Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 579 - 223 Lu Xuanyu’s Jeet Kune Do

Chapter 579: Chapter 223 Lu Xuanyu’s Jeet Kune Do

"The goal of this job is to make you the number one martial arts master in the world, and the reward is to remain on top for at least three years,"

At the beginning of 2044, on a day when the festive atmosphere had not yet faded, someone said these strange words to Lu Xuanyu.

It was the sporadic sound of firecrackers that woke Lu Xuanyu that day. He hadn’t been resting well these past few days. In the countryside, setting off firecrackers was unregulated. The children all held little toys made of explosives, and the sporadic noise was quite disturbing.

Lu Xuanyu propped himself up with both hands to stand from the bed and then got out of bed.

After losing the lower half of his body, Lu Xuanyu no longer slept in the same room as his wife.

He was what people called a "half-person." In a car accident, he had lost his entire lower body and parts of his digestive tract, but luckily, the vital organs necessary for sustaining life were mostly unharmed. His waste elimination was managed through two tubes connected to his kidneys and an artificial anus.

Generally speaking, life could be very hard to manage for such an individual.

But Lu Xuanyu was different. He had once been a "martial arts master."

Lu Xuanyu’s grandfather was among the first wealthy people in the Republic, not immensely rich but ensuring that the subsequent generations were well provided for.

From a young age, Lu Xuanyu loved reading wuxia novels and as a teenager, loved practicing the local masters’ moves. As a teenager, he idolized a martial artist named Bruce Lee and went to Jun Fan Martial Arts Studio in Seattle, in the Federation, to learn Jeet Kune Do. After three years at that somewhat rundown studio, he enjoyed MMA professional training at a club in the Federation by paying money. After another two years, he traveled to Brazil to learn Gracie Jiu-jitsu and a bit of Capoeira.

With these skills as a foundation, he returned to his homeland once again to visit various martial artists and delve deeply into the martial arts systems most closely associated with his cultural background. At each location, he exchanged ideas with local martial artists.

Laster, he had also been to Japan and Western Europe. In his future plans, he wanted to visit the Philippines and Thailand.

But all that was ended by an overloaded truck.

Now, Lu Xuanyu was just "half a person."

The first thing Lu Xuanyu did after getting out of bed was to put on thick protective gloves. Then, supporting himself with his hands, he slowly moved out of bed and made his way over to the washbasin.

Next, he grabbed the edge of the washbasin and, with a push, hoisted himself up.

Then, he skillfully took out his toothbrush and toothpaste.

Seeing the scruffy "half-self" in the mirror, Lu Xuanyu furrowed his eyebrows slightly and then dully put the toothbrush into his mouth.

Lu Xuanyu had thought about dying. He did not want to become like this. All he had wanted was to pull that child out of the road; he thought he could do it.

However, his decade of cultivation was no match for that overloaded truck.

Lu Xuanyu’s legs were turned to mush, and his pelvis was completely shattered. Everything below his navel was gone.

But those years of cultivation ultimately played a critical role in a scenario he never wished to face. His extraordinary physique helped him survive blood loss, shock, anesthesia, recovery, infection, and many other perilous stages. Each one of these stages could have been fatal, but he pulled through.

When he awoke, he was only eighty centimeters tall.

It was indeed a cruel joke.

He initially resisted treatment and even told his family to leave him alone.

Latter, his wife brought over his mentor from the Federation.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Xiang?" he had asked then. "The meaning of the first half of my life has been shattered, and the rest of my life I shall remain ’half a person.’ What’s the point of me living anymore?"

The martial artist from across the ocean nodded, "Lu, your thoughts make me deeply ashamed. I’ve come to return the tuition fees you paid me and to apologize."

He bowed deeply to his former disciple.

Lu Xuanyu felt bewildered, and the martial artist explained, "When you came to the Federation, you told me you wanted to learn Jeet Kune Do. At that time, I told you that there really is no such thing as true Jeet Kune Do. When you left, I told you I had nothing left to teach you. But on reflection, those words weren’t completely true. There’s still a bit of Jeet Kune Do I could teach you — though just a little."

"What’s the point of teaching me Jeet Kune Do now?" Lu Xuanyu asked, his face showing irritation. "What Jeet Kune Do could I possibly practice now?"

"Jeet Kune Do... I only learned a little from Master Kimura too. But I know at least that the purpose of Jeet Kune Do isn’t to ’learn some great moves.’ The purpose of cultivating martial arts isn’t to strive to break stones or wooden boards; we are more concerned with how it affects our entire mindset and lifestyle. The highest realm of cultivating Jeet Kune Do is to destroy anything that disturbs your mind."

