Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 157 - 143: Old Memories, Double Flower Red Stick

Chapter 157: Chapter 143: Old Memories, Double Flower Red Stick

On June 15, Wu Li was discussing with Qi City TV Station and the program team about the filming location for the fourth episode.

After the end of the third episode, "Seeking Martial Arts" was vaguely gaining the momentum to become a phenomenon-level variety show.

Don’t be fooled by the peak live audience of only over 3 million, because this was a live broadcast, and it took place on a weekday, so many people didn’t have the time or convenience to watch it live. However, the edited version later produced by Qi City TV Station had many times more viewers.

As a result, Qi City TV Station’s ratings soared, breaking the historical record for the viewership of their variety shows!

And the number of views on Mo Yin had already surpassed a hundred million. Mo Yin’s official data previously revealed that nearly 30% of Mo Yin users had watched "Seeking Martial Arts."

Considering Mo Yin’s daily active users had reached 250 million and the monthly active users were 650 million, more than half of the users had watched "Seeking Martial Arts," meaning almost one-tenth of the entire country had seen the show!

With such popularity, Qi City TV Station was eager to start shooting the next episode without rest, but it wasn’t up to them to decide when to shoot, it was up to Wu Li to give the nod.

Wu Li, due to issues with reaching the Grandmaster Realm, had been cooped up in a hotel for several days with no progress and had to get out to clear his mind and deal with other matters.

The Martial Arts Hall was already on the right track, and there was no longer a need for Wu Li to handle the coaching training personally. The only thing left to do was discuss the improvement of martial arts with the new Martial Artists who had joined the Hall. But now, with his own problems still unresolved, Wu Li was not in the right mindset to improve other martial arts, so he decided to focus on filming the program first.

Originally, the UFC tryouts were scheduled for June this year, and Wu Li was all set to bring the program team abroad to visit overseas Chinese masters, but the UFC had postponed this year’s tryouts.

The UFC tryouts were never set in stone, as it was difficult to find suitable candidates, and most of these people were professionals who often competed in matches. Injuries were inevitable, so the tryouts would only begin once most people were in good condition.

Since the UFC had postponed, Wu Li also pushed back his schedule to visit the overseas Chinese masters, and then he asked Zhao Lixin if it would be convenient to take him to meet his master.

Zhao Lixin’s master was once a combat instructor in the military, and Wu Li thought he might know some experts from the military.

Zhao Lixin had promised to take Wu Li to meet his master before, and of course, he wouldn’t refuse now. However, when he learned that Wu Li planned to live broadcast the visit, Zhao Lixin hesitated and said his master was very low-profile and he would have to ask his master’s opinion first.

The reply came quickly: his master was willing to meet Wu Li, but broadcasting it live was out of the question. Nevertheless, he could recommend some people later on, and Wu Li could then try to broadcast the process of visiting others.

Wu Li relayed this news to the program team, and the director immediately decided, let’s go!

So Wu Li, Zhao Lixin, and the "Seeking Martial Arts" program team set off for Yun Province from Qi City.

On June 16th, the group arrived in Li City, where Zhao Lixin’s master was located.

That same afternoon, only Wu Li and Zhao Lixin set out, with the program team waiting for news in the hotel.

"What hobbies does your master usually have? I’ll bring some gifts," Wu Li asked Zhao Lixin.

Zhao Lixin shook his head, "Other than Martial Arts Training, my master doesn’t have many interests. You don’t have to bring gifts; just going there is enough. I’ve told him about you, and he’s quite eager to meet you."

The journey continued without much conversation until Zhao Lixin led Wu Li to a park.

"My master usually practices his fist here at this time," Zhao Lixin explained, then confidently guided Wu Li deeper into the park, eventually reaching the edge of an artificial lake where they saw an old man in a black traditional outfit.

The old man was practicing standing stance by the lake, with his left foot forward, his right foot behind, his weight on his right foot, both hands raised in front and above, left hand in front, right hand behind, palms slanted upwards; his left palm level with his eyebrows, his right palm placed inside his left elbow, arms forming a circle as if embracing a large ball, his gaze fixed on the center of his left palm.

Wu Li recognized at a glance that the man was practicing the Seven Stars Stance.

Without needing Zhao Lixin’s introduction, Wu Li knew this man must be his master because the system displayed that the man’s Bagua Palm was at the Master Level.

In this day and age, it was rare to find Martial Artists who had cultivated Traditional Martial Arts to the Master Level. Wu Li didn’t believe he could randomly encounter an elderly gentleman in the park with such a high skill level, so this person had to be Zhao Lixin’s master, the former special forces combat instructor.

Zhao Lixin didn’t immediately take Wu Li forward to meet his master, and Wu Li wasn’t in a hurry either, so the two stood by quietly, watching the old man practice his stance.

About ten minutes later, the old man’s movements changed. His feet were shoulder-width apart, knees touching, feet turned inwards forming a reversed figure eight, hands making a ring in front of his chest, fingertips touching, with the space between thumb and forefinger expanding into a small circle, arms forming a large circle with the chest, at chest level.

