Martial Arts Master

Dai Linfeng had this weird feeling, which was hard to describe accurately in one word.

Back then, he thought Lou Cheng was only a young man who had powerful strength, that’s to say, they weren’t that much different. They were about the same age, so they didn’t have any generation gap between them. No matter how strong Lou Cheng became, he was still a young man like him. In the old school days, there were students with all levels of academic achievements. Of course, he would envy students who got good grades and dared not mess with them. He would feel inferior, but still, in his heart they were just students.

But now Lou Cheng has been more mature than his age, which reminded him of Chu Weicai. He felt exactly the same when he and his master first met.

A complicated feeling haunted his mind and he was silent when he came upstairs.

Chu Weicai only took two steps up the staircase and suddenly stopped. He sighed but did not turn back.

“Linfeng, like Lou Cheng said before, with this special training, you are very likely to become a Professional Ninth Pin in one or half a year. But if you want to make more progress, it will be difficult… If, if you aren’t ready for this, then first go out and see the world, after all, you can’t raise a dragon in a pond, right?”

“But master, what about our martial arts club… ” Dai Linfeng blurted out as if he was actually thinking of this.

Chu Weicai held the banister and chuckled, “Don’t worry. Your junior masters are learning fast and I am not that old. Teaching some kicks and punches isn’t a problem for me. Don’t worry about the consequences. If you fail, come back to our club, you will always have a place here.”

Qin Rui was touched by his words. Although he was suspicious that his master was exploiting them for their labor, Chu Weicai was indeed a responsible master.

When I manage to enter meditation, master the Internal Training Methods and rank as a Professional Ninth Pin, shouldn’t I venture out into the world?

Dai Linfeng did not speak. After a long silence, the answer he gave had nothing to do with the question asked.

“Master, which level do you think Lou Cheng can reach?”

Chu Weicai leisurely went upstairs, smiling gently.

“Regardless of his rank in the future, you can’t reach his current level in your lifetime. I am not being harsh. It’s just that people have to be realistic. They should not reach for what’s beyond their grasp. Fight for something that could actually happen.”

“As for Lou Cheng, if there aren’t any accidents, I believe he will not stop in Dan stage.”

Dai Linfeng and Qin Rui understood his meaning without any further questions. Lou Cheng would become the first Mighty One with Physical Invulnerability in Xiushan.

It was no longer a compliment like it was at the beginning of the summer vacation. It was a conclusion after a month’s observation.

…

Even though Lou Cheng was an expert with hope to become a Professional Seventh Pin, he did not put on airs. He conscientiously corrected Wu Ting and other students’ basic movements like he always did.

During the break, he seized every minute to temper himself.

The blazing sun high above the sky indicated that noon was coming. Lou Cheng took out his phone, checked the time and then clapped his hands.

“Well, that’s all for today. Everyone has been working hard recently, I am proud of you guys.”

Before Lou Cheng could finish his sentence and Wu Ting could speak, long-term students and inner disciples who had been watching their training rushed up, surrounded Lou Cheng, and begun asking all kinds of questions.

“Brother Lou, I want another two hours of private training!”

“Coach Lou, let me pay you, I want the private training as well!”

…

There were at least 30 applicants after a round of screams and shouts.

What a great opportunity to get trained by the top 1 youth fighter in our province!

Even if they learned nothing from Lou Cheng, they would feel flattered by having him.

Plus 800 RMB for an hour? It was almost free!

Which Mighty one in Dan stage would charge so low? More importantly, Mighty ones in Dan stage did not offer private training anymore.

As long as Coach Lou agreed, they’d be more than happy to pay him more.

Those inner disciples who hesitated to ask Lou Cheng for help before the Youth Tournament regretted so much. Their income was modest and now the price of training was more exorbitant than the price of housing.

They could only ask money from their family.

Lou Cheng was quite surprised. He counted roughly and realized he could not say yes. He wanted more time with Ke, with his parents. He definitely would not waste his training time for this amount of money.

He kept his hands down to stop their rumbling and then casually said,

“Everyone gets one hour of private training. I will let you know the price tomorrow and it will not be cheap. I want you guys to give it a second thought. Is this special training necessary for you or not? Is it worth paying so much money for?”

His voice was deep and mellow but everyone heard it clearly. They became quiet and made way for him.

At this moment, Ding Yanbo in the crowd decided to come into the spotlight.

He held his excitement, took a deep breath and yelled,

“Big brother Lou Cheng!”

All of a sudden, everyone looked at him in astonishment. When Lou Cheng responded with some encouragement, that astonishment changed into admiration. Ding Yanbo’s blood was boiling inside his veins, he was so proud that he could not hide the joy on his face.

“Haha, that’s my brother Lou Cheng!”

After Lou Cheng won the Youth Tournament, the students in my class are now extremely nice to me. They think he is my cousin!

…

Lou Cheng did not talk much with Ding Yanbo. He grabbed his phone, went back to the locker room and changed his clothes.

Yan Zheke had already sent the date after her discussion with Song Li and other friends. The date was tomorrow night or the night after tomorrow. She asked Lou Cheng to check with his friends like Jiang Fei. If they weren’t available, the dinner could be rearranged.

