Chapter 104: The Continent’s Martial Arts Sovereign

The 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup was the first time the tournament was held in Asian countries, and the first time it was co-hosted by two nations. The unusual circumstances arose because Japan used bribery to secure the hosting rights, while South Korea had influence within FIFA—its vice president, Chung Mong-joon, a Korean, acted as a disruptor.

Of course, these scandals were unknown to the public at the time, and Zhang Tan was unaware as well, having not paid much attention to the World Cup in his previous life. He had only heard about the frequent unfair refereeing against the Koreans, which was quite shameless.

Whether the refereeing was biased or not seemed irrelevant to the Chinese team; Zhang Tan’s family had only booked tickets for three of China’s matches. Given the Chinese team’s usual dismal performance, three group stage matches seemed to be the limit.

They flew to Seoul, South Korea, on June 2nd. Hefei conveniently had direct flights to Seoul, which had not yet changed its Chinese name. From there, they transferred to another flight to Gwangju, where the match between China and Costa Rica was scheduled for June 4th.

The remaining two matches were on the 8th in Seogwipo City on Jeju Island, where Brazil faced China, and on the 13th in Seoul, where Turkey played China. The entire two-week span was in South Korea, so there was no need to travel to Japan. If China advanced to the round of sixteen, Zhang Tan planned to book tickets for the subsequent matches.

During those two weeks, Zhang Tan’s family toured various places in Korea. They watched the matches when China played and visited tourist attractions otherwise, especially the beautiful Jeju Island with its sunshine, beaches, blue sky, and ocean, soaking in the charm of the world's most popular sport and the exotic atmosphere.

However, the Chinese fans who had come to watch the games were disappointed: the national team failed to escape the fate Zhang Tan remembered.

In three matches, they scored zero goals and returned home in disgrace.

With China eliminated, Zhang Tan’s family did not continue to Japan for the remaining games. After a bit of shopping in Korea, they returned home.

“History repeats itself once again,” Zhang Tan often sighed upon returning to Hefei, continuing his routine of writing and studying and occasionally hearing World Cup news.

There was no need to elaborate on China’s three defeats, which drew widespread criticism. Without China's involvement, domestic viewers didn’t have to agonize over whom to support—they simply cheered for their favorite teams. Yet the tournament left a bitter taste because of rampant referee bias.

First, the reigning three-time World Cup champion Italy faced South Korea in the round of sixteen, producing the most notorious referee scandal in World Cup history.

The Ecuadorian referee Moreno controlled the match entirely—he disallowed Tommasi’s legitimate breakaway goal for offside, ignored Lee Tae-soo’s malicious stomp on Maldini, and then, with sharp eyes, caught Totti’s “diving” and brandished a red card. Amidst jeers from all but Korean fans, Italy was sent home.

This scandal eclipsed all previous World Cup referee controversies to claim the top spot.

(Ironically, Moreno resigned after the World Cup and went to Italy as a commentator, gaining fame for being booed by Italian audiences and happily cashing in.)

Thus, South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals by means of biased refereeing.

In the quarterfinals, they faced Spain, another European powerhouse.

Then came the second notorious referee blunder of the tournament, when Egyptian referee Gandour inexplicably disallowed two Spanish goals, pushing the match to a penalty shootout. South Korea ultimately lost the shootout and also went home.

Thanks to the referees’ dubious decisions, South Korea reached the semifinals, achieving the best performance by an Asian team in World Cup history.

(The Koreans defended these referee decisions for over a decade, refusing to admit fault. Only in 2015, after a FIFA investigation prompted by the United States, was the evidence undeniable.)

…

The golden June passed amid the World Cup’s clamor.

During this period, Zhang Tan’s life was largely uneventful but marked by some good fortune. The traditional Chinese edition of his novel "The Four Great Constables Meet in the Capital" sold remarkably well in Taiwan, with the first two volumes combined reaching 130,000 copies sold, and over 30,000 pre-orders for the yet-to-be-printed third volume.

Additionally, Hunan People’s Publishing House signed a contract for the simplified Chinese edition of "The Four Great Constables Meet in the Capital," offering a 10% royalty rate with an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

If all went well, Zhang Tan’s royalties for the year would surpass one million yuan, elevating him into the high-income bracket. Even Han Jingming, a notable figure, earned about the same annually, and likely less than Zhang Tan, considering the expenses of hiring promoters.

