After a series of tedious preparations, the spectators finally took their seats one after another, and the entire arena gradually quieted down.
Dong!
A deafening gong rang out, and the referee walked steadily to the center of the ring, microphone in hand.
"The World Martial Arts Tournament now officially begins!"
"Now, let the first match begin. Both contestants, please prepare to enter."
"Contestant Jackie Chun versus contestant Ranfan."
As the referee finished speaking, Ranfan and Jackie Chun emerged one after another from the contestant entrances on either side of the ring.
The moment Ranfan entered, she winked flirtatiously at the audience, instantly drawing a wave of cheers.
Jackie Chun presented quite a different sight. An infatuated smile spread across his face, his eyes fixed on Ranfan, and he kept making strange chuckles. "Eh hehehe, Miss Ranfan, ee hehehe..."
At the sight, the corners of Ranfan's mouth lifted slightly, and a trace of mockery crossed her mind. You lecherous old man with no dignity at your age. You'll be my stepping stone to the next round.
As soon as the signal to begin sounded, Ranfan charged at Jackie Chun, her fists striking as rapidly as raindrops. Yet Jackie Chun dodged them all with nimble footwork, narrowly avoiding every attack.
In the waiting room, everyone climbed onto the wall to watch, inwardly astonished.
"That old grandpa's amazing!" Son Goku lay across the top of the wall, excitement sparkling in his eyes.
"Uh... uh, this tournament really is full of experts..." Krillin said nervously, his voice trembling slightly.
In his early days, Krillin had always liked using little tricks, but he was timid and easily discouraged. Now he seemed especially uneasy.
Could this old gentleman be Master Mutaito? Yamcha watched the ring, then turned toward Son Goku and Krillin, silently speculating.
Nam leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, resting, silently thinking that he had to win the championship. Only then could his village be saved.
Wumu glanced at Nam, his heart full of sympathy.
The entire burden of the village rested on Nam's shoulders, and an oppressive atmosphere enveloped him.
Although Wumu sympathized with him, there was nothing he could do. He could only hope Master Roshi would discover what was on Nam's mind and help him, just as in the original story.
Wumu paid no attention to the match in the ring. He already knew the outcome anyway. At that moment, he was meditating on the mysteries of Bajiquan, trying to find a path to breaking through to Transformation Force.
Bajiquan was renowned for its hardness and ferocity, but at advanced levels, there was softness within its hardness as well.
No school of traditional martial arts could possess hardness alone. Excessive hardness made things prone to breaking. The way of the world lay within the two words yin and yang; one yin and one yang were what constituted the Dao.
Hardness and softness corresponded to yin and yang: hardness was yang, softness was yin. The way of the fist was the way of yin and yang, the principle of hardness and softness.
Whether one's martial training began with yang or yin, the ultimate goal was a balanced state in which yin never departed from yang and yang never departed from yin, hardness and softness complemented each other, and one carried yin while embracing yang.
Without this, it could hardly be called true martial arts, true kung fu.
This was also the way of "central harmony" spoken of by Senior Sun Lutang. Breaking through to Transformation Force required yin and yang to work together. If he could not bring Bajiquan to major mastery, Wumu would really have to consider practicing Tai Chi as well.
Tai Chi began with the concept of hardness and softness, unlike Bajiquan, which transformed hardness into softness, or Baguazhang, which transformed softness into hardness.
But biting off too much meant being unable to chew it all, so Wumu still intended to train Bajiquan until he reached a bottleneck before deciding whether he needed to switch to Tai Chi.
In the ring.
Unable to break through despite her prolonged assault, Ranfan's expression darkened, and she said through gritted teeth, "Grandpa, someone your age should hurry down and leave this chance to me!"
As she spoke, she deliberately tugged the clothing on her shoulder down a little, exposing a patch of fair skin, and winked flirtatiously at Jackie Chun.
"Eh hehehe..."
Jackie Chun chuckled foolishly, but quickly grew serious. He pressed his palms together before his chest and gathered his ki.
His gaze sharpened, as though he had grown decades younger.
"Young lady, you must bring out your true strength in a match. Underhanded tricks won't do. I have my own reasons why I cannot lose."
