Nangong Lan chuckled and didn't deny it: "You can easily find out the names of the three beauties of Hexie University just by asking around. Besides, I have a favor to ask, so I made some preparations beforehand." Then he looked at Chen Xu with amusement: "I really envy classmate Chen Xu for having so many female confidantes."
Chen Xu choked on his own saliva and said, "Well, let's get down to business. Um, your name is Nangong... Nangong something again?"
The three women and Zhu Wulei couldn't help but roll their eyes. Nangong Lan smiled good-naturedly and said, "Let me introduce myself. I am Nangong Lan. This Zhu Wulei is my brother who grew up with me. Our family is a direct descendant of Baguazhang. So, I have come here today to ask you all for help with that martial arts game."
"Martial arts master?"
"Ha, even I, someone who never touches a computer, know about this game. Surely you lot don't know about it?"
Gao Xiaojie said, "Of course we know. You...you don't want us to make martial arts templates for you, do you?"
Nangong Lan smiled and subconsciously cupped her hands in a respectful bow, but after glancing at Chen Xu, she awkwardly withdrew them, saying, "These are some family rules, I'm used to them. Heh, even I, a complete novice who knows nothing about the internet, have heard of your renowned names in the game industry, so I've come specifically to ask for your help. Of course, I won't let you do it for nothing. 'The poor are scholars, the rich are warriors,' my family does have some wealth." "Let's leave that aside for now," Guan Yi said, "I'm just curious why you chose to come to us? Why not seek out some more professional people? I suppose you're not afraid to spend the money, and their skills are far superior to ours."
Nangong Lan smiled and said, "Let's not beat around the bush. The reason I came to see you all is actually because of that SMMH master."
"For him? We can't get in touch with SMMH either!"
"You can't get in touch with him either?" Nangong Lan's face showed a hint of disappointment, then she said, "Then forget it. I just wanted to give it a try. The Wing Chun routine he wrote looked pretty good. He must be a Wing Chun master. I wanted to spar with him."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu nearly banged his head against a tree!
Well, it's one thing to challenge SMMH to a hacking contest, but someone actually planning a real-life showdown... This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing!
The expressions on Guan Yi and the other two women's faces were also strange, but then Nangong Lan smiled and said, "Of course, you are people that SMMH has high hopes for, so I'm sure you won't disappoint me."
Chen Xu exchanged pleasantries for a moment, then pointed to the burly, dark-skinned man, Zhu Wulei, beside him and asked, "So what's up with him? Why did he suddenly decide to challenge me to a fight today?"
Upon hearing this, Nangong Lan frowned and asked, "Wu Lei, what's wrong with you?"
Upon hearing that his young master had come to ask for a favor, Zhu Wulei broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly said, "Young master, I didn't know you were here today. This Chen Xu, uh, Chen Xu, last year he came to our school and arrested a perverted man who slit throats. There was a misunderstanding at the time, and then he single-handedly took on more than a dozen boys from our school. After I heard about it, I couldn't stand it, so..."
Nangong Lan's voice turned stern: "So you've come here to challenge him? Humph! Do you even know how heavy your hands are? Chen Xu hasn't even properly trained in martial arts, how can you bully people by relying on your martial arts skills?!"
Chen Xu paused for a moment. Something about this sounded a little off. And... how did he know he hadn't learned martial arts? He had clearly fought really well just now!
Chapter 151 Purpose of the Visit
Zhu Wulei quickly said, "Young Master, I was wrong! I only intended to spar with him. I thought he was a disciple of some sect."
Seeing Zhu Wulei, a burly, dark-skinned man, with sweat pouring from his forehead and looking quite frightened, Chen Xu couldn't bear it and said, "Um, Nangong..." He couldn't remember what the guy's name was, so he simply called him Nangong, "It's nothing, just joking around. It's good to have a friendly spar."
Nangong Lan glared at Zhu Wulei, then said apologetically to Chen Xu, "I'm sorry, my brother was impolite. I will teach him a lesson when I get back. Abusing martial arts to bully the weak is a major taboo for all sects, and I will give you an explanation for that."
Chen Xu, am I really that weak? No way? Why does it feel like this guy sees me as a rookie who can be easily bullied? But when he heard the word "explain," Chen Xu saw Zhu Wulei's body tremble involuntarily, as if he was very afraid.
