Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Tang Yang: I Dance with the Chicken Every Day in Vain...

The sky was dark and the moon small, the north wind bitterly cold.

It was almost December. Pingshan City, located in the north, had temperatures already below zero.

But Tang Yang, wearing only a practice suit, didn’t feel cold at all. She even felt a fire burning inside her heart!

This fire blazed fiercely.

Since inheriting this martial arts school from her father, she had been waiting for this very day!

Today’s Central Plains martial arts world was already depleted of talent; many sects were fading into oblivion. Forget about challengers coming to test the school—even receiving invitation letters during festivals had become increasingly rare.

Last year, she sent out five invitation letters but received only one reply.

Tang Yang recalled that when she was very young, she had seen people come to Tang’s Martial Arts School to challenge it.

At first, she was angry—how dare they show up to cause trouble? Her father’s Taiji was powerful!

But her father back then was very happy. Not only did he hold back during the confrontation, but when the somewhat shabby-looking man left, he even gave him travel expenses and food for the road.

At that time, Tang Yang didn’t quite understand and even wanted to snatch back the pancakes her mother had made!

Her usually kind father carried her straight back to the school, sighing again and again along the way.

“Yangyang, when you take over the school one day, you’ll understand—these days, even having someone come to challenge is rare.”

“The martial way is declining!”

Later, when Tang Yang finally took over the school, she truly experienced the meaning of those repeated sighs from her father.

It became increasingly difficult to accept disciples. Even without charging tuition, it was hard to find disciples with good aptitude. To recruit Tu Xiaoning to the school, she even helped find a job for his mother.

As for challengers, since she became the head of Tang’s Martial Arts School, no one had come to challenge at all!

If someone really came to challenge, she probably would, like her father before her, hold back during the fight and then politely send them off with a ceremonial gift.

She had even practiced this scenario countless times in her dreams.

In recent days, with videos shared to her showing various martial artists appearing in Pingshan City, she felt the burden on her shoulders grow heavier!

Across Pingshan City, and even the whole province, Tang’s Martial Arts School was the only authentic martial arts school still alive.

Her Tang-style Taiji was also the only Taiji sect that still adhered to its original intention—running a school and teaching disciples.

These people were undoubtedly here to challenge her!

She had been waiting for this day!

Excited, Tang Yang even felt her stance waver. She quickly took down a more than two-meter-long spear from the nearby weapon rack and began to wield it.

Between tiger leaps and eagle swoops, the more-than-two-meter spear was skillfully swung like a whip!

The spear tip flickered cold light in the night, flashing up and down, left and right. Though there was only one spear tip, it created an impenetrable barrier!

The spear, as thick as a wine cup and over two meters long, felt no heavier in her hands than a thick rope.

After finishing a set of spear techniques, Tang Yang let out a fierce whistle, exhaled a puff of white breath, gripped the spear’s tail, and quietly stood still in the darkness.The red tassel tied to the spear tip, which had fluttered wildly at first, slowly returned to stillness—just like Tang Yang’s current state of mind.

Preserving the essence and maintaining unity.

Her heart calmed down, but the fire inside burned even more fiercely!

No matter how many came, no matter which sect they were from, she would face them.

In this era of decline, even a challenge match was considered a grand event in the martial arts world!

Slowly retracting the spear, Tang Yang casually placed it back, then suddenly flicked her hand. Sweat from her palm flew off in sparkling droplets.

She turned her head toward the dormitory entrance and saw Ms. Wang and Gao Shuxian standing there.

Tang Yang had a pretty good impression of both, especially Ms. Wang. She cleared her throat and deliberately softened her voice to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Ms. Wang also cleared her throat but didn’t say anything.

She gently nudged Gao Shuxian, who stepped forward and said after a couple of “ah” sounds, “…Nothing, it’s just that there was a part of the stance training during the day that I didn’t quite understand.”

Just now, seeing the schoolmaster Tang both punching and wielding the spear, her momentum was like a fierce white-faced tiger—she couldn’t put it into words!