"Let me give you a refreshing breeze as a gift!"
He took a deep breath, gathered all his ki into his right hand, and swept it toward Ranfan.
????
Then, before Ranfan could react, a powerful gust swept her out of the ring. Having done all this, Jackie Chun placed his hands behind his back.
Silence fell over the arena. The spectators stared open-mouthed, stunned. A moment later, waves of cheers erupted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What happened? That was amazing..."
"That was really spectacular. What an eye-opener! That old man was so far away, but he just waved his hand through the air, and that woman flew out of the ring."
At last, the referee recovered and announced the result.
"Mr. Jackie Chun wins. The second match is Son Goku versus Giran. You have five minutes to prepare."
Jackie Chun stepped down from the ring, swept his gaze over Nam and Wumu, then continued walking.
Watching Jackie Chun's retreating figure, Yamcha asked Son Goku and Krillin doubtfully, "Goku, can you tell me where Master Mutaito is right now?"
"Grandpa... probably went somewhere else," Son Goku answered, scratching his head.
"Really? Somewhere else?" Yamcha looked thoughtful.
"Yeah! He left before we started competing," Krillin added.
Yamcha thought, I see! Then there's no mistake. It's that old gentleman.
Yamcha stared at Jackie Chun's retreating figure. No, someone already suspected Master Roshi's identity; all that was missing was evidence to confirm it.
During the five-minute break, Son Goku asked the staff for food because he needed to replenish his energy.
Giran sat nearby with a large platter of huge meat drumsticks before him, eating one with each bite and making Goku drool.
Unable to stand it any longer, Goku ran over and began helping himself. Giran glanced at him but did not bother much.
Time passed in a flash, and the referee's voice rang out again. "Ladies and gentlemen... next is the second match, contestant Son Goku versus contestant Giran."
Hearing the referee, Giran stood, his enormous body knocking over the table.
He was a pterosaur-man with an immense body, and every step sent tremors through the ground.
Son Goku swallowed his last mouthful, immediately stood, and ran toward the ring.
Once he entered the ring, Giran threw back his head and roared.
"Roar..."
"That's a monster!"
Oolong cried out from below the ring.
After entering the ring, Son Goku smiled and waved to the audience. "Good afternoon! My name's Son Goku!"
"Go, Goku!"
Bulma and Oolong both cheered Son Goku on.
The referee gave the signal. "The second match now... begins!"
Son Goku instantly assumed his opening stance. Giran lowered his head to stare at the little fellow before him, letting out strange chuckles.
"Hehehe..."
"You brat who doesn't know his limits. Watch me beat you half to death."
Then he held out a hand toward Son Goku. "Come look. What's this?"
Son Goku leaned closer and asked curiously, "What, what? What is it?"
Before Son Goku could react, Giran sent him flying with a swipe of his tail, slamming him straight into the wall.
"Contestant Gira launched a surprise attack. What a formidable move! Contestant Son Goku was knocked down in a single blow. This happened in an instant, barely any time after the match began."
"Eh hehe... I win!"
Yamcha said in surprise, "He... he took a direct hit."
"Goku..." Krillin looked worriedly toward where Son Goku had fallen.
But before long, Son Goku flipped back onto his feet.
"I... I can't believe it! Even the brick-and-tile wall has cracked. Contestant Son Goku is now dazed and unable to fight back."
"I'm not dazed! It just hurt a little," Son Goku objected quietly, holding his face.
"Of course! Goku wouldn't go down from one little attack," Krillin said excitedly from atop the wall.
(Who knows who was worrying just now? Hehehe... it certainly wasn't some bromance making him worry about Son Goku. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧)
"All right!"
Having recovered, Son Goku charged swiftly at Giran and threw a punch. Giran blocked it and threw a punch of his own.
When his first strike failed, Son Goku quickly dodged Giran's fist, closed in against his belly, and punched.
"Aaah..." Giran clutched his stomach in pain. Before he could react, Son Goku jumped behind him, grabbed his tail, spun him around, and hurled him into the air beyond the ring.
"What terrifying strength! With his tiny body, contestant Son Goku has actually thrown contestant Giran, who is several times his size, out of the ring. What an incredible comeback from contestant Son Goku!"