Zhang Shuai listened to the two students' conversation, knowing that as more and more people across the country practiced Big Dipper Long Fist, more and more extraordinary individuals who had surpassed the limits of the human body might emerge. These extraordinary individuals were undoubtedly the cultivation talents the government was searching for.
Before long, more students arrived for class. The two students chatting in front of Zhang Shuai stopped talking, but he couldn't help feeling wistful. He'd thought he would be the only extraordinary person, but now it seemed that quite a few people with the potential to cultivate might appear in the country. Could the future really develop into an era where everyone cultivated?
After class, Zhang Shuai returned to the place he rented off campus. The first thing he did was open Douyin and Kuaitui, the short-video apps.
For the past two months, Zhang Shuai had been completely absorbed in studying ancient characters and had barely paid attention to current events.
It was only after overhearing the two students in front of him chatting in class that day that his curiosity was piqued. He decided to check out the latest news and see what public opinion had to say about these extraordinary people and events.
On Douyin, Zhang Shuai searched for "Feng Chunzi" and quickly found her videos.
She was a girl who looked only eighteen or nineteen, with a sweet, pretty face and an extremely slender figure. One of her videos had over five million likes and more than a hundred thousand comments. It showed her lifting a hundred-kilogram barbell with one hand.
In the video, the girl stood in front of a barbell already loaded to the desired weight. With a casual burst of strength, she lifted it.
The contrast between the slender girl and the heavy barbell was striking on camera, making the video visually impactful. No wonder it had gotten so many likes.
The comments below the video were interesting, too.
One pinned comment read, "I believe this video is real because I can do it, too. Ever since I started practicing Big Dipper Long Fist, my strength has clearly increased. My husband weighs seventy-eight kilos, and now I can grab his clothes with one hand and lift him up. My husband's scared. He says I've turned into a monster."
There were over three hundred replies to the pinned comment. Zhang Shuai clicked to read them and couldn't help laughing.
"If you're really that awesome, girl, does that mean you can grab your husband and toss him around however you like?"
"Maybe my mind's just dirty, but when I read this comment, I could only think of one thing: now you can try any position!"
"I just want to know, is your husband okay? Is he still alive?"
Those comments had gone completely off topic, but most of the other comments called the video fake and claimed it had been made with special effects.
Another comment with a lot of likes read, "Fake! Obviously fake! I'm a professional boxer, and when I saw this video, I couldn't help laughing. A hundred kilos is no easy lift, even for me, let alone a slender beauty like Feng Chunzi. A lot of people say practicing Big Dipper Long Fist can get you results like this, so let me tell you: I've practiced it, too, and it doesn't have any miraculous effects!"
Zhang Shuai skimmed through the comments. The vast majority didn't believe the video was real; only a small number insisted that it was.
Zhang Shuai kept looking through Feng Chunzi's other videos. After a few, he suddenly saw a notice: "Video unavailable."
The rest of the page was filled with notices saying, "This post has been deleted."
When Zhang Shuai went back to the barbell video he'd just watched, he was surprised to find that the creator had deleted that one, too.
In other words, while Zhang Shuai had been watching, Feng Chunzi had deleted every video she'd posted.
That was strange. Feng Chunzi made her living on Douyin. Why would she suddenly delete a video with so many likes?
A little while later, Zhang Shuai was surprised to discover that Feng Chunzi's Douyin account had been deleted, too.
What a coincidence. He'd just been watching Feng Chunzi's videos, and then she deleted her account?
Zhang Shuai continued scrolling through Douyin for a while. The videos he watched were all popular ones with lots of likes, and they were all about Big Dipper Long Fist.
Zhang Shuai remembered that a few months ago, nobody on Douyin could perform all seventy-two forms of Big Dipper Long Fist. Now, a few months later, quite a few video creators could do the full set.
And without exception, any video showing all seventy-two forms of Big Dipper Long Fist got plenty of views, with at least ten thousand likes.
It looked like Big Dipper Long Fist was the latest way for video creators to attract traffic. As long as they posted a video of the complete set, Douyin would promote it.
While Zhang Shuai was scrolling through short videos, a WeChat message from Huang Tianli suddenly came in.
Since returning from the Beautiful Country with Huang Tianli, Zhang Shuai hadn't been in touch with him. He hadn't expected Huang Tianli to contact him out of the blue.
"Xiao Zhang, where are you? Are you free today? Let me treat you to a meal."
Zhang Shuai replied, "Brother Huang, there's no need. I'm out of town, not in Qingshui. Just tell me what's up."
"Xiao Zhang, I have a few questions about Big Dipper Long Fist and wanted to ask you about them."
"What questions?"
"I've been practicing Big Dipper Long Fist ever since I got back from the Beautiful Country. I've been at it for over two months, and I feel like my physical fitness has improved. My strength and reaction speed have both gotten better, but I still can't reach your level. I tested myself, and the maximum force of my punch is now 560 pounds. I estimate your explosive power is at least 3,000 pounds. Can you tell me why? Is there some trick I haven't mastered?"
"Sorry, I can't help you with that. I don't have any tricks. Practicing Big Dipper Long Fist just made me stronger."
"All right. Here's something you might be interested in: Tianli Fighting Gym is organizing the first Qingshui City Big Dipper Long Fist Exhibition Tournament. The first-place prize is 300,000 yuan, the second-place prize is 100,000, and the third-place prize is 50,000. It's open to everyone in Qingshui City, and the registration deadline is January 10. If you're interested, you can take part. The winners might get a chance to enter the government's special department selection process. If you're chosen, you'll become a government employee, with benefits on par with a civil servant. Interested?"
Zhang Shuai's heart stirred. Was the government holding this selection event to find people who could develop a sense of qi by practicing Big Dipper Long Fist? Would those selected all be sent to the 749 Bureau? How many people would they choose? Was the government planning to round up and recruit every potential cultivation talent?
Though surprised, Zhang Shuai wasn't interested. The prize money was nothing to him, and he had no intention of joining the 749 Bureau.
So Zhang Shuai sent Huang Tianli a reply: "Brother Huang, no need. I'm not interested."
Before you continue