Taking a Punch

Chapter 30: Taking a Punch

Xiang Kun had never received any combat training, so naturally, he had no proper footwork or blocking techniques.

But his reflexes, strength, and agility were all top-tier. The latter two were still within the limits of an ordinary person, though on the high end. His reflexes, however, had become far beyond normal thanks to his heightened senses.

The moment the coach moved, Xiang Kun could basically tell which direction the attack was coming from and dodge it with ease. His footwork and movements came naturally, all instinctive.

Though he lacked the technical footwork of a fighter—the shuffles, steps, and retreats—he could still dodge the attacks with ease.

But after dodging a few times, Xiang Kun suddenly planted his feet, raised his arms to protect his head, and tucked his elbows against his ribs, letting the coach's fists hit him.

He neither dodged nor counterattacked. Xiang Kun deliberately wanted to see what it felt like to take the other man's blows.

"Bam! Bam! Bam! Smack!..."

Gloved fists landed on Xiang Kun's arms and abdomen, while a roundhouse kick cracked against his thigh. Each blow made a loud sound and landed with plenty of force.

After landing several hits in a row, the coach paused briefly, apparently wanting to see whether Xiang Kun could take it. Even the members of his sanda team, who had sparred with him before, would struggle to stand after taking a few full-force kicks to the thigh like that—let alone an ordinary person. After such a continuous barrage, the coach was also starting to run low on stamina.

But Xiang Kun simply crooked his wrist, beckoning for him to continue.

After taking a few more hits from the coach, Xiang Kun actually lowered his arms. He took several punches to the abdomen, then even turned his face into a hook punch.

The punch made Xiang Kun stagger back two steps until he came up against the ropes. He opened his mouth and moved his jaw and neck around. Even he felt awful after taking a solid punch to the cheek. He could feel that the inside of his mouth had been cut and was bleeding.

After landing that punch, the coach stopped too. He hadn't expected to hit Xiang Kun, and he knew exactly how hard he had thrown it. Xiang Kun had no protective gear on, and he was afraid of seriously hurting him.

The older coach, who had been acting as the referee, stepped between them and waved to signal the end of the match. Then he went over to check on Xiang Kun.

The young students watching from the sidelines applauded and cheered for their coach. From their perspective, the newcomer who had come to "challenge the gym" had been beaten the whole time, without any chance to fight back. He looked like nothing but a big, dumb brute.

Xiang Kun waved to the older coach to show he was fine, then left the gym.

Though he hadn't thrown a single punch or counterattacked during his brief "sparring session" with the coach, and seemed to have spent the whole time getting beaten, he had actually gained quite a bit from it.

He had made up his mind: he wouldn't learn combat techniques at this kind of gym.

He understood that boxing, sanda, Muay Thai, and other combat disciplines had all developed over many years around the physical abilities of ordinary humans. That applied to everything: strength, agility, reflexes, and physical weaknesses.

Xiang Kun's body had already become very different from an ordinary person's, and those differences would only grow in the foreseeable future. Combat techniques designed for ordinary people might actually be an inefficient, roundabout approach for him.

Of course, that didn't mean he no longer needed to practice combat techniques. He just needed techniques specifically designed around his abilities. But at a gym like this, he couldn't freely demonstrate his physical abilities and other capabilities, nor could he get anyone else to understand him and help adapt the techniques for him.

He could only do as he had before and figure it all out himself.

The sanda coach was also somewhat surprised when he saw Xiang Kun.

They knew Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er because he was friends with Coach Shen, who worked at the gym upstairs. Coach Shen's girlfriend was a yoga instructor who knew Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er well. They had a WeChat group and often organized outdoor activities together, such as hiking, mountain climbing, and cycling.

Since Tang Baona was cute, pretty, and single, several of the single men in the group naturally had some interest in her. Though she seemed outgoing and lively, the moment anyone hinted at wanting more than friendship, she would shut them out completely.

When they heard that Tang Baona was bringing a man along this time, and that he was supposedly someone she had been set up with, several of the guys grew hostile. They had just been talking among themselves about giving him a warning, and the young sanda coach had been the most eager.

But they hadn't expected that, when the man arrived...

It would be Xiang Kun, the man he had fought at the gym just yesterday.

Unlike the gym students who had watched from the edge of the ring the day before, he didn't think Xiang Kun had been beaten just because he hadn't fought back and had spent the whole time taking hits.

In fact, after Xiang Kun left the day before, the older coach who had served as the temporary referee—the gym's actual owner—had privately told him that Xiang Kun might never have trained systematically in boxing, but he still wouldn't stand a chance against him in a real fight. For one thing, their ability to take a hit wasn't even in the same league. His punches simply couldn't pose a threat to Xiang Kun.

As for Xiang Kun's punches, he hadn't thrown one in the ring. But hadn't the coach gotten himself knocked flat by Xiang Kun after trying to show off and letting him hit him? Wasn't that why he'd been so humiliated and furious?

After calming down and thinking it over, he knew the older coach had been right. At the start of the match, when Xiang Kun had been dodging, he had attacked for several rounds and hadn't even come close to touching him. It was only when Xiang Kun had planted his feet and stopped moving that he managed to hit him. Later, Xiang Kun had deliberately lowered his guard to let him land that punch to the face. He had clearly been testing the strength of the coach's punches.

So when he saw Xiang Kun again today, he had no intention of trying to spar with him and settle the score. A difference in ability was a difference in ability. They weren't even in the same league, and provoking him would only bring humiliation.

So he nodded to Xiang Kun in greeting, then moved off to the side.

Coach Shen from the gym was also happy to come over and greet him. They had already gotten to know each other well during Xiang Kun's time at the gym.

Seeing that the sanda coach, who had been the most eager to cause trouble for Xiang Kun, had immediately backed down when he saw him, the other guys couldn't help approaching him and asking quietly what was going on.

The sanda coach didn't tell them the details of what had happened the day before. He only told them that Xiang Kun could definitely fight much better than he could. Then, not long afterward, Coach Shen told them that the bald guy standing there was the powerhouse he'd mentioned before—the one with phenomenal bench press, squat, and deadlift numbers. After that, they looked at Xiang Kun very differently.

Xiang Kun naturally had no idea what the others were thinking. He was surprised to run into Coach Shen and the sanda coach he'd sparred with just the day before, but he didn't think much of it and had no intention of fighting the sanda coach again.

Ever since getting out of the car, his attention had been entirely focused on these woods.

He hadn't been all that eager to join this hike in the first place, since he was pressed for time. Based on his previous pattern, he would feel hungry and need to drink blood again tomorrow. Before then, he needed to train as much as possible to influence the direction of his body's mutation and evolution.

But after arriving here, he suddenly felt as if he had been cooped up in a room for ages and had just opened the door and stepped outside. The range of his senses seemed to have expanded more than twofold in an instant—and this was still during the daytime, when his physical functions and senses were somewhat suppressed.