81: Chapter 81 Pre-match Preparations: Deducing the Fusion of Bajiquan and Bengquan

The Rigid Password in the Yellowed Boxing Manual

The morning light in the training hall had just washed over the bluestone floor when Grandpa Wang's camphor wood chest suddenly emitted a faint vibration.

The old man wore white gloves and retrieved a wooden box wrapped in red cloth from the bottom of the chest. The moment he opened it, a surge of Qi Energy smelling of rust rushed toward him—inside was a thread-bound copy of the Baji Fist Manual. On the yellowed pages, beside the 'Mountain-Leaning Strike' Move, a line of small characters was written in cinnabar: "If the hardness is too extreme, it is prone to breaking; it must be softened with soft force."

"This was left behind by your Great-grandfather," he said, pointing his pipe at the illustrations in the manual. The old man's 'Elbow Strike' in the picture subtly echoed Chen Wu's starting stance for the Crushing Fist. "When he guarded the tomb at Shanhai Pass, he relied on the 'Open-Door Baji' of Baji Fist to repel tomb raiders." The old man suddenly slammed his pipe onto the table. "But this fist style is too rigid. Your grandfather injured his Meridians by the time he was thirty, which is why he later created the Thirteen Styles of Tomb Suppression, which balances hardness and softness."

Lin Mo's tactical tablet suddenly displayed a 'Martial Arts Deduction' prompt. The Global Martial Arts System automatically scanned the Baji Fist Manual, and three-dimensional models immediately appeared on the screen: the 'Cross Post' of Baji Fist and the 'Three-Body Stance' of Crushing Fist rotated in the virtual space, their Qi Energy trajectories forming an intersection at the Dantian. "System detected homologous force generation principles," the youth swiped his fingertip across the screen, and the two models suddenly began to Fusion, "but there is a 72% conflict rate between the 'Inch Force' of Baji Fist and the 'Spiral Force' of Crushing Fist!"

When the armored vehicle of the Special Incident Response Department stopped at the mouth of the alley, the Chief of the Execution Division walked over quickly, holding a metal case. The holographic projection inside the case was playing footage of a Tomb Guardian duel. In the 1932 footage, Chen Wu's Great-grandfather used the 'Fierce Tiger Hard Mountain Climb' from Baji Fist to shatter his opponent's shield, while his defensive Move was actually a simplified third variation of the Crushing Fist. "The Technical Department used motion capture to reconstruct the force trajectory," the Section Chief pulled up a Qi Energy comparison chart. "0.1 seconds before the hard force of the Baji Fist makes contact with the target, it automatically integrates the soft force of the Crushing Fist for cushioning. This was the secret to their invincibility back then!"

In the Flower Girl's basket, the leaves of the inheritance grass suddenly twisted into a spiral shape. The tender green tips pointed toward the 'Mountain-Leaning Strike' illustration in the manual. As dew rolled across the leaf surface, it reflected a blurry Qi Energy route—possessing both the linear impact of Baji Fist and the spiral entanglement of Crushing Fist. The young girl mixed the petals of the ming jin orchid and clematis. When the pale golden liquid dripped onto the manual, the yellowed pages suddenly glowed red. "Elder Zhou said this is 'Harmony Force Dew'," she tapped her fingertip on the red light, "it can make the two types of Qi Energy resonate, but it requires a 'Bridge Hand' to connect them."

Officer Zhang's body camera was aimed at the old sandbag in the corner. The old policeman, wearing protective gear, suddenly unleashed a standard Baji Fist 'Black Tiger Steals the Heart'. The trajectory of the sandbag's swing formed a strange resonance with the Qi Energy waveform of the Crushing Fist on the screen. "I practiced Baji at the police academy when I was young," his knuckles turned white from the force, and the camera automatically generated a set of data, "The 'short-range strike' of this fist style is perfect for compensating for the medium-range flaws of the Crushing Fist, but there's always a lack of fluidity during the transition." The recorder suddenly replayed a training video from thirty years ago; when the young Officer Zhang performed a Move incorrectly, he had inadvertently used half a variation of the Crushing Fist.

Chen Wu's peace lock suddenly resonated with the Baji Fist Manual. When he injected his Qi Energy into the manual, the 'Martial Arts Deduction' System automatically popped up a Fusion plan: combine the 'Six Great Openings' of Baji Fist with the 'Three Variations' of Crushing Fist, and embed the Spiral Force into the six force-generating points: 'Top, Hold, Single, Lift, Carry, and Entangle'. The System interface displayed a bright red prompt: "Fusion requires enduring dual Qi Energy counter-impact; it is recommended to perform 1000 Deductions in virtual space first." In the small window in the bottom right corner of the tablet, A-Mings younger sister was holding two dolls, imitating the Moves in the manual, and the peace lock wooden plaque shone brightly on her wrist.

