Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng ran smoothly back to the new campus of Songcheng University and picked up Yan Zheke from her class. After running for so long, he was still panting and furiously sweating even with his great stamina. Yan Zheke found it hilarious to watch him, but also felt sorry for him. She handed him some tissues for him to wipe his forehead and said with concern, “Let’s skip our walk today. Get a bottle of hot water and wash up in your dorm.”

In early winter, it was not a challenge for Lou Cheng to shower with cold water. It was simply not too comfortable.

“It’s fine. Ever since I helped Old Qiu get the signature and gave him VIP tickets, I have hot water ready for me every day.” Lou Cheng was so happy to find clues about Jindan that he wanted to take Ke around the lake and share his joy with her.

Wrinkling her nose, Yan Zheke put on an expression of disdain. “You stink of sweat!”

Though she said this, she did not let go of Lou Cheng’s hand. She followed him as they walked slowly to the lake, looking happy and adorable.

“Don’t think I’m tired just because I’ve sweated a lot. Running is getting less effective on my stamina, unless I’m willing to spend half or an entire day doing it.” Lou Cheng shared his feelings on this topic.

He wondered how Mighty Fighters of inhuman Dan stage practiced.

“Are you showing off? You’re really showing off!” Yan Zheke glanced at him, baring her white teeth to show her annoyance. Due to her innate defect, her physical ability was worse than fellow same-level fighters.

Lou Cheng burst out laughing. He gave her nose a slight pinch and said excitedly,

“I’m considering which new method should I use to increase my stamina… My master told me he’d hand me some compiled information on cultivation, including copied versions of the Three Words Formula of the Nine Words Formula. Ah, I really hope I can comprehend them and learn something useful. Hehe, maybe I could even help you improve your stamina!”

What he actually meant was focusing his cultivation of the Spirit and supplementing it with body refinement. Perhaps this method could help Ke make up for her innate defect. Of course, this was not something a regular cultivation method could achieve. Otherwise, her grandfather would have long mentioned about it with the massive collection of Shushan Study.

Thus Lou Cheng did not directly bring up this plan in case he failed after giving her hope.

As for the Nine Words Formula, he did not consider it a secret. He would use this martial art sooner or later. It would not something that could go undetected by people.

Dimples appeared on Yan Zheke’s face when she heard how Lou Cheng was still concerned about her physical state even as he was thinking about practicing martial arts. She felt very sweet on the inside. “Why you do keep on pinching my nose, mouth, and face lately? Do you think I’m still a kid?”

Though she was being cute with him at first, she began to say seriously, “Nine Words Formula? I’ve heard about it from my grandfather. Each of the nine words has their unique abilities… I don’t know if Shushan Study collected this formula. But even if there is, the formula must be rather incomplete. Either way, I’ve never heard of anyone practicing this secret discipline in the Faction.”

She subconsciously wondered if Shushan Study has the remaining parts of the Nine Words Formula and if she could help her boyfriend collect the whole thing.

Hehe. Could this be considered a girl being nicer to her boyfriend than her own family? Lou Cheng could tell the implied meaning behind Yan Zheke’s words and was secretly pleased. He only chuckled about it, instead of making fun of her to her face.

“That’s for sure. If there are people in each sect practicing it, then I wouldn’t have only heard of the Nine Words Formula now,” he said, recalling the top professional matches and the title matches that he had watched.

Chatting as they walked, they walked further and further in until they reached a secluded area close to the west side of the campus still under development.

Yan Zheke looked around and stopped walking. She pursed her mouth and looked at Lou Cheng with a serious expression.

“This place is so secluded… It reminds me of a saying!”

“What kind of saying?” Lou Cheng asked, smiling.

Raising her chin, Yan Zheke smiled.

“Go ahead and cry for help! Even if you burst your throat crying for help, no one will come and save you!”

Lou Cheng snorted. “Why are you saying my lines?!” He laughed and pretended to be frightened of her.

…

On the last day of November, Yan Zheke returned to her room early to get a good rest. She needed to get herself in the best fighting state because she, Lin Hua and Lin Que had matches with the Martial Arts Club of Linghua University as the leading players of their university club.

The moment Lou Cheng entered the seventh building, he received a call from his master.

“Hey, brat! Come and see me now!” Geezer Shi said briefly without any explanation.

Lou Cheng became excited, guessing that his master was going to give him the cultivation materials and the copies of the Three Words Formula: Army, Swordsman, and Forwarding!

Sure enough, his master threw him a file pocket the moment he walked into his master’s dormitory.

“Take it back and read it carefully. Don’t come and tell me you’ve already mastered it tomorrow,” Geezer Shi quipped.

Geezer Shi had to poke fun at his disciple this way because he had mastered the visualization, the Thunder Roar Zen, and the Severe Warning too quickly!

“Then I’ll tell you I’ve mastered it the day after tomorrow,” said Lou Cheng, responding to his joke. He undid the string on the cover and took out the documents inside. What he saw were thick materials about cultivation and three mysteriously charming copies.

As for the visualization photo for Zhu Rong Force, he had returned it to his master before going back to university.

“Okay! If you have the ability, bring me the good news the day after tomorrow!” Geezer Shi waved, indicating for Lou Cheng to leave and not interrupt his drinking time.

Carrying the file pocket, Lou Cheng left the instructors’ apartment briskly. He also shared this with Yan Zheke.

Naturally, Yan Zheke had already gone to bed, so there was no reply.

Back in his dormitory, Lou Cheng was almost unbearably excited and happy. He first went through the cultivation materials in the quiet room. All his roommates had gone out for their own businesses. He found predecessors like Queen of Thought did not receive the Practice Methods of Longhu Immortal. Rather, they only received related notes and ancient records. He could only get a general idea and some specific but fragmented details.

