Martial Arts Master

“Lou Cheng Wins!”

The foreign words echoed in Ichiei Sakata’s ears as he lay flatly on the ground, his mind blank, not remembering to even get back on his feet. He felt as if he just woke up at home in the afternoon, dazed and languid.

He had exhausted all his strength and made the breakthrough. Yet he had lost. Looking at Lou Cheng’s undamaged shoes, it was as though he never exerted his full force and reserved his strength this whole time…

When Takechi-kun had overtook and surpassed him, he consoled himself by saying that those who run fast might not run fast later, and the second half of the lap was what mattered. When Takechi-kun had mastered the true “Ha” while he was running in circles, he comforted himself by saying that he was invincible, the most powerful in his league and it was only a matter of time before he could advance.

But now, facing a 20 years old opponent in the same league yet losing so miserably, what can I console myself with?

Lou Cheng withdrew his suspended hand and coughed, interrupting Ichiei Sakata’s thoughts. His fervent expression had faded completely, leaving eyes filled with confusion and sadness.

Lou Cheng did not know enough Japanese to hold a conversation, therefore he simply cupped his fist in his palm and said softly,

“Well fought.”

Japanese warriors valued etiquette above all, and Ichiei Sakata had no intention of embarrassing his country.

He bowed habitually, turned and staggered down the arena, completely ignoring the stinging pain in his arms— He had used “Ninjutsu : Backstab” in desperation when his lower body wasn’t stable and had the effects of the mutated “Severe Warning” lingering in him, therefore even though he had parried Lou Cheng’s flurry of kicks, he got “juggled” into the air which almost tore, if not severed his arm.

Lou Cheng had no interest in his opponent’s journey or his story, forgetting to even thank the audience, he walked down the stone steps in brisk steps and took back his phone and wallet from the match supervisor. Unlocking his phone, he sent a message to Yan Zheke.

“I won! [smirk]”

At this moment, Peng Leyun and the others who held their right hand in the air, waiting to congratulate Lou Cheng, awkwardly withdrew their arms and tried to play it off by looking around and commenting on the fights at other arenas.

Yan Zheke, as if waiting, replied in the blink of an eye.

“For the match to last three and a half minutes… Ichiei Sakata lives up to his name. [turning back with shocked expression]”

“Pfft, don’t flatter me too much, I’ll get cocky! [smiles]” replied Lou Cheng.

What Ke meant was, any opponent that could last more than one to two minutes against him was considered the cream of the crop in the 6th Pin league.

“Heh heh, you can call me a professional Cheng flatterer! [smiles with hand covering mouth]” replied Yan Zheke.

“Alright, now I can focus on my lessons again~”

Lou Cheng kept his phone, returning to the grandstand in high spirits and high-fived Peng Leyun and the others.

Eh, what’s with the expression on their faces…

“What’s wrong?” Lou Cheng asked.

“Nothing.” Peng Leyun’s eyes began to lose focus, Ann Chaoyang shifted his focus to his music while Ren Li held her head down, trying to figure out a way to make a bet.

…

In the Longhu Club forums.

“Ha ha, I’m reading the Japanese forums and damn it feels good looking at their comments!”

“Eh, eh , eh, You know Japanese? Hurry up and translate it for us, we want to read their praises! [rage laugh]” replied “Eternal Nightfall” Yan Xiaoling.

“Waiting!” replied “Brahman”.

Shortly, “Unparalleled Dragon King” began translating comment by comment.

“Ichiei Sakata is no more than an ordinary man now.”

“Ichiei-kun outdid himself but still lost.”

“He didn’t even stand a chance from start till end. The part when he snapped and did “Seven Sins Kill” surprised me and gave me hope but in the end it didn’t have any effects.”

“Idiots! Stupid Ishihara and the Martial Arts committee, why would they give China four invitation cards?”

“That Lou Cheng guy has been famous since last year. I have been seeing his name even around here.”

“Looks like a genius that might even be stronger than Takechi-kun. I heard that China has even more geniuses like him, for example the other competitors that came with him!”

“They are from an ancient country with rich history after all.”

“I’m putting my hopes on Kaori-chan and Takechi-kun!”

“Kaori-chan is the best!”

