Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 52 - 50: Start of the Race and Weigh-In

Chapter 52: Chapter 50: Start of the Race and Weigh-In

Li Jun could have directly asked Chang Zhiyang to arrange something for his fighter, but since Wu Li’s schedule had already been set, Li Jun thought asking for more could be too much to expect. Even if Chang agreed, it might create resentment and affect the final outcome. That’s why Li Jun sought out Lin Dongsen, another sponsor, who was less likely to be turned down by Chang.

This way, he not only targeted Wu Li but also leveraged the opportunity to boost the fame of his own fighter. Once Liu Yuanbo left, Li Jun would take over the gym and turn this fighter into its new star, thereby revitalizing the gym’s renown. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Li Jun left Sky Entertainment feeling very satisfied, and all that was left was to wait for the match results.

...

At three o’clock that afternoon, Qi City TV Station rushed to edit the "Face to Face" program recorded with Wu Li and others, sending Wu Li a preview copy and asking him to promote it. The show was scheduled to air that night at 9 PM, with simultaneous webcast.

For promotion, Wu Li first recorded a short clip of himself speaking on the show and posted it on Mo Yin. He then started a live broadcast ahead of time, inviting everyone to watch the program in his streaming room.

By eight o’clock in the evening, and with paid ranking and promotions, "Can Traditional Martial Arts Really Fight?" had become the number one trending topic on Mo Yin. The first thing visible upon clicking was Wu Li’s video.

At nine o’clock, Qi City TV Station aired "Face to Face" on time, and the corresponding website also updated with the latest episode.

In his live streaming room, Wu Li pointed the camera at the TV. There were over 50,000 people watching with him.

At 9:23 PM, "Face to Face" reached a gratifying rating of 1.7, ranking first among Qi City TV Station’s variety shows in 2019 and third among all programs!

The online views for "Face to Face" had also exceeded 100,000 in less than 30 minutes, with the average for a whole season usually around 300,000.

"Report to the station head that we must invite Wu Li for another individual recording, no matter what!" directed Sun Zhenglei, the director of "Face to Face," to his assistant, feeling that he couldn’t miss this opportunity after so many years in the business.

At 9:40 PM, the episode of "Face to Face" ended, and simultaneously, "Can Traditional Martial Arts Really Fight?" hit the trending searches list at number five.

That evening, the peak number of online viewers in Wu Li’s live streaming room reached 120,000, even more than the match he had broadcasted with Ren Donglai. Overnight, his followers increased by over three million, a much better promotional effect than the entire past week. Wu Li’s Mo Yin following soared to more than 11 million, making him a celebrity influencer.

The next morning, "Can Traditional Martial Arts Really Fight?" became the top trending topic on Weibo.

Wu Li, Liu Yuanbo, Pin Yi Company, and Qi City TV Station—all were surprised by the effectiveness of the promotion.

Mainly, it was due to the special sentiment the Chinese hold for Traditional Martial Arts; no matter what was said aloud, most people secretly hoped that Traditional Martial Arts could show its strength at least once.

Wu Li’s comments on the show were actually very objective; he reasoned out why Traditional Martial Arts are currently in decline. His segments where he left Han Yuanfei and Lu Ping speechless were both amusing and satisfying, especially the hypothetical scenario about the world’s weapon fighting competition that left people yearning. So this interview went viral, and the debate on whether Traditional Martial Arts could really fight also heated up online:

"Well said, the essence of Traditional Martial Arts lies in weapon fighting—let’s see you compete in that!"

"A bunch of idiots, it’s the 21st century. Martial Arts have developed over many years, do you think modern Martial Arts don’t include weapon training? Weapon fighting, even if you compete in that, Traditional Martial Arts are outdated!"

"Tsk, the Chinese Civilization spans 5000 years. No other nation has a longer ancient warfare history. After developing for so long, just in terms of skill, we’ve already reached the peak; humans can perform only so many movements, and there are only so many vital points on the human body. Even if technology advances another hundred years, unless you grow two more heads and four more arms, can weapon fighting differentiate that much from ancient times? Sharper weapons? Stronger physical fitness?"

"It’s funny. Traditional Martial Artists can’t win in hand-to-hand combat, so they start talking about weapon fighting. What will you rely on next when you can’t win in that—looking graceful?"

"How can you say Traditional Martial Artists can’t win in hand-to-hand combat? Doesn’t Sandboxing count?"

"It’s just Sandboxing, the classic traditions of Martial Arts simply don’t cut it."

"Weren’t the Grandmasters of the Republic period strong? It’s just that the lineage was broken. This gives people like you fault-finders a false sense of superiority by stepping on the legacy of our forebears."

...

Anyway, once such arguments begin, there’s no end—both sides reply back and forth endlessly and can argue till the end of time, never convincing each other.

However, no matter what, Wu Li became popular, as did the Extreme Martial Arts Tournament, and the online community paid great attention to the match, particularly to Wu Li, who was seen as a representative of Traditional Martial Arts.

