Martial Arts Master

Just as Lou Cheng ambled back, bare-footed, most of the lights in the Shengxiang stadium went off, except for the ones that illuminated the area connecting the arena and the China representatives’ side. In the darkness, a dreamy and radiant path emerged, which fitted quite well with the resounding chants of “Lou Cheng”.

It was a commendation to the victor—a homage to the underdog hero.

Lou Cheng felt amazing, his pace growing brisker, as if he was back in his own country, back in the Songcheng University Martial Arts Club. He put his hands up in the air and clapped in the direction of the surrounding crowds, as a form of appreciation.

The voices grew louder, until he reached the grandstand, when all the lights switched on again.

“Not bad!” complimented Peng Leyun, restraining his competitive side, he extended his hand with a smile and high-fived his teammate.

“It’s your time to shine,” Lou Cheng replied, happiness written all over him.

After high-fiving Ren Li, Ann Chaoyang and Zhong Ningtao respectively, he quickly took his phone back and logged into QQ.

A message from Yan Zheke—”You have truly met your coach’s expectations![thumbs up]”

Lou Cheng grinned, feeling as if the happiness got amplified by a fold.

“And? What rewards does Coach Yan have in store for me? [snickering]” he replied.

“The handmade cakes weren’t enough?! [turns around in shock and confusion]” she replied, before sending another along with a reaction image of a “tiny monster licking on an ice-cream”. “You see, the rewards that follows includes handmade waffles, handmade little biscuits… it will last you all the way to the champion’s cup~”

Lou Cheng chuckled, for a moment he could not find a comeback to his wife’s reasonable explanation!

He replied after a few seconds. “This is quite different from the type of reward I had in mind…[lost expression]”

“What do you have in mind?”replied Yan Zheke. It would have passed off as an actual question, if not for the “Say it, say it and I will murder you” image that came along with it.

Lou Cheng shook his head, his lips curving upwards.

“Cough, for example, going home as a couple(title of a Huangmei Opera)…”he replied, intrepid.

And what would the couple do after they reach home, heh heh.

“…You, you ruined the name of another good libretto! [flips table]” replied Yan Zheke, sighing when she realized she got the double entendre instantly.

“What are you talking about, I don’t get it?” replied Lou Cheng, mimicking the girl’s usual tone when feigning innocence, topping it off with a “I’m very innocent” emoticon.

Yan Zheke gaped, debating between whether she should frown or laugh, rendered speechless for a moment. She could feel her Cheng’s sense of shame degrading by the day.

“Go away! I don’t have a disciple like you! [blows whistle and flashes red card]” she replied.

Bending his head, Lou Cheng was all smiles as he typed and chatted. Ren Li studied him thoughtfully—his soft, unguarded smile; it was starkly different from his usual—reserved and distant—manner when dealing with girls.

Is this the real him? Or are the conflicting personalities both part of him?

Over at the Japanese representative’s side—Mouko Yamashita brushed off helping hands, and walked back difficultly on his own strength.

“I will remember this day and get my revenge for this disgrace!” he hissed.

The expression on the other samurais turned grave, solemnly witnessing Mouko Yamashita’s oath. This was a tradition of “Extreme Hadou Sect”.

Of course! If you fall in the arena, you have to pull yourself up in the arena!

Once things settled down, the researcher with unkempt hair looked towards the arena, which was then under repair.

“We need another plan!” he said with a tinge of impatience.

…

At the other side— Lou Cheng was having a blast in his conversation with Yan Zheke, sharing his joy of taking down a strong Inhuman enemy. But soon, Yan Zheke sent a emoticon of [whispering under a covered hand].

“Class is starting…”

That meant that she might take ten to twenty, or even thirty to forty minutes to reply a message—which meant that Lou Cheng, who was having a great time, had to restrain himself and distract himself with something else.

Even though he was completely understanding, he still sulked a little. Inhaling, he looked towards the ruined arena.

Soon, he shifted his gaze again.

“Okay, study hard and study smart!” he replied, sounding optimistic and humorous.

After sending the message, he was lost for a few seconds, then he remembered another matter. Switching to his contact list, he found the display picture of the military contact—”Rapid March”. Clicking into it, he swiftly entered a few words.

“Japan “Extreme Hadou Sect” Mouko Yamashita controls the Wholeness Formula.”

“Roger that.” Rapid March always seemed to be online.

Or perhaps it’s not just one person? Lou Cheng deduced quickly.

It was best to let the military handle the matter of Wholeness Formula, since he did not have the resources and manpower for the job!

Being a Martial Artist did not mean that everything had to be done personally. It would be a waste to turn down large organizations when help is offered!

Having done that, he had time to browse through his other messages and texts—congratulatory texts from the Ice God Sect juniors, led by Mo Jingting. Some jokingly congratulated him on mastering godly kungfu, others solemnly congratulated him on entering morphing and his imminent Inhuman transformation.

An Inhuman mighty one, below the age of 21, can place top ten in the hall of fame across Ice God Sect’s history!

Other than Lou Cheng, out of the other nine, five made the breakthrough to Physical Invulnerability State, which was a ratio of more than half. Considering the sky high threshold, it was a large probability.