He only looked through the materials instead of reading them carefully. He found a written URL and the corresponding code for extraction at the end, with a note that read: “Nine Words Formula”.

Queen of Thought actually had such elegant handwriting… After admiring her penmanship for a few seconds, Lou Cheng downloaded the audio file and listened to it carefully on his phone for several times.

It was only now that he got down to business. First, he selected the copied “Swordsman” Formula, viewing its essence and charm to help in his mind. He then found the corresponding gestures and explanations for this formula written on the corner of the paper.

Practicing this without the gestures would help internally. With the combination of the mysteries of sound and minds, it can have incredible effects on one’s body. With gestures, the formula will connect one internally and externally, activating the mysteries of sound, minds, and body at the same time. In the end, it will affect the outside world.

Lou Cheng listened to the word “Zhe” over and over. He only stopped when he realized the Jindan in his body was responding to this sound. He became certain he has already mastered the right pronunciation of the word. He climbed onto his bed and sat cross-legged, trying to visualize the charm and essence of the formula “Zhe” with his palms facing up.

He closed his eyes, attempting to do concealment of spirit and qi to first get his mind in absolute peace. He began drawing the word “Swordsman” in his mind carefully. But understanding the essence of a formula was never an easy task. The word appeared in his mind one after another, but none contained the thick and long essence and charm that he saw on the copy. Never mind triggering changes in his Jindan.

Lou Cheng became tired after multiple attempts. His thoughts were beginning to sway, so he decided to try another way to practice it.

For example, he planned to pronounce the word “Swordsman” with his vocal cords while visualizing seeing if the visualization effort and the word would be linked and create a certain essence!

The practice of bravely making assumptions and carefully making confirmations had Lou Cheng’s habit for many years. As soon as he was inspired, he immediately put it into practice. While visualizing the word that had little essence and charm in his mind, with the humming of his chest and the vibration of his vocal cords, he exhaled and pronounced the word,

“Swordsman!”

The sound echoed in his mind. The Jindan in Lou Cheng’s lower abdomen had a slight reaction to the sound, rotating slightly as the stars around it showed indication of shifting.

Just then, the shining and mysterious nebula seemed to come alive and began to vibrate with the word in his mind. The ripples around the Jindan became more and more obvious, almost forming a wave!

Above the wave was a Swirling Star, seemingly formed out of hundreds of shining vogue ancient words. Those words scattered around the word “Swordsman”, which had growing vitality and thick charm.

The word was reflected in Lou Cheng’s mind as soon as it appeared, changing his visualization with it.

After a while, Lou Cheng withdrew the concealment of spirit and qi and thought over the feeling he had just now.

He once again looked at the copied formula, wanting to get a deeper understanding of it.

He seemed to be very familiar with the process this time. He successfully visualized the word with essence and charm in less than half an hour!

Did he just pull it off this way? Lou Cheng himself was frightened by his learning speed!

It seemed the Jindan of Longhu Immortal was really merged with the Nine Words Formula. What was more, the formula also contained his practicing methods!

After Lou Cheng exhaled a breath and calmed down, he closed his eyes and began to visualize again. He again drew the word “Swordsman” which was of thick and growing charm in his mind and pronounced,

“Swordsman!”

His visualization vibrated with this sound, seemingly activating some mysterious power through the barrier between virtualization and reality. The power went inside Lou Cheng’s body and tempered his Spirit and body.

The reaction of his Jindan became more and more acute. The motion of the stars around it became more apparent. Finally, he could clearly see the hundreds of vogue ancient words!

“The effect of the innate practice of ‘Swordsman’ formula is to help fighters temper their spirit and body… ” Lou Cheng thought, staring at Zhao Qiang’s tidy quilt and bed opposite his own.

The practice allowed him to eliminate running from his morning exercise regime and help him slowly improve his spirit. This was the most urgent thing for him right now!

He took out his phone and wrote down the words he had tried his best to remember in the memo app.

“Swordsman!”

“Swordsman!”

Sitting on his bed cross-legged, he pronounced this word and practiced the internal training again and again to remember the ancient words. Until half past ten, he finally remembered and wrote down all the scattered words in the memo app.

“Huh, if I could collect all the Nine Words Formula, then I’ll be able to complete this kungfu.” Lou Cheng looked at his phone and realized he could not understand all his fragmented notes.

He rubbed his temples and watched the gestures on the paper. He began to practice the external training.

“Swordsman!”

“Swordsman!”

When Zhao Qiang and Qiu Zhigao returned to their dormitory, Lou Cheng was still on the bed with his legs crossed. They also heard him shouting.

“Cheng, what are you doing?” Zhao Qiang and Qiu Zhigao yawned, exhausted from studying.

Lou Cheng smiled, not answering. He gave the bed handrail a light tap and put one hand on his lap with the other knotted. He then shouted solemnly,

“Swordsman!”

Sinking into a mysterious ambience, Zhao Qiang became suddenly alert and all his drowsiness disappeared.

“Why am I suddenly not tired anymore?” Old Qiu looked at Lou Cheng in bewilderment. “It is because you frightened me?”

“Think whatever you want.” Lou Cheng smiled with slight fatigue.

That night, Zhao Qiang could not fall asleep until two. Old Qiu was so energetic that he ran ten laps on the field.

…

The next morning, Geezer Shi let out a laugh and looked at Lou Cheng.

“How is it? Do you think you can master it by tomorrow?”

He teased his disciple once again.

Lou Cheng coughed a little.

“I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

As a man, he would keep his promise. If he promised to tell his master tomorrow, he would never tell in advance!