Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 307 - 278: The Knife Has a Sheath, Grandmaster’s Demeanor

Chapter 307: Chapter 278: The Knife Has a Sheath, Grandmaster’s Demeanor

Just controlling the Horse Form Cannon was difficult enough, but the Horse Form Chain Cannon required continuous power delivery during motion, making it even more challenging. Many people could hit a punching bag with loud thumps while stationary, but once on the ring, punching while moving, they would find it was a completely different matter.

Horse Form Cannon was an entrance assessment for the advanced class of Xingyi Fist, while Horse Form Chain Cannon was a tough point in the professional course, not something everyone could master.

Ran Xiaochuan was a National Martial Arts Sixth Rank student, and choosing Horse Form Chain Cannon was somewhat risky. However, opportunities like this came only once, and he didn’t want to miss it easily.

The first punch, he borrowed power quite well.

The second punch, his center of gravity was somewhat off, and he lost some control of his body when rushing out.

The third punch, his body totally lost control. Although he managed to step forward, he borrowed no strength at all; instead, he just numbed his legs.

Ran Xiaochuan stopped, ashamed. The Horse Form Chain Cannon was all about momentum because each step borrowed force to accelerate, making each succeeding punch stronger than the last. Since his third punch was weaker than the first, there was naturally no point in continuing the demonstration.

"Mr. Wu, may I try again?" Ran Xiaochuan pleaded, looking at Wu Li.

Wu Li waved his hand dismissively, "No worries, go down and train well, go rest aside, next one."

Ran Xiaochuan walked away dejectedly, and the rest instinctively tensed up.

They had anticipated various forms of assessments before coming: sparring with students, clashing with Wu Li, learning a set of fist techniques on the spot, having Wu Li ask some professional martial arts questions... But they hadn’t thought the assessment would be like this.

Plainly, it was indeed simple—just going up and showing the martial arts they practiced. But dauntingly, the assessment had no specific standards; nobody knew what level they needed to reach to pass or what they should demonstrate.

The second student was called by name, and Wu Li similarly instructed him to start demonstrating.

This student thought for a moment; he did not opt to show some high-difficulty techniques but performed a few Monkey Form movements, displaying as much agility and swiftness as the form allowed.

"Okay, next."

...

The ten students present demonstrated one by one. Some showed fighting techniques, some training methods, and others just stood in the Standing Three-body Position. However, Wu Li’s expression and tone remained unchanging from start to finish, leaving the participants clueless about what he was thinking, and without a sense of security.

"Okay, your assessment is over; you can go back and wait for notification. Please don’t leave Shudu for the time being; results will be out by tonight at the latest," Liu Yuanbo told the ten students.

Ten people left the changing room, and the next group of students came in.

As the number of people who had finished the assessment increased, those outside who hadn’t yet had their turn were all aware of the assessment content and found it quite tricky.

Choosing a high-difficulty technique could lead to mistakes and fail to showcase their full ability; on the other hand, choosing a basic technique or training method felt too mediocre.

In summary, because Wu Li did not provide a clear standard, students outside were racking their brains and distressed.

In the changing room, Liu Yuanbo also watched with great curiosity as Wu Li scribbled on the roster, making various marks under some names—some circled, some with a line, some with a small circle.

He did not actually know what Wu Li’s selection criteria were. He had asked Wu Li earlier, but Wu Li hadn’t told him.

"Master."

Finally, after interviewing five groups of students and taking advantage of a break, Liu Yuanbo couldn’t help but ask Wu Li, "Fifty people, not one satisfied?"

Wu Li shook his head, "None for now."

"What do these symbols mean then?" Liu Yuanbo pointed at the roster in Wu Li’s hands.

Wu Li answered, "Ah, it’s nothing, just random doodles."

Liu Yuanbo: "...."

Actually, with system detection available, Wu Li could instantly assess a student’s overall capabilities with an Overall Score to refer to, nearly eliminating any misjudgment. The reason he let the students display the martial arts they practiced was not to assess their abilities, but to look for something else.

Unfortunately, so far, he had not seen what he wanted.

"Let’s continue, call the sixth group in."

So the staff continued to lead people in for another round of displays.

Just when Liu Yuanbo felt somewhat disheartened, Wu Li suddenly spoke up, "Number 65, Wang Ruojun, stay back. Everyone else, please leave, and have the next group wait a bit."

"Huh?!"

Liu Yuanbo perked up, and the rest of the students also looked enviously at Wang Ruojun, whose face flushed with excitement as he nodded in agreement to Wu Li’s request.

The staff led the other students out, while Wu Li turned to Wang Ruojun with a smile and asked, "The Advancing Breaking Fist you just used, the method of unleashing power must be different from what the coach taught you, right?"

"Ah?" Wang Ruojun was somewhat surprised, then realized and said embarrassingly, "I, I just feel that the way of exerting force taught by the coach is a bit awkward..."

