Chapter Sixty: The Drum of War, Plotting

  A crowd of people, mostly Asian, gathered here, mixed with a small number of blacks and whites wearing kung fu uniforms. In the middle of the crowd was actually a ring. On the ring were three chairs placed inward. Master Sutu sat in the middle chair. At this moment, his outfit had changed, no longer wearing that worn-out kung fu uniform, but instead wore a clean and beautiful white Tang suit, sitting with an air of elegance like a high-ranking official. Sitting next to him were two elderly Asian men, one wearing a kimono, the other in traditional Korean attire. It was clear that these two old men were a Japanese and a Korean.

  The martial arts competition on the stage has not yet begun. The host is reading out the rules, Ye Haodong and Yang Junhu are leaning forward to listen with great interest. Two girls do not want to squeeze into the crowd, hiding behind and standing far away, waiting for them to finish watching.

  Four people engage in a martial arts competition; bare-handed combat; no rules apply; accidents are allowed to happen; a life-or-death contract is signed before the match; one by one, the stimulating rules make Ye Haodong exclaim that it's worth it.

  The first to appear was a Chinese martial artist, who was also known to Ye Haodong. He was one of the disciples of Master Situ and his name was Lin Shouyi. Ye Haodong knew that he had already reached the level of a top-notch master in the Dark Energy realm. It seemed that today he would be representing the Zhigong Martial Arts Institute.

  Ye Haodong and Yang Junhu squeezed to the front, at this time a young man wrapped in strange hemp ropes, wearing only shorts, with a bare body suddenly jumped up and climbed onto the stage. Ye Haodong was just wondering about his strange attire, but now he realized that he was actually a representative of Muay Thai.

  Muay Thai originated on the battlefields of Thailand, combining martial arts and dance to create a premium fighting technique. A skilled Muay Thai practitioner's body is as hard as steel, with versatile offense and defense that can be applied at any distance. A mature fighter can use their entire body as a weapon to knock down their opponent in an instant. The winning conditions for a Muay Thai fighter are the combination of skill, strength, strategy, and mental power, with the highest level being flexible and unpredictable, not limited by any specific technique or move. This shows that Muay Thai is a unique, profound, and complete martial arts system. A middle-aged Chinese man was introducing Muay Thai to Ye Haodong and Yang Junhu, who were both listening intently.

  The Thai boxing master on the stage, although not yet reaching the realm of the middle-aged man who talked about it under the stage, was also close. His muscles were evenly tense, and his slightly arched waist seemed to be a spring that relaxed and tightened at will. As soon as he went on stage, he first said to Master Sutu: "Thai boxing is a student of Ba Gong Da Shi Men Xia, Sha Kun Dai, my master's father, who came to pay respects to Master Sutu Xinyi." After finishing speaking, he made strange gestures with his hands and bowed. Master Sutu Xinyi leaned forward, waved his hand and said: "You represent your master, you don't need to give me such a big courtesy."

  "You once defeated the holder of our Muay Thai's highest honor, the 'Tiger King' title. All Muay Thai practitioners should pay their respects to you."

  The Chinese people under the stage were all honored by this sentence. Ye Haodong and Hu Zi were even more proud to have learned martial arts with Situ Xinyi.

  On stage, Situ Xinyi's expression was as calm as still water, unmoved by praise or insult. He nodded slightly and sat down, saying, "Your master is too polite."

  Sha Kun signed a life-and-death contract and came before Lin Shouyi. After exchanging greetings, they didn't waste any words and started fighting directly.

  Sa Kan launched a fierce attack, and his Muay Thai was indeed very powerful. Lin Shouyi was on the defensive from the start. Lin Shouyi used Sanshou, a free-fighting style that doesn't emphasize forms but incorporates traditional martial arts moves. The boxing technique he used was a practical and comprehensive attacking and defending method developed by Master Si Tu after integrating the strengths of various schools. Lin Shouyi had been practicing martial arts for many years, and his hard work and natural talent had allowed him to reach the level of "hidden power" mastery. Sa Kan was different; his level was only at the peak of "obvious power", but Muay Thai emphasizes actual combat and physical training, and he had spent years wandering in Thailand, making a living by fighting underground, so although his level was not as high as Lin Shouyi's, his actual combat skills were far superior.

  The two men fought for over ten minutes, and Lin Shouyi was unable to shake off Sha Kun's sudden and fierce attack. A few small stances that were useful for defense barely blocked Sha Kun's attack, and he retreated while fighting, his face gradually sweating.

  The people on and off the stage had different expressions, but most of them didn't think highly of Lin Shouyi. Ye Haodong noticed that from the beginning to now, Situ Xinyi's face did not show a hint of anxiety or worry, always maintaining a confident and calm demeanor. Judging by his attitude, he was very confident in his beloved disciple.

