The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 102 I was careless just now
"Do not hit?"

Tang Bei was very disappointed. This was his first time challenging a dojo, and he had such a good opportunity to fight, but he couldn't enjoy it to the fullest. It ended hastily, which was really disappointing.

Masahiro Miyazaki took a deep breath, calmed his extremely bad mood, stepped forward, bowed ninety degrees, and said in English:

“Mr. Tang Bei, the Tianxin Dojo cannot represent the Japanese martial arts world. One day, the Japanese martial arts world will formally challenge you.”

Tang Bei said disdainfully, "His martial arts tradition is rooted in Japan. He has Tenshin Dojos in both Japan and the United States, and he promotes the spirit of Japanese Bushido all over the world. Are you afraid to admit it?"

Faced with his blatant slap in the face, the entire Japanese Kendo team, including Masahiro Miyazaki, could only grit their teeth and accept it, daring not to admit it. They simply insisted that Siegel had nothing to do with Japanese martial arts.

Miyazaki Masahiro's face turned ashen. He was already a god-like figure in the Japanese kendo world, but he never expected to suffer such humiliation. A murderous intent rose in his heart.

At this point, he couldn't care less about whether he could beat Tang Bei or not; he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it, just like Siegel had done back then.

He bowed again and said, "Mr. Tang Bei, I am Masahiro Miyazaki, a Japanese swordsman. I hope to have a sword duel with you soon."

"Okay, Miyazaki, I support you."

"Well done, Miyazaki-kun."

A group of Japanese people shouted excitedly from behind.

Tang Bei didn't recognize this war god of the Japanese kendo world, and simply said, "Miyazaki Masahiro, the longer this drags on, the less courage you'll have."

Then, in an extremely contemptuous tone, he said, "Draw your sword now, and I will still consider you a warrior; otherwise, you are just a coward who fears battle."

"you?"

Miyazaki Masahiro's hands were almost breaking bones from gripping the weight, but reason told him that Tang Bei was using reverse psychology and he couldn't fall for it.

"Miyazaki-kun?"

The members of the Nippon Budo team were also furious and all looked at Masahiro Miyazaki, but Miyazaki remained unmoved.

"let's go."

Seeing how patient Miyazaki Masahiro was, Tang Bei didn't bother to say anything more. He finished his business and turned to leave.

A group of reporters quickly followed, throwing out a barrage of questions.

"Tang, are you still planning to challenge them?" Anlis asked excitedly.

"I have limited time and don't plan to waste any more time recently," Tang Bei said, shaking his head.

Annelies then asked, "Tang, with your swordsmanship skills, you could easily open your own dojo. Do you have any plans to do so?"

Tang Bei thought for a moment and said, "No."

"why?"

Tang Bei stopped at the elevator door and said, "I don't have the time or energy. I'm a professional basketball player now."

"Tang, do you have any plans to enter the professional boxing or professional wrestling industry?" another reporter asked.

"I don't have the extra energy or time to train in boxing and wrestling right now," Tang Bei said, shaking his head.

The elevator doors opened, and Chen Long and a group of Hong Kong celebrities escorted Tang Bei in, leaving the chaotic Tianxin Dojo behind.

A group of Hollywood action stars wanted to greet Tang Bei, but since Tang Bei was surrounded by so many people, they didn't follow.

"I'll challenge him sooner or later."

Among Hollywood stars, Dolph Lundgren clenched his fist and spoke.

As a three-time consecutive European Kyokushin Karate champion, he has also studied judo, boxing, taekwondo, fencing, and Goju-ryu karate, making him very strong in actual combat.

Moreover, he is 196 cm tall and weighs 115 kg. Although he is much smaller than Tang Bei, the difference is not that great.

So he still had confidence and did not lose confidence because Siegel, who was also an action movie star, was defeated by Tang Bei's three swords. After all, he could not compete with Tang Bei in swordsmanship.

Upon hearing this, Stallone advised, "Dolph, you need to think this through. Even if you beat him, it won't mean anything to you."

Lundgren nodded and said, "I will consider it carefully. Even if we have to fight, it will be a private challenge, not like what Siegel did."

Schwarzenegger said, "Steven Siegel is in big trouble this time. He may lose his position in our industry."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Siegel only rose to A-list status this year with just one movie. He has no real foundation, so he's bound to drop in status now, and might not even be able to keep his original second-tier position.

As soon as they stepped out of the building, Chen Long said, "Master Tang, how about we find a place to have some tea?"

