134: Chapter 134 Tai Chi Master: "Your understanding of 'softness' far surpasses that of ordinary people."

Section 1 Technique Exchange: The Sect Head's Secret Observation

When the traditional martial arts exchange meeting entered the "Technique Exchange" segment, the Martial Arts Arena of Taiji Villa was already packed to the brim. Representatives from 100 traditional martial arts sects worldwide took turns on stage to demonstrate their core techniques: the Xingyi Sect successor demonstrated the "Five Elements Fist," its power as fierce as a tiger descending a mountain; the Baji Sect expert performed the "Baji Collapse," the wind from his fist making the ground numb; the Wudang successor showcased the "Taiji Sword," its soft power like flowing water wrapping around fingers—every demonstration drew rounds of applause. In the global live stream's bullet chat, viewers were busy comparing the characteristics of different sects, discussing "which is superior, hard power or soft power."

Chen Wu stood at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, carefully watching every demonstration. The Qi Energy of the Xingji Fist flowed slowly within his body as he silently absorbed the strengths of each sect. Lin Mo's tactical tablet recorded the technical characteristics of each sect in real-time: "The Xingyi Sect's hard power has strong explosive force but lacks soft power for neutralizing force; the Baji Sect's hard power has solid defense but lacks agility; Wudang's Taiji soft power is fluid but has weak armor-breaking ability," the boy's fingertips slid across the screen. "Brother Wu, your Xingji Fist fuses hard and soft, which can just make up for the shortcomings of these sects. If you can have in-depth exchanges with them, the Fusion of traditional martial arts will be even faster!"

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan, the Taiji Sect Head, always stood at the edge of the high platform, his gaze falling on Chen Wu from time to time. This elder in his sixties, though having white hair at his temples, had a posture as upright as a green pine. A faint Innate soft power swirled around him, more condensed and gentle than Yang Zhenting's Qi Energy. He looked at Chen Wu's expression while watching the demonstrations—there was no trace of impetuousness, only focus and reflection. Occasionally, he would subconsciously gesture with his fingers to adjust his Qi Energy trajectory. A light of approval gradually appeared in the elder's eyes.

"It's your turn, Mr. Chen." When the last sect finished its demonstration, Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan stepped down from the high platform and made a "please" gesture toward Chen Wu. "Everyone wants to see what's so special about the Xingji Fist, which could comprehend the Dao of Yin and Yang in the Nine-Bend Corridor." The global live stream cameras instantly focused on Chen Wu. The gazes of 88.0 billion viewers converged, and the bullet chat was filled with messages like "Looking forward to Teacher Chen" and "Want to see the soft power of Xingji Fist."

Chen Wu walked to the center of the Martial Arts Arena and took a deep breath, the Qi Energy core in his Dantian slowly rotating. He was in no hurry to show his hard power; instead, he raised the soft power of the Xingji Fist to 50%, which was 10% higher than when he was practicing the stake-standing earlier. A pale green soft power spread around him, like a thin veil shrouding his body, perfectly merging with the Leyline Qi Energy of Taiji Villa. Even the inheritance grass around the Martial Arts Arena bloomed toward him, their eight-colored petals glowing with a gentle light.

"I won't demonstrate hard power today, only soft power." Chen Wu's voice was calm yet firm. "Previously, many people thought the Xingji Fist only had hard power. In fact, soft power is the Foundation of the Xingji Fist—without soft power to neutralize force, no matter how strong the hard power is, it will harm oneself; without soft power to guide it, no matter how fierce the hard power is, it cannot accurately hit the target." As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of surprise suddenly crossed Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's eyes, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the Taiji Sword.