The success of "The Four Great Constables Shake the East" and "The Four Great Constables Meet in the Capital" stirred a whirlwind in the martial arts literary circle.

Many experts and professors specializing in martial arts literature began to take notice of "Zhang Tan."

Associate Professor Li Qiru of Renmin University of China, who passionately studies martial arts culture, often contributed to the "Modern and Ancient Legends: Martial Arts Edition." Besides reviewing works by renowned authors from Taiwan and Hong Kong, he wrote a detailed critique titled "Astonishing Talent and Beauty: The Four Great Constables," analyzing Zhang Tan’s writing style and story structure.

Combining aspects such as prose, narrative, atmosphere, and detail, Li Qiru bestowed upon Zhang Tan the highest praise: “Zhang Tan’s martial arts fiction is to contemporary wuxia literature what Han Yu was to Tang dynasty literature—a revival of a declining era and a commander leading the troops to victory.”

This meant that Zhang Tan’s wuxia novels carried the torch amid the decline of the genre, especially in an era when many famed authors from Taiwan and Hong Kong had either passed away or retired, positioning him as a leader among the new generation of martial arts writers—akin to Han Yu's stature in Tang literature.

This critique appeared in the same issue as Zhang Tan’s exclusive interview.

At the end of the interview in "Modern and Ancient Legends," besides an advertisement for recruiting assistants, several contributors and critics from the martial arts edition, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts novel commentators, were invited to evaluate Zhang Tan.

Xiaoduan remarked, “After ‘Meet in the Capital,’ none dare to rival him.”

Taiwanese martial arts critic Ye Hongsheng praised, “He subtly exudes the aura of a grandmaster.”

"Here’s a Youth" author Jiang Nan said, “As a fellow Anhui writer, I cannot write novels like Zhang Tan’s.”

Yang Pan commented, “Reading ‘The Four Great Constables’ greatly inspired me—I truly want to discuss the plot face-to-face with him.”

Editor-in-chief Wang Conglun joined in, saying, “I witnessed the creation process of ‘The Four Great Constables’ and believe I will be happy ten years from now.”

Beyond these appraisals, reader letters were also featured, with excerpts selected:

“My favorite weekend pastime is to pull out ‘Modern and Ancient Legends,’ find the ‘Four Great Constables’ section, and lay it open on the table. Then I buy a big chunk of beef, cook it, dip it in chili powder, and devour it with big gulps of wine while repeatedly reading the ‘Four Great Constables.’ Reading Zhang Tan’s stories makes me feel a fiery passion burning inside my chest and my pulse racing.” — a letter from a reader in Shaanxi.

Another letter from Guangdong said, “I can’t believe Zhang Tan is just a high school student. ‘The Four Great Constables’ is so brilliantly written that my heart pounds after reading. Every time I finish a serialized part, I itch to read the next. I hope more installments follow!”

These evaluations, interviews, and reader letters served both as a summary of Zhang Tan’s contributions to "Modern and Ancient Legends: Martial Arts Edition" and as a setup for the magazine’s next novel by him, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which was also slated for the martial arts edition.

Of course, the payment per thousand characters rose suitably to 300 yuan, matching the rates of established writers from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

With this, Zhang Tan firmly secured the title of the leading figure in the major six martial arts writers.

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Thanks to Qu Jingming for two 588-yuan tips, and to Morning Light after the Dream and Bookworm ZJ for 588-yuan tips.

Thanks also to readers Aikan Shu 006, Ji Yan Tian, Rush Rush Those Years, Shi Ning OU, Ka ZH Ka, Dian Zhi Cheng Jin, Zero0707, Reader 150518125733397, Greater China Federation, Don’t Be Alone in My Dreams, Z~Online, Staying Green, Man Without a Wife, Jing Lu, Watching for Fun for Several Years, Wang Yi Shu, Dawn of the Gods 1, (Scarecrow), Saint Sage Tian, Little Meow., Great Dao Wu Feng, *GGQ*, Binging Love, Flowing O Boy for their support.

P.S.: I humbly accept everyone’s feedback. The sections on football and singing have been greatly condensed, and I will try to minimize their appearance in the future.