Martial Arts Master

The school bus slowly rumbled to life, and Yan Zheke broke away from her thoughts. She remembered something and tugged at Lou Cheng’s palm while her lips were compressed. “Cheng, I don’t think deception will work anymore.”

“Why’s that?” Lou Cheng grabbed her left palm in return with a confused expression on his face.

Yan Zheke answered him with a hint of upset in her tone, “I forgot about Coach Shi. He’s a physical invulnerability Mighty One, so I doubt the elders of Wensheng School would be so naive to think that Coach Shi couldn’t tell anything…”

Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!

How could I have made such a huge mistake as the brain of the Martial Arts Club!

It’s all because Coach Shi’s presence was too weak during the previous match. I was the one who did the general analysis, and before I knew it I forgot we had an ‘elderly senior’ in our midst!

Yes, it’s all his fault!

Lou Cheng hadn’t thought about it too deeply at the time, but the moment his girlfriend reminded him he immediately came to realization. “Yeah… we were like children without our mother especially during the preliminaries. I almost forget that we even have a coach!”

“You think so too?” Yan Zheke was so touched that she nearly broke into tears. She stared pitifully at Lou Cheng and shook his hands slightly.

I knew it, it’s not my fault!

“He never reminded me about this even after the match has ended until now…” Lou Cheng reacted with a mutter.

His master hadn’t told him what to pay attention to when he fought the first match of his life in the Little Warrior Sage Challenge Tournament either!

Did he just forget about it? Was he too lazy? Or was he doing this on purpose to ‘train’ me?

Yan Zheke was relieved from her tension after she found an ally. Then, a thought flashed through her mind as she pondered. “Maybe we can turn this to our advantage…”

“Ah? What do you mean?” Lou Cheng asked in doubt.

Yan Zheke withdrew her delicate palm, unlocked her phone display, opened her notebook and typed swiftly while talking to her boyfriend. “Look, this is the current depth of our thinking. At the first level, we pretended that we didn’t notice Hou Yue’s supernatural ability. However, Wensheng School knew that we have a physical invulnerability Might One and saw through our pretense. Therefore, they didn’t fall for our trap and changed their original Plan A to Plan B.”

“Now, we go one step lower and reach our depth of thinking just now. This is called the second level. We figured out that our physical invulnerability coach is a hole in our plan, and that our deception had already failed. We now know that Wensheng School would no longer rely on their plan A, that’s Hou Yue’s supernatural ability to fight their match. What about the Wensheng School? They probably knew that we knew about this too. Even if we didn’t, our physical invulnerability coach would have reminded us about this as well. Therefore, the modified version of Plan A should be even more surprising.”

Lou Cheng was a little dazed by her explanation, but he was a student who entered Songcheng University with his abilities. He was barely able to grasp the key points of her explanation. “Ke, this game of thinking depth keeps looping deeper and deeper, am I right? You know that I know, and I know that you know that I know and so on…”

“Yeah. There is only one key point to an analysis of thinking depth, and that’s to determine which level our opponent is at accurately. Then, we position ourselves one level below him.” Yan Zheke typed swiftly while she analyzed with great focus. “Right now, the data we possess are heavily leaned towards Donglin Squad’s martial arts and fighting style. We lack data on their behavior, habits, and conduct, so, for now, we can only determine temporarily that their depth of thinking is somewhere around the second level…”

While listening to her serious explanations and looking at the look of concentration on her face, Lou Cheng couldn’t help but feel that Yan Zheke was shining so brightly and beautifully that he couldn’t move his eyes away.

He worked his sensitive organs and confirmed that no one was paying attention to them. Then, he held an arm up to block off the sight of the person who would most likely notice them, lowered his head, and pecked once quickly on the girl’s soft and smooth cheek.

“That being said, there is a high chance that they might choose a more reliable and conservative tactic…” While Yan Zheke was pondering, she suddenly noticed that her vision had become dimmed. Then, she felt a sudden touch of warmth on her face.

She was stunned for a few seconds before she came to herself, lowered her voice and asked in both surprise and embarrassment, “What’re you doing?”

We’re on a school bus right now!

