Chapter 27: Chapter 21: The Realm of Kung Fu

Wang Yong merely clapped his hands, toppling the old man. However, he didn’t pursue his advantage and instead stood still, speaking indifferently, “I only practice one of the most obscure forms of Chinese Kung Fu. Even I can’t be defeated by you, it seems this representative of Taekwondo is not much to speak of! If Taekwondo wants to challenge Chinese Kung Fu, it still needs a lot more practice.”

Han Junxi was so dazed by the loud sound that even his teeth loosened a bit. It took him a while to come to his senses. With a wave of his hand, a few equally unsteady people rushed forward, propping up the dazed, scrawny old man, and retreated in disarray.

Choi Kimyin’s face was ashen, clearly suffering from the shock of the recent loud sound. She glanced at the nonchalant Wang Yong on the stage, sneered, and turned to leave without a word. The group behind her hurriedly followed suit.

Han Junxi wanted to say some pleasantries, but upon seeing Wang Yong’s upright figure on the stage, he swallowed and quickly followed suit.

Just then, an employee from Beyond Fitness Center, carrying a registration book, approached Han Junxi and said, “This handsome man named Han, wait a moment, please. I have a record of students learning Kung Fu here, and it shows that student Yan Fei enrolled nine days ago. Since enrolling, he has only practiced the most basic Kung Fu routines, which is enough proof that he hadn’t practiced Kung Fu before. So, indeed, he’s only been learning Kung Fu for nine days.”

Han Junxi responded, “So what?”

The employee said, “I just heard you mention that if it’s really been only nine days that Yan Fei has been learning Kung Fu, you would eat the ropes of this ring. So, I wanted to remind you, lest you forget.”

Han Junxi’s face turned red, suddenly recalling what he had just said. However, upon seeing the thick ropes of the ring, he felt overwhelmed. All the onlookers and the audience watching the live broadcast were watching Han Junxi, waiting to see how he would react.

Han Junxi’s face kept changing colors; suddenly, he rushed forward, bit into one of the ropes on the ring, and then quickly departed. At the door, he even stumbled and fell. Choi Kimyin, seeing the embarrassed Han Junxi, showed an angry expression on her face and then turned to leave.

Yan Fei knew that employee. The employee’s girlfriend was crazy about the Korean flower boys, intent on spending all her savings to advertise for her idol in a Subway Station, leading to a fierce argument and their breakup. Since then, the employee developed a strong dislike for anything Korean. Seizing such an opportunity, he presented the evidence to embarrass the South Koreans, not caring if he would be dismissed from the center for it.

With that, the group of Taekwondo masters from South Korea who came to challenge was wiped out, and the South Koreans all left dejectedly.

The Internet audience watching the live broadcast immediately became lively. The Chinese netizens felt exceedingly proud of the outcome and began to spread the news of Chinese Kung Fu’s triumph over Taekwondo everywhere, urging those learning Taekwondo to switch to Chinese Kung Fu as soon as possible.

After all, in recent years, Taekwondo advertisements were everywhere, and many parents proudly sent their children to Taekwondo schools for training. People were displeased with this, but no one had challenged Taekwondo’s reputation. Now, with Chinese Kung Fu shattering Taekwondo, they broadcasted the news, making sure all of China was aware.

Subsequently, the mysterious and formidable Wang Yong, and the perfectly built Yan Fei, also gained fame. In a short period, they led a shift in the national aesthetic standards from pretty boys to real men, which was an unexpected surprise.

The South Korean audience and some Taekwondo die-hard fans were reluctant to accept this defeat, desperately searching for excuses to explain Taekwondo’s failure, trying to salvage its reputation. There were even South Korean netizens who began posting online, saying that the Chinese lacked martial virtue for attacking such a frail old man…

Seeing the South Koreans who came to challenge leaving in defeat, Wang Yong’s students were instantly exhilarated. They hadn’t expected their coach to be a real Kung Fu expert, which meant they could learn genuine Kung Fu and become invincible. Eager for a bright future, they started to fawn over Wang Yong.

Wang Yong looked at his gleeful students and shook his head secretly, saying, “That’s enough for today, you all go back.”

The students weren’t discouraged by Wang Yong sending them away; after all, he was already their coach, and by persisting, they believed they would learn real Kung Fu. Elated, they collected their belongings to go home, starting to boast to their friends about what they had witnessed today. Just as Yan Fei was about to leave, however, Wang Yong called out to him.

Yan Fei followed Wang Yong to a room at the back. Although the room wasn’t large, it was outfitted as a training room with complete equipment. It hadn’t been opened to the public, suggesting that this was where Wang Yong usually practiced.

Leading Yan Fei into the room, Wang Yong turned his back to him and stood by the window, saying, “Yan Fei, are you curious why I, with my adept skills, only teach you basic Kung Fu routines?”

