Chapter 10

After the elderly Chen taught Wang Lei the technique that his master had named "Taiji Breathing Method," Wang Lei realized he had overthought it. The practice of this breathing method bore no resemblance to the "Elixir of Immortality" described in martial arts novels. It did not involve true qi or any form of mental sensation, nor did it mention acupoints or meridians. Even the posture was very casual.

It was merely a breathing technique with a different rhythm. After slowly inhaling air into the abdomen and holding it, one would cause the air to vibrate through a silent shout within the body, then slowly and steadily exhale the waste air. This was done to exercise the internal organs and invigorate the blood and qi.

In some aspects, this practice was somewhat similar to the legendary "Tiger and Leopard Roar," but when Wang Lei asked his grandfather about it later, he was told that it had nothing to do with the "Tiger and Leopard Roar." It was simply a health-preserving technique for exercising the internal organs.

Although Wang Lei was skeptical that this practice could exercise the internal organs and promote health, he had to practice it diligently under the supervision of his grandfather and the elderly Chen.

However, after practicing for half a day, Wang Lei still couldn't figure out how to make the air vibrate through a silent shout.

So the elderly Chen personally demonstrated it to Wang Lei.

He asked Wang Lei to place his palm on the elderly Chen's abdomen, and then the elderly Chen began to "vibrate."

Wang Lei immediately felt that the elderly Chen's abdomen was like a drum being rapidly beaten, continuously vibrating.

The frequency of the vibrations was so fast, estimated to be over 400 times per minute.

Wang Lei was instantly shocked.

Thus, he had to adopt a serious attitude and earnestly seek advice from the elderly Chen.

Regardless of whether the "Taiji Breathing Method" truly had the effects of exercising the internal organs, invigorating the blood and qi, healing hidden injuries, and extending life, Wang Lei was determined to learn it.

Because it felt really cool!

After practicing hard for an entire evening, Wang Lei finally learned the "vibration" technique.

Although his "vibration" frequency was far lower than the elderly Chen's, less than 30 times per minute, and the sensation was not very noticeable, he had at least learned it.

According to the elderly Chen, one had to practice the "Taiji Breathing Method" for at least half a year to see significant results.

For example, one's appetite would increase, bowel movements would be smooth, sleep would be sound, and one would wake up early. Physical strength would recover faster than average, and the senses would become more acute. These were all effects of the internal organs being exercised and their functions enhanced.

The practice time was not long, just about 20 minutes a day, provided one persisted and practiced every day, year after year.

Just 20 minutes a day, Wang Lei didn't find it too difficult, so he promised the elderly Chen that he would practice it every night before going to bed.

Before leaving, Wang Lei told his grandfather about the "San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition" he would participate in a week later and that his teacher, Kelly, at school wouldn't allow him to take leave. He asked his grandfather for help.

His grandfather said, "Don't worry, I'll talk to your school principal tomorrow. I know him, and he should give me some face. Just do your best in the competition and don't disgrace us Chinese. If you lose, don't even think about becoming a professional boxer!"

Hearing his grandfather's words, Wang Lei felt immense pressure.

...

His grandfather's influence was indeed great. The next day, after he went to Montvera Middle School to talk to the principal, the principal quickly summoned Wang Lei.

Not only did he grant him leave, but he also kindly encouraged Wang Lei to do his best in the competition. He said that if Wang Lei won the championship, the school would be proud of him and put his name on the school's honor wall.

Wang Lei was flattered and secretly guessed that his grandfather might have given the principal some money.

A week passed quickly.

The venue for the "San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition" was the San Francisco Bay Arena.

The San Francisco Bay Arena was an old arena, built over 30 years ago. Although it looked old on the outside, it was large enough to accommodate over ten thousand spectators and had several levels. It could host up to eight boxing matches simultaneously on eight different rings.

The number of boxers who registered for the "San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition" was not many, with fewer than 200 participants across three weight classes. The participants were mostly between 14 and 18 years old, with over 70% being high school students from San Francisco, and the remaining 30% from other places and some boxing clubs.

According to a demographic survey of San Francisco, non-Hispanic whites made up about 46% of the total population, Asians 31% (mostly Chinese), Hispanics 14%, and African Americans 7%.

However, among the 180 participants in the "San Francisco Youth Boxing Competition," only two were Asian.

One was Wang Lei, a Chinese, and the other was a Japanese.

The number of white participants was less than 40, and the rest were all black.

It seemed that in the United States, competitive sports, especially boxing and basketball, were predominantly dominated by black people.

Wang Lei registered for the lightweight division, which was 130 pounds and below. Before the competition, he was accompanied by Sadler to the boxing club hosting the event for a weight check and drug test, both of which he passed.

Wang Lei asked Sadler and learned that the lightweight division had the most participants, with a total of 128 boxers. This meant that Wang Lei would have to win at least seven matches to become the champion.

Fortunately, this was a formal competition that would be recorded. If Wang Lei won all seven matches, his amateur record would be seven wins, zero losses, and zero draws.

The competition lasted only three days, with seven matches to be completed in those three days, and three matches on the first day.

