Chapter One: Jamie Smith
On July 2nd, 2081, at 13:50 in the bustling city of Binhai, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds, with thunder rumbling ominously, signaling an impending downpour.
"Summer thunderstorms, they just come out of nowhere," Jamie Smith muttered to himself as he stood in a room at the top of the Starlight Combat Hall, gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the brewing storm. Raindrops began to pelt the glass with a "pitter-patter" sound.
The young man moved to the center of the room and began his routine with a slow, steady handstand. First, he did a straight handstand with both hands, then he smoothly transitioned to a one-handed handstand, supporting his entire body weight on his right arm.
"Breathe in... breathe out..."
His breaths were rhythmic and deep, and as Jamie Smith felt his core muscles tighten, he also sensed the strain on his right arm from bearing his body's weight.
For the first three minutes, his arm felt comfortable, the muscles and tendons being deeply stimulated. But by the fourth minute, his palm muscles started to ache, and the pain was intense. Yet, Jamie Smith was used to it. He endured, and naturally switched to a one-handed handstand on his left arm.
"I wonder if Dad's back is any better today," Jamie Smith thought as he held the handstand. His father was in his sixties, and his back pain was an old issue. Yesterday, he heard from his mom that his father's back had flared up again while lifting something heavy...
"Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll go back home for a visit," Jamie Smith decided.
The one-handed handstand wasn't a training method taught by the national team; it was something his father had taught him when he was a child. Jamie Smith had been in poor health as a child, and his father had taught him martial arts to strengthen his body, including the "one-arm handstand stance." The long-term practice had been quite effective, and it had become one of his daily exercises, persisting through the coldest and hottest days of the year. He would continue even when sick or injured, and he would not stop unless there was a very special reason. As the saying goes, "Practice martial arts but not the foundation, and in the end, it's all for naught." This so-called foundation refers to the daily basic skills.
If there's a break, the muscles and bones will decline.
After finishing the one-arm handstand stance, Jamie Smith walked over to his desk, sat down, and took a few sips of water. He looked out the window at the heavy rain.
"The humidity is getting heavy, and my leg starts to hurt," Jamie Smith said, looking at his right leg and gently massaging it. "I've never stopped my rehabilitative exercises every day, but my right leg... it's not going to get better."
"If my right leg wasn't injured, I should have a chance to compete for the world's number one," Jamie Smith thought quietly.
Injuries are the last thing any martial arts master wants to encounter in their career. The "broken leg" injury was a nightmare for Jamie Smith.
"Beep beep beep..." Suddenly, a sound rang out.
Jamie Smith looked up and said, "Snowy, answer the video call."
A beam of light condensed in front of Jamie Smith, forming a two-meter-high image. In the image, a burly, fat man was sitting in a car, laughing and shouting, "Smith, we've set off from the hotel, and we'll be at your Starlight Combat Hall in about 20 minutes. Haha, it's been more than a year since we last met, we must have a good drink tonight."
"Don't worry, Big Bear, I've already booked a barbecue restaurant," Jamie Smith said with a smile, looking at his childhood friend. "It's raining heavily, be careful on the road."
"Don't worry, don't worry," the burly, fat man replied, "The guys on the provincial training team all admire you and want to see your gun skills. You have to give them some good guidance later, let them understand the gap with the world's top masters."
"Now the young people are getting better and better, I'm not going to capsize," Jamie Smith said with a chuckle.
"How could you capsize? I hope you capsize, if you capsize, it means our provincial team has produced another genius," the fat man laughed, "Alright, no more chatting, see you later."
"See you later," Jamie Smith swiped his hand, and the image in the air dissipated.
Training for the Jiangnan Provincial Training Team, for ten days, charging a fee in Blue Star currency, in fact, this amount of money is not even enough for the venue fee. But for the combat hall, being able to train the provincial training team is also an advertising sign, and it can attract more combat enthusiasts to join the combat hall.
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"Professional players have to make money after retiring," Jamie Smith got up, went to take a bath and change clothes.
Professional combat players sound
Glamorous, but in reality, they only earn some 'appearance fees' at their peak, and there are very few players in the world who have a career income of over a hundred million, most players are just enough to get by.
As for after retirement, making money is even more difficult. Although Jamie Smith is also a world-class martial arts master, he has only been in the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition. The income in the combat industry is pyramid-shaped, with very few at the top! The income of the first-ranked person is exaggeratedly high, and the second, third, fourth... will drop sharply.
*********
Jamie Smith stood at the door of the Starlight Combat Hall waiting, accompanied by several staff members, and saw a electric bus coming through the rain curtain from afar.
When the electric bus stopped and the door opened, more than a dozen members of the Jiangnan Provincial Training Team got off the bus one after another.
"Big Bear." Jamie Smith saw the first person to get off the bus, the burly, fat man, which was his good brother Chase Ron.
