Chapter 172 Inviting Players
Not long after Du Sheng got on the plane, Zheng Ziyan wrote the report overnight.

On the front page of Metropolis Entertainment News, an article titled "Du Sheng, suspected of being the 'descendant of a puppet', is actually a patriotic boxer and a descendant of a loyal martyr" quickly gained traction.

As a new trend-setting entertainment newspaper on the Internet, the influence of Metropolitan Entertainment News is growing.

This article was about a very popular topic recently and was quickly reprinted by dozens of media outlets and even made the headlines on WB.

Netizens who had been paying attention to the descendants of the puppet and the event that "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" accepted investment from the puppet institution saw many articles and reports that were completely opposite to the previous ones overnight.

'Oh my god, no?'

'This actor who has been making a lot of noise recently is actually a patriotic boxer?'

'He is the only Chinese person to step onto the finals of "Wulin", ready to beat up the Japanese puppet?'

What’s even more incredible is that he is also a philanthropist?
Join hands with the Zheng family of Hong Kong to establish the "Huabang" public welfare organization to build schools in the western region and improve infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity?

If these reports are true, then this person is undoubtedly a person worthy of praise!
But why were there so many malicious accusations against him earlier, saying he was the descendant of a puppet?

People's curiosity was quickly ignited.

People began to verify the authenticity of this article.

Just then, some people finally discovered the promotional trailer for the "Legend of Wulin" finals released by Yangshi Channel 5 last night, which highlighted Du Sheng as the only Chinese contestant.

Information about his hometown background and the deeds of his martyr father were also dug up.

From this we can see that what is mentioned in the report is absolutely true!
For a moment, the deceived audience was angry.

How could such an upright and kind person be unreasonably accused of being the descendant of a puppet and even being bribed by a puppet spy?
What’s even more shameful is that there are still many people who believe it.

What an irony!
How could an artist and boxer who is loyal to his country suffer such unfair insult?
The trend of public opinion quickly reversed!
Countless people began to be outraged and sought redress on Tianya, Weibo, Tieba, etc.

Even many netizens began to dig out who the mastermind behind the scenes that Du Sheng mentioned was.

If they really find out, I guarantee that the guy from Bay City will be in big trouble.

As public opinion continued to ferment, Ye Jingzhi, Zhong Zhen, Lai Shuiqing and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This time it was a blessing in disguise.

At the very least, "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" received a lot of attention out of nowhere.

But the one who benefited the most and became the most popular was none other than Du Sheng, who turned the tide.

Not to mention the stains thrown at him, they were all transformed into reputation.

The news that a Chinese boxer will beat up Xiao Kuizi in the final of "Legend of Wulin" also successfully attracted more attention.

This unprecedented event also brought a wave of viewership growth to Yangshi Channel 5.

Especially after the promotional trailer for the finals of "Legend of Wulin" was released last night, it actually pushed the daytime program into the top six of Yangshi's ratings.

This is undoubtedly a huge benefit for Yangshi Channel 5, which has always been at the bottom of the ratings.

The "Heroes List" program previously proposed by Zheng Zetao has also been put on the agenda by Yangshi Channel 5.

When Du Sheng went to Hong Kong, he specifically informed Ye Jingzhi about the three companies' joint venture to produce "Heroes List".

Ye Jingzhi was extremely concerned about this matter.

This is because Du Sheng had promised her that once the program was successfully launched, she, as a member of the studio, would also have part of the equity.

After resolving the public opinion issue, Ye Jingzhi immediately arranged a three-party meeting with Zheng Zetao and Bi Shi'an.

The reason why she cares so much about it is not only because of the money and fame she gains.

If this program can be successfully created, it is very likely to give birth to a leading domestic mixed martial arts event in the future.

By then, she will have added another remarkable achievement to her collection!

She could even gain recognition from several old men in the Ye family, and resources would be slightly tilted towards her.

In contrast to Ye Jingzhi who was in a good mood, someone was in a very bad mood.

A luxurious club in Bay City.

Bang!
A valuable foreign-brand mobile phone was smashed hard onto the floor.

It collapsed instantly.

Wu Dun sat there with a gloomy face, his chest heaving slightly.

"This can be reversed? They are just a bunch of useless rubbish!"

He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, but overnight, the situation that seemed to be a sure win was turned upside down.

What was even more difficult for him to accept was that the subverter was Du Sheng, whom he had never taken seriously.

In this struggle for interests, Wu Dun's attention was always focused on the drama "The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Saber".

He was determined to control the show, and if he couldn't get it, he would just destroy it.

And Du Sheng is just an inconspicuous chess piece used to pry open "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

The biggest reason for the smear campaign was Jia Jingwen's defection.

However, what he never expected was that it was this small-time minion who was not worthy of being in the spotlight who slapped him hard in the face!

What’s worse, with the overwhelming backlash of public opinion, Wu Dun began to feel something was wrong.

He seemed to hear the investors of "Yitian" sneering at him.

"No, I can't lose the investment channels in the mainland. I have to find an opportunity to go there..."

...While the mainland was buzzing with excitement over the "Japanese Descendants", Japan's "K-1" fighting event was also being prepared in full swing.

