The instructor could tell at a glance that Jiang Li wanted to challenge herself, but he still found it unbelievable, which is why he asked. The surrounding students also burst into laughter and even joined in the teasing.
“Jiang Li challenging the instructor? I think it’s possible, but the instructor should only use one hand to make it fair.”
“Just one hand won’t do; he must not use one foot too!”
“I think the instructor should just stand in one spot or draw a circle. If he steps out of the circle, then Jiang Li wins.”
The students’ laughter and excitement continued, and nearby classes were soon drawn to the commotion. When other instructors found out that a female student had challenged their colleague, they couldn’t resist joining in on the fun and even started teasing with the students.
“Old Qin, you can spar with her, but for fairness, tie your hands behind your back.”
Military training instructors at Minjiang First High School were all college students attending a military academy, around eighteen or nineteen years old. Seeing their classmate being challenged naturally piqued their interest.
Instructor Qin looked at Jiang Li with a smile and asked, “Do you really want to spar with me?” In his view, these kids were at the age where they were burning with competitive spirit. If she truly wanted to spar, he would humor her with a few moves without harming her.
When Jiang Li locked eyes with Instructor Qin, she didn’t appear the least bit apprehensive. She simply asked, “Can we?”
Instructor Qin nodded, “Sure…” He was about to explain the rules and how he would go easy on her, but before he could say a word, the young girl suddenly lunged at him, launching an attack with both fists and feet.
Instructor Qin sidestepped and joked, “Are you trying to ambush me?”
The other instructors around immediately booed. “She caught you off guard; that’s not an ambush!”
“That’s right, Old Qin, you just agreed to spar with her. You can’t be scared now, can you?”
“Definitely scared. If Old Qin makes the little girl cry later, can he even comfort her?”
With the instructors booing and jeering their colleagues, the surrounding students naturally followed suit, forming a large, noisy crowd. All students, regardless of gender and class, cheered for Jiang Li. They didn’t necessarily believe she would win, but she and they were all first-year students, so supporting their own was the right thing to do.
At first, Instructor Qin was moving half-heartedly, treating this as a playful encounter. However, he quickly realized he had underestimated his opponent. The young girl’s weakness was her lack of strength, but the techniques she used more than compensated for it. While it might not be a case of brute strength, she had definitely applied clever techniques, which either came from extensive training or the guidance of a skilled instructor.
When Instructor Qin started using both his legs and arms, the other instructors around couldn’t help but whisper to each other.
“What’s going on with Old Qin? Is he distracted because the girl is too pretty and he wants to spar with her for a while, so he’s not putting in much effort?”
“Fool, look carefully. Old Qin obviously has met his match.”
“Really?”
“There’s no doubt about it. If it were you in the ring, you’d probably be on the ground by now.”
“Fart!”
“Believe it or not. Just keep watching.”
“This little girl’s movements are sharp, and she looks very experienced. She didn’t forget to defend when attacking, and she never faltered. Could it be that she has been in the military?”
“Fool. She is only fifteen or sixteen, how can she be in the military?”
“Wait, that Old Qin – is he getting serious?!”
A collective gasp sounded when the crowd saw Instructor Qin throwing Jiang Li hard. The move Instructor Qin used to throw Jiang Li was an instinctive reaction when he realized he was facing a formidable opponent. The moment he threw her, he already regretted it. This delicate young girl was not his fellow colleagues from the military academy. If something went wrong with her during their spar, he would be in big trouble.
The students in the vicinity screamed in surprise and began to worry about Jiang Li. However, what surprised everyone was that Jiang Li managed to land safely after a graceful flip and quickly launched another attack. Instructor Qin, who was momentarily in shock, was caught off guard. Jiang Li didn’t hesitate for a moment and swiftly swept him off his feet. This scene happened so suddenly that it took everyone a moment to realize that Instructor Qin was already lying on the ground with Jiang Li locking him in a chokehold.
In an instant, the training ground echoed with continuous expressions of astonishment, especially from the students. Most of them looked at Jiang Li with admiration because she had actually defeated an instructor.
Jiang Li, however, didn’t let this go to her head. She released Instructor Qin and looked at him with a puzzled expression, “Why did you let me?”
Instructor Qin didn’t become angry because he lost. He jumped up from the ground and said, “Who said I let you?”
Jiang Li replied honestly, “In the last few seconds, I felt like I was fighting against not a person but a sandbag.”
Instructor Qin: …
No need to put it so bluntly.
But it was true that he had been distracted at the last moment, so he was caught off guard and didn’t react in time.
Instructor Qin was still speechless, but other instructors started jeering again.
“He lost, and that’s that. You don’t need to save face for him. Old Qin can handle losing.”
“That’s right, his face is thick enough. You don’t need to worry about him holding a grudge against you.”
However, Jiang Li wasn’t swayed by these sweet words. She looked at Instructor Qin and said, “I know you let me win, and I can tell.”
Her words amused the other party, “Are you that sure?”
Jiang Li nodded, “When my uncle sparred with me, he would always let me win. I’ve gained plenty of experience from being ‘let’ to win.” However, Feng Qi was much more skilled than Instructor Qin, and his methods of ‘letting her win’ were also much more sophisticated.
Instructor Qin curiously asked, “Was your uncle a soldier?”
Jiang Li hesitated for a moment and then shook her head, “I don’t know. He never mentioned it.”
Instructor Qin reached out and patted Jiang Li’s shoulder, speaking in a friendly tone, “That last move, I did get distracted because you turned out to be much more skilled than I imagined. As a result, I had no choice but to treat you as an opponent to fight seriously. In terms of strength, I think we’re quite evenly matched. If we didn’t go all out, we couldn’t determine a clear winner.”
Hearing this, Jiang Li nodded thoughtfully. She had always been curious about her true abilities after she started practicing martial arts. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get validation from her uncle or her second brother, which was why she jumped at the first opportunity to test her skills. Now that she was content, she was no longer concerned. She had been practicing martial arts for self-defense, and she had already learned many techniques. When faced with danger, she had the ability to protect herself, and with diligent practice, her strength would surely continue to improve.
If she wanted to truly test her abilities, it would probably have to be during a moment of danger, which meant that it might be a good thing not to know her true level for her entire life.
Realizing this, Jiang Li looked at Instructor Qin and sincerely thanked him, “Thank you, Instructor Qin.”
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