Chen Xu figured their family had strict rules, and he couldn't really blame anyone since he hadn't suffered any loss. So he tried to smooth things over, saying, "It's alright, it's nothing. Nangong, don't be so serious." Then he put his arm around Zhu Wulei's shoulder, acting all familiar, and chuckled, "We've become friends through this little misunderstanding, haven't we? This Zhu student didn't mean any harm, just joking around. Besides, I'm not that weak, am I? Weak? Am I really that weak?"
Hearing this, the group knew that Chen Xu had no intention of pursuing the matter. Zhu Wulei gave Chen Xu a grateful look, and Nangong Lan pondered for a moment before saying, "Since Chen Xu isn't going to pursue it, then thank you very much. Wulei, why don't you thank Chen Xu?"
Chen Xu chuckled and waved, ignoring Zhu Wulei's gratitude. Nangong Lan said, "I think Chen Xu has some training, but it seems to lean towards military combat techniques?"
Chen Xu was taken aback and asked, "How did you know?"
Nangong Lan smiled slightly: "Military combat techniques integrate the strengths of various schools of Chinese martial arts, which is conducive to rapid learning. It emphasizes responding to moves and striking a fatal blow from an opening. However, taking an unorthodox approach, while not necessarily wrong, generally leads to limited achievements and makes it difficult to become a grandmaster."
Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat. He had never had such thoughts. He was just practicing for fun, to improve his health and increase his self-defense capabilities. The idea of becoming a peerless master was something he usually only dreamed about.
Zhan Jing suddenly spoke up: "You suddenly thought of asking us to make game moves? Right now, is the game Martial Arts Master very important to martial arts families like yours?"
Nangong Lan nodded and said, "That's right. For ordinary people, the release of the game 'Martial Arts Master' might just be a game to pass the time. But for us martial arts schools, it's a huge shock."
"Because of the Wing Chun moves that SMMH made, Wing Chun's reputation soared overnight. Heh, on my street, many young people are discussing Wing Chun now. Well, in literature, there's no first place, but in martial arts, there is. And it's hard to say which style is stronger or weaker, so we can't let Wing Chun dominate the limelight, can we? Heh, you guys outside this circle don't know. For us martial artists, reputation is more important than anything else. The path of martial arts is multifaceted. It's hard to say which martial art is stronger than others. It's just that due to the limitations of the times, it's difficult to promote and develop it widely, and its reputation has gradually faded."
"This game has created an opportunity for my father to establish our school's reputation. Many people are currently obsessed with fancy foreign martial arts like Taekwondo and Karate, unaware of the profound depth and breadth of Chinese martial arts. Therefore, my father wants to use this opportunity to build our school's name before considering opening a school and taking on students."
"If you want to take on apprentices, you need more people to sign up so you have a better chance of finding students with potential. One of my father's old friends of several decades is now a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He told my father that, according to his analysis, the popularity of this martial arts style will inevitably spark a nationwide craze for martial arts. And for a school to gain prestige, it will have to look at its performance on this platform. Ha. That uncle said that we martial arts practitioners are often too high-and-mighty, often looking down on this and that, unable to lower ourselves to do certain things, and have become somewhat out of touch with the times."
Nangong Lan spoke at length in a very calm manner. Chen Xu, seeing that it was getting late, pulled him along to eat at a small restaurant on the second floor of the cafeteria. Chinese people, after all, generally prefer to discuss business over meals.
At the dinner table, Nangong Lan talked a lot about the current state of the "martial arts world".
The decline of martial arts today is indeed a real phenomenon, and it is widespread.
Chinese martial arts are not actually like what is depicted in martial arts novels. Those of you here were involved in the development of the game "Jin Yong's Heroes." If we're talking about the most popular and influential martial arts novels among ordinary people, then Mr. Jin Yong is undoubtedly the first name that comes to mind. In Mr. Jin Yong's novels, the level of martial arts generally declines as the dynasty progresses.
For example, the strongest martial arts can be found in the novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," where the Sweeper Monk and the Free and Unfettered Sect are incredibly powerful. Take, for instance, the Heavenly Mountain Child Granny's "Eight Desolations and Six Directions, I Alone Am Supreme" technique, which she could cultivate to the point of reversing aging—that's practically mythical!
