Resilience

Chapter 30: Resistance to Impact

Xiang Kun had never undergone any combat training, so naturally, he lacked professional footwork and blocking techniques.

However, his reaction time, strength, and agility were all top-tier. While the latter two were manageable and didn't exceed the limits of an ordinary person by too much, the former had become far superior to the average person due to his currently extreme sensory sensitivity.

Basically, the moment the coach made a move, Xiang Kun could judge the direction of the attack and dodge with ease. His footwork and movements were subconscious, flowing with natural grace.

Although he lacked the sliding, stepping, and retreating techniques of a professional fighter, he was still able to evade attacks effortlessly.

However, after dodging a few times, Xiang Kun suddenly stood still, shielding his head with his arms and tucking his elbows against his ribs, letting the coach's fists land on his body.

Neither dodging nor counterattacking, Xiang Kun was intentionally trying to test the impact of the other man's strikes.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Thwack!..."

The gloved fists landed on Xiang Kun's arms and torso, and the whip kicks slammed into his thighs, all producing loud thuds that signaled the force behind the blows.

After landing several consecutive hits, the coach paused slightly, seemingly wanting to see if Xiang Kun could handle it. Even for a regular person—let alone the Sanda team teammates he used to spar with—taking such solid kicks to the thigh would make it difficult to stand, and after such a flurry of attacks, the coach's own stamina was beginning to wane.

To his surprise, he saw Xiang Kun crook his wrist, gesturing for him to continue.

After taking a few more hits from the coach, Xiang Kun actually dropped his guarded arms, took a few punches to his torso, and even allowed a hook to land directly on his face.

After taking that punch, Xiang Kun stepped back twice, his back hitting the ropes, and he opened his mouth to work his jaw and neck. Even for him, taking a punch flush to the cheek was quite unpleasant. He could feel that the inside of his mouth had been cut and was bleeding.

Once the punch connected, the coach stopped, as he hadn't expected to actually land it. He knew the weight of his own punches, and since Xiang Kun wasn't wearing protective gear, he was afraid of causing serious injury.

The older coach, who had been acting as the referee, stepped between them, signaled for the end of the sparring, and walked over to check on Xiang Kun.

The young students watching from the sidelines applauded the young coach. Indeed, in their eyes, the newcomer who had come to "challenge the gym" had been suppressed the entire time, unable to fight back, looking like nothing more than a foolish brute.

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

Although he hadn't thrown a single punch or counterattacked during this brief "sparring" session, and it looked as if he had been beaten the whole time, he had actually gained a great deal.

He had made up his mind: he would not be learning combat techniques at this type of gym.

He realized that whether it was boxing, Sanda, Muay Thai, or other combat styles, their development over the years was built upon the physical limitations of ordinary humans—their strength, agility, reaction times, and physical vulnerabilities were all factored in.

Xiang Kun's current body was already vastly different from an ordinary person's, and these differences would only grow more pronounced in the future. For him, combat techniques designed for ordinary people might actually be a case of putting the cart before the horse, a roundabout way of doing things.

Of course, this didn't mean he didn't need to practice combat techniques. It just meant that the techniques he required needed to be redesigned specifically for his own unique capabilities. In a gym like this, he couldn't reveal his true physical prowess or abilities, nor could he expect others to understand him or help him modify his combat style.

He would have to do it all himself, just as he had done before.

The Sanda coach was quite surprised when he saw Xiang Kun.

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

As for the cute, pretty, and single Tang Baona, the single men in the group naturally had some ideas, but although Tang Baona seemed outgoing and lively, she would keep anyone at arm's length the moment they showed interest beyond friendship.

Hearing that Tang Baona was bringing a man along this time—and supposedly a blind date—the guys were hostile. The young Sanda coach had been the most proactive in suggesting they give the guy a hard time.

But when the person arrived...

It turned out to be Xiang Kun, the man he had fought in the gym yesterday.

He wasn't like the students watching from the sidelines yesterday who thought Xiang Kun had been crushed because he didn't fight back.

In fact, after Xiang Kun left yesterday, the older coach who had acted as the referee—and was the actual owner of the gym—had told him privately that while Xiang Kun might not have trained systematically, he definitely wouldn't be a match for him in a real fight. If nothing else, their ability to withstand impact wasn't even on the same level; his punches simply couldn't pose a threat to Xiang Kun.

As for Xiang Kun's punches, although he hadn't thrown a single one in the ring, hadn't he been the one who tried to show off, only to be floored by a single hit from Xiang Kun, leading to his own angry outburst?

Reflecting on it calmly, he knew the older coach was right. When Xiang Kun was dodging at the start, he had attacked for several rounds without even touching a hair on him. It was only when Xiang Kun stood still that he could land a hit, and later, when he dropped his guard to let him land a punch on his face, it was clearly a deliberate test of his strength.

So, seeing him again today, he had no intention of trying to spar for a win. A gap in strength was a gap in strength; they weren't in the same league. Provoking him now would only be asking for humiliation.

He nodded at Xiang Kun as a greeting and walked to the side.

Coach Shen from the gym also came over to greet him happily; they had become well-acquainted during his time at the gym.

Seeing the Sanda coach, who had been the most eager to cause trouble, suddenly lose all his steam upon seeing Xiang Kun, the other guys curiously gathered around to whisper questions.

The Sanda coach didn't tell them the specifics of what happened yesterday, only telling them that Xiang Kun was definitely much tougher than he was. When Coach Shen later told them that this bald man was the same "beast" who had broken all the records for bench presses, squats, and deadlifts, the way they looked at Xiang Kun changed instantly.

Xiang Kun naturally didn't know what the others were thinking. Meeting Coach Shen and the Sanda coach he had sparred with yesterday was a bit unexpected, but he didn't think much of it, and he certainly had no intention of fighting the Sanda coach again.

Ever since he got out of the car, his attention had been entirely focused on the surrounding mountains and forests.

Originally, Xiang Kun hadn't been very enthusiastic about joining this hike because his schedule was tight. Based on his previous patterns, tomorrow would be the next time he felt the hunger and needed to consume blood. He wanted to get in enough training before then to influence the direction of his body's mutation and evolution.

But once he arrived, he suddenly felt as if he had been cooped up in a room for a long time and had finally opened the door to step outside. He felt his entire sensory range expand by more than double—and this was even while his physical functions and senses were somewhat suppressed during the daylight hours.