Chapter 730: Superb martial arts talent, unfortunately limited by stamina

After the leads' first meeting was filmed, the pace quickly shifted from gentle drama to intense action.

The filming location for the actors also moved from Group A to Group B, where the set had been prepared in advance.

The set for Group B used many props, which would be converted into other scenes through special effects in post-production.

Before Jin Li filmed her action scenes, the assistant director came over specifically to say:

"The props for Group B have been tested several times. We’ve confirmed their strength, durability, and other aspects meet the requirements, so you can perform with peace of mind."

Jin Li nodded and went back to reading the history of philosophy in her hands.

This was her habit when filming.

In the past, whenever she joined a film crew, she would memorize the script in advance.

When filming, she didn't really need to look at the script; she could recall the plot in her mind.

Because reading helped her enter a state quickly, making her efficiency twice as high with half the effort.

Once she switched to acting, she could bring that state with her.

This was also why Jin Li was always praised by directors for her quick emotional transitions; she could seamlessly switch from one emotion to the next with almost no rest.

In reality, books served as her transit station.

While reading, she had already digested the previous emotion.

Closing the book allowed her to enter a brand-new emotion.

Actually, besides books, solving practice problems was even faster for her.

But she no longer needed to take the college entrance exam.

Jin Li considered that if she were still solving exam papers on set, it would be hard to explain if she were photographed or seen, which was why she switched to books.

Books weren't bad either; the efficiency was just a little lower, but that little bit was tolerable.

While the staff were making preparations, Jin Li’s composed demeanor was noticed by other actors.

Lian Baozhi didn't know the other actors well, only Qiu Qiwen, so she couldn't help but say:

"Sister Jin Li is so amazing, she can still read other books while filming. I can only hold onto the script, either familiarizing myself with the plot or memorizing lines."

Qiu Qiwen recalled the past and said with emotion: "You didn't see her when she was preparing for the college entrance exam. That was when she was the most hardworking on set."

We were just filming, but she had to read books and solve problems between takes, always holding a test paper in her hands.

When the director called 'cut', we would rest, but she would immediately take out 'Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Simulation' the moment she sat down.

We actors originally wanted to chat and build relationships, but seeing Jin Li like that, no one dared to disturb her. It always felt like a sin to interrupt someone studying."

Qiu Qiwen paused and continued: "Back then, I felt she had a firm will, a resilient spirit, and was unyielding."

"She could actually block out the noisy environment of the set and focus entirely on her own work. With such a serious and focused attitude, she would succeed at anything."

Hearing Qiu Qiwen mention these things, a flash of envy crossed Lian Baozhi’s eyes.

She felt regret.

At that time, she was still worrying about how to become famous, more famous, and incredibly famous, and hadn't thought about switching to acting.

If she could have been part of that time with Jin Li and walked alongside her earlier, perhaps she could have felt Jin Li’s willpower and spurred herself to work harder sooner.

Lian Baozhi took a deep breath, a flash of determination in her eyes.

It was too late to say anything now.

But now that she was on the same set as Jin Li, she could take this opportunity to learn properly.

Challenging a film role was also an opportunity for her.

Soon, the staff finished organizing, and Jin Li went on set.

This scene was meant to show Chu Xiaoyue’s power, so they chose the night of the full moon, when Xiaoyue’s abilities were at their peak.

As mentioned before, Xiaoyue’s ability was perception.

As long as it was night, wherever the moonlight shone, nothing could remain hidden.

Including who was walking around and what was happening—down to a green leaf or an insect—Xiaoyue could perceive it all.

This perception was a mental ability, which could also be called telekinesis or psychic power.

As everyone knows, psychic abilities are very difficult to film in a visually appealing way.

It isn't as direct as martial arts, which gives people sensory stimulation; it seems like just looking at a place and waving a finger could destroy the world.

Therefore, Director Zheng put a lot of thought into Xiaoyue’s action choreography.

He didn't want to film Xiaoyue’s ability too simply—where the actor just looks and waves, and things explode.

He decided to combine Xiaoyue’s ability with her movements, so that while her martial arts were exciting, they were also accompanied by her perception ability, allowing her to control things with her mental power.

In the film, Xiaoyue’s perception was a tangible perception; it was no longer just observation, but the ability to influence things.

Regarding this, Director Zheng specifically discussed it with the original author, who agreed with the director’s approach.

