Chapter 158 Causes public outrage
The next morning, Du Sheng returned to the capital and went straight to the teahouse where Zheng Zetao had an appointment.

“It’s amazing that we made it to the finals!”

Zheng Zetao praised him, and then asked curiously:

"You will spend the rest of your time shooting. Can you guarantee that the quality won't drop?"

“Although my main job is filming, I still find time to exercise every morning.”

Du Sheng knew why he asked this question and smiled calmly:

"Besides, I have been practicing since I was young, and I didn't learn this skill overnight."

He was not surprised that outsiders were curious about these things.

After all, among the opponents defeated before, such as Basong and Gabriel, which one is a soft persimmon?

They are all acquired through countless hard work and sweat.

But the extracted skills cannot be made public, so you can only move towards the "martial arts genius" and "national martial arts successor".

Zheng Zetao just asked casually, not really gossiping.

He suddenly remembered something and explained with a smile:
“The finals have to be coordinated with a series of promotional activities, so it will be held on April 4st.

"Wulin" has been held three times so far, but no Chinese has ever won the gold belt. Now it's up to you."

"That's good. There's plenty of time."

Du Sheng nodded to show his understanding, which was also good for his filming.

Zheng Zetao recalled the joke the other party had made during the endorsement shoot and encouraged him:

"If you can win the championship and defeat that neon puppet, the joint venture we proposed earlier to start a clothing sub-brand is not impossible."

Du Sheng's eyes lit up slightly and he smiled:
"Then let's make a deal. If I win the championship, I'll use my fame and half of my capital as a stake in the company, and you can even list it under your Goldlion brand..."

Those who know know how profitable those sports brands were in the past.

For example, gymnastics champion Li Ning makes billions a year from the sports brand named after him.

Zheng Zetao also wanted to start a business, and said with a smile:

“I already have the initial construction and promotion plan, and I’m just waiting for you to win the championship.

Of course, if you can carve out a niche in the UFC and expand your influence, you can even go public, not to mention sub-brands.”

As for the future, Du Sheng would not write a blank check randomly, and smiled and said:

"When it comes to expanding influence, we really need your Zheng family."

Zheng Zetao pondered for a moment and quickly understood what the other party meant.

Du Sheng's way of walking is very different from that of kung fu stars such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

What he pursues is actual combat, the real martial arts.

Fighting is undoubtedly the way to measure the spread of true martial arts.

If Du Sheng can stand out in this fighting competition and successfully enter the international-level UFC, his image will be more prominent.

But unfortunately, due to various factors, major circles in the mainland have not paid enough attention to this type of fighting events.

Nationwide, not many people know that Du Sheng participated in the competition, let alone know him personally.

In order to create a unique image and enhance its own brand, increasing investment in publicity is essential.

Zheng Zetao was very clear about this and nodded without hesitation:

"Don't worry, this matter is being pushed forward. On the day of the final, I guarantee that many people in the country will pay attention to this grand event."

"Thanks."

Du Sheng knew that expanding the promotion would also be beneficial to the Zheng family’s sponsorship, after all, the advertisements and clothing in the venue were all his.

"It's just about mutual achievement, no need to be polite."

Zheng Zetao smiled and said:
"Your choice of becoming a kung fu star is very promising. As long as you keep steady, your fame will definitely soar."

It is not easy to create a character of a real kung fu master. After all, after the qigong craze subsided, the reputation of Chinese martial arts has become increasingly low.

Without convincing performance, all publicity and reports are just empty talk.

But as long as you can achieve corresponding achievements, it will be a huge boost to both your popularity and your acting career!

Just like the top kung fu stars in the Chinese film industry such as Li Xiaolong, Cheng Long, and Jet Li, their most talked-about battle scenes were all created together with professional fighting masters.

For example, in the classic film "Way of the Dragon", Li Xiaolong's opponent in the fierce battle was the Taekwondo world champion Chuck Norris.

In "Wheels On Meals", Jackie Chan competes against Benny, who won the WKA World Championship.

Jet Li's opponent in "Fist of Fury" is the light middleweight champion of the World Kickboxing Championship, Billy Chow.

Even after more than a decade, these confrontations are still mentioned from time to time by movie fans.

It can be seen that the mere participation of these professional fighters adds a lot of highlights to the fighting scenes.

If there were a representative figure who had both real kung fu and excellent acting skills, the combined power would be absolutely explosive.

Especially since Du Sheng has now made it to the finals of "Wulin", as long as publicity continues, it will surely cause a sensation.

After all, his opponent is a Japanese boxer.

Due to historical reasons, the East and Japan have a deep hatred.

Recently, several high-ranking BOSSes in Neon have publicly come out to worship the sacred toilet, causing uproar and public indignation among the people.

However, it is difficult to find opportunities for revenge in reality, and people can only vent their emotions through film and television works.

Over the years, whether it is an anti-Japanese war drama or a martial arts film, the beating of the Japanese puppets always touches the audience's nerves.

Now the plot of the movie has appeared in reality, Du Sheng will beat up the neon puppet in the ring...

