As the crowd made one wish after another, the red-crowned cranes and white peacocks in the venue, as if sensing something, immediately spread their wings and took to the sky.
In the next second, these four immortal-like creatures began to circle above the stage, occasionally letting out ethereal calls that caused the audience to exclaim in amazement.
To everyone's eyes, it was as if their freshly made wishes had been carried to the heavens by these birds.
A sense of inexplicable joy washed over the crowd.
When the red-crowned cranes and white peacocks in the sky slowly descended, the audience eagerly, like fervent fans, raised their recording devices and began to shoot them furiously.
Yet, even in the face of such attention, the red-crowned cranes and white peacocks maintained an air of elegant composure, their grace etched into their very being.
With this, the outcome of the competition was, naturally, a foregone conclusion.
If one were to assign a score to the four birds, it's believed everyone would give them a perfect score.
While the bear mother earlier represented the pinnacle of strength, these creatures now embodied the zenith of elegance.
Both were beyond human imitation.
As this unique rhythmic gymnastics performance concluded, only one event remained for the morning session—Wushu.
As a traditional Chinese sport and the most characteristic one, it was rarely seen on the international stage but was a staple in domestic competitions.
However, what slightly irked the audience was that this event was not a competitive sport but a performance.
Consequently, this competition had always lacked popularity.
But considering the unique nature of this year's sports meet, the audience harbored a sliver of anticipation for this event.
After all, there were animal athletes among the participants this time.
They couldn't guarantee that animal athletes would definitely appear in this event, but if they did, the entertainment value would undoubtedly skyrocket.
The only uncertainty was which animals would participate.
"I think it might be monkeys; a monkey fist routine would be quite fitting."
"Mantis, perhaps. Mantis fist is quite formidable."
"It's a pity Hua Dajie has already performed; otherwise, who could withstand a Tiger Fist?"
"What about snakes? Snake Fist would be passable."
"Is it as powerful as my Turtle Fist?"
"Isn't it simple? Let's see which animals haven't performed yet."
"The Paw Patrol hasn't been on; it can't be Dog Fist, can it?"
At this moment, the crowd had guessed almost every animal in the Xihong Zoo.
Even the Lion King was not spared.
It wasn't until the athletes made their appearance that they felt utterly dumbfounded.
For the animal representatives were none other than two small creatures, barely reaching an adult's knee, hopping and bouncing.
"Holy crap, what are these things?"
"They look like red pandas."
"So today's performance is Kung Fu Panda?"
"That's a good theme; I might write a script and find an investor to see if we can make an animated feature film."
"Bullshit, how could these be red pandas? They're raccoons!"
"Raccoons? Aren't those the ones in the 'Gan Cui Mian' snacks?"
"Gan Cui Mian? Isn't that Xiao Wan Neng?"
"What kind of bootleg Gan Cui Mian are you eating?"
"Stop arguing; these two little guys are raccoons, not red pandas, nor Xiao Wan Neng."
"Let me show you what raccoons look like."
"And this is what red pandas look like. Clear enough?"
"So this time it's Kung Fu Raccoons then?"
"With such small sizes, what kind of performance can they do?"
As the crowd murmured in confusion, the host announced the contestants' performance items.
"Distinguished audience, next we will have the pleasure of watching a swordplay performance by Ma Xiuxiu, former champion of the Universiade Games."
"A spearplay performance by Li Bo, former champion of the National Games."
"A performance of the Nine-Section Whip by Ou Ge, champion of the National Games' routines."
As the referee read out the names, it soon came to the turn of the two little creatures.
"Of course, this time we also have two young contestants from Xihong Zoo presenting their performance."
"They are Raccoon Brother Li Buda and Raccoon Younger Brother Li Xiao. This pair of raccoon brothers will be performing today: Raccoon Fist."
While the preceding contestants were introduced, the audience maintained a serious demeanor, but when it came to the raccoon brothers, they could no longer contain themselves.
"Li Buda, Li Xiao, what kind of ridiculous names are these? The zoo director must have made them up on the spot."
"Why do they have names as soon as they arrive? Don't Bear Dad and Bear Mom deserve them?"
"Exactly, isn't this blatant discrimination?"
"Speaking of which, if they are brothers, does that mean there will be no 'Xiao Xiao Huan Xiong' in the future?"
"Is my focus solely on Raccoon Fist? Isn't that name even more absurd than their own names?"
"Raccoon Fist, can it kill enemies with cuteness?"
"This thing has 'bear' in its name, it's a disgrace to the bear clan!"
"This is hilarious, will they steal my Gan Cui Mian?"
At this moment, the audience was doubled over with laughter, utterly amused by these two little fellows.
What surprised them even more was that while the referee was still reading out the rules, the swordplay champion, a young lady, had already produced snacks from somewhere and was feeding the little raccoon brothers.
Their demeanor clearly indicated they had been bribed.
As for the other contestants, although they hadn't made a move yet, their expressions suggested they were struggling to resist.
Even before the competition officially began, the human contestants were all distracted.
Once the competition officially commenced, these Wushu champions from various regions unleashed their lifelong learned skills.
All in an effort to finish the competition quickly and then go pet the bears nearby.
The audience, too, seemed somewhat distracted by the performances of these contestants.
After all, Wushu only becomes captivating when it has a competitive element. Pure performances held little appeal for an audience already suffering from aesthetic fatigue.
Finally, when the raccoon brothers took the stage, the audience's full attention was captured.
And under the gaze of anticipation, the two adorable raccoons, imitating the earlier contestants, performed a Wushu salute to the audience.
After completing their salute, the two little fellows immediately began their performance, move by move.
In the beginning, everything was normal, but as they continued, the two little ones began to have physical contact.
What was meant to be a performance quickly devolved into a sparring match between the two.
With one punch and one kick, they engaged in a brawl right in front of the audience.
And captured by the cameras, the trajectories of their attacks were clearly displayed to every viewer.
As they watched, the expressions of the audience began to change subtly, especially among those who had a basic understanding of Wushu.
ps: Pushing my limits, here are ten updates. Good night, dears, and another 7 updates tomorrow.