Also, seeing Tang Yang so alert yet excited, if she now told her those people were just here to grab vegetables, wouldn’t she be very disappointed?

Ms. Wang, listening to Gao Shuxian’s unfinished words, felt both relieved and a little nervous.

But now, she couldn’t afford to be nervous.

As a teacher, Schoolmaster Tang was among the most responsible! Even facing this temporary batch of students was no different!

Congratulations to Ms. Wang and Gao Shuxian on earning an extra hour and a half of temporary classes.

The next morning during early training, Wang Zhaoshan came over and asked, “You two are quite studious? Last night when I got up, I saw you standing in stances.”

“Of course we are! Meeting a teacher like Schoolmaster Tang, we naturally want to learn well and train our bodies properly. Otherwise, who knows, we might end up like Old Wang here, getting up several times at night.”

In the art of bantering, Ms. Wang had yet to suffer any defeat.

Watching Wang Zhaoshan awkwardly return to stance training, she glanced secretly at the fan group chat.

Now, Chen Ran’s fan groups looked like large martial arts exchange meetings.

In the eyes of those fans who hadn’t mixed into the martial arts school, the bigger the spectacle, the better.

Though they couldn’t partake themselves, seeing the school disciples kill it daily made them feel a bit embarrassed, didn’t it?

In the past, chasing Chef Chen Ran around, no matter the restaurant or venue, they ate plenty. Why now were the native martial arts school disciples utterly crushing them?

“Report! Another Baji Quan heir! Has anyone heard of Baji Quan? I heard one Iron Mountain Strike can break a whole tree!”

“Wow, did that heir of Cheng-style Bagua Quan show up yet?”

“I think everyone’s arrival speed is slow. Could it be that these martial artists have their own rituals? Looks like they’re all finding places to settle first…”

“The Taoist priest is the funniest—he even caught two scammers on the street, haha.”

However, some were concerned on behalf of the fans who had mixed into the martial arts school.

“If these people show up, won’t the fans who came to learn martial arts have an even harder time? Who invited all these masters? Just watching the fun, but aren’t they afraid of causing trouble?”"That’s not right. I watch Tu Xiaoning’s updates every day! Yesterday Wang Zhaoshan only managed to eat two bites of meat—it can’t get any worse than that, can it?"

"Wait a sec, why are you roasting me again?"

Perhaps because his name was mentioned, Wang Zhaoshan popped up again.

"I was just about to say, you guys invited all these masters over, really not giving us a chance at all. Are we just supposed to eat plain rice every day?"

"Didn’t you also invite someone, Old Wang? You even said so in the group chat before!"

Wang Zhaoshan said righteously, "I invited a senior monk from Shaolin Temple. They’re vegetarians—how is that the same as your guests?"

"I could accept it if it was a Daoist priest too. Daoists won’t be stealing the Ghostface Beef."

"I just want to know—who invited that kid from Baji Quan? A sixteen-year-old Baji Quan genius? I can already picture it—he probably eats a whole pot of rice and a whole pot of meat at each meal!"

"Come on, Old Wang, just because you can’t win doesn’t mean we can’t invite people who might have a chance."

As martial arts prodigies flocked to the small city of Pingshan, even in this era of martial decline, people couldn’t help but take notice.

All these people showing up together! It clearly wasn’t a coincidence.

"Reviving the glory of the martial world! It’s been so many years, this is the first time I’ve seen a Baji Quan successor out in the world..."

"Shaolin’s martial arts schools are doing so well, even teaching abroad, and they actually sent someone too? What huge event is happening that calls for this kind of lineup?"

"Why haven’t we heard anything about that Daoist priest from Wudang? I really want to see if that legendary Cloud Step—where you step on one foot and leap into the air—is actually real."

The local independent media creators in Pingshan City couldn’t sit still anymore. Everyone hit the streets, trying to film these mysterious martial artists to figure out what they were up to.

Yes—mysterious.

It’s been years since anyone’s heard of martial artists doing anything noteworthy. If anything, people hear more about scammers.

