Chapter 785: International Friends

"Holy crap, they actually managed to invite Miss Luo Quan!"

"This is such a huge deal, Miss Luo Quan performing in person! Let's go listen to how this song sounds."

"I said before that this show was perfect for inviting Miss Luo Quan for a crossover. Her martial arts are probably good enough to win a provincial championship easily."

"It's hard to jump to conclusions. Before this, could you have imagined that China had so many traditional martial arts masters?"

"Indeed, the duel between Daoist Cheng and Master Yanwu has directly ushered in a golden age for traditional martial arts."

"I've known all along that Chinese traditional martial arts weren't as weak as people imagined. Now that communication is advanced and exposure has increased, everyone can naturally see it."

"I think it's a good thing. Letting capable people make money is better than letting those charlatans and scammers make money."

"I'm back, brothers. This song is truly amazing; it practically fulfills my Wu Xia dream."

………………

The comment section was mostly filled with fans of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly, but because Miss Luo Quan had so many fans, the two groups naturally overlapped.

Miss Luo Quan's sudden performance was a huge surprise for these fans and brought a massive wave of traffic to the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly.

However, trending on the hot search also brought up a cliché question: exactly what level is Miss Luo Quan's combat strength at?

Although Miss Luo Quan said during her livestream that she was stronger than Daoist Cheng and the others, quite a few people believed her.

But in the end, she had never actually fought.

The videos of her fighting others before, to be honest, weren't against any real masters; it felt like Daoist Cheng and the others could have done the same.

So, those who raised doubts were not entirely without arguments.

Of course, it was basically an accepted fact that Miss Luo Quan's martial arts were very high; the public was just curious about exactly how high.

It wasn't just the public; the various noble families in the capital, and even the authorities, were actually very curious.

This competition invested in by Yifa was under the spotlight of the entire nation, so it naturally couldn't escape their eyes.

Contestants who performed well in the competition would eventually receive recruitment offers from these people.

As for the authorities, this was actually a great opportunity to understand the number of martial arts masters in the country.

In the past, these people lived in seclusion in cities or the wilderness; if they didn't make a move, no one would know they practiced martial arts.

Now that they had all stepped forward voluntarily, it saved the statistical departments above a lot of trouble.

And besides those participating, the masters who didn't compete naturally needed to be recorded.

Classifying them by level and ranking them in order—if necessary, they might even issue martial artist licenses in the future, which would be more convenient for management.

Among those who didn't compete, Miss Luo Quan was likely the most eye-catching one.

Long before the spiritual energy recovery, this young lady's fame had already spread across the world.

As for now, although there was only one record of her fighting Li Shan.

It actually had no reference value anymore.

Before the spiritual energy recovery, Li Shan was indeed a rare master.

But now, there were simply too many rising stars, and Li Shan was no longer on the list.

And since she easily defeated such a person, the gold content of Miss Luo Quan's strength naturally diminished quite a bit.

So, when the authorities were grading Miss Luo Quan, they kept hesitating between Grade Two and Grade One.

If she could fight one more sufficiently strong opponent, they could intuitively understand her strength and make a judgment.

Unfortunately, there was no such opportunity.

So the authorities were actually just like the netizens, very curious about exactly how high her martial arts were.

………………

"Of course, it's as high as a dozen floors," Miss Luo Quan answered the question in the barrage with a laugh.

A fan asked her in the barrage how large of an affordable housing project she would build to benefit the masses if she had the conditions in the future.

Miss Luo Quan's answer was that higher is better.

"It definitely has to be higher; otherwise, how could it ever be enough?"

Miss Luo Quan smiled and continued: "However, the world's tallest building is only a few hundred meters, and there are hundreds of millions of people in China who can't afford a house; one building is definitely not enough.

If I had the conditions, building a thousand or ten thousand would be fine, but unfortunately, this is just imagination. If I could build a hundred in my lifetime, it would be quite remarkable."

"To be fair, it's quite good that you have such thoughts."

"They say that when you are successful, you should help the world, but those who are successful seem to prefer to look after themselves."

"Relying on heaven and earth is not as good as relying on yourself; read more and work harder."

"I've already 'lain flat.' With a monthly salary of 5,000 in a third-tier city, living alone is still quite comfortable."

