Regarding Zhao Lixin’s question, Wu Li also had no answer.
During the period of the Republic, those Grandmasters certainly had Divine Power Body Three Values exceeding 100, but as to how much exactly, that had beco unknowable. How much further beyond a Grandmaster had these people gone? Had anyone touched the domain of the Legendary?
Spirit, Dragon and Tiger, Gang Body—those are the realms after each value of Divine Power Body breaks through 100, and the limit is 200. Whether the realms beyond 200—Mixed Elent, Divine, and Transcendent—have a limit, the system did not display, so even though Wu Li knew that there was a Legendary realm beyond Grandmaster, he could not speculate where the limit of that Legendary Realm might be.
"Brother Zhao, have you ever thought about gun training?" Wu Li suddenly asked.
Zhao Lixin nodded: "Actually, my Master did ntion it before."
"What did Master Gu say?"
Wu Li asked with so curiosity. Zhao Lixin’s Master, Gu Qing, had once been a combat instructor for a special military unit in China. As a Traditional Martial Arts Master in the military, Wu Li was very curious about how the other party viewed firearms and Kung Fu.
Zhao Lixin replied, "My Master said it depends on your aim. If it’s in the military, on a mission, needing to kill enemies, then of course you should train with guns. Those he taught and saw, the aces and war gods of the military, mainly focused on Spear Technique. In close combat, these people were no match for my Master, but if it wasn’t close-quarters combat, even in a complex environnt like a jungle, my Master wouldn’t be the match."
"My Master also trained with guns, but he didn’t want to, because he hoped I would compete in the ring, enter competitions, and win glory, so he didn’t want to be distracted."
Wu Li nodded. Gu Qing’s point was that it depended on your aim—gun training was certainly more efficient for killing enemies; as a combat sports athlete, just focus wholeheartedly on Martial Arts Training.
"Why, do you want to train with guns?" Zhao Lixin asked.
Wu Li gave a wry smile: "I’m a bit hesitant."
"Why?" Zhao Lixin didn’t understand, "You’re doing so well in UFC, why train with guns?"
But he quickly thought of the things Wu Li had gone through and kind of understood: "You want to increase your ability to protect yourself?"
Wu Li nodded: "You could say that."
If Wu Li hadn’t run into that drug trafficker’s kidnapping, hadn’t encountered Hu Shan, hadn’t faced that day’s terrorist attack... perhaps Wu Li might think he could safely be a combat sports athlete.
But even if given another choice, facing drug traffickers he would still charge forward, under Hu Shan’s pressure, he would still kill his way into the dojo by himself, facing violent criminals, he would still stand up... If he encountered similar situations in the future, would using guns be more effective and safer?
"Gun training does indeed enhance self-protection, but it may affect your Kung Fu—you need to think it over," Zhao Lixin said, "When my Master was in the military, the life-and-death training made his Kung Fu progress quickly, but because of gun training, and training in other things, he couldn’t dedicate himself solely to Martial Arts, so he quickly hit a bottleneck. He was not able to reach the realms of predecessors like Cheng Tinghua and Yin Fu in Bagua Palm, and he regretted that."
Wu Li nodded: "I understand, but maybe I can manage both."
"Huh?" Zhao Lixin chuckled, looking at Wu Li with so surprise, "You actually have such thoughts?"
Wu Li raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself, would I tell you about having a system?
Zhao Lixin spoke seriously: "Where the limit of Martial Arts lies, none of us knows. Even if you feel you’ve reached the limit, how can you be sure that’s truly the limit? In my view, there’s no end to Martial Arts, even if you dedicate every minute and second of your life, it’s an endless pursuit, so how can you dare to say ’manage both’?"
Wu Li was struck as if by lightning, standing there stunned.
Yes, even in the system, beyond the Divine Power Body Three Values of over 200, there’s no display of what the limit is, so how can he be sure of the limits of Martial Arts? Moreover, even if he one day reaches the Legendary Realm, and the system shows the limit values of the Divine Power Body, is that really the limit?
Originally, Wu Li asked Sun Yiquan: Martial Arts hasn’t progressed for a thousand years, but who knows, in the next thousand years, maybe soone will reach a higher peak? By the sa logic, however, he forgot to ask himself: Even if he reaches a limit, how does he know there isn’t a higher limit?
Martial Arts is endless, if the path he’s on has no end, even with the system, he has no right to talk of ’managing both’!
Wu Li’s expression was complex as he murmured to himself, "As you said, if Martial Arts truly has no end, even if one dedicates every minute, every second of their life to it, it might still be an incomplete journey, so what’s the significance of persevering?"
Zhao Lixin’s gaze beca distant, "I was also once confused about this question, but later my Master told a story."
Wu Li looked at him: "Oh?"
Zhao Lixin slowly said, "In ancient tis, there was a scholar who particularly loved reading and aspired to read all the books in the world. So he went everywhere to buy and borrow books, collecting various works, white-haired from studying, day in and day out for decades. However, as he grew older, he realized his mory began to decline, and many of the books he had read in the past were forgotten." (Note 1)
"If the contents are forgotten, how can you claim to have read that book? So he started to re-read them, and this ti he even began to transcribe the books to enhance his mory. But as a result, his reading speed beca slower and slower, while new books continuously erged in the world. Ultimately he realized that even if he spent every mont reading, he would never be able to finish reading all the books in the world."
"This realization drove the scholar to utter despair, because finishing all the books was his lifelong pursuit, yet his pursuit was dood to be unattainable, the kind of thing that could cause a person to break down, even give up reading. But after despair, the scholar continued to read and transcribe books, just like before—do you know why?"