The Qi Energy Vortex in the Virtual Deduction Field

When Chen Wu's fingertip touched the 'Start Deduction' button, the floor of the training hall suddenly rippled with cyan-gold. In the virtual space, the scene of the tomb guarding at Shanhai Pass in 1932 appeared. Amidst the broken walls and ruins, the phantom of his Great-grandfather was using Baji Fist to repel tomb raiders, while the phantom of his grandfather provided support with the Crushing Fist, their Qi Energy forming a rotating taiji diagram at the point of contact.

"This is the 'Scene Reconstruction' Advanced mode!" Lin Mo exclaimed with a trembling voice. The virtual timer on the tablet indicated that each Deduction cost 3000 points, and failure would provide feedback on the specific nodes of Qi Energy conflict. When the one-hundredth Deduction failed, a red alarm suddenly exploded on the screen: "The 'Hard Opening and Hard Striking' of Baji Fist and the 'Soft Transformation' of Crushing Fist caused a counter-impact, leading to Qi and blood stagnation in the right shoulder!" Chen Wu's right arm felt a sharp pain, which perfectly matched the location of his grandfather's old injury from back then.

Grandpa Wang's pipe suddenly tapped toward Chen Wu's Baihui acupoint. The old man's Qi Energy was injected through the pipe stem, forming a buffer zone inside his body: "Use the seventh variation of the Tomb-Guarding Beast Breathing Technique!" The pipe bowl pointed at the wrist of the Great-grandfather's phantom in the virtual space, "Your Great-grandfather and your grandfather created a set of 'Bridge Hands' back then—adding the 'Rotating Elbow' of the Crushing Fist during the 'Sinking Shoulder' of Baji Fist, it's like installing a spring on a steel bar!"

The progress bar of the 'Martial Arts Deduction' stuck at 68% and wouldn't Move. In the virtual space, the hard force of the Baji Fist and the soft force of the Crushing Fist were clashing wildly, and the cyan-gold energy flow exploded into sparks at the point of contact. Chen Wu's Qi and blood began to reverse, the light of the peace lock flickered on and off, and just as he was about to give up, the 'Harmony Force Dew' from the Flower Girl suddenly seeped into the virtual space along his fingertip—the pale golden liquid turned into a bridge in the vortex of Qi Energy, and the two conflicting forces suddenly began to entwine.

In the tactical center of the Special Incident Response Department, the Minister was holding his breath, staring at the real-time transmitted Qi Energy spectrum. The Technical Department connected all the spare computing power of the Global Martial Arts System into the Deduction. The 'Inch Force' data of Baji Fist and the 'Spiral Force' model of Crushing Fist collided at high speed on the screen, finally appearing at a stable intersection on the 739th Deduction: "Found the 'Bridge Hand'!" The Section Chief's voice was filled with excitement. A golden light suddenly descended in the virtual space, illuminating the rotating action of the Great-grandfather's phantom's wrist, "Add 'Rotating Wrist' 0.3 seconds after the 'Elbow Strike', and the two types of Qi Energy can be perfectly connected!"

Officer Zhang's body camera captured a shocking scene. When Chen Wu used the 'Bridge Hand' in the virtual space, the hard force of the Baji Fist suddenly turned before making contact with the target, forming a rotating drill with the spiral force of the Crushing Fist—under the impact of the dual Qi Energy, the surface of the sandbag showed regular spiral dents, while the internal sensors showed that the impact force was 40% stronger than Baji Fist alone, while the recoil force was reduced by 60%. "This Move is called 'Drilling Mountain Strike'!" The old policeman's voice was excited. The body camera automatically disassembled the action into a teaching module, "It has both the ferocity of Baji and the finesse of Crushing Fist!"

The moment the 749th Deduction succeeded, the broken walls in the virtual space suddenly exploded into golden light. The phantoms of the Great-grandfather and grandfather turned around in the light, simultaneously performing a Fusion Move—the 'Mountain-Leaning Strike' of Baji Fist collided with the 'Spiral Force' of Crushing Fist, and the resulting Qi Energy shockwave actually carved a complete Tomb-Guarding Beast claw mark in the air. The 'Martial Arts Deduction' System emitted a pleasant prompt tone, and a complete Fusion manual popped up on the screen: "Congratulations on unlocking 'Baji Collapse', containing 18 Fusion Moves; real combat testing is recommended."