Lou Cheng didn’t take it a step further and straightened himself on his seat once more. While gazing into the girl’s eyes, he chuckled softly and said,

“Coach Yan is so beautiful just now…”

Yan Zheke immediately understood his meaning and blushed red in embarrassment. She let out a humph, restrained the urge to smile and looked outside the window. She said with gentle eyes,

“P-pervert”

Her side face looked incredibly beautiful.

Lou Cheng let out a complacent chuckle and accepted the nickname pervert like a duck to water.

A few minutes later, when the boiling sensation on her cheeks had mostly subsided, Yan Zheke cast a diffident glance to her surroundings and noticed that everyone was looking drowsy amidst the afternoon sunlight and slightly wobbly drive.

Phew… She let out a secret sigh of relief and changed the topic while feeling sweet on the inside.

“Cheng, how far have you mastered that simplified physical invulnerable move?”

Cheng’s face is getting thicker and thicker every day. He could say corny lines like the one just now without any fear or embarrassment now!

Lou Cheng reiterated his master’s guidance before concluding. “For now I can only leave it at that. ‘Severe Warning’ isn’t something that I can grasp just because I want to. I would have to prepare myself even for the first hurdle.”

“The first hurdle? You mean the combination of the two types of visualization methods you mentioned before?” Yan Zheke was extremely curious about her boyfriend’s martial arts. When the two methods were put together, the produced effects far exceeded just two.

Lou Cheng nodded helplessly as he looked at his girlfriend’s spirited eyes. “Yeah. One is a thundercloud and the other an ice-bound. Not only do they not share any similarities, they also even repel each other.”

Yan Zheke’s vibrant eyes moved upwards as she pondered. “The core of my grandfather’s ‘Yin-yang Twist’ is the transformation of the two contradicting objects, yin and yang. If I’m to explain this using dialectical materialism, it would be the unity and conflict of opposites. I believe that you should think in this respect.”

After she said this, she grabbed Lou Cheng’s arm and drew a circle on the back of his hand with a smile.

“For example, this symbol is pretty vivid, isn’t it?”

Lou Cheng watched and learned the symbol seriously. He muttered to himself in a low voice,

“Tai chi…”

“The unity and conflict of opposites; the transformation of yin and yang…” While thinking, an idea suddenly flashed across his mind. He had recalled a better point of reference.

His Jindan was an entity of unity and conflict of fire and ice, wasn’t it?

In that case, couldn’t he imitate it by mixing the two visualization methods directly to form some balance, instead of putting them together?

If he did that, would ‘Severe Warning’ become different when he unleashed it?

The more Lou Cheng thought, the more excited he became. He held Yan Zheke’s hands and looked at her sincerely, saying,

“I think I have some idea on what to do now… As I thought, Coach Yan is the best!”

“Really?” Yan Zheke was also pleasantly surprised by this outcome. She was both happy and proud of herself.

“Mm.” Lou Cheng said with a hint of urgency, “I’ll give it a try tomorrow morning!”

Yan Zheke didn’t answer him and simply drew her lips into a smile. Today, she felt especially involved and accomplished.

…

In a fairly reputable shopping mall in Songcheng, Yan Zheke accepted a box from the salesclerk’s hand and passed it to Lou Cheng, saying,

“Try this one.”

Lou Cheng cast a glance at the price tag and said softly, “There’s no need to buy something this expensive, is there? It’s going to spoil quickly anyway.”

Because the first pair of martial arts shoes Yan Zheke gifted him held a significant meaning, he hadn’t worn it too many times. He wore it occasionally only when he was doing his daily training, and he would even clean it immediately after he was done and take care of it like he was taking care of his own body.

“I don’t think it’s too expensive…” Yan Zheke paused before changing the subject and smiling faintly. “I’m a believer that you get what you pay for. A good pair of martial arts shoes could help you exert strength. Even if it gives you less than a hundredth boost, it’s still better than nothing. Plus, it’s not like those random branded martial arts shoes are much cheaper.”

Unless a fighter had cultivated unique skills like Golden Bell Cover, they were ultimately mortal flesh before they reached physical invulnerability state. If they stepped on something sharp while barefooted, they might very well hurt themselves because of their exertion. Martial arts shoes was a safeguard against injury. Unless it was necessary, no one would intentionally damage it.