  Sha Kun suddenly used a wild horse kick, stretching out his front leg to point at Lin Shouyi's toes. Lin Shouyi's momentum was already weak and he was forced to retreat. Sha Kun followed up with a cat-like waist movement, and his head came crashing forward again. As a Muay Thai fighter, every part of his body was a weapon, and this crash was particularly vicious, leaving Lin Shouyi no choice but to fall down. Lin Shouyi quickly covered his chest with his hands, but Sha Kun's head lowered and his arm came around from behind, smashing into Lin Shouyi's face. This move was beyond Lin Shouyi's expectations, and he hastily raised his hand to block it. Seizing the opportunity, Sha Kun jumped up, his feet leaving the ground as he launched a desperate attack, his knee flying straight at Lin Shouyi's chest. A master's moves are never reckless, and jumping with both feet off the ground is a taboo among taboos - no one dares to use it without absolute confidence! At this moment, Lin Shouyi had retreated to the point of no return, his chest exposed and vulnerable, and defeat seemed inevitable.

  Yue Haodong at least thought so, and he muttered to himself as he thought. Hu Zi listened on the side, shaking his head, "It's not that easy, Lin Shouyi has a killer move, this match will end in mutual defeat."

  On the stage, Lin Shouyi had nowhere to hide and couldn't defend against his opponent's attack. At this moment, Lin Shouyi gave up defending, took a big step forward with his body, and used his chest to collide with Sha Kun's knee. At the same time, he swung his right hand and slashed at Sha Kun's neck. Sha Kun fell to the ground with a thud. Lin Shouyi struggled to stand still, bent over in pain, and panted heavily. It turned out that the ultimate move mentioned by Hu Zi was actually Lin Shouyi's already mastered dark energy. He had just mobilized all the qi and blood in his body to his chest, and took a brave step forward. This step shortened Sha Kun's attack distance while also weakening the attacking power of Sha Kun's leg. As a result, Sha Kun's kick didn't exert its maximum killing force. Enduring this hit, Lin Shouyi swung out a palm knife, striking Sha Kun's weak neck spot and easily knocking him down. Although this final blow was easy to land, the pain Lin Shouyi had endured beforehand made his qi and blood churn, and he finally spat out a mouthful of blood with a "whoosh". After half a moment, Sha Kun stood up, bowed his head in gratitude, and jumped off without saying anything.

  Next was a karate-clad Japanese expert, Kobayashi Masahiro, against taekwondo expert Hwang Chan-ryong. Shingan-ryu vs. Changpae-do. It was expected to be another intense battle with both sides suffering heavy losses, but unexpectedly, Hwang Chan-ryong either intentionally held back or was indeed a silver-plated spearhead, and was taken down by Kobayashi Masahiro's single grappling technique in just one round, conceding defeat on the spot.

  Both sides took a short break before proceeding with the final match.

  Tai Xiaoye also took the opportunity to ask about the origin of this match.

  In Vancouver, nearly half of the population is from Asia. Among them, many are from China, Japan and Korea. Due to the influence of Bruce Lee's global Kung Fu craze, there are many people in Vancouver who like to practice martial arts for physical fitness. With more people liking martial arts, various schools of martial arts have also emerged. For a time, the chaotic martial arts market was dazzling, while students were at a loss, masters from all sides were also constantly fighting each other for disciples.

  Twelve years ago, Sut Yee came to Vancouver to settle down and retire. Out of boredom, he decided to open a school to teach.

  He soon discovered the chaos in the martial arts world here. After defeating his opponents several times, he became famous and felt annoyed at the same time. He had planned to retire and live a peaceful life, passing on his skills and responsibilities to a good successor. However, he was disturbed by these people who were fighting for fame and fortune. The old man's former identity was not ordinary, and when he got angry, he came up with an idea. With his proposal, there was this annual martial arts competition officially recognized by Vancouver. After the competition, whoever became famous could teach whatever they wanted, and students could choose to learn from whoever they liked.

  In the past, it was a competition among masters. Sut Yee-yi had already reached the pinnacle of martial arts and had experienced countless life-and-death battles. It can be said that he had no equal in the world. Other masters from various martial art schools who competed with him naturally had no chance of winning. As time went on, everyone realized the gap between themselves and Master Sut, and they didn't dare to imagine defeating him again. Under the proposal of Kawada Takeo, the successor of Shing Lung Kuen's fist method, everyone agreed to change the rules, having disciples participate in a martial arts competition every year instead. This way, it would end Sut Yee-yi's monopoly and serve as a means to promote the excellence of certain victorious martial art schools. Sut Yee-yi found this competition equally boring, so he gladly agreed. From then on, there was an annual martial arts competition among disciples of four different fist methods. This arena has been set up for seven years now. Chui Kuan has won three times, Thai boxing has won twice, and Shing Lung Kuen's fist method and Taekwondo's Chang Pak Toi have each won once. Overall, all aspects have their advantages, with Chui Kuan having a slight edge.