Romance of Dragons and Snakes Chapter 71

 The grand compet.i.tion on the straits (First)

Although he wouldn’t be able to break out with Hidden Jin through the chest and his back during a fight, attaining such a step was still enough to satisfy w.a.n.g Chao.

In the past, his Hidden Jin would only amount to about 550 kilograms in weight, but now, his tiger stane was far stronger than before. Weight at about 750 kilograms, it was a decent improvement from before as well as being able to unleash even more of them.

In honesty, when he used the tiger stance to leap forward, he could leap 5 meters ahead in one explosive leap.

w.a.n.g Chao could even jump over Boulder who was 1.9 meters tall in height. It was even possible for him to stand on top of his head if need be, this feat alone was already pus.h.i.+ng the limits of the regular human body.

Sun Lu-tang had once written in his Narration of Xingyi that Guo Yunshen was capable of leaping 3 zhang with the tiger stance. During that time, a single zhang was 3 meters, meaning that Guo Yunshen was capable of leaping 9 meters. This was already tantamount to being an actual tiger rather than a human.

When a tiger leaps from their cave, it was approximately 10 meters.
Author note: This is not like the tigers in a zoo.

Although there was still a noticeable difference between he and his predecessors, the both of them had still had both the spirit and form. In the eyes of a martial artist, their skill was still something to be praised of.

“No wonder sis Chen recorded in the True Record of Guoshu, she could kill a man 36 steps away starting from a seated position.”

Suddenly, w.a.n.g Chao began to do the math. Two steps for a single person was almost a meter, meaning 36 steps was over 10 meters. Tang Zichen had already reached the peak of the Transforming Jin and could make a single leap of over 10 meters.

An african leopard could make a single pounce of 30 meters in a single second when chasing an antelope.

“Zhang Wei is a veteran of the Fist Altar and has experienced many battles. When he moves, I must be careful to not use Hidden Jin and stick to Clear Jin to fight.”

w.a.n.g Chao had not yet fully mastered the free usage of Hidden Jin in his back, chest, and lower back.

Because of Zhang Wei’s expertise and his ability to break out Jin in his back, w.a.n.g Chao didn’t dare to try use Hidden Jin in his fists to strike him in the back.

Hidden Jin was only a way of defense against the strike of a regular person. If an expert were to do so, then their fists would be over 500 kilograms in weight. Such a blow like this was harder than being hit with an iron rod.

Even if it was Zhang Wei, w.a.n.g Chao didn’t think that he would be willing to turn around as a defense for w.a.n.g Chao’s fist.

Looking at the videos of Zhang Wei, he had only used his back to bully those experts who had not yet learned the Hidden Jin. If he were to go against an opponent of the same level and tried the same strategy, then that would be foolish. The opponent would only snap his spine without a problem.

A weak spot was a weak spot in the end.

During the Republic of China, those martial artists who put on demonstrations would often ask a volunteer to use a wooden stick on their heads, waist, or back. However, instead of their bodies being hurt, the sticks instead had been splintered. This was an example of Hidden Jin being done decently. But if they were to fight with an actual expert, then they would only use their arms and legs to fight and would never even think about using any other part of their bodies to fight.

But nevertheless, if they were fighting a group of commoners, then the Hidden Jin would be able to work well enough.

w.a.n.g Chao’s arms and legs were completely solid, but his entire body had not yet had Hidden Jin being able to be released with ease. Even if it was a regular person, w.a.n.g Chao didn’t dare have them use a wooden stick or hammer to hit him on the back. But when the time comes when he was capable of Hidden Jin in that area, he would!

“Xinglong, you’re at the Shantou airport? Good, good. Then transfer the 100 million to the other bank account and make a check for it. Tomorrow you’ll be watching me fight Zhang Wei!”

After all the preparations were made that afternoon, Xinglong had flown over by an airplane and then drove to Chaozhou. By nightfall, he was at a hotel with w.a.n.g Chao.

After all, w.a.n.g Chao was working with Boulders and the others on a covert mission. If he were to be found out now, then w.a.n.g Chao would be short of any helpers. Since Xinglong was the director of the security for Tianxing Networking, it was only fitting that he was there.

Three suited up bodyguards with earpieces and solemn expressions had also traveled with Zhao Xinglong.