Hardness and Softness Combined in the Sandbag Array

On the bluestone floor of the training hall, eighteen sandbags of different materials suddenly stood up. On the far left was the 'Hard Target' filled with lead sand, specifically for testing the hard force of Baji Fist; on the far right was the inflatable 'Soft Target', used to test the force-deflection of Crushing Fist; the middle sandbags were mixed with sawdust and springs, simulating the elasticity of human muscles. Grandpa Wang's pipe tapped out a rhythm on the stone table: "According to the rules of the Great-grandfather, you only touch the threshold if you can pierce through the target with every punch without breaking it."

The moment the first Move, 'Open-Door Collapse', was unleashed, the lead sandbag shook violently. When Chen Wu's fist contacted the target surface, it was first the linear impact of Baji Fist, making the sandbag sink three inches, followed immediately by the sudden activation of the spiral force of the Crushing Fist, causing the lead sand inside the bag to form a vortex—the surface of the bag was intact, but the lead sand inside had been ground into fine powder. "This is 'Hard on the Outside, Soft on the Inside'!" Officer Zhang's body camera suddenly zoomed in on the residual Qi Energy at the bag opening, where the cyan-gold energy flow was wandering along the seams, "It pierced through the defense without damaging the surface layer!"

Lin Mo's tablet suddenly displayed a pressure distribution map. The virtual model showed that the impact force of the Fusion Move was 57% more dispersed than Baji Fist alone, but the penetration power was increased by 83%. The youth's fingertip swiped across the screen; A-Mings younger sister's virtual avatar was practicing a simplified version. In the error-correction prompts automatically generated by the System, it included both the 'Force rises from the ground' of Baji Fist and the 'Qi sinks to the Dantian' of Crushing Fist. "The points were well spent!" His voice was filled with excitement, "The System Deduction shows that this Move can break the 'Alloy Armor' of the Grey Shadow!"

The armored vehicle of the Special Incident Response Department honked three times at the mouth of the alley. The Chief of the Execution Division rushed into the training hall holding a specially made alloy plate, which was covered with protrusions simulating Grey Shadow weapons—the sharpest parts had a hardness exceeding military standards. When Chen Wu's 'Drilling Mountain Strike' hit the alloy plate, the cyan-gold Qi Energy suddenly turned into a spiral drill, drilling into the gaps of the protrusions, exploding a fist-sized hole in the back, while the protrusions on the surface remained intact. "The riot police are going to go crazy!" On the Section Chief's tablet, a new armor-piercing shell design was being generated, "This Qi Energy trajectory is more precise than any armor-piercing shell!"

In the Flower Girl's basket, the petals soaked in Harmony Force Dew suddenly bloomed completely. The pale golden fragrance mixed with the Qi Energy in the training hall, forming a visible energy flow in the air. When Elder Zhou's holographic image appeared in the airflow, the old man's fingers drew an arc on the virtual screen: "This Move, 'Entangling Silk Top', can restrain 'Spirit-Devourer Powder'," the Elder Zhou in the image was demonstrating to a Mutant. The top force of Baji Fist and the Coiling Energy of Crushing Fist combined to form a rotating protective shield on the body surface, "The black Qi Energy will be torn apart the moment it touches the spiral force."

Grandpa Wang's camphor wood chest had one more treasure. The old man took the Qi Energy data of the eighteen sandbags and put it together with the Great-grandfather's manual and the grandfather's notes to form a complete Fusion lineage. When the sunset shone through the window lattice, these objects formed a rotating taiji diagram at the bottom of the chest, and the cyan-gold energy flow spread along the seams of the chest, drawing a new fist path on the floor of the training hall—the starting point was the Shanhai Pass in 1932, and the destination was the upcoming arena.

When the eighth Move, 'Fierce Tiger Collapse', was finished, Chen Wu's peace lock suddenly burst into sunlight-like radiance. The eighteen sandbags moved simultaneously without wind, forming a huge Baji Fist character 'Eight' on the ground, while the trajectory of the residual Qi Energy formed the 'Three Variations' route of Crushing Fist. The 'Martial Arts Deduction' System popped up the final assessment: "'Baji Collapse' proficiency 89%, can be used in actual combat; it is recommended to add an on-the-spot variation module." In the small window in the bottom right corner of the tablet, A-Mings younger sister was holding a piece of cardboard with "100 points" written on it, waving hard at the camera.