Subsequently, martial arts gradually declined. For example, when Hong Qigong learned the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, he was already missing several moves. Later, Hong Qigong himself added them back, but their power and effect were probably not comparable to Xiao Feng's back then. Then, by the time of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Shi Huolong, the leader of the Beggar Clan, had mastered only ten moves and was already a top-tier master of his time. By the Qing Dynasty, Wuchen Daoren, the second-in-command of the Red Flower Society, who wielded the Seventy-Two Swords of Chasing the Wind and Seizing Life, was only roughly equivalent to Zhuo Bufan, the minor swordsman in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
Of course, real-world martial arts are not as absurd as those in novels, but they have certainly declined. Especially in the late Qing Dynasty, with the advent of gunpowder-fired warfare, even the strongest martial arts skills were no match for a dozen or so guns from the enemy. However, the Republican era still saw the emergence of a large number of martial arts masters, including the well-known Huo Yuanjia and his disciple Chen Zhen, as well as Ma Yongzhen and Ip Man, all of whom were very famous figures.
Even in modern times, many martial arts schools still exist. For example, the Baguazhang of the Nangong family is actually a lineage of Wudang. However, in modern times, the regulations on the mainland are very strict, and the role of martial artists has become increasingly smaller. As for opening a school and taking on disciples, because this skill is too difficult to learn, and driven by the market economy, few people are willing to spend the time and effort to practice it.
Moreover, these schools of thought generally have a less-than-ideal habit: they have high expectations.
Having high aspirations but low skills is certainly not a good thing. It's just that these martial arts schools are quite skilled, but their standards are too high. They look down on this and that… To give a simple example, many of the rules and traditions of their martial arts lineages are left by their ancestors, so Nangong Lan acts in a style reminiscent of the ancients, which is also a manifestation of not forgetting her roots.
However, there is one thing that our Chinese ancestors looked down on: acting.
As the saying goes, prostitutes are heartless, and actors are unrighteous. Therefore, many traditional martial arts schools look down on actors who go into acting. Even Jackie Chan and Jet Li have many dislikes.
However, in today's society, actors have a great influence, especially a well-known heavyweight actor. With a major production, they can immediately make a genre famous, thereby generating a strong social influence and attracting more people to learn about that genre.
For example, Stephen Chow's movie "Kung Fu Hustle" introduced more people to the 72-style Tan Tui, Iron Wire Fist, and Wulang Bagua Staff.
That's what fame is.
Actually, back in the last century, martial arts films were popular in Hong Kong, and some directors came to the mainland to learn from them, hoping to find some truly skilled masters to serve as martial arts instructors.
However, many of these directors were met with setbacks. In the eyes of many older generations, acting was a lowly profession. Moreover, the Hong Kong film market at that time was chaotic, with the triads wielding too much influence. Many directors hired stuntmen partly for action direction, but more often they hoped to find a skilled martial artist to rely on.
However, with the progress of the times, the influence of movies and TV series has become increasingly significant. The country has also been committed to the dissemination and promotion of culture in this area. As a result, many people's views have gradually begun to change.
First and foremost is the Wing Chun school. In 1990, Shanxi Film Studio produced the large-scale TV series "Wing Chun", starring Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Nicholas Tse, which made Wing Chun popular for the first time.
The 2009 Lunar New Year blockbuster "Ip Man" made Wing Chun a household name. Naturally, this was due to the promotion and guidance of authentic Wing Chun practitioners.
Of course, "Ip Man" hasn't been released yet; instead, the game "Martial Arts Master" has. The professor from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences analyzed that, given "Martial Arts Master's" strong gameplay and current influence, and more importantly, the lack of official resistance to this game, which is "suspected of being violent," and even signs of covert promotion, it indicates that this game is bound to become one of the most popular e-sports games among young people for a long time to come, generating an immense impact.
So how to leverage the influence of this game to boost the influence of various factions is what all factions need to study now.
The saying goes, "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." Those who can practice martial arts to a certain level will not lack money, so they pursue fame. In particular, many elders of various schools are eagerly waiting for this day to arrive.
This is the opportunity.
Therefore, Nangong Lan's purpose in coming here this time is to find Chen Xu and others to create the wonderful routines of Nangong Baguazhang and put them online. Of course, it is necessary to find a few masters to represent the group, because it is conceivable that with the development of various schools of martial arts, the "challenge" on the Internet will be more intense and more unscrupulous than in reality.