Tang Bei and Chen Long didn't have much of a relationship and wouldn't have many opportunities to interact in the future, so he didn't want to agree. However, he couldn't refuse their hospitality and could only nod and say, "Alright, my flight is this afternoon, I still have some time."

The group took a taxi to Chinatown, found a restaurant, and sat down. Then, Mai Baochan asked, "Master Tang, from which school or sect did you learn your swordsmanship?"

“Master Mai, I practice Tai Chi, Xingyi, and Bagua,” Tang Bei replied.

Mai Baochan said, "That's perfect, I also practice these three internal martial arts styles, and my master is Fu Yonghui."

"Master of Bagua, Fu-style Tai Chi?"

Tang Bei smiled and said, "My three martial arts styles each have their own lineage. Tai Chi was passed down from Master Sun Jianyun, Xingyi from Master Li Zhongxuan, and Bagua from Master Liu Fengcai."

Mai Baochan, who was familiar with the domestic martial arts scene, nodded. These three masters were all grandmasters and had long been renowned.

Sun Jianyun is Sun Lutang's daughter and a successor of Sun-style Tai Chi. She should be over eighty years old now, and she still runs a martial arts school in Beijing.

Li Zhongxuan was the last martial arts master in modern China. He studied under Tang Weilu, Shang Yunxiang and Xue Dian. He never accepted any disciples in his life. Now he is over eighty years old, but unexpectedly he accepted Tang Bei as a disciple. He must have made an exception because he saw that Tang Bei was so talented.

Liu Fengcai was the second-generation master of Cheng-style and Gao-style Baguazhang, and was a disciple of Gao Yisheng, the founder of Cheng-style and Gao-style Baguazhang. However, he passed away a few years ago.

"Tang Bei, let's have a go!" Zhen Zidan said eagerly.

Tang Bei glanced at Zhen Zidan, not recognizing him, and thought that someone so small couldn't withstand a punch from him, so he quickly shook his head and said, "Empty-handed? I won't fight."

"Why?" asked Dan Mako.

"In a fistfight, beating you is no different from beating a child," Tang Bei said.

The room fell silent as everyone, including Mai Baochan, turned to look at the two of them.

Zhen Zidan's face instantly turned blood red as he glared at Tang Bei and said, "What do you mean? You just knocked his sword away because you were strong. I don't think you have any real skills."

"You really want to try?"

Tang Bei was a little annoyed. These nobodies dared to jump around in front of him. Couldn't these lousy celebrities see the value of defeating Siegel with three swords?
"Come."

Donnie Yen immediately stood up.

"Zidan, don't be rude!" Mai Baochan hurriedly called out.

"Mom, he humiliated me," Zhenzi Dan said angrily.

"Then let's test our skills."

Tang Bei stood up, not caring where he was, and stood in the space between the tables, slowly extending his right hand to Zhen Zidan.

Donnie Yen also extended his right hand, and the two wrists intertwined, with a height difference of about fifty centimeters, making it look like an adult hitting a child.

"Go Donnie Yen!"

Liu Jialiang and his group of martial arts practitioners, who looked down on mainlanders from the bottom of their hearts, shouted at this moment.

"Hey, don't mess around! Fighting is not allowed here," several waiters from the restaurant shouted hurriedly.

"Pay up if you break anything."

After giving his instructions, Tang Bei said to Zhen Zidan in a deep voice, "Begin."

"OK."

A fierce glint flashed in Zhen Zidan's eyes. He retracted his right fist, suddenly turned around, and launched a mid-air back kick, trying to catch Tang Bei off guard.

"it is good!"

Seeing this fierce kick, Chen Long and the others couldn't help but cheer.

Tang Bei casually blocked with one arm; his arm, as thick as Zhen Zidan's thigh, easily deflected the kick, causing Zhen Zidan, whose balance was disrupted, to fall from mid-air...

Before Zhen Zidan could even land, Tang Bei delivered a powerful front kick, sending Zhen Zidan flying several meters through the air. He crashed into two round tables and several chairs before coming to a stop, leaving the scene in complete disarray.

"Zidan?"

Mai Baochan turned pale with fright and rushed over.

"..."

Chen Long and the others were startled and couldn't help but glance at Tang Bei, exchanging bewildered looks.

"No, it's nothing. Mom, let me lie down for a while, just a little while will make me feel better."

Donnie Yen hid there in pain, clutching his stomach with both hands, feeling as if the kick had ripped his intestines apart.