These three bodyguards were already familiar with w.a.n.g Chao, they were the mercenaries of Zhang Tong.

Aside from this, the board member and director, and also the most beautiful lady of S province Yao Xiaoxue had arrived.

“Chief Zhang had sent them to me and said that it would be an added benefit just in case we need it. Director Yao came since I’m not familiar with finances and didn’t want to get anything wrong.” Zhao Xinglong explained.

Yao Xiaoxue gave a faint smile, exuding the charm of an upper cla.s.s woman. For the past few years, she had transformed from a college graduate to a successful entrepreneur. She was like a government official now and had the charm that was suited for one.

“This compet.i.tion of yours involves the company. A bank loan of a hundred million isn’t a small sum of money even if the interest rates are low. Once you win, I’ll be returning it straight away. Since you guys aren’t familiar with how the finances work, I’ll naturally be the one in charge.”

True enough, when it came to finances on this scale, w.a.n.g Chao and Zhao Xinglong were as good as idiots.

Whether or not w.a.n.g Chao would win, Yao Xiaoxue didn’t know, but she still had to remain optimistic. But her words had been absolute instead of indecisive, meaning she had already predicted the outcome long before.

“En, that’s a good experience to have. When in such an event, one needs the right people to help deal with it.” w.a.n.g Chao approved.

Inputting the secret pa.s.sword to the silver suitcase, Yao Xiaoxue opened up the case, revealing the cash check inside. This check contained the hundred million RMB loan from the bank.

Seeing such a sight, w.a.n.g Chao could only sigh. Three years ago when he was nothing more than a high schooler that didn’t know about martial arts, he lived an impoverished life. Back then, even the sight of a hundred thousand was enough to poison his heart.

But now, a hundred million RMB hadn’t even fazed him. It could not even measure to the effect the hundred thousand had done to him before.

Zhang Tong had no idea that w.a.n.g Chao had joined an organization and had sent over several bodyguards as a method of protection. In w.a.n.g Chao’s mind, he had been extremely grateful to Zhang Tong for her a.s.sistance.

Ever since his appearance, w.a.n.g Chao had been in the care of Zhang Tong without ever giving back anything in return. So in his mind, he had resolved to return the favor one day.

“Back then, you had beaten me back at the Taekwondo dojo. Afterwards, no matter how fast I progressed with my martial arts, I couldn’t even hold a candle to you. Even now, you’ve already found yourself standing at the same stage of one of the Three Tigers of Guangdong in a battle of strength…”

Zhao Xinglong had felt excitement and regret. He was excited that he was back in the underground fighting world, but sad that he had been nothing more than a second-rate fighter. Everyday he had heard of how amazing or strong someone was, but he had never once seen the actual fighter or been to such a large-scale fight like this.

But the fighting he had done before was called the underground fist altar, or the dark fists.

This fight with Zhang Wei was called a formal compet.i.tion.

An underground fighting match had only required an audience in order to start fighting to kill. A compet.i.tion was different. It had far more regulations than the prior and was of a higher quality. A compet.i.tion had to have written invitations and a scheduled place and time along with a person of good standing to come and bear witness.

In strict comparison, the difference between the two was like the difference between the sky and the ground.

For Zhao Xinglong to have the chance to see such a match, he was naturally excited.

When w.a.n.g Chao entered the hotel, he hadn’t bothered to hide his ident.i.ty. After waiting a day, five refined looking men had came into the establishment and handed him a golden invitation.

“Zhao Jun’s eyes and ears are quite sensitive. Even though we weren’t hiding, he still found us quickly enough.” w.a.n.g Chao’s attire had been different than when he had first entered Guangzhou. Back then, he was wearing the clothes of a peasant. By now, he was wearing clothes befitting that of the son of a powerful family.

The French designer clothings and shoes had accentuated his figure and brought out the colors of his eyes to an astounding degree.

w.a.n.g Chao’s company was also a client of Zhang Tong’s, so the designer clothes weren’t that hard to get a hold of.

If man wanted clothes, then Buddha would want gold clothes. When w.a.n.g Chao changed his clothes, his personality had changed drastically to become more refined.

Combined with the beautiful Yao Xiaoxue, the suitcase carrying Zhao Xinglong and the three bodyguards, anyone could guess just how important they were.

w.a.n.g Chao had every single hint to looking like the son of a rich and powerful family, but not to being some sort of new upstart. Even a rich new upstart wouldn’t have the composure he had.

