Senior Brother, I've Got Something on You

On the high-speed train, Lin Yuan did not idle away his time.

Holding his tablet, he avidly read books about Chinese Martial Arts.

Although he had the system, planning how to continue cultivating National Martial Arts—what to practice first and what to practice later—still depended entirely on himself.

And all of that required a certain understanding of National Martial Arts.

He had watched a movie before, and one line from it had stuck with him: Practice fists first, legs second, then grappling and weapons; from within to without, unite the five disciplines!

He did not know whether there was any basis for it, but it illustrated one thing: National Martial Arts could not be practiced blindly, like a bear stumbling around in the dark. There had to be an order.

There were countless martial arts schools in the country—fists, kicks, grappling, weapons, and more. It was enough to dazzle anyone.

Lin Yuan had no intention of understanding everything at once, so he merely gained a broad overview of the history of Chinese Martial Arts and some basic theories.

Then, he focused on the Tai Chi he was currently practicing.

At present, the five most famous Tai Chi schools in the country were the Chen Family, Yang Family, Wu Family, Wu Family, and Sun Family.

He had already mastered two of them. Among the members of the [Young Hero Warriors] group were inheritors of Sun Family Tai Chi and Wu Style Tai Chi.

If he sincerely sought their guidance, surely they would not refuse.

Before he knew it, evening had arrived.

Through the high-speed train's window, he could see the clouds glowing on the distant horizon. Dark-golden rays spread across the mountains, as though draping them in blood-red cloaks.

Lin Yuan checked the time. In about half an hour, he would be home.

Just then, a message suddenly popped up on his phone.

"Senior Brother Lin Yuan, you're famous."

Lin Yuan unlocked his phone, puzzled. Is this little miss up to some trick again?

Wu Zihan then shared a news article with him.

Lin Yuan took a closer look and immediately lost his composure. He hurriedly opened Feibo and tapped into the trending list:

Trending No. 1: #Binhai City South Railway Station Violent Assault Case#;

Trending No. 3: #Who Exactly Is the Brave Young Man Who Did the Right Thing?#

Trending No. 6: #What Do You Think of the Combat Capability of National Arts?#

Three trending topics in a row. Rather than feeling pleased, Lin Yuan looked troubled.

He knew exactly what the internet was like. No matter what you did, there would always be keyboard warriors looking to pick faults.

It was not that he feared them. He simply found them troublesome, and some media reporters might catch wind of it and come looking as well.

He only wanted to focus on Martial Arts Practice and did not want to be disturbed.

Fortunately, he had been wearing a mask at the time. Otherwise, he would probably have been doxxed by now.

"Senior Brother Lin Yuan, look in the group. Everyone is talking about you."

Lin Yuan skimmed the group chat and saw that Wu Zihan had not said it was him. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he sent Wu Zihan a message: "Junior Sister, please keep this confidential."

"Hmph. Yesterday in the group, you wouldn't even speak up for me. You even joined forces with Yang Yikun against me."

"I was the newcomer, wasn't I? I had to be polite. Junior Sister, you have to believe me. I will definitely stand on the same side as you at all times. After all, at Guanshan Lakefront, we practiced martial arts together and sweated together. I will always remember Junior Sister's kindness in teaching me martial arts."

In Binhai City, Wu Zihan was munching on an apple in her room. When she saw the message, she could not help but snort with laughter and muttered, "Yeah right. Like I'd believe that."

"It's not impossible for me to keep your secret, but you have to help me with something."

"What is it?"

"Help my family fight in a small competition."

"A competition?"

"Have you heard of Songtao Taekwondo Hall?"

"Just say what you want to say. Don't ask me questions—if you ask, I don't know."

"Songtao Taekwondo Hall has become very popular in the country over the past few years, especially in the south, where they have opened many martial arts halls. That would have been fine if they had just kept to themselves, but for some reason, they came to my family and proposed a friendly match. Since my great-grandfather Wu Jianquan opened a Tai Chi martial arts hall in Binhai City, my family's Wu Style Tai Chi has been somewhat well-known in the south and Southeast Asia. They call it a friendly match, but they really want to use it to boost their own reputation and seize market share faster."

"Why not just beat them flat?" Lin Yuan replied indifferently.

"Since it is supposedly a friendly match, the older generation cannot conveniently take the field. But most of my family's younger generation has not mastered the art yet, so we are not very confident we can beat them."

"How do you know I can win?"

"Senior Brother, are you still completely unaware of how strong you are? From what I've seen, among our generation, there are definitely fewer than five people as capable as you. Ask the people in the group—who among them can send someone flying several meters with one palm strike?"

Lin Yuan looked at the message and fell into deep thought.

In truth, he had never really understood what level his strength was at.

He had only been exposed to National Martial Arts for a few days. Even his most advanced skill, Yang Style Tai Chi, was only at the proficient level.

None of that had ever made him feel particularly formidable.

Could I really be that strong?

Lin Yuan immediately shook his head. The path of martial arts required one to guard against arrogance and impatience. There was always someone stronger, always a higher sky beyond the sky.

At the very least, he was still far from the realm described in Tai Chi master Wang Zongyue's Treatise on Tai Chi: "Not even a feather can be added, nor can a fly land."

Wu Zihan was only a novice with limited horizons. Even if a true expert stood before her, she would not be able to recognize one.

After thinking it over for a while, Lin Yuan replied, "I refuse. This is your family's matter. As an outsider, it would not be appropriate for me to get involved."

"You're not afraid I'll tell everyone about what you did?"

"Go ahead. I only want to avoid trouble, but your family's matter is no less troublesome than mine."

"Senior Brother, my dear Senior Brother, can't you help me? Didn't you just say that we practiced martial arts together and sweated together? [Tears] [Tears] [Tears]" Wu Zihan pleaded pitifully.

Lin Yuan considered it and sent back a message: "I can help you, but you must agree to one condition."

"Go ahead, Senior Brother. As long as you're not asking me to marry you, I'll agree to anything. [Shy] [Shy]"

"Dream on. You still want to marry me? The condition is simple: help me find the cultivation methods for Chen Family, Wu Family, and Sun Family Tai Chi."

"Senior Brother, why do you need so many Tai Chi cultivation methods?"

"Didn't you say it yourself? Learn from the strengths of many schools and absorb the essence of a hundred traditions."

"That's true, but didn't you just absorb my family's essence not long ago? Senior Brother, you really are fickle. Is my family's art no longer enough for you? Learning from many schools is important, but you should also know that biting off more than you can chew is no good."

"Don't worry about that. Just tell me whether you can agree to this condition."

"There's no problem with the Wu Family and Sun Family methods. The Chen Family's may be a little troublesome, but I'll do my best to find them for you."

"Then I'll trouble you, Junior Sister. When will your family's friendly match be? Where will it be held?"

"November 11. There's still a little over a month. It'll be in Binhai City."

"Alright. Let me know in advance when the time comes."