Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 96 - 95 Martial Arts

Chapter 96: Chapter 95 Martial Arts

Once a request is granted, many follow swiftly, and since Zhang Yong had agreed to take on Yang Yi, Yang Yi’s wishes began to be realized one after another.

But Zhang Yong had opened a massive door for Yang Yi—a doorway to another secret world.

Listening to secrets he had never known before—no, they couldn’t quite be called secrets—just some lesser-known facts about the world of mercenaries and assassins, made Yang Yi feel like he had finally found the right person.

And when Yang Yi moved his bedding to live in the new cell with Zhang Yong, his excitement was replaced by the nervousness of impending challenges.

The new cell had a bunk bed with Zhang Yong on the top and Yang Yi on the bottom. Though not spacious, the cell was certainly big enough for one person to move around and swing their arms and legs.

No sooner had Yang Yi thrown his bedding onto the lower bunk than Zhang Yong, who was half-reclining on the upper bed, said, "Come on, show me a set of your punches."

Yang Yi was stunned, and then he whispered, "Punches? I don’t know how."

"Then what do you know?"

"Um, do you know all of Danny’s brothers?"

"I know some of them."

"Ah Jiang taught me to fight."

"Ah Jiang? Good, show me what you’ve learned."

Yang Yi thought about the moves Wang Wenjiang had taught him, then executed them one by one.

"This is military combat technique, you’re using it quite accurately, but you lack power."

Yang Yi nodded and then he voiced out, "Ah Jiang said my problem is a lack of strength, poor physical fitness and also, my biggest issue is that I can remember all the moves, but I can’t integrate them in actual use, I can’t employ each move correctly."

Zhang Yong pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That’s how it is for beginners, yeah, you have to start by improving your body’s core strength, but you can’t just work on strength, you should also start face... martial arts."

Yang Yi was surprised once again and then he whispered, "Martial arts? Not fighting techniques?"

"What’s the matter? Is there a problem?"

"But isn’t martial arts all a deception..."

Zhang Yong sighed, then hopped down from the bed, and with a serious face, he asked Yang Yi, "Why do you say martial arts is a deception?"

Yang Yi whispered, "I personally don’t hold that opinion, but nowadays martial arts hasn’t displayed its proper level at all. None of those who can really fight are martial artists..."

Zhang Yong fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Actually, you aren’t wrong to say that. In these times, martial arts mostly exist in legends, and when it’s time to truly prove useful, they are nowhere to be seen. In those big fighting competitions, there’s no place for martial arts, and even if there are, what’s used is actually combat sports. The miraculous fists of legends are not to be seen at all."

Yang Yi nodded.

Zhang Yong shook his head.

"Do you know where the problem lies?"

"I don’t know."

Zhang Yong shouldered his hands before saying with a grave face, "I ask you, why did ancient people practice martial arts?"

"To strengthen the body and improve health?"

Realizing that Zhang Yong was looking at him as if he were an idiot, Yang Yi quickly corrected himself, "Of course, ancient people practiced martial arts to kill the enemy, to kill more effectively. At least most of the time, it was used against enemies rather than for health and strength."

Zhang Yong nodded, "That’s right. Martial arts, no matter what kind of fist or leg techniques, were created to kill the enemy from day one. Many people think martial arts are just about punches and kicks, but they are wrong. In fact, the true essence of martial arts lies in weapons. But now, there’s no value in cold weapons anymore, so of course, martial arts have declined. The reasoning is too simple."

Yang Yi nodded his head in agreement.

"To kill, of course weapons are more efficient, but when there are no weapons, fists become the last weapon, and the most reliable one. Note that I said most reliable, not the best."

"I understand."

"Fine, in a chaotic era, people practiced martial arts to kill enemies or protect themselves. But in this day and age, aside from strengthening the body and health, what use is there for practicing with weapons? Even if you only practice fist techniques, what’s the use? Yes, the absolute number of people practicing martial arts today is still very large, but compared to the past, when it was truly necessary to use swords and spears to fight for one’s life, the proportion of martial artists is too low now, isn’t that right?"

"That’s correct."

Zhang Yong sighed and said, "So it’s not that martial arts are useless, it’s just that they’ve been eliminated by the times. That’s why you can’t expect to see martial arts dominating the ring in this era."

Yang Yi spread his hands, "If martial arts were truly useful, even if only a tiny fraction of people inherited them, it wouldn’t have come to a point where people argue whether they’re real or fake, right?"

Zhang Yong smiled, "You still don’t understand. The fighting you see in a ring for the audience is combat sports, whereas martial arts have been about killing since the day they were born, got it?"

Yang Yi considered himself smart, but upon hearing Zhang Yong’s words, it was like receiving sudden enlightenment.

"I get it now, real martial arts are not about performing in a ring!"

Zhang Yong clenched his fist, looking at Yang Yi with a stern face, "True martial arts are not about routines! Routines, that’s for putting on a show for others. If you want to execute fancy moves and kill your enemy at the same time, then forget it, don’t even think about relying on martial arts!"

After lowering his fist, Zhang Yong looked at Yang Yi with pride and said, "Wang Wenjiang taught you combat skills that could let you defeat one opponent in a one-on-one situation, and if your opponent isn’t strong, you could easily take down three. If I teach you combat skills, I could enable you to take down three to five opponents with decent fighting skills, easily take down more than ten not-so-formidable people, but! If you want to effortlessly win against a formidable enemy, and ensure you’re the one who survives when facing ten or a hundred strong ones, then you must practice martial arts, real martial arts!"

Yang Yi understood Zhang Yong’s words.

Zhang Yong said that the combat skills Wang Wenjiang taught him could defeat enemies, but what Zhang Yong would teach him, could kill them.

Yang Yi exhaled, "No question about it, I’ll practice martial arts."

Zhang Yong nodded, "The real martial arts for fighting, not for show, have no routines, and one cannot practice them alone because you need a partner to practice with. You have to use them in real combat; that’s the only way to learn martial arts."

After speaking, Zhang Yong smiled and added, "You’re lucky, because I’m very skilled. Now, I’m going to pick a martial art that suits you to practice."

Yang Yi asked eagerly, "What am I suited to practice?"

"Some people are suited for fists, others for kicks, some for large and open movements, and some for grappling. We have to try to know for sure. My specialty is Wing Chun, so we’ll start with Wing Chun."

After finishing, Zhang Yong stepped back, adopted a Wing Chun ready stance, and said to Yang Yi, "Come on, attack me. Use whatever method you’re best at. It doesn’t matter how you do it, don’t worry, you won’t hurt me."