CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 173: SKYROCKETING SUCCESS!

The person who spoke out at the crucial moment, guiding Master Wang to defeat the Muay Thai expert with a single move, was none other than the one who had swept through all challengers across the nation two months prior. A month ago, he had announced his seclusion and subsequently vanished, leaving all the Martial Artists present to seethe with helpless frustration. He was history’s youngest Grandmaster—Zhang Beixing!

No, that wasn’t quite right!

To be precise, he was no longer the youngest Grandmaster in history.

Rather, after more than seven hundred years, on October 19, 2018, he had successfully created his own Ultimate Skill, achieved a breakthrough, and single-handedly lowered the average breakthrough age for Great Grandmasters.

He was the youngest Great Grandmaster in the history of Great Xia!

And the only Great Grandmaster Great Xia had seen in the last seven hundred years!

Moreover, he was the only individual in the annals of Martial Arts to ascend from an ordinary person to a Great Grandmaster in just over half a year!

Is it him?

Seeing Zhang Beixing arrive, Ma Yuankai’s brow furrowed. The unpleasant memory of being challenged and defeated by Zhang Beixing a month ago involuntarily surfaced, darkening his expression.

Beside him, Wu Yougui was focused on what Zhang Beixing had just said. From the moment Zhang Beixing’s voice was heard until now, in just four sentences—exactly fifty-three words—he had reversed the situation on the platform! This allowed Master Wang, who was previously under pressure and forced to absorb blows, to break through the predicament with a single move, sending the attacking Muay Thai expert flying several meters away to claim victory.

"What’s going on?" Wu Yougui was aghast. That was a bit too powerful! How profound must one’s Martial Arts proficiency be to spot an opponent’s weakness on the ever-changing platform and, in that instant, provide timely advice tailored to Master Wang’s Martial Arts techniques, verbalizing the solution? This must require Grandmaster Level insight and proficiency in Bajiquan, right?

Meanwhile, on the stage, a single punch sent the Muay Thai expert flying. Unsurprisingly, Master Wang won the battle.

"Thank you for your guidance, Grandmaster Zhang!" Master Wang said as he came down from the stage, approached Zhang Beixing, and clasped his hands in respect.

A month ago, Zhang Beixing, along with Chen Rourou and Lin Pengfei, had come to challenge his school. Chen Rourou, of course, was no match for him, but this encounter still left him with strong opinions about Zhang Beixing. However, business was business. Today, he absolutely had to thank Zhang Beixing! If it hadn’t been for Zhang Beixing’s timely advice, he would have become the first person since the founding of Great Xia to lose an international match and be forced to admit defeat! Losing the opening battle would be a great loss of face! It wouldn’t just damage his reputation; it would also affect the morale of Great Xia’s Martial Artists. As the saying goes: the first drumbeat rouses the spirit, the second sees it wane, and the third exhausts it. He had set a good precedent, boosting morale, which would make subsequent matches easier. Conversely, failure would make things progressively harder.

Hearing Master Wang’s thanks, Zhang Beixing waved his hand. Although you lot are quite unscrupulous and lack martial virtue, taking advantage of my seclusion to secretly ally and ostracize me from the Martial Arts circles of Great Xia, I’m gratified that after Liu Yi’s incident, when this trouble-seeking ’Eight-Nation Alliance’ came knocking, you didn’t just stand by. Instead, you were willing to come forward and help! Zhang Beixing then said lightly, "No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank yourself for not wasting years of practice and not being just a pretentious poser!"

One doesn’t fear god-like opponents, only pig-like teammates. Inexperience in real combat isn’t the most terrifying thing. But if Master Wang had merely been chasing fame without substance, his years of practice wouldn’t have been up to par. Even if I had pointed out the opponent’s flaw, it would have been useless; he likely wouldn’t have understood my guidance or been able to comprehend it in time.

Hearing Zhang Beixing’s words, Master Wang’s mouth twitched. What kind of talk is that? Is he complimenting me or insulting me? What does he mean, ’thankfully my practice wasn’t in vain’? And how does he even know Bajiquan? This question surfaced in Master Wang’s mind after the battle concluded.

Bajiquan, a Martial Art created during the Kangxi and Yongzheng eras. Though its history spanned only three hundred years, its fiercely powerful and domineering techniques had propelled it to become one of the four great renowned fists of Great Xia within those three centuries. It was lauded with the saying, "Tai Chi brings peace under heaven, Bajiquan stabilizes the cosmos." Furthermore, due to its simplicity and ease of learning, this Martial Art was extremely widespread in Great Xia. But the question remained: how did Zhang Beixing know it? And not only did he know it, but how was his proficiency in Bajiquan so profound? It must be understood that Master Wang’s own attainment in Bajiquan was already among the highest in Great Xia. Yet, even so, at that crucial moment, he hadn’t been able to find a way to break the deadlock himself. "What is going on?" Watching Zhang Beixing, Master Wang’s heart was filled with bewildered uncertainty.

Liu Yi approached at this moment, looked at Zhang Beixing, and asked the question he was most curious about, "Beixing, weren’t you in seclusion? How did you get here? I recall specifically not having anyone inform you about this matter, didn’t I?"

True, Liu Yi, Chen Rourou, and the others had ganged up on that Korean Martial Arts star. This gave those Korean youngsters an opening, which they brazenly exploited, pushing things to the extreme, even forming an ’Eight-Nation Alliance’ to stir up trouble. It had become a huge mess. However, because this all happened while Zhang Beixing was still in seclusion, focused on his breakthrough to Great Grandmaster, Liu Yi, not wanting to disturb him, had specifically instructed his people not to notify Zhang Beixing. He figured he should resolve the trouble he himself had caused.