"Smith." Chase Ron came over and hugged Jamie Smith excitedly, slapping Jamie Smith's back with big palms, and Jamie Smith could only wryly smile, also taking it as a massage.
Chase Ron, with a height of two meters and three, and a weight of more than one hundred and eighty kilograms, is like a standing bear. He was also a professional martial arts master, with one hand holding a shield and the other an axe. At the highest time in the World Martial Arts Alliance points ranking, he also killed to the 39th place, so he can sit firmly in the position of the provincial sports bureau.
"This is Coach Smith." Chase Ron grinned and said, "The Smith coach you have been thinking about day and night!"
"Jamie Smith!"
"Gun Demon Jamie Smith!"
"I saw the real person!" The provincial team members were all a bit excited, and as insiders, they naturally admired this senior.
Jamie Smith looked at these team members, as if he saw himself in the past.
Young, full of vigor!
Unlike himself, he has been in the martial arts competition, with a body full of injuries and can only retire.
Jamie Smith smiled: "Aaron, take them to choose the next weapon."
"Yes, coach." The young staff member responded.
"Big Bear, let's go to the third floor and wait for them first." Jamie Smith and Chase Ron, the good brothers, happily went to the third floor first.
...
The weapon room of the Starlight Combat Hall is square meters, with a large number of various cold weapons such as knives, guns, swords, sticks, shields, axes, hammers, and flails. These are all martial arts competition equipment, such as knives and swords, which are not only not sharp, but also wrapped with a layer of buffering material on the surface, greatly improving the safety. Like the long spear, the competition spear has data on the spear shaft: length, diameter of the large and small heads, weight, the long spear has hundreds of rods, lined up against the wall.
"It's no wonder that the Starlight Combat Hall is the first-class combat hall in Binhai City, and the weapons are complete enough." The eleven members of the provincial training team are all using long spears, so they participate in Jamie Smith's training.
In terms of spear skills, Jamie Smith is recognized as the top ten in the history of all professional martial arts masters.
The data of the competition long spear is clear, and the eleven team members quickly chose their own commonly used weapons.
"The first time I saw Jamie Smith in reality, he looks very ordinary, there is no deterrent power in the video." A tall man tried the long spear and said at the same time.
"I feel a lot thinner than in the video." Another young boy said.
"It's thinner." A burly man nodded, "He didn't retire, I have seen him play live a few times, the public information of the Martial Arts Alliance, his height is one meter and seventy-eight, weight ninety-three kilograms. Now it's a lot thinner, it's estimated to be eighty kilograms at most."
These provincial team members are discussing.
They are all very clear that a
height of one meter and seventy-eight, and a weight of more than eighty kilograms may seem a bit fat for ordinary people. But for professional martial arts masters, the bones are heavy, and the muscle ratio is high, but it is a bit thin.
"The weight has decreased, and the strength must have decreased."
"I don't know how much strength is left."
"Some professional players, after retiring and giving up training, their bodies have deformed, and their strength has also decreased a lot."
These team members are discussing.
"I also want to see how much gap there is between myself and the World Martial Arts Competition players, who thought his weight has also decreased by a section, and I don't know how much strength is left."
"Even if the strength has declined, the experience is still there." The tall man on the side said with a smile, "It's enough to point out to us."
"Maybe he won't even practice with us." The young boy muttered, they have seen a lot of old coaches teaching and pointing out, and there are few who can practice with them.
*********
The third floor of the Starlight Combat Hall has a martial arts ring that complies with the specifications of the international martial arts competition. The ring is 20 meters long and 20 meters wide, surrounded by a six-meter-high wire mesh.
When the provincial training team members walked into the third floor, they saw Coach Liu and Jamie Smith standing there.
"Line up." Jamie Smith said very familiarly. He was also a member of the Jiangnan Provincial Team back then, and later he was selected as a national team main player.
These eleven team members each hold a long spear, lined up in a row, and are very neat.
Perhaps Jamie Smith's strength has decreased a lot after retiring, but the achievements of the other party in the past still make these team members admire and be obedient, and naturally they are also very obedient.
"From today on, I am your coach, the training lasts for ten days, except that the training time today is in the afternoon, starting tomorrow, it is from nine o'clock in the morning to eleven o'clock." Jamie Smith's gaze swept over them, "I don't want anyone to be late or leave early."
"Yes." The eleven team members responded in unison.
"Well, we met for the first time, let's go down and try our hands, let me see your strength." Jamie Smith said, "I also need to teach students according to their aptitude."
"Go down and try our hands?" These team members looked at each other, both surprised and delighted.
"Ring combat?"
"Does Jamie Smith have the courage to practice?"
These team members were overjoyed, since Jamie Smith dared to do this, it meant that after retiring, he still maintained most of the strength at the peak.