85: Chapter 85 Chen Wu's Response: Using Softness to Resolve Hardness, Subtly Aligning with Tai Chi

Section 1: The Mystery of Force Dissipation within the taiji diagram

As the morning light in the training hall just swept across the bluestone floor, Grandpa Wang's camphor wood chest suddenly opened on its own. The yellowed "Taiji Quan Classic" floated up from the bottom of the chest, and as the pages flipped in the air, pale gold Qi Energy formed a rotating taiji diagram on the ground—the Yin fish position flickered with the hard red light of Baji Fist, while the Yang fish position flowed with the soft green light of Crushing Fist. The two fish eyes were actually phantom images of Chen Wu's peace lock and Bronze Token.

“When your Great-grandfather guarded the tomb back then, he relied on this Move: ‘Taiji Fusion Boxing,’” the old man’s tobacco pipe let out a dull thud as he tapped the center of the taiji diagram, the pipe bowl pointing at the tail of the Yin fish. “No matter how hard Zhang Hao’s iron fists are, they can't withstand the clever skill of ‘Leading into Emptiness.’” He suddenly jabbed the pipe stem into the ground, and the cracks in the bluestone floor happened to coincide with the curves of the taiji diagram. “In yesterday's match, you only used thirty percent of your soft power. True Taiji Power can make hard power disappear like a clay ox entering the sea.”

Lin Mo's tactical tablet suddenly popped up an urgent “Martial Arts Deduction” alert. An encrypted video appeared on an anonymous section of the Global Martial Arts System; a technician from Grey Shadow was debugging a new “Brute Force Amplifier.” The metal device could boost a user's punching power to 2000 kilograms. The cracks on the test target were completely different from the marks left by Zhang Hao's alloy fists—they were pure linear impacts, with no room for rotational force dissipation. “They’re sending ‘Steel Fist’ Love to challenge you,” the young man’s fingertips danced across the virtual keyboard. “This guy’s style is all about head-on collisions; it’s specifically designed to counter spiral energy!”

In the Flower Girl's basket, the leaves of the inheritance grass suddenly twisted into an S-shape. Dewdrops rolled on the leaf surfaces, reflecting footage of Love's training: the Ukrainian boxing king's right fist was clad in a titanium alloy glove, and every punch pushed the dynamometer's needle to its maximum. Black Qi Energy condensed into sharp-edged cubes on the surface of his fist. The young girl mixed the juices of the ming jin orchid and black bamboo. When the pale gold liquid dripped onto the leaves, the S-shaped patterns suddenly lit up. “Elder Zhou said this is ‘Taiji Dew,’” she said, her fingertip lightly touching a dewdrop. “It can make your Qi Energy come with its own buffer, like wrapping your fists in a layer of cotton.”

When the armored vehicle of the Special Incident Response Department stopped at the mouth of the alley, the Section Chief of the Enforcement Division walked over quickly, holding a metal disc. Both sides of the disc were engraved with the totems of Baji Fist and Taiji Quan, and the central bearing could rotate 360 degrees. The pressure sensors showed that when hard force was injected, the disc would automatically turn to a force-dissipating angle. “The Technical Department modified this ‘Force Dissipation Disc’ based on Taiji principles,” the Section Chief said, suddenly pressing the disc against the ground. An alloy ball thrown by Lin Mo hit the disc's surface and actually bounced back along a curve, landing right next to his tablet. “No matter how fierce Love’s Brute Force is, he’ll be dumbfounded when he encounters this Move: ‘Sacrificing Oneself to Follow Others.’”

Officer Zhang's body camera was pointed at an old sandbag in the corner. The veteran officer pulled up training footage from thirty years ago; a young grandfather was demonstrating “Taiji Cloud Hands.” The seemingly slow movements caused the sandbag to draw a complete circle in the air, with each swing's amplitude 30% smaller than the last. “This is the essence of ‘Neutralizing Power,’” the body camera suddenly switched to slow-motion mode. As the grandfather's palm contacted the sandbag, the angle of his wrist rotation always maintained 45 degrees. “It’s not about resisting head-on; it’s about going with the opponent’s force, like water flowing around a rock.”