Traditional martial arts in the Central Plains had long declined. More people were familiar with sports like Sanda and Taekwondo.

Someone managed to film the young Baji Quan genius practicing in the park—he wasn’t even wearing protective gear, just ramming his bare arms straight into trees!

He was completely fine, but the bark was stripped off in a big patch.

Another person captured the Cheng-style Bagua Palm successor practicing in the park.

Maybe noticing someone filming nearby, the practitioner deliberately showed off. With a light leap, he landed on top of a large ceramic vat in the park.

This vat, originally used to keep goldfish, was very flimsy and filled with rainwater.

In the video, the Bagua successor could be seen lightly spinning in circles on the rim of the vat, every step precisely on the edge. The vat didn’t tilt, and he never slipped.

But that wasn’t even the most impressive part!

The most impressive thing was that as he spun faster and faster, the water inside the vat started spraying up like a fountain—splashing over a meter high.

"That’s the Mud-Wading Step of Bagua..." someone knowledgeable exclaimed in the comments under the video.

These past few days, the entire martial arts community had been celebrating like it was a festival.

One after another, martial arts styles they thought were lost, schools they believed had vanished—just started appearing again!

Why were all these people coming to Pingshan City?

Was there really going to be some kind of grand martial arts tournament held here?Yeah, so what exactly is in Pingshan City?

Countless martial arts fans had started emerging.

Normally, they rarely had such joyful days. After all, genuine martial arts successors were very few nowadays, while con artists were all too common.

Fans didn’t often get a chance to speak loudly online. They cared more than most about what was going on in Pingshan City. Why had so many martial arts masters suddenly appeared?

Some decided to go see for themselves!

Zhou Zhaowu was one of them.

His martial arts group had been dormant for a long time.

That group had originally come together out of a love for wuxia novels, but gradually faded as group members gave in one by one to the demands of everyday life. Even the few who still clung to their dreams found it hard to be accepted by any real masters.

But in the past few days, as the word “martial arts” heated up, all those greyed-out profile pictures in the group lit up again, one after another. Everyone was forwarding news in the chat nonstop, trying hard to figure things out.

“I’m going to Pingshan City. If I miss this chance, I’ll regret it for sure!”

His company wouldn’t grant leave, so Zhou Zhaowu quietly submitted his resignation letter and boarded a train to Pingshan.

The whole ride there, he was too excited to sit still.

“I figured out what’s in Pingshan City!”

“Tell us, tell us! Don’t leave us hanging!”

“Are you there yet?”

Though he hadn’t gotten off the train, Zhou Zhaowu had already entered Pingshan’s area. Thanks to the power of data algorithms, he had already come across Tu Xiaoning’s video!

He quickly forwarded Tu Xiaoning’s latest video to the group.

“Damn, what kind of magical place is this? That martial arts school actually seems to have some real skills!”

“Quick, look! Isn’t that little Daoist who’s grabbing food using Bagua Sword techniques? Check that opening stance, and the sword flourish just now!”

“Scroll back through her older videos—this girl has been posting training clips every day. Looks like there’s a bit of Xingyi flavor in there.”

“This martial arts school actually looks really legit. Look at the background in the video—even if the equipment isn’t brand new and the decor looks old, all the weapons on the racks are shiny and well-maintained!”

“Yeah, see the cloth wrapping on that staff? Still very white—clearly someone’s taking care of it regularly.”

Zhou Zhaowu felt a surge of emotion. But thinking about his current age—if only he had discovered this martial arts school earlier, could his dream of becoming a martial artist have come true?

He watched the video again, then quietly left a comment underneath.

“If only I had discovered this earlier, I definitely would’ve gone to become a disciple!”

“Hahaha, go become a disciple! And while you're at it, figure out what all these martial arts bigshots are really doing in Pingshan City.”

“It’s gotta be a challenge match, right? A whole bunch of martial artists showing up in a small city like this—what else could it be? No way it’s like Tu Xiaoning’s old videos, where everyone’s just fighting over food, right?”

