Los Angeles, in a private villa.
Feng Lin was in his room watching a video, the match between Wu Li and Charles.
When he saw Wu Li throw three consecutive Splitting Fists with his right hand, immobilizing Charles, Feng Lin smiled, "Hmm, Tiger Hugging Head."
To layn, or many who don’t understand Hua Country’s Kung Fu, it might seem miraculous how soone could be stuck in place, unable to move. But insiders like Feng Lin could easily understand that Charles was temporarily immobile because Wu Li had penetrated through with the power of those three punches.
The last hit of Tiger Hugging Head carried the power of Splitting Fist. To those who truly mastered it, throwing a Splitting Fist was like hamring a nail with a sledgehamr, pinning people to the spot, rendering them unable to move.
In fact, it shared the sa principle as the Tai Chi Hamring Technique, which breaks through points on the surface to shake the entire body’s Qi, blood, and tendons - it was just a different way of releasing power.
Actually, seeing the effect of the Splitting Fist Power wasn’t enough to surprise Feng Lin, what truly astonished him was: Wu Li was wearing gloves!
Although MMA gloves with separated fingers aren’t as thick as boxing gloves, they still have a layer of padding, and the impact force delivered with gloves is completely different from that of a bare fist.
There was an experint conducted once, with a forr UFC champion asked to punch a force asuring device wearing different gloves. The results showed: With MMA gloves, the impact was 651 pounds; with boxing gloves, it was 641 pounds - hardly any difference. However, when he punched with bare fists, the impact reached 776 pounds!
That is to say, without gloves, the forr UFC champion’s impact was 20% higher than with gloves! And this was only because he was used to punching with Ming Jin. If it were soone like Wu Li, who combines both Ming Jin and Dark Force in his punches, then wearing gloves would significantly reduce his effectiveness.
If Wu Li hadn’t worn gloves, Feng Lin estimated that he wouldn’t have needed three punches. With just two, Wu Li’s opponent would’ve obediently fallen, and their arm would either be fractured or cracked.
Although Feng Lin looked down on ring competitions, he knew that if it were him wearing the gloves, he wouldn’t be able to produce the sa ’penetrating’ power as Wu Li did.
"It’s getting more and more interesting."
Feng Lin looked at the screen before him, a cryptic smile spreading across his face.
...
At 11 p.m., Wan Xing Restaurant had already closed for the night. Xu Ming, who had been busy all day, returned to his room and collapsed onto his bed.
He lay there, not wanting to move a single finger, not because he felt tired, but because he couldn’t muster any energy.
Ever since Wu Li had visited Sun Yiquan that day, Xu Ming had been in a daze. The food had lost its taste, the pretty girls no longer seed attractive, and he’d often space out even while working. That morning during his martial arts training, he’d even been scolded by his boss.
As for why he had suddenly beco like this, even Xu Ming himself wasn’t too sure.
After a while, he finally propped himself up and walked to his desk, opened his laptop, and searched for a video online - the match between Wu Li and Charles.
Xu Ming watched as Wu Li delivered three consecutive punches, knocking Charles against the chain-link fence. He watched Wu Li turn his back to Charles and walk to the center of the ring, watched Wu Li extend his finger towards Charles, and then... Charles collapsed with a roar.
"Sigh!" Xu Ming exhaled deeply, staring blankly at the screen.
It wasn’t his first ti watching this video, but he was still shaken by its content.
If he had never t Sun Yiquan, he might not have taken a special interest in UFC or the Martial Arts Circle. But it was because he had t Sun Yiquan that he’d stuck with martial arts training for two years and seven months, and hence, he harbored certain fantasies about the Martial Arts Circle.
Two years and seven months! If it were just about perseverance, Xu Ming felt he wouldn’t have made it. An important reason he was willing to wake up early each day and spend over an hour on martial arts training was the expectation in his heart:
Maybe the boss really is a master? Maybe the martial arts I’m learning are truly powerful?
Clinging to that expectation, Xu Ming maintained his routine at Wan Xing Restaurant for two years and seven months, but he really didn’t expect that day to co.
Wu Li’s personal visit! A generation’s Spear King!
Sitting next to the boss and Wu Li that day, Xu Ming couldn’t contain his excitent. However, the conversation between Sun Yiquan and Wu Li doused him with cold water.
No wonder such an impressive person like the boss would settle for running a restaurant, no wonder he refused to teach him the powerful Kung Fu...
Actually, having spent more than two years working closely with Sun Yiquan, Xu Ming understood his boss even better than Wu Li did. Despite Sun Yiquan’s seemingly indifferent attitude towards everything, idly drinking tea, playing with birds, and basking in the sun each day, Xu Ming could sense that deep down, the boss was a proud man.
To have such a proud person, the forr Spear King, personally refute the martial arts he was practicing - it was clear how disappointed, even hopeless, he had beco about it!
That is why Xu Ming knew then that it was impossible to get his boss to teach him the real Kung Fu.
