Sorry, I don't have time to write today, so I can't update the free chapter to ensure I meet my daily word count. I'll make up for it tomorrow!
Just as Director Liu had predicted, with these tactics deployed, a lot of the onlookers' anger was ignited within a few hours.
While the actor playing Li Xiaoyao was indeed quite handsome, he did look a bit effeminate, which was an undeniable fact. Yet, the drama claimed he possessed transcendent gender charm. This was disgusting to us men, and we absolutely would not accept it!
Suddenly, many haters emerged, and the reputation of "Chinese Paladin" began to decline at a visible rate.
However, this also quickly provoked dissatisfaction among many of Li Xiaoyao's new fans, many of whom were female. They started to speak up for their "Xiaoyao Gege" on Facebook and various forums, saying that Xiaoyao Gege was just a little too handsome, so why call him effeminate? He wasn't effeminate at all; he was just handsome! They were just jealous because they couldn't have him.
Then, supporters of both sides quickly engaged in rounds of heated arguments on the websites, stirring up all sorts of discussions and topics. It was at this moment that San Dai Lu Ren Jia updated his new video.
"How Cool Can a Fight Scene Be?"
As soon as this was released, it immediately hit the trending page of Facebook within minutes. The title perfectly captured the focus of the current public debate. Thus, the entire video, at an unimaginable speed, garnered nearly a million views in less than 30 minutes.
And its content was as follows.
"I woke up this morning feeling very sad because I had a dream last night about a man, and a handsome man at that. Does this mean my lifelong belief in my hot-blooded masculinity and sexual orientation is wrong? This sent a shiver down my spine."
"So, I've decided to continue watching the remaining two episodes of 'Chinese Paladin' and watch them multiple times until Li Xiaoyao's face makes me want to vomit, proving that my orientation is not wrong."
"Oh, right, I heard many people online are debating whether Li Xiaoyao lacks masculinity. I strongly agree with this viewpoint. If he had any masculinity, I suppose he wouldn't have appeared in my dreams."
"Good, after a tremendous effort, I finally managed to snatch the remote from my mom. The price was that I had to buy her a large amplifier, that is, a big loudspeaker. She said that when Aunt Wang next door plays her square dancing music, her loudspeaker is so loud that it makes her lose face, and she absolutely needs one that's even louder than Aunt Wang's!"
"But I think my mom has already won, after all, Aunt Wang's 'A cup' is unusable."
"Alright, Episode 3 has started. Let me continue watching how this Li Xiaoyao shows off today. Hmm, the opening scene is about amnesia, forgetting the wife he just married at the altar. Good, very cliché. But this means Ling'er is my wife now, and I'm happy."
"Hmm, he's encountered people from the Moon Worshipping Cult again. Could it be that Li Xiaoyao is finally going to fight? Sigh, the name 'Chinese Paladin' has 'immortal,' 'sword,' and 'hero' in it. Why haven't there been any decent fights in the first two episodes? I guess the martial arts skills of these two protagonists are not up to par, and they can't film fight scenes well, so they have to minimize them as much as possible."
"Hmm, my guess must be right. You can tell from Li Xiaoyao's appearance. I'm not bragging, but if he can hold a pose without deforming, I'll call him the new generation martial arts superstar, the successor to the Twin Dragons, Oh Yeah!"
"Good, the fight has finally started. One against three. Li Xiaoyao is attacking. Look at that sword, it's so weak and powerless... Uh, it seems to have a bit of power. Good heavens, it actually plunged into the tree. But this must be special effects, definitely special effects. This tree is made of foam!"
"Alright, the two Moon Worshipping Cult members are attacking Li Xiaoyao from above and below with their swords. Let's see how the scriptwriters and fight choreographers arrange a cheat for your Xiaoyao this time."
"Hmm... Whoa... It's a backbend. Li Xiaoyao actually did a 180-degree backbend. My goodness, how flexible must this guy's waist be to perform such a move. Those who know can comment below if special effects can achieve such a move."
"Okay, I think this Li Xiaoyao might have a dance background, which is why his waist is so flexible. But this is definitely not martial arts, unless he can show me a 'carp jump' or 'wall-running' or something."
"Damn, he's actually running up the tree, and he's up there in two or three kicks. The moves are a bit cool, but this must be wirework, I'm sure it's wirework. It's impossible for a normal person to perform this move."
"Uh, he's already rescued Zhao Ling'er from the three Moon Worshipping Cult members... Is the fight over? It's only been about 2 minutes, and it's over. Can't you fight a bit longer? At least let me find evidence that Li Xiaoyao isn't a man. If he's this capable, how can he not be a man?"
"Hmm, it must be editing. It's definitely editing. Everyone, don't get excited. I'll watch it again and point out the edited parts to show you how awesome the editor of this TV series is."
