Chapter 32: Getting Carried Away

It was only when they actually began to spar that Su Xu realized how effortlessly Qi Fei was maneuvering. Seeing that she could parry his strikes, he felt a sudden urge to put her in her place, subconsciously increasing his force and speeding up his movements. Noticing that his demeanor had turned serious, Qi Fei shifted from defense to offense.

When Su Xu caught the sword strike she swung his way, he was shocked by the raw power behind it. Had he not been prepared and gripped his own sword with extra strength, the impact alone might have sent his weapon flying—which would have been humiliating. Even so, the shock left the web of his thumb numb. A split second later, Qi Fei used the back of her blade to deliver a solid strike to his hand, knocking his sword loose. Before he could react, she kicked him squarely in the chest.

It was no longer just his hand that was numb; his wrist and entire arm were trembling. As he lay on the ground, he couldn't help but grimace in pain, his expression beyond his control.

Having kicked him away, Qi Fei realized she hadn't held back enough. She hurried over, looking apologetic as she helped him up. "My bad, I got a bit carried away and didn't pull my punch." It had been so long since she’d had a proper spar that the kick had been a purely instinctual reaction.

The sound of their voices had drawn a crowd, and as the fight concluded, the onlookers swarmed around them. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed that a martial arts instructor could be bested—and kicked aside—by a seemingly fragile actress. If an outsider had seen it, their first thought would have been that the instructor was just playing along for the sake of the scene.

But while laymen watch for the spectacle, experts look for the technique. The head martial arts instructor saw the power in Qi Fei's strikes and knew immediately that she possessed genuine skill, not just the flashy, superficial moves learned for film. Even while holding a heavy weapon, her speed remained unaffected; every movement was crisp, powerful, and devoid of wasted motion. He had seen Su Xu shaking his hand—force is reciprocal, yet Qi Fei seemed completely unfazed.

Throughout the spar, Qi Fei had stuck to the choreography they had just learned, yet she managed to imbue it with grace. Difficult maneuvers that usually required wires—like mid-air spins, horizontal slashes, and aerial splits—she performed with total ease. It wasn't that these moves were impossible without wires, but most stars were lucky to pull them off even with them.

Even though Su Xu had taught these moves to Qi Fei himself, he clearly couldn't keep up with her speed during the exchange. And he was certain that she was still holding back; if she were truly fighting for real, without needing to worry about choreography, she could have taken him down in an instant. In a real-world scenario, with a sharpened blade, the head instructor had no doubt that the force Qi Fei demonstrated could have severed a hand clean off.

With skills like hers, she didn't need their guidance—they should be thanking their lucky stars that she didn't need to guide them.

Director Yao Kang had walked in while they were sparring and had witnessed the entire thing. At this moment, Qi Fei turned her gaze toward the head martial arts instructor. In her eyes, the person titled "Head Instructor" should have better skills, and she was still riding the adrenaline of the spar; it had ended too soon. She had expected these instructors to give her a proper, back-and-forth fight, but clearly, she had overestimated them.

Within two moves, Qi Fei knew the head instructor was all flash. Though he had some foundation, it was minimal, and he was constantly leaving himself exposed. She had switched opponents earlier specifically because she was afraid of actually hurting someone.

Just as the crowd waited in anticipation, the head instructor waved his hands, saying, "With the kind of power you have, Teacher Qi, an old man like me can't take it." He was a martial arts instructor, not a grandmaster. To win would risk hurting her or causing her to lose face—which would make future collaboration difficult—but to lose would be equally humiliating. Either way, he couldn't take the challenge.

Hearing this, Qi Fei looked at the man, who was in his fifties, and realized she really had been worried about causing an injury. The crowd was surprised by how quickly he admitted defeat, which in itself was an indirect acknowledgment of Qi Fei’s prowess.

"Have you studied Taekwondo or anything similar, Teacher Qi?" The crispness of her every move spoke of true training, and the head instructor was genuinely curious; he had never heard of her background.

Qi Fei thought for a moment. "Combat sports, Judo, Taekwondo—I've learned a little bit of everything."

"Feifei, with skills like these, why haven't I seen you in any action films before?"

As Director Yao finished his question, everyone turned to look at her. Qi Fei shrugged. "My agent never booked me for any action roles before, did they?"

Director Yao: "..."
Everyone else: "..."

That was certainly an ironclad reason. Qi Fei’s helpless, innocent expression made the whole group laugh. Who could have imagined that someone with such incredible talent was being ignored by Triple Entertainment? It was a total waste of potential.

"Let me have a go."

Just as Qi Fei was getting restless and looking for someone else to spar with, someone from the back raised a hand and stepped forward. Seeing this man, the head instructor’s eyes lit up—he had completely forgotten about him. He quickly introduced him to Qi Fei: "This is Gu Bing, a retired special forces soldier."

The martial arts team was led by the head instructor, but Gu Bing had only joined a few days ago, so he hadn't come to mind immediately. If what Qi Fei said was true, these two were on the same level.

As the man approached, his height and massive build were intimidating just by him standing there. Up close, they noticed a scar on the side of his face. His naturally gentle features, combined with the muscles that his clothes couldn't hide, suddenly seemed menacing. Never mind his fighting ability; one look told you he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Qi Fei hadn't paid him much mind at first, but looking at him now, she felt a sense of crisis for the first time. The aura radiating from him was something only someone who had survived life-or-death battles would possess, instantly reminding her of her former comrades. There was no way this man had only a few lives on his conscience. Even the A-list fugitive she had faced before, who had over a dozen lives on his hands, hadn't made her feel this threatened. It seemed the head instructor’s claim about his special forces background was likely true.

With others, Qi Fei might have arrogantly told them to give it their all, but facing this man, she couldn't guarantee she could win without resorting to lethal strikes.

Standing face to face, the difference in their physiques made the director nervous. "It's just a spar, keep it light, all right?" He had reason to be worried—Qi Fei looked far too slender. Even at 168 centimeters, she was a head shorter than Gu Bing. Qi Fei had to tilt her head back to look at him; she guessed he had to be nearly 190 centimeters tall.

After the first round, Qi Fei realized that although every strike Gu Bing threw carried the force of a gale, he was focusing entirely on defense and refused to launch a proactive attack—out of respect for her status, no doubt. But that wasn't the result Qi Fei wanted.

She closed the distance rapidly, launching a flurry of attacks. Spotting an opening, she struck toward his heart meridian, and when that was blocked, she immediately followed with a kick aimed at his groin. The sequence was fast and ruthless; had she landed those blows, he would have either been incapacitated or forced to take a moment to recover.

After breaking free and putting some distance between them, Gu Bing looked at the actress with the contempt entirely gone from his eyes. He had known she had some skill, but he hadn't expected...

"Krav Maga!"

Every strike aimed at vulnerable pressure points made the name immediately spring to mind. Qi Fei hadn't expected to be identified so quickly. The difference in their size was too great, and while she had started with standard combat techniques, she had instinctively switched to Krav Maga when she realized she couldn't hurt him and wanted to force him to fight back. Moreover, she noticed that Gu Bing’s counterattacks also carried the hallmarks of Krav Maga.

"Again," they both said in unison.

It was clear that both of them were thoroughly caught up in the heat of the moment.