Master of Kaidan
Chapter 205: Current Situation in Yan Country

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Current Situation in Yan Country

As a city built against the mountains, Shangshu had plenty of overpasses and staircases to balance out the elevation differences; Feng Xue easily found one such overpass near the square, spread a small quilt, and conveniently pulled out a cobblestone to rest her elbow on for support.

After tweaking her IP address, Feng Xue connected to the Yan Country’s network, where a stream of fascinating information began to surface before her eyes.

At the top of the trending search list was the sarcasm targeted at "Approaching Science."

Upon closer inspection, Feng Xue discovered that the "Approaching Science" TV show, which was about to be discontinued, had exposed the "National Physical Enhancement" program beginning in mid-December. The show suppressed mentions of "Spiritual Energy Resurrection" while using a variety of arguments to explain to the public why such a phenomenon was occurring.

"A special celestial event caused a reduction in Earth’s gravity, creating the illusion of increased physical strength..."

"A specific cosmic ray from a supernova that exploded in a distant universe ages ago swept across East Asia, selectively killing certain microbes, leading to the spontaneous healing of some diseases..."

"Sunspot activity anomalies caused slight changes in the solar spectrum, affecting the sensory organs, including the biological clock, and leading to a collective delusion..."

...

"Tch, they sure know how to come up with so many plausible-sounding excuses," Feng Xue sneered, aware that this was to avoid "Spiritual Energy Resurrection" appearing like a kaidan.

However, having personally experienced the formation of the kaidan that "everyone in Yan Country knows Martial Arts," Feng Xue understood that unless someone produced an illusion related to "Spiritual Energy" and convinced a sufficient number of people to accept it, thus successfully defining the concept of Spiritual Energy, the tale of its resurrection would always remain just a rumor.

Skipping the news about "Approaching Science," Feng Xue began surfing the web at high intensity; a flurry of old and new news flashed before her eyes, including memes that had gone viral, popular celebrities, and some changes in policy all within her scope of observation.

Then she stumbled upon an intriguing development—

The authorities had introduced a set of regulations, requiring standardization of various Martial Arts academies and venues. Whether it was Taekwondo, Karate, Sanda boxing or traditional Kung Fu, those seeking employment in related industries had to first pass an exam for a "Martial Arts License."

The rules were roughly similar to a driving test:

The first subject was theory, involving knowledge of fighting, including the details of various joint techniques, theoretical endgame scenarios on paper, and combat taboos, with multiple-choice and Q&A questions. The content wasn’t too difficult; even if one didn’t know it, studying earnestly was manageable.

The second subject tested basics, or in other words, a physical assessment including punching, kicking, explosive power, etc. One was graded according to their physical condition (height, weight, body fat percentage, etc.), and passing required meeting the corresponding standards.

The third subject was combat, which involved one-on-one fighting with an officially assigned coach. Victory wasn’t necessary, but one had to demonstrate sufficient combat capability to pass. The entire combat was recorded and archived, and the coach would be held accountable should any issues arise.

The fourth subject was Martial Virtue, which was also about sparring. If one passed the first three rounds, they would typically pass this one as long as they didn’t deliberately cause trouble.

Though that’s what was said, the online discussions about this exam were uniformly about failing it.

It wasn’t that no one could obtain a legitimate "Martial Arts License," but those who did were either from old established Martial Arts schools that rarely changed location and tended to cluster together, or they weren’t involved in running Martial Arts schools at all, but worked as Martial Arts School Coaches, actors, Martial Arts Guides, or even National Athletes. Speaking of which, many Stunt Doubles had seen hefty salary increases thanks to this license.

However, compared to the national Martial Arts market, they were still few and far between, and mostly concentrated in certain cities and regions. This led to a massive number of Martial Arts schools shutting down and even caused diplomatic protests from Korea.

Of course, since this involved the livelihoods of many people, the authorities eventually made some concessions. In addition to the "Martial Arts License," they added a "Pattern License" for performances, which allowed the opening of routine-style boxing gyms, but it was necessary to clearly indicate this on the gym’s sign, recruitment forms, and contracts.

Looking at these contents, Feng Xue finally gained a clearer understanding of the young man’s complaints from before.

Although many martial arts gyms had closed, a kung fu craze emerged among the general public, and for a time, kung fu seemed to have become a traffic code.

Video websites started featuring "masters" who "disdain licensing," and various forums saw a wealth of research on martial arts. Even the aunties and uncles who danced in public squares were once again practicing Tai Chi.

Of course, there was good and bad in this. The most direct change was that public security had become slightly worse.

It was great that the physical fitness of ordinary people was improving, but those who were already inclined to be unruly became even more so.

Moreover, those petty thieves and robbers, who were already aggressive and experienced in fighting, gained an even higher boost in combat power—if the physical upgrade gave ordinary citizens a combat enhancement of 1, then for them it was 1.5 or even higher.

With just a flip through her Weibo, Feng Xue could find plenty of news about fights, robberies, and thefts, as well as police bulletins about cases.

"Whatever happens, change always brings growing pains," Feng Xue sighed, feeling a bit uncomfortable from sitting so rigidly for so long. She adjusted the orca pillow, settling on its tail and leaning against the orca, immediately feeling much better.

"Click!" Not long after Feng Xue got comfortable, a shutter sound entered her ears. She looked up unexpectedly and saw a young female cyclist using a mobile phone to take her picture.

"Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean any harm..." The woman blushed instantly when Feng Xue looked up, hurriedly got off her electric bike, fumbled in her pocket, but only managed to pull out a few coins. Though embarrassed, she nonetheless placed the money beside Feng Xue.

She ran off before Feng Xue had the chance to say anything.

Feng Xue just smiled and projected some inner strength onto the woman and then picked up the money from the ground. While he didn’t need the pittance, he thought of it as forming a good connection.

...

An hour of horse stance practice left Liu Qi feeling sore and weak in the waist and legs, but he didn’t complain at all. According to common sense, after standing for an hour like that, he was supposed to be sitting on the ground by now, yet he could still walk normally.

"Expert! That beggar... ahem! That uncle from before is definitely an expert from the legends of the martial world! Damn it, why didn’t I ask to become his disciple on the spot!"

Liu Qi walked inside while rubbing his sore back, regretting that he didn’t seize the opportunity.

After serving himself a bowl of congee that had cooled down a bit, he sat down at the computer to browse Weibo and Bilibili. As a writer, keeping up with the news was part of his job; otherwise, how could he stay "up-to-date" with the latest memes and sarcasm?

But as soon as he opened Weibo, a photo immediately caught his attention. Those melancholic eyes, the sigh-inducing stubble, and that highly noticeable red orca pillow all confirmed to him that it was that very same uncle!

He quickly glanced at the headline, which read:

"Random scene I captured on my way to work today, just pure coolness..."