The banner of a local Seafood market flew away away from the lens as the wind and rain whipped its way through the busy Hong Kong market in the middle of the day. The street was still packed full of people buying fish, sitting and eating at various outdoor diners and trying to hold on to their umbrellas. A young teen boy, hair soaked from sweat and rain, called out from his worn down looking shop to try and attract customers.
“Best rice in Hong Kong! Come and get it! Can’t get any better than this!” His voice squeaked in Cantonese. He grabbed a nearby box of rice labelled
-chicken rice- in red letters and held it up for passerby’s to see.
“I doubt yours is the best rice in Hong Kong.” A deep voice said in English from under a flashy hood, his thick lips moved slightly before his voice could be heard.
“Wow mister. You’re dressed in the Earth Dragon Clan outfit. My brother thought he was the last member living!” The boy proclaimed as he sat the box of rice down on the ledge, he missed and the box spilled on the floor. The boy was so perplexed by this Earth Dragon Clan member that he didn’t notice.
The mysterious man reached up and removed his hood, a loud clang of a gong is heard as well as a few plucks of a guitar, the camera zooms right in on the eyes of......
Zhanshi rubbed his chin, his mouth moved for a bit then a deep voice soon followed,
“Cigar Chin is too much of a match for Bran. You must tell me where your brother went now, there’s no time to waste!”
“Yes, yes! On the far hill past the Unruly Mountain. It’s Cigar Chin’s temple, you can’t miss it!”
“Thank you kid. You have saved your brother’s life.” Zhanshi flipped his hood back up and moved into the thick crowd, he was gone in seconds in the confusion of people and umbrellas.
Zhanshi turned a corner away from the crowd, down a tight alley barely wide enough for his shoulders. He quickly removed the Earth Dragon Clan outfit and walked back out to the crowd wearing a jet black Kung Fu garb. He raised his hand and jumped into the back of a man cart, he quickly said something and the guy was off running, Zhanshi relaxed and put his hands behind his head.
----------------- ( A screen wipe reveals Cigar Chin’s Temple, a cheap looking building with thin wooden walls and tables here and there. The walls were decorated in Chinese sayings and pictures of dragons) ------
Bran and Cigar Chin stood in front of each other, both panting, clothes ripped with bruises and cuts on their faces. The old Cigar Chin chewed on his cigar as he pointed to the younger man.
“You have fought well today,” Cigar said in Chinese
,“but I was holding back! Prepare for the Cigar Attack!”
“You will pay for Master Ren!” Bran screamed as the men engaged in fast punching and blocking. Bran swung a punch that Cigar dodged, the old man spit his lit cigar out and punched it at Bran then threw a kick at the same time, the cigar hit Bran in the face and scattered hot ash it in the air, he took the kick right to the stomach and fell on his back. Bran spun his legs trying to sweep Chin but the old man jumped then hopped back, Bran spun around then hopped to his feet. The young man charged...
block,
punch,
smack!, block, block, block.....Bran connected with a high knee
CRACK!, he then gave Chin a huge uppercut sending the old man flying right through a rack of staffs, breaking them all. He was knocked out.
Bran let a a big breath. He nodded as he looked at the old man, defeated and broken by the last Earth Dragon Clan member existing.
“Sloppy.” Zhanshi walked out of the shadow from the corner of the room, his Kung Fu shirt off and his muscles showing.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Bran yelled.
“Just money, and a challenge. But after watching you, there won’t be any challenge to be had here.” Zhanshi made a quick fist and whipped it down, making a loud wind slashing noise.
Bran jumped in front of Zhanshi, he threw punch after punch that the muscular demon easily dodged without raising his fists. Zhanshi smiled as the boy tried swinging faster, he hit the boy with a quick chop to the neck, taking his air away. Bran gasped, he tried another weak punch but Zhanshi grabbed his wrist, he twisted it then drove his other forearm upwards into the boys elbow, bending it sickly in the opposite direction.
SNAP! The boy screamed in pain, Zhanshi threw a knee into his stomach, then a quickl left and right punch to his face. He held the wobbly boy up then jumped in the air with a devastating round house kick,
SMASH!! The boy flew through the air, twisted twice in mid flight then crashed right through the wooden wall! He fell down the hill on the wet grass, knocked out. He finally stopped sliding and came to rest at the feet of really fancy business shoes. The camera panned up to show a Chinese man in a very expensive suit and holding a brief case. Other men stood nearby and watched their leader put the briefcase on the ground and look up the hill.
Zhanshi stood in the hole in the wall overlooking the hill, pieces of wood were blowing everywhere and the rain was whipping his hair sideways. He watched the business man smirk and nod at him as his men hauled the knocked out boy away. Zhanshi looked at the case on the ground and a look of disappointment flashed across his face for a moment. There was no challenge here at all. A flyer slapped his leg and stuck there, pushed by the wind. He grabbed it off and had his muscular arm bent to throw it away when he noticed something....the word
Wrestling Spectacular in Cantonese in the top left corner of the flyer. He walked further into the temple to read the flyer without the whipping wind bothering him.
“The world’s greatest wrestling spectacle. WZCW presents Kingdom Come IX. See incredible action from stars like Titus Avison, Mikey Stormrage, Tony Mancini, Callie Clark...it looks like these promoters put a lot of money behind their fights. I’ve fought in tournaments all over the world, but this just looks like something far greater...something worthwhile. These athletes look larger than life. A real challenge. I’m going to have to buy a ticket for this event.” Zhanshi jammed the flyer in his pocket and grabbed his shirt and coat. He walked over and yanked the door open .....
(Screen wipe to Constantine standing in the middle of the ring with the Eurasian Championship raised over his head and the crowds going wild)
Zhanshi remained seated as he watched the man in the ring, the man who went through one hell of a fight to get the title from Titus. Everyone around him was either crying in joy, cheering, or chanting Constantine’s name. People were still standing and cheering, applauding minutes later. He couldn’t believe the respect the fans gave the athletes in this company. He expected the huge arena to be empty moments after the match was over, but the thrill of it all still hung in the air. People were still talking excitedly about the match and event like it was still on. Zhanshi was fascinated by this. In the hundreds of tournaments he fought in, once it was over, everyone immediately left, almost like nothing really happened. Which was always the case with him, because there was no challenge. He destroyed everyone in front of him. Even former Kung Fu, Karate and Gerco Roman masters who trained him. He was hooked now, WZCW is where he wanted to be, and badly. These were world athletes, a real test for once. The money put into this company was worth it to him as well, he couldn’t believe the style, the entrances, the loud music and fireworks. Fifty minutes later the place was finally empty. The lights were dimming in large sections and dozens of workers in coveralls started cleaning the place. WZCW workers started taking down the ring and folding the mats. Zhanshi remained in his seat in a darkened section of the arena.
He opened his mouth, the sound of a deep voice followed a bit late.
“One day, I will fight here too.”
A gong rang out and the camera zoomed in on Zhanshi’s eyes........