Lou Cheng had already heard from Yan Zheke that Mo Jingting went out her way to make a post on Weibo, preventing “All-knowing Man of Ganghood” from feigning ignorance any longer, and carry out what he promised to do if he lost the bet. Politely, he replied “thanks.”

After settling these matters, he spectated “All-knowing Man of Ganghood”‘s Weibo from the shadows. Refreshing the forum, he realized Ann Chaoyang almost exposed him. This guy isn’t very reliable either, he thought.

Though I messed up a couple of times, but overall, I myself am the most reliable after all!

While the previous arena received its emergency repairs, the preparations were completed at another arena. The second fight in the Top 8 was about to begin.

Suddenly, Lou Cheng felt a presence. Lifting his head up, he looked towards the walkway. He saw a woman in suit and tie ambling towards him, her eyes fixed on him, with two man in staff attire tailing her.

She looked half Shengxiangese and half Caucasian with her delicate and attractive features. She was about 30 and exuded maturity.

“Hi there, I’m Catherine, reporter from Fuluo TV station. Can I interview you?” she asked in standard English, with an engaging smile.

Recently, the English speakers Lou Cheng encountered mostly spoke with a thick accent, from which he could only understand a few words. He almost thought he was illiterate, and that the effort he made in obligatory education, three years of high school and two years of university had all gone to waste. When he heard English sentences that he could mostly understand, he was really touched.

I knew it, the one who’s at fault isn’t me, it’s the others in Shengxiang!

Before he could speak, Zhong Ningtao replied in equally fluent English.

“Sure, Miss Catherine. May I see your identification? Where is the filming crew?”

We best leave the negotiations to the guide… thought Lou Cheng, exchanging a glance with the others.

Catherine took out her identification and passed it to Zhong Ningtao. “This is an impromptu interview, so we don’t have a filming crew. Lou Cheng performed very well just now, everyone liked him, including me, so I wish to learn more about him,” she said with a smile.

—Originally, there were no interviews planned for Wild Card Teams.

“Thank you, Miss Catherine. You may begin, you have five minutes,” Zhong Ningtao said, glancing at his watch. “I’ll handle the translation and interpretation.”

Taking back her identification, Catherine looked towards Lou Cheng.

“Hi, Lou Cheng. You seem to be pretty young. From your data, you are twenty years and six months old?” she asked, smiling.

Even though Lou Cheng understood her, he waited until Zhong Ningtao finished translating.

“Yes, still half a year away from 21 years old,” he replied in Chinese, smiling.

After hearing Zhong Ningtao’s interpretation, Catherine seemed very interested.

“And what is your occupation? Are you in the professional Martial Art scene?” she asked.

“I’m still a student pursuing my studies,” he replied frankly.

“Oh, you are still studying? In Shengxiang, you can already start your own dojo and have a huge following!” she exclaimed, unable to hide her surprise.

With the power Lou Cheng had demonstrated, he could already be representing a large Sect in Shengxiang, worthy of being addressed as a Master.

And it turns out he’s still a student!

Lou Cheng stifled his laughter, until Zhong Ningtao completed his “procedures”.

“Is it strange to be a student? They are students too, undergraduates,” he said, pointing towards Peng Leyun and Ren Li.

He could not help but add in a tongue in cheek comment. “You wouldn’t be surprised if you were a reporter from Japan. Over there, it’s always the students saving the world, and they return to their lessons afterwards too. (reference to animes with middle-schooler/high schooler protags)”

The guide will probably leave this part out in his interpretation, so there was no harm in having a little fun.

As expected, amidst the laughter of Peng Leyun and the others, Zhong Ningtao only translated the first part.

“Oh, how peculiar! Is this the newest trend in China?” said Catherine, stunned and in awe. After regaining her composure, she asked Lou Cheng a couple of other things—how long he had been studying martial arts, what competitions had he competed in before— and received answers that shocked her even more.

Five minutes passed quickly. She looked at her watch, exhaled.

“You are an amazing person, I am very honored to have the chance to interview you,” she said with a bright smile.

“Thanks,” Lou Cheng replied, smiling to show his appreciation.

During the interview, with the guide’s “filter” in play, he answered every question unreservedly, fully demonstrating his roasting prowess with his savage replies.

After waving goodbye, right before turning away, she beamed at Lou Cheng.

“Actually, I do know Chinese,” she said in perfect Chinese.

“My grandmother is a scholarly Chinese. But during interviews, I have to use English or Shengxiangese,” she said.

Ah… Lou Cheng paused, then blushed.

Wait, so you understood everything I said?

I just performed a one-man stand up comedy?

Catherine left trying hard to contain her laugh. An unrestrained laughter erupted around him, from Peng Leyun, Ann Chaoyang, Ren Li and Zhong Ningtao…

F***, it’s all Xiao Ming’s fault that I picked up his bad habit, now I managed to embarrass myself overseas… thought Lou Cheng as he hid his face and sighed.

…

Veigar and Banam both won by a landslide in less than two minutes, and the fourth fight was about to begin.

Peng Leyun VS No.3 Seed Wahku, a Sadhu who practiced the arts of Arhat!