Martial Arts Master

“Is it still that unripe freshman?”

“Is it still the same dude who was in a tearing hurry during the pair exercise three weeks ago?”

For the very first time, Wu Dong started to doubt his brain. With no special admission for martial arts talents, all students in Songcheng University who enrolled in martial arts were fairly smart. However, the contradiction between Lou Cheng’s previous performance and his current level completely messed up Wu Dong’s cognition of the world.

“Am I in a dream?”

Staring at the stunned Wu Dong, Lou Cheng heaved a breath of relief before putting on a profound tone. “The campus recruitment will start in October, Brother Wu. I’m surprised you can still find time to hang out with these two rogues. Thank you anyway for your instructions earlier, a great push for my martial arts progress.”

Campus recruitment fairs were mostly held in the first term of the school year for the senior students with very few exceptions happening during the second term. Lou Cheng was implying Wu Dong had better take this fight like a martial arts practice and put his mind on job hunting. Being involved in a fight where two rogues attempted to bully a freshman wasn’t something he would want to blow up at this point of his university life. However, when it came to Lou Cheng the freshman, if that got public he would very likely be praised for standing up against the bully or at worse be given some disciplinary measure which would probably be written off by the time he became a senior.

After a good moment of thought, Wu Dong said sternly, “Junior Lou, you’ve improved a lot, ready to replace the old. I’m glad to offer you some instructions. No big deal.”

Often in touch with ancient stuff, martial arts practitioners inclined to talk in a classic, traditional manner.

“Thank you very much, Brother Wu,” said Lou Cheng with a relaxed smile as he bowed slightly. After a quick glance at the two rogues, he resumed his running steps.

Once the matter was settled on Wu Dong’s side, Lou Cheng felt relieved. He didn’t give a damn about the two rogues since they wouldn’t have the balls to take revenge on the campus of the best university in the city. Also, they wouldn’t have the time and effort to wait for Lou Cheng outside as that was only a fight after all. Once the fever went away, trouble would only take place upon rare encounters.

Watching Lou Cheng running by them quickly and lightly with a refreshing breeze, the short-haired youth and the tattooed man were filled with astonishment and helplessness.

“Holy cow! He’s a real runner!” said the short-haired youth as if a UFO just flew by.

“He gotta be a monster…” muttered the tattooed man as he rubbed his eyes.

More fear for this inhuman monster developed in their minds.

…

Back to the dorm, Lou Cheng didn’t feel like queuing up for the shower. Instead, he had a quick rinse in their bathroom. Thanks to the rich kid Qin Mo, their private lavatory had a water pipe, a showerhead, and even a washing machine. Qin Mo himself probably used it just once in the past considering his rare presence in the dorm. Their counselor never came to the living quarters. It had been two months into the term, and Lou Cheng saw him only four times in total. A few student leaders were enough for the management as nothing major could happen on this closed campus.

Walking out of the bathroom in fresh clothes while drying his hair, Lou Cheng bumped into Cai Zongming, who was watching a martial arts match in the living room.

“Hey, Cheng! Where did you go? What took you so long? Did you succeed? In the grove?” asked Cai Zongming, winking excitedly for some hot gossip.

Lou Cheng paused to think before answering with another question, “What do you think?”

“I think… Not yet. The revolution is not yet completed, and you must struggle on. Your goddess doesn’t look like an easy target, or it won’t be your turn. However, constant dropping will wear away a stone. Keep your good deeds up and your tomorrow is bright. It’s no news that a fresh flower is being stuck on a heap of cow dung. A blind cat will meet a dead rat in the end.” Cai Zongming’s encouragement sounded more like a jest.

Lou Cheng stared at him and took a seat on the couch. Before he leaned to the backrest, a sharp pain came from his back, sending a chill down his throat.

Wu Dong was not bad!

“Little Ming, help massage my bruises,” said Lou Cheng as he stood up to head back to his room. Bruises on his back needed help from someone else.

“Err?” Cai Zongming looked at a loss. “Were you beaten up by your goddess for trying too hard?”

“What the heck is wrong with your head?” Lou Cheng said roughly.

In Lou Cheng’s bedroom, Zhao Qiang was working on his homework, trying to cool himself down from the pleasant boat trip with Zhuang Xiaojun this afternoon. Zhang Jingye had got Pan Xue’s QQ number during the meetup and was busy digging gossip about her roommates while watching a movie. Qiu Zhigao, standing by the window and gazing at the street lamps, was deeply lost in thought.

Lou Cheng stopped himself from laughing and returned to the living room with the bottle of ointment given to him by Yan Zheke. He passed the bottle to Cai Zongming before taking a seat with his t-shirt off, revealing his bruised back.

“Holy crap! What did you do?” Cai Zongming was confused and shocked.

“I was walking Yan Zheke back to her dorm. Thrilled by the big progress we made today, I was unable to calm down. So I went to the lake for some standing stance practice,” explained Lou Cheng honestly.