If this were a professional competition, such an intensity would be unbearable for most people. Fortunately, this was an amateur competition, and for beginners, each match consisted of three rounds, with each round lasting only two minutes. Even if each match went the full three rounds, the intensity was not too high.

The San Francisco Bay Arena had set up four boxing rings. For the first two days, four pairs of boxers would compete simultaneously, and on the last day, the final would be held on one ring.

Today, only three people accompanied Wang Lei to the San Francisco Bay Arena for the competition.

Wang Lei's parents were still unaware of his boxing, and his grandfather and the elderly Chen were just spectators. Griffith had something to do and couldn't come, and Bill was still in school and couldn't take leave. The people who accompanied Wang Lei were Sadler, Cruz, and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor named Ouyang Ming.

Ouyang Ming was a disciple of Wang Lei's grandfather, Wang Zhengshan. After Wang Lei's grandfather talked to Sadler, he recommended Ouyang Ming to be Wang Lei's personal medical attendant.

Wang Lei's grandfather, Wang Zhengshan, had taken on about ten disciples before Wang Lei was born, but most of them learned boxing from him. Only two were willing to learn traditional Chinese medicine and achieved some success, one of whom was Ouyang Ming, the youngest disciple, who was just 30 years old.

When Wang Lei's grandfather first visited Sadler's boxing club, he found that the club had too few people, not even a medical attendant. Worried that his grandson might get injured during training and have no one to treat him, he brought Ouyang Ming in.

Ouyang Ming's medical skills were quite good, especially in treating injuries and performing massage. However, although the training intensity at the boxing club was high, Sadler always kept a close eye on Wang Lei, so he rarely got injured.

Therefore, Ouyang Ming was mostly idle at the boxing club, only massaging and helping Wang Lei relax and recover after training.

Sadler, seeing that Ouyang Ming's massage skills were excellent, designated him as Wang Lei's professional masseur and brought him to the competition.

After the draw, Wang Lei's first opponent was a white teenager named Jose Denton.

Jose Denton was only 15 years old, one year younger than Wang Lei, but he weighed exactly 130 pounds, two pounds heavier than Wang Lei. His physique also seemed larger, but his muscle definition was not obvious, and his fat ratio seemed higher.

Wang Lei had looked at himself in the mirror before the match and noticed that after two months of training and a balanced diet, his fat ratio had decreased, and his muscles were clearly defined. His abs were clearly visible, and his back muscles seemed to have grown, forming a V-shape.

Although he was not yet as muscular as Bruce Lee, Wang Lei was confident that with another year of training, his muscles would be on par with Bruce Lee's.

Before the match, Sadler was more nervous than Wang Lei, constantly reminding him of what to pay attention to during the boxing match, telling him to stay relaxed and not to be too tense. This made Wang Lei quite helpless, but he couldn't make Sadler shut up.

Fortunately, the match was about to start.

Sadler checked Wang Lei's gloves, protective gear, and headgear one last time before letting him enter the ring.

When Wang Lei arrived at Ring 4, he was surprised to find that there were not many spectators, only about 100 people, and they were very quiet, unlike what he had seen in TV and movies, where the crowd would cheer or boo as he entered the ring.

It seemed he had overthought it.

He was just a newcomer who hadn't even started his first amateur match, so why would he receive any attention? These spectators probably just came to the arena out of boredom and didn't take the match seriously.

This thought made Wang Lei feel a bit dissatisfied, but it also slightly relaxed his nervousness.

On the ring, Wang Lei met his opponent, Jose Denton.

A white, slightly chubby guy with no muscle definition.

Can this guy even box?

Wang Lei was a bit puzzled, but because of Sadler's repeated warnings, he didn't dare to underestimate his opponent.

After circling around Jose Denton for about half a minute, Wang Lei finally confirmed: this white teenager really didn't know how to box!

Or rather, he knew how to box but had no practical experience, so he was just flailing around.

What kind of skill level is this to even dare to participate in a competition?

Was his coach too arrogant, thinking all boxers were at this level, or was he blinded by the prize money for the championship?

Just 500 dollars, is it worth it?

Feeling that he had been toyed with by Jose Denton, Wang Lei was a bit angry. After dodging another wild swing from Jose Denton, Wang Lei seized the opportunity to counter with a powerful straight punch.

With a "bang," it hit Jose Denton's chin.

Jose Denton fell straight to the ground, his eyes rolling back as he passed out.

The referee, seeing this, didn't even bother to count and immediately declared the match over, raising Wang Lei's right arm to announce his victory.

It was too easy!

Wang Lei came down from the ring, excited, and accepted the congratulations of Sadler and Cruz, his smile unable to be hidden.

However, when he saw his grandfather and the elderly Chen in the audience, his excitement was instantly dampened by his grandfather's words.

"It was just a trash opponent. You could have knocked him out in one move, but you dragged it out for half a minute? Where did your fearless courage go? With such a small heart, what kind of boxer are you? Disgraceful and shameful!"

Wang Lei's face turned red, and he lowered his head, wishing he could dig a hole and hide in it.