Romance of Dragons and Snakes - Chapter 78

 From tiger to eagle and snake to dragon

“I only thought that he was a person with decent strength, but who would have known that…”

Wang Chao and Zhang Wei’s fight had already reached back to the S Province a long time ago. But the results had utterly shocked Cao Yi since he thought he knew Wang Chao the most.

Starting from the ruffian he had fought three years ago, Wang Chao had grown up faster than he had thought.

“Three years ago, he had only started to learn how to fight. He wasn’t even an opponent for me back then. But three years later, he has grown into a master of martial arts. What a transformation. Instead of beating the snake out of the grass, a dragon appeared, how shocking.”

Cao Yi himself had been in the underground boxing world for a decent amount of time so he knew how terrifying one of the Three Tigers of Guangdong was.

In truth, he had not really expected Wang Chao to win that fight.

But the situation in the southeast Asian martial arts world had grown more and more chaotic over the years. He had many plans, but those required a large amount of martial artists. Even though special commando soldiers were easy to train, the experts of the Wulin were not that easy to deal with either.

For the sake of cooperating with the plans of the organization, he had fed medicine to a dead horse by pulling Wang Chao. He had even pulled the strings for Wang Chao to be given a loan for 100 million RMB.

It had been a gamble. If Wang Chao were to lose that 100 million, then his political career would end there. But if Wang Chao were to win, then his prospects for the future would shine brightly.

Not only did the battle pit Wang Chao’s life against Zhang Wei, but Cao Yi’s political career was on the line. If he did not complete the mission given to him by the organization, then his career was all but over.

When in the Jianghu, one cannot do as one pleases. On the inverse, when in the court, one cannot do as one pleases either.

“Congratulations, comrade!” At the same time, the general Chang Zhouliang had been extremely happy to see his friend win.

“But we’re not at the best part yet.” Cao Yi calmed down and shook his head.

“Right now the situation in southeast asia is getting more and more complex–it’s practically a game between nations. The United States have already fought with us for many years. Although on the surface our relationship seems quite well, it is an absolute mess underneath. There’s even new information from the European Union, they seem to be interested in sticking their leg into Asia. The southeast martial arts world may not be a decisive chess piece, but in regards to the politics of the government, they are quite crucial.”

“That’s right.” Chang Zhouliang spoke . “The martial arts world says it isn’t black, but it is black. It says it white, but it has countless of connections to the underground and may even be the source of it. If we don’t control it and is exploited by someone else, then that wouldn’t bode well for our plans.”

“The most worrisome part is the Japanese martial arts world. They’ve already commercialized their martial arts and made it an industry. With their assets, they were able to become a large chain in the west. Whatever actions we take will have serious repercussions. Our Chinese martial arts world has safeguarded its traditions strictly and thus has declined greatly. The Shaolin Temple will only burn incense and no longer has any martial arts. Whatever true martial arts China has left, it is hidden from the regular person from fear of everything. It’s almost at the point where they are so paranoid they’ll imprison a person for eating peanuts.” Cao Yi spoke.

“Ai, our nation seeks only the realistic things. Although that pursuit isn’t such a bad idea, we should still leave behind concrete information. It’s no wonder that we are a backwards country, we don’t even have the energy to gather together the ideas from the past. It’s a good thing our economy is established for the most part. As the proverbs say, warm clothes and a full meal begets a lustful heart’. With all these riches now, what use do we have for the old ideas?” Zhouliang spoke accurately about the current situation of China as a whole.

“That’s true. Wang Chao’s report has already reached the superiors. Let’s see what the organization will do. If there are no other mishaps, then the application I sent for funds should be accepted. With the organization, it’ll take half a year before they’ll tell Wang Chao to open up several dojos by the coast to spread his name. However, I will only be able to support him in the dark. After all, the princelings are far too much of a hindrance.”

The second step to their plan had been for Wang Chao to open up a dojo at the coast to improve his reputation. With time, his reputation would grow to hold a major sway in the martial arts world to a large extent.

But this was a huge risk as well. Even if Wang Chao was able to open up a business there, it would be affected by the princelings. They would not take kindly to him, and even Japan, Korea, Thailand, and the other disciplines would start their attack. The future as is would be quite difficult.

The reputation of a master would only need to be hit once so that it would never rise again.

For those who walked by the river, how would their shoes stay dry? For those who floated in the Jianghu, how would they not be contested with a blade?

Even for the number one expert around, there was no guarantee that he would win day after day, month after month, and year after year.

Even if they didn’t lose, they would still earn many enemies. The weapons of today was far too strong. If one wasn’t careful, then even a random sniper would be able to shoot dead a master like Chen Aiyang.

Cao Yi’s plan could be said to be pushing Wang Chao straight into a sea of flames.

But there was no other choice for either him or Wang Chao.

The both of them were mere chess pieces to be used by their respectful nation against another.

“Ah, my comrade, what’s the market like in the underworld fighting ring now?” Zhouliang spoke.

“Although Wang Chao was in hiding for some time, the information we received from our other undercover agent was more than enough to figure it out. At the very least, the profits are extremely huge! It outstrips what the KTV, any bar, or any entertainment place could offer by at least ten times the amount. In the area of Guangdong controlled by Wu Yingda alone, there are 7 or 8 different venues to fight. Every night there are several fights to be seen. Each match is filled to the brim with spectators and the entry fee is quite high, but the betting prices are even higher. A single day could earn millions, sometimes, tens of millions could be won! This is far more luxurious than betting on an actual sport. The entire area of Guangdong must earn Wu Yingda a net profit of 2 to 4 billion RMB per year!”

“Net profit!” Zhouliang was shocked. What had to be made clear was that operating a venue like this may earn a lot of money, but the costs of managing it was also extremely high.