Chen Wu's peace lock suddenly resonated with the taiji diagram. As his Qi Energy was injected into the “Taiji Quan Classic,” the characters on the pages suddenly transformed into flowing Qi Energy, forming a new Move manual in the virtual space—the hard power of “Baji Collapse” was rearranged by Taiji's “Ward-off, Roll-back, Press, and Push,” and the spiral energy of Crushing Fist merged into the trajectory of “Pluck, Split, Elbow, and Lean.” The Qi Energy of the two martial arts styles completed their seventh Fusion within the taiji diagram. The “Martial Arts Deduction” System popped up a green notification: “Unlocked ‘Taiji Baji Collapse,’ soft power conversion rate increased to 80%.” In the small window at the bottom right of the tablet, A-Ming's younger sister was using building blocks to build a taiji diagram, the peace lock wooden plaque spinning rapidly in her palm.

Section 2: The Contest of Hardness and Softness on the Dynamometer

When Love's holographic challenge letter appeared on the global live stream interface, the dynamometer in the training hall suddenly emitted a piercing alarm. The virtual image of the Ukrainian boxing king wore a silver-white reinforced suit, his right fist equipped with a Grey Shadow special “Brute Force Glove.” He threw a punch toward the virtual taiji diagram—the Qi Energy impact caused the live broadcast screen to flicker violently. As the numbers on the dynamometer jumped to 1800 kilograms, Chen Wu's “Taiji Baji Collapse” just happened to start.

As the first form, “Ward-off Power Supporting the Heavens,” unfolded, blue-gold Qi Energy formed a transparent dome over Chen Wu's head. Love's virtual fist struck with black Qi Energy. At the moment of contact, the Qi Energy dome suddenly sagged, redirecting the linear impact force diagonally upward. Slow-motion footage from the live broadcast showed the black Qi Energy drawing a perfect arc across the dome's surface, eventually overflowing from the side of the dynamometer and burning a spiral-shaped scorch mark into the wall.

“Force dissipation 92%!” Lin Mo's exclamation carried a tremor. The force analysis diagram on the virtual screen showed that Chen Wu's wrist had rotated 72 degrees, exactly matching the optimal angle for Taiji's “Leading into Emptiness,” while the spiral energy of “Baji Collapse” generated an internal rotation of 1200 RPM at the point of contact, grinding the remaining 8% of Brute Force to shreds. But Love's virtual image suddenly let out a roar, red lights lit up at the joints of the reinforced suit, and the concentration of black Qi Energy on the glove instantly doubled: “This is ‘Explosive Power Stage Two,’ he’s going to use a combo!”

When the second punch struck, Chen Wu's “Roll-back Power Threading” followed like a shadow. His left hand gently guided Love's punch, and the soft power of his right-hand Crushing Fist suddenly transformed into countless threads of Qi Energy, drilling into the gaps of the black Qi Energy. The global audience clearly saw the slow-motion footage: the Qi Energy threads formed a miniature taiji diagram inside the glove, decomposing the 1900 kilograms of Brute Force into two rotating air currents that gushed out from the seams of the glove, striking two symmetrical shallow pits into the dynamometer.

“This isn't traditional martial arts! It's magic!” The Fighting League commentator stood up, losing his composure. The 3D model he pulled up showed that Chen Wu's Qi Energy trajectory perfectly matched the mathematical curves of the taiji diagram; the arc of the Yin fish corresponded to Love's punching angle, and the rotation speed of the Yang fish exactly canceled out the impact of the Brute Force. But a Grey Shadow technician suddenly hacked into the live broadcast signal, popping up a small line of text in the corner of the screen: “This is Qi Energy cheating, violating the principles of fair fighting!”

