"Zhu, stop messing about,"
a young man among the direct disciples shrugged and said.
"Your skills aren't perfected yet; being too rough or too gentle is risky. He could be our future junior brother; what if you hurt him?"
"I, the most mature and steady here, will..."
He hadn't finished speaking when Old Man Li, looking thoughtful, interrupted, "No, let Shanying do it."
The young man questioned, "Huh?"
The master was just being warm and kind to this boy; didn't he seem to like him quite a bit?
Why let the junior sister do it... Now it's going to be a disaster; he's likely to end up traumatized before even getting started.
The young man looked at Xue Jing with eyes full of pity.
"Yay!"
The girl named Zhu Shanying cheered, her bright eyes curving into two crescent moons.
Without anyone seeing how she moved, she suddenly flashed to Xue Jing's side with incredible speed.
She took Xue Jing's hand and quickly walked towards the nearest sparring ring.
"Junior brother, follow me!"
Xue Jing's gaze flickered—this speed...
He didn't resist, letting the girl's soft hand lead him forward.
Miao Miao, sitting on the armrest of the wheelchair, pursed her lips, feeling inexplicably irked for some reason.
Once Zhu Shanying led Xue Jing onto the sparring ring, she let go of his hand and then bounced to the opposite side of Xue Jing with two backflips, landing gracefully and elegantly. She then saluted Xue Jing with folded fists, her eyes curving into a smile, "Junior brother, please give me your guidance!"
Xue Jing was somewhat amazed by her displayed agility; backflips were not difficult, but achieving such a cat-like lightness and natural ease was a different matter altogether.
This was his first time facing someone who had truly practiced martial arts, and he was a bit excited at the prospect.
He imitated the girl, also folding his fists, saying, "Please give me your guidance."
As they got ready, the other disciples crowded around to watch the spectacle.
"Hey, hey, what's going on? Wasn't that guy here to challenge the dojo? And why did the Arena Master question him like he was sizing up a prospective match for marriage? What's with the current situation? I can't figure it out."
"Right, being confused is the correct reaction; I don't get it either... Anyway, since it's Zhu going into action, he's definitely in for a beating."
"I bet fifty cents he'll break at least an arm and a leg."
"Be more confident; I'll bet five bucks he breaks all his limbs."
"Tsk, tsk, poor guy."
Xue Jing inexplicably noticed that almost everyone around him was looking at him with a pity he couldn't understand.
At that moment, the young direct disciple walked to the center of the ring, patted Xue Jing on the shoulder, and comfortingly said, "Be careful, if you can't handle it, give up quickly, and I'll come to save you right away."
Xue Jing: "..."
"Now..." The young man stood between the two, raised his right hand, and with a downward sweep, announced, "Begin."
After saying that, he immediately jumped back out of the ring.
"Junior brother, be careful!"
Zhu Shanying, with a happy smile, took a step forward and dashed towards Xue Jing like an arrow released from a bow, her speed outrageously fast.
She clenched her bare hand into a fist and swung at Xue Jing.
And then... Xue Jing caught her wrist and used her momentum to perform a shoulder throw, slamming her heavily onto the ground.
"Bang!"
He didn't hold back with the throw, even applying power with a substantial force that made the entire platform shudder.
The girl lay flat on the ground, immediately falling into a baby-like sleep.
"Eh?" the spectating disciples.
"Hm?" the young direct disciple with a dumbfounded face.
```
The two true disciples who looked like a father and daughter and had been silent since they came in couldn't help but glance sideways, looking towards the young man standing on the stage.
Miao Miao's eyes shone with pride, and her tail couldn't help swishing back and forth uncontrollably.
The entire dojo fell into a strange silence.
"So... does this mean I've successfully challenged the dojo?"
Xue Jing stood on the stage, looking at Li Qi in the wheelchair, and asked with confusion.
"..."
In the silence, Li Qi looked at Xue Jing, then glanced at Miao Miao on the armrest, and sighed,
"... You really did find an excellent prospect for this old man."
...
Walking home, with Miao Miao perched proudly on Xue Jing's shoulder, she said,
"Beating a Hidden Dragon Dojo direct disciple without having trained in martial arts means you can go to the Hidden Dragon Dojo anytime and receive free teachings from Old Man Li without anyone daring to object."
"And for me, I don't owe Old Man Li a big favor. On the contrary, because I brought you to him, Old Man Li should be thanking me."
"Win-win, we win twice."
Her tail brushed Xue Jing's cheek, bringing a soft itchiness. He thought for a moment, then said,
"I didn't expect things to end so quickly. I thought the Hidden Dragon Dojo's direct disciples would be very strong. I was even prepared to be badly beaten."
"You haven't thought wrong," Miao Miao said.
"In fact, that girl is indeed very strong, much stronger than you are now."
Xue Jing asked in confusion, "Then why?"
Miao Miao laughed and said, "Instead, I want to ask you, why should being stronger guarantee a win?"
"There are countless examples in this world where the weak have defeated the strong. Some people can't even win against eight hundred with a hundred thousand soldiers. If such a huge gap can be overturned, what about you and that girl?"
"Martial arts is not about comparing numbers. There's no rule that the person with higher numbers will definitely win. Mindset, state of mind, will, intelligence, decisions... even just an insignificant bit of luck can become the key factor influencing the outcome."
"If that girl had been more cautious, not starting with such wide, sweeping straight punches, if she had known a bit about you, understood your reaction speed, if she had readied her energy to protect her body beforehand, if you hadn't gone all out when you saw your chance..."
Miao Miao said meaningfully.
"Any slight change in these little factors, and she wouldn't have lost to you. But the undeniable fact is, she lost."
"This is the world of the Martial Artist."
Xue Jing seemed enlightened.
"This is also a good warning for you. With your talent, you are likely to become very strong in the future, but you must not get too carried away, or you may end up just like today."
Miao Miao reminded him.
Xue Jing laughed and said, "I'll keep that in mind, Teacher Wan."
Hearing this address, Miao Miao nodded her head in satisfaction.
[You experienced a battle where you overcame a stronger opponent, Fighting Experience Points +211]
[You experienced a battle where you overcame a stronger opponent, Fitness Experience Points +121]
[You experienced a battle where you overcame a stronger opponent and felt a pleasant mood, Health Cultivation Experience Value +89]
[You experienced a battle where you overcame a stronger opponent, Aiming Experience Value +56]
[You experienced a battle where you overcame a stronger opponent, Channeling Energy Experience Points +139]
[Fighting has been upgraded to Lv2 (107/500)]
Xue Jing glanced at the prompt on the panel, feeling his body become even more robust, and silently smiled, a sense of satisfaction arising in his heart.
"By the way, you didn't hesitate to hit that pitiable girl so hard. You don't have some kind of aversion to women, do you..."
Miao Miao suddenly asked.
Xue Jing gave her a curious glance and shook his head.
"That's not it. I'm a true believer in gender equality, treating men and women the same when it comes to fighting..."
...
```