Section 2 Soft Power Sparring: A Realm Beyond Expectations

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan suddenly took a step forward, Innate soft power condensing in his palm. "Mr. Chen, may I spar with you in soft power?" His tone was full of expectation. "I have practiced Taiji soft power for forty years and consider myself to have some understanding of 'softness.' Today, I want to see how your Xingji soft power is different." The global live stream bullet chat instantly boiled over, as viewers didn't expect to see a Peak duel between the "Taiji Sect Head vs. Chen Wu": "This is so exciting! The Sect Head's Innate soft power vs. Chen Wu's Xingji soft power!" "It's definitely going to be wonderful; both sides are masters of soft power!"

Chen Wu nodded in agreement, soft power forming a pale green Qi Energy ball in his palm. "Sect Head, please advise me. Let's keep it friendly." Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan no longer hesitated and launched the "Cloud Hands" Move of Taiji Pushing Hands. His Innate soft power pushed toward Chen Wu's Qi Energy ball like flowing water—this Move seemed slow, but it blocked all evasion angles. The soft power also contained three layers of hidden energy; once in contact, it would advance layer by layer, making it impossible for ordinary Martial Artists to neutralize.

Chen Wu neither dodged nor avoided, the Xingji soft power flowing along the trajectory of the Qi Energy ball and making light contact with Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's soft power. A wonderful scene occurred: as soon as Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's first layer of hidden energy touched the Qi Energy ball, it was guided by the Xingji soft power to change direction, flowing along the surface of the ball. When the second layer of hidden energy attacked, the Qi Energy ball suddenly contracted, completely enveloping the hidden energy. When the third layer of hidden energy erupted, the Qi Energy ball instantly expanded again, returning the hidden energy along its original path, but suddenly dissipating just before it touched Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan, causing no impact.

"This... this is the triple soft power of 'Following Energy, Wrapping Energy, and Neutralizing Energy'!" Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's voice was filled with shock. He took a step back and looked at Chen Wu anew. "I've practiced for forty years, yet I can only achieve 'Following Energy' and 'Wrapping Energy.' 'Neutralizing Energy' requires controlling soft power to the extreme and accurately grasping the opponent's Qi Energy rhythm. You can actually do it!" The slow-motion footage of the global live stream showed that when Chen Wu's Xingji soft power touched the Innate soft power, it automatically decomposed into three layers of Qi Energy, each corresponding to Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's three layers of hidden energy. Every step was just right, without any redundant movement.

Refusing to admit defeat, Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan attacked again, this time using the "Single Whip" Move of Taiji soft power. The soft power lashed out like a long whip, carrying the sound of breaking air. Chen Wu's Xingji soft power suddenly changed its Move, no longer passively defending but actively meeting it. The soft power coiled along the trajectory of the long whip like vines wrapping around a tree trunk, guiding Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's soft power bit by bit to the ground, finally forming a miniature Taiji diagram on the bluestone slab. "This is 'Coiling Energy'!" Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's eyes widened further. "And it's 'Living Coiling Energy,' which can adjust the coiling method according to the changes in my Qi Energy. It's much more sophisticated than my villa's 'Dead Coiling Energy'!"

Lin Mo's tablet showed that the purity of Chen Wu's soft power had increased from 40% to 45%, and his Qi Energy control precision reached 98%, far exceeding Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's 90%. "Brother Wu's soft power is actually this strong!" Lin Mo's voice was filled with excitement. "Previously, everyone focused on his hard power. I didn't expect soft power to be his trump card!" The Technical Department's "Qi Energy Comparative Analysis" popped up on the screen: Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's Innate soft power excelled in "purity," while Chen Wu's Xingji soft power excelled in "vitality." The former was the "softness of water," while the latter was the "softness of vines." Although water is pure, it is easily guided; although vines are tough, they can actively adapt. Each had its merits, yet the difference in level was clear.

In the global live stream's bullet chat, viewers cheered for Chen Wu one after another. "Watcher of Huangtu Slope" Old Zhao commented: "Teacher Chen's soft power is too incredible! Even the Sect Head was surprised!" Amir from Egypt sent "Soft Power Study Notes": "I've noted down Teacher Chen's triple soft power and will teach it to the children of the Pyramids tomorrow!" Data from the Technical Department showed that the global viewership of this soft power sparring session exceeded 90 billion, setting a new record for the exchange meeting. Many successors of the Taiji sect left messages in the bullet chat saying they "want to learn soft power from Mr. Chen."

