Chen Xu naturally participated in this battle as well. As the third-ranked school of martial arts, Baguazhang had no way to escape.
Nangong Lan has found the right person to create the moves for Baguazhang.
Chen Xu is the kind of person who either doesn't do something at all, or if he does, he'll do his best to do it well. Although the Baguazhang (Eight Trigrams Palm) routine was the culmination of the entire computer interest group's efforts, Chen Xu had Xiao Min help him fine-tune and modify the details.
Otherwise, given the computer interest group's capabilities, how could they possibly propel Baguazhang to third place among martial arts styles?! Dream on!
As the top player in the computer group... Chen Xu, having started playing earliest, is now invincible throughout the entire Hexie University... As the top player, Chen Xu naturally participated in the mission to snipe the Korean expert.
Chen Xu was thrashed a few times on his first day. By the second day, he had a mixed record. Chen Xu was targeting an opponent named ONO. ONO's attacks were strong, but Chen Xu's fighting style was unpredictable and varied, resulting in a relatively even match. Under Chen Xu's relentless attacks, ONO was eventually reduced to second-to-last among the twenty top Korean players… The last two were defeated because they encountered Wing Chun masters.
Overall, however, the South Korean experts still had the upper hand.
The success of Wing Chun, Tai Chi, and Baguazhang has instantly generated a huge response online.
Wing Chun has the greatest influence because its fighting style was modeled after SMMH; however, Tai Chi is the most widely known, thus ranking second; while Baguazhang's sudden rise is astonishing, quickly attracting a large number of followers.
Ultimately, whoever wins and brings glory is the strongest.
What about those who lost?
"Sorry, we don't need your help!" Seeing this message online, Chen Xu slammed his fist on the table in anger, and the people around him turned pale.
At a point like this, why the hell are you still worried about saving face?!
With Nangong Lan acting as a go-between in the real world, and Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie's influence online, coupled with the current achievements of Baguazhang, no one dares to underestimate this online team composed of students. Therefore, on this "Martial Arts Exchange Platform," Chen Xu and his team's words carry considerable weight.
This communication platform was provided by Tencent to all the teams because everyone realized that the Koreans came prepared; they were very well-prepared. If the Chinese top players continue to act recklessly and fight individually, the result is self-evident: they will be defeated one by one.
But is it a good organization?
There's a saying that one Chinese person is a dragon, but a group of Chinese people are a bunch of worms... While this saying is a bit extreme, it's undeniable that both statements have some truth to them.
The Chinese are very strong, so it's difficult for them to convince others unless the other party demonstrates overwhelming power. Of course, this overwhelming power isn't an enemy; no matter how powerful the enemy, the Chinese are fearless!
But when facing their own people, like right now... Tai Chi, Wing Chun, and Bagua have achieved good results, but other schools have mostly suffered more defeats than victories. The best approach in this situation is to divide the top fighters among themselves to secure more wins.
But now a problem arises.
According to the previous agreement among the major schools, the ten schools were to manage ten channels, but so far only three channels have achieved great victories, while the remaining channels have mostly ended in defeat. At this time, the Tai Chi, Wing Chun, and Bagua schools hoped to send some masters to other channels to relieve the pressure on those channels, but this proposal was rejected.
"So, if you come to our Tongbei Quan channel, will you use Tongbei Quan to defeat your enemies? We Tongbei Quan can't beat Taekwondo, but you Tai Chi can defeat them. What about the reputation of Tongbei Quan then?!"
"That's true, why don't we just play a silly game in real life? Some people actually take it as reality?"
"I'm sorry, we will handle this ourselves. Thank you for your kindness."
Seeing that most of the others gave similar answers, Chen Xu became somewhat angry.
These issues are no longer just about the honor of one particular school of martial arts; they concern the reputation and honor of the entire Chinese martial arts community… Ha. It's a bit funny to say this, after all, a game is a game. Reality is reality, and the gap between the two is huge. Someone like Chen Xu, who's considered a master online, would only get thrashed if he encountered a truly skilled opponent in real life.
However, with the immense global popularity of martial arts games and their robust gameplay, it's clear that incorporating martial arts into computer simulations is indeed feasible. So, let's put it to the test. For many netizens, online battles are pretty much the same as real-life conflicts!
