Martial Arts Master

With the backpack in his hand, the Divine Enchanter of Sin Flame finally spoke up. “Like Master, like student,” he commented tersely.

Lou Cheng could only smile drily in response. Silently, he took his phone back and sent a text to Yan Zheke.

“Problem solved! Just like we predicted, he picked an ancient battlefield. I will teach you the Wholeness Formula this coming Lunar New Year!”

The night was thick and serene in Connecticut, America. Suddenly, an absurdly loud message notification blasted in Yan Zheke’s room. She opened her eyes groggily and took a look at her phone. A dimpled smile formed on her face. She managed to reply with a [blushed smile]. To prevent getting interrupted during sleep again, she reverted her notification settings back to normal.

With that done, she plunged back into bed, rolled around, and hugged her quilt. She drifted off to sleep, with a slight curl on her lips, as though she was having a pleasant dream.

Lou Cheng smiled at the reply. Keeping his phone, he took his backpack back and from inside, rifled out a pair of casual sports shoes, along with a nylon shirt. He put those on with slightly sluggish movements. Besides the rips on his pants, not a trace of battle lingered on him from top to bottom.

He still had a sense of modesty when he was in public, or in the presence of an elder or master, so instead of sloughing off his pants on the spot, he decided to keep them on— they were still somewhat wearable anyway.

He donned the down jacket and shouldered his belongings. He walked slowly, relying solely on the exertions of his feet and legs, as he guided his body to repair his internal injuries. The Divine Enchanter of Sin Flames then handed him the stone rubbing that contained the Wholeness Formula.

“I want it back when we are back in China,” he rasped.

According to the brags of that geezer, Shi Jianguo, his disciple could master any of the Nine Words Formula in a matter of minutes, by far exceeding the likes of us.

“Sure,” Lou Cheng replied with relaxed candor, taking over the stone rubbing.

On the way back, since he was distracted, he didn’t start off on learning it straight away. All he did, was carefully study the ancient character of the Wholeness Formula and its essence, to get a hang of things.

After checking into the hotel that night, he finally found some spare time. He sat on his bed in the lotus position and placed the stone rubbing before himself. He then formed seals and intoned chants and at the same time shut his eyes to visualize the ancient character.

The proceedings didn’t differ much from when he learned the other Nine Words Formulas. His “Jindan” reacted to the stimulus, causing a tremor. Ripples formed, and sparkles materialized, etching the essence of the Wholeness Formula into Lou Cheng’s brain. Only this time, it didn’t go through any irregular changes itself and only conjured images of the missing chapters.

“Wholeness!”

Lou Cheng’s deep voice reverberated in the room. There was a distant enigma in his voice. By changing his hand seals, he was experimenting on the effects of practicing the Wholeness Formula internally.

After a while, he opened his eyes and nodded every so slightly. His theories had been confirmed.

When used normally, the Wholeness Formula stimulated the body parts correspondingly, secreting hormones at an insane rate to recover spirit and restore stamina. It had a similar effect to stabbing one’s leg with a knife. The extreme pain triggered the body’s defensive mechanisms, causing the brain to be more alert and supply the body with energy.

Of course, in comparison to the crude methods of keeping awake by tying a rope around one’s neck or driving an awl into one’ s leg (methods used by scholars in ancient China), this was much more technical. It had greater precision on which parts of the body to stimulate, and the effects were better and more obvious, living up to its name as a secret art.

It can be used once per day at most. Even with the Simplified Version of “Self Reflection”, which allows me to reduce the steps required and alter its magnitude, I can raise it up to three times at most. If I exceed the limits, I will enter a lethargic state and not be able to achieve any good feedback for a long time… It’s also worth noting that the spirit and stamina recovered through Wholeness Formula depleted more easily than usual…

Lou Cheng ruminated on the features of the secret art. If I practice it internally, it will directly send shockwaves through my body, subsequently affecting my brain—which would allow the recovery speed of my energy to increase over time, and enhance the effects of deep sleep. That is to say, whereas I required six to seven hours of rest under normal circumstances in the past, I would only need four hours or even less after mastering the Wholeness Formula.

