Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 151: Iron Fist Hwarang (Third)

The students of Beijing University had all an inherent sense of pride in them. This much Wang Chao was able to tell after walking onto the campus.

Even when he was with Cao Jingjing, the speech of every single student here had the slightest tidbit of that arrogant feeling to it, having bred this due to their everyday life.

But when he had said his own place of education, Wang Chao could just barely sense the small hint of arrogance slip away without a trace from the girl besides Cao Jingjing and the male instructor.

There had been no other choice. The Central Party School was the equivalent to the Whampoa Harbor during the times of the Republic of China. In that era, few would undergo their studies there to become an official, or to become an even more important official. It was far more prestigious than being some random university student. Even though Beijing University was a brand name, they were like dogs scrounging for the chicken bones in comparison.

“Haha, congratulations. My old classmate, you’ve struck rich and gained some status for yourself.”

Cao Jingjing’s beautiful but dynamic face had flashed with some embarrassment before immediately disappearing without a second trace afterwards.

This too, had been caught by Wang Chao, who then smiled. Cao Jingjing had always been extremely strong-minded and proud as a class president. His grades was an entire world behind from hers in the past, but now he was worlds ahead of her in terms of situation. It was only natural that she felt a bit shaken, as it was human nature to feel such.

“I only heard from my dad that you earned a lot of money from your business before serving as a soldier for several years in the army. I didn’t think that you’d get by so well though.”

Cao Jingjing tossed several of her out of placed hairs behind her, allowing for her body fragrance to waft on over. As a result, Wang Chao had felt a blast of her prime and exuberant youthful aura.

“My old classmate, you used to practice martial arts and compete with my dad. How much did you improve since then? I’m a black belt in Taekwondo now. How about it, do you want to try me?”

Cao Jingjing snapped her fingers and wiggled her eyebrows as she changed the subject to one she knew Wang Chao was interested in.

“Fine with me.” Wang Chao laughed before looking around himself. He had noticed then that many students had begun to look this way and close in around the two.

Wang Chao had enjoyed the atmosphere of this university, with the youthful aura that was brimming everywhere. It was unlike the bloodthirsty and ferocious atmosphere of the stage in the Jianghu.

After spending so much time in the bullet hell that was the Jianghu, he felt extremely at peace here on campus, similar to the baptizing light of the moon.

“Prepare yourself, my old classmate!” Cao Jingjing spoke seriously as she got into a competitive mood. Pulling them both away from the crowd, she then brought both arms up in a posture that would protect her center. It was a very standard form that exuded grace.

“Our senior is going to fight that guy!”

“I wonder how badly that guy’s going to get after our sis kicks him.”

“Yea, sis Cao is already a second-dan black belt as well.”

Cao Jingjing was clearly well known on her campus. As soon as she got into a ready position, many eyes had been attracted to her before the students gathered around them..

As soon as the male instructor heard Cao Jingjing mentioned that Wang Chao had studied martial arts, his eyes glistened for a moment before quickly sizing him up around the hands, elbow, and shoulder joints.

But the skin around Wang Chao’s joints and hands were smooth and glossy without any scarring, causing the instructor to feel slightly confused.

Exhaling, Cao Jingjing suddenly bent at the knee before lashing out with her right leg like a whip. Her leg was already at her shoulder level as it arced towards Wang Chao’s chest without mercy.

A leg whip with a speed that was both fast and clean.

“En, not bad leg strength.”

Wang Chao nodded his head in approval, but his legs did not make a move. He had merely moved his hands to adopt a form from Taichi, the most ordinary form of the “Fair Lady Works the Shuttles”. With a simple push as if swatting away a fly, he had immediately brushed away Cao Jingjing’s leg whip.

Her leg stuck to his arm as it moved, and followed his movements.

Just like watching the films about Taichi, Cao Jingjing’s leg which was capable of snapping several boards in half had been forced by this sweeping movement to lose her balance. Spinning around in a haphazard circle, Cao Jingjing had managed to finally stabilize herself with difficulty.

“Four ounces can repel a thousand pounds!” Many of the audience had seen how easily Wang Chao had brushed away Cao Jingjing before sending her for a loop and gasped.

“It seems that the Taichi concept of this has been engrained in the minds of many. There’s a few that know the genuinity of the Pounding hammer.” Wang Chao’s ears had trembled.

Cao Jingjing had stopped her rotation without resignation and cried out loud. Rotating her body again, she flew high into the sky with both legs outstretched like the blades to a scissor. With a stab and a twist, she struck out at Wang Chao’s neck.

