Underground Fight Club

Zhang Shuai glanced at Yang Song. "Brother Yang, there's no need to spar, is there? I'm afraid I might accidentally hurt you. You still have students to teach, and if I injured you, it could affect your business..."

Seeing Yang Song's expression change, Zhang Shuai quickly explained, "Brother Yang, don't be angry. I didn't mean to look down on you. Let me hit the wooden dummy first, and you can decide after you've seen that."

Before Yang Song could react, Zhang Shuai suddenly took two quick strides forward and reached the wooden dummy in the room. Then, his hands flashed as he unleashed several swift, powerful punches.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

A succession of astonishing impacts rang out. Several wooden arms on the dummy snapped and fell to the floor.

Yang Song's eyes widened. He stared in disbelief at the broken dummy, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.

Situ Changtian's mouth fell open. He looked from Zhang Shuai to the broken pieces on the floor, completely stunned.

Even Huang Tianli, who had already known Zhang Shuai was strong, looked shaken.

The martial arts school's wooden dummy was made of sturdy elm, specially treated to make it as hard as steel. An ordinary person would have trouble damaging it even with a knife. Yet Zhang Shuai had casually broken several of its wooden arms with just a few punches. Just how explosive was his power?

Seeing the three of them gaping at him, Zhang Shuai smiled. In many cases, showing what you could do was worth more than saying anything. After that little demonstration, they shouldn't doubt his strength anymore, right?

"Brother Yang, do you still want to spar?"

Yang Song swallowed hard. At the sight of Zhang Shuai's smile, a chill ran through him. Could there really be someone this powerful in the world? What was the point of sparring? What ordinary person could withstand that kind of force?

Yang Song was immensely relieved that he hadn't foolishly challenged Zhang Shuai. With that kind of terrifying explosive power, he wouldn't have been able to withstand even one punch. He would definitely have been injured.

"You're joking, young man. There's no need to spar. I've seen top masters who've perfected inch-punching, and the most they could do was break a few red bricks. I've never seen anyone break a wooden dummy. Your strength... it's honestly beyond anything I could have imagined."

Situ Changtian cried out in astonishment, "Holy shit! I've spent over ten years in the underground fight scene and seen all kinds of underground champions. I've even met plenty of Hong Sect bosses with real fighting skills. I can understand what they can do, but you... Your abilities are practically beyond the limits of the human body. This is unbelievable."

Zhang Shuai smiled. "Brother Situ, do you think I'm good enough to fight in the ring?"

At that moment, excitement gleamed in Situ Changtian's eyes as he looked at Zhang Shuai.

"You'd be unbeatable in the ring. No normal person could take one of your punches. But, young man, try to hold back when you fight. Don't end things too quickly or show off too much of that frightening strength, or the matches won't be entertaining. And try not to kill your opponents. If your abilities look too outrageous, the organizers won't let you compete, and no one will dare fight you. You came here to make money, after all, right?"

Zhang Shuai nodded. "Of course I came to make money. Otherwise, I wouldn't have traveled all the way to the Beautiful Country. I'll be counting on you to help set up plenty of fights, Brother Situ."

Situ Changtian laughed. "Don't worry. I want to make more money too. We're after the same thing, so if we want to earn as much as possible, you'll have to learn to hold back and make each fight exciting..."

Situ Changtian gave Zhang Shuai detailed instructions on how to get more fights. Zhang Shuai could tell that his little demonstration had impressed both Situ Changtian and Yang Song. Their attitudes toward him had changed considerably.

Once Situ Changtian finished, Yang Song curiously pressed Zhang Shuai to tell him how he'd done it and what kind of boxing he practiced. It was clear from his questions that he wanted to learn. Zhang Shuai understood. Yang Song was a martial artist, and after seeing such unbelievable skills, of course he wanted to figure out how Zhang Shuai had achieved them—and learn for himself.

Zhang Shuai saw no need to keep it secret, so he smiled and told Yang Song that he practiced the Big Dipper Long Fist.

Yang Song was dumbfounded. He'd certainly heard of the Big Dipper Long Fist. Even though he lived in the Beautiful Country, he'd heard online about the hottest fitness routine in the Dragon Kingdom, a set of exercises the government was promoting nationwide.

In Yang Song's eyes, the Big Dipper Long Fist didn't count as a proper martial art at all. He didn't believe Zhang Shuai and assumed he was making an excuse because he didn't want to tell the truth.

"Brother Zhang, do you think I wouldn't know about the Big Dipper Long Fist just because I live in the Beautiful Country? It's a routine the Dragon Kingdom government came up with to promote nationwide fitness. How could it be a real martial art?"

Zhang Shuai replied seriously, "I'm really not lying. I got these skills by practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist. If you don't believe me, try it yourself. It's not as simple as you think."

Yang Song still wasn't convinced. Huang Tianli spoke up. "Yang Song, Zhang Shuai's probably telling the truth. Maybe the Big Dipper Long Fist really is more than it seems. Have you practiced the last thirty-six forms?"

Yang Song shook his head. Why would someone who studied traditional martial arts practice the Big Dipper Long Fist? To him, it was no different from radio calisthenics.

Huang Tianli said, "If you haven't practiced it, you could start today and see for yourself. Seriously, I've started practicing it too. I do a few sets every day, and I really do feel better. If you stick with it, you might get an unexpected result."

Yang Song looked at Huang Tianli in surprise. "You're supposed to be in the know. How can you believe this kind of nonsense, like those Douyin influencers?"

Huang Tianli gave a wry smile. "Fine. If you don't believe me, forget it. I shouldn't have said anything."

Situ Changtian wasn't interested in sticking around either. He wasn't a martial artist, so he had no interest in what kind of boxing Zhang Shuai practiced. All he wanted now was to arrange the underground fights and start making money. After seeing Zhang Shuai's incredible skills, he knew he was about to strike it rich. With abilities like Zhang Shuai's, no one at the underground fight club could beat him.

Seeing that Yang Song was about to say more, Situ Changtian quickly cut in. "Yang Song, we'll get going. I need to take them to arrange the fights. You can catch up with Brother Zhang when you have time. He'll be staying here for a few more days, so you'll have plenty of chances."

With that, Situ Changtian hurriedly led Zhang Shuai and Huang Tianli back to the hotel where they were staying.