Grandpa Wang's tobacco pipe suddenly blew a puff of blue smoke toward the live camera. The blue-gold smoke formed a giant character for “Martial Arts” in the virtual space, and the old man's voice spread across the globe through the Qi Energy: “In 1953, your grandfather was in Moscow and used this Move to neutralize the iron fist of the Stalingrad boxing king. What did the referee say then?” The pipe bowl pointed at Love in the virtual image. “True unfairness is using technology to forcefully strike at a Legacy!”

When the Brute Force of the third punch reached 2000 kilograms, Chen Wu's “Press Power Sinking into the Sea” suddenly activated. The moment his hands drew a circle in front of his chest, blue-gold Qi Energy formed a rotating Qi Energy vortex on the ground. After Love's virtual fist fell into the vortex, the black Qi Energy suddenly spread out in all directions like water. The dynamometer's sensors showed that the pressure at the point of contact suddenly dropped to zero, while the eighteen sandbags in the training hall all moved on their own without wind, each swing's amplitude precise to 3 centimeters.

“Conduction of force!” the Enforcement Division Section Chief's voice carried excitement. In the holographic projection, the Technical Department's mechanical model was demonstrating: Chen Wu's Qi Energy vortex channeled the Brute Force into the ground, transmitting it through the patterns of the bluestone floor to each sandbag, as if installing an invisible exhaust pipe for the dynamometer. “This is a 40% efficiency increase over ‘Baji Collapse,’” the Section Chief pulled up a set of comparison data. “Pure Brute Force decays 0.3 seconds after contact, but Taiji Power can make it continue to work for 1.2 seconds, eventually converting it entirely into harmless kinetic energy.”

Section 3: The True Meaning of Taiji within the Spiral Energy

When Love's physical challenge letter was delivered to the training hall, Chen Wu's “Taiji Baji Collapse” had already completed its ninth Deduction. The taiji diagram on the bluestone floor suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire training hall. The Baji Fist hard power at the Yin fish and the Crushing Fist soft power at the Yang fish began to rotate in reverse, and the Qi Energy ripples generated at the point of contact caused Lin Mo's tablet to float up.

“His power suit has three layers of Qi Energy protection,” Officer Zhang’s body camera pointed at the holographic attachment of the challenge letter. The old officer's knuckles turned white from the force of his grip. In the footage, Love’s training video showed that the collar, elbows, and knees of the power suit were equipped with hard-force reflectors. “Ordinary soft energy will be bounced back. You must use the ‘Stick, Connect, Adhere, and Follow’ of ‘Taiji Power’ to make the Qi Energy wrap around it like vines on a tree.” The body cam suddenly switched to thermal imaging mode, and the reflector's cooling vents flickered under infrared; that was the only entrance for Qi Energy.

The Flower Girl's inheritance grass suddenly bloomed with black and white flowers. The petals formed a miniature model of the power suit, and as dewdrops rolled in the stamens, they reflected the precise location of the reflector's cooling vent—there was a 0.5 cm gap on the left side of the collar reflector, just enough to accommodate a thread of Taiji Baji Collapse Qi Energy. The young girl sprinkled Taiji Dew on Chen Wu's wrist. As the pale gold liquid seeped into his skin, his Qi Energy suddenly rippled in black and white: “Elder Zhou said these are ‘Taiji Bracers’,” her fingertip lightly touched a petal, “they can make the Qi Energy automatically change direction upon reflection, just like water flowing around a reef.”

In the tactical center of the Special Incident Response Department, the Minister held his breath while staring at the real-time Qi Energy map. The Technical Department had connected all the spare computing power of the Global Martial Arts System. The simulation showed that after Love’s 2,000 kg of hard force contacted the Qi Energy vortex of the “Taiji Baji Collapse,” it would be decomposed into 36 small air currents, each with a force exactly equal to a punch from an ordinary adult. “This is the ultimate ‘breaking the whole into parts’,” the Section Chief's holographic image cut in with static, “but it requires Chen Wu's heart rate to stabilize at 60 beats per minute, with an error of no more than 1 beat.”

