail. Any trainee who's had a month of training could easily knock you down. There's no way you'll pass the entrance exam like this. Not even pulling strings will help."

Watching from the side, the corners of Lu Ke's mouth curled slightly upward.

Yu Gang looked at Chen Chuan's calm expression and added, "But it looks like you're holding something back. Use your full strength. Otherwise, I can't arrange a plan based on your actual condition."

Chen Chuan knew that during training, he would inevitably have to reveal the Second Self's power, so this time, he decided to stop holding back.

He drew a breath and returned to his original spot. Letting out a low shout, he threw another punch. This time, the Second Self standing behind him instantly overlapped with him. With a thud, the same rebounding force came rushing back, sending him stumbling several steps away again. But anyone could feel that this punch carried tremendous weight.

Lu Ke unconsciously sat up a little straighter.

Yu Gang still had not moved, but a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes. Talent... he thought. Aloud, he said, "Now that's more like it. Correct your force generation, and coordinate your breathing properly, and the power of your strikes can improve further. Hmm, in that case..."

He seemed to be considering something. After a while, as if he had sorted out his thoughts, he said, "Current combat systems can broadly be divided into Old Martial and New Martial. New Martial is currently the mainstream in the academy. It focuses on techniques such as unarmed strikes, throws and grappling, and joint locks. New Martial's training system is practical and reliable, and it is also the most widely used at present. It is the mainstream at Wu University too, so we'll begin with New Martial."

It was Chen Chuan's first time hearing of the terms Old Martial and New Martial. Wanting to understand, he asked, "Mr. Yu, is everything we study now New Martial? Then what is Old Martial like?"

Yu Gang said, "Old Martial is complex and diverse, with countless branches, but it generally centers on killing with weapons. Fists and kicks are merely supplementary, because martial techniques in the Old Era were meant both for fighting people to the death and for survival.

"In the Old Era, there was a necessity to this choice. If you were fighting someone to the death, or hunting wild beasts, and you had tools available, would you choose to fight bare-handed?"

Chen Chuan replied decisively, "Of course not."

Yu Gang said, "So the direction of Old Martial was clear. Much of Old Martial's fist-and-kick training was merely supplementary exercise for wielding weapons. When judged solely as unarmed combat, many of its movements become superfluous, putting it at a disadvantage against purely unarmed New Martial. Still, some improved forms of pure unarmed combat are quite good.

"Of course, that doesn't mean New Martial doesn't teach weapon combat, but it is ultimately separated from unarmed combat. That differs from Old Martial's emphasis on combining weapons and fists.

"All right, we've wandered too far from the topic. Let's talk about what's in front of us. I'll teach you a set of Basic Combat Technique. Among civilians, it is called 'Small Unrestrained Hands' or 'Great Unrestrained Hands.' The difference lies only in which principles of attack and defense they emphasize. There is also a set called 'Righteous Unrestrained Hands,' which is not taught to outsiders. Only those with a martial academy certificate are permitted to use it. The set I'll teach you is Great Unrestrained Hands. Watch my movements carefully."

He moved to one side and assumed a fighting stance, his feet one in front of the other. His body sank slightly, light in front and heavy in back. One hand extended forward while the other guarded his abdomen.

He said, "This guard is not fixed. Different opponents and different approaches call for different stances. For example, against someone skilled at throws and locks, you can lower your center of gravity. Against someone with swift footwork, you can raise it and move faster. Your guarding hand can also change into fingers or palms at any time. It depends on how you fight and how proficiently you have mastered the techniques." After saying that, he straightened up. "Now try it once."

Chen Chuan walked to the center and copied the stance Yu Gang had just demonstrated. Yu Gang came over and adjusted his posture. "Don't keep your body so tense. Don't raise your head so high. Tuck in your chin. Both hands need to maintain an awareness of protection..."

Under his guidance, Chen Chuan soon looked fairly convincing in the stance. Yu Gang then taught him how to clench his fists and form his palms, how to generate force in simple punches and kicks, and how to use common advancing and retreating footwork.

Since there were not many techniques or movements taught at the beginning, after training for a whole morning, Chen Chuan was still far from mastering them, but at least he had memorized them all.

