What You Saw Was a Loop; What I Practiced Was the Breakpoint

The next day, Dong Jian entered the waiting area, he noticed someone staring at his waist. The gaze was fixed directly on his waist, without even glancing at his face or his black Fourth Soul Ring.

Yu Feng followed the gaze.

"Now people are studying you even when you're standing."

Dong Jian tightened the wristband.

"Then you'll stand in my place?"

No, thank you.

The Soul Master they fielded today is Zhou Jian. He's level 40 and his Martial Soul Short-Blade Twin Rings. The name sounds like Tool Martial Soul, but his actual fighting style is very close-quarters combat. He wears two short metal rings on the outside of his forearms.

You can ram, you can parry, and you can also force someone into a very small space with a series of short attacks. Qin Ming finished reading the information.

He was on the sidelines yesterday.

"I know."

"I saw you turn around?"

"Should."

Qin Ming didn't say anything more. If someone is seen, they will be studied. In a formal match, no one is obligated to continue playing the way they first met. The referee announced the start.

Zhou Jian didn't test him. He closed in from the very first step. He swung his right arm to bump the shoulder and then his left arm to strike the ribs. The movements were short and simple, unlike the wide, sweeping motions of Heavy Iron Long Staff. Dong Jian yielded.

He shifted his right foot half a step. The first strike grazed past. The second strike followed immediately. He had just begun to turn his waist when Zhou Jian's third strike arrived. Bang! The metal ring slammed into his forearm.

Dong Jian took a step back. Zhou Jian stopped chasing his face and continued chasing his waist and hips. Every time Dong Jian tried to move his body back from the previous trend to a supportive position, the short ring would get in beforehand.

"He's trying to steal that move back."

Shi Mo could see it clearly from the sidelines. Li Man nodded.

"More direct than yesterday."

Zhou Jian didn't need to wait for Dong Jian to complete two rounds. He only needed to ensure that the intervals between each contact were short enough to prevent his shoulders, waist, and legs from having time to comfortably rearrange themselves.

The first continuous pressure forced Dong Jian to retreat three steps. The second time, he tried to Returning and Receiving after the second phase, but before he could even retract his right foot halfway, the short ring had already struck him from the side.

Bang! A sharp pain shot through his side. Dong Jian immediately pulled away. Zhou Jian didn't pursue him too far, instead stopping where he was.

"That turn of your head."

"It's quite obvious in the video."

Dong Jian glanced at him.

"Not bad."

So don't expect to go home comfortably today.

Dong Jian didn't answer. In the third round of combat, he still used Circular Rotation motion to deal with the first attack. The short ring came at him, he shouldered it, turned his waist, and Zhou Jian attacked again. Dong Jian changed position accordingly.

Two sections have been completed in succession. Based on yesterday's structure, the next step should be to return the body to a supportive area. Zhou Jian is also waiting. The left ring has already pressed down on Dong Jian's right side.

Dong Jian suddenly jumped back. It was a very ordinary step, Light-Body Bear Steps. There was no Returning and Receiving or connection to the third segment. The entire continuous trend was broken on the spot. Zhou Jian's ring attack missed.

He paused noticeably.

Aren't you going to reply?

Dong Jian landed.

Why must you return?

Zhou Jian frowned. He pressed closer and even faster next time, trying to force Dong Jian back into that rhythm. Dong Jian responded in the same way, Circular Rotation the first attack smoothly, but ignoring the second.

He cut off directly. In the next round, he didn't even turn on the first attack. The Black Stance sank down and hardened a small portion. He used the collision to retreat and widen the distance. It became increasingly difficult for Zhou Jian to grasp the pattern.

The action diagrams already drawn in the stands began to lose their effectiveness. Someone whispered:

"Isn't it a fixed two-part structure?"

"Yesterday was..."

Why did it stop so quickly today?

The Grandmaster sat to one side of Shrek, his gaze fixed on Dong Jian's feet. Tang San asked, "Teacher, do you think he's hiding the third stage?" Yu Xiaogang shook his head.

His third section was never stable to begin with.

"Now?"

He's abandoning completeness.

Tang San quickly understood. If Dong Jian's recent changes were seen as a new combo, then everyone would naturally assume: First move, second move, turn around.

Let's start the next round. But today, Dong Jian has completely cut out the most predictable move, "Turning Around." The action hasn't changed; he's just chosen not to use it. Tang San wrote two words in the record.

"Can be broken."

On the court, Zhou Jian was starting to get anxious. His biggest advantage was his short-range attack frequency. Continuous pressure could indeed limit Dong Jian's Returning and Receiving, but Dong Jian was no longer fixated on Returning and Receiving.

These attacks are all about speed. Dong Jian will still be forced back and will still take a hit or two. He just won't put himself in the most uncomfortable position just to protect that unclosed circle.

Zhou Jian made his fifth close-range strike. He lunged at Dong Jian's chest with a right-handed circular thrust. Dong Jian didn't turn to the side; instead, he positioned his feet one in front of the other, lowered his body, and pressed his palm directly against the outside of Dong Jian's forearm. Bang! The impact entered Dong Jian's shoulder.

Dong Jian took a half step back. Zhou Jian's second strike came from below. Dong Jian raised his elbow to block, but his body was forced to lean back again. The third strike was coming. Everyone thought he would retreat again.