Cai Zongming sneered while opening the bottle. “Are you a lost brother of Qiang’s? He’s seeking calmness within his homework, and you went for standing stance by the lake to calm yourself down. Ha-hah. Young girls suffer from the spring fever. So do the boys. Hmm… Very horny!”

Lou Cheng ignored his tease and continued. “I ran into three rogues and had a fight.”

“No wonder.” Cai Zongming poured some ointment into his hand and then spread it gently on Lou Cheng’s bruised back. “The martial arts training has lent you balls. Were you bullied?”

As the chill penetrated into the bruise, the ache was relieved. Lou Cheng showed a squint out of comfort and said, “No. I put down all three of them.”

“Good job, bro! Three weeks of martial arts training only. Did Geezer Shi teach you something incredible in secret?” Cai Zongming laid down the bottle on the couch and started to put forth his strength to rub the ointment, making Lou Cheng grimace in pain, “Any idea which department are they from? We can’t leave it like this.”

“Wu Dong, from the Martial Arts Club,” said Lou Cheng easily with a gentle cough.

“Wu Dong, from the Martial Arts Club. So we can go back with Old Qiu. Wait! Wu Dong from the Martial Arts Club? Wu Dong the senior?” Cai Zongming raised his voice and lost control over his strength, almost causing Lou Cheng to jump with pain.

“Damn! Bad timing for playing cool…” Lou Cheng regretted deeply, “Yeah. The one who recruited us into the club.”

Cai Zongming froze. “Cheng, don’t trick me.”

“If you could defeat Wu Dong, I would challenge Lin Que!”

Lou Cheng tried to conceal his pride, “Seriously, Wu Dong has wasted his body on smoke, booze and girls. I ran away immediately upon seeing the three of them. Then, they were all exhausted and I went back. Wu Dong was really good. He almost kicked my ass.”

Cai Zongming came to realization and continued to rub Lou Cheng’s bruises, “I knew it! You’re not a match for Wu Dong normally. But being able to defeat him and two more rogues… You must be at least of Amateur Ninth Pin now?”

“Brother Li Mao said I was getting there,” answered Lou Cheng calmly.

“Three weeks only and you are of Amateur Ninth Pin now…” Cai Zongming remained silent for a while before putting on a dramatic voice, “Coach, I want to join the special training!”

Lou Cheng laughed. “Talking suits you better.”

Cai Zongming weaved a sigh while rubbing Lou Cheng’s bruises. “Honestly, I’m surprised to see how big a progress you have made. Your great effort for the martial arts club’s dream has touched me. The last time I was this serious was when I was after my current girlfriend.”

“Come if you really want!” Lou Cheng turned to the TV where the Shizhou School was fighting against the Guanwai League in a Professional Martial Arts Competition. The two teams were both of the top level and specialized in body forging. Besides the metallic shine on their skin was their recovery capability. Seemingly they would never be exhausted and no wound would stay on their body.

Cai Zongming laughed mirthlessly. “I’m just a talker. As much as I want to train with you guys, I just can’t give up my sleeping and game hours.”

“How did you practice martial arts before?” Lou Cheng found it hard to imagine how Cai Zongming made it before.

Cai Zongming was done rubbing. He tapped Lou Cheng on his shoulder and complimented. “All firm and tight now. How did I? The son of the richest man in my hometown was kidnapped and killed, even though the family paid a fortune. Fear spread quickly through the city. My parents, who have a decent income, were so worried that they sent me to learn martial arts. All martial arts clubs were in great business those years.”

“So you need supervision. By the way, did they catch those kidnappers?” asked Lou Cheng, full of curiosity.

“Sure. The Martial Arts Management Office of the Police Department sent down a unit and had those villains killed in the mountain by random shots. I heard their bodies were torn apart…” Cai Zongming recalled an old tragedy from his hometown.

While chatting, Lou Cheng logged in his QQ and sent a smiley to Yan Zheke.

“What a great day!”

Thousands of words and tons of thrill and joy were concentrated into this sentence.

The Martial Arts Competition ended with a narrow victory from Shizhou School. Lou Cheng went back to his room and finally received a smile from Yan Zheke. “Likewise.”

The short reply sent a touch of warmth to Lou Cheng.

Yan Zheke continued. “I was watching the Shizhou School’s match. Lion King is still the same mighty like years ago when we were little.”

The “Lion King” Shang Youde, the No. 1 martial artist of the Shizhou School was close to his 50s. With six titles, including the king title “Lion King”, he had always been a great master and idol in Lou Cheng’s memory.

“Hah… I watched it as well! But only got the second half of it. Had a combat by the lake earlier.” Lou Cheng couldn’t wait to share with Yan Zheke his practical fight.

Due to the defect of her body, she, a fanatical martial arts fan, must be interested in this kind of story.