America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"now?"

Miyagi made a gesture as if to remove his helmet.

“Not now, wait until after your street fighting tournament,” Li Qun said to Gong Cheng.

"Then we'll have to wait until next weekend or the weekend after that."

"I have already secured my place in the main event, and the final match for the champion will be held next Saturday, on the rooftop of a Manhattan skyscraper."

"Will you come to see it?" Miyagi asked.

"Of course I'll go watch the final; I can't bear to spend 100 yuan on a ticket."

“Aren’t you afraid of losing to me? I’m the biggest dark horse in this year’s street boxing championship.” Gongcheng looked at Liqun and glanced at the jacket in his hand.

The Japanese-American karate kid noticed Li Qun's training methods, and his smile was somewhat disdainful.

“I hope I can see you on the rooftop of a Manhattan skyscraper in the finals,” Li Qun said with a smile.

Chapter 30 Understanding "Qi"

Li Qun ate a slice of pizza.

It must be said that Miyagi's pizzas are indeed delicious, and they are generous with the ingredients.

"Dad, is Miyagi Pizza located near us?"

"It's not exactly nearby, about five kilometers away. He delivered the pizza on his motorcycle," the old man replied.

“What a small world,” Li Qun said.

"Why don't they open a dojo instead of a pizza shop?" Li Qun wondered.

"Do you think a karate dojo can support them in New York?" the old man countered.

“It’s tough for a newly opened pizzeria to survive in New York.”

"So he went to participate in a fighting competition. The prize money was quite substantial, enough to keep their pizza shop afloat for several months," Dad said.

"Did you sense anything?" the old man asked Liqun.

"What do you sense from what?" Li Qun asked his father.

“Feel it with your heart, feel it in Miyagi Pizza,” the old man said to Li Qun. “Their pizzeria is able to survive in New York.”

"..."

“Dad, I haven’t eaten much pizza, so I can’t tell,” Li Qun said.

"You might not be able to eat such good pizza again in the future," Dad said.

My dad was looking at a flyer for Miyagi Pizza, which listed the pizzas and special offers.

"Liqun, would you like some sushi pizza?" the old man asked.

"What kind of culinary disaster is this?"

"Let's try this tomorrow," Dad said with a smile, pointing to the pizza flyer.

……

……

On a weekend afternoon, hundreds of people flooded into an empty warehouse, creating a noisy scene.

The street fighting tournament entered the main event, and the eight main event fighters appeared together on the competition field. Peter seized the opportunity to take a picture of all eight of them together.

"What's wrong with this format? I thought it would be the same as in previous years," Stan Lee said, crossing his arms in dissatisfaction.

"Is there a problem, Stan Lee?" Li Qun asked Old Li.

"It should be a competition among the eight people to determine the strongest, and the strongest will then face off against the previous champion to ultimately decide the new champion," Stan Lee patiently explained to Li Qun.

"So there's no defending champion competition this year? These eight people will compete, and the final winner will be the champion?" Li Qun said.

“You’re right, those guys devoured the best game ever,” Stan Lee reiterated his dissatisfaction.

"Could it be that something happened to the previous champion, and the title defense was canceled?" Peter speculated.

“Even so, the organizers should have notified us in advance,” Gwen said.

"Peter, who do you think has the best chance of winning the championship among these eight people?" Li Qun asked.

“Without a doubt, it’s Miyagi,” Peter replied.

"He doesn't seem to be on the same level as the others. The others are amateurs, but he gives off the feeling of a pro."

"A professional player?"

The quarterfinals of the main tournament will begin with a draw to determine their opponents, with the order of the draw arranged according to height.

Miyagi was first in line, and he was very lucky to draw the second lot.

This means that the first match of the main tournament this weekend will be between him and number one.

Miyagi exchanged glances with Riku in the crowd, deliberately shaking the number two lottery card in his hand.

The draw ended shortly afterward, and Miyagi, the karate practitioner, was to face a black boxer.

The opponent was over 1.8 meters tall and weighed over 80 kilograms. His dark skin and bulging muscles gleamed under the warehouse lights. He was definitely a formidable opponent.

The rules for the main tournament are the same as those for the preliminary rounds, and the two players will only play one match, in a single-elimination format.