After more than ten years of development, "K-1" has already become one of the world's top stand-up fighting events.

This year, the first Eastern broadcast of "Legend of Wulin" also gave hope to the organizers of "K-1" fighting.

After all, it is a huge market with a population of over one billion and unlimited potential.

Prior to this, the organizers of K-1 fighting had tried many times to enter the Eastern market, and even cooperated with Eastern sports departments to invite several Sanda masters to participate.

Unfortunately, highly anticipated contestants such as Teng Jun, An Hu, Wang Shanzhen and Zhang Jiapo were eliminated in the first round.

In addition to the previous penalty disputes, Eastern no longer sent players to participate in "K-1".

Therefore, K-1's development plan for the Eastern market was shelved for a time.

Now, the news that a Chinese player named Du Sheng has successfully entered the finals of "Wulin" has once again given "K-1" organizers hope for developing the Eastern market.

After all, Yoshihiro Sato is a popular player second only to the four kings of K1 MAX, and the organizers have always been paying attention to him.

Ever since he learned that his final opponent was a Chinese, Chairman Sadaharu Tanigawa has noticed Du Sheng's existence.

In order to try to win over this oriental player, Sadaharu Tanikawa specially convened an internal meeting to begin discussing the arrangements for this year's invitational tournament.

Kazuyoshi Ishii, the founder and former chairman, also attended the meeting.

As soon as the meeting started, Ishii Kazuyoshi remained silent and did not express much opinion.

Tanigawa Sadaharu knew what his old friend was thinking, and asked thoughtfully:

"Should we invite this Chinese player to give it a try?"

Sadaharu Tanigawa was originally an advisor, and he took over the position after Kazuyoshi Ishii got into trouble and was imprisoned.

The two sides have worked together for more than ten years, and he is well aware of the important position of Ishii Kazuyoshi in the fighting world, and he is also quite authoritative in evaluating the strength of the players.

No matter which aspect you look at it from, it is necessary to listen to opinions.

Ishii Kazuyoshi thought for a moment and said:
"Since the UFC has been postponed, I think it's necessary to give it a try."

"Which level?"

Currently, K1 has two major levels of competitions, namely K-1 WORLD GP and K-1 WORLD MAX.

The former is to select seven top players from the intercontinental competition + around the world to participate in the global elimination competition.

At best, these players are active champions of world free-fighting organizations such as WKA, WAKO, ISKA, and WMTA.

The latter is based on the consideration that Asians, due to their race and physique, are unable to compete with the top big guys in Europe, so the competition is set up to target the huge market of middleweight players in Asia.

"Let's participate in the K-1 GP World Championship as an invited player."

Tanikawa Sadaharu nodded and asked:

“Is it necessary to give him some special care by arranging special events, such as arranging lighter opponents for him?”

Ishii Kazuyoshi thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Since it is a world-class event, it must be fair and open, otherwise it will only damage the external image of K1."

He paused and added:
"Moreover, with the strength he has shown so far, he is enough to rival the Four Heavenly Kings, so there is no need for him to receive any special care."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of surprise at the scene.

Sadaharu Tanikawa and several shareholders also looked up in surprise.

Du Sheng was able to make it to the finals of "Wulin", which shows that he has some strength, but it is still unknown whether he can beat Sato Yoshihiro, let alone be on par with the Four Heavenly Kings of K1?

Isn’t this too high an estimate?

For example, Masato, one of the Big Four, is a household idol-level fighting superstar in Japan. He has won titles such as AJKF welterweight champion, ISKA world welterweight champion, and K-1 Max Japan champion.

The other three are not bad either, and any one of them is as good as Sato Yoshihiro.

Moreover, K-1’s current success is inseparable from their joint efforts.

However, Tanigawa Sadaharu knew that his friend was quite opinionated, so he murmured:

"Then send someone to contact them first and see what happens then."

Everyone had no objection, and it was only natural to test it out first.

If the opponent really wins the championship, he will indeed be eligible to compete for the "seed player" of the K-1GP World Championship in the second half of the year.

At this moment, the person they were talking about had just finished reshooting VCG, a TV advertisement endorsed by Goldlion, and was having dinner in a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui.

"Brother Sheng, I'll support you tonight as always!"

Ma Yaowei is also a person who reads people's expressions. This time, he has changed his tone and even offered to treat us. He just kept mumbling:
"It's a pity that you are the favorite in this finals, and the odds are so low..."

That’s right, this time the citizens of Hong Kong almost unanimously believe that this dark horse from the mainland is unstoppable and will soar to the sky.

Even though the 'kickboxing maniac' Yoshihiro Sato is very famous, he has won the WKA World Muay Thai Welterweight and WKPC World Championships in recent years, becoming the second most famous boxing star in the Japanese boxing world after the "Silver Wolf" Masato.

But in front of the dark horse, everything is insignificant.

No-brainer!

This also includes foreign handicaps, where the odds offered are incredibly exaggerated.

Mainland dark horse VS kickboxing devil: 1.66, 3.56, 2.13
Even though it was so low, it still couldn't resist the enthusiasm of the citizens.

Sometimes it's like this, Hong Kong people tend to believe in metaphysics.

(End of this chapter)