"It's good that you've recovered. I didn't put any strength into that kick," Tang Bei said.

"Thank you for your mercy, Master Tang." Mai Baochan, who was already covered in sweat, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Seeing that Zhen Zidan could still speak, she figured he was probably alright, and couldn't help but scold him:
"You really don't know your place. Can you get up? If you can, go and apologize to Master Tang. Master Tang has already shown mercy."

"Mom..." Zhen Zidan looked annoyed. He had been kicked half to death and now he had to apologize to someone. What kind of situation was this?
"Master Tang, I'm so sorry."

She struggled to get up and came to Tang Bei, saying in a pitiful tone.

"It's nothing, you can just pay for these tables and chairs."

Tang Bei waved his hand and said to Chen Long and the others, "Excuse me, everyone, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

"Take care, Master Tang."

"Master Tang, I'll give you a ride."

Tang Bei didn't have much interaction with celebrities like Chen Long, and didn't intend to develop a deep relationship with them, so he took this opportunity to leave.

"Billy, can you fight him?" Liu Jialiang asked after Tang Bei left.

Billy Zhou shook his head and said, "How could that be? Although I am bigger than you, I am still much smaller than him."

I'm only 78 kilograms, how much is he? I'm 183 centimeters tall, how tall is he? If Zidan can't withstand a punch or a kick from him, I'm afraid I can't either. There's probably no difference between him hitting me and hitting Zidan.

If he were a clumsy person, we smaller players could use our speed to overcome his slowness. But he's faster, more agile, and more explosive than us. How can we fight him?

After catching his breath, Zhen Zidan said with a hint of resentment, "I was careless just now. I should have attacked his lower body first."

"Snapped!"

Mai Baochan slapped his son on the back of the head and said irritably:
“His thighs are thicker than your waist. He’s trained in horse stance and wrestling, so his lower body is so stable that even a horse might not be able to pull him. You want to attack his lower body? You can’t attack his lower body, but he can knock you down with a single punch from his upper body.”

"Then how do we fight?"

Donnie Yen was still unconvinced.

“You can’t hit him. When he hits you, it’s like an adult hitting a child,” Mai Baochan said irritably.

The old mother's words made Mako Dan feel so depressed that he didn't want to say anything.

Chen Long changed the subject, saying, "We flew this far and only saw three swords, but it was worth it. I saw how real martial arts practitioners fight."

Zhen Zidan glanced at Chen Long, thinking to himself, "Is he here to see how he beats me up?"
Mai Baochan said, "There are still people in the mainland who practice fighting like him, but they are becoming increasingly rare."

It's expensive, and even if you practice, you can't earn enough to support a family, so most of these skills are passed down through families, some of which have been lost, and very few people have his kind of talent.

Hong Jingbao nodded and said, "So tall, yet so agile, with explosive power that's outrageous. His talent is incredible; it's one in a million."

Yuan Biao said, "It should be one in a billion, and there are probably only a handful in all of China. It feels like a super-sized version of Li Lianjie."

Hong Jingbao said, "You also need to have naturally strong bones and muscles, otherwise, if you train too much, your body will be ruined long ago."

Chen Long nodded quickly. He was a naturally strong person. Despite being injured so many times, he was still lively and energetic.

By this time, news about the challenge to the dojo was everywhere, and the reputation of the Tianxin Dojo was completely destroyed by the challenge. Students left the dojo one after another, and the impact even spread to other Japanese martial arts dojos in the United States.

Tang Bei also gained immense popularity in the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong due to this challenge and the presence of numerous Hollywood and Hong Kong stars.

The next away game was against the Washington Bullets. On his way to the airport, Tang Bei suddenly received a ticket from the treasure chest:
"The host has been selected as the NBA's Player of the Month for December, achieving another accomplishment and receiving a treasure reward: a pair of wrist braces, which can increase wrist protection by 30% and reduce wrist ulnar deflection angle by 40%."

"good."

Tang Bei was very happy. Dunking too many times had caused a lot of damage to his wrists, and this wristband was just right.

Before boarding the plane, Eric Fleischer finally received the message and said, "Don, the league just announced the Player of the Month for December. It's yours."

"it is good."

Tang Bei nodded.

Eric Fleischer excitedly said, "The Heat are promoting you a lot, and with today's challenge and your performance that surpassed Ewing and O'Neal, I think there shouldn't be any problem with the All-Star voting. You're definitely going to be the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Star team."

"I hope so," Tang Bei said.

