Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 236 - 213 The Hard and Soft of Tai Chi

Chapter 236: Chapter 213 The Hard and Soft of Tai Chi

September 14, UFC Training Center, twenty-one students trained as usual.

"You’re taking leave?"

In the resting area to the side, Danny’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Wu Li.

Wu Li nodded, "That’s right. I’ve taught everything that needs to be taught, and I don’t need to watch over them all the time, do I?"

Danny shook his head, "No way, we still have filming to do. How can we manage without you?"

Wu Li smiled, "The contract I signed at the beginning stated that I was to join TUF as a student. Now that I’m no longer a student, I am completely free to opt out of the filming."

Danny was frustrated. Wu’s particular situation was unprecedented, so the TUF organizers had not made a separate agreement with him. Theoretically, Wu was indeed free from having to participate in the filming, and even acting as a mentor was not mandatory.

Wu Li patted Danny’s shoulder, "Don’t worry. I just have some personal matters to take care of. I will come back later. Besides, isn’t there a consultant? When a mentor takes a leave, the consultant should step up, right?"

Wu Li turned his gaze to Charles at the side and made an encouraging gesture. Charles’s eyes were cold, showing no desire to speak with Wu Li.

In the end, Danny had no choice but to compromise, mainly because there was nothing he could do about Wu Li, and they still depended on him for future filming.

Leaving the training center, Wu Li took a car alone to Queens.

His leave today was to meet Li San. They had sent him a message, saying that the black muscleman from the other night had been cleared.

Wu Li had not rushed to complete the optional mission because he was waiting for news from Li San. He suspected the optional mission was somehow related to the Bill Brothers Association, so he wanted to learn more before taking action.

Arriving at the address on Li San’s business card, Wu Li found himself at the base of a skyscraper.

On the seventh floor of the skyscraper was a martial arts hall, with a sign in Chinese saying ’Hongmen Li’s Tai Chi Martial Arts Hall’.

Inside the martial arts hall, there was a large group of foreigners dressed in white training suits practicing Tai Chi, led by a young Asian man who, though young, executed the Tai Chi Fist with proper form, displaying an inexplicable grace with each movement.

Without using system detection, Wu Li could tell that the young man leading the Tai Chi was not just going through the motions. Though it was a training method, the transition between the substantial and insubstantial power was already discernible.

The foreign students were studying very diligently, which, ironically, compared to the domestic scene, meant that many people abroad believed more in Hua Country’s Kung Fu and were more willing to learn.

This had to do with cultural export, as well as the genuine transmission abroad and the presence of more masters.

Western culture emphasizes pragmatism and seeing is believing. No amount of extravagant talk compares to the effectiveness of directly knocking them down. Here, many who start training in a martial arts hall begin by challenging the establishment: if you can beat me, I’ll pay tuition.

Organizations like Hongmen, with more than three hundred years of history, have many skilled masters. Naturally, opening a martial arts hall here made it easier for them to gain a firm foothold and attract many students.

"It looks like it’s the Chen-style Tai Chi," Wu Li thought to himself.

"Are you Master Wu?"

A voice spoke in Chinese. A middle-aged man in a white training suit with the martial arts hall’s emblem embroidered on his chest approached and asked.

Wu Li nodded to him, "I am Wu Li."

"Master Wu, the Master requests your presence."

The man gestured and led Wu Li toward a staircase on the side.

The martial arts hall was more than one floor. They went up to the second floor, which was also an open area, but much quieter. In the vast hall, there were only a few people.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of weapons clashing could be heard, with two people sparring in the center of the hall.

One of them was Li San, dressed in a white Chinese-style tunic and wielding an Eight-sided Han Sword.

The sword was 1.2 meters long, with a black hilt and red patterns. The pommel was carved with a coiled dragon, gleaming with a majestic presence.

His opponent was a woman with short hair, wearing ultra-short jeans that showcased her long legs, and a tight black top that, despite her modest chest, didn’t hinder her dynamic movements.

In her hand was a slender Miao Knife. At that moment, she held the knife with both hands, slashing horizontally and vertically with a fierce attack. Li San, however, wielded the sword in just one hand, focusing solely on defense. His Han Sword, whether thrusting or slashing, always managed to lead her knife’s momentum astray, breaking her attack.

If the woman’s knife technique was like a surging tide, then Li San’s swordsmanship was like a seaside cliff; no matter how powerful the waves crashed against it, they could only dissipate into a spray of water, crumbling apart without shaking the cliff in the slightest.

"The foundation of Chen-style Tai Chi Swordsmanship, integrated with Wudang Swordsmanship."

Wu Li was impressed. When he first saw Li San’s thrust, he had concluded the man was a master of the sword, which now was confirmed.

With the system, Wu Li aspired to become a living dictionary of martial arts. He would acquire new martial arts whenever he had free time. Even if he didn’t practice them himself, he could broaden his knowledge to refine his own skills. With the system aiding his rapid memory and his profound martial arts foundation to understand and absorb, Wu Li did not dare to say he had mastered all martial arts in the world, but there were likely very few who had wider knowledge in martial arts than he did. So, he could recognize the foundation of Li San’s sword technique at a glance.

