The Forbidden Art of Chinese Martial Arts: I Cultivate Gang Energy in the City

During a subway robbery, finance intern Lu Zhaoran witnesses Tai Chi master Su Qinghe shatter iron with hidden force and discern the faintest movements by listening to them. From that moment on, he steps into the hidden world of Chinese martial arts, concealed for a thousand years. An ancient bronze coin from the Warring States period brings to light the Mohist art of mechanical contraptions and a century-old blood feud with the Li family of Bajiquan. Meanwhile, the tech conglomerate Changfeng uses human data modeling to crack traditional martial arts, as mechanical exoskeletons in underground arenas devour the last lineages of martial skill.

When Su Mingyue reveals her chi-dragon-patterned tail ring, the tiger-and-leopard thunderclap resonating in Lu Zhaoran's ribs vibrates in sync with the tides of the Huangpu River. From the steel jungle of Lujiazui to the Wildman Valley in Shennongjia, from using quantum mechanics to dissect hidden force to treading the Yu steps atop the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City, he must prove with his own flesh and blood that true Chinese martial arts can make modern bullets curve away in the cloud hands of Tai Chi, and bring gene-edited clone warriors to their knees before Xingyi's splitting fist.