But he wasn’t willing to accept it – how could he stand idly by a Spear King, even one acknowledged by Wu Li, yet only manage a restaurant as a head manager each day?
After all, what was the point of the two years and seven months of practice?
This frustration had reached its peak after Xu Ming saw the match between Wu Li and Charles that evening: Wu Li was too glorious! Original martial arts training could be that powerful!
Xu Ming looked at the imperiousness in Wu Li’s eyes on the screen and rembered the words Wu Li had said that day:
"...They once laughed, cried, got angry, struggled... They were once vividly alive, but their entire lives will be forgotten by others. The things they did, the mories they had, will be wiped from this world as if... they never existed..."
"As if they never existed..." Xu Ming murmured to himself.
Then, his gaze beca resolute. He didn’t want to leave this world without leaving even a trace of himself!
He rushed out of the room towards the lobby, but he hadn’t gone far before he heard his boss’s voice. It seed like he was chatting with soone.
"Sun Yiquan, you seem to have beco more useless as you age."
A sowhat robust voice ca through, causing Xu Ming to shudder with a surprise.
From the tone, this person should be an old acquaintance of the boss, but the words did not sound like those of a friend.
Xu Ming subconsciously lightened his footsteps, inching closer to the main hall, and then peeked his head around the corner to look.
In the main hall, the spot by the window, which was also Sun Yiquan’s favorite place, was still lit.
Sun Yiquan stood there, and another man sat in a chair opposite him. The man, dressed in a light blue robe, appeared quite burly, with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones.
"What are you here for?" Sun Yiquan frowned at the man before him, his expression complex.
The visitor was Feng Lin, who let out a light chuckle, "What, not even willing to offer your senior brother a cup of tea?"
Xu Ming was astonished, this person turned out to be the boss’s senior brother, but it looked like the boss did not have much regard for the other party.
Sun Yiquan’s expression showed so disgust as he sat down opposite Feng Lin, "If you want tea, co another ti. I’m closed. Besides, you’re not my senior brother, you don’t have the right."
Feng Lin was taken aback and then burst into loud laughter, "Hahaha!"
"Sun Yiquan, now you’re just a tavern owner, and you have the audacity to speak to of rights? Have you not brought sha upon Master’s na?"
A flash of anger passed through Sun Yiquan’s eyes, followed by pain, and finally desolation.
After a mont, he looked coldly at Feng Lin, "Are you here today just to flaunt your might?"
Shaking his head, Feng Lin replied, "No, if you were still practicing gun training, I might be interested, but you can’t even lift a gun now, what might is there for to flaunt?"
Sun Yiquan: "So why are you here?"
Feng Lin smiled, "I just happened to see you from sowhere else and thought, it’s been many years since we’ve seen each other, I just felt like coming to see you."
"And also, I wanted to tell you sothing, that young man nad Wu Li who ca to visit you the other day, I find him quite interesting and plan to et him."
Upon hearing this, Sun Yiquan’s face changed, and he stared intently at Feng Lin, "What are you planning to do?"
With a smile, Feng Lin asked, "Why, do you care about this kid that much? You’ve only t him once, haven’t you?"
Sun Yiquan took a deep breath and frowned, "Feng Lin, are you really going to et him?"
Feng Lin nodded, "Of course."
Sun Yiquan: "What for?"
A playful smile appeared on Feng Lin’s face, "For what? You should be able to guess. How I treated you ten years ago, I’ll treat him the sa, that’s all."
Sun Yiquan clenched his fists, "You have no grudge against him; why?"
Feng Lin casually said, "No reason, just took a sudden interest. Oh, if you insist on a reason, I saw the video of his visit to you, and I heard what he said. I think he’s quite similar to you. Of course, I an the you from ten years ago."
"So, since he says that one must have a purpose in martial arts training, I am going to leave him with one."
Sun Yiquan narrowed his eyes suddenly looking at Feng Lin, and his whole deanor dramatically changed.
Feng Lin was unconcerned, "Oh, contemplating killing ?"
He seed intrigued, "How about I sit right here and wait while you go get your gun?"
Sun Yiquan was silent for a mont before looking away, "He is not ; you may not succeed."
Feng Lin shook his head and stood up with a smile, "I’ll just go and break that gun, and have him keep you company."
With that, he actually leaped onto the adjacent windowsill and then jumped straight down.
Hiding around the corner, Xu Ming’s eyes widened. They were on the second floor, not really that high, but the manner of leaving through the window surprised him.
After hesitating briefly, he stepped out from the corner and walked towards Sun Yiquan’s position.
As if he had been expecting him, Sun Yiquan did not turn his head.
"Boss," Xu Ming greeted, receiving no reply.
"Did you abandon the gun because of this man?" Xu Ming asked tentatively.
Sun Yiquan glanced at Xu Ming, then got up and walked towards the corridor.
"Go to sleep early; wake up early for boxing practice."
Xu Ming spat in frustration; feeling slighted, he looked out the window and secretly made a decision.
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