"That's true. I don't plan on finding a partner anymore; living alone is fine, maybe even better."

………………

Miss Luo Quan rarely guided such values; she didn't join the conversation when she saw fans discussing it, lest she say the wrong thing.

On the other hand, it was mainly because her current conditions were different from the vast majority of fans, so she had no right to speak on it.

So she acted as if she hadn't seen it, clicked on the Bilibili hot search, prepared to see what the news was today, and then started the sharp commentary segment that fans loved to see.

Recently, Bilibili's hot topics had also been flooded by the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly.

Just like how everyone liked to compare the combat strength of characters in Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece before.

The contestants in the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly received the same treatment.

Many content creators released videos analyzing the martial arts styles and technical characteristics of these contestants and even graded them.

Currently, there were over a dozen S-rank ones, basically the top seeds of the provincial championships, and their martial arts were also top-notch.

Related videos hit the hot search almost every day.

However, something different appeared today.

"Overseas Martial Arts Observation Group Arrives in the Capital!"

The so-called martial arts observation group was actually some famous martial arts masters invited from abroad by Yifa, such as those in Kendo, Judo, Karate, and so on.

Inviting these people to observe the competition and then promoting Chinese martial arts to the whole world through them was a form of cultural export.

Coincidentally, a familiar name appeared in this observation group: Yagyu Zhai.

This Sword Saint, who was famous in Japan, was Chunzi's grandfather. She had even fought this Sword Saint before.

It's just that her martial arts were far from as powerful as they were now, so she lost to this Sword Saint in the end. But fortunately, he was very open-minded and ultimately let Chunzi come to China to be an idol.

However, what she promised back then was to teach Chunzi the Beichen Yidao Liu.

But after coming to China, Chunzi never mentioned this matter again, and she herself had forgotten about it.

Seeing Miss Luo Quan seemingly in a daze, the barrage was full of confusion:

"Not a prohibited scene."

"Luo Bao, why are you looking so stunned?"

"Luo Bao, say something!"

………………

Fortunately, the daze didn't last long. Miss Luo Quan quickly recovered and explained: "I saw the name of an acquaintance, so I was in a daze for a moment.

This Yagyu Sword Saint is actually Chunzi's grandfather. I fought this old man at the Yagyu family's Kendo hall before, but I didn't win."

Hearing this, the barrage was immediately surprised:

"Damn, there's such a thing?"

"I was wondering why he looked so familiar; it turns out to be Chunzi's grandfather."

"Chunzi-chan's grandfather is my grandfather!"

"Good guy, so you're coveting my wife, huh."

"Shock! Luo Bao is so powerful, and yet she actually lost."

"Listen to his title; this is a Sword Saint, hey."

"Do we have any in China?"

"There are probably quite a few on Mount Wudang. Daoist Cheng is a Kendo master, it's just a pity that he wasn't allowed to use a sword when he fought Master Yanwu before."

……………………

Chunzi's popularity on Bilibili was still quite high. After all, the "two-dimensional" fans naturally had a fondness for Japanese idols, which Wen Xia and Jiang Yuner didn't possess.

And with the injection of foreign traffic, the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly really became popular abroad.

Many international martial arts enthusiasts spontaneously provided commentary for the competition.

And they used ways that foreigners could understand to explain the Chinese martial arts used by the contestants.

Ever since Uncle Dragon retired from the screen, this was the first time Chinese martial arts had gained such huge popularity internationally.

For a time, the number of foreigners wanting to come to China to learn martial arts increased several hundred times compared to previous years.

And the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly also became a true global hit.

Currently the hottest film and television program in the world.

One was The Walking Dead, which aired two episodes a week, and the other was the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly, which had competitions every day.

Zombies and Kung Fu became the two hottest keywords globally in the second half of the year.

The former was related to Miss Luo Quan, and the latter also had a little bit to do with her.

After all, she could be considered the number one female martial artist in China on the surface.

However, Miss Luo Quan didn't have time to pay attention to the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Assembly for the time being, because the Inheriting China program was about to air. As the heavyweight guest for the first episode, she of course had to actively rehearse.

And in order to match the song she created, the production team wrote the script and copy days in advance.

Compared to the Spring Festival Gala, this rehearsal was more relaxed and not as tense.

