Chapter 422: Recruiting the Martial Arts Hall

Over the next period of time, the little yellow-haired guy sent out a mass "hero invitation" (not really) to his friends who were also streamers, operations staff, planners, editors... inviting all the heroes of the jianghu.

Li Rentai felt this guy was unreliable and went directly to a big player who specialized in short videos, namely that big player from the Singaporean-owned TikTok.

Although he was old and his thinking couldn't keep up, he was, after all, not a creator but an investor with a financial mindset; he didn't need to possess a creator's mindset, as the creators all worked for him. After all, he was a big-shot figure in Hong Kong and had operated in America for many years; while he couldn't compare to the top financial conglomerates, he was still very capable and resilient.

However, even though he helped make the connection, the person left to handle the coordination was the yellow-haired guy, and he didn't interfere too much, immediately taking his newly refined flying sword to the martial arts hall.

Speaking of martial arts halls, there are quite a few in San Francisco.

Domestic martial arts have turned into dance arts, yet overseas, they are blossoming everywhere.

Back in the day, where was there a Chinatown in America? It was all overseas Chinese workers laboring there, being bullied, and having no choice but to band together.

That "Heaven and Earth Society" that opposed the Qing and restored the Ming, also known as the "Hongmen," was the organization that established overseas branches at that time, and later, the main body even shifted entirely overseas.

In short, the heritage here has never been broken; it has even established sects and schools, becoming increasingly prosperous.

In San Francisco's Chinatown, there are the "Supreme Ultimate Hall," "Baji Hall," "Hongquan Hall," "Eight Trigrams Palm Hall," and "Wing Chun Hall."

Of course, these martial arts halls are mostly for foreign kung fu fans to learn in; the true disciples who practice martial arts are still taught through the master-apprentice system and are Chinese.

Many of these older-generation Chinese are from Min or Yue, are relatively traditional, and have preserved many customs.

Therefore, every Lunar New Year, there are also Wandering God street processions, couplets pasted up, lanterns hung, lion dances, and dragon dances.

Especially the lion dance; people here in America love to watch it, and when opening a shop or starting a business, they love to invite lion dancers to liven things up.

Precisely because of such traditions, a considerable portion of the Incense Fire at Tongtian Temple actually comes from Chinatown.

It's just that they don't rely on that Incense Fire money to survive; it's just that Chinese are exempt from admission fees, while ordinary foreigners who enter are treated as if they are visiting a museum. After all, there are quite a lot of antiques and Magic Tools.

Li Rentai was good friends with a Hong Kong martial arts titan who had moved to America. Before Xu Jia descended, as the head of Tongtian Temple, his cultivation practice was actually not much different from these martial arts masters; aside from drawing talismans and performing rituals, if they really started fighting, it was just at the level of health preservation.

However, these martial arts practitioners felt Li Rentai was different. Firstly, this temple head felt like a master from beyond the world; secondly, after practicing immortality for a long time, his temperament changed, and having mastered the Daoist scriptures, his wisdom was somewhat enlightened, which allowed these martial arts disciples—who generally didn't have high levels of education—to feel they had learned a lot, and it was also helpful for their progress in martial arts.

Thirdly, Li Rentai had money; rich people are respected wherever they go.

It was only after Xu Jia descended that the style of Tongtian Temple changed, and after he passed down the True Cultivation Method, he gradually began to get busy, doing this and that, yet his Daoist Practice grew rapidly.

The place he came to this time was the "Baji Hall," which was opened overseas by a grand-disciple of the Great Spear Li Shuwen, and this grand-disciple had passed it down for eight generations.

The sect leader was in his fifties but no longer managed affairs; the one teaching in the sect was the senior martial brother in his early forties, who was in his prime.

There were no apprentice disciples here; those in their teens were rare, as those who came to apprentice were basically adults.

It wasn't like in Dongda, where there were specialized martial arts schools to cultivate childhood skills.

That senior martial brother of the Baji Hall was not tall, about 1.7 meters, wearing a black practice uniform. His face could only be described as: if he went to act, he could sit at the table with the veteran actors—three parts like Li Xuejian, two parts like Yu Chenghui, five parts like Wang Baoqiang, and the remaining ninety percent was free-form.

His name was "Tan Pengcheng," and his ancestors were of the same clan as "Tan Sitong, one of the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform." He could be considered part of a prominent family. Later, when they arrived overseas, the family all did business there. By this generation, he was well-provided for, so he pursued the true meaning of life and practiced martial arts here.

The truth was that he was once a teenager addicted to the internet and was forcibly sent here by his parents, but later he gradually fell in love with the atmosphere here, became interested in traditional martial arts culture, and with decent talent for martial arts, he obtained the True Transmission.

If he weren't at the martial arts hall, he would have to go back and fight his younger siblings for the family fortune; it was better to be here, comfortable and free. Anyway, no one cut off his support, and with a monthly allowance of one million US dollars, if he didn't try hard to spend it, he actually couldn't finish it.

Damn it, the evils of capitalism! Whether it's practicing martial arts or cultivating immortality, it has always been a game for the rich; the poor can't make anything of it.

Li Rentai walked into the martial arts hall. Several disciples were practicing punches, and the floorboards of the hall were being stomped into depressions. The "heng-heng" and "ha" grunts were actually the breathing techniques of Baji Fist, but they were shallow and rigid, not as continuous, subtle, and elusive as Daoist breathing, and they wouldn't make such sounds.

Seeing Li Rentai arrive, Tan Pengcheng stopped correcting the students of the summer fast-track course. These students paid 28,000 US dollars for 24 lessons, two hours per lesson, for a "guaranteed to learn" version.

