"Freakin’ awesome!"

"Holy cow!"

"What the hell is going on?"

The onlookers were amazed, feeling like their worldview had just been shattered.

"Because he’s wearing a White Crane mask, the red-crowned crane thinks he’s one of them?"

"Maybe... Aren’t there all kinds of videos online where ducks think a person is their mom, or a dog treats a cat like its kid? Most animals aren’t that smart."

"That takes a long time, though. He just started, right? He’s just performing Crane Fist."

"Could it be because of the Crane Fist?"

"Remember the guy from *Journey to the West: Demon Subduing Chapter* with the Tiger-Beating Fist and Mantis Fist?"

"Holy shit, is this a movie coming to life?"

"It’s art born from reality, and today we’ve seen the genuine article!"

Finally, someone got to the point. "He’s perfectly captured the essence of Crane Fist, which confused the red-crowned crane!"

"Brother Gu! Freakin’ awesome!"

Li Hui came over with his camera, beyond excited. "Sister Ya and Sister Shishi were awesome too! They suddenly changed the music’s style right when you were facing off with the red-crowned crane. I got a wide shot with everything in it, and it’ll fit perfectly into the video without feeling awkward at all!"

Xiao Ya smiled. "It was Shishi who changed it. I just followed her lead."

Jiang Shishi was also quite proud. "The transition was silky smooth. We went from *Empty Mountain Bird Language* to the climax of *Qin King’s Battle Music*, which was perfect for that scene."

Jiang Shishi had reacted quickly. She even skipped a part of the rhythm right as the park staff were arriving and Gu Zhao made his final move, ending the piece perfectly just as the red-crowned cranes bowed their heads. It was a flawless finish.

By now, a large crowd had gathered around them. A few girls were clamoring for Gu Zhao to take off his mask, which he naturally refused. However, when some children wanted to take a picture with him, Gu Zhao didn’t decline.

With Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi in the background, the kids and Gu Zhao stood facing each other, striking a Crane Fist pose. During this, a few of the red-crowned cranes came over to join the fun, drawing a round of applause from the crowd.

...

On the way down the mountain, Li Hui was still buzzing with excitement. "This is definitely going to blow up!"

"I need to get home right away and edit this footage," Li Hui said. "A lot of people were filming just now, so it’ll probably get a small wave of attention. If we release a polished version, we can ride the hype."

"When can you have it done?" Jiang Shishi asked.

"Tomor—Tonight!" Li Hui said, gritting his teeth. "I’ll finish the one in the big aviary tonight, and then I’ll do the first two."

"Thanks for your hard work. I’ll give you a big bonus for it!" Jiang Shishi patted Li Hui’s shoulder.

"Thanks, Sister Shishi!" Li Hui chuckled, then couldn’t help but look toward Gu Zhao.

Although Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya were beautiful, at this moment, Li Hui admired Gu Zhao the most. "Brother Gu, your Crane Fist is just too amazing. What other fist techniques do you know? Should we film at the zoo next time?"

Gu Zhao laughed. "Attracting one crane was just luck. You don’t actually want me to go find tigers and bears at the zoo, do you?"

Li Hui gave an awkward, goofy smile. Of course, he didn’t think Gu Zhao could actually beat a tiger or a bear. After all, not just anyone could be Wu Song.

Down the mountain, dinner, home...

That evening, Li Hui sent the finished video to their group chat.

Gu Zhao clicked on it and only then realized just how cool he looked in the video!

The first second of the video was designed to grab the viewer’s attention, so it opened with a close-up of Xiao Ya’s side profile. Then, the camera panned to show off Jiang Shishi’s stunning figure. Next, it showcased the beautiful surroundings and various birds, before finally tilting up to reveal Gu Zhao on top of a rockery.

*Empty Mountain Bird Language* began to play. Surrounded by a hundred birds, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi performed, showcasing music and attire with a thousand years of heritage. Gu Zhao began to execute the White Crane Fist, displaying the martial arts and spirit of an ancient civilization.

If up to this point it was just an ordinary scenic martial arts film, the next moment ascended into legend.

An Immortal Crane descends, mistaking him for a foe. Wings spread in defiance, man and crane face off!

Gu Zhao confronted the red-crowned crane with his White Crane Fist. The music reversed, the atmosphere grew tense. In the end, he fought and won. The music concluded at its climax, elevating the video to the philosophical realm of Celestial Xia People living in harmony with nature.

Li Hui: I saw someone uploaded a bystander’s video from today. It’s already on the local trending list. It might blow up.

Zhang Hang: Then upload it quick and ride the hype!