As for the woman confronting Li San, her knife technique also followed the principles of Tai Chi; Chen-style Tai Chi Saber Technique originated from the battlefield. Her knife technique should have been in line with the Spring and Autumn Great Blade, but perhaps due to a lack of strength, she chose to use the Miao Knife instead.

Clang!

After another collision, the woman’s knife was deflected by Li San’s sword, and she staggered back several steps to regain her balance.

Clearly, Li San was sparring to train her, otherwise, he could have ended the bout with a single stroke.

However, the woman was clearly not convinced. She narrowed her eyes, which resembled the Miao Knife in her hand, suddenly exhaled sharply, and with a fierce shout, charged towards Li San, brandishing the knife violently.

Rolling Blade Stance!

Step by step, the woman stepped forward three times, spinning her body and slashing three times towards Li San!

It was hard to imagine a woman wielding a knife with such ferocity. Although the weapon in her hand didn’t weigh more than five pounds, which an average person could lift, to wield it as she did was something few could accomplish without injuring themselves.

Li San stepped back while simultaneously thrusting his sword, his Han Sword moving like flowing silver, and amidst the flickering light, he directed the force of the Rolling Blade Stance along with its momentum. He did not resist the power of the strike head-on but instead added to it, making the opponent’s blade move even faster.

Intense speed in swordplay is a good thing, but if it’s too fierce, it can easily become uncontrollable.

Under Li San’s intentional guidance, the woman’s Rolling Blade slowly began to lose control.

Clang!

Whoosh!

By the fifth strike, the woman’s Miao Knife flew out of her hand.

Unclear whether it was intentional or not, Li San’s last sword strike hit the blade, sending it spinning towards Wu.

Wu cracked a slight smile. During the brief exchange, Li San had the capacity to be aware of his surroundings and had already noticed Wu approaching. Thus, the move was certainly deliberate.

Swoosh!

The spinning blade whizzed through the air at a high speed, but Wu stood firmly in place and with an effortless motion, caught the flying knife in one hand.

"Excellent swordsmanship!" Wu praised with a smile.

The knife technique employed by the woman and Li San’s swordplay both followed the principles of Tai Chi, the woman displaying the force of Tai Chi while Li San demonstrated its softness.

At the sound of Wu’s voice, the few people in the hall turned around.

Li San nodded at Wu, while the woman with whom he had sparred widened her eyes in astonishment. "It’s you!"

"Hm?"

Wu felt the woman looked somewhat familiar and then remembered – wasn’t she the one who came to pick up Tina that night, the woman Tina referred to as Lily?

"Wu!"

A delighted voice exuded, and Wu turned to the side. Not far away another person sat watching the fight—Tina.

Tina wore a light blue dress today and had applied light makeup; her lips were lightly rouged, making her brightly attractive.

She had been absentmindedly watching her friend spar but suddenly heard Wu’s voice, initially thinking it was an illusion. Lifting her head abruptly, the person she saw in the distance was indeed Wu.

Tina’s eyes sparkled, and with an expression of surprise, she rose to her feet and briskly walked over.

The short distance of just over a dozen meters made her cheeks flush and left her slightly out of breath.

"You, how did you get here?" Tina stood in front of Wu, her gaze shining.

Her starry blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and a touch of red on her lips captivated Wu to the point of distraction, but he quickly came to his senses. "I came to find Li San. What are you doing here?"

A flicker of disappointment crossed Tina’s eyes but was quickly disguised as she smiled and said, "Lily brought me. What a coincidence, to see you again."

Lily, who was not far away, saw Tina’s flushed and excited demeanor, and couldn’t help feeling irked. That night, she had taken Tina back to her place to stay for a day, and when Tina tried to contact her mother without success and then her stepfather Bertrand, still unable to reach anyone, Tina was nearly on the verge of breaking down. Lily had stayed by her side to comfort her for a long time to prevent a complete breakdown.

Today, Lily’s intention was to take Tina out to distract her mind and casually ask her brother for help with Tina’s predicament. But now, Wu had appeared unexpectedly, and Tina, who hadn’t shown a smile for days and had been extremely downcast, bloomed with joy and happiness from the inside out upon seeing Wu. It was clear at first glance.

"Brother, give me your sword," Lily suddenly said to Li San.

"What for?" Li San asked, puzzled.

Impatiently, Lily snatched the Han Sword from Li San’s hand and, holding the sword with both hands, charged towards Wu.

"Hey, I hear you’re pretty good. Do you know how to use weapons?" Lily called out to Wu.

Wu remembered this long-legged girl who seemed to harbor some hostility towards him from their first meeting, which was now more apparent. He had never encountered someone who showed hostility towards him upon first sight, given his handsome features.

"Are you talking to me?" Lily frowned, her tone unfriendly.

Geez, woman, you’ve got my attention...

"Yes."

"Alright, watch the sword!"

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