Three men can make a tiger. Public opinion is a fearsome thing!
If everyone says you're bad, then prove it with facts. If not in real life, surely you can prove it online?
So this matter really does affect the reputation of Chinese martial arts, and that's no exaggeration.
At this moment, however, the other schools of thought adopted a very aloof attitude, with several masters from the Tan Tui school even uttering harsh words: "Don't worry, even if I have to risk my life, I won't let those Korean bastards get away with this!"
Upon seeing this, Chen Xu was both annoyed and amused.
When it comes to actual combat, Southern and Northern styles of kung fu each have their own strengths. No one can say that one style is necessarily better than the other. In other words, the quality of kung fu depends on how well it is practiced, not on the kung fu itself, but on its essence.
But it's the same online. Whether you're good at kung fu or not depends on how well you operate. The problem is that these styles haven't yet formed a complete, systematic, and impeccable game combat mode, which is a huge disadvantage!
Chen Xudi possesses all the martial arts moves from games like Tongbei, Tan Tui, and Chuo Tui! But he dares not use them now, for fear of having the opposite effect!
Well, to be honest, while the martial arts moves edited by other schools aren't quite as good as the ones I have, they're at least well-developed. The habits for using them are also formed. If I were to release a good move now, these masters would have to train on it, which would be too time-consuming!
Now, facing the challenger from South Korea, not a single moment can be wasted! Chen Xu can only wait until the storm of this matter has passed before releasing these martial arts moves online.
However, it's frustrating that various schools of thought are unwilling to back down in order to protect their reputation.
To be honest, Chen Xu understood them quite well.
After all, many Chinese netizens are paying attention to this online martial arts battle. If a school of martial arts backs down, it will be a huge blow to its reputation, and this blow can even be reflected in real society.
In the future, when people mention Chinese martial arts styles, and mention one in particular, and a netizen replies, "Oh, I know this style. They act all high and mighty, but they can't even beat the Koreans. How dare they say that?", I doubt anyone could bear such words.
This is a dilemma!
"So what should we do now?!" The squad leader of the Tai Chi experts was getting a little angry. Among this group, the squad leader was the one who could speak up more, because he had single-handedly taken back the top spot on the channel from two Korean experts. Those with strength have weight in their words, especially since the Tai Chi moves were entirely performed by the team led by the squad leader.
The masters of other schools remained silent, given their current record and feeling ashamed to speak. Everyone was now in a bind. The Iron Wire Fist master, furious, declared he was preparing to march to Seoul and have a real fight with the so-called Korean masters!
"Calm down, stay calm." The speaker was An Yi, a Wing Chun master. It was said that he was also a Wing Chun expert in real life and proficient in computers, which was quite rare. But saying such things now was rather irritating. An Yi said, "I think everyone should stop arguing and calmly discuss how to deal with the current online crisis. Frankly, give us six months. I believe that once the martial arts styles of various schools have matured, we won't need to fear any opponent. I'm increasingly feeling that way now."
It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering!
The group of people were all thinking the same thing. They were thinking, "You Wing Chun people are so lucky, all the moves are already set up. And they were even made by a master. We don't have your luck!"
Chen Xu then spoke up, saying, "Everyone, I believe the most urgent task right now is to deal with the arrogant Koreans. We can discuss other matters later. I've recently been sniping several skilled Korean fighters and have gained some experience. My teammates are also quite capable. We should be able to help other channels after we've taken down the opponents in one channel. I have no intention of showing off; I just want to get through this difficult time. Chinese martial arts are profound and extensive. I promise that after this incident, I will definitely help other schools of martial arts develop more perfect moves. I ask everyone to put aside their differences and work together to overcome this challenge."
Chen Xu spoke with utmost sincerity, but the other martial arts practitioners remained hesitant. After all, while there's no first place in literature, there's a clear winner in martial arts. Dai Xiaolou of the Chuo Tui Men aptly put it: "I believe you're not the type to gossip, and I also believe you won't flaunt your victory. But public opinion is a powerful force. After all, netizens across the country are watching this contest closely. If they've made up their minds about something, it might be difficult to back down."
The implication is that this matter is still difficult to discuss.
Chen Xu sighed helplessly and gave Gao Xiaojie a wry smile. He said, "These guys, how can they be so dense?! Don't they even know which is more important, personal honor or national honor?!"