At this point, it is essential to have a master to maintain order; otherwise, if the school is disbanded, it will be a significant blow to the entire school.
However, fortune favors the bold, and several astute schools of thought have already noticed this martial arts game and are preparing to enter this market.
"As for the fee," Nangong Lan said, "since I don't know the market rate right now, you can decide how much it will cost to choreograph this set of movements. As long as it's not too outrageous, I don't think there will be any problem."
Price negotiations are usually handled by Guan Yi, but the problem is that there is no unified price standard for this job of creating martial arts moves for martial artists, so Guan Yi is in a bit of a predicament.
At this moment, Chen Xu suddenly said, "Money isn't that important, and we haven't actually done it before. Hmm. We have played the game 'Martial Arts Master.' I downloaded it overnight when it was first released in Europe, and it covers martial arts moves. But whether we can do it well is another matter. You know, real martial arts are too far removed from us. Uh, your martial arts must have special ways of generating power, right? We might not be able to do that well."
“No, not at all.” Nangong Lan said confidently, “I’ve seen the template for Wing Chun. Although it’s not quite as detailed as the real Wing Chun, it’s already very good at generating power in many of its moves. I’m sure our Baguazhang can achieve similar techniques. Of course, I won’t hold back on the many mysteries of Baguazhang.”
"Really?" Chen Xu's eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can learn it too?"
Nangong Lan chuckled and said, "Of course, that's no problem. Actually, nowadays, all the schools have completely relaxed their attitude towards martial arts, and they don't hold back when teaching. As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you. Even if someone teaches you everything they know, you might not be able to learn it, let alone if they hold back. Wouldn't that mean that each generation will be worse than the last?"
That's not wrong. The main reason is that without a certain level of talent and diligent practice—ten or even decades of dedicated training—very few people can achieve great mastery or reach a high level of proficiency in martial arts. Therefore, revealing those secrets isn't a problem; it's like putting nuclear research data in front of elementary school students—they wouldn't understand it!
Chen Xu immediately perked up and asked, "So, is your palm technique very powerful? Can you break a big tree with one palm strike?"
Nangong Lan chuckled and said, "Fist power is basically divided into obvious power, hidden power, and neutralizing power. It also depends on how thick the tree is. If you find a tree that takes several people to encircle, breaking it would be the work of a god."
"Manifest strength, hidden strength, and neutralizing strength?" Chen Xu was completely bewildered: "What do you mean?"
Nangong Lan said, "The senior master of Baguazhang, Mr. Sun Lutang, described it in detail in his book 'The True Meaning of Boxing,' but I will only briefly mention it here. Ming Jin uses the strength of muscles and bones. An Jin uses the strength of the mind, which is what is commonly known as cultivating Qi. As for Hua Jin, that is the highest level, and I cannot understand the meaning of this level yet."
The implication is that he can now use internal force.
These words didn't shock Chen Xu and his group of laymen, but looking at the admiration in Zhu Wulei's eyes, they knew that things were definitely not that simple.
Nangong Lan looked to be only in her early twenties, a bit older than Chen Xu and the others, yet she had already mastered the internal strength technique at such a young age. While she wouldn't dare call herself a prodigy, she was certainly exceptionally talented. The essence of Baguazhang lies in the harmony of Yin and Yang; each strike requires two layers of force, one Yang and one Yin, coordinating the body's bones and meridians to achieve maximum effect.
Dark strength (暗劲) is not easy to master. Out of a hundred martial arts practitioners, it's already quite remarkable if even one manages to reach the threshold of dark strength. Moreover, practicing dark strength is extremely dangerous; those without talent and opportunity will remain forever on the outside. Of course, if one cultivates obvious strength (明劲) to its peak, then one can be considered a master.
Nangong Lan gave a brief explanation of what Ming Jin and An Jin are. Chen Xu and the others listened as if they were listening to a foreign language, completely confused. Finally, Chen Xu said with a bitter face, "This is really difficult. I see that in the setting of this 'Martial Artist', the characters' physical qualities are roughly the same. You want them to use An Jin or even Hua Jin, that's probably not very possible, right?"
"Is it really not possible?" Nangong Lan's face showed a hint of disappointment when she heard Chen Xu reply, "I don't know if others can do it, but we probably can't handle it."
