Chapter 35: Who Is Whose Sparring Partner

Goro Majima froze for a moment.

Breaking out of his aggressive onslaught, he stood in place, panting heavily.

That last kick had been incredibly uncomfortable; he had nearly strained a waist muscle and lost his footing.

It felt like hitting a high note mid-performance, only to have someone suddenly seize your throat.

Majima’s brow furrowed as he stared at Fang Cheng, who looked perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.

Previously, he truly hadn't held this polite-looking, young Chinese man in any regard.

Now, snapping back to reality, he was momentarily stunned.

This guy had actually managed to endure his berserk kicks until now.

Majima took a deep breath, his eyes gradually regaining a semblance of rationality.

He then turned his toes inward, raised both hands, and reset into an attacking *Sanchan* stance.

This movement meant he was starting to get serious.

*Swish!*

Grinding his forefoot against the floor, Majima lunged forward, twisting his hips and driving his knee upward.

It looked like he was about to execute a side snap kick.

But in an instant, he feinted, abruptly changing his technique mid-air, his toes carving out a crescent moon arc.

In a setting like this, Majima actually employed the Karate finishing move, the "Mikazuki-geri" (Crescent Moon Kick).

The move was difficult and required a tricky angle, using the ball of the foot as the point of impact to strike diagonally upward.

It was similar to stabbing an opponent's abdomen with a sharp weapon; it was rarely used in the ring, yet it often resulted in an immediate KO, earning it the nickname "the liver kick."

If hit, even with protective gear, it would be excruciating.

*Slap!*

Fang Cheng merely shifted his body slightly, catching the attack steadily with his kick pad.

Then, with a gentle push of the pad, he deflected the hooking leg.

Majima retracted his leg abruptly, his footsteps stumbling as he retreated several paces.

When he looked up, his eyes were slightly bloodshot, as if a new fire of rage was being rekindled.

He immediately exerted force again, unleashing a flurry of high roundhouse kicks followed by a leaping spinning back kick.

*Slap! Slap!*

With a composed expression, Fang Cheng blocked them easily once more.

The recoil was so strong that as Majima retreated, he had to brace himself against the floor with his hands just to stabilize his stance.

The two continued their offense-and-defense drill as before.

But now, Fang Cheng had shifted from passive to active, establishing his own rhythm.

Every time he raised the pad, he intercepted the opponent mid-strike, disrupting their momentum.

Yet, it was impossible to point out exactly what was wrong.

It was clearly Majima's legs that were being delivered into Fang Cheng's hands.

And Fang Cheng seemed quite enthusiastic, as if trying to make his employer's training "comfortable and natural."

It was just that his timing for feeding the strikes was slightly ahead of the curve.

To an outsider, it looked entirely as if Majima's own technique was lacking, or that he was simply exhausted and failing to control his distance.

On one side was a frenzied attack with stumbling footsteps; on the other was calm composure and a stable stance.

Fang Cheng even had the leisure to secretly grade each of Majima's moves.

*That snap kick lacked sufficient power; that side kick's angle was a bit off.*

*If I could supplement this with Sanda grappling or takedowns to counter...*

Fang Cheng mused that even if his strength was inferior to Majima's, he would still have a chance to subdue him.

Granted, his current identity was merely a sparring partner.

But wasn't his opponent also acting as his sparring partner?

Through this specialized training of catching timing and predicting attacks, Fang Cheng's combat experience was improving imperceptibly.

Meanwhile, the more Majima attacked, the more ineffective he felt, and he grew increasingly frustrated.

His eyes grew bloodshot, and his heavy kicks gradually became weak and listless.

In his eyes, Fang Cheng had become the most loathsome kind of rogue in combat sports

One who simply holds their head in defense, waiting to exhaust the opponent before landing a single, easy KO punch.

*Bang!*

Majima threw a heavy kick, but seeing Fang Cheng neutralize it easily again, he let out a roar of fury. He abandoned his legwork entirely, spread his arms, and lunged forward in a bear hug.

He was attempting to repeat his old trick, aiming to grab Fang Cheng's waist and shoulders to execute his signature "waist-locking back throw."

Fang Cheng had already read his intention before the movement was even completed.

He swiftly dropped the pads, stepped aside to dissipate the momentum of the charge, and as their bodies crossed, he reached out to grab Majima's left wrist. Instead of retreating, he stepped inward.

He then seized Majima's single arm and, using the momentum of a turn, swung him outward.

This move was a combination of the "Small Silk Wrap" and the "Rear-Hand Connection" from Sanda grappling—the side-throw takedown.

Since his strength was inferior, he couldn't win a test of pure power; he had to use more agile tactics.

Majima was short and stocky with a very stable center of gravity, and he was highly proficient in various Karate throws and locks.

Seeing his arm restrained, he immediately dropped his hips and leaned forward to neutralize the grappling force.

Simultaneously, he pressed his shoulder against Fang Cheng's waist, attempting to upend his stance.

Fang Cheng, however, had already clamped his other arm around Majima's neck and upper back to continue neutralizing the counter-throw.

Majima changed his technique again.

Fang Cheng changed his defense accordingly.

In the distance, several professional fighters looked over while resting after their conditioning training.

They saw the two men grappling and twisting around, unable to tell what on earth they were doing.

Suddenly, both lost their balance and tumbled onto the ring mat.

Even then, they remained locked together, limbs and necks entwined, refusing to let go.

Just then, a polite voice drifted over.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

"Training time is over. We have a private lesson scheduled to use the ring next."

Hearing this, Majima slapped the ring floor twice with his palm, signaling his surrender.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng released his grip on Majima's neck.

Majima's face was flushed, and he was panting like an ox.

It took him a while to stand up, but he gave Fang Cheng a thumbs-up.

There was no trace of anger or madness in his eyes.

He mumbled something rapidly to Shen Haoming, who was preparing to start the next class.

Fang Cheng was also panting, his chest heaving.

Being a human punching bag had actually been quite easy.

But once forced into this state of grappling and stalemate, he had consumed more than half his strength in a short burst.

On the other hand, this Majima guy not only possessed immense strength but also seemed to have much more stamina than him.

He was a total freak...

Chen Xiaohai approached at that moment and congratulated him

"Majima is praising you, saying you're *saiko*."

"What's *saiko*?"

"It means you're awesome."

"It looks like this guy is very satisfied with your sparring services. He wants to book you again next time."

Listening to Chen Xiaohai's explanation, Fang Cheng smiled slightly, thinking to himself

*I'd also give this sparring session a five-star rating...*

Majima soon left the venue with his assistants.

Shen Haoming approached Fang Cheng with a smile as he took off his protective gear.

"A-Cheng, I hope you keep working hard."

"Mr. Majima said he wants to raise your hourly rate from 500 to 1,000 yuan."

Chen Xiaohai let out a sharp gasp of amazement, his face full of envy.

Fang Cheng was momentarily stunned.

His gaze, however, was fixed on the floating notification.

【Sanda Experience +50】

………………………………

Inside a speeding black sedan.

Two assistants sat in the front seats.

Majima sat in the back, legs crossed, leaning against the leather sofa.

He had taken off his shoes and socks, revealing soles that were bruised and dark.

It looked as if he had kicked iron blocks hundreds of times during his training.

As he rolled up his sleeves, his wrists were seen to be bruised to a dark purple.

The sight of the injuries was harrowing.

Yet, Majima did not look discouraged; instead, he was exceptionally excited.

His voice trembled slightly as he muttered to himself

"I've finally found someone who can take a hit. Perhaps I won't have to keep waiting for the new champion, Zheng Haokang..."

(End of Chapter)