“It’s not as simple as you say,” Gao Xiaojie pointed to the forum comments on the screen and said, “Look at these posts, they’re all full of insults. If they were insulting you, could you handle it?”
Chen Xu leaned closer to take a look and saw that it was Tencent's "Martial Arts Master" special forum.
The forum posts were shocking: "Breaking News! Unorthodox Martial Arts Disguised as Mastery!"
"Iron Wire Fist is garbage! It's not as good as Tai Chi or Wing Chun!"
"They boast and brag, claiming that Chuojiao School completely defeats Taekwondo. Both use the feet, but the difference is too great. If they can't even compare to Taekwondo, how can they be called martial arts?"
"The 72-style Tan Tui (a type of kicking technique), a mandatory course for beginners in Chinese men's football. Its only use is dirty tackles on and off the football field. As the saying goes, in martial arts, the lower leg is the worst, and on the football field, the tackles are the dirtiest!" Seeing these headlines, Chen Xu was absolutely furious!
During his time with Nangong Lan, Chen Xu also learned a lot about Chinese martial arts.
Southern and Northern styles of martial arts have each branched into numerous schools, none of which are weak. During the Republic of China era, when the Japanese invaded China, many Japanese samurai were defeated by Chinese martial arts—their reputation was well-deserved!
It's something Chen Xu doesn't want to see: Chinese netizens becoming so disillusioned with Chinese martial arts because of a single game. If this game truly leads to the scorn of Chinese martial arts, then Chen Xu feels he would be a sinner for all time!
Chen Xu now regrets releasing the game "Martial Arts Master".
Some posts on the forum say that martial arts like Pi Gua Zhang are completely overrated, inferior to Wing Chun, Tai Chi, and even Bagua Zhang. They've lost to the Koreans and still don't realize it! They should admit their weakness and make way for other masters to defeat the Koreans, instead of continuing to be ignorant and arrogant, thinking they're so strong and powerful.
Seeing such comments, Chen Xu honestly felt a bit emotional. It wasn't that he thought the Pi Gua Palm technique was bad… it was a major martial art, and Nangong Lan had demonstrated its power—it was unparalleled. It was just that the game's moves weren't fully realized yet, so they couldn't achieve even two or three tenths of the effect of a real master, which was why people misunderstood it. "It's not a misunderstanding," Zhan Jing suddenly said, "someone is deliberately stirring up trouble."
Chen Xu, Nangong Lan, and the others were all stunned. They saw the quiet girl smooth a few strands of blue hair from her forehead and say, "These are all ghostwritten posts. I just checked their internet addresses and found that many of these provocative posts were posted in a few fixed places. After I tracked down and hacked into their computers, I found that they all have a group on QQ."
Zhan Jing said slowly and deliberately, “The group name is in Korean, which translates to ‘Korean Empire,’ and all the people in the group have their name cards in Korean… This is a group of Korean internet spies who are deliberately spreading rumors online and stirring up trouble.”
Chapter 155 Internal Strife
"Network special agent" is short for "cyber spy".
Describing a particular group on the internet as "spies" sounds rather harsh, so let's give it a nicer name: "pro-foreign mercenary gunmen."
This group is mostly Chinese, and many of them are quite literate. However, they lack conscience; although they hold Chinese citizenship, they lack the awareness and understanding expected of Chinese people.
The internet is a relatively free place where one can freely express opinions without any consequences. However, the internet is filled with a vast amount of information, some of which is correct, but much of it is specious and misleading.
This is exactly what these internet trolls are like.
They received money from overseas organizations and began spreading all sorts of nonsense on popular BBS forums. Of course, don't think being an internet troll is that simple. Many of them present themselves online as "elites," rejecting everything and the opinions of ordinary people, often saying things like, "Hey, you're obviously a radical, what do you know?"
These people are incredibly knowledgeable and possess an exceptional memory. Their defining characteristic is their keen insight; they can see things others cannot, including the darker side of society, and sometimes even things that are entirely fabricated.
Their goal is simple: to disrupt social order online and sow distrust of the government among netizens. They sow discord, incite trouble, and portray the US bombing of the Chinese embassy as "deserving of it," and the collision with a Chinese plane as "the Chinese plane was too aggressive." They even claim the Americans' public gloating in the media is just "humor"...