Yan Fei replied, “That… I am indeed curious.”

However, instead of answering the question, Wang Yong changed the subject and said, “I remember you once asked me how the realms of Chinese Kung Fu are divided?”

Yan Fei’s spirits lifted, and he quickly said, “Please enlighten me, Coach.”

Wang Yong looked up at the sky as if lost in thought. After a while, he finally spoke, “There isn’t a uniform standard for the division of realms in Chinese Kung Fu, as different schools have their own doctrines. Still, some commonalities exist. Today, I’ll share my understanding of the realms of Kung Fu with you.”

Yan Fei eagerly said, “Please instruct me, Coach.”

Wang Yong turned to look at Yan Fei and said, “In my opinion, there are three realms of Kung Fu. The first realm is the Acquired Realm. The so-called Acquired Realm involves tempering the body and practicing the membranes, muscles, tendons, bones, blood, and internal organs. The ultimate goal of the Acquired Realm is to strengthen each part of the human body to its pinnacle.”

Yan Fei asked, “What are the characteristics of the Acquired Realm?”

Wang Yong replied, “The Acquired Realm is about strengthening every organ in the body to its utmost, leaving no apparent weaknesses and achieving a state of physical perfection. This realm is the foundation-building stage of Kung Fu; only when the body is trained to a perfect state can a solid foundation be laid for later realms.”

Yan Fei inquired, “Can practicing the Acquired Realm enhance the body’s vitality?”

The reason Yan Fei posed this question was that the formidable life force exhibited by Xiao Kong and that muscular man had greatly stimulated him; now seizing the opportunity, he immediately voiced the doubts in his heart.

Wang Yong explained, “The more an organ is trained, the stronger its self-healing ability becomes. As long as the body doesn’t sustain fatal damage, it will recover quickly. Therefore, it could be said that the Acquired Realm can enhance vitality. As for the degree to which it can be enhanced, that depends on their level of achievement. If one is an expert at the Acquired Peak, ordinary attacks can no longer kill them, because their recovery ability has surpassed the speed at which they incur damage.”

Yan Fei then understood why Xiao Kong and the muscular man had appeared so formidable, and he asked, “What are the signs of reaching the peak of the Acquired Realm?”

Wang Yong suddenly asked, “Have you ever been to an amusement park?”

Yan Fei was taken aback and quickly responded, “I’ve been there before.”

Wang Yong followed up, “Then have you experienced an amusement ride in the park, something called a ‘drop tower’?”

Yan Fei said, “I have.”

Wang Yong inquired, “How did it feel?”

Yan Fei replied, “It was very thrilling.”

Wang Yong pressed, “While the drop tower is in free fall, can you control your body?”

Yan Fei shook his head, saying, “At that time, it’s a state of weightlessness, and the body undergoes extreme stress; it’s completely uncontrollable.”

Wang Yong said, “When you can perfectly master your body during the fall on the drop tower, effortlessly performing any motion you wish, it means your body has reached the pinnacle of training and can no longer be improved through exercise. At that time, you are at the Acquired Peak.”

Having said that, Wang Yong stretched out his hand, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed his arm, saying, “Watch closely.”

Yan Fei watched intently as Wang Yong dipped his arm into a nearby vat of ink. When he pulled his arm out, it was completely covered in ink, his skin looking dark and ink-stained.

Wang Yong asked, “If you encountered this situation, how would you remove the ink?”

Yan Fei replied, “I would choose to wash it off with water, or wipe it off with something.”

Wang Yong questioned, “Can you ensure it’s completely removed?”

Yan Fei shook his head, indicating he couldn’t. When he had previously gotten ink on his hands, he had to wash several times before the ink would fade gradually. So even if he washed with water, he couldn’t guarantee that the ink on his hands would be thoroughly cleaned off.

Then Wang Yong fell silent. As he extended his arm forward, the muscles on his arm suddenly bulged outward, then retracted, creating a large gap, only to bulge and retract again. Eventually, all the muscles along his arm started to bulge and retract.

The frequency of this muscular action accelerated, and soon, Yan Fei could no longer discern the trembling rate; all he knew was that it was very fast. With the muscle vibrations, he saw the ink on Wang Yong’s arm being expelled by the muscle contractions. One minute later, all of the ink on Wang Yong’s arm had been expelled, returning it to its original color with not a single trace of ink remaining.

Wang Yong stopped the muscle vibrations, retracted his arm, and said, “To remove the ink, I only use my body. I don’t even need to bathe to ensure my body stays clean.”

Yan Fei was astounded. He had never known that humans could exert such control over their bodies. Compared to Wang Yong, his past so-called body training seemed as laughable and trivial as child’s play.