“Not much cheaper?” Lou Cheng complained amusedly in his head. “That’s several hundred yuan of difference! It’s a whole month of food expenses for me in the past!”

Although he had gone through some hardships during the three years after he finished primary school and started high school, his grandpa, grandma, and cousins had looked after him. His disposition was leaned more towards the generous side too. Therefore, he hadn’t developed a stingy habit despite his love for money. Now that he was at the stage where he had just earned a large sum of income with his own abilities, and brimming with confidence and youth, one might even say that he spent a little too lavishly.

Of course, his spending was mostly on Yan Zheke. He wasn’t willing to spend too much.

Right now, he reminded himself of the code “everything Coach Yan says is correct” and didn’t refute her. Instead, he tried on many, many pairs of shoes.

“Mm, let’s go to Feiyue and check out that brand next.” Yan Zheke swept a glance across the shoes he had tried on and happily made the decision. She felt happier choosing stuff for Cheng than buying clothes for herself!

“Again?” Cheng experienced a moment of bewilderment that roughly translated into “what did I spend so much time doing just now”.

Yan Zheke said matter-of-factly, “Yeah, we should practice comparison shopping, right? Who knows, maybe the other shops are holding some kind of event or discount.”

“Didn’t you say you don’t mind this little bit of price difference?” Lou Cheng expressed his doubt as a good student under Coach Yan.

Yan Zheke cast him a slightly scornful glance and smiled faintly. “This is different from buying a cheap pair of martial arts shoes directly. We’re planning to buy a good pair of martial arts shoes anyway, so if there is a discount we would be making a profit, right? It may not be much money, but I like making a profit this way.”

“What kind of logic is that?” Lou Cheng wore a stupefied expression on his face.

Yan Zheke raised her head slightly with pride. “A woman’s logic~”

“Alright.” Lou Cheng was left speechless, so he followed Yan Zheke into one specialty shop after another. In the end, they returned to the first shop and bought the first and third martial arts shoes he tested earlier.

“For what did I test so many pairs of shoes?” Lou Cheng wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead that didn’t exist.

Yan Zheke took out her own card when they were at the cash register.

“Let me pay for this!” Lou Cheng stopped her and said.

Yan Zheke acted tsundere on purpose and said,

“I got my reward money, and I want to buy my boyfriend some stuff~”

“Nod your head if you’re my boyfriend!”

“Fine, fine.” What else could Lou Cheng do? He could only nod while feeling a tinge of sweetness in his heart.

After Yan Zheke had paid for the shoes, she happily pointed at the floor above and said, “Let’s go check out some clothes next. I feel like you only have a few summer wear in your closet. Mm, right now a slim-fit shirt would fit you nicely.”

“Alright.” Lou Cheng followed behind his girlfriend while holding two bags.

In the past, he often saw men complaining about shopping with their girlfriend or wife. The most common scenario was the girl shopping inside while the man sat outside resting, looking so worn out that he might succumb to a paralysis.

Right now though, he wanted to say that the most tiring task was in fact complying your girlfriend’s wishes and trying on all kinds of stuff. While it was a sweet and happy experience, it certainly was physically and emotionally exhausting. Couldn’t they just make a swift decision?

“I guess only a guy with an abnormal stamina like me could take to this like ducks to water.” Lou Cheng thought proudly.

When a few more shopping bags had appeared in his hands, Yan Zheke finally made her way to the first floor of the shopping mall.

Lou Cheng stared at the few jewelry shops nearby and began pondering how he should ‘abduct’ Ke into the shops.

Just when he was done coming up with his excuse, Yan Zheke happily said to him with a pink face, “Cheng, let’s go in and check out some jewelry, shall we?”

“Eh? That simple?” Lou Cheng’s mind went blank for a second before he hurriedly nodded.

“Okay!”

“I’ll encourage Ke to test a ring later and memorize her favorite type and finger size. I’ll act like I’m dissatisfied with the selection of choices later, take her away, make an excuse to go to the washroom, come back and buy it. Finally, I’ll give her a pleasant surprise during lunch… hehe…” Lou Cheng went through his plan once more and thought that it was perfect!

He had even prepared what he wanted to say when gifting her the ring!