Wang Chao pushed the leg aside once more, causing Cao Jingjing to come to a halt from the sky and falling to the ground where she was forced to spin around again. Her face had grown red and her breathing labored. Her eyes had grown slightly delirious– a clear sign of her brain growing dizzy.

“That’s enough, Jingjing. Fighting should not be done this way. One may kick high in practice, but in actual combat, never attempt at a high kick!” When the instructor saw Wang Chao push and brush away Cao Jingjing with his hands, his face had grown heavy. When seeing that Cao Jingjing had still wanted to continue, the instructor moved to stop her. Walking forward, he looked to Wang Chao and asked, “Dear student, do you mind comparing with me?”

“And you are?” Wang Chao looked to the instructor with interest. After hearing him speak, Wang Chao knew that this man was adept to fighting. The Taekwondo style of rotating the body and kicking up high was a way to hone the body and improve flexibility. But it was completely different to actual fighting.

But almost 99% of people that practiced Taekwondo would rather substitute the practicing methods of Taekwondo to be a fighting method. To use it as such against the ordinary person was fine, but against a practitioner, their center of gravity would easily be disturbed before being struck down just as quickly.

When the instructor had spoken that secret, he was clearly shown to be a person who understood the principles of fighting. He was not one that would mistake the practicing methods of Taekwondo to be for the fighting methods.

“I am Lee Dongwen, an alumni of Beijing University and student under the tutelage of Korea’s ninth-dan Choi Jang Baek. Please advise me well.” Lee Dongwen had looked rather unwell when he saw Cao Jingjing spun twice around by Wang Chao and had challenged him in her stead.

“Ah, so you’re the student of the Korean master, ‘Iron Fist Hwarang’, Choi Jang Baek.”

Wang Chao smiled and nodded, “Choi Jang Baek renounced the flowery style of movements borne for the sake of performance and exercise to study the fighting methods of combat. For his studies, he is a known figure in the world of martial arts. If you are his disciple, then how much do you know of true combat? I won’t be a bully, so why don’t I use one hand and stay where I stand? If you can force me to move, it’ll be my loss.”

“You!” Lee Dongwen’s eyes flashed with infuriation.

Wang Chao knew of this Choi Jang Baek that Lee Dongwen mentioned. He was a Korean ninth-dan master of Taekwondo and was equally famous as the military instructor for the imperial family of Japan, Iga Minamoto.

Choi Jang Baek was in no way the same vein of any regular Taekwondoin. His ideology focused on the aspects of combat by bringing back the killing potential Taekwondo once boasted in the past.

And this expert was not a stickler for appearances. In his youth, Choi Jang Baek had learned the breathing exercises of Yoga from India and incorporated it into Taekwondo. Furthermore, he had combined Kendo, Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai, and other disciplines into it to create his own martial arts.

As a youth, he had participated in many competitions in America, Japan, Germany, Britain, and many other countries without a single loss. He was similar to Wang Chao in that he had killed many and gained enormous fame.

The predecessor to Taekwondo was Hwarangdo, an art of killing that was taught to those in the military. When Choi Jang Baek made a name for himself, he had gained the moniker of the “Iron Fist Hwarang”.

Because of the man being adept to combat with his skill, and because of his major contributions to the art of Taekwondo, he was able to start his own school of martial arts. And before the age of 60, the World Federation of Taekwondo had conferred onto him the title of being a ninth-dan.

This would normally require the person to be at least 60 years old before being given such a title. Choi Jang Baek was barely only 40 years old at the time.

Wang Chao had opened up a martial art school in Shandong which was near both Japan and Korea. So he had long since scouted out the martial artists of both worlds.

Korea’s number one expert of Taekwondo was this ninth-dan practitioner. But he had already been selected to Wang Chao as one of the organization’s targets.

Wang Chao had actually wanted to challenge the “Iron Fist Hwarang” much earlier, but because he was afraid that some difficulty would occur, his plans had never made it past the planning stage. His opponent was of someone of repute after all.

The name “Wang Chao” was only really known in the Southeast Asia world of martial arts. But the “Iron Fist Hwarang” was a name that was known throughout the entire world.

Plus, even if a challenge was sent, it did not mean that it would be received. This wasn’t the Wulin of the past, where the grandmasters of the past had no other choice but to accept. Just what reason did they have now to have a do or die battle in this era?

After hearing that Lee Dongwen studied under Choi Jang Baek, Wang Chao had thought of a plan. He had decided then, that he would deliver a verbal slap to the man’s face and see just what would happen next.

As expected, after Wang Chao had goaded him, Lee Dongwen’s rage had exploded high into the heavens. Even his eyes seemed to be jutting with flames.