"Besides that technique, have you modified any other moves yourself?" Wu asked.

Wang Ruojun, suppressing his excitement, nodded, "There are others."

Then he demonstrated a few moves in front of Wu, all based on the Five Elements Fist Power, which he had altered himself.

"I just figured these moves out by myself, and I feel like they suit me better after the changes," Wang Ruojun said somewhat proudly.

Wu’s expression suddenly changed, and his aura turned icy cold, "So you just arbitrarily changed the way of exerting force, thinking you know more than the coach?"

Wang Ruojun was frightened by Wu’s sudden change, his mind went blank, and he stammered without being able to say anything.

"The Martial Arts you practice, every move, every form, every method of exertion has been figured out bit by bit by countless generations. Do you think your little cleverness can surpass the wisdom of numerous predecessors?" Wu asked harshly.

Wang Ruojun’s face turned pale, and sweat appeared on his forehead. He had thought Wu deliberately kept him behind because he saw potential in him. He thought showing his modified techniques was a mark of appreciation for his ingenuity, but instead, he was met with severe criticism.

"Get out," Wu waved his hand.

Wang Ruojun left the changing room in a daze. Outside the door, the classmates who were earlier grouped with him hadn’t left; seeing him come out, they all crowded around him.

"How did it go? How did it go?"

"Why did Wu keep you behind alone?"

"Were you selected?"

"Do you have any secrets? Tell us!"

...

Wang Ruojun’s eyes reddened, and suddenly he felt like crying. Although he was the same age as Wu, he was still a naive student who hadn’t been tempered by society—not every college student had hands stained with lives like Wu...

In the end, Wang Ruojun left without saying a word, wiping away his tears.

The rest looked at each other in confusion. Was this crying from being overwhelmed with happiness at being selected? But why did he seem so sad?

Inside the changing room, after Wang Ruojun had left, Wu suddenly smiled and said to Gong Juren, "Pull up his information for me to see."

"Ah?" Not just Gong Juren, everyone else in the room looked at Wu in surprise.

"Master, what’s going on?" Liu Yuanbo asked.

Initially, he thought just like Wang Ruojun that Wu had taken a liking to this person. But seeing Wu’s attitude later, he thought that Wu disliked the person’s unilateral modification of the Martial Arts and deliberately kept him behind for a scolding, also for his own good. But now it seemed he had thought wrong.

Wu chuckled, "This person has some spirit, worth cultivating a bit."

"Ah? Then why did you speak to him like that just now?" Liu Yuanbo was very puzzled.

Wu shook his head and said seriously, "I have said to someone: ’In practicing Martial Arts, first cultivate three parts of Qi; a Martial Artist’s heart must have a blade.’ This blade represents valor, decisiveness, the courage to draw the sword and cut everything. But, the blade must have a sheath!"

He tapped the table, his expression stern, "The old generation of Martial Artists used to say: ’The true essence of the blade is not in killing, but in sheathing.’ This is to tell us, the blade must have a sheath."

"The person earlier, 21 years old, has some talent in Martial Arts, makes modifications on his own finding them effective, and thinks highly of himself. Overtime, this can lead to dismissing everything, thinking he can change everything, and that all rules are illusions, not necessary to follow. Such a character, once developed, his blade will harm himself."

"Xu Chuan." Wu suddenly turned to look at Xu Chuan standing by.

This recruitment session, the disciple Wu was taking was bound to accompany him closely, so there was no need to participate in the hiring process, just watching Wu conduct the interviews.

"Master?" Xu Chuan looked at Wu.

"You also remember, people who practice Martial Arts must dare to break the rules when it’s time to act, but they cannot view rules as nothing. Those who do not understand respect in their hearts cannot practice Martial Arts well."

"Master, I remember," Xu Chuan bowed solemnly to Wu.

Wu nodded, "Call the next group in."

Liu Yuanbo watched Wu, understanding his meaning: Wang Ruojun’s talent was probably not bad, and Wu appreciated him quite a bit, but was worried that direct praise would make him develop an arrogant character. Hence, he purposefully criticized him harshly, first letting him understand what are rules, and to comprehend respect.

Thinking this, Wu actually valued Wang Ruojun quite a lot, otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble, and would most likely bring him closely under his guidance later.

"This kid is really lucky." Liu Yuanbo felt a bit envious; although he was currently solely focused on his career, sometimes he still fantasized about becoming a Kung Fu master.

Unfortunately, practicing Martial Arts indeed requires talent. Out of so many interviewees earlier, only Wang Ruojun was recognized by Wu.

The interviews continued, Liu Yuanbo kept thinking about what Wu had said. Although Wu was only twenty-one years old this year himself, he already had the demeanor of a Grandmaster.

No, it wasn’t just maturity; the words he spoke and the way he instructed Xu Chuan, truly gave Liu Yuanbo the feeling—it was truly the presence of a Grandmaster!