Chapter 97: The Martial Path Layout

“I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Zhang.” Yuan Feng immediately grasped the meaning.

Zhang Kai chuckled. “No need for thanks. Being able to lend a hand is also my duty as a citizen.”

“In that case, let’s evacuate first. Next, send in the troops. Also, the plan we discussed after observing these past few days can now be put into motion.” Yuan Feng looked at Brother Wang.

Brother Wang said, “All right, I’ll make the arrangements at once.”

With that, the large contingent began to withdraw.

Zhang Kai left with them as well.

By this point, Zhang Kai could see it clearly: the Empire intended to strike hard and take over this burden.

This was no longer one man’s concern. It affected whether the Empire could replicate this expedition on a large scale, obtain enough points from Earth Home, and then exchange them for things useful to the nation.

And after this operation, Zhang Kai had begun to think.

For ordinary people to oppose the strange and inhuman, the difficulty was indeed immense. Even with thorough preparation, the losses would likely be severe.

Thus, improving individual strength was urgent.

But the spiritual energy revival was still in its earliest, feeble stage, and cultivation was difficult.

So, could they consider promoting martial arts for the whole nation?

Martial ways were not as profound as the path of immortals.

But with some accomplishment in martial arts, one could not only strengthen the body and prolong life, but also contend with minor demons and wandering ghosts.

If a large army were formed from those accomplished in martial arts, perhaps they could even stand against the terrifying things of forbidden lands, or the inhuman beings beyond the world.

Still, even if martial arts were to be taught, it could not be for free.

Zhang Kai’s aim was to turn the entire Empire, or even the entire world, into his support base, not to give selflessly.

Therefore, anything gained had to be paid for.

So then, let the loan program go live!

Slowly, the conscience of a capitalist began to take shape in Zhang Kai’s heart.

Over the next two days, through the Dragon of Flesh and Bone, Zhang Kai integrated martial arts from all the films and television dramas he could find and sketched out a rough system.

Then he issued an exclusive quest in Earth Home: to film a television drama introducing the secrets of Chinese martial arts. The key requirement was that every martial technique must be shown with its manual, and the director must construct a complete martial world setting according to the system he provided.

Reward points: one thousand.

Once the quest was posted, the whole world boiled over.

Everyone logged in wanted to take it, even foreigners went mad with desire.

But there was only one slot, and it required an online interview and review. A script also had to be submitted, and only after the finished production was approved would the points be granted.

So the difficulty was fairly high; it effectively eliminated any director below excellent.

Even so, dozens of directors, supported by their respective countries, submitted applications.

Zhang Kai had the Dragon of Flesh and Bone interview them one by one.

In the end, seven passed, after which they were given the system requirements and asked to create scripts for a second evaluation.

Among those who passed, three were from the Empire, one from Japan, one from a Southeast Asian nation, and two were major American directors.

The main goal was to see who could achieve the prescribed style.

After all, the martial arts system Zhang Kai provided had two foundations: longevity and vitality, and attribute-based offense.

The first was for humanity’s welfare, to make everyone take to martial training gladly, so it could be popularized on a broad scale. The second was to provide combat ability, so as to oppose the inhuman.

And Zhang Kai had only one requirement: it should feel as real as possible. Also, it had to feature suitable special effects if possible—neither plain and unremarkable nor excessively exaggerated.

Under such demands, the countries whose directors had been selected immediately gathered every professional talent they could call upon, pooling opinions and drawing on collective wisdom.

After all, one thousand points could in Earth Home be exchanged for a new material or a technological category at least a decade beyond current science.

A single effort could save ten years of cost and labor. The lure was irresistible; no country could withstand it.

And the greatest advantage belonged, naturally, to the Empire.

This was something for their own people to play with. If the goal were not to rake in money, but to truly produce a fine martial arts drama, then it would be like a fish in water.

Still, the Empire did not dare to be careless. Who knew whether other countries might carve out a different path and produce something even better?

So, to ensure success, the Empire decided to film ten productions. No need to worry about investment—the state would cover everything. So long as one masterpiece could be made, everyone involved in the successful one would receive special state favor.

When the news spread, the entertainment industry went mad as well.

This was a chance to rise straight into the heavens.

Whether they were top-tier stars, traffic-chasing pretty boys, or even ordinary extras, who would not want a share of such a grand event? Even if they only got one shot on screen, it would still be an unprecedented participation. If they became famous from it, they might even leave their names in history.

For this opportunity, the entertainment world launched all manner of public relations efforts. For a role, even a minor supporting extra, they fought like mad dogs.

But this time, with the nation itself overseeing the process, it was no joke. Before the script had even taken shape, the requirements for the cast had already been issued.

To reflect the drama’s authenticity, acting ability was the only pass. Even a gatekeeper’s lackey or a merchandise peddler among the extras had to have genuine skill.

As soon as this requirement was announced, all the traffic stars were stunned.

That was tantamount to directly rejecting them.

After all, they knew very well how much acting talent they actually had.

At once, the whole world focused on this spectacle. People argued over who would be cast and which director’s work was more eagerly anticipated. But above all else, they wondered: why was Earth Home putting on such an event? What was its purpose?

To stir all of humanity into excitement, Zhang Kai thought it over and had the Dragon of Flesh and Bone publicly announce the reason for making the martial arts drama.

Very quickly, everyone saw the news.

Then everyone was dumbfounded, bewildered, and astonished.

The announcement was simple, direct, and blunt:

“Filming a martial arts drama is meant to give humanity around the world a clear impression of martial ways. The Ultraman race is distributed across countless space-time universes, and it has also descended upon worlds similar to Earth, where it discovered the existence of martial arts. Some martial arts practitioners even possess power no weaker than that of an Ultraman. This martial arts system has also been collected by the Ultraman race, who have decided to film it so that all humanity may understand this system. After the drama is released, Earth Home will open the martial arts system for everyone to choose from.”

So martial training was real.

Did that mean Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms, Six Meridians Divine Sword, the I Ching Manual, even Storm Leg and Threefold Return Energy were all real too?

It utterly overturned everyone’s worldview.

Fortunately, after the appearance of the Ultramen, everyone had already had their worldview rebuilt. In such a short time, they accepted this explanation—and became fanatical about it.

The Ultramen really were humanity’s good friends. They had come to Earth to help mankind grow stronger.

And so, everyone grew even more eager for the martial arts drama, wanting to see what choices were available, what each form of martial arts looked like in practice, and then choose the one suited to themselves so they might become masters.

In the midst of that anticipation, one of the selected directors nearly went mad.