All of this aims to smear the Chinese government, spread rumors, and undermine stability. Of course, the effectiveness of these two approaches is minimal, as ordinary rumors cannot cause serious consequences under current government control. Malicious rumors, however, will certainly be tracked by the cyber police.
Therefore, this highly intelligent group naturally wouldn't do something so idiotic. Their remarks are ambiguous, not directly targeting the government, but rather those netizens who believe China is prosperous and on the rise. They're putting on an air of omniscience to confuse the public!
It's important to understand that teenagers are now the backbone of the internet; it's rare to find a teenager who doesn't use the internet. Yet, the internet is flooded with such rhetoric, which can instill incorrect ideas in these young people who are still inexperienced in the ways of the world… their intentions are despicable!
This online incident, for example, was orchestrated by some internet trolls.
By using one group's representative to attack another, praising one while simultaneously attacking the other, the aim is to incite online arguments and create chaos. This undermines the confidence of Chinese netizens, leading to division and, in severe cases, discord among different groups!
This kind of intention can only be described as ruthless.
Chen Xu and the others were furious when they saw the chat history that Zhan Jing had stolen!
This group is clever. They used proxies to access the internet, hiding their real IP addresses. However, this tactic couldn't fool a top-tier hacker like Zhan Jing.
Looking at the chat logs, it was clear that this group had even meticulously divided their tasks. Who was responsible for which forum, and who was responsible for what? For example, some were dedicated to praising Wing Chun and suppressing Tai Chi, some to saying good things about Taekwondo, and some to attacking those failed martial arts styles, thereby winning over online users and creating divisions… The level of detail in their division of labor was simply outrageous!
However, it must be said that their instigation was very targeted and successful. A group of young netizens, naive, impulsive, and lacking in judgment, easily fell into their trap and became tools they used.
"Don't arrest all of these guys!" Chen Xu slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it! These bastards should all be dragged out and flicked in the groin until they die!"
"You're disgusting!" Gao Xiaojie slapped Chen Xu. She was already used to the word "penis," and one of her catchphrases was "cut off a penis and count its growth rings." Gao Xiaojie said these guys should be tied to wooden stakes and doused with sulfuric acid, then sodium hydroxide—guaranteed to be satisfying!
Chen Xu shuddered, thinking, "What kind of woman is this? Is this something a woman should say?!"
Zhan Jing's face twitched slightly, but she still said calmly, "Yes, these people are widely distributed, and some are not even in the country. I have already informed the senior members of the Red Hacker Alliance about this matter. Several of them have connections with higher-ups, so they should handle it as soon as possible."
Chen Xu nodded. After eliminating these despicable online spies, a joint statement from several factions would likely reverse the negative online sentiment.
At the very least, it prevents players from arguing themselves to the point of chaos.
Chen Xu's idea was good, but just then, the squad leader suddenly sent him a message: "Hurry up and get into the chat room, something's happened!"
The squad leader and Chen Xu have a good personal relationship, after all, they are now on the same side.
Upon seeing Xiao Fen's message, Chen Xu immediately entered the chat room, only to find the messages a chaotic mess. A large, bright red message that had just appeared was incredibly conspicuous: "Damn it, you think our Bajiquan is inferior? You think we can't compare to the major sects? Pah! If you're so capable, let's have a real-life contest! Don't waste your time in this damn game! Come on, you Wing Chun practitioners are so great? Let's set a time, we'll pay you a visit!"
Chen Xu immediately knew he was in trouble when he saw the message.
How come a group of people's tempers were still stirred up?
The Eight Extremes Sect had the worst record in this channel. Based on previous information, Chen Xu vaguely understood that the game expert leading the Eight Extremes Sect this time was actually one of their own, because his father was a master from the Eight Extremes Sect. So basically, every time they chatted, he was just repeating his father's words.
This guy's dad has a terrible temper, and he probably has a terrible temper himself. He's always been pretty sharp-tongued, and now someone must have provoked him again. It's like a powder keg has been lit.
The squad leader said that An Yi had said something unintentionally earlier: "Let's decide the outcome of our battles with strength. Let's have an internal competition, and the best players can go up."