Hong Zhennan vs. Tornado

Three days later, Ip Man prepared to set off for Denan Teahouse.

When Hao Shuai learned that Ip Man planned to go alone, he sincerely felt that his master was completely unsuited to running a martial arts school as a boss! Such a perfect opportunity to promote Wing Chun—and show off while humiliating opponents—and he was not taking his disciples along to broaden their horizons? Could he not see the longing in their eyes? Ip Man's social awareness truly made Hao Shuai worry himself sick!

If he went alone, then even if he won, who would publicize it for him? Would he still have to rely on his junior brothers' big mouths?

Sigh!

So exhausting!

"Master, take us with you! It'll be a good chance for the junior brothers to see other styles of martial arts and broaden their horizons," Hao Shuai said.

"Alright, you can come too." Fortunately, Ip Man was not truly foolish. With Hao Shuai's reminder, he came to his senses and agreed to take them to Denan Teahouse.

At that moment, Hong Zhennan had rented out the entire teahouse hall. A huge round table stood in the center, surrounded by overturned wooden stools.

Every well-known martial arts school in Hong Kong had arrived, and the entire hall echoed with their boasting and banter.

Just as the martial artists were whispering and shooting the breeze, Ip Man led his disciples inside.

Ip Man, walking at the front in a black long robe, carried himself with the bearing of a grandmaster. Behind him followed more than twenty disciples in matching training uniforms.

Ip Man cupped his fists toward the crowd in greeting. Hao Shuai led his junior brothers to stand off to the side.

"Master Hong." Ip Man immediately cupped his fists in salute.

Hong Zhennan directly explained the rules. "Master Ip, let me explain the rules first. You must stand on the table and accept the challenges of the various masters. If you surrender, you lose. If you fall off the table, you lose. Once an incense stick burns out, if you are still standing on the table, you pass. If you have no objections, we can begin!"

Without answering, Ip Man removed his robe, tossed it to a disciple, and leisurely jumped onto the table.

Seeing Ip Man make such an ostentatious entrance, the nameless Master Zheng, Master Luo, and the others all looked at him with disdain.

Standing on the round table, Ip Man cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, masters. I am Ip Man of the Foshan Wing Chun School, disciple of Chen Huashun. Please enlighten me."

After Ip Man finished speaking, the martial artists looked at one another in pairs, but no one stepped forward first.

Seeing that no one was coming up, Hong Zhennan asked, "Which master would like to come up and exchange a few moves?"

The first to step forward was still Master Luo, just like in the movie, claiming that "the table is too slippery." Master Zheng followed after him. Both were dealt with by Ip Man in just a few moves.

Hao Shuai also realized that Master Luo and Master Zheng had clearly been arranged by the director to play comic relief, much like the Two Elders of Mount Hua in The Kung Fu Cult Master. This could be seen from their conversation later during the fight between Ip Man and Tornado.

Seeing Ip Man win two matches so easily, the martial artists below no longer looked so relaxed. Their expressions became rather awkward.

Seeing this, Hong Zhennan shouted, "Who else is interested?"

Ip Man swept his gaze around. The martial artists looked at one another, then some drank tea while others shook their heads.

Master Zheng signaled with his eyes for the martial artists behind him to go up, but they all waved their hands in refusal.

Seeing this, Hong Zhennan stood up, intending to take the field himself.

Hao Shuai also focused his attention, preparing to carefully observe the thrilling clash between two great masters.

Though Hong Zhennan was rather fat, he jumped onto the table in a manner utterly at odds with his weight.

The instant Hong Zhennan landed on the round table, the tremendous force made it tilt. Without pausing, Hong Zhennan took three rapid steps forward, closed in, and threw two whistling punches at Ip Man's face.

Ip Man used a Tan Sau to block.

The two fought speed with speed. After three exchanges, neither gained the upper hand. Only then did they separate and cup their fists. "Please!"

Seeing that Ip Man was actually not at a disadvantage, the martial artists below felt immensely relieved. It was fortunate they had not gone up, or they would only have embarrassed themselves.

With a loud shout, the two clashed again. Hong Quan was broad and powerful, and Hong Zhennan roared repeatedly; Wing Chun specialized in close-range short strikes, and Ip Man used all manner of subtle deflections and blocks to forcibly withstand Hong Zhennan's attacks.

Hao Shuai could also tell that Hong Zhennan and Ip Man were both at the Half-step Hua Jin realm. Hong Zhennan was tall and powerful, and his Hong Quan gave him an advantage in strength. However, he was older and suffered from asthma, leaving him with poorer stamina. Though Ip Man lacked the advantage in strength, he was more agile, younger, and had far greater endurance.

Sure enough, Hong Zhennan could initially suppress Ip Man, but as time passed and his stamina declined, Ip Man relied on his youth to gradually recover from his disadvantage. The two fought to a standstill.

Unfortunately, the thrilling duel ended when the table broke and the incense stick burned out. In the end, the match was declared a draw.