Because they paid a lot, the masters didn't actually "hold anything back." Firstly, holding something back was useless in the modern era, and secondly, no matter how high one's kung fu was, one still feared a kitchen knife; even if one didn't fear a kitchen knife, the free guns of America were not something a mortal body could withstand.

The martial arts of this world were different from the system of skin-refining, flesh-refining, and tendon-and-bone-refining at Sanqing Mountain, and also different from the Sword Hero World with its Postnatal and Innate True Qi, and finally returning to Innate True Qi to become a Qi Refiner or Sword Immortal; here, it belonged to the "National Martial Arts System."

That is, the "Ming Jin, Dark Jin, Transformation Jin" system; anything beyond that was lost, though following the web novel system, it would probably be "Gang Jin" and "Dan Jin."

In short, the style was just different, but as the Earth ascended in dimension, it would definitely become more mysterious the further it went. Now, even cultivating immortality had been leveraged, let alone practicing martial arts. But practicing martial arts actually also belonged to the "category of cultivating immortality," with Life Merit and Nature Cultivation going hand in hand. Wasn't Chen Gongming walking the "Physical Human Immortal Dao"? It was also a path using the three treasures of essence, Qi, and spirit.

It's just that practicing martial arts was more about excavating the power within the body and the hidden treasures of the flesh, while cultivating immortality connected with the Dharma Realm and paid more attention to Heaven and Human Unity, absorbing the power of heaven and earth and the energy of the universe.

The unity of internal and external is what Lvzu called the "Heavenly Immortal Orthodox Dao."

Tan Pengcheng bowed to Li Rentai: "Senior Li, why have you come so suddenly? My master isn't here; he went to Binzhou to join in the excitement."

"What is he doing in Binzhou?" Li Rentai asked curiously.

"The American election; he went to the swing states to watch the fun with the 'Don King.' Last time the 'Don King' was assassinated, Master shook his head and stomped his feet, feeling regret that he wasn't at the scene. Now that the 'Don King' has gone again, he took a plane overnight to go watch the fun."

Li Rentai was speechless. This generation's head of the Xingyi Hall, named Dong Erchuan, had a cultivation that had just entered the Transformation Jin stage and could be considered a master of a generation.

Of course, entering Transformation Jin didn't mean one could fight better; after all, generally, when one reached this realm, one was basically sixty or seventy years old, and thus old and frail.

There is a famous saying in the martial arts world: chaotic punches can beat a master to death.

Transformation Jin is ultimately just a kind of technique. Entering this realm is more about having a richer martial arts theory, reaching a state of breaking through predecessors and completing one's own theoretical system.

Although not necessarily all innovative, and while one forms one's own school, one also integrates and masters the strengths of others.

"The American election, what does that have to do with him?"

"Master bet 1.5 million US dollars that the 'Don King' would win this election," Tan Pengcheng sighed. "Now is the most critical moment."

Li Rentai clicked his tongue: "It seems he lacks the fortune; the opportunity was delivered to his door, yet he walked away from it."

Afterward, he pulled Tan Pengcheng to a deserted place in the backyard and said with a serious face: "Young man, do you believe in the method of cultivating immortality?"

Tan Pengcheng thought about it and said: "Master said there are indeed masters from beyond the world, such as the first-generation Ancestor of Tongtian Temple, but we martial arts practitioners are full of vigor and blood, and we rarely see any supernatural events. As for divination and feng shui, I believe in them, but when it comes to cultivating immortality, I have my doubts."

"Good, good, good!"

Li Rentai wanted him not to believe, and immediately channeled his Sword Formula: "Out!"

A small sword soared into the air. This sword was different from ordinary swords; it had no hilt, and its size was on the small side, less than a foot long. It shimmered with cold light and had seven star-shaped holes on it. As it broke through the wind, it made a wailing sound.

The flying sword slashed through a wooden dummy and cut through a water vat without making a sound, and one could see it slide past, the cuts being exceptionally smooth.

After the sword came out, he didn't retract it, letting it circle and leap within three feet of Li Rentai.

"This Flying Sword Technique, do you want to learn it?"

Tan Pengcheng was extremely excited at this moment, his face flushed red, and his eyes were bulging as if he had hyperthyroidism.

"Could this be the Flying Sword Technique recorded in ancient times, passed down by Kong Kong'er, Tuo Tuo'er, Nie Yinniang, and the White Ape?"

"Actually, it was also passed down in the Ming Dynasty," Li Rentai said. "Now our Ancestor is passing down the Dharma, and it has even been improved. It's just that the disciples in my temple are dwindling, so I need to unite you all and recruit a batch of Outer Disciples... no, according to the Ancestor's words, it is to establish a company and recruit talent. And you martial arts practitioners are exactly the ones with abundant blood and Qi, most suitable for switching to cultivating immortality."

"Ah? Is there any cost, or a threshold? Senior, you saying this so suddenly, isn't it a bit too abrupt? How much tuition do I need to pay to learn? One million dollars? Or ten million dollars? I'll go raise the money right now?"

"Hahaha, I won't take your money indiscriminately; if there is truly a Karmic Connection, it is all free."

"But isn't it true that what is free is the most expensive?"

"That makes sense, but my Tongtian Temple is currently expanding; do you think I, as the Temple Master, need to swindle you? The assets within my temple are beyond measure..."

"Not just you, even the many martial arts halls in San Francisco that you know can come to learn together, provided they pay respects to the Ancestor and abide by the sect rules and precepts; there are no other restrictions."

"Then I'll call my master and tell him to stop watching the Don King election and hurry back!"

(End of this chapter)