Li Qun's attention was entirely focused on the match. Neither Miyagi nor his African-American opponent held back in the main event, revealing their true level.

With a "ding," the first match of the main event began, and the three-minute countdown immediately brought Miyagi and the African-American boxer together.

Miyagi kept dodging, trying not to take a punch from his opponent.

The Black host, microphone in hand, passionately commentated from the edge of the arena, his rap-like pace making it difficult for Li Qun to understand what he was saying.

Miyagi launched a fierce attack on the boxer's calves, but the opponent didn't just attack with his fists; he also launched attacks with his legs and knees.

The karate kid's chance to win was just a moment away. He quickly pressed himself against his opponent's chest and struck his head while his opponent was struggling to retaliate due to his long arms.

After one count, the African-American boxer stood up, shook his head, and his condition clearly declined.

Before the three minutes of the match ended, Miyagi quickly scored points against his opponent, securing a spot in the semifinals with a points advantage.

Li Qun was reviewing the game in his mind.

The black boxer showed a strong desire to attack from the start, but he was unable to score points against the agile Miyagi despite his continuous attacks. He even showed Miyagi all of his moves.

Miyagi's height is similar to Liqun's, both around 1.75 meters. While a large physique may be a significant advantage in other types of competitions, in free fighting events like street fighting tournaments, a larger physique makes it easier for the opponent to score points.

After the competition, Li Qun and his friends squeezed out of the warehouse and bought some snacks from a street stall.

“Liqun, I’m really worried about you, since you’re going to be fighting that guy soon,” Gwen said, sipping her lemonade.

“You are right to be worried,” Li Qun said.

"Do you feel like he's going to teach you a lesson?" Gwen asked.

"No, that won't happen."

"I can describe my current feelings as a mix of nervousness and excitement. I really want to spar with him tomorrow," Li Qun said.

"You can't wait any longer?" Peter looked at Li Qun in surprise.

"Yes."

Li Qun clenched his fist.

My father said it might take him another two months to feel the presence of "qi," but he can feel it now.

The old man explained the existence of "qi," and Liqun came to understand "qi."

Li Qun clenched his fist and felt his energy concentrated in it.

He can control the flow of "qi" in different parts of his body by concentrating his mind.

"Qi" is consumed, but Li Qun felt that he recovered his strength quite quickly.

This might be the hidden bonus he received from the impression of "Aurora Kung Fu Kid".

Miyagi has far more combat experience than Liqun, but Liqun intends to use Miyagi as his own combat experience package and absorb Miyagi's combat experience.

"Where are you and Miyagi going to fight? Can I go watch?" Stan Lee asked.

“It’s on the lawn of the park near Chinatown, Stan Lee, you know that park,” Li Qun said.

"Oh, it's that park."

“Don’t worry, Stan Lee, I won’t let you miss my kung fu sparring session with Miyagi,” Li Qun said.

“I’ll be waiting then.” Stan Lee smiled.

Chapter 31 A Busy Weekend

It rained a few more times in New York.

New York City is a very large place, with Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Uptown, Midtown, Downtown, East Village, West Village, Chinatown, Central Park...

The rain falling from the sky won't cover the entire city of New York, but rain clouds will move across the entire city.

The New York place names that Liqun recognized were not from the city's borough plans, but rather places that his classmates mentioned in casual conversations.

Even now, Li Qun's activities remain confined to Queens.

This is his comfort zone.

New York has more than one Chinatown, but Liqun feels that the Chinatown where his uncle's family lives is the oldest and warmest. The neighbors are all people whose ancestors immigrated to the New World more than a hundred years ago, and living together is the underlying code for the residents of this old street to survive.

Li Qun was extremely grateful that he had come to New York, and not somewhere else in America.

Because it's modern New York, the biggest advantage is that nobody cares who you are. No one cares what your skin color, where you're from, or what accent you speak English.

New Yorkers are like trash on the streets—colorful, ubiquitous, and ignored.

Peter and Li Qun stood under the eaves of the teaching building, watching their classmates, each with books on their heads, scatter and run away from the college in the rain.

“The rain won’t last forever,” Peter said to Li Qun.

"If I find out who took my umbrella, I'll compress it into a compressed file," Li Qun said angrily.