The author said: "Xiaoyue’s ability is called the 'Queen of the Dark Night' by readers. To some extent, as long as night falls, her ability is very powerful, almost possessing the power of immortality."

"So I was also thinking, such a powerful ability isn't necessarily limited to perception; she can distort causality and manipulate reality to a certain extent."

"Of course, it can also act on her own body. People with strong perception can also control their bodies to perform more precise movements."

"It’s just that once a book starts, it has to be serialized daily. I couldn't write everything in detail, and Xiaoyue exits the story relatively early, so not much ink was spent on her."

Since the original author affirmed Director Zheng’s idea, the director filmed it boldly.

"3, 2, 1, Action!"

As soon as filming started, Jin Li, dressed in tight gear with a high ponytail, nimbly rushed to the wall and used the momentum to climb it.

She took two steps forward on the wall and then performed a brilliant, clean backflip.

This move required strong core strength.

Director Zheng was prepared to film it multiple times, even having a green-screen stunt double ready to assist if necessary.

As long as the action could be completed, it didn't matter how slow it was, as the speed could be adjusted in post-production.

But no one expected it.

No need for multiple takes, not three, not even two.

In just one take, Jin Li passed.

Director Zheng couldn't help but stand up. "Good!"

Strong, too strong.

Jin Li landed from the backflip, flicked the long blade in her hand, imagining a mutant creature in front of her, and performed a throat-slitting strike.

Then she bent over, extending her body backward to perform the pre-set dodging move.

The blade in her hand was dropped, reached her feet, and was kicked out heavily.

When the blade was kicked out, that was where the telekinetic control came in, which would be handled with special effects in post-production.

Here, it would show the blade, under Xiaoyue’s control, killing five mutant animals in a row.

At night, her individual ability could match several teams of people.

"Good, cut!"

Jin Li had been maintaining the bent-over, backward-leaning posture for a while before Director Zheng reacted and hurriedly called cut.

Chen Qin immediately rushed up to take care of Jin Li.

She thought Jin Li would be sweating after this round of martial arts.

As it turned out, there wasn't a drop of sweat; Jin Li’s little face was just a bit flushed, full of vitality.

Chen Qin pretended to wipe her sweat and asked in a low voice: "Is there any discomfort in your body?"

Jin Li shook her head.

Having recharged at the Daoist temple for the past two days, no matter how damaged her body was, it had been filled with divine power.

She was super strong now!

Of course, she couldn't say that to outsiders.

When Director Zheng couldn't help but come over to ask her: "How did you do that? How did you perform that series of movements? Did you practice specifically?"

Jin Li said: "I didn't practice, but when filming 'Dawn', Director Chu said I was very suitable for martial arts and had talent in this area."

"Also, my body’s flexibility is very good; I insist on doing high-difficulty yoga every day. Maybe that’s why these movements aren't very difficult for me."

Seeing Director Zheng very excited, as if he wanted to add more martial arts scenes for her, Jin Li added:

"But my stamina isn't enough; I can't sustain high-intensity exercise for a long time. When I hold concerts, I sing for an hour and then slack off for an hour."

"So I can only burst with energy in the short term. Once that burst is over, my physical strength drops rapidly, and my movements will become soft and weak, and I might not be able to hold up."

Director Zheng then dismissed the idea of adding scenes.

He asked with concern: "You have two more fight scenes later; can you continue filming?"

Jin Li nodded without hesitation: "Yes, just remember to set up enough camera angles and try to avoid repeating takes. I’m afraid my stamina will drain too quickly."

Director Zheng said with high spirits: "No problem."

He wasn't the kind of director who needed to grind shots repeatedly, film multiple camera angles, and multiple perspectives without a complete picture of the film in his mind.

He knew exactly what shots he wanted to film.

Therefore, every shot and every camera angle he filmed basically had no wasted footage.

Even if he had to film a scene a few more times, it was considering that there would be multiple beautiful angles to choose from during editing, selecting the most suitable and fitting one.

When Jin Li was filming the martial arts scenes, the other actors were amazed.

They had also filmed martial arts scenes and understood the difficulty.

When some people are hung on wires in the air, the squeezing sensation of the whole body being tense makes their expressions distort instantly, sometimes even looking ferocious, unable to close their mouths.

But some actors can just act like nothing is wrong, still making expressions and maintaining their demeanor.

Many actors don't think this is acting, but rather good physical talent.

Being able to maintain a calm face even when the body is under extreme stress.

