Lin Chong then remembered and said, "Oh dear, that piece of paper is still at Duan Jing's place."
Duan Jingzhu had just come out of the toilet when he heard this. He poked his head in and said, "That piece of paper, I used it to wipe my butt."
Dong Ping waved his hand impatiently: "What's there to say? Couldn't you have made it clear in a sentence or two before going on stage?"
I said, "It's better to do it sooner rather than later. If we talk about it later, we might get distracted."
“Then go and call everyone out, I’ll say a few words to you,” Dong Ping said.
I rushed to the corridor and shouted, "Brothers, come out and show yourselves! I've had Brother Dong Ping explain the rules of the competition to everyone. The time has come for Liangshan to make a name for itself!"
Curiosity piqued, the heroes surged into the corridor. Dong Ping teased the two lazy street sweepers for a while longer before strolling out and shouting, "Fight them however you want, just remember not to kick their groin!" Then he went back inside.
I asked, stunned, "Is that all?"
Dong Ping shrugged: "It's over."
Chapter Ninety-Four: Secure Second Place, Strive for Third
In the afternoon, Old Zhang brought over a thick stack of materials, including an introduction to Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) and the rules and schedule for a major competition. Having nothing else to do, I sat on Lin Chong's bed and flipped through it.
Turning to the first page, what immediately caught my eye was the phrase "a competition with protective gear, no weight classes, and no restrictions." While I'm a complete novice in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), I know it's divided into weight classes. Looking at the details, I learned that this competition has abolished the weight system. Doesn't this mean it's all about big guys? But then I thought, maybe not. Lin Chong and Dong Ping are both of average height, but in a fight, a 2-meter giant like Jin Tuna would be unstoppable. In fact, in one-on-one combat, Duan Jingzhu would have a significant advantage against someone like Baldy. It seems that with real skill, height and weight can be ignored. It looks like the country is recruiting talent without being bound by conventional standards. Moreover, this kind of competition should be much more interesting; theoretically, we might even see comical scenes like Xiang Yu fighting Shi Qian.
This competition is divided into two parts: an exhibition competition and a Wushu Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) competition. The exhibition competition only accepts team entries (referring to martial arts officially recognized and certified by the state, as well as martial arts-related organizations). The second part, the Sanda competition, accepts individual entries this time, but requires an athlete's qualification certificate, which is undoubtedly bad news for amateur athletes.
Next is the team competition. Each unit can send 8 people to participate in the individual competition and another 5 people to participate in the team competition. The individual and team competitions will be held on alternate days, so a contestant can participate in both the individual and team competitions at the same time.
The individual champion will be awarded the title of "King of Sanda" and receive a prize of 50,000 yuan. The team that wins first place will receive a prize of 500,000 yuan and will have the opportunity to obtain higher educational qualifications and other national awards...
With a little attention, you'll notice that this set of rules emphasizes one word: "group!" Anything related to a group receives more lenient rules and generous rewards; compared to groups, the restrictions on individuals are rather strict. This reveals the good intentions of those in power; we truly need a strong, inherently robust team and environment. No matter how strong a scattered, disorganized group is, it cannot uphold the dignity of a nation. The so-called "opportunity" is practically a foregone conclusion. If you're strong enough, educational qualifications, financial support, infrastructure development… all of that is child's play—whether or not to let someone like Li Kui (a character from Journey to the West) take the lead?
The current dilemma is the selection of participants. There are 8 spots for the individual competition and 5 for the team competition. If we carefully select 5 people from weaker regions, they'll have to handle the entire competition. My problem is that we have too many strong teams. If we're going to be extravagant and assign dedicated personnel to both the individual and team competitions, that would only get us 13 spots. It's like having 300 on my left, 54 on my right, Xiang Yu on my chest, and Jing Ke at my waist—who do you suggest we send and who don't?
Even if Xiang Yu is busy pursuing Yu Ji, and Er Sha has no ambition for fame or fortune, what about the rest? And what about the team competition with five people? If three of them are Lin Chong, Dong Ping, and Li Kui, what are the other two for? You could send An Daoquan and Jin Dajian, since they wouldn't even have a chance to show their faces.
Another way is to select all 13 people from among the heroes, then create 300 fake certificates, allowing 300 of them to participate in the competition under their own names. Excluding direct confrontations between them, and considering factors such as unfamiliarity with the competition rules and encountering strong opponents, at least 40 of us should still make it into the top 64... well, maybe even 50.
Then, astute reporters will suddenly discover that these 50 people all come from the same school… Overshadowing Wudang and Shaolin will be a piece of cake. Students from all over the country and even the world will flock to him, and Yan Jingsheng will begin his career of persuading students to quit. He'll offer them 5 yuan each, and 10,000 a day would be 50,000 yuan…
It sends chills down my spine!
So the biggest dilemma here is: I can't be number one!
If it could truly contribute to the country's martial arts cause, that would be fine, but the problem is, what about the one-year period? You can't expect the customers to get better every year. What if all the heroes leave next year, and then hundreds more scholars are tricked and killed by the fat guy?
