A True Believer in Gender Equality

A True Believer in Gender Equality

"Zhu Junior Sister, don't fool around."

The young man among the Personal Disciples shrugged and spoke.

"Your skills aren't polished yet, and you don't know how to hold back. He might become our Junior Brother in the future. What if you hurt him?"

"Leave it to the most mature and reliable one here, me..."

Before he could finish, Old Man Li interrupted thoughtfully, "No, let Shan Ying handle it."

The young man asked in confusion, "Huh?"

Hadn't Master just been so attentive to this boy? Didn't he seem quite taken with him?

Why send Junior Sister... This was bad. He was probably going to be traumatized before he even joined.

The young man looked at Xue Jing with pity.

"Yay!"

The girl named Zhu Shan Ying cheered, her lively, bright eyes curving into crescent moons.

No one saw how she moved. Her entire body flashed, and she suddenly appeared beside Xue Jing, moving astonishingly fast.

She took Xue Jing's hand and quickly led him toward the nearest arena.

"Come with me, Junior Brother!"

Xue Jing's gaze shifted. That speed...

He did not resist, letting the girl's soft little hand lead him forward.

Maomao, perched on the wheelchair's armrest, pouted. For some reason, she felt inexplicably displeased.

After Zhu Shan Ying led Xue Jing onto the arena, she released his hand. Then, with two light and graceful backflips, she landed opposite him. She clasped her fists and smiled with crescent eyes. "Junior Brother, please go easy on me!"

Xue Jing was somewhat amazed by the agility she had displayed. Backflips were not difficult, but doing them with such catlike lightness and natural grace was a completely different matter.

This was the first time he had faced someone who had truly trained in martial arts, and he felt a little excited.

He copied the girl, clasped his fists, and said, "Please go easy on me."

As they took their positions, the surrounding disciples gathered to watch.

"Hey, hey, hey, what exactly is going on? Wasn't that guy here to challenge the dojo? First, the dojo master questioned him like he was setting him up on a blind date, and now what is this? I can't make heads or tails of it."

"It's fine if you don't get it. I don't get it either... Anyway, since Zhu Senior Sister is making a move, he's definitely going to have it rough."

"I bet fifty cents he'll break at least an arm and a leg."

"Have more confidence. I bet five bucks all four limbs get broken."

"Tsk, tsk. Poor guy."

Xue Jing inexplicably noticed that nearly everyone around him was looking at him with a trace of pity he could not understand.

At that moment, the young Personal Disciple walked to the center of the arena. He patted Xue Jing's shoulder first and comforted him, "Be careful. If you feel like you can't take it anymore, surrender immediately. I'll come save you right away."

Xue Jing: "..."

"Then..." The young man stood between them, raised his right hand, and chopped it downward. "Begin."

After saying that, he immediately leaped backward off the arena.

"Junior Brother, be careful!"

Zhu Shan Ying wore a delighted smile as she stepped forward and shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, absurdly fast.

Her delicate hand curled into a fist and struck toward Xue Jing.

Then... Xue Jing caught her wrist and used the momentum to throw her over his shoulder, slamming her viciously into the ground.

Bang!

He did not hold back at all with that throw. He even used Moving Strength, and the force was so great that the entire arena shook violently.

The girl sprawled facedown on the ground and immediately fell into an infant-like sleep.

"Huh?" The watching disciples froze.

"Hmm?" The young Personal Disciple looked utterly bewildered.

The other two Personal Disciples, who seemed like father and daughter and had not said a word since Xue Jing arrived, could not help glancing over at the boy standing on the arena.

Maomao's eyes gleamed smugly, and her tail swayed uncontrollably.

The entire dojo fell into a strange silence.

"So... does this count as successfully challenging the dojo?"

Standing on the arena, Xue Jing looked at Li Qi in his wheelchair and asked doubtfully.

"..."

In the silence, Li Qi looked at Xue Jing, then at Maomao on the armrest, and sighed. "...You really did find this old man a fine prospect."

On the way home, Maomao sat crouched on Xue Jing's shoulder, looking smug. "You defeated a Personal Disciple of the Hidden Dragon Dojo without having trained in martial arts. From now on, you can go to the Hidden Dragon Dojo whenever you want and receive Old Man Li's instruction for free. No one will dare complain."

"And I won't have to owe Old Man Li a huge favor for it. On the contrary, since I gave him such a good disciple, Old Man Li ought to thank me."

"Win-win. A double win. We won twice."

Her tail brushed across Xue Jing's cheek, bringing a soft tickle. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I didn't expect it to end so quickly. I thought the Personal Disciples of the Hidden Dragon Dojo would be really strong. I was even prepared to get beaten senseless."

"You weren't wrong to think that," Maomao said.

"In fact, that girl was indeed very strong. Much stronger than you are right now."

Xue Jing asked doubtfully, "Then why?"

Maomao smiled. "I want to ask you instead: why should being stronger necessarily mean you'll win?"

"There are countless examples in this world of the weak defeating the strong. Some people can't even defeat eight hundred enemies while leading a hundred thousand troops. If even such a vast disparity can be overturned, what does that make the gap between you and that girl?"

"Martial arts aren't about comparing numbers. It isn't true that whoever has the bigger numbers must win. Emotions, condition, will, intelligence, decisions... even an insignificant stroke of luck can become the key factor deciding victory or defeat."

"If that girl had been even a little more cautious and hadn't opened with such a wide, direct punch; if she had known even a little about you and understood your Reaction Speed; if she had used Moving Strength beforehand to protect her whole body; if you hadn't gone all out after seizing the opportunity to finish it in one blow..."

Maomao spoke meaningfully.

"If even one tiny factor had changed, she would not have lost to you. But the undeniable fact is that she lost."

"This is the world of Martial Artists."

Xue Jing seemed to understand something.

"This is also a good warning for you. With your talent, you will likely become very strong in the future, but you must never become too arrogant because of it. Otherwise, something like today could happen to you."

Maomao warned him.

Xue Jing smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, Wan Teacher."

Hearing that title, Maomao nodded in satisfaction.

You experienced a battle where the weak defeated the strong. Fighting experience +211

You experienced a battle where the weak defeated the strong. Fitness experience +121

You experienced a battle where the weak defeated the strong and felt delighted. Wellness experience +89

You experienced a battle where the weak defeated the strong. Aim experience +56

You experienced a battle where the weak defeated the strong. Moving Strength experience +139

Fighting increased to Lv2 (107/500)

Xue Jing glanced at the notifications on the panel, felt his body becoming even tougher, and smiled silently as a sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

"By the way, you didn't hesitate to hit that pitiful-looking girl so hard. Don't tell me you have some kind of misogyny or something..."

Maomao suddenly asked.

Xue Jing gave her a strange look and shook his head.

"Not at all. I'm just a true believer in gender equality. I treat hitting men and hitting women exactly the same..."

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