As he walked outside the martial arts club, Lou Cheng made a phone call.

“Hello, Fatty Jiang. My treat is coming. The dinner is set for tomorrow night or the night after tomorrow, just pick one!”

Jiang Fei was quite confused, “Cheng, something is wrong. You invite me to dinner without me pushing you?”

“Just one word. Yes or No?” Lou Cheng asked while laughing.

“Yes. Definitely. What about tomorrow night? In case anything happens and you change your plan.” Jiang Fei replied without a doubt.

“Fine. I will call you when I know the place.” Lou Cheng hung up the phone and called Cheng Qili — the old Cheng in his address book.

Cheng Qili was playing video games. Upon hearing the buzz, he checked the phone. “Cheng” showed up on the flashing screen.

He seemed to be in a trance and it took him a few seconds to answer the phone.

“Hello, Cheng?” When he called his name, Cheng Qili thought about Lou Cheng standing in the arena, enjoying all the attention and admiration, which made him all the more embarrassed about himself.

“Old Cheng, you guys are always bugging me for a treat. What about tomorrow night? The dinner is on Ke and me.” Lou Cheng said with a smile.

Cheng Qili was about to say yes, when suddenly a mixed feeling of anger and regret nagged at him and he seemed to be out of breath. He blurted out without a second thought.

“I, I will visit my grandpa tomorrow. I haven’t seen him for a while. The date was set a while back.”

Ever since the youth tournament, when he was reminded of Qiu Hailin and Cao Lele’s compliments of Lou Cheng. When he thought of his good friend winning the championship and how he himself might never have a chance, he just wanted to lock himself in the house and never ever talk about this again.

“What about the night after tomorrow?” Lou Cheng pressed.

Cheng Qili spread his finger and he was not smiling at all. “We plan to stay at my grandpa’s house for several days. It sucks. You guys just eat without me. I am fine with it. When I am back, let’s meet alone and then grab dinner together.”

“Okay, see you later.” Lou Cheng answered regretfully.

When the phone call was over, Cheng Qili quietly looked at his cell in front of him and gave his pair of glasses a shove.

As he came near the exit, Lou Cheng consecutively called Qin Rui and Tao Xiaofei and checked their availability.The dinner was scheduled for tomorrow night. Later, he took a cab to the villa district beside the Back Water Lake and met Yan Zheke there. They decided to have their lunch at that new restaurant— “Old Tan Private Kitchen”, as they tried out some dishes for tomorrow night.

“You invited Jiang Fei, Qin Rui, and Tao Xiaofei, right?” Yan Zheke confirmed with Lou Cheng so she could make the reservation ahead of time.

“Yep.” Lou Cheng nodded.

Yan Zheke’s rolled her eyes and she broke into a smile all of a sudden. “Actually, I know Qin Rui. He is tall and strong. I always saw him in our classroom with Cheng Tao. But at that time, I had no idea who you were. My future boyfriend was in the classroom next to mine, who could have guessed? And I had never noticed you before… ”

Amazing!

“Em… Back then, I never thought you could be my girlfriend.” Lou Cheng also became emotional. Destiny was so amazing.

While speaking, their hands intertwined and they smiled sweetly at each other.

It was their fate. High school strangers became lifetime companions.

They had their lunch in this warm atmosphere. When they were almost finished, Lou Cheng got a call from his Senior Sister Shi Yuejian.

“Senior sister, what happened?” Lou Cheng unconsciously worried about his master because Geezer Shi had just had his medical examination in the Army’s secret base.

However, Shi Yuejian was smiling.

“Good News!”

Lou Cheng relaxed the minute he heard about this and then he laughed, “What’s this good news?”

Yan Zheke rested her head in his hand and quietly listened to their conversation.

“The Army has been using your master’s cells for some experiments. They didn’t make much progress, but recently they developed a by-product, and it seems helpful in treating his injury. Last time, he gave it a try and it really works. Now he can live several years longer!” Shi Yuejian could not hide his excitement.

The news got Lou Cheng all excited and he replied,

“Really? For real?”

“Why should I lie to you?” Shi Yuejian answered cheerfully.

“Great! That’s so great!” Lou Cheng turned to Yan Zheke and shared his joy.

By the time he hung up the phone, he made no secret of his happiness and told his girlfriend the good news like a child.

“Sounds great! I told you so. The technology is improving, so is martial arts. As long as your master is alive, there is hope for him and a chance for change for him.” Yan Zheke was both happy and content.

When I was a kid, I used to think AIDS was an incurable disease. Once infected, people would die from it. But now, if patients with AIDS control themselves well, they could live a normal life.

That’s the magic of improvement and progress!

“Coach Yan is indeed full of wisdom!” Lou Cheng sincerely gave his praise. He’d love to pick his girlfriend up, but considering they were in a restaurant and his girlfriend was wearing a knee-high skirt, he gave up this idea.

The news also worked up their appetite. Both of them ate another bowl of rice. When they finally finished, Yan Zheke rubbed her round belly and asked with satisfaction,

“Where will we go this afternoon?”

Lou Cheng thought for a moment before saying,

“What about my place? I have some old photos to show you!”

“Okay.” Yan Zheke did not object to his suggestion. Actually, she looked forward to it.