"Damn! No way... No way... It's a full 2 minutes and 3 seconds without any cuts, from the start of the fight to the end, all in one shot! Li Xiaoyao actually fought from beginning to end, completing all the martial arts actions. Can a simple fight scene be this cool?"
"Okay, I believe this is the strongest long-take martial arts scene in Chinese television of the 21st century. Li Xiaoyao's strength crushes 99.999% of men. But if that's the case, what about my sexual orientation?"
"Oh my god, who can prove that this Li Xiaoyao is not a man and that my orientation is okay?"
The commentary video ended with San Dai Lu Ren Jia's peculiar exclamations. Although the script and production quality were not comparable to the Bilibili commentary creators of 2021, in 2004, this commentary style was definitely unique, and there was no other like it on the entire internet.
Therefore, the second episode spread even faster than the first.
By this time, after a day of fermentation, the first video had garnered 6 million views. But in just one hour, the second episode's views surpassed 2 million, and after three hours, it exceeded 4 million, almost catching up to the first episode's viewership. Surpassing the first episode was almost a certainty.
After San Dai Lu Ren Jia highlighted the more than two-minute-long martial arts sequence, the entire internet exploded again, and everyone began to focus on this segment.
So, some people started asking, is this two-minute martial arts sequence really that impressive?
Immediately, some people responded that this long-take martial arts sequence was not impressive at all. Firstly, Li Xiaoyao was constantly dodging the attacks of the three Moon Worshipping Cult members, often rolling or crawling on the ground. There was no fierce confrontation, and it couldn't even be called a fight scene. Therefore, it didn't deserve the title of a long-take fight scene, and any stunt performer or dancer could have done it.
But soon, someone jumped out to refute.
He first stated that he was a dancer, trained in ballet.
Then he said that this long-take martial arts scene was actually very impressive. Because of the plot's setting, Li Xiaoyao hadn't learned sword fighting from the Wine Sword Immortal yet, so his martial arts were not great, and he could only crawl around to dodge attacks.
However, this did not mean the actor's martial arts skills were problematic; on the contrary, it demonstrated extremely high martial arts prowess.
Firstly, there was the backbend. Some might think that many dancers could perform this backbend, and some actors specializing in contortionism could fold their bodies completely in half, so they thought Li Xiaoyao's move was not impressive.
But when we review the entire shot, since it was a single take with no cuts in between, and I didn't notice any accelerated playback, it should be a completely live-action shot.
Calculating the time, Leng Zhiwen's entire movement, from the start of the backbend to returning to normal, took only three seconds.
Do you know how amazing that is?
You say any dancer can perform a backbend, but this backbend is not just any backbend. It requires slow adjustment of the body and gradual stretching of muscles. The simplest analogy is that when you watch dancers or contortionists perform, they all fold their bodies down slowly. No actor would dare to instantly fold their body completely in half in one second and then straighten up again.
When I saw this move, my entire body went numb because I thought Leng Zhiwen's waist would break at that moment. Because if it were me, I would have been paralyzed from the neck down at that point.
As far as I know, there are fewer than three actors in the world who can perform this move within three seconds, and they are all people who have trained their bodies to the extreme.
Just such a move can be called the world's strongest.
Afterward, if you watch those crawling and dodging movements, you'll find that Li Xiaoyao was actually constantly in motion on the ground. The entire process took about 20 seconds, during which he completed three get-ups, two "carp jumps," and four instances of bending his body to a 70-degree angle... Especially in this shot, Li Xiaoyao moved at high speed on the ground. It seemed like he was using his arms to move his body, but in reality, his arms were not moving at all, meaning he was using his abdominal muscles to move.
This is an action that is almost impossible for humans to perform; only snakes can do it. When I saw this move, I directly knelt down to Leng Zhiwen.
There's no need to say more. I can still find more than a dozen actions that only a few hundred people worldwide can complete, each of them being extremely abnormal.
You say these moves are simple, I don't ask for much. Whoever can perform any one of the dozen or so actions I've pointed out, I'll admit you're right.
Leng Zhiwen, you really don't need to be an actor. You should honestly participate in various dance competitions, and I guarantee you'll win all the world dance championships. Why suffer the ridicule of these ignorant people in TV dramas?
This response video was quickly embraced by the entire internet. Leng Zhiwen's fans immediately used this video to testify for their idol, talking about how amazing their idol was.
The opposition, however, refused to admit it, saying it was complete nonsense and not impressive at all. But when asked to post a video of themselves performing the same action, they completely failed to do so.
However, there are always people who love to stir up trouble. Since Cheng Long and Li Lian both have accounts on Facebook, many people started frantically tagging these two martial arts superstars, asking them to prove that this 2-minute long take was indeed very impressive!