Once such news spreads, it will surely attract the attention of countless people.

If Du Sheng could win the championship, he would even be regarded by the public as a great man who brought glory to the country. His status would be incomparable to other stars.

Because of this, the Zheng family and the organizers have been consciously or unconsciously building Du Sheng's golden signboard since the quarterfinals.

However, this road is also full of thorns, and even a little carelessness can backfire.

Zheng Zetao reminds:
"If it really works, you will rise to fame overnight, become extremely popular, and it will be easy to create fighting events and sports brands.

But if you fail, you will face a barrage of criticism and your reputation will plummet!"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything I'm not sure of."

Du Sheng smiled faintly, exuding unparalleled confidence.

The golden finger is there, and it is certain that one's own strength will become stronger and stronger.

He was now worried that the Japanese boxer would not be able to hold his own and would be knocked to his knees after a few hits.

"As long as you have confidence."

Zheng Zetao felt relieved and stood up:

"Let's go, let's go meet Bi Shi'an and see if we can set up the stage first."

At noon that day, the two had the long-awaited meeting with Bi Shi'an.

Bi Shi'an traveled thousands of miles from his hometown in Lu Mansion just for this meeting.

Thanks to Director Dou's recommendation, Bi Shi'an treated the two of them with extra friendliness and took them very seriously.

During the conversation, Du Sheng also learned the name of this fighting show, which is tentatively named "Hero List".

He finally remembered.

In its previous life, this program was known as one of the three major local fighting events in the East, along with "Wulin Feng" and "Kunlun Fight".

It's just because it appeared earlier than the latter two, so it's not as well-known.

But the influence is not low.

Not only did it receive funding from Middle Eastern tycoons such as the Crown Prince of UAE, it also reached cooperation with two local TV stations and was once broadcast on Yangshi Channel 5.

Although the program is still in its infancy and the entire production team consists of only Bi Shian and a few others, its unique creativity and ideas are already evident.

The most important thing is that his uncle is the deputy director of a certain channel of Yangshi, so there is such a co-produced program.

This is actually not surprising.

Many of the documentaries and variety shows broadcast by Yangshi are not self-produced.

In addition to joint production, there are also many production companies outside the system that supply films to it.

Yangshi is willing to do so for three reasons:

1. We want to create an international competitive sports event with independent intellectual property rights in the East.

2. Promote the dominance of private enterprises in the domestic market.

3. Popularizing oriental martial arts has become a major way to improve physical fitness worldwide.

4. The East has been declining in terms of fighting skills, and the chaos is so bad that even the higher-ups can’t stand it.

Zheng Zetao and Du Sheng were attracted by Yangshi's endorsement and the qualification to jointly undertake the production.

This meeting was mainly led by Zheng Zetao, who wanted to make a big splash in the mainland.

He did not rush to get to the point, but first gave Bi Shi'an a detailed introduction to the cooperation between the two parties.

When Bi Shian saw the photo of Du Sheng, Liu Dehua, Xiang Tai and others, he knew that he had a high chance of winning the "Wulin" championship.
Moreover, Zheng Zetao was from the Zheng family, one of the top ten families in Hong Kong, so he was so excited that he could hardly control himself.

Superstars like Liu Dehua currently have great influence in the country, enough to boost public opinion for a program.

In addition, if you can get the "Wulin" champion to join the show, why worry about not being popular?

Not to mention the support from financial backers like the Zheng family, which shows how popular Du Sheng is in Hong Kong.

It is not difficult to understand why Director Dou is so enthusiastic to give a boost.

Zheng Zetao is worthy of being from a wealthy family. He is well versed in negotiation. He first demonstrates his strong strength and background to shock the other party, and subsequent negotiations are a natural outcome.

“What are the main issues at the moment?”

Du Sheng asked the key question.

Because according to the other party, preparations began last year, but there has been no progress.

“There are a lot of problems.”

Speaking of this, Bi Shian sighed:
“Currently, the sports industry does not receive much attention, and the environment for hosting commercial events is not good.

The most important thing to overcome is the coordination with the government departments.

In addition, traditional television is currently in a dominant position. If "Heroes List" wants to get a chance to be broadcast, it must pay a lot of money and spend money to buy advertising time..."

Zheng Zetao asked tentatively:
“How much money does it take to produce a program like this?”

Bi Shian smiled awkwardly and said frankly:

"The program is still in preparation, and many details and budgets have not yet been determined, so I can't say for the time being."

Zheng Zetao and Du Sheng looked at each other and smiled:
“Boss Bi, you also know that my Zheng family is the sponsor of “Wulin” and some of our industries are currently interested in entering the mainland.

It just so happens that Asheng and I are quite interested in this type of program. If you encounter any difficulties in production, please feel free to contact us. "

“Of course, the show itself is a co-production.”

Bi Shian is worried about funding, sponsorship, and publicity, and made some promises:
"With your participation, I believe the production will move forward faster, but we still have to wait for approval from certain departments..."

When talking about the broadcast of "Legend of Wulin", his attitude was very clear and he called the higher-ups on the spot to communicate.

.........

(End of this chapter)