Wu Li seed to understand: "Why?"
Zhao Lixin said, "Because he asked himself a question: Do I enjoy reaching the goal of reading all the books in the world more, or do I enjoy the act of reading itself more? In the end, he found that he enjoyed reading itself more, so even though he could never reach his goal in his lifeti, he relished it all the sa."
"My Master told this story back then and then asked a similar question. Brother Wu, you should also ask yourself."
Wu Li fell silent, asking himself in his heart: Do I enjoy using Martial Arts to achieve a goal more, or do I enjoy the process of Martial Arts Training more?
Facing the kidnapping by drug traffickers, being able to help and earn the praise of others, Wu Li enjoyed that.
Facing a drug lord like Hu Shan, being able to strike him down, keeping Jiyun Hall safe and earning everyone’s gratitude, Wu Li enjoyed that.
Facing violent criminals, being able to save people and earn their admiration, Wu Li enjoyed that.
These things, if Wu Li were a master of Spear Technique, an ace soldier, a Super Special Agent, he could do them, perhaps even better, so it seed switching to gun training might be a good choice.
But what about Martial Arts? Without the system, if those things hadn’t happened, would he still be so committed to Martial Arts Training?
Wu Li’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he solemnly clasped his fist toward Zhao Lixin, "I understand now, thank you, Brother Zhao!"
Zhao Lixin’s expression was wooden, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face, "You’re welco."
...
After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Wu Li called Li Tongyun and ntioned sothing to her.
Li Tongyun was sowhat surprised, "Are you sure?"
Wu Li was firm, "I’m sure."
Li Tongyun fell silent for a mont, "Can I know why you suddenly made this decision?"
Wu Li, "Because I realized that, compared to everything else, I prefer Martial Arts Training!"
...
On February 27th, after the Lantern Festival, Wu Li and the Seeking Martial Arts production team took a plane to the United States, New York.
Upon arriving in New York, Wu Li went straight to the Wanxing Restaurant in Chinatown to visit Sun Yiquan.
Seeing Wu Li again, Xu Ming was delighted, "Wu Li, I have already signed up at the Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall!"
Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall’s first branch in New York was scheduled to officially open on March 1st. Before that, advertisents had gone out, and many people had signed up, attracted by the hall’s fa; Xu Ming was one of them.
Wu Li nodded with a smile, he patted Xu Ming’s shoulder and casually asked, "Xu Ming, what is your goal in practicing Martial Arts?"
Xu Ming paused, then responded, "Of course, to beco as powerful as you, and then to fight in the UFC."
Wu Li, "What if one day you realize that no matter how much you practice, you’ll never be able to fight in the UFC?"
Xu Ming made a bitter face, "You’re not serious, right? Discouraging soon as we et?"
Wu Li shook his head with a laugh, "No, it’s just a question that suddenly occurred to , just asking."
Xu Ming scratched his head, "If I find out that I can never fight in the UFC, then I probably won’t practice anymore."
"Mhm." Wu Li nodded, and without further comnt, he went upstairs and saw Sun Yiquan sitting by the window.
Sun Yiquan was also surprised to see Wu Li. As Wu Li approached, he gestured for him to sit down, "Sothing on your mind?"
Wu Li, "Last ti, Senior, you said that human effort is finite, so passing down Martial Arts is aningless since it’s just treading water."
Sun Yiquan, "Hmm?"
Wu Li spoke seriously, "This ti, I’ve co to tell Senior sothing: Human effort may be finite, but the Martial Arts path is boundless!"
Sun Yiquan squinted, "How can you prove the Martial Arts path is boundless?"
Wu Li countered, "How do you know where its limits lie?"
Sun Yiquan fell silent; he understood Wu Li’s point—after all, it was just a matter of belief, present when you believe and absent when you do not, "But then, what is the point of dedicating a lifeti to sothing that is destined to have no result?"
"With a limited life, to struggle against infinite things, isn’t that grand?" Wu Li said with a laugh, his face filled with contentnt.
He had started Martial Arts Training at the age of six and had persisted for fourteen years before acquiring the system.
Practicing Martial Arts was naturally tough, but he took pleasure in it because he liked it!
"Senior, before coming here, I asked myself, if one day in the future I encountered danger and lost my life on the spot due to insufficient strength, would I regret not having practiced Gun Training?"
"I couldn’t figure out the answer to that question right away. Then I asked myself another one: If I spent my ti on Gun Training, would I regret, once I’m old, not having devoted that ti to Martial Arts Training?"
"An answer imdiately ca to my mind: Definitely! I would think, if I had spent all that ti on Martial Arts Training, would my Realm be higher? Would I have broken my own limits? Would I be closer to the limit of Martial Arts?"
Wu Li looked at Sun Yiquan and said with a smile, "So, about the first question, I also have an answer."
Sun Yiquan’s face showed complex emotions, and his mouth twitched, "Oh?"
Wu Li, "Rather than regretting not having practiced Gun Training, it’s better to regret not having practiced Martial Arts more, to regret that my Kung Fu wasn’t high enough!"
Wu Li’s words left Sun Yiquan in silence. Xu Ming, watching from the side, began to understand why Wu Li had asked him that question earlier.
Monts later, Sun Yiquan gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Did you co here today just to tell all this?"
Wu Li shook his head, "Of course not, I’ve arranged to et Feng Lin here."
Note 1: The story of this scholar is adapted from a segnt in Mian Ni Da Da’s "Ever Night," and I deeply like Mian Ni Da Da’s saying: "Life is full of obsession." To be ’obsessed’ is actually a kind of persistence, and sotis this persistence is needed, even if it seems foolish to others.
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