This belongs to talent, superb talent.

Born to be suitable for acting in martial arts films.

"This is my first time on set watching Jin Li perform. I suddenly understand why she is praised by many directors as the young actress most capable of becoming a Best Actress, and also the young actress most capable of entering martial arts films and carrying the box office for martial arts scenes."

Zhang Guang watched for a long while and sighed.

Gu Cheng was also watching Jin Li, his expression focused and serious.

"Why did you suddenly come to the set?"

Zhang Guang came back to his senses and said: "There is one thing I need to discuss with you. Yajun Watches is sending word that they want to upgrade your status."

"They want to upgrade your endorsement level from the General Endorsement for China to the General Endorsement for the Asia-Pacific region. This is a second-tier spokesperson; if it goes any higher, it would be global."

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow, but still didn't look at Zhang Guang.

"Is it still the endorsement for the Li series?"

"Yes, still the Li series."

Gu Cheng pondered for a while. "Why so sudden? I don't think I’ve caused any big waves recently, and my contract still has a year left."

If it were an upgrade last summer, he could understand.

After all, 'Counterattack' was a huge hit last summer, squeezing into the top 10 in mainland film history.

Zhang Guang lowered his voice and said: "I was also surprised after receiving the news and specifically found someone to inquire about it."

It turned out that the Zodiac watch Jin Li endorsed last year sold out, becoming a global hit product.

According to reliable sources, Jin Li’s share reached 3 billion; one can imagine how much money Yajun made.

So there was a serious disagreement within Yajun. Half of the people believed this was the star effect brought by Jin Li. After several rounds of internal discussion, they decided to open up more resources to the stars.

As Zhang Guang spoke, he sighed that stars today were born in a good era.

Even the most arrogant brands have to bow their heads for popularity.

Originally, Yajun didn't even need celebrity endorsers. Usually, it wasn't them sponging off a star’s fame to expand their popularity, but stars relying on the brand to build their own reputation.

But Jin Li refreshed many people’s stereotypes and achieved such a beautiful result that Yajun had to pay attention.

"As the 'pendant' male lead of 'Counterattack', you also got a share of the luck and are being supported by Yajun."

Gu Cheng chuckled and said with interest: "Does this count as me eating soft rice?"

Zhang Guang couldn't bear to look.

You’re even proud of it?

Gu Cheng said: "Then let’s sign it. I don't want to give up this endorsement. Regarding the benefits—"

Zhang Guang: "Don't worry, I’ll keep an eye on it and definitely negotiate a good price."

Gu Cheng thought of something and said: "What about the relationship issue?"

Zhang Guang clicked his tongue: "Yajun is shrewd here. They can't wait for you and Jin Li to make your relationship public now, so they can create a linkage marketing effect and sell the watches co-branded with Jin Li."

"Without me even mentioning it, they specifically asked about your relationship with Jin Li and even inquired when it could be made public, willing to customize couple watches for you."

"However, I blocked all of these. I said the company doesn't interfere with the artists’ private lives, and it’s all up to the artists."

While the two were talking, Jin Li was already filming the third martial arts scene.

This scene was about eye acting and demeanor.

Her movements weren't complicated, but they gave people a sense of sharpness.

This feeling didn't need special effects added in post-production; it could be felt on set. That sharp feeling almost seemed to pierce through the screen to claim a life.

Zhang Guang was even scared by Jin Li’s gaze and silently touched his neck.

It felt a bit cold.

He said enviously: "Gu Cheng, if your acting skills were half as good as Jin Li’s, I’d thank the heavens. You might even win a Best Newcomer Award."

Gu Cheng said speechlessly: "I’ve been filming for so many years; I’m not new to the industry. Best Newcomer has nothing to do with me."

Zhang Guang: "Oh, a Most Improved Award would be fine too."

Gu Cheng: "Why don't you mention Best Actor?"

Zhang Guang: "Jin Li hasn't won Best Actress yet. If you won Best Actor first, how embarrassing would that be?"

"If you could win Best Actor with half of her acting ability, it would only prove that the award is too watered down, or the industry is too dark, burying real talent."

Gu Cheng: ...

He said casually: "Don't count on Best Actor for me. You can cultivate the next generation that shares half of my bloodline."

Zhang Guang was stunned for a long time before he reacted and curled his lips.

"You’re not even married yet, you’re thinking quite beautifully."

Gu Cheng smiled lightly.