“Very well!” Lee Dongwen spoke those two words before taking in a deep breath to calm himself as a sign of being a good expert.

In the moment after calming his own mental state, Lee Dongwen made a fist with both hands and moved diligently with both feet in the mannerism of the butterfly step in Boxing.

Just then, his foot made a single step and his body flickered in response, sending a malicious fist that careened towards Wang Chao’s face with an earsplitting sound.

As like before, Wang Chao had used the “Fair Lady Works the Shuttles”and brushed his the opponent’s hand away without any difficulty.

Lee Dongwen’s fierce fist seemed as if it had hit cotton instead. After being turned away from Wang Chao, his center of gravity had been disturbed and teetered-tottered in the same way Cao Jingjing had.

“Hai!” Lee Dongwen felt a brush of anxiety against his heart and his eyes began to show panic. But adapting to the situation, he hurriedly turned his body around and brought his foot down towards Wang Chao’s kneecap.

But just before his foot could make contact with Wang Chao’s knee, Wang Chao bent inwards for a moment before immediately rebounding outwards, sending Lee Dongwen’s body flying away towards the rails. Flipping over, Lee Dongwen fell to the ground before stubbornly crawling back up with both hands supporting him from the ground.

“Ohhhh…..” A series of loud exclamations could be heard from all around as all of the students there watched Lee Dongwen be sent flying away like a man riding the clouds from his first strike.

“It seems that you lack enough to make me move.” Wang Chao strode forward. “There is time in the future. I hope that Choi of the ninth-dan will have the time to come to Shandong, Laoshan to compare notes with me in the future.”

This sentence had been spoken lightly, but was specifically meant for Lee Dongwen to hear.

“Old classmate, didn’t you want to eat? I’ll treat you to a meal. There’s still some things I want to talk about.” Wang Chao realized that more and more people were coming, so he immediately pulled Cao Jingjing away out of the gymnasium.

Cao Jingjing had observed the fight between Wang Chao and Lee Dongwen, but she wasn’t able to tell how Lee Dongwen had been sent flying away. While thinking about it in solitude, she was finally aware that Wang Chao was pulling her arm towards the exit.

His pull on her was mighty, but gentle as well. Cao Jingjing’s feet hadn’t even been able to touch the ground almost.

“Okay okay, there’s no one following us. Let go of me already!” After making some distance away from the gymnasium, Cao Jingjing threw away the hand of Wang Chao, causing him to finally stop.

“I know you’re good at martial arts, but what was the point of you fighting Lee Dongwen?” Cao Jingjing let her hair loose with an inquiring stare at Wang Chao as if to force out an answer.

“Let’s find somewhere quiet to eat first. Chief Cao trusted me to find you and give you some pointers on Taekwondo. As we are old classmates, there is still some words that isn’t easy to say. It’s complicated, so don’t ask me anymore about it.”

“Fine then!” Cao Jingjing smiled. “Outside the campus, there’s a relatively quiet dining hall. Let’s go there and talk.”

In a flash, Wang Chao and Cao Jingjing had found a place to sit in the dining halls.

“I haven’t mastered the Hurricane Kick just yet. Each time I try it, I injure my waist and leg for a decent amount of time. Do you have a solution? Also, when we fought, did you use the ‘Four ounces repel a thousand pounds’ concept from Taichi? Teach me that too.”

After ordering the meal, Cao Jingjing hadn’t even split open her chopsticks. Instead, she closed the door and didn’t ask anything more. She too belonged to a household of high-ranking officials. In high school even, she was very appropriate in her way of doing things and knew when to not ask any more questions.

“Four ounces repel a thousand pounds? You don’t have enough strength to learn that. Even if you did learn it, it wouldn’t be of any use; you’d take a beating still.” Wang Chao shook his head, “Taichi emphasizes the usage of Jin. Your physical strength needs to exceed 500 kilograms for you to learn this concept. For example, if a man with money begins to learn to sample and review, he is said to be amazing. If a man without money does the same, he is said to be a fake.”

“What are you talking about, you didn’t have such a glib tongue before.” Cao Jingjing laughed, but she wasn’t embarrassed. Clearly, she had seen her fair share of vulgar jokes and was immune to it.

“Let me use an easier explanation for you, how about a business metaphor. I am a princeling, you are an upstart. We are fighting for the same item, but with my four million, I can crush your one hundred million capital. This is the philosophy of the four ounces repel a thousand pounds. It is only when one’s strength is like a bull that they are capable of using small to defeat big.”

Wang Chao had tried to use the simplest metaphor he could think of to explain.