To ensure everyone's success in this competition, the ideal ranking is third. Then, with Old Zhang's persuasive efforts, building a few more small buildings with public funds shouldn't be a problem. However, this is difficult to execute. While the heroes of Liangshan are strong, it's uncertain whether they can single-handedly control everything. In modern times, there are many capable of breaking monuments and splitting stones. If I start with a relaxed "not aiming for first, just third" mentality, I might not even make the top five. Therefore, the safest approach now is to give it my all in the early stages, and then, depending on the situation, throw the game on the final day. Getting second place is no longer what I want.
So our motto is: Secure second place, and strive for third!
While I was lost in thought, Lin Chong and Dong Ping, holding the detailed rules, pointed to one word at a time and managed to recognize about 80% of them. They also understood the general meaning. Then the two of them started calculating the money: "The first place for an individual is 50,000, the second is 10,000, and the third is 5,000—that's 65,000. The first place for a group is 500,000, the second is 100,000, and the third is 20,000—that's 620,000. Add 650,000, and it's 675,000. That's enough for all of us brothers to go on a trip to Liangshan, right?"
Lin Chong: "That's enough, I just can't afford to stay in a five-star hotel anymore."
I broke out in a cold sweat and said, "Brother Dong Ping, it's possible to sweep the top three in the individual competition, but I want to ask, how did you come up with the idea of sweeping the top three in the team competition?"
Dong Ping laughed and said, "That's right, I forgot we can only represent one group." But he immediately added, "Didn't Tiger also sign up? Let's tell them not to go, let our people fight for him, and the ranking is his, the money is ours. Add that Red Dragon Dojo, and we'll sweep the top three spots."
I said, heartbroken, "You're cheating!"
Dong Ping rolled his eyes at me and said, "Cheating? If you're not cheating, then you and that pretty boy surnamed Yan should fight it out."
I thought about it and agreed. I quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Brother, how about we don't take first place? You just want to go back to Liangshan to take a look, right? I'll give you 1 million first, and we can talk about it if it's not enough."
Dong Ping stretched out his hand to me and said, "Then pay up, and we're heading straight for Liangshan now. If we don't go, you naturally won't get first place."
That's the difference between a rogue and a bandit! No matter how arrogantly a rogue shouts when he does bad things, he's actually guilty because he knows he's a rogue.
But bandits are different. They have no definition of their identity and do whatever makes them happy. Look at Dong Ping's self-righteous attitude. If I gave him the money now, I'm sure he wouldn't feel a bit guilty after he got up and left. He might even expect me to be grateful to him.
I chuckled awkwardly a few times and said, "Hehe, it's not like that. You guys have to at least help me get third place before you leave. Second place is fine too, but that wouldn't be very interesting."
After Dong Ping understood what I meant, he picked at his teeth and said, "This is not easy for you." It seems that he is also a sensible person, knowing that it is not as easy as going all out. He said, "It's like when the strategist told me to feign defeat. If we defeat the enemy, they will scatter. If we can pretend to defeat them, they won't fall for it. Let's do our best anyway."
Lin Chong said, "Don't let Li Kui go to this competition. He's a straightforward guy and definitely won't help you put on an act."
Dong Ping also said, "By the way, Xiao Qiang, why didn't you get first place?" But before I could answer, he immediately laughed and said, "You're afraid that if we leave, someone will come and kick your place, right? Luckily, we're only after money now, not fame. If it were before, we definitely wouldn't have done this kind of unlucky job."
Dong Ping nudged me with his foot and said, "Actually, if you just learn two or three tenths of Lin Chong's Lin Family Spear technique, there are definitely no more than ten people in the whole country who can touch you." His words made me tempted again. I'd witnessed the power of the Lin Family Spear today. If I could reach Lin Chong's level, I could take a mop and conquer the bandits in the Sahara, and write a whole fantasy novel. But I'd have to bring my own mop; they probably don't have those in the Sahara. Luckily, mops aren't illegal, so bringing them on the plane shouldn't be a problem.
I looked at Lin Chong with stars in my eyes, and Lin Chong smiled and said, "Xiao Qiang, let me ask you, what is the highest level of mastery in spear fighting?"
Without even thinking, I said, "Man and gun as one!" Are you kidding me? Of course I understand that simple principle.
Before Lin Chong could speak, I immediately rattled off a whole bunch of things: "Is having no gun better than having a gun? Having no gun in hand but a gun in mind? Having a gun in hand but no gun in mind? Having no gun in hand and no gun in mind—oh, that's learning the sword."
Lin Chong was a little stunned and said, "I didn't expect you to be at such a high level."
I asked, "And you, Brother Lin Chong?"
Lin Chong blushed slightly and said, "I don't know what the highest level is, as long as I can win."
I'm so regretful! If I had known Lin Chong was so low-class, would I have bothered to put on such a pretentious act?
Lin Chong said, "How about this, I will pass on the Lin Family Spear Technique to you when you have achieved perfect harmony between man and spear."
Damn, here we go again! Last time he made me turn stones into powder, this time he wants me to become one with my spear. There is a spear that I am one with, but it's a bit short and easily gets mixed up with a staff. Lin Chong is really unfair, but he has a teaching philosophy that's worth promoting: "I'll teach you after you've defeated everyone in the world."