Amid applause and cheers from the entire hall, Ip Man joined Hong Kong's martial arts community without dispute and could officially open a school to take disciples.

Hong Zhennan also demanded that Ip Man pay monthly dues. Hao Shuai agreed before Ip Man could respond, preventing his master, whose social awareness was practically nonexistent, from publicly offending everyone.

On the way back, Ip Man was still somewhat angry that Hao Shuai had so readily agreed to pay the dues. But after Hao Shuai explained Hong Zhennan's character and actions to him, Ip Man said nothing more.

"Wing Chun battles Hong Quan. The two schools fight bitterly, with no victor yet decided."

The next day, reports of Wing Chun's Ip Man drawing against Hong Quan's Hong Zhennan made the front pages of Hong Kong's newspapers.

Looking at the newspapers, Hao Shuai wore a faint smile. Knowing exactly how to generate hype, he used his money power to generously buy the front pages of every newspaper in Hong Kong.

Thus, Wing Chun became famous, and Ip Man became famous as well.

It was also on that day that Ip Man's martial arts school officially opened.

As the news continued to spread, more and more people came to the school to learn martial arts. In less than three days, the number of people seeking to become disciples exceeded a hundred. Fortunately, the newly rented school was large enough, or it could not have held so many people training at once.

Ip Man was cheerful every day now, looking as though his life had become completely fulfilled.

After witnessing the fight between Ip Man and Hong Zhennan that day, Hao Shuai deeply felt his own shortcomings. He directly handed the school's miscellaneous affairs to Huang Liang and devoted himself to training every day, shutting out all outside matters as he practiced martial arts.

That day, Hong Zhennan came to visit Ip Man as usual. Before leaving, he gave Ip Man two tickets to that evening's boxing match and hoped Ip Man would find time to watch it.

After Hao Shuai had told Ip Man about Hong Zhennan's conduct that day, Ip Man had come to understand him better. Their martial arts schools were not far apart, and Ip Man often visited him. Over time, the two became good friends.

After dinner that evening, Ip Man saw that Hao Shuai had recently become somewhat obsessed with training, so he invited him to watch the boxing match.

Hao Shuai initially did not want to go out, but when he learned the tickets had been given by Hong Zhennan, he realized that tonight was when Hong Zhennan would be beaten to death by Tornado. Hao Shuai immediately decided to attend the match and save Hong Zhennan at the last moment.

That evening's boxing match unfolded just like in the movie. Tornado stormed into the ring, injured members of the martial arts schools, and insulted Chinese Martial Arts. Looking at the arrogant, invincible-seeming Tornado, Hao Shuai nearly failed to restrain himself from killing him with telekinesis. But he ultimately held back. Tornado was Ip Man's stepping stone to becoming a Hua Jin grandmaster, and Hao Shuai did not want to interfere.

As the leader of Hong Kong's martial arts community, facing Tornado's provocation and for the honor of the martial arts world, Hong Zhennan entered the ring and challenged Tornado.

When the match began, Hong Zhennan, with his stamina still full, relied on his rich experience and Hong Quan's broad, powerful style to suppress Tornado throughout the first round. Unfortunately, Tornado relied on his exceptional physical condition to endure every blow, and Hong Zhennan failed to inflict any effective damage.

During the break after the first round, Hao Shuai took the chance to ask Ip Man, "Master, who do you think will win?"

"Hard to say. If Master Hong can end it quickly, he still has a chance. Otherwise, at his age, with his stamina, I doubt he can last more than a few rounds," Ip Man said cautiously.

Ip Man's judgment was indeed sharp. He saw Hong Zhennan's problem at once. Moreover, he did not yet know that Hong Zhennan suffered from asthma.

Sure enough, just as Ip Man had predicted, when the second round began, Hong Zhennan could initially fight Tornado evenly. But by the latter half of the round, Hong Zhennan could no longer keep up with Tornado's speed and was struck several times in succession.

By the start of the third round, Hong Zhennan was already panting heavily. He could not keep up with Tornado's punching speed at all and was continuously battered. Finally, Tornado landed a heavy punch on his face, knocking him to the ground. He lay there unable to rise while the referee beside him began the count.

When the count reached six, Hong Zhennan's fingers moved. Sensing that he was about to get up and continue fighting, Hao Shuai seized the opportunity to use telekinesis to pin him directly to the floor, making it impossible for him to rise. When the ten-second count expired, he was declared the loser.

Whether Hao Shuai had misjudged the force of his telekinesis or Hong Zhennan's asthma had flared up at that moment, Hong Zhennan fainted directly in the ring. His disciples hurriedly carried him down and sent him to the hospital.

Although Hong Zhennan had lost the match, at least he had survived. If Hong Zhennan had died, how would his wife have supported such a large family afterward?

Besides, someone would preserve the honor of the martial arts world for Hong Zhennan.

Hao Shuai looked at the incomparably arrogant Tornado in the ring, then at Ip Man beside him, and revealed a meaningful smile.