In the afternoon, besides continuing to familiarize himself with those techniques, he mainly trained the various fundamentals. This too was carried out under Yu Gang's strict guidance, with breaks for rest and nutritional replenishment. They trained like that until around five in the evening, when Yu Gang finally had him run back.

Throughout this process, he did not forget the most important Breathing Method. Besides making full use of the daytime while training, he returned at night and used the Second Self to practice the Basic Breathing Method. He continued until the Second Self became almost completely translucent before going to bed.

Over the following days, he basically maintained this training rhythm every day. In less than ten days, he could use some techniques from Great Unrestrained Hands with relative proficiency.

At the same time, he discovered that once he became familiar with a movement, whenever he employed the Breathing Method, he naturally knew what kind of force generation the technique needed to be correct.

If there was a hitch in his movement or the action was wrong when he attacked, his breathing would not flow smoothly. Conversely, once his breath flowed freely, his strength gathered accordingly. This allowed him to use his breath to guide his movements better.

This was undoubtedly the function of the Breathing Method. No wonder Yu Gang had said it was the core of all cores.

Because he could constantly feel the gains, he threw himself into it wholeheartedly. Normal daytime training gradually strengthened his physical condition and extended the time he could maintain the Breathing Method in his ordinary state. The Breathing Method, in turn, improved the efficiency of his training. It was an exceptionally good cycle, and his progress was very apparent.

He also made another discovery: the maximum amount of time he could use the Second Self was slowly increasing. Perhaps this was positive feedback produced through training, driven by the pleasure that came with his body growing stronger without pause.

By mid-June, he found Yu Gang and said, "Mr. Yu, recently, after each session of Basic Breathing Method practice, I feel my body becoming slightly hot. Do you know why that is?"

Yu Gang seemed somewhat surprised. Looking directly at him, he said, "Hot? After every breathing exercise? Are you sure?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "I'm sure. It happens after every use of the Breathing Method. At first, I could only feel it faintly, but over the past two days, it has become increasingly obvious."

Yu Gang asked again, "About how long has this been happening?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment. "Four or five days."

Yu Gang could not help crossing his arms and falling into thought.

Chen Chuan asked, "Mr. Yu, is there some problem?"

Yu Gang said, "There's no problem. This is a phenomenon that naturally appears from practicing the Breathing Method. It usually takes some time, but I didn't expect it to appear so early in your case. It seems you can begin the next stage of training ahead of schedule."

The appearance of bodily heat during Breathing Method practice represented the practitioner's body adapting comprehensively to this breathing rhythm. Especially for adolescents whose bodies had not fully matured, there would be a lengthy period of improvement as they grew older.

But for ordinary people, this usually happened only after dozens of days, or even half a year to a year, of Breathing Method practice. Some people could not feel it even in their entire lives. Yet how long had Chen Chuan been practicing?

At most, half a month.

So it really is talent... Yu Gang thought.

That afternoon, Yu Gang called both Chen Chuan and Lu Ke before him. "Chen Chuan, for the next period, you can begin sparring training. Lu Ke, you will be Chen Chuan's sparring partner. Your own training can be pushed back for now."

Lu Ke felt somewhat displeased, but he smiled on the surface. "All right, Master. Young Master Chen, if you need anything, just let me know."

Chen Chuan said, "You're too polite, Little Brother Lu."

From that day onward, his training included the two of them feeding each other moves in attack and defense, as well as reaction drills requiring mutual coordination. Lu Ke mainly worked with him, helping him further familiarize himself with Great Unrestrained Hands in offense and defense.

After this continued for seven days, Yu Gang began having them attempt actual combat sparring. To prevent injuries, the two naturally put on protective gear and gauntlets.

But at Wu Yi University, apart from weapon instruction and routine sparring, there was no protective gear. So later on, he would gradually remove these protections.

"Today is your first day of sparring, so there will be three rounds. Each round will be limited to three minutes for now, with five minutes of rest in between. I'll score the match. Whoever has fewer points will be responsible for putting away the equipment and cleaning the training ground today."

After briefly explaining several more points to note, Yu Gang stepped aside and signaled that the two could begin.

Chen Chuan and Lu Ke walked to the center and clasped their fists in salute according to combat etiquette. But before Chen Chuan's hands had fully lowered, Lu Ke suddenly shot out a punch straight at his chest and abdomen!