Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 376 - 344 Dream Chaser

Chapter 376: Chapter 344 Dream Chaser

After Wu Power’s interview video was posted online, it immediately sparked heated discussion across the entire network.

"Ten million yuan prize money", "signing professional fighters", "the top three professional fighting clubs" – these terms quickly trended on search engines, and netizens marveled at Wu Power’s bold moves. Previously, Wu Power’s image in the public eye was dominated by his personal martial prowess, but his identity as a major businessman didn’t make a deep impression. However, after this event, the image of Wu Power as a successful businessman began to resonate with people.

At the Jiaxing Boxing Club in Magic City, Xu Zijia, as usual, gave a lesson.

He was both the coach and the owner of the Jiaxing Boxing Club.

"That’s it for today, class dismissed," Xu Zijia said to the students.

These students, all around eleven or twelve years old, politely bowed to Xu Zijia.

"Goodbye, coach."

After ensuring that all the students were picked up by their parents, Xu Zijia began to clean up the place by himself.

"Old Xu!"

As Xu Zijia bent down to mop the floor, a voice came from behind him.

Turning around, Xu Zijia saw his good friend and also the business partner of the boxing gym, Zhao Liang.

"Liángzi, you came at the perfect time. Give me a hand with the cleaning," Xu Zijia said.

Zhao Liang took the mop from Xu Zijia’s hands and handed him a mobile phone, "Don’t worry about the cleaning for now, take a look at this."

"What?"

Xu Zijia took the phone; it was a video, and Zhao Liang helped him play it.

"... Anyone who makes it into the top 64 in this competition, the Yanhuang Competition will offer them a contract..."

It was the same video of Wu Power being interviewed on Penguin Sports.

As Xu Zijia listened to Wu Power talking about a guaranteed annual salary of 100,000 yuan, a minimum appearance fee of 10,000 yuan, his eyes started to sparkle; and when he finally heard Wu Power mentioning that he had acquired the three top professional fighting clubs in the United States and would provide the signed fighters with the most professional training, Xu Zijia’s breathing became a bit rapid.

"How is it, Old Xu, are you tempted?" Zhao Liang asked with a smile, watching Xu Zijia’s expression.

Xu Zijia handed the phone back to Zhao Liang, pursing his lips, "I am indeed a bit tempted."

"Ha, ha!" Zhao Liang laughed, slapping Xu Zijia on the shoulder, "Then go for it, sign up. With your strength, you could at least make it into the top 64, and maybe even top 16 is possible. Then you’d have 500,000 yuan in your pocket!"

Xu Zijia hesitated, "Wu Power is offering such high prize money and such conditions; for sure, many people will be tempted. And they even said they would invite experts from Asian ONE and UFC to compete. I’ve been retired for seven years now; making it to the top 16 is dreaming, even the top 64 is uncertain."

Zhao Liang shook his head, "You’re just too humble. You’re someone who’s been in the National Team, big brother!"

Xu Zijia laughed self-deprecatingly, "A person who’s been eliminated by the National Team, and what I trained in is boxing, not Mixed Martial Arts."

Zhao Liang: "If you hadn’t been so impulsive back then, you might have already won an Olympic gold medal by now!"

Xu Zijia’s gaze darkened. At 17, he had entered the National Team with immense talent and high hopes, genuinely having a shot at competing in the Olympics. But back then, full of pride and youthful vigor, he had gotten into a fight with someone outside and talked back to a coach, resulting in his expulsion from the National Team.

After leaving the National Team, Xu Zijia and his old provincial team friend, Zhao Liang, partnered up to open this boxing club in Magic City, teaching boxing. The business was quite successful, and in seven years, he was able to buy a house in Magic City.

"Don’t hesitate, Old Xu, I know you’ve always wanted to get back into the ring. You’re still young, only 25 this year. If there’s a chance, why not go for it?" Zhao Liang said.

At first, when Xu Zijia and Zhao Liang heard that Wu Li was organizing a big Mixed Martial Arts competition, they only watched with interest and didn’t intend to compete. However, now that they knew the terms Wu Li was offering, both were tempted.

The ten-million yuan prize was too far out, but Wu Li’s promise to sign fighters as professionals, guaranteeing a base salary and appearance fees, and accepting top-notch professional club training, these terms were incredibly attractive to those wanting to pursue a professional path!

"How many editions of the Yanhuang Competition do you think there will be?" Xu Zijia asked.

Zhao Liang: "I think it will definitely be more reliable than those past competitions. I did some research online about the three professional fighting clubs Wu Li bought—that’s the top of the top! They’ve trained many well-known professional fighters, dozens of Boxing Champions! Think about it, Wu Li bought three such clubs in one go; He must be planning to run the competition long-term, hoping to establish a professional league similar to the United States’ UFC."

"Like the UFC?" Xu Zijia was stunned for a moment. "Do you think that’s possible?"

Zhao Liang: "It’s possible! How hot is Wu Li right now? With his fame and willingness to spend, how could the competition not be a hit? Once it takes off, you think it won’t make money? As long as it’s profitable, isn’t there hope to keep it going indefinitely?"

Xu Zijia was silent for a moment, admitting he was moved.

The most concerning thing about being a professional fighter was the unstable income. With no regular competitions back home, you might fight a few times this year, then struggle to find a match for the next year or two, or only compete in some small, unofficial ones, barely covering your medical expenses.

But now, the contract offered by Wu Li at least showed a glimmer of a professional league, giving those aspiring fighters a basic guarantee: the lowest base annual salary of one hundred thousand yuan—enough to keep one from starving even if they didn’t fight a single match!