Reading that hilarious comment, Zhou Zhaowu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He put his phone away and started asking around as he made his way toward the Tang Family Martial Arts School.

In the past, Tang’s Martial Arts School would’ve been hard to find. But thanks to the recent stir, every day now at least a dozen people were asking how to get there.Once he got in the taxi, as soon as the driver heard where he wanted to go, he understood right away: “Alright, off we go! But let me tell you upfront—what you're heading to is a proper martial arts school. Us regular folks can’t get in. Even if you hang around the entrance, there’s nothing much to see. At first, we thought there’d be some fights, but it’s been nearly a week now and no one’s made a move.”

“No worries, just drive. I’m not some clueless outsider. They’re probably all waiting for a reply to the challenge letters.”

Zhou Zhaowu actually knew a thing or two about martial arts etiquette.

The path of martial arts emphasizes rules and formalities. Even in a school challenge, it’s rare for someone to show up and smash the signboard on sight—that’s a declaration of enmity.

Most would first send a formal challenge letter, clearly stating the date of the visit, the level of sparring intended, and whether any stakes are involved.

Over the past few days, Tang Yang had received seven challenge letters in a row.

That was no small matter!

In light of this major development, the martial arts school relaxed the usual rules a bit today, even ending the morning stance-holding session early.

All the students gathered around Tang Yang, and Tu Xiaoning even wrapped her arm around Tang Yang’s neck, leaning over to peek curiously at the challenge letters.

Tang Yang’s senior martial sister gently stirred the tea leaves in her cup with the lid and sighed, “Xiao Yang, I’m not as good as you now, but I can still handle two challenge letters on your behalf. In this kind of environment, with so many martial artists coming to the door, even if I end up killing someone in a match, we still have to accept the challenge!”

“That’s right! We have to accept all of them! No backing down!”

However, Teacher Zheng was a bit worried.

It was one thing for the official disciples of the school to share in its fate, but what about these recently recruited temporary students—should they be let go?

After all, swords and weapons don’t have eyes. If an ordinary student were to get hurt in the chaos, that would be a serious problem.

He put down his teacup and looked around, and to his surprise, he noticed that the usually curious and energetic new students were all lined up quietly along the base of the wall, far from the center.

It looked as if they’d caused some kind of trouble.

Teacher Zheng frowned: “Why are you all standing so far away? Don’t worry—the school’s not going to send you little ones up there to get beaten. You’re all dismissed for today…”

He turned to look at Tang Yang and, somewhat unexpectedly, noticed her expression didn’t look quite right.

Still, given the looming situation, Teacher Zheng didn’t think too much of it. A bit of nervousness from Tang Yang was perfectly normal.

“Junior Sister, shouldn’t we let these students go for now? With such a big event at the school, it’s not really appropriate to have them hanging around watching.”

“Oh right, and that Chef Chen… she’s not really part of the school either. Why don’t we give her a few days off during the matches and let her go out and enjoy herself?”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Tang Yang take a deep breath and slowly lay down the challenge letters in her hand.

The schoolmaster Tang immediately thought of Ms. Wang that day, who had clearly wanted to say something but hesitated!

Damn it—making them do only an extra hour and a half of stance-holding wasn’t enough! Should’ve made them stand all night!

The usually graceful and gentle Ms. Wang felt the sharp gaze Tang Yang shot at her, and for the first time in her life, had the urge to flee.

“Junior Sister, say something!”

Sensing that Senior Brother Zheng was getting anxious, Tang Yang finally tossed the challenge letters in her hand his way.

“Give Chen Ran time off? If we give her time off, the fights won’t even happen!”

“See for yourself!”

Senior Brother Zheng and Senior Sister Gao were both confused. They picked up the letters from the floor, and their faces twisted slightly as they read them.“...I've heard that the competition over meals at your school is especially fierce, so I’ve come to witness it for myself...”

This rather literary phrasing came from that senior brother from Wudang Mountain.