Eric Fleischer added with a smile, "I've got some news that the Bulls, Knicks, Rockets, and Cavaliers are currently in trade talks with the Clippers."

They want to trade for a 140kg bodybuilder; the Clippers are asking for two first-round picks and two lottery picks.

"Meat prices have skyrocketed?" John Liu's jaw dropped.

Tang Bei didn't take it seriously at all. 140 kilograms is considered a meat shield? If you don't have 160 kilograms, don't even think about stopping him. He can still knock you over with a single blow.

Moreover, he doesn't just rely on fighting; he also has the tornado that he's famous for. The larger he is, the slower he moves. Even tanks can't stop his tornado. Can they keep up with his pace?

That kind of tanky defense is more suitable for guarding O'Neal. Although O'Neal is agile, his movement speed is not as good as his, and his turning speed is far inferior.

In the evening, Tang Bei met up with the team at a hotel in Washington.

As soon as I entered the room, a group of teammates who had heard the news rushed in.

Glenn Rice said with envy and jealousy, "Don, you defeated Steven Seagal with three swords. He's a top-tier action star. You're amazing!"

"He's just an actor, not a professional fighter. Defeating him is nothing special," Tang Bei said with a smile.

John Salley said, "Don, the media says you broke his wrist with a sword, is that true?"

Tang Bei nodded and said, "At the very least, it should be a fracture. Whether it's broken or not, I don't know."

Bimbokors said, "Don, you know what? ESPN just reported that Steven Siegel announced from the hospital that he will be closing all Tenshin Dojos in Japan and the United States."

"That's great news! We should have a drink with dinner, haha!" Tang Bei laughed happily.

On January 2nd, the Heat defeated the Bullets on the road, achieving a seven-game winning streak and a record of 14 wins and 13 losses.

However, the Pistons also defeated the Magic on the road, so their rankings remained unchanged, with the Heat still trailing the Pistons by half a game.

On the 3rd, the results of the first week of All-Star voting were released, and the NBA officially announced them through TNT television.

At nine o'clock, the Heat team finished breakfast and waited together in the restaurant to see the result.

First, the voting results for the Eastern Conference will be announced, starting with the two guards, then the two forwards, and finally the center.

"The top guard in the Eastern Conference is Michael Jordan, with 315211 votes."

"...Isaiah Thomas, with 112015 votes."

When the first and second place guards were announced, Tang Bei and others were very surprised. The "Smiling Assassin" only received one-third of Jordan's votes.

Three more guards were announced next, and the gaps between them weren't that big anymore. Muggsy Bogues, who came in fifth, received over 80,000 votes.

Then came the forwards, with Pippen receiving the most votes, a staggering 26, leaving the Heat's players utterly astonished.

"I heard Jordan campaigned for him," Glenn Rice said enviously.

“Yes, otherwise how could he have gotten so many votes?” John Sally said.

Next up is Larry Johnson, who came in second with 173211 votes, which is also very high.

"Tang, your votes are definitely higher than his."

Seeing Tang Bei's indifferent expression, Glenn Rice offered words of comfort.

Tang Bei was taken aback. Glenn, I'm going to take your boss position, why are you being so nice to me?

He patted Glen Rice on the shoulder and said, "Glen, play well, let's make it to the All-Star game together and win the championship together."

“Great!” Glenn Rice said excitedly.

Soon, it was the center's turn.

"The best center in the East..."

As the host's voice rang out, Tang Bei and the others quieted down.

Meanwhile, far away in Orlando and New York, O'Neal and Ewing were also glued to the television, their eyes never blinking.

"...Tang Bei from the Miami Heat received 235641 votes."

"Oh ho ho..."

The restaurant where the Heat were eating was suddenly filled with screams and shouts.

"boom!"

Tang Bei slammed his fist on the table in excitement after receiving more votes than Larry Johnson.

"I lost to him again."

Orlando, O'Neal angrily turned off the TV.

New York, Ewing was extremely disappointed and depressed.

When he first joined the NBA, he was Moses Malone's starter for several seasons. Later, when Moses Malone declined, it was his turn to start. Unexpectedly, after only three seasons as the All-Star Eastern Conference starting center, he might be snatched away this time.

However, something even more frustrating happened next: he didn't get second place, but third; the second place went to O'Neal.

O'Neal received 21.7 votes, ranking second among Eastern Conference centers, compared to 15 votes.

The gap is quite large, and there is almost no chance of a comeback in the next three weeks. For him, the outcome of this All-Star vote is already decided.

(End of this chapter)