When Love’s private plane landed above the fighting gym, Chen Wu’s “Taiji Baji Collapse” was already prepared. Cyan-gold Qi Energy formed a rotating field around him. The light from the peace lock and the Bronze Token flickered alternately within the field, corresponding exactly to the Yin and Yang fish eyes of the taiji diagram. Zhang Hao suddenly stood up in the stands. Although his right arm was still wrapped in bandages, he performed a Taiji Cloud Hands starting posture toward Chen Wu—that was the basic movement Chen Wu had taught him in the hospital ward last night while using life-force energy to clear his Meridians.

When the bell for the first round rang, Love’s power suit suddenly erupted with a piercing red light. 2,000 kg of hard force smashed toward Chen Wu’s chest with the sound of breaking air. Black Qi Energy condensed into sharp-edged cubes on the surface of the boxing gloves, leaving absolutely no room for rotational force-shedding. But Chen Wu’s “Taiji Baji Collapse” suddenly sank. The moment his hands drew a circle in front of his chest, the cyan-gold Qi Energy vortex peeled away the cube-shaped Qi Energy layer by layer—the live broadcast camera captured a shocking image: the black cubes gradually turned into circles during the rotation, eventually transforming into countless points of light that merged into the taiji diagram.

“This is impossible!” Love’s roar carried a sense of disbelief. The power suit's sensors showed that the hard force began to decay 0.1 seconds after contact, three times faster than expected. He suddenly activated “Triple Burst Force,” and the black Qi Energy on his gloves suddenly exploded, forming a wall of Qi Energy in the air in an attempt to completely crush Chen Wu’s vortex.

Section 4: The Harmony of Legacy within the Qi Energy Vortex

At the critical moment of the second round, Chen Wu’s “Taiji Baji Collapse” suddenly changed Moves. The cyan-gold Qi Energy vortex accelerated its rotation. The hard force of Baji Fist formed a protective shell on the outer layer, while the soft force of the Crushing Fist turned into a spiral drill on the inner layer. The two types of Qi Energy suddenly differentiated the moment they touched the Qi Energy wall—the slow-motion replay of the live broadcast showed 36 threads of Qi Energy drilling into the gaps of the Qi Energy wall like living things. When they regrouped on the other side, they formed a miniature taiji diagram.

Love’s power suit suddenly emitted a piercing alarm. At the cooling vent of the collar reflector, cyan-gold Qi Energy threads were seeping inside, causing the hard-force reflection System to malfunction. The Ukrainian boxing king’s fist suddenly stalled in mid-air, not because it was blocked, but because Chen Wu’s left hand gently stroked along his forearm—a seemingly slow movement that carried a 180-degree rotation, Leading into Emptiness by guiding the 2,000 kg of hard force toward his own right rear, slamming a circular dent into the ropes of the ring.

“Leading into Emptiness!” Grandpa Wang’s tobacco pipe dropped to the ground. The old man suddenly pulled open his shirt; the scar on his chest perfectly overlapped with Chen Wu’s Qi Energy trajectory. “This is exactly how your grandfather won in 1953!” The Taiji Classic inside the camphor wood box suddenly flew above the ring. The characters on the pages turned into golden rain and fell, forming a bridge of Qi Energy between Chen Wu and Love. The rotation speed of the Yin and Yang fish synchronized perfectly with their breathing frequencies.

When the bell for the third round rang, Love’s power suit had already taken on an abnormal black hue. The hard-force reflectors began to melt due to continuous overload, and cracks appeared in the cubes formed by the black Qi Energy on the surface of the gloves. Chen Wu’s “Taiji Baji Collapse” suddenly accelerated. The cyan-gold Qi Energy vortex completely enveloped the Ukrainian boxing king’s fist. Slow-motion footage showed that each rotation cycle could shed 15% of the hard force; by the end of the seventh cycle, the 2,000 kg of force was reduced to only 300 kg.