Section 3 The Sect Head's Recognition: An Understanding Far Beyond Ordinary People

After the sparring ended, Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan suddenly bowed deeply to Chen Wu. "Mr. Chen, your understanding of 'softness' far exceeds that of ordinary people, and also far exceeds mine, having practiced Taiji for forty years." His voice was full of admiration. "I always thought soft power meant being 'soft' and 'following,' that as long as one could neutralize the opponent's attack, it was a success. Only today did I learn that soft power can also 'actively guide,' 'precisely control,' and 'neutralize energy into nothingness.' I was narrow-minded!"

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan led Chen Wu into the "Scripture Pavilion" of Taiji Villa. This place housed three hundred years of martial arts classics from Taiji Villa. The bookshelves were filled with yellowed ancient books, and the air was filled with a faint scent of ink and Qi Energy. He took down an ancient book wrapped in silk from the highest shelf and carefully opened it—it was exactly the "Complete Explanation of Taiji Soft Energy." On the pages, written in cinnabar, were the "Three Realms of Softness: Following Energy, Wrapping Energy, and Neutralizing Energy." Beside them were annotations from successors of various generations, but notably, there was no detailed explanation of "Neutralizing Energy."

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"This ancient scroll is the treasure of our villa," Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan said, pointing to the blank space in the 'Dissolving Energy' section. "Successive generations of successors have all wanted to complete the explanation of 'Dissolving Energy', but have never been able to do so. Today, seeing your Xingji Soft Energy, I finally understand the key to 'Dissolving Energy'—it is not about forced control, but 'following its path and dissolving it by borrowing its force.' Just like you neutralized my Triple Dark Energy earlier, there was no resistance, only guidance." His finger gently brushed over the blank space. "Are you willing to help our villa complete this part? This is not only a fortunate event for our villa, but also a fortunate event for the entire traditional martial arts world!"

Chen Wu took the ancient scroll, his fingertips brushing over the yellowed pages. The Qi Energy pill in his Dantian resonated with the scroll, and his Xingji Soft Energy flowed from his fingertips into the pages—the blank space suddenly glowed with a pale green light, and lines of text automatically appeared: "Dissolving Energy is neither resisting nor blocking; it changes according to the trajectory of the Qi Energy, dissolving it by borrowing the opponent's force. Hard energy acts as the bone, soft energy as the skin; the bone is hidden within the skin, and the skin wraps the bone—only then can one attain the true meaning of Dissolving Energy." These words were exactly his understanding of Xingji Soft Energy, and also the best interpretation of 'Dissolving Energy'.

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan looked at the automatically completed ancient scroll, his eyes suddenly moist. "Three hundred years! Our villa's three-hundred-year wish has finally been realized today!" He tightly grasped Chen Wu's hand. "Mr. Chen, you are not only a successor of Xingji Fist, but also a benefactor to the entire traditional martial arts world! From now on, the classics of Taiji Villa will be permanently open to successors of Xingji Fist. You can come to consult them at any time. We will also distribute the completed 'Taiji Soft Energy Full Explanation' for free to traditional martial arts teaching centers around the world, allowing more people to learn the 'Three Realms of Soft Energy'!"