“Every single Chinese person reveres martial arts, but they are restrained by real life. Yet, this desire burns even stronger despite that. In a fighting ring, they are able to maintain their secrecy and enjoy the entertainment to a giant fervor.” Cao Yi spoke. “These fighting rings don’t even do any harm. At the very most, they make sure that slaughters between gangs die down in frequency.”

“Yea. When those princelings and the ones backing them fall, the organization will have to choose someone else to take control of this market.”

While Cao Yi and Chang Zhouliang were talking about their plans with each other, Wang Chao had already returned to the enchanting villa he owned in the Tianxing district.

This competition with Zhang Wei and the discussions he had with Chen Aiyang had given him plenty to think about. He could say that he had even reached a very important milestone in his martial arts.

Wang Chao’s victory over Zhang Wei had been partially due to his luck. Just thinking about it, if they were to fight again, Wang Chao would doubt that he had any chance to win.

“Zhang Wei’s Wingchun is far too perfect. His One Inch Finger was terrifying even.”

Just thinking about that ghastly fighting scene, Wang Chao could only admire Zhang Wei’s Clinching Yin Horse stance and the One Inch Finger.

Pa pa! Pa pa! His thumb and forefinger flickered in and out with a crisp sound in the air.

He was testing out his own finger strength. With both his fingers closed together, Wang Chao stabbed in and out before trying to issue power through his knuckle joints.

Sure enough, his thumb and forefinger before had a large sound. But when he bent his knuckle joints, the energy and speed had fell drastically and there had been no sound either.

“With my fingers, that is a conflicting way to issue power. But to use my knuckles, that is what the martial art truly is. I will have to advance my tiger stance even more if I want to bring the martial arts to my fingers as well.”

In the past, Wang Chao had learned the way of the sword and used his fingers to reenact the movements of a sword. After stabbing and slashing for half a month, he had been able to temper his fingers to become extremely flexible. Two of his fingers were strong enough to shatter a cup even. If he were to use the power of the eagle stance’s claw form, then the hardness of his fingers would go up a notch.

He had initially thought that the skill in his fingers was quite decent. But after seeing Zhang Wei’s One Inch Finger, he knew that past the clouds, there was still sky. And past a genius was still another genius.

Zhang Wei’s knuckles were able to issue power with a loud crisp sound, that was the sign of true skill. With a large force and hidden strength, its destructive power was nearly fatal.

When Wang Chao learned the tiger stance’s Chopping Fist, he had been able to reach the stage where the “sound follows the fist”. However, there was one minute variation in his Chopping Fist. He had not the claws of a tiger in his fingertips.

A single chop should be like an axe splitting apart a mountain. Intent, vision, and spirit had to be focused upon the fingers. After that split moment, the fingers should gather together and release all the power that was gathered in it.

This way, the tiger and eagle stance would be linked together.

At the same time, the Southern Fist’s tiger and crane stance had this same variation. With a splitting motion, they would suddenly grab at the enemy. Naturally, their hand would form the beak of a crane to peck. This would require the Jin within the knuckles to change in order for a large destructive force to be had.

Although Xingyi had no crane stance, its eagle stance was quite similar to it. Within the world of Chinese boxing, those who reached the higher levels would begin to link together disciplines.

The “Splitting Grab” was something that would naturally form after changing from one stance to another. If one’s finger strength was not enough, then the transition from one stance to the other would fall apart.

To the ordinary boxer, this wasn’t anything special. But to a master of Chinese boxing, a weak point in one’s strike could prove to be fatal.

Wang Chao knew how to fight with the tiger stance and also knew how to transition in the eagle stance. But this transition from a chop to a grab, his finger strength was not enough. His power would naturally drop in between the two if he tried.

That was because his proficiency with the Chopping Jin and the Grabbing Jin was not the same.

His Chopping Jin was enough to shatter boulders, but his Grabbing Jin was far away from such a level. His eagle stance hadn’t yet reached a stage where the sound followed the fist either. All he had was the form, but not the spirit.

Fighting was something that should come smoothly and fiercely. The tiger and eagle stance had to change in such a fashion.

In the case the pouncing of a tiger failed, then one should transform into the diving of an eagle. When an eagle hawk came diving down from a thousand meters, it was far more fierce than a tiger.

So from a tiger to an eagle or a tiger to a crane, this was a transition that would become even more deadly.

Wang Chao’s tiger stance was good, but his eagle stance was not. If he tried, he would go from strong to weak. Against an expert, an attempt to make such a transition would cause him to die instead.

At the same time, when the snake stance became a dragon stance, it would also require a strong finger strength for its true form.

The fist of the snake stance was like a snake’s head. It drills fiercely with the five fingers like its fangs!

When a snake struck out for its prey, it would open its mouth wide and send its venom into it.

So in the snake stance, the crucial moment of the killing move would require the five fingers to act like fangs to hiss and bite.

When the snake tore its preys apart, it would not hiss. Instead, the sound from its fangs moving would be a muffled cry. According to the legends, this was the sound of a dragon.

The “Chopping Grab” was the transition from the tiger to eagle stance. The “Tearing Bite” was the transition from the snake to the dragon.

Both of them required the skill in the fingers to be at their utmost limits!

When Wang Chao talked with Chen Aiyang, he had came to such a realization.

If he were to complete this transition, Wang Chao’s martial arts would be elevated another step!

A true grandmaster of Xingyi would be able to flow from one stance to another like water in a raging river. There would be no stopping such a permutative flow of power and style.

As his mind thought about this realization, Wang Chao had quickly devised a way to increase the strength in each of his five fingers.

The days ahead of him was fraught with danger. In order to survive, he was forced to advance one step at a time.

Wang Chao walked towards the mercury filled balls and grabbed at it. As soon as he clutched the sphere, he raised it up!