Chapter 23: The beginning of the art of offense and defense (1/2)

Chapter 23: The beginning of the art of offense and defense

To be honest, when Wang Chao had heard the name Li Wanji, he had been momentarily stunned.

That was because, he had suddenly remembered a dirty joke.

Legend had it that a reporter had once asked a farmer, “Who do you think is the world’s best looking woman?”

Without any hesitation or thinking, the farmer had replied, “Li Wanji!”

The reporter was shocked, “Why is that?”

The farmer replied, “The television had always said that grownups must ‘fuck Li Wanji’. If adults ‘fuck Li Wanji’ and say that Li Wanji is not beautiful, then why do they say that every adult has to fuck her?”

TL Note: There is an idiom 日理万机 (Ri Li Wan Ji) which means to do everything diligently. The character Ri is also slang for ‘to fuck’. The joke is that the farmer hears ‘Fuck Li Wanji’ instead of ‘do everything diligently’.

Though, Wang Chao knew that the surname Li was very common in Korea. There was such people like Ri Chun-hee, Li Taiji, and Li Wanji in Korea. But hearing this icy like woman have such a name like this, Wang Chao couldn’t help but secretly laugh to himself.

However, the moment the two had given each other a handshake, Li Wanji suddenly brought up her leg to kick Wang Chao.

This was a sudden but fierce strike that gave almost no chance to evade. Furthermore, the technique was rather strange as if the leg that came out from the clothes was like a viper in the way it moved.

Sleeved Kick! Issuing power would be hidden within this short distance, but the energy would be fierce and uneasy to defend against. In the time it took to hold hands for a handshake, the enemy could strike out under the chin and seriously fracture it. If the enemy was not killed, then they would be crippled.

The people from the past would wear robes with big sleeves. So when they shook hands, the kick that would come out would often times be seen as a drill coming out from their robes.

That was why this kicking method was called the “Sleeved Kick”. It was a move that could seriously kill and was an art in every nation which would usually have their own variations of it. It was only natural that the kick heavy Taekwondo would incorporate this into their style.

However, if one wanted to use this method of kicking, then the ligaments and muscles within the legs must be enough for it to be flexible. Those who did not temper their legs and work hard would never be able to release such a kick.

But this sudden strike was evidence enough that the iceberg that was Li Wanji had a deep enough understanding of the ways of kicking.

Li Wanji’s intentions were equally clear; she was testing him. If Cao Yi had introduced someone to be the overseer, then whomever had the job must be able to know how to fight.

If Wang Chao couldn’t dodge even this, then he would instantly be asked to leave.

This viper like kick had taken advantage of the handshake to be initialized, so there was no time to prepare oneself for it. For any other martial artist, they would still find it hard to dodge such a strike.

However, Wang Chao had built up an impressive foundation for Bagua Zhang which emphasized the word “Sneakiness”. To be able to slip away and listen to the wind while being nimble and quick. These were also the principle on how to make people trip and fall.

Then, Wang Chao had also learned the ability to use the Taichi’s ability to listen to Jin after practicing Tang Zichen’s Assault of the Dragon and Snake.

The ability to listen in Taichi could be done in an instant after holding hands. By using the pores, one could sense the center of gravity in the other person’s body and then pull on it a little and divert the enemy’s Jin. This would break their center of gravity and allow them to be tripped.

Wang Chao had a deep grasp of his inner Jin and was quite keen with his pores, but he had not quite reached the realm of Hidden Jin like sis Chen who could send a person flying like a bullet with a simple push of her hands.

But in this half year where he had trained in the Smashing Fist Jin as well as reading from the True Record of Guoshu, he had a deeper understanding of the inner muscles, nervous system, and bones of a person.

The moment Li Wanji shook hands with Wang Chao, he had already came into contact with the areas of the hand which had told him her muscles relating to the leg were twitching, meaning she was about to lash out with her leg.

The nerves and muscles were interconnected. If a person wants to kick, then the brain must send an impulse to the nerves which would allow for the action to take place.

When Tang Zichen pressed against someone’s hands, she could send them flying. That was due to her Hidden Jin attacking the nerves of the arms which would be transmitted through to the legs of the enemy and cause them to involuntarily jump.

This required an understanding of the human body as well as focusing the Hidden Jin to be like a needle.