“Stop!” Love suddenly retreated three steps. The moment he tore off his helmet, the global audience saw his shocked expression—the pressure sensors inside the gloves showed that at the final moment of contact, Chen Wu’s Qi Energy had suddenly transformed into countless taiji diagrams, completely converting the remaining hard force into a gentle thrust. “This isn't fighting; it's art,” the Ukrainian boxing king’s voice carried a sense of relief. “I concede.”

As the referee raised Chen Wu’s left hand, a massive taiji diagram suddenly lit up on the dome of the training hall. Cyan-gold Qi Energy gushed out from the totems of Baji Fist and Crushing Fist, forming a rotating sphere in virtual space—that was the ultimate form of “Taiji Baji Collapse,” where hard force and soft force completed a perfect cycle. Lin Mo’s tablet showed that the number of people online on the Global Martial Arts System had surpassed 9 billion. The bullet comments were filled with a synchronized “overcoming hardness with softness,” as golden characters formed a giant circle in virtual space.

In the Flower Girl's basket, the seeds watered by Taiji Dew suddenly sprouted. The stems of the seedlings followed the curves of the taiji diagram, while the branches and leaves bore the totems of both Baji Fist and Crushing Fist, swaying gracefully in the morning light. The young girl planted the seedling in a flowerpot in the gym. When Love passed by, the leaves suddenly bent toward him—cyan-gold Qi Energy traveled along the veins of the leaves, drawing the character for “Harmony” on the ground.

Grandpa Wang’s tobacco pipe tapped out a brisk rhythm on the camphor wood box. The old man pulled a copper Taiji Plate from the bottom of the box. The Yin and Yang fish on the surface could rotate freely, and the humming sound they made when turning was perfectly consistent with the frequency of Chen Wu’s Qi Energy. “This is your Great-grandfather’s Tomb Guardian token,” the pipe pointed to the center of the Taiji Plate. “He said the true essence of Taiji is not winning or losing, but harmony—just like this hard and soft force; they seem opposite, but they have always been one.”

As Chen Wu walked out of the training hall, the billboard at the corner of the alley was playing a post-match interview. Love showed the taiji diagram mark on the inside of his glove to the camera: “I'm staying in China to learn Taiji. No matter how much money Grey Shadow gives, it can't buy this kind of Qi Energy harmony.” The screen suddenly cut to Zhang Hao’s hospital ward. The former fighting champion was practicing the starting posture of “Taiji Baji Collapse.” The alloy remains of his right arm had been removed, and the new skin glowed with cyan-gold Qi Energy.

When the System’s final prompt popped up, A-Ming's younger sister's video call suddenly connected. The young girl held up a freshly drawn taiji diagram with red writing on it: “Hard force is 1, soft force is 0, and together they are the whole world.” Outside the hospital window, Grandpa Wang was teaching Lin Mo how to perform Taiji Cloud Hands. The old police officer's body camera was pointed at them; on the bluestone floor in the lens, the curves of the taiji diagram perfectly overlapped with the light of the morning sun.

Chen Wu suddenly understood that the true power of Taiji was not the technique of overcoming hardness with softness, but the wisdom of turning opposition into harmony. Just like the ceaselessly rotating taiji diagram on the floor of the training hall, the hardness of Baji Fist and the softness of the Crushing Fist were never forces that canceled each other out, but the two wheels driving the Legacy forward. As the moonlight washed over the bluestone floor, the Yin and Yang fish of the taiji diagram suddenly rotated in reverse, forming a complete character for “Dao” on the ground—that was the ultimate destination of all martial arts and the true essence the Tomb Guardians had protected for generations.

The final image of the global broadcast lingered on the moment Chen Wu turned around. Cyan-gold Qi Energy formed a massive taiji diagram behind him, merging with the light of the peace lock and the Bronze Token. The bullet comments suddenly flooded with synchronized text: “The harmony of hard and soft is the true Martial Dao.”