The martial master touched Lu Xuanyu’s chest, "Jeet Kune Do is an expression of freedom. The ultimate meaning of martial arts is the faithful expression of self, Lu, Jeet Kune Do just teaches people how to explain this spirit bursting forth from life itself. You may never be able to destroy a truck, but you can destroy something far more terrifying than a truck. It lies here, try to find a way to break it using Jeet Kune Do."

At that point, Lu Xuanyu gave up his suicidal thoughts and started cooperating with treatment.

He rejected other help, moved to this village with lower living costs, and started an online platform hoping to promote martial arts culture.

He distanced himself from most of his past friends and relatives, only his wife stayed by his side loyally. He had thought about divorce, but she was unwilling.

In the New Year of 2044, Lu Xuanyu scooped up a handful of icy water from the tap and smeared it across his face, vigorously rubbing it in.

He looked at the mirror and encouraged himself with a line from a cartoon he had watched as a boy, "Now is the time for cultivation."

After washing up, it was time for his morning exercise. Lu Xuanyu had a treadmill that could be controlled with a voice assistant. Having only two hands, he had to use this method to operate the treadmill designed for able-bodied individuals.

He used his hands to replace his feet, running on it. The sound system played the song "Life is a Battle." Lu Xuanyu often used this song to motivate himself.

Walking on hands requires different muscles than those needed for pull-ups and push-ups. The implants in his body that helped sustain his life caused numbness in many of his muscles, so he had to use this method for precise training.

The greatest gain from his professional club in the Federation was about sports science. He had learned there how to scientifically manage his training load and how to avoid sports injuries.

Lu Xuanyu spent a substantial amount of time on this each day.

After completing his morning exercise, he was drenched in sweat. Lu Xuanyu changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes and then went to the shower room.

After all this, his wife had prepared breakfast for him—easily digestible food, not much in quantity but very healthy.

Lu Xuanyu occasionally felt that he should be eating only half as much as he had in the past. But losing half of his body hadn’t actually halved his appetite. He found this phenomenon quite amusing.

The morning was his work time. Updating articles, video editing, and copywriting were some of his tasks. Post-production dubbing was left to other partners.

He didn’t have many followers on his social media. He never revealed his identity on camera, especially that he was a person with disabilities.

If he spoke out, perhaps more people would follow him. It might also make earning money a bit easier.

But he didn’t really want to become a "motivational guru."

According to his nature, using the hardships he should have shattered himself to make money would always leave him feeling uneasy.

Lu Xuanyu’s work progress wasn’t very smooth that day. He couldn’t always come up with engaging content.

As he was feeling frustrated, Lu Xuanyu heard a voice outside, "This way... Mr. Xiang, right here."

He was familiar with this voice; it belonged to an officer from the local Disabled Persons’ Federation. He was somewhat reluctant to accept help from these people, but the staff were indeed very enthusiastic.

However, this time, he detected a somewhat conspicuous...fawning in the officer’s voice.

Then, the person knocked on the door, "Lu! Lu! Are you home? Great news! Lu!"

Lu Xuanyu’s wife went to open the door.

Lu Xuanyu was considering whether to get a better soundproofed room.

Shortly after, Lu Xuanyu heard his wife’s exclamations, the kind that are "surprised, but deliberately subdued for the sake of propriety."

After a few words at the door, his wife’s footsteps "clattered" closer, she burst through the door, grabbed his shoulders, "Xuanyu, Xuanyu... it might be really good news. You could... Well, let the guest explain it to you himself in a moment."

She seemed extremely excited and ran back out.

Confused, Lu Xuanyu still turned his office chair to face the door with his hands. Now that he had no legs, people rarely faulted him on "propriety."

The next second, Lu Xuanyu was also stunned.

The person who entered through the studio door...had a familiar face...

It seemed... he was often seen in the news...

The man extended his hand to Lu Xuanyu, shook it, and said, "Hello, Mr. Lu. My name is Xiang Shan..."

Lu Xuanyu’s mind buzzed for a moment.

He remembered who this man was. One of the most famous tycoons in the Republic, and also one of the most famous scientists. He had risen to fame a few years ago due to some "full human evolution" technology.

The chairman of Transhumanism International Corporation, the world’s leading pharmaceutical company, was Xiang Shan.

Although Xiang Shan was a big shot, he had no connection to Lu Xuanyu. Lu Xuanyu asked, "Mr. Xiang, you are an important person, busy with a thousand tasks, so what brings you to see me?"

"I’ve seen your social media operation and feel that some of your ideas align well with our corporate culture. By chance, we are planning to organize a fight competition. I have a job offer for you," Xiang Shan said. "The goal of this job is for you to become the world’s top martial arts master. And the reward is for you to remain the top master for at least three years."