Those who supported him desperately wanted him to KO his opponents in every match, to fiercely slap the face of those trash talkers; while those who disliked him were scrutinizing with magnifying glasses, ready to spray venom the moment he showed even a slight imperfection in the arena.

In the office of the chairman at Pin Yi Company, the subordinate was reporting the results to Chang Zhiyang.

"Chairman Chang, our competition has garnered a lot of attention, we could say it’s already half a success, and many of those spectators are here because of Wu Li. You previously mentioned specially arranging Wu Li’s schedule, do you think it’s time to change it? If Wu Li gets eliminated early, I’m worried there might not be as many people watching."

Chang Zhiyang listened to his subordinate’s suggestion, frowning in thought. He hadn’t expected an interview show to bring about such an effect, a truly pleasant surprise, but now the problem was, how to arrange for Wu Li?

He had already agreed to Li Jun to make Wu Li’s initial opponents stronger. Now it seemed as if Wu Li was indeed eliminated early, there would definitely be the issue his subordinate had raised: many people might stop watching the matches.

Chang Zhiyang had organized this competition initially to fulfill his own wish, without considering making money, even prepared to lose some.

When Li Jun and Lin Dongsen actively proposed to sponsor, Chang Zhiyang was overjoyed. Someone was actually paying for his dream! So, regarding their requests, as long as they were reasonable, he was willing to accommodate them.

However, now that the number of people focusing on the competition had surged, the business side of Chang Zhiyang took precedence. Why not make money if there’s money to be made?

"Li Jun and Lin Dongsen both came to me, although asking for different things, their purpose is actually the same, to step on Wu Li; the two of them must have prearranged this. If I were to proactively promote Wu Li, I’d probably offend both of them at the same time."

The subordinate was certainly trusted, so Chang Zhiyang spoke his thoughts directly, "Both of their requests still need to be met, given I have already agreed, but Wu Li cannot be eliminated so soon. So, Wu Li’s group match opponents should still be strong, but not too intentionally arranged. Didn’t we say to put him in a five-person group before? Let’s cancel that, stick to four-person groups; additionally, for the player arranged by Lin Dongsen, don’t make it too easy for him. Set him up with someone a bit stronger, so if both of them make it through, their later encounter would seem relatively fair."

"Alright, I’ll arrange it now." The subordinate nodded and immediately left.

Chang Zhiyang, holding the information regarding Wu Li, muttered to himself: "Quite interesting, a college student managing to attract such special attention from the head honchos of two companies, you’ve got some skill."

On December 13th, the day before the start of the Extreme Martial Arts Tournament, all contestants gathered at the designated spot for weigh-ins.

Official striking matches are divided by weight class, as real combat is not like novels or films—it’s not common for two people of different weight classes to fight, as the gap can often be huge.

Wu Li’s usual weight was around 73 kilograms, so he registered for the lightweight class. Han Yuanfei and Lu Ping also entered the lightweight class. Apart from them, there was one other seed player in the tournament promotion who had joined the lightweight division; thus with four seed players plus the draw of Wu Li, the lightweight class weighing area was crowded with journalists, while other areas were neglected, eliciting envious glances from the contestants weighing in elsewhere.

This time, the lightweight division at the Extreme Martial Arts Tournament had the highest number of people coming in for weigh-ins, because everyone knew before the match that with contenders like Han Yuanfei and Lu Ping, this category would definitely be a focal point for the audience. Therefore, many contestants intentionally controlled their weight to register for lightweight. Now with the addition of Wu Li, many regretted turning green with envy—they should have, even if it killed them, controlled their weight to register for the lightweight class!

Typically, striking competitors hope that their actual weight is heavier than at weigh-in; ideally, they can drop a weight class to compete. Thus, many would go through a grueling weight-cutting process before weigh-in and, immediately afterwards, transform into eating machines, with some able to gain over ten pounds in a day.

Wu Li didn’t engage in such tactics; perhaps in the future, to compete in different weight classes, he’d deliberately control his weight. But for now, he was still more comfortable with his current weight.

"Wu Li." The weigh-in staff called Wu Li’s name.

Liu Yuanbo also came along. Wu Li handed his phone to Liu Yuanbo and then walked over wearing a pair of black shorts.

Yes, Wu Li had also started live streaming the weigh-in process. With his current popularity, he needed to seize the opportunity to increase his Fan Value.

After the weigh-in was the drawing of lots, with the competition divided into group and knockout stages. Today’s draw would decide the group matchups.

The lightweight division had 67 entrants, to be divided into 16 groups, with four people in each group, and three groups having five people each.

They’d compete in round-robin matches within the group, earning one point per victory, and zero points for a draw or loss, with the highest-scoring individuals from each group advancing.

"C Group, Wu Li."

The drawing staff announced Wu Li’s name on stage.

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