Because that hidden force is exerted through the mind... Please, martial arts practitioners aren't that advanced yet. They can only set details for the characters' movements, so overall it's still quite ambiguous. Otherwise, later on, we wouldn't have seen things like the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms or the Heartbreaking Palm, which have rather ridiculous names but are actually incredibly powerful martial arts moves.
At this moment, Zhan Jing suddenly said, "Mr. Nangong, I think your request is misguided."
Seeing Nangong Lan looking over, Zhan Jing smiled calmly: "Mr. Nangong, your purpose in coming here is to help us perform this set of movements well and then expand our influence online, right?"
Nangong Lan nodded. Zhan Jing and Gao Xiaojie exchanged a glance and laughed, "I think what you're saying is too complicated. Games and reality are different. Admittedly, the hidden strength and neutralizing strength you mentioned can't be shown in the game, but you can work on the obvious strength moves. Because games are very fair; everyone's physical abilities are about the same. Unlike what you said, in reality, an obvious strength master would have little chance against an hidden strength or even neutralizing strength master. So in the game, you only need to pay attention to the moves and techniques, even if... Heh, I'm an outsider, so please don't take offense. Actually, some seemingly plausible techniques might not work in reality, but that doesn't mean they won't work in the game."
"Seemingly true but actually false?"
Gao Xiaojie chimed in, "For example, some moves, of course we're laymen, so please don't laugh if we say something wrong. For instance, some of the movements in your Baguazhang don't have to follow the routine exactly, and some moves can be modified, etc."
Nangong Lan lowered her head and thought for a moment, then understood Gao Xiaojie's meaning. She shook her head and smiled, "Well, you all have some misunderstandings about Chinese martial arts. It's not like what you think, where you have to follow a set routine from beginning to end. It's just that some moves have fixed postures and routines when you first learn them to maximize their effectiveness. As for the others, of course, you have to adapt to different moves. The main purpose of the routines is actually to develop the techniques for generating power, not to be as rigid as you imagine."
"To put it simply, this forward punch involves taking a step forward and delivering a steady punch. This style of punch exists in many schools and is very powerful." Nangong Lan, being a martial artist after all, was used to letting actions speak for themselves. Naturally, he stood up and demonstrated a posture: "With the waist and stance in harmony, the power naturally flows to the arm. When you throw a punch like this, your body is like Mount Tai, using the ground's force, making the punch incredibly powerful!"
Chen Xu's eyes lit up. Nangong Lan's punch just now could truly be described as powerful and majestic, with a steady body and a firm fist, without the slightest sway! This punch may seem simple, but in reality, it is impossible to achieve such an effect without years of hard training.
So Chen Xu thought for a moment and said, "If I copy your action exactly and input it into the computer without any mistakes, will it have the same effect?"
This question stumped Nangong Lan. Although he was an excellent martial artist, he was completely clueless when it came to computers. He couldn't even recite all 26 letters of the alphabet, and he didn't know how to use a mouse. Asking him to answer this question was indeed asking too much.
"It's definitely possible!" Gao Xiaojie suddenly waved his hand vigorously and said, "I've done the game testing for 'Martial Artist'! It perfectly meets all the conditions of physics and physiology, I believe it's absolutely achievable! I believe in SMMH's boss! This masterpiece absolutely cannot fail at such a small thing!"
Chapter 152: A Challenge from the Koreans
This forward step and punch is actually the most basic movement, and it's usually very difficult for most people to execute because it's hard to achieve such a stable effect. However, it's exceptionally simple in the game. Chen Xu used the game's force gauge... which is a built-in software for testing the force of an attack, specifically designed for creating in-game martial arts moves... Chen Xu tested it out with the force gauge, and even with his relatively average strength, he managed to deliver over 200 pounds of force in one punch... which is quite remarkable.
This experiment also confirmed one thing: the game can almost perfectly simulate the fighting effects of real-life moves... This greatly excited Chen Xu and his team!
So, for the next month, everyone started to develop the Baguazhang move system for the game. During this time, Nangong Lan naturally shared all her knowledge without reservation. Chen Xu verified the information with both sides and greatly improved his combat skills.
Chen Xu discovered that several of the movements in the "radio calisthenics" routine he had done with Guan Yi were derived from these traditional martial arts.
There seems to be a movement: stance, gather energy, and strike with the palm!