New Waves in the River of Legacy

As the last ray of sunlight grazed the eaves of the training hall, Chen Wu's fist left a spiral mark on the sandbag. On Lin Mo's tablet, although the point balance of the Global Martial Arts System had decreased by 2.3 million, a golden star had appeared next to the 'Baji Collapse' icon—representing that the Fusion Move had been verified in actual combat. The youth suddenly pulled up the latest news from the traditional martial arts Alliance; Baji Fist successors were uploading imitation videos, among which an old man with white hair's 'Bridge Hand' transition was exactly the same as the Great-grandfather's movements in the virtual space.

In the tactical center of the Special Incident Response Department, the Minister was signing a new equipment procurement order. The Qi Energy data of 'Baji Collapse' was applied to the new riot shield, which not only retained the impact resistance of Baji Fist but also incorporated the force-deflection principle of Crushing Fist. "For next week's competition," the Section Chief's holographic image carried a smile, "we will set up Qi Energy recorders in the arena, so that the whole world can see the power of traditional martial arts Fusion."

In the Flower Girl's basket, the seeds watered with Harmony Force Dew suddenly sprouted. On the tender green seedlings, one leaf was the 'Top' mantra of Baji Fist, and the other was the 'Spin' mantra of Crushing Fist, while the roots grew the common Tomb-Guarding Beast pattern. The young girl planted the seedlings in the flower pot of the training hall, and more new buds suddenly sprouted from the cracks in the bluestone floor, forming a continuously rotating taiji diagram on the ground—that was the symbol of the Fusion of the two types of Qi Energy.

Officer Zhang's body camera was filming the evening training of the police academy. The new police officers were wearing training uniforms with the words 'Baji Collapse' printed on them, and in the hard Baji Fist Moves, one could always see the spiral figure of Crushing Fist. When the old policeman pointed out one of the students' 'Bridge Hand' errors, the body camera suddenly projected Chen Wu's Deduction image, and the fist styles of the two generations gradually overlapped in the sunset. "This is the true Legacy," his voice was filled with emotion, "It is not about guarding the old Moves without change, but about letting every generation grow new branches."

Grandpa Wang's pipe tapped a brisk rhythm on the Baji Fist Manual. The old man fished out an old-fashioned copper bell from the camphor wood chest; the sound when shaken was exactly the same frequency as Chen Wu's Qi Energy—that was the 'Force Bell' used by the Great-grandfather for training back then, which could test whether the force generation combined hardness and softness. "If your grandfather saw this Fusion fist style," the pipe bowl pointed to the new annotations on the manual, "he would definitely be happier than winning a duel."

When Chen Wu walked out of the training hall, the billboard at the mouth of the alley was playing the latest tournament trailer. On the screen, his 'Baji Collapse' and Rosen's modern fighting style appeared side by side on the poster, with the title: "Only when hardness and softness are combined can it be called Dao." The number of live broadcast reservations for the Global Martial Arts System had exceeded 8 billion. In the comment section, Baji Fist enthusiasts and Crushing Fist successors were discussing the details of the Fusion, and the sectarian prejudices of the past had long since vanished.

When the System's final prompt popped up, A-Mings younger sister's video call suddenly connected. The young girl was holding a homemade target, using toy fists to unleash a childish 'Baji Collapse'. Outside the hospital window, Zhang Hao and Rosen were practicing Fusion Moves. The hard force of the former fighting champion and the technique of the former head coach combined perfectly. The sunset stretched their shadows long, like a river flowing endlessly.

Chen Wu suddenly understood that the true meaning of this pre-match preparation was not to create a powerful new fist style, but to let martial arts of different eras and styles find new life in the Fusion of Qi Energy. Just like the taiji diagram constantly rotating on the floor of the training hall, the hardness of Baji Fist and the softness of Crushing Fist were never two opposing poles, but two wheels pushing the Legacy forward.

When the moonlight washed over the bluestone floor, the Baji Fist Manual and the tomb guardians manuscript closed automatically in the camphor wood chest. The Qi Energy trajectories of the two books formed a complete character 'Martial' at the bottom of the chest, as if telling an ancient truth: true strength is never the hardness that admires itself alone, nor the weakness that is powerless, but the 'Hardness with Softness, Softness with Hardness'—endless and ever-flowing.