Zhang Hang: If it was just our video, some people might think it’s fake, or at best just beautifully shot. But with the bystander footage, it’s definitely gonna blow up!

Li Hui: @Jiang Shishi @Xiao Ya, Sister Shishi, Sister Xiao Ya, Brother Gu, I’ve sent it to you all.

Jiang Shishi: Thanks, great work!

Jiang Shishi: (MoneyTransfer.jpg)

Xiao Ya: @Gu Zhao, want to do a collaboration post?

Gu Zhao: No need. You guys go ahead and upload it. My account is just for Taoism.

After replying, Gu Zhao checked the time, then put his phone aside. Time to cross over to the Otherworld, cultivate, and sleep!

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Shishi and Xiao Ya were too excited to sleep.

"He’s so hot. What should I do? I really want to sleep with him." Jiang Shishi came into Xiao Ya’s bedroom, stroking Xiao Ya’s long legs. "Don’t you have a solo rehearsal tomorrow? What do you think if I use a broken computer as an excuse to invite him over to fix it?"

Xiao Ya shot up. "In your dreams! You’re coming with me to rehearsal tomorrow!"

Jiang Shishi’s eyes widened. "You can’t stand to see your sister get some action?"

"We agreed to compete fairly. You can’t break the rules," Xiao Ya said through clenched teeth. "Besides, we’ve been dropping such obvious hints. He has to choose one of us, right?"

Jiang Shishi’s eyes darted around. She had a feeling that Gu Zhao’s gaze lingered a little too long on Xiao Ya’s legs, giving her a sense of crisis. But she wasn’t ready to give up.

Thinking about her own family situation, Jiang Shishi said darkly, "What if he wants both of us?"

Xiao Ya fell silent.

...

Over the next few days, both the Otherworld and the modern world entered a period of calm.

In the Otherworld, construction on Daluo Palace continued in an orderly fashion. Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song absorbed the Evil Qi provided by the Bian Ancestor while also taking in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to rapidly advance their cultivation.

Wang Yue transplanted Xiaolan into the small courtyard. The Silk Embroideress and Bai Ke went about their daily cultivation, and the melodious sound of a xiao finally began to drift through the courtyard.

In the modern world, Gu Zhao wasn’t in a hurry to go to Dragon Tiger Heavenly Mountain, because Xiao Ya had mentioned that the Daoist from Yandu was coming to Yangcheng soon.

So, for the past few days, he had been shuttling between the Otherworld and the modern world, taking the opportunity to try out the various martial arts tutorials he had bought. In the end, he decided to focus on Xingyi Fist as his primary body technique.

Tai Chi, Eight Trigrams, and Xingyi are known as the three great styles of Inner Boxing. This just means they are the most famous, not that they are the only ones. In fact, the White Crane Fist he had practiced since childhood was also a form of Inner Boxing.

But White Crane Fist was niche and had a singular focus. It wasn’t as all-encompassing or profound as the three great styles, which could be adapted to all sorts of situations.

The Xingyi Three-Body Posture was famous and perfectly suited for circulating his Taoist True Qi through his entire body. The Piercing, Drilling, Bursting, Bombing, and Horizontal Five Elements Fist was incredibly versatile, and the Dragon, Tiger, Bear, Snake, and Other Twelve Forms Fist could be adapted to any situation or opponent.

Moreover, Xingyi Fist also included spear techniques. As the saying goes, "an inch longer is an inch stronger." Gu Zhao felt a long spear suited him better than a sword. After all, the masters in *Investiture of the Gods* and *Journey to the West* all fought with long-handled weapons!

Gu Zhao: վ’ᴗ’ի

And as the hype brewed over a few days, the White Crane Fist incident finally hit the top trending lists.

Jiang Shishi: It blew up! It blew up!

Jiang Shishi: Xiaoya and I gained almost a million followers!

Xiao Ya: In my and Shishi’s comment sections, everyone is asking who you are (Smirking.jpg). If you linked your account, your followers would definitely grow faster than ours.

Jiang Shishi: Yeah, yeah! You’re the main character! You’re so handsome (Leering.jpg)

Jiang Shishi: Handsome Gu really can carry us to new heights (Teasing.jpg)

Xiao Ya: (Blushing.jpg)

Jiang Shishi: Such a huge favor in gaining us followers... I have no way to repay you but with my body. Handsome Gu can choose his consort now (Naughty.jpg)

Xiao Ya: (Smirking.jpg)

Gu Zhao felt like the two women were teasing him, and he had concrete proof.

He opened the video-sharing app and did a search. "Tsk, tsk, it really did blow up."