This was the Bagua Stance, also called the Mixed Element Stance.

Wu Li noted the old man’s breathing undergoing rhythmic changes. As a Master Level Xingyi Fist Martial Artist, and with Xingyi and Bagua both belonging to the major Internal Fists, they naturally had elements in common. Moreover, Wu Li’s Bagua level had reached master proficiency, so he realized the old man was using the Mixed Element Stance to train his body’s overall power.

Just as Xingyi’s Three Body Formation adjusts the whole body’s muscles and bones little by little by moving the spine, Bagua’s Mixed Element Stance does the same. At this moment, the opponent was using the Mixed Element Stance to circulate the power first between the knees, then between the shoulders, followed by both arms and the chest, and finally all ten fingers, achieving roundness in all places.

There were quite a few pedestrians by the artificial lake, and many people couldn’t help but take a few extra glances when they saw someone standing in a strange posture. However, as they saw no changes in the person after a while, they naturally shifted their gaze away, except for Wu Li and Zhao Lixin, who were watching intently from the side.

To laypeople, this old man just seemed to stand still in one position, nothing of interest, but through Wu Li’s eyes, the subtle changes in the man’s internal power were discernible. He watched with great focus, not finding it the least bit dull, and just by observing the stance, he gained a deeper understanding of Bagua’s Mixed Element Stance.

After approximately half an hour, the elder slowly concluded his stance, and throughout, Wu Li and Zhao Lixin had not spoken up to interrupt.

Most people wouldn’t last half an hour standing motionless with their arms raised, yet this white-haired elder appeared natural in demeanor, with an effortless expression and gestures.

After concluding his stance, he turned to look at Wu Li and Zhao Lixin, nodding in satisfaction.

Although Zhao Lixin had told him much about Wu Li before, he always believed that seeing was believing, and even though he hadn’t witnessed Wu Li’s martial arts skills yet, the mere concentration Wu Li showed convinced him that this was a martial artist who truly practiced diligently.

"Junior Wu Li pays respect to Elder Gu."

Wu Li stepped forward and respectfully greeted the old man with a fist-and-palm salute.

Zhao Lixin’s master was named Gu Qing, a name Wu Li had learned before arriving.

"Master," Zhao Lixin called out.

Gu Qing nodded, signaling Wu Li to be at ease, then gestured for the two to sit down on a nearby stone bench.

"Lixin managed to take the most critical step, thanks to your help. You told him a great deal about the theories of the three major Internal Fists, which he later recounted to me, leading to many insights. I must thank you for that," Gu Qing began.

"You’re too kind, elder."

"You’ve mentioned the purpose of your visit, and nowadays, the places with the most Traditional Martial Arts experts are mostly in the military or overseas."

As someone who came from the military, Gu Qing enjoyed being direct, and so he got straight to the point.

Wu Li nodded, gazing intently at the elder, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Before I enlisted, I traveled abroad with my master, and it was quite fruitful. We went to the United States, where the Chinese, when they first arrived, faced difficult lives. Learning martial arts for self-defense was common, so many of our martial arts have been better preserved and produced more experts overseas."

"My master had friends within the Hongmen over in the United States, so he took me to visit many of their experts. At that time, young and full of vigor, I sparred with Hongmen’s Double Flower Red Stick."

Upon hearing the words Hongmen, Wu Li’s heart stirred; this organization was likely the most famous and influential among overseas Chinese organizations.

Hongmen originated as a Jianghu organization with many experts, among them the Red Sticks, considered top enforcers of the group. The Double Flower Red Stick that Gu Qing mentioned was the best of the best, recognized as the strongest fighter in the entire organization!

"That Double Flower Red Stick, like you, practiced Xingyi." Gu Qing looked at Wu Li, his tone wistful.

"In less than five moves, he almost broke my ribs with a Snake Form Secret Hand, and that’s when I learned there are always higher heavens and people beyond people."

"To warrant the Double Flower Red Stick personally taking action, you must have been quite formidable back then," Wu Li commented admiringly.

For someone with the Double Flower Red Stick’s status to take action was rare, which led Wu Li to surmise that Gu Qing must have defeated several Red Sticks to provoke such a response.

Hearing this, Gu Qing’s serious face couldn’t help but reveal a trace of a smile, his eyes shining with pride.

"My master told me back then that Hongmen had at least five or six other experts like him, some even more powerful! And that was just Hongmen’s experts; overseas, there are many other Chinese organizations similar to Hongmen. So if you’re looking to find masters, heading overseas will greatly increase your chances," Gu Qing told Wu Li.

"Even though many years have passed, I believe that organizations like Hongmen wouldn’t easily break the martial arts lineage. My master has some connections with Hongmen in the United States, and if you wish to visit in the future, I can introduce you."

"That’s wonderful!" Wu Li exclaimed joyfully, "Many thanks, elder."

"No trouble at all; you’re welcome," Gu Qing said dismissively, and continued sharing his experiences.

"Soon after I returned home, I enlisted, and in the military, I encountered many experts..."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.