"Thank you for the match!"
After knocking both men off the platform, one with a push and the other with a throw, Chen Jue cupped his hands in salute, picked up the jacket he had tossed aside, and put it back on. Then he stepped down amid waves of applause and cheers.
Zhou Gang and Li Xiangning both looked stunned. They hurried over to the army medic to have some ointment applied, then came back to talk to Chen Jue.
"Master Chen, was that the Shaolin Temple's Iron Shirt you just used? You took my bright force head-on without getting hurt at all!" Li Xiangning found it hard to believe. He had spent most of his life practicing martial arts, yet Chen Jue had defeated him in just a few moves-even with someone helping him fight two against one.
Once he recovered from his shock, he realized that Chen Jue had subdued them without resorting to hard punches or heavy blows. He had used a palm push on one and a grappling throw on the other. Clearly, he had held back.
The gap between their martial arts skills was anything but small!
"It wasn't Iron Shirt. It was the Shaolin Body Conditioning Skill." Since Li Xiangning had asked, and had been kind enough to teach him the verse earlier, Chen Jue answered honestly rather than hiding it.
If others treated him sincerely, he would return that sincerity. That was a principle Chen Jue had learned growing up in the countryside.
"The Shaolin Body Conditioning Skill?"
"That's another hard-body skill that takes years of steady practice!"
"Well, well. Losing to a fellow practitioner like you, Master Chen, is no disgrace." Li Xiangning pondered for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
The young soldier Zhou Gang, meanwhile, shook his slightly swollen, reddened arms, which had just been treated with ointment, and hurried over with an excited expression. "Master Chen, you're so good! Can I become your disciple?" Clearly, being subdued by Chen Jue in just a few moves had made him eager to learn from him.
"There's no need to become my disciple. The Hung Gar passed down in your family is worth practicing."
"But it looks like I've taken first place in the competition, so I may come to your regiment occasionally to teach martial arts. You can learn from me then." Chen Jue glanced at him as he spoke.
"Thank you, Master Chen! I'm really looking forward to learning from you!" Zhou Gang beamed. After witnessing Chen Jue's incredible ability to withstand blows and his foundation in martial arts, he finally understood that there was always someone better out there.
Civilian martial artists were not all practitioners of empty, flashy moves, as people online claimed. They could defeat military hand-to-hand combat experts too.
The three talked for a while before Commissar Yao stepped onto the platform and announced that the martial arts exchange was over. It was a perfect example of military efficiency: even an event like this wrapped up without any fuss or delay.
In front of everyone, he announced that Chen Jue had been specially appointed as the regiment's martial arts instructor. Although it was only a nominal post, he would come regularly to teach traditional martial arts.
This had been explained before Chen Jue was invited to the event. Whichever invited civilian expert took first place would receive the special appointment.
When the soldiers seated around the platform heard that an expert as formidable as Chen Jue would be coming to teach them, they all applauded and cheered excitedly.
Of course, this external martial arts instructor position came with a monthly allowance of 6,000 yuan, effectively serving as Chen Jue's appearance fee.
It was not much money-not even as much as Coach Xie, the Taekwondo black belt, could earn by taking on a handful of students-but it did give Chen Jue a regular source of income.
After the lively competition ended and the crowd dispersed, Chen Jue went to the office to collect his appointment letter and fill out some forms. He also chatted briefly with Commissar Yao.
When he learned that Commissar Yao, the regimental commander, and the deputy commander intended to jointly recommend him for the army-wide martial arts competition in October, Chen Jue hesitated for a moment.
But once he heard that taking first place would earn him a larger allowance and even a substantial cash prize, he nodded and agreed.
All he had to do was show up, spar with others, and exchange pointers-and get paid for it. Naturally, Chen Jue was happy to accept.
He would also get to meet more military experts. For someone who usually trained alone at home, it was a chance to get out, exchange ideas, and broaden his horizons. Why not?
Still, it was only late August, so October was more than a month away.
The venue had not been decided either. He would have to go home and wait for further notice.
Of course, Wenzhou's television station would also turn that day's competition into a special feature to be broadcast throughout the Wenzhou area. It would even be covered in the local morning and evening newspapers.
Unfortunately, Chen Jue did not like reading newspapers and had no habit of watching local television. As far as he was concerned, the news would probably sink without a ripple.
After all, this was the internet age. Traditional media's reach had already declined considerably.
Unless someone uploaded that special feature online, who would even know that such an unusual martial arts exchange had taken place here today?
After staying for dinner at the mess hall and receiving a warm welcome from several regimental leaders, Chen Jue rode home in a jeep arranged by Commissar Yao. It took just over twenty minutes to reach Chen Village.
He had taken a rural taxi and transferred to a city-country bus to reach the base, yet he was leaving as an honored guest of the regiment, with a car delivering him to his doorstep. Reflecting on the day's unusual experiences, Chen Jue felt a swirl of emotions.
Just over half a month ago, he had been an unemployed young man who had quit his job and returned to his hometown. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had become an external martial arts instructor for the locally stationed troops.
Only he, the person living through it all, could truly appreciate those ups and downs and the turn his life had taken.
It's all thanks to this attribute panel! Chen Jue thought.
After resting briefly at home, Chen Jue decided to relax with a hot shower. But as the hot water washed over his body, he suddenly recalled the Boat Boxing verse Li Xiangning had taught him that day: "The Eight Immortals cross aboard a boat; enter the water, and force forms of its own accord."
After a full day out with his nerves held taut, coming home had suddenly cleared his mind and allowed his thoughts to roam. As he pondered the boxing verse, he felt as though he had caught a spark of inspiration.
There in the shower, he activated the bright force of the Eight Immortals Stance. The pores in his skin beneath the hot water suddenly closed, and goosebumps rose, each as hard as an iron broad bean.
As the hot water from the showerhead flowed over his skin, it met the explosive force released by his closing pores and instantly scattered into lively droplets.
"This is bright force: hard, explosive, direct."
"Then what is hidden strength?" Chen Jue stared at the scattering droplets, his eyes thoughtful.
He turned off the shower, dried himself, and changed into clean clothes. Then he left the house and headed straight for Chen Village Reservoir on the hill behind it.
It was already past eight in the evening. The reservoir was silent, with only an occasional bark drifting over from Huang Family Village on the opposite shore.
The dim lights made the reservoir feel even more secluded.
Chen Jue climbed onto the dam. Instead of practicing his boxing or stance work, he simply stood there, staring at the pitch-black water.
With his constitution at 1.98, his nearsightedness and astigmatism had improved dramatically. Even at night, he could see a long way.
Watching the undercurrents that occasionally stirred beneath the calm surface, Chen Jue murmured the Boat Boxing verse again: "The Eight Immortals cross aboard a boat; enter the water, and force forms of its own accord."
He dashed down the dam steps and leaped onto the small boat moored by the shore.
Untying its rope, he rowed toward the spot where the undercurrent swirled.
That was where the reservoir's Floodgate Valve was located. A funnel-like whirlpool rotated on the surface, clearly visible even at night.
"Enter the water, and force forms of its own accord?"
Chen Jue stared at the funnel-shaped whirlpool for a long while, muttering to himself. Then, as though possessed, he leaped over the side of the boat and performed Zhongli Sits on the Drum, an opening form of the Eight Immortals Stance, in midair. He drew a deep breath, then plunged into the whirlpool with a splash.
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