"If we’re going to compete, we’ll need systematic training to get back in shape, and we’ll have to learn ground skills. We definitely won’t have time to teach boxing. What about the boxing club?" asked Xu Zijia.

Zhao Liang had clearly thought this through and looked straight at Xu Zijia before saying, "Close it for a while."

Xu Zijia: "And if we really make it into the top 64 and Yanhuang Competition wants to sign with us, what then?"

"Then we don’t reopen!" Zhao Liang said decisively.

"Are you sure?" Xu Zijia looked at Zhao Liang.

The two had run the boxing club for seven years, pouring their hearts and souls into it, and reaching where they were today hadn’t been easy. Now Zhao Liang was willing to give up the business he had nurtured for seven years for a nebulous future.

A smile emerged on Zhao Liang’s face: "Old Xu, don’t ask me, ask yourself. Are you content with spending a lifetime here teaching boxing to a bunch of kids?"

Xu Zijia pursed his lips, remaining silent.

His dream had been to win gold at the Olympics, but that was no longer possible after being expelled from the National Team. Still, he loved the ring—the raw power of trading blows, the thrill of dodging by the slightest margin, the fervor of clenching your teeth and testing your will against your opponent!

Xu Zijia’s eyes grew brighter, and finally, he nodded with a smile: "You’re right, I’m damn well not content!"

"I want to step into the ring!"

"I want to box, to KO my opponents!"

"I want to win the championship, to hear the audience scream my name!"

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Liang burst into laughter, slamming a fist against Xu Zijia’s chest, "Then let’s do the damn thing!"

"Let’s go, sign up!"

...

Imperial City, Wang Xing finished delivering the last order of the day on his electric bike. Because he was late, the customer gave him a bad review; he had no time to explain and quickly headed back.

Dragging his weary body back to his rented 30-square-meter room, he did not even change his clothes. After washing his face with cold water, Wang Xing hurried out the door.

He started running along the roadside, listening to music.

This was a daily routine for him, a 15-kilometer night run, which was also the most relaxing and joyful part of his day.

Reaching a park, he made his way to a secluded area, where Wang Xing tucked away his headphones and took out a rope he carried with him to start skipping.

Fifty jumps a set, twenty sets in total.

After finishing, Wang Xing, drenched in sweat, did not rest. Instead, he placed a brick on the ground and stepped on it with his left foot before quickly stepping down and moving his feet, switching to his right foot this time.

In this manner, Wang Xing regularly switched his footwork, exercising his body’s coordination and the flexibility of his step technique.

He did this because he was not only a delivery man but also a professional boxer.

He had learned Sandboxing at a Martial Arts School from a young age and had originally wanted to pursue a professional career. However, due to financial reasons, he had to work part-time to support himself while competing in fighting championships.

Over the years, Wang Xing had fought in Free Fighting competitions, Boxing matches, and Mixed Martial Arts bouts, trying various disciplines and achieving some success, but he had never made a significant name for himself.

The reason he came to Imperial City was that there were more fighting competitions and thus more opportunities here.

He dreamt of becoming famous one day, so he trained hard every single day.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Wang Xing stopped training and pulled out his phone from his pocket. It was a call from his mom.

"Mom?"

"Son, how have you been recently?"

"Pretty good."

"I’ve sent you some clothes and some food; make sure to pick them up."

"Ah, I’ve told you, you don’t need to send stuff, I have everything I need for eating and wearing."

"Alright, alright, no more sending next time. Come back home next month, will you?"

"What for?"

"Mrs. Zhang has set you up on a date. Come meet her."

"Mom, I’ve told you I’m not interested in blind dates!"

"You’re 28 years old and still single. If not blind dates, what are you planning to do?"

"Besides, I don’t own a car, a house, nor do I have savings. No blind date would be interested in me. I’m not coming back!"

"You still have the nerve to say that? Look at you, I told you to find some stable job back home, but you insist on staying in Imperial City to box. What have you achieved?"

...

The same old spiel followed, and Wang Xing hung up the phone in annoyance.

He sighed, not resuming his training, but ran back home with music in his ears.

When Wang Xing passed a bus stop and saw the billboard there, he suddenly stopped.

"Yanhuang Competition, make it into the top 64, become a contracted athlete!"

The large red font stood out against the background image of Wu Power, adorning a pristine white Martial Arts Uniform.

The bottom right corner of the billboard had detailed introductions about the benefits of becoming a contracted athlete.

"Contracted athlete..."

Wang Xing stood in front of the billboard for a long, long time.

"A delivery guy still dreaming of boxing?"

A few people’s hushed voices broke Wang Xing’s concentration; he turned around to see several young people in Martial Arts Uniforms passing by, murmuring to each other.

Wang Xing glanced at them expressionlessly, then turned his head back to continue gazing at the billboard.

Return to his hometown, settle for a job he didn’t truly like, marry a girl he might not particularly like either but didn’t necessarily despise, and just muddle through life, or should he fight on one more time?

Suddenly, a familiar song rang through the headphones:

"Where exactly is a world filled with flowers?

If it truly exists, then I must surely go.

I wish to stand on the highest peak there,

Not caring if it’s a cliff’s edge."

Listening to his favorite song, a brilliant smile suddenly appeared on Wang Xing’s face.

He turned and ran forward, with all his might!

"Run forward, facing cold eyes and ridicule. How can one feel the vastness of life without experiencing trials!"

...

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