Grandpa Wang's dry pipe tapped a dull sound inside the Scripture Pavilion. The old man flipped out the 'Soft Energy Chapter' of the tombskeeper team records. The yellowed pages recorded Chen Wus Great-grandfather's understanding of soft energy: "Soft is not weak, hard is not strong; only the combination of hard and soft is the Dao." He pointed his pipe at the completed ancient scroll. "Your Great-grandfather once said that the soft energy of traditional martial arts should not have only one form. Today, you have done it—integrating Xingji Soft Energy into Taiji, allowing the two types of soft energy to mutually enhance each other. You are even more impressive than he was back then!" The 'Taiji Guard' bronze plaque in the camphor wood box suddenly glowed. Pale golden Qi Energy resonated with the text on the ancient scroll, causing the words on the pages to emit a warm, gentle light, as if acknowledging this Legacy that spanned three hundred years.

Soft Energy Teaching: A Feast for Traditional Martial Artists Worldwide

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan and Chen Wu decided to start a 'Global Soft Energy Teaching Livestream' in the Scripture Pavilion, sharing the knowledge of the 'Three Realms of Soft Energy' with traditional Martial Artists around the world. Standing in front of the ancient scroll, Chen Wu combined his experience from the sparring session just now to explain in detail the practice methods of 'Following Energy, Wrapping Energy, and Dissolving Energy': "The key to Following Energy lies in 'perception'; you must be able to accurately judge the trajectory of the opponent's Qi Energy. The core of Wrapping Energy lies in 'control'; use soft energy to completely wrap the opponent's Qi Energy. The secret to Dissolving Energy lies in 'guidance'; use the opponent's force to neutralize their Qi Energy." As he explained, he demonstrated with Xingji Soft Energy, each movement accompanied by Qi Energy diagrams, allowing global viewers to clearly see the changes in soft energy.

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan added practice techniques for Taiji Soft Energy from the side: "To practice Following Energy in Taiji Soft Energy, you should practice push hands in water more often to feel the resistance of the current. To practice Wrapping Energy, you should practice wrapping soft energy against a sandbag, slowly increasing the weight of the sandbag. To practice Dissolving Energy, you should spar more with Martial Artists from different schools to adapt to various Qi Energy rhythms." He also demonstrated on the spot the method of combining Taiji Soft Energy and Xingji Soft Energy: "By combining the 'Pure Softness' of Taiji with the 'Dynamic Softness' of Xingji, the soft energy will become more comprehensive; it can discharge force, guide force, and also dissolve force."

The 'Soft Energy Teaching Interactive Zone' of the global livestream was bustling with activity as viewers asked questions one after another: "Teacher Chen, how can those with weak soft energy improve quickly?" "Sect Head, can Taiji Soft Energy and Xingji Soft Energy be practiced together?" "I have practiced soft energy for ten years, but I still can't do Wrapping Energy; what should I do?" Chen Wu and Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan answered patiently and even connected live with several viewers who asked questions, remotely guiding them to adjust their soft energy—Nurse Emily in London couldn't master Wrapping Energy, so Chen Wu taught her to "use breathing to control the soft energy, contracting when inhaling and wrapping when exhaling." Five minutes later, Nurse Emily reported, "I can finally wrap the Qi Energy of the sandbag!" Amir in Egypt kept making mistakes practicing Dissolving Energy, so Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan taught him to "practice Following Energy first; once Following Energy is proficient, then try Dissolving Energy." Half an hour later, Amir successfully neutralized his Disciple's attack and cheered excitedly in front of the camera.

The Flower Girl's inheritance grass bloomed beside the Scripture Pavilion, its eight-colored petals unfolding towards the direction of the livestream camera. Dewdrops rolled on the leaves, reflecting the scene of global viewers learning soft energy: there were children in their own living rooms practicing Following Energy along with the livestream, their movements immature but serious; there were elderly people in open spaces in parks practicing Wrapping Energy, with Chen Wu's Qi Energy diagrams placed beside them; there were overseas Martial Artists sparring with companions in training grounds, excitedly hugging after successfully neutralizing attacks—the young girl dripped 'Resonance Dew' onto the petals, and the seven-colored light merged with the global livestream signal, popping up 'Soft Energy Practice Tips' on every viewer's screen to help them correct their erroneous movements.

