Chapter 184: An Exchange of Three Nations (2/2)

“Since when did you learn a move from the dragon stance?” Upon seeing this rise and chop, Wang Chao immediately imitated the motions of a monkey and nimbly maneuvered behind Huo Ling’er’s side. With two hands, he quickly reached out to scratch out Huo Ling’er’s face.

His forefingers came to a stop just right on top of her eyelids. All he need was a single push of his fingers and her eyeballs would be immediately gouged out.

Huo Ling’er was strong, but against Wang Chao, a single move would all that would be needed to finish it. Wang Chao’s usage of the monkey stance could be considered to be as if he was an actual monkey that was leaping to and from from branch to branch with the utmost dexterity.

But the student would soon overcome the teacher, and there the student would become the teacher.

“It’s something I took from Lee Cheol-han. When I saw his high kick, I managed to gleam some information from it.” Huo Ling’er spoke. “His high kick had a great deal of leg strength. But about half of its power wasn’t fully used so that it could transition into something else if needed. It was far more fiercer than an actual leg whip, so I managed to gleam something from it. This Dragon Rising Palm Chop, is that what it’s called? It can be done again and again without pause.”

When it came to Huo Ling’er’s ability at deduction, Wang Chao was no stranger to it. But even now, he was starting to feel the very same vibe from her he had felt from Tang Zichen long time ago.

In this one moment actually, he had mistook her to be Tang Zichen.

It was a very new sensation. And a warm one that brought a sense of odd agitation.

“The Dragon Rising Arm Chop is indeed like that. Within the reality of the move is a bluff waiting to be shown, and any variation can be made from it.” Wang Chao nodded his head to confirm her perspective.

“Ah, master. You said that the ‘Magpie Stepping on Branch’ is a fighting method of the ape stance while the monkey stance requires nimbles to scratch at the face. Aside from that, what other differences is there between monkey and ape?”

“The monkey is flexible, nimble, and quick. Dodging must be done quickly, skillfully, and deceptively. Being nimble is merely a cornerstone to the ape stance. With the ape stance, you must be forceful, violent, and steady. The ape places importance in stepping and striking. It is an evolution of the monkey stance. It is similar to how there is the eagle stance and the hawk stance.

Author note: The hawk is of the same family of the eagle and was once said to be the vulture. Its claws were sharp as it ate at its dead prey, but its wings were also capable of covering and slapping. In some ways, it is a stance that is far more violent than the eagle stance. To put Lee Cheol-han into submission by bursting with Jin at the joints of the body would be an example of its practice.

“The hawk stance has a grappling technique where one emits Jin at the joints in a way that matches with the eagle claw. This type of grappling technique ensures a safe capture of the enemy. But it is also very violent and cannot be used repeatedly. Even in practice, one must make sure that the ligaments at the joints won’t be torn. It is dangerous, and if the body isn’t at a point where the entire body is like steel, it cannot be used.”

Wang Chao thought back to the part in Tang Zichen’s A True Record of Guoshu, where it had talked about the hawk stance in detail. There was a single form in particular that had plenty of room for variation, the “Vulture Dividing Corpse”. In the Assault of Dragons and Snake, there was also a similar move like that. But after Wang Chao had learned it, he had never bothered to use it in a real life battle.

But today, he was prepared to teach it to Huo Ling’er.

South Korea, Seoul.

In a single courtyard that was built in the manner of the old Korean courtyards, there sat a single well-built middle-aged man in a hanbok by the side of a room.

On the other side was an equally-aged man wearing a Japanese kimono.

Outside the wooden doors to the room were wooden boards that led to the stairs to the open courtyards.

The room itself was split into two sides. On both sides sat a dozen men or so.

These dozen men were either kneeling or sitting in a crossed-legged fashion, but not a single one of them moved an inch. They instead were listening to the two men inside listen–they were clearly the followers of the two.

The middle-aged Korean was the progenitor of the Jang Baek style Taekwondo, the “Iron Fist Hwarang” Choi Jang Baek.

“Master Yoshida, I’ve invested the money into this fighting exchange between China, Japan, and Korea. I wish to see a friendly exchange of pointers in between the disciples of my Jang Baek style Taekwondo with your Goju-ryu Karate, the Shaolin Temple, and the Laoshan School of Internal Martial Arts. What might you mean by this then?”

The Japanese martial artist named Yoshida blinked his eyes, “The Laoshan School of Internal Martial Arts. Their name has gotten big recently. And their headmaster is but yet a youngster, but master Iga Minamoto says that after witnessing his match, that youngster would be a formidable opponent…..”

“And that is why I suggested this exchange between our disciples to share pointers.” Choi Jang Baek interrupted him.

“Hai, I understand that.” Yoshida spoke.

An exchange of martial arts between schools and sects were a long standing tradition that weren’t uncommon at all. Many masters would often take part in it since it was essentially a competition of strength.

Take the warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple for example. They have once spread out through the world to take part in many exchanges with all sorts of events. The Russian wrestling team, the Chinese Sanda Competitions, these monks had fought in many to exchange just as many pointers.

An exchange like this was a way for a master to expand their influence many times over.