…

“Ha ha, looks like the Japanese are quite well mannered, no one’s being a sore loser. [laughs with hands on hips]”

“Can’t understand what they are saying, but still it feels so good!” replied “Eternal Nightfall” Yan Xiaoling.

Nothing tasted better than your enemy’s defeat, praises, and envy!

“Little Dragon, Little Dragon, we’ll leave the important task of translating such comments to you in the future! [pats shoulder].”

…

Lou Cheng felt even better after reading the contents from the live-stream post and gave no further replies. At the end of the first round of double-elimination matches, he returned to the hotel with his teammates.

Standing before the window on a high floor, he gazed down at the resplendent sea of lights that were the symbol of human civilization filled with confidence as he waited for the next round.

He held up his phone to share his feelings with his sweetheart.

“There’s prize money once I reach the Top 16s!”

For a while, Lou Cheng waited for any incoming alerts, but Yan Zheke was concentrating on her classes and couldn’t reply promptly.

He subconsciously unlocked his lock screen to draft another text, but deleted it word by word on second thought. He didn’t want to affect Yan Zheke’s studies by texting too frequently.

After freshening up, Lou Cheng turned all the lights off and found his way to his bed in the dark, looking for something to do to kill time.

After seeing Fatty Jiang’s post on “Moments” that was complaining about being awakened by hunger and wanting to eat supper, he kindly sent him the stolen images of Shengxiang food.

“Damn you! I’m going out to eat at Old Liu Barbecue now and I will make sure to send you the pictures later, you are welcome! [Two can play that game meme]” replied Jiang Fei.

“Pinch your fats and stroke your protruding tummy, does it not hurt your conscience? [reprimanding]” replied Lou Cheng, “Anyway I’m about to go to sleep, so I won’t see anything you send. (Insert funny expression).”

As he was teasing Fatty Jiang, Yan Zheke’s reply came.

“I’ll be waiting for you to treat me with the prize money~! Oh yes, Empress Dowager will be flying to China around the 14th of September.”

“Okay!” Lou Cheng quickly switched to another App and booked a 14th of September ticket to America, sending the screenshot to Ke.

“I want to tear ten pages off my calendar right now!” replied Yan Zheke, confessing her inner thoughts in a light-hearted manner.

They chatted for a bit, but lesson time was soon to begin, and Lou Cheng also had to turn in for the night, so they exchanged goodbyes.

The following morning, he woke up on the dot, did his usual routine, and headed to the training area to continue his tough daily training.

In his visualization, cold light broke out, pellucid and sparkling with dreaminess, yet bearing darkness and loneliness that knew no ends and extreme coldness that homed no warmth.

As he was getting a hold of the basics, he felt subtle changes in his Frost supernatural ability as it became more illusory and elusive, like a whirlpool that absorbed warmth.

This was the upgrade from “Frost Force” to “Ice Spirit Force”. He had already learned the ropes and was beginning to strengthen his foundations.

After practicing “Ice Spirit Force” for a while, Lou Cheng took out the “Emperor Yan Diagram” that had already lost a lot of its power. He concentrated on comprehending and attempted to visualize the denseness, explosiveness and eruption in the diagram.

He was however a few steps away from it and his visualization proved to be unsuccessful.

“Emperor Yan Force” seems to be a highly condensed version of “Zhu Rong Force”…, thought Lou Cheng, switching to physical exercises when he had exhausted his spirits.

An uneventful day passed as they spent their morning sparring and afternoon resting, eventually arriving at the Shengxiang stadium at night for the second round of double-elimination matches.

Since only one round had transpired, none of the fighters had been eliminated with two losses yet, therefore there was going to be 36 fighters and 18 matches again.

This time, Lou Cheng’s name was picked early.

I wonder who it is… Hope it’s not a Japanese warrior so I can experience different Martial Arts…, he thought.

A few seconds later, the guest picked his opponent, loudly announcing the name on it.

“Miluo, Veigar!”

Veigar? Lou Cheng turned his head, stunned, and saw the cold countenance of a man donned in navy blue general uniform looking towards him impassively, silver sparks dancing in his eyes.

F*ck, meeting the No. 2 seed in the second round of double-elimination matches!

I mean, he wasn’t a Japanese warrior that’s for sure…