Dong Jian, however, used the shift in his center of gravity from leaning back to propel himself forward. Zhou Jian's force was not redirected. Dong Jian used the momentum he had already established while retreating.

Now push off the ground again with your feet. Make the position where you finished walking back the starting point of your forward stride. Mountain-Shifting Step and take a step into the distance where it is most difficult to generate power in the short ring.

Before Zhou Jian could even open his arms, Dong Jian's palm had already landed on his chest. Short Tremor. Bang! Zhou Jian staggered backward. Dong Jian didn't finish the second part of the attack. He stopped again. Zhou Jian readjusted his stance.

His face had darkened.

"You keep cutting off."

"Um."

"Then why are you practicing that circle?"

Dong Jian thought for a moment.

Use it when you can.

Zhou Jian hadn't expected such a simple answer. In the next round, he stopped focusing solely on turning around. With his two short rings moving up and down, he finally started hitting his own targets.

This was actually more difficult to handle than the previous one. Dong Jian was hit on the left shoulder and grazed on the right side of his ribs. However, in pursuit of continuous speed, Zhou Jian would create a very short gap in the midline after each arm swing.

In the earlier rounds, Dong Jian didn't try to contest because he didn't have enough space. In the final round, Zhou Jian made a right-hand cross-court collision, Dong Jian dodged to the side, and then immediately followed up with a left-hand cross-court upward strike from below.

Dong Jian turned his foot and didn't continue with a third move. He immediately withdrew half a step from the close-range area the instant the second strike ended. Zhou Jian's third strike missed.

To close the distance, the right foot naturally steps forward. This step arrives before the hands. Dong Jian was waiting for the foot. Mountain-Shifting Step and cut to the outside, pressing down on Zhou Jian's right arm with his left palm.

Short Tremor from his right palm struck Zhou Jian's shoulder, shifting his balance. Zhou Jian tried to pull back his foot, but it was too late. He took two steps back, and on his third step, he stepped off the edge of the platform. Dong Jian didn't rush out to push him off the stage.

Standing inside, Zhou Jian glanced at his feet, then at Dong Jian, and deliberately withdrew his Martial Soul.

"I lost."

The referee announced the result. When Dong Jian left the court, his left shoulder was a little red, and he had also been hit in the side. The injury wasn't serious. However, Qin Ming's first glance wasn't at the injury.

How many times was that circle used today?

"Twice."

"Two complete wheels?"

"Once."

Why not use it?

"He's waiting."

"So?"

"Then we won't give it to you."

Qin Ming nodded.

"It's not hard to learn how to use new things."

"Only by daring not to use it can you be considered not to be led astray by it."

Li Man handed over the water.

"So where are the circles on your paper now?"

"Still there."

"It's been interrupted so many times today."

"It's not like it's been wiped off."

She glanced at him.

"That's acceptable."

The record of the Divine Dragon Secret Realm at night is also very short.

Loop structure: can be actively interrupted.

"Restarted after interruption: Stable."

"The exposure of the fixed Returning and Receiving window has decreased."

"Third cycle: Not yet complete."

The last point remained unchanged. Dong Jian didn't intend to change it either. After returning, Dong Jian didn't immediately review the victory.

Ye Lingling first checked the two spots where he had been hit. His left shoulder was only slightly bruised, and there was no muscle strain on his side, so she allowed him to sit down at the record table.

Li Man wrote down the movements for today in order. The first section is connected. The second section is broken. The first section is held firmly. Completely withdraw. Then start again. When she got to the end, she stopped writing herself.

"This simply cannot be drawn as a fixed image."

Dong Jian said, "I shouldn't have drawn it in the first place."

"What about that circle you circled yesterday?"

"The circle is the area I need to practice now."

"The game doesn't necessarily have to go in a certain direction."

Li Man tapped the paper.

So now you have two questions.

"What?"

One is how to get back into a position where I can take on responsibilities.

"The other one is to never reply at all."

Dong Jian thought for a moment and wrote the second sentence down next to the unclosed circle.

The Divine Dragon Secret Realm didn't turn this into a hint, nor did it automatically summarize new moves. The training samples and actual combat samples simply existed side by side: two rounds of cycles were stable under controlled contact; high-frequency preemptive attacks would compress the Returning and Receiving time; actively breaking the stance and restarting could reduce errors.

No single factor equals the answer. Dong Jian was actually quite satisfied. It would be abnormal if someone who had only practiced for two days already had no problems with their structure.

Qin Ming reviewed the records and only asked him to reduce the intensity of sparring the next day.

"You did several sudden shifts in distance today in an attempt to break the connection. Your right ankle is also under strain."

Dong Jian nodded. He hadn't forgotten about the fatigue Ye Lingling had mentioned yesterday just because he had defeated Zhou Jian. On the other side of the field, Tang San added another line next to the "Returning and Receiving window" he had recorded yesterday.

"It cannot be assumed that it will necessarily occur."

Yu Xiaogang glanced at it. He didn't add any new movements. He only said:

"So this thing is becoming less and less like a fixed set of moves."

Tang San nodded.

"More like a judgment."

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Fighting Team rest area, Qin Ming had already posted the list for the next round. Dong Jian's name was placed at the end, and Yu Tianheng was first.