Martial Arts Master

In a sea of cheers, some of which he understood and others he didn’t, Lou Cheng returned from his dazed state to accept the reality of his defeat as he heaved a sigh of relief and began to relax his sore arms.

He should have been happy. Proud even. Veigar had been at the quasi-Inhuman stage for more than a year, and coming close to defeating him twice was no easy feat. He had earned the right to walk off with his chest out.

Yet, he could not feel a hint of happiness within himself. Instead, there was only disappointment and regret.

He was so close, victory was just a step away…

My strategy, predictions, and actual performance were all on point. Outstanding in fact. Yet I was a step away from seizing the winning opportunity…

His logic kept telling him that it was the best outcome. Had he not used “Ice Armor” defensively, he might have been left with broken arms from the last two smites, which would have spell the end of his adventures in the King of Youth Pro League. Even so, Lou Cheng could not readily accept his defeat. Not when he was that close.

Right now, the most realistic course of action would be to speed up his progress in mastering the “Emperor Yan Force” and attain a new mastery in his “Zhurong Force”, which would cause him to start morphing.

With his mind racing, Lou Cheng paid Veigar a gesture of respect, then turned and walked to the edge of the arena and down the steps towards the match supervisor.

His wallet was returned to him before he could ask for it.

But the wallet was the only thing that was given to him, and that confused Lou Cheng since he was planning on sending a text to Yan Zheke. Then it came to him; he had passed his phone to his teammates.

He laughed and shook his head. After pocketing his wallet, he walked towards where Peng Leyun and the others were at. The side effects from the electrocutions were wearing off.

The beefy Veigar in the arena took a last thoughtful look at Lou Cheng’s silhouette. Walking towards the center of the arena, he picked up the ragged remains of his general hat and dusted it. Without putting it back on he walked out of the arena, straight out of the stadium without turning back.

“Impressive(Sugoi)!” went the praises of the samurais who were watching the competition from the Japanese representative side.

Ichiei Sakata’s face was pale as though he had taken a great hit. The day before, he knew there was a considerable gap between him and Lou Cheng, but right now the gap between them caused him despair. In the battle that just took place, Lou Cheng had displayed power close to an Inhuman, and that was something that set him apart.

How on earth did he do it?

I’m sure he didn’t promote yet!

With his supernatural abilities?

But I have them too…

People used to call me a “monster”, but now I have to admit that the real “monsters” are still out there…

Takechi Yamashita turned towards him.

“Ichiei-kun, Lou Cheng’s current level is not something beyond your reach! Don’t focus too much on attaining “Hadou.” Once you have reached his current level, things will become easier for you,” said Takechi Yamashita with a stern face.

“Understood…” Ichiei Sakata replied, uncertain.

“The Extreme Hadou Sect has no place for cowards!” warned Takechi Yamashita with a frown.

“Understood!” replied Ichiei Sakata with a solemn expression.

…

Back in the Longhu Club live-stream thread, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the little fiesta from before and were currently engaged in a lively discussion on Veigar and Lou Cheng’s battle.

“Such a pity! [biting napkin with a teary expression]” replied “Wonton Seller”.

“A pity indeed, I actually thought Lou Cheng might win there…[tears of joy]” replied “Unparalleled Dragon King”. “There needs to be a new category in between the Inhuman and Common Dan stage, as well as the 5th Pin and 6th Pin, and that category will be called Lou Cheng!”

“Damn, I almost had my world views destroyed… [spits] If his opponent was someone who had recently attained the Inhuman stage, he might have actually won!” replied “Road to the Arena.”

“I think Lou Cheng is going to make the breakthrough soon…” suggested “Pig-Riding Knight”.

“No way! You can’t be that fast even if you ride on a rocket! [spits]” replied “A Plumber Eating Mushroom”.

“Yeah! There are cardinal rules even for making breakthroughs!” agreed “Invincible Punch”.

These surmises were quickly “drowned out” by other replies.

“Even though my idol performed spectacularly, I can’t help but feel a little down at his loss. But looking at you guys complimenting him has lifted my spirits again! [hopping around] Keep the praises coming, I can do with more of them! @Eternal Nightfall, come look at this!” replied “Brahman”.

“…Already seen that, I’m busy making a new thread for all the prayers hoping that Lou Cheng does not get another Inhuman opponent in the next round!” replied “Eternal Nightfall” Yan Xiaoling.

…

Somewhere in the grandstand, Lou Cheng walked to Peng Leyun and high-fived him.

“I never liked Veigar much, especially at how he wore that “Police hat” everywhere as if he was something special. I guess those days are over for him now that he’s lost his hat,” quipped Peng Leyun in a kind, praising way.

Seems like the rumors were true. Other than zoning out frequently and being a battle maniac, “The Devil King” was a nice and easy going guy… Lou Cheng couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Peng Leyun had put it.

Ann Chaoyang reached out to high five him too.

“What a show!” commended Ann Chaoyang. “Haha, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the match for a second to take any pictures.”

Pictures… remembered Lou Cheng.

“I guess that means you didn’t post anything?” he asked, smiling.

“Nah, we did not forget about that. Ren Li is the best at photography here, so we entrusted the task to her,” replied Ann Chaoyang, unabashed at the fact that he was the one who had a digital camera.

Ren Li stepped forward at being mentioned, handed Lou Cheng’s phone back, and nodded.

“Someone was bad-mouthing you on the forums just now, so I gave them a good scolding!”

“Huh?” replied Lou Cheng in confusion. Once he had put two and two together, a bad feeling grew in him. He quickly unlocked his phone, went on the forums and into the live-stream thread, then began scrolling up.

