Wu Tian watched Gu Liweileng, unperturbed. He had experienced everything; he had seen the sun fall from the sky and watched the moonlight weep. When she kicked out at him, it was, in his eyes, a mere trifle.
"Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get angry?" Wu Tian asked coolly.
"Hmph! So what if I go back on my word? Got a problem with that?" Gu Liweileng huffed and charged at him again. She began with an opening stance before sending a fist toward Wu Tian. The movement was slow, but it held a subtle grace.
"Tai Chi?" Wu Tian smiled, easily dodging her punch.
"That’s right, it’s Tai Chi," Gu Liweileng said seriously. "But I’ll have you know, this is authentic Wudang Tai Chi. It’s completely different from the slow-motion exercises you see old folks doing in the park."
Wu Tian laughed. "Of course, I know it’s different. You’re using the genuine Tai Chi created by Zhang Sanfeng. It seems Wudang Mountain has some real masters after all."
Anyone who has watched a few martial arts dramas knows that Zhang Sanfeng was a master. However, many people grow up to believe that television is deceptive and the Taoists on Wudang Mountain are nothing special. But after seeing Gu Liweileng’s fist technique, Wu Tian realized that there were true masters from the Martial Arts World on Wudang Mountain.
In the cities, beyond the Five Surnames and Seven Families, other Martial Sects also existed. Gu Liweileng herself harbored a secret: she was the final, closed-door disciple of the true Sect Leader of Wudang. In modern times, the public-facing sect members passed themselves off as sect leaders, accepting visitors from the secular world and even giving television interviews. The authentic lineage, however, remained hidden away in the remote mountains, cultivating the Martial Path in obscurity, unknown to the world.
Having never fought an outsider since she started learning Tai Chi, Gu Liweileng had no idea how skilled she actually was. Looking at Wu Tian, she exclaimed with excitement, "Pal, you seem to know a thing or two. Spar with me."
Wu Tian shook his head. While Tai Chi had a grand reputation in the cities, it wasn’t worthy of his notice.
"That won’t do," she declared. "I’m telling you, you’ll spar with me today whether you want to or not!" As she finished speaking, Gu Liweileng unleashed her Tai Chi again, throwing another punch at Wu Tian.
The so-called Tai Chi was the Fist Technique Zhang Sanfeng had created, the Great Achievement of the Daoist Martial Path. It emphasized the ceaseless, circular movements of yin and yang, using intention over brute force. It was a form of Internal Martial Arts, famed for techniques like "using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds" and for launching counter-attacks that landed first.
Unfortunately, its user was not Zhang Sanfeng. Unfortunately, it was pitted against Wu Tian. Unfortunately, its wielder was Gu Liweileng.
Wu Tian simply extended his palm, allowing Gu Liweileng’s fist to land squarely in its center. It was like striking cotton—utterly ineffective.
Gu Liweileng froze, dumbfounded.
He’s so strange, almost like a master! But I can’t believe it. How could he possibly be a master?
She had a senior brother who was hailed as the prodigy of their generation at Wudang. Her master even claimed that this senior brother possessed the same aptitude as the great Zhang Sanfeng. Gu Liweileng had her doubts—how could anyone possess the same talent as their revered founder? But since her master said so, and her senior brother believed it himself, she just let them think what they wanted.
In any case, her senior brother was a martial arts genius. Yet, even he seemed incapable of neutralizing her punch as effortlessly as Wu Tian just had.
I have to test him again. Is he really that good, or was that just a fluke?


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