It wasn't her first time at Studio 1, so she appeared relaxed and composed throughout, without a hint of the seriousness that other stars had when they came here.

Other stars looked on, feeling both admiration and envy.

No wonder she's an international superstar; this confidence and temperament are just different.

Others come to Studio 1 wishing they could be as well-behaved as kindergarten students, fearing they might make a single mistake.

But Miss Luo Quan was quite casual, as if she were back in her own home.

Of course, it wasn't that there were no such lazy stars.

There was a female actress before who relied on her new drama being a hit, felt she was very popular, and so acted like a diva here.

Then she was finished—finished completely; no production team would look for her anymore.

This is the consequence of being arrogant.

As for Miss Luo Quan, although she was casual, she wasn't sloppy at all; she grasped the boundaries very well.

After rehearsing for a few days, the day of the live broadcast arrived.

If it were an ordinary singing stage, she would definitely wear an evening gown to stun everyone with her beauty.

However, the song she was performing this time wasn't suitable for an evening gown. Because it required coordination with dance, she specifically asked the production team to make a Tang suit.

She provided the creativity and design, and the production team was responsible for rushing it out.

Because the budget was very sufficient, they really managed to make it in a week.

Actually, the Tang suit Miss Luo Quan provided wasn't anything novel; it was just a traditional black and gold garment with a dragon printed on it, looking atmospheric and capable, full of Chinese style.

The program Inheriting China had done a lot of promotion, and with Miss Luo Quan in the first episode, the popularity soared to ten million as soon as it started airing.

The host was still the familiar and well-liked Xiao Sa, who started by using a medley of ancient poems to remind everyone of China's long history and culture over these thousands of years.

Then it extended from culture to figures.

"When the country is in distress, there will always be countless people with lofty ideals who step forward for the sake of righteousness to defend the dignity of the country and the people. The one who will appear next is a famous patriotic martial artist in the history of the Republic of China.

Next, let's invite Miss Luo Quan to bring us the song and dance—'Huo Yuanjia'."

Applause erupted at the scene, and Miss Luo Quan and her dance partners took the stage, all wearing black-bottomed, gold-edged dragon-patterned Tang suits.

Judging from their steps, these dance partners were all practitioners with a certain foundation in martial arts.

Once everyone stood in position, the singing started—a burst of slight gongs, just like the signal announcing the start and end of a match on a life-and-death ring.

Following that were the melodious Erhu and the impassioned drum beats, all Chinese instruments.

The relatively long prelude didn't make people feel bored at all, because the melody was simply too good, and the sense of intimacy brought by the Chinese instruments added even more charm to this prelude.

And as the prelude ended, Miss Luo Quan and her dance partners began to move.

"Hah, how many rounds does life have, the ring is waiting."

"What did you win with the life-and-death contract, sneering."

"So what if you are the world's number one?"

"Stop the fighting, our generation values martial virtue."

………………

Miss Luo Quan sang the lyrics, but the dance she performed made the audience's eyes light up.

It wasn't Korean K-pop dance, but a dance adapted from Chinese martial arts.

The style was rigid and clean, and extremely powerful, looking like a collection of various beautiful martial arts movements!

And the transition after the main verse was even more stunning. Miss Luo Quan made a graceful turn, knees bent, left foot placed on her right knee, as if she were sitting on a chair.

But there was nothing beneath her!

I don't know when she had an extra fan in her hand, which she unfolded with a 'swish':

"The years in the small town flow by, clear courage."

"Memories that have been washed."

"I remember you, living proudly."

………………

The moving Peking Opera singing style came from her mouth, like the most moving instrument in the world, making all the listeners' noses ache uncontrollably.

This is the beauty of our China: martial arts, Peking Opera, and instruments like the Erhu and drums—full of Chinese elements.

In the past, these didn't receive much attention from the public.

But when they suddenly appeared, everyone realized that they had already integrated into life, almost visible everywhere.

And Miss Luo Quan, in this shocking way, fused them together and presented them perfectly.

That turn and sit, that wave of the fan—the style of a martial arts master couldn't be any cooler!

The barrage went crazy at this moment; whether fans or passersby, they all cheered for her frantically.

And the program Inheriting China saw its live broadcast popularity break the 30 million mark at this time!

As for the first episode, the popularity could be called explosive. ===== CHAPTER 786 =====