Thanks a lot… His mouth was twitching at what he saw.

“…The one commenting earlier was not me! I did not get hacked either, truth is, I felt that my photography skills were not good enough, so I had someone help me, but I didn’t expect her to comment in my place…”

“Her? Was it your girlfriend, Little Tiger? [I knew it expression]” replied “Wonton Seller”.

“So it was a girl, that explains why she was so sensitive. [So that’s how it is expression]” replied “Unparalleled Dragon King”.

Girlfriend? Lou Cheng denied it in a hurry.

“No, it was a friend.”

“A female friend other than your girlfriend? Look at you go, Tiger, travelling with other female friends! [funny face]”replied “Okamoto’s fan” in a teasing manner.

“…You read too much into it! There are other friends that came along too,”replied Lou Cheng.

“Save your explanations! All I want to know is: is she pretty? If she is, getting scolded by her just now wouldn’t be half bad. [ROFL]” replied “Okamoto’s Fan”.

“She’s alright,” Lou Cheng replied hesitantly.

These conversations made him a little nervous. Not that he had anything to be nervous of, but if there’s one thing his long-distance relationship had taught him, it was that when two people are oceans apart, maintaining trust and emotional security is like treading on thin ice. Repeated doubts and suspicions could be the breaking point. Therefore, to prevent the relationship from turning sour, both sides had to know how to “avoid suspicion.” Even if you have nothing to be guilty of, you should consider how others might see it and proactively avoid situations that might raise doubts in your other half, which might turn into suspicions and eventually, the big fight.

A person’s freedom is always relative, especially after they are attached!

Should I tell Ke about this?

If I don’t, she probably wouldn’t find out either, and that would be the end of it…

But if she visits the live-stream thread on a whim and finds out about this, she’s definitely not going to be happy about it, even if she doesn’t say it…

Shortly after weighing the options in his mind, Lou Cheng made his decision. He switched to the QQ messenger tab to first inform Yan Zheke of his loss.

“I watched some parts of it just now, and I thought you were going to win… But it’s alright. Once you complete morphing, you will win for sure! [hugs]” replied Yan Zheke.

That was her way of consoling her precious Cheng.

After a round of encouragements and warm exchanges, Lou Cheng decided it was a good time to bring out the topic.

“F***, Peng Leyun got me into big trouble!”

He stole a glance at Peng Leyun after hitting send.

“Comrade Leyun, this is for the greater good. You’ll have to take this one for the team!”

“What did he do? [cat holding a dried fish]” replied Yan Zheke.

“You remember how “Unparalleled Dragon King” asked me to host the live-stream thread by uploading pictures? Before it was my turn, I got Peng Leyun to help, but you know what he did? He threw the responsibility to Ren Li, and Ren Li ended up in a squabble with the people on the forums, and I had to clean up after their mess. [sighs]” replied Lou Cheng.

“Pfft…that’s pretty unreliable of them… That prim and proper Ren Li got into a squabble? [cat dropping his dried fish in shock]” replied Yan Zheke.

Since Lou Cheng’s competition was early in the morning, she had some time to spare before lesson started. She went to the forums and browsed through the live-stream thread, and hardly realizing it herself she was biting her lips lightly.

“I heard from Peng Leyun and Ann Chaoyang that Ren Li often get into arguments online…” said Lou Cheng, feeling the need to add more candidates to his list of scapegoats.

“That’s something you wouldn’t expect from her image… I find the contrast kind of cute. [smiles while covering mouth]” replied Yan Zheke. “What is she like normally?”

Feeling pressured by the question, Lou Cheng picked his words carefully.

“She’s kind of klutz but extremely confident in everything she does. The coach was with her for the most of the duration since she’s horrible with directions, there wasn’t much interactions between her and the rest of us.”

“I see…that’s not what I imagined her to be like. [thinking]” replied Yan Zheke.

She exhaled and shook her head, smiling before moving on to another topic.

Then she received another message. It was from a classmate that went abroad with her, Huang Xiwen.

“Want to chill with us tonight? There’s a party at Tom’s place. You’ll see lots of people from our hometown. Not to mention, there will be many popular seniors from our school!”

It didn’t take long for Yan Zheke to turn it down.

“I’m not good with crowded occasions.”

“Come on! Where’s the fun in holing up at home all the time? How are you going to mix in with everyone if you don’t get to know them first? If you keep on being a lone wolf, you might end up being isolated! Imagine the regret you’ll have when you can’t turn to anyone for help in the future. So, make yourself look pretty and have some fun with us tonight. It will be a good change of pace!” convinced Huang Xiwen.

I don’t see any good in mixing in with the rest… After typing it, she thought it was too harsh, so she went on to rephrase it.

Then she thought it was too mild and undetermined, so she had to write it again.

“I have to admit that I am a boring person that isn’t good at socializing. But hey, I like it this way since I can concentrate on my studies. You really don’t have to invite me in the future. I’m honestly not interested.” was the one she decided on.

After checking through and making minor adjustments, she hit send feeling as if a burden had been lifted off of her.

To think I went out of my way to invite you!, thought Huang Xiwen, vexed at being turned down. She put her phone down.

“She’s not coming. Seriously, she’s a real buzzkill. Right, one of those unsmiling spinsters!”

…

Back in the Sheng Xiang Stadium, Peng Leyun saw Lou Cheng looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, stroking his chin in confusion.

“Nothing,” Lou Cheng replied, smiling.

Your sacrifice was not for naught, comrade Leyun!

Peng Leyun frowned while shaking his head, deciding it was best to not extend the conversation with such a weirdo.

That was when a round ended and he was due next, against one of the seeds, Li Shaokang.