At such an image, even the waitresses and female renters had raised their eyebrows at him.

“Director w.a.n.g, our director Zhao knew you were here and invited you to come.” One of the males spoke courteously.

Outside the hotel were three extravagant looking cars. The middle car was a Lincoln while the other two were armored jeeps.

w.a.n.g Chao nodded his head without another word and climbed in the Lincoln with Zhao Xinglong and Yao Xiaoxue. One of the bodyguards sat in the first car while the other two sat in the car behind.

The cars drove straight out of Chaozhou and towards Shantou.

“What’s going on, are we not going to Chaozhou?” Zhao Xinglong spoke.

“Our director Zhao has changed the venue to an even grander area. The Chens.h.i.+ Corporation has given us usage of their personal cruiser. Director w.a.n.g and master Zhang’s fight will take place on a tanker that’ll head out towards Nan’ao County.”

“Nan’ao County, if we continue to head in that direction, we’d reach Taiwan.” Yao Xiaoxue spoke.

“No problem, the guests will do as the master please.” w.a.n.g Chao held his hand up to stop Yao Xiaoxue from speaking.

The three cars continued onwards without any further trouble before finally reaching the harbors of Shantou. After a while, a group of men could be standing near the coast with several speedboats waiting for them.

As soon as w.a.n.g Chao, Yao Xiaoxue and Zhao Xinglong boarded the speedboats, the motors immediately came to life and shot them across the waters like an arrow from a bow.

After half an hour, they had finally made it out to the open sea where only the cloudy blue skies and gentle wind could be experienced. By the side, there was a giant fancy tanker.

If one had ten billion in a.s.sets, why not splurge a little to enjoy life?

Naturally, one would buy a tanker, and then a helicopter.

Evidently, the Chens.h.i.+ Corporation had splurged in such a manner. Not only was the tanker large, but it was splendid in appearance and deck. Several helicopters could be seen both on the helicopter and circling overhead.

“This is what it truly means to be rich.” Seeing such a sight, w.a.n.g Chao couldn’t help but sigh. When compared with his company, his Tianxing Networking wasn’t anything special.

Approaching the tanker, an aluminum alloy ladder was lowered and allowed them entry onto the tanker. Even a dainty lady like Yao Xiaoxue had been able to grab onto the armrests and climb aboard.

Climbing onto the deck, an explosion of festive activities immediately greeted w.a.n.g Chao’s eyes! A basketball court sized deck could be seen alongside several parasols with several good looking people sitting underneath.

Countless of suited bodyguards could be seen lined up along the edges of the tanker without any movement while countless of beautiful looking women in Chinese dresses served ice-cold refreshments to the people.

In the center of the deck was a wide open s.p.a.ce with a wooden platform. On top of the platform were crimson red silk that ran along the platform.

The moment w.a.n.g Chao had climbed up, Zhao Jun had walked up to greet him.

“Director w.a.n.g has finally arrived.” Zhao Jun spoke cordially.

w.a.n.g Chao had replied with a single phrase before shaking his hand. Aside from Zhao Jun, he had only recognized one other person, it was Chen Bin from the Chens.h.i.+ Corporation!

Before w.a.n.g Chao could speak, Yao Xiaoxue spoke up, “Director Zhao, we’re currently nearing the Taiwan Straits, is this not an inconvenient spot?”

“No no no, miss Yao. This is a majestic exchange of martial arts with people from both sides of the straits bearing witness. This will improve relations between both sides–take a look, the Taiwanese martial art master Xue Lianxin and several others are here even.”

When w.a.n.g Chao looked, there was sure enough several elders along with middle aged men and youths. All of them had remained motionless and looked to be experts.

The most eye-catching person had been the person sitting by Xue Lianxin’s side. It was Chen Aiyang!

By this point, Chen Bin had taken notice of w.a.n.g Chao. When she saw the bodyguards behind him, the beautiful Yao Xiaoxue and the suitcase carrying Zhao Xinglong, sh had been stunned as if she couldn’t believe the transformation w.a.n.g Chao had. But nonetheless, she came walking over and gave a quick greeting before lowering her voice and growled out, “So it’s you. You’ve pretended to be a pig to eat the tiger I see!”