Real-time data from the Technical Department showed that the number of participants in this 'Global Soft Energy Teaching Livestream' exceeded 60 million, setting a new record for traditional martial arts soft energy teaching; the pre-order volume for the completed 'Taiji Soft Energy Full Explanation' exceeded 2 million copies, covering 180 countries; and global traditional martial arts teaching centers submitted 3,000 new applications for 'Soft Energy Special Courses'—these achievements made the 'Three Realms of Soft Energy' a new buzzword in traditional martial arts, and also made more people understand that "traditional martial arts not only have the ferocity of hard energy, but also the wisdom of soft energy."

A New Height of Legacy: The Future of Hard and Soft Coexistence

When the 'Global Soft Energy Teaching Livestream' ended, in the Scripture Pavilion of Taiji Villa, Chen Wu and Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan jointly signed the 'traditional martial arts Soft Energy Legacy Cooperation Agreement': Taiji Villa would be responsible for organizing and publishing soft energy classics, while Chen Wu's team would be responsible for global promotion and public welfare teaching. The two sides would also jointly establish a 'traditional martial arts Soft Energy Research Center', recruiting soft energy masters from around the world to jointly research new applications of soft energy—for example, applying soft energy to fields such as rehabilitation therapy, emergency rescue, and daily fitness, making soft energy not only a traditional martial arts technique, but also a life skill that can benefit ordinary people.

Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan also announced that Taiji Villa's 'Soft Energy Origin Pool' would be open to traditional Martial Artists worldwide: "As long as it is someone who truly wants to learn soft energy and pass on traditional martial arts, they can come to the Origin Pool to Cultivate. We will not charge any fees and will even provide professional soft energy guidance." His gaze swept over the ancient scrolls in the Scripture Pavilion. "The Legacy of traditional martial arts is not about closing doors to create something; it is about openness and sharing. Only by allowing more people to come into contact with high-quality traditional martial arts resources can traditional martial arts truly be carried forward."

Chen Wu held Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan's hand, and the Qi Energy pill in his Dantian resonated with the Earth Vein Qi Energy of Taiji Villa, the hard energy of Xingji Fist and the soft energy of Taiji interweaving in his body into a perfect Taiji diagram. He suddenly understood: the Legacy of traditional martial arts is not just the transmission of techniques, but the Fusion of philosophies; the 'Pure Softness' of Taiji and the 'Dynamic Softness' of Xingji, while seemingly different, are both manifestations of the 'Great Dao of Softness'. Only by learning from each other and mutually achieving each other can the soft energy of traditional martial arts reach new heights.

The final image of the global livestream lingered on a photo of Chen Wu and Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan standing beside the Origin Pool—behind them were the ancient scrolls of the Scripture Pavilion, in front of them was the Origin Pool glowing with pale green light, the surrounding inheritance grass was blooming with eight-colored petals, and representatives of various schools from around the world were gathered around them, their faces filled with anticipation for the future of traditional martial arts. Finally, a neat line of text scrolled through the bullet comments: "Three Realms of Soft Energy realized, true meaning attained; Sect Head's approval spreads a fine name; Open and shared is the traditional martial arts path; Hard and soft coexist to start a new journey!"

This message was lit up by 92 billion viewers simultaneously, like a pale green river of light, illuminating every corner of Taiji Villa. Chen Wu knew that this sparring session on soft energy with Grandmaster Yang Mingyuan not only gained recognition for his Xingji Soft Energy, but also promoted the global Legacy of traditional martial arts soft energy; in the upcoming exploration of the Taiji Secret Realm, he would carry his new understanding of 'Soft' to search for the 'Taiji Xingji fusion jade', making the Fusion of hard and soft in Xingji Fist more thorough—the future of traditional martial arts is steadily moving in the direction of 'hard and soft coexistence, openness and sharing, and benefiting all people', and this is just the beginning of traditional martial arts culture's journey towards the Peak.