The thought saddened Lou Cheng. Just a few years ago, sleeping in had been his favorite pastime!

Others always say, “It’s a waste of good time to sleep in during holidays.” But to him, not sleeping in during holidays was what one would call wasting time!

After he began practicing martial arts, it was farewell between him and sleeping in—an indulgence he no longer had access to. And now, he seemed to be able to reduce his afternoon naps to half an hour. He even cut his sleeping time at night by a third, sometimes even more.

Sigh. But it does come with its perks. It feels like I have more time at my disposal than others in a normal day, and I can get more stuff done… Lou Cheng’s thoughts wandered aimlessly, and for whatever reason, he suddenly remembered Ke Ke’s bashful chide—”You rascal!”

…He immediately gave a soft cough and halted his train of thought. With a smile on his face, he picked up his phone and shared all the functions and features of the Wholeness Formula with Yan Zheke. At the end of his message, he added, in self-justification,

“Now, you can finally study with greater ease!”

“Yup, yup!” Yan Zheke nodded in delight.

In the afternoon the next day, after training, Lou Cheng met up with the Divine Enchanter of Sin Flame. Nonchalantly, he handed the stone rubbing over, and said,

“I’m done with it, Senior.”

The Divine Enchanter of Sin Flame took a good, long look at him that lasted at least five seconds, before reaching out to take the stone rubbing.

Having accomplished his mission, Lou Cheng felt as if a load had been taken off him. He grew more hopeful of what the future held.

In a little more than a year, he had gathered six of the Nine Words Formula, completing it by two-thirds. There were still years before the predicted time when Master’s old wounds would degenerate and ultimately destroy his body. He had a good chance of success!

Bah, why am I thinking so negatively? Perhaps, even if I don’t collect all of Nine Words Formulas, Master can recuperate from his old wounds through the advances in technology and martial arts.

Well, looking at the state of the Jindan, one of the remaining Nine Words Formula should be a healing type…

They traveled in silence—since neither of them had anything to say— and split ways after the flight arrived at that Haidong Airport that afternoon.

Lou Cheng wasn’t anxious to return home. Instead, he took the high-speed rail to Moshang, Wuyue. He planned to extend his New Year greetings in advance, and also paid his respects at the Sect grounds, so he needn’t come back on the first day of the New Year.

Inside Shi Yuejian’s mansion, Geezer Shi was holding an exquisite flagon— the word “Fighting” carved on it— in his hand. He regarded his disciple with audible admiration through clicking his tongue.

“Geezer Sin Flame told me that you have solid kungfu foundations and a vast accumulation of experience,” he began.

“Senior had been too kind with his words,” Lou Cheng replied modestly.

“That old thing seldom praises anyone,” Geezer Shi objected with a wag of his hand, stoked at gaining so much face. “You beat an opponent from the same league, who has already mastered Bloodlust, on his handpicked grounds no less! You—uh— you did an okay job at not losing face!”

He paused in contemplation.

“So, your Ice Mirror has already reached the level of “Encountering Gods In The Void, Self Reflection”. If you want to continue rising up from the Inhuman Stage, there’s not much you can do aside from hoping for serendipities. How about this? We head down to the Sect tomorrow, and you’ll be given three days to study the Physical Invulnerability Chapters of the Ice Sect. Still, the amount you can take away from it is completely dependent on you.”

A chance at learning the Physical Invulnerability Chapters of the Ice Sect? Startled at first, Lou Cheng was soon overborne with joy.

Before reaching the “connection between heaven and earth” state, it was impossible for one to truly master any of the nine secret arts. However, it was possible to learn and derive moves from it. Didn’t Peng Leyun create two moves of his own through referencing and imitating the Nine Heaven’s Ensemble and Thunder from a Clear Sky—Cloudless Thunder Blade?