“...My granddaughter told me that your martial arts school’s food-snatching is quite novel and fun. Her best friend didn’t manage to grab a single bite. This old man hasn’t stepped into the martial world for a long time, but I’d like to give it a try too. Little Tang, what do you think?”

This one was from the elderly master of the Bagua Zhang lineage.

“These days, martial arts duels rarely appear in the jianghu. Life-or-death combat seems rather uncouth. Why not use chopsticks as swords and dishes as wagers, and make it a grand event at the dining table instead...”

This was drafted on behalf of the young genius of Bajiquan, Bai Qing.

“Alright, which one of you invited them?!”

Seeing the new students all lined up quietly against the wall, how could Tang Yang not realize these newcomers were behind it?

If actual martial artists came to challenge the school, she could accept that. But what the hell was this — a crowd coming to snatch food?

She took a couple deep breaths, just in time to see Ms. Wang by the door already sneaking out, and Zhu Chenchen by the window even getting ready to climb out of it, while Tu Xiaoning, still hanging onto her neck, was already laughing like a goose.

— Everyone had seen how diligently Head Instructor Tang had been training every morning. And this is what it came to?

“Alright, alright,” Senior Sister Gao came out to mediate. Though even she couldn’t hold back a smile. “Xiao Yang, isn’t it just that you feel like all the training these past few days was for nothing? It wasn’t for nothing — even if it’s food-snatching, we still have to win!”

Tang Yang pouted, a little disgruntled.

So she was the only one getting up at the crack of dawn every day to train?

The martial arts tournament she had been imagining had turned into a food-snatching contest?

She was just about to speak when suddenly someone began banging frantically on the iron gate of the school.

Tu Xiaoning peeked out and ran back: “Teacher Tang! It’s someone from the Sports Bureau...”

Tang Yang quickly stood up.

She’d dealt with them plenty before, and sure enough, she recognized the familiar face.

“Xiao Tang, this recent online buzz came pretty suddenly, so let’s keep it brief,” the visitor, a bureau director, said — which already showed how seriously the matter was being taken. “I have to criticize you a bit. Whether it’s a tournament or a challenge match, something this big — why didn’t you report it?”

“And these martial arts matches of yours... traditional styles don’t even wear protective gear... With so many media outlets coming now, if someone gets hurt and it’s caught on camera, that won’t be good for publicity...”

Tang Yang felt utterly drained and shot another glare at Wang Zhaoshan, who had just snuck back in.

This whole mess was their doing!

She sighed and waved her hand. Xiao Han, very perceptive, rushed in and brought out a few invitation letters.

“Director, take a look, please… don’t worry, this is just a big group dinner…”

The director squinted and looked through the invitation letters one by one, eventually laughing out loud.

“I think what that Bajiquan successor wrote is quite on point. Life-or-death duels are a bit uncouth. Like he said — chopsticks as swords, dishes as wagers!”

“I’ve seen videos of that young girl from your martial arts school — very interesting! If this grows, it might even become a cultural symbol of our Pingshan City!”

Seeing that there wouldn’t be any sudden public controversy, the director became increasingly enthusiastic. Meanwhile, Zhou Zhaowu, who had snuck in behind him, wanted nothing more than to wash his ears out and reinstall them.

What?! It really was a food-snatching contest?!The grand martial arts tournament in his heart had just crumbled—someone save him!

Zhou Zhaowu took out his phone and silently browsed through the martial arts-related media accounts he followed.

There were public WeChat accounts, various bloggers, and prominent influencers on Zhihu.

Everyone was still excitedly discussing what form this martial arts tournament would take.

Also, what was the real reason behind this suddenly organized tournament? Was it for some long-lost martial arts manual finally resurfacing?

As a long-time enthusiast, Zhou Zhaowu also had his own Weibo account dedicated to martial arts content. Since he never posted random or false news, he had a decent number of loyal followers.

He quietly took a photo of the smoke rising from the kitchen behind the Tang Martial Arts School and casually posted it.

The caption was just one line:

“Disperse, everyone. This so-called martial arts tournament really is about snatching food.”