Chapter 28: If You Can't Beat Them, Shake Up People

"On November 23, Wu Li, a sophomore at Beichuan University who had recently fended off six thugs by himself, came to Qi City. Reporters followed him to the Eastward Boxing Club.

The Master of the Eastward Boxing Club, Ren Donglai, had publicly defeated a Yong Chun expert the day before and once again claimed that 'Traditional Martial Arts was impractical,' prompting Wu Li to visit Eastward Boxing Club and issue a challenge for a friendly spar.

At 3:10 p.m., Eastward Boxing Club sent a student to spar with Wu Li. After negotiation, neither side wore protective equipment, and they engaged according to Free Fighting competition rules. The match began with an Eastward Boxing Club student advancing on Wu Li, only to be knocked down by a kick to the shin from Wu Li.

The first match ended in less than three seconds, and the Eastward Boxing Club, not daring to underestimate Wu Li any longer, sent out a coach named Zhao Bo to spar with him. After a few exchanges, Wu Li suddenly struck, knocking his opponent down. He didn't continue attacking, instead standing still and informing all present that the move was 'Tiger Hugging Head' from Xingyi Fist...

...When Ren Donglai arrived later, Wu Li once again asked for a spar, but a woman on the scene stopped him rudely...

More than twenty students and coaches from Eastward Boxing Club surrounded the reporter and Wu Li, demanding the reporter delete the video footage just captured, otherwise they would not be allowed to leave. Ultimately, for his own safety, the reporter deleted the video from his phone..."

This news hit the hot page of Today's Headlines at 1 p.m. on November 24, with views continuing to rise. On Mo Yin, both the official account of Today's Headlines and some accounts specialized in forwarding hot news promoted the incident, thus the topic 'Wu Li's challenge video deleted' quickly climbed the hot list on Mo Yin.

Seizing this opportunity, Wu Li posted a personal video, issuing another challenge to Ren Donglai:

"Ren Donglai, stop dodging like a coward, I'm right here in Qi City. If you're brave enough, fight me!"

The video quickly exceeded 2 million likes, and Wu Li's followers reached over 1.5 million, becoming a focal point on Mo Yin again.

...

"Zhang bro, have you talked with that kid? What did he say?"

Inside Eastward Boxing Club, Jia Li asked Zhang Xiaodong with an anxious look.

Zhang Xiaodong shook his head expressionlessly, "He's a tough nut to crack, hell-bent on causing us trouble."

"He's insane!" Jia Li couldn't help but curse, "Even money doesn't work?"

Zhang Xiaodong looked at her mockingly, "His girlfriend is a wealthy heiress, he doesn't lack money. Plus, if he wins against Dong Lai, there will be plenty of companies lining up to sign him."

Jia Li was at her wits' end, "What do we do now? Everyone online is supporting Wu Li, even Dong Lai's fans are advocating for him to fight Wu Li once."

"Then we fight!" The silent Ren Donglai suddenly spoke up.

"Are you crazy?" Jia Li slapped him hard, "Fight even if we lose?"

"How do you know we'll lose?" Ren Donglai retorted angrily.

"Nonsense, that fellow beat Zhao Bo as if he were hitting..." Jia Li glanced at Zhao Bo standing beside and swallowed the rest of her sentence.

"Anyway, you can't fight him, if we lose, we lose everything!" Jia Li said, glaring.

Ren Donglai slammed the table heavily, "Not fight? How do I explain to people then? Are we still going to livestream today? If we do and someone asks me about it, what am I supposed to say?"

"Enough, both of you, stop arguing!" Zhang Xiaodong inhaled irritably, "Dong Lai, during tonight's live broadcast just respond positively, say you will definitely fight Wu Li."

"Zhang bro!" Jia Li called out in desperation.

"Let me finish!" Zhang Xiaodong shouted, "Stall for now, don't set a specific date, and wait for Wu Li to come to us. I have my plans then."

...

That very evening, Ren Donglai responded to Wu Li's challenge in his own live broadcast room:

"I'm right here at Eastward Boxing Club, waiting for you to fight!"

On the morning of November 25 at 9 a.m., Wu Li came to the Eastward Boxing Club again. Li Ruqi called over a photographer from Today's Headlines to follow her and record Wu Li's entire challenge process.

When Wu Li arrived at the entrance of Eastward Boxing Club, the doorway was already packed with people, including reporters from various major media who were there lying in wait, and some netizens who had come to watch the excitement.

As everyone saw Wu Li, the scene immediately heated up.

"He's here!"

"Wu Li, hello, are you here to challenge Ren Donglai today?"

"Wu Li, how confident are you in defeating Ren Donglai?"

"Wu Li, are you representing Traditional Martial Arts here?"

"Go Wu Li, take down Ren Donglai!"

"Brother, I support you!"

...

It was Wu Li's first time basking in the spotlight like this, and he was somewhat uncomfortable. He squinted his eyes and didn't answer the reporters' questions, silently making his way into the boxing club.

Inside the club, there were even more people, buzzing with noise. Wu Li saw Ren Donglai, who was accepting an interview from reporters, and Ren Donglai also noticed Wu Li. He nodded in acknowledgement and then walked towards him.

The crowd automatically made way for the two men, forming a circle around them with cameras flashing.

"Master Ren, when do we start?" Wu Li cut to the chase and asked directly.

Ren Donglai was calm, "No rush, we need to make all the pre-fight arrangements first."

Wu Li nodded, "Okay, Master Ren, go ahead with the arrangements."

After speaking, Wu Li took out his phone and started a live broadcast to gather some attention.

At 9:40 a.m., the viewers in Wu Li's live broadcast room surpassed seventy thousand. He had been chatting with netizens until he was dry-mouthed, but Ren Donglai seemed to have no inclination to start the fight.

"What's up with this guy? It's this late and he still thinks he can back out?" Wu Li frowned and looked at the not-too-distant Ren Donglai, who was talking to someone.

Just then, a disturbance occurred at the entrance of the club, and shortly after, two police officers walked in.

With the arrival of the police, the scene quickly quieted down.

"What's going on here, why are so many people gathered?" one of the police officers shouted loudly.

"Officer, we're holding a competition here, is there a problem?" Ren Donglai approached quickly and asked respectfully.

"Holding a competition? What kind of competition?" the police officer asked.

"I'm the Master of this boxing club, and he challenged me, so we decided to have an open fight here," Ren Donglai said, pointing at Wu Li.

The police officer frowned, "Do you have professional referees? Medical personnel? Who takes responsibility if something happens? Don't you know that public fighting is illegal without official approval?"

Facing a barrage of questions, Ren Donglai hung his head, and the police officer then approached Wu Li, "And you, if you want to challenge him, it has to be through official competition. If it's a personal act, that's intentional trouble-making, which is also illegal!"

Wu Li furrowed his brow, knowing full well that these police officers must have been deliberately called by Ren Donglai's side.

Can't win a fight, so you resort to calling the police?