Though they weren’t Simplified Physical Invulnerability Moves, they were nevertheless remarkable moves. In fact, they could be executed more swiftly and have greater compatibility with the user! In Peng Leyun’s case, the power of his self-created moves didn’t fall far behind the original Thunder Seal and Thunderbolt Fire!

Does this mean Master had acknowledged my consolidations and accumulations?

“Thank you, Master!” blurted Lou Cheng.

Geezer Shi shot him a dirty look. “Why is it that I don’t hear this more often?”

“Master, I store all my gratitude inside my heart, and only put one-tenth of it to words,” Lou Cheng mollified smilingly, deploying the art of conversation he had learned from Talker.

On the next day’s afternoon, inside Songtao Pavilion of the Ice God Sect, Lou Cheng sat on the veranda. Before him was a verdant forest with towering pines, but his mind was projecting a “graphic scene” of the insides of his body.

His blood and flesh wriggled to staunch his wounds, healing them rapidly patch after patch.

After god knows how long, under the effects of medicinal pills and Self Reflection, he felt that his internal injuries from the fight with Mouko Yamashita had healed by at least half.

“I can expect a full recovery in two or three days…” Lou Cheng exhaled. His ears twitched at the sound of studiously light footsteps approaching.

Standing up slowly, he concealed his presence and ambled to the door. After ten or so seconds, sudden knocks came at the door.

Lou Cheng reached out and pulled the door. Seemingly taken aback, Mo Jingting’s arched fingers froze in the air.

“Hey there, Martial Uncle!” she said, a smile coming into her dazed, unfocused eyes as she came out of her trance.

“I hear that Sect Master Martial Uncle is looking for me?” Lou Cheng cut to the chase.

“Yup, he’s waiting for you at the Ice Queen Pavilion,” Mo Jingting said, intently scrutinizing her Martial Uncle who was becoming increasingly enigmatic. She added with a smile, “He wants you to take you to the Forbidden Grounds of the Sect and show you the secret arts of Physical Invulnerability.”

“Got it, thanks,” Lou Cheng acknowledged with a polite smile. He walked out of the room and shut the door. Walking along the corridors, he headed towards the Ice Queen Pavilion.

From the back, Mo Jingting watched him go off as he tapped at his phone, with his head hung low. She suddenly felt a little envious and sentimental.

Martial Uncle is getting more and more like a master… excluding when he’s busy with his phone… Why didn’t Grand Uncle bring him back to the Sect earlier?

…

At the Ice Queen Pavilion, the Sect Master, He Yi stood near the entrance. He regarded Lou Cheng with a smile, and said,

“You have proved our predictions wrong once again. I thought I wouldn’t be showing you this place until next year.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Sect Master Martial Uncle,” Lou Cheng replied with a bashful bow.

“Follow me,” He Yi said. He turned and led Lou Cheng down to the underground level, speaking as he walked. “You are still at the Inhuman Stage, so don’t bite off more than you can chew. When I bring you to the place later, focus on studying two to three moves. If not, it will not only be a waste of energy but could potentially cause you to return home empty-handed. With your mastery of the Ice Mirror, I would recommend focusingon the fifth style—Enemy Heart Freezing Move. The sixth style—Ice Spirit Holy Light—and the first style—Eternal Ice Wall—will also be compatible with you.

“Eh, according to what your master said, the ninth style—Titanic Starlit Skies—Absolute Frost—will best suit your perceptions, but unfortunately, this move has been long lost during wartime. Even if a few Sects cooperate, they can at most recreate a weakened version of the original. I hope that one day, you can create a move based on the original, and not just a perfect replication, but one that surpasses the original…”

Lou Cheng listened intently as he followed Sect Master Martial Uncle through a long passageway and three doors forged from heavy metal. In a sci-fi-esque atmosphere, they entered a well-lit hall, dazzling and twinkling under pellucid rays of silver light.

Before he could examine his surroundings, he shuddered involuntarily, notwithstanding his capability and power.

So cold!