Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng forced himself to remain cool and typed “quail” on his mobile while pretending to reply a message. He memorized the characters and then wrote it down flamboyantly, pretty pleased with himself.

“Done.” He passed the notebook back to He Zi and secretly felt a bit ashamed.

To be honest, he used to be able to spell quail in his senior year. But ever since he got in the university, the keyboard had replaced papers and he often found himself unable to spell words.

That was the peak of my erudition in my life!

He Zi looked at Lou Cheng with suspicion before expressing her gratitude. As soon as she returned to the back of the team, she tore that page off and gave it to Yan Xiaoling.

“Stupid chicken!” said she. (“Such a coward!”)

Yan Xiaoling was brightened up by joy and answered exaggeratedly, “He Zi, I admire you! I worship you!”

Her voice was crispy and tender as if an elementary school student.

He Zi and Mu Jinnian exchanged a glance and answered with no expression on their face, “I don’t need a stupid chicken to worship me.”

Used to such cold treatment, Yan Xiaoling didn’t seem to care. She glanced at Lou Cheng secretly and appeared very concerned. “I feel his face looks a bit pale. Is he sick?”

“Considering his current physique… It’s not easy for him to get sick besides injuries and the sequel of the secret skills of the Plague Sect.” Mu Jinnian answered in a flat tone. She was a true fan of Lin Que and had no special feeling towards Lou Cheng. As a devoted fan of Lin Que, Lou Cheng was just another passer-by.

“Maybe something went wrong during his training or practice… ” He Zi let her imagination go wild and created an exciting story in her head.

With Lou Cheng’s current listening ability, an open conversation in such a distance was heard clearly. He shook his head with a wry smile.

If only my power of blaze wasn’t awakened the second time yesterday… If only I wasn’t still ill and suffering from the boomerang… If only I wasn’t banned from training by my master and Coach Yan… Why would I be here helping Ming with the recruiting?

The improved power of frost slightly changed Lou Cheng’s root pulp and pushed his physical strength further up to the standard for the second power of blaze awakening, a few days earlier than the beginning of October as Geezer Shi had expected. After this awakening, Lou Cheng’s strength, speed, and agility would officially catch up with any Professional Seventh Pin fighter in the Dan stage.

As time went by, Yan Xiaoling finally made it to the front of the line, facing Cai Zongming and Li Xiaowen.

“It’s you!” Smiled Ming amiably as he passed three application forms to them.

Yan Xiaoling didn’t feel shy or nervous at all in front of Ming. She asked cheerfully, “Can we get an autograph by joining in the Martial Arts Club?”

She didn’t mention Lou Cheng’s name as her idol was right there.

“Of course. Come. I’ll sign one for you. Keep it safe. It will be worth a fortune!” Joked Cai Zongming.

The atmosphere was suddenly relaxed. Yan Xiaoling picked up a pen and began to fill in the form. As she put a slash in the Martial Arts Rank field, she felt inferior.

Spending all your long holidays in bed meant she had no time for any exercise. Not to mention martial arts training.

Once her application was done, she looked about out of curiosity to check on her roommates.

He Zi, Amateur Second Pin… Err… Jinnian, Amateur Third Pin… Yan Xiaoling’s mouth opened wide to an O shape.

When did they become so good at it?

They are both at least Amateur Third Pin!

I’m the only weak chicken…

In a flash, a popular joke came to her mind.

Thank you, roommates, for sparing my life!

Cai Zongming took back the form and glanced at it with a bright smile.

“Welcome to the Martial Arts Club. The orientation will be held after the holiday. I’ll call you once the time is set.”

“Wow! Manager, you were never this enthusiastic before!” Teased Yan Xiaoling, surprised.

Cai Zongming withdrew his smile and answered thoughtfully,

“Of course. Now I know who you are. How can I be not nice to you?”

“Who we are?” Yan Xiaoling looked at He Zi and Mu Jinnian, all puzzled.

Don’t I know who I am at the age of almost 20? Am I a lost daughter of the boss of Taobao?

Cai Zongming laughed,

“The future of the communist career!”

The three girls and many other students burst into a laugh.

This manager is really funny!

When the crowd got smaller, Cai Zongming sneaked to Lou Cheng’s side and whispered,

“Cheng, this year’s freshmen are pretty decent!”

“You mean their martial arts skill or their face?” Lou Cheng looked at Talker, feeling unsure.

“Damn. How could you doubt my chastity! Anyway, the peak year of good-looking students is ours. Your girlfriend, Lin Que, and me. Super!” Cai Zongming posed before continuing, “I’ve found four new members of or higher than Amateur Third Pin within two hour.”

“Err… That is pretty decent.” Lou Cheng’s eyes lit up, very glad.

Different from those professional teams, a university martial arts club would suffer greatly from fluidity as every year there would be members graduating from school. The freshmen’s quality became very important.

Lou Cheng could leave everything behind after his graduation but he had developed feelings for the club and the school after one year of training side by side with other members and the unconditional support from the audience. He had taken over the responsibility to keep it going strong on his own initiative.

“In general, they are better than us. He-heh… Don’t look at me like that. You had no rank, no strength, and no experience back then.” Cai Zongming poked fun at him.

“That’s right. When we first joined, the imposing Lin Que of Professional Ninth Pin was followed by an Amateur Fifth Pin student… ” Lou Cheng tried to argue, “My brother-in-law can fight ten single-handed!”

Cai Zongming sneered and answered after a moment of thinking, “I bet next year we will get some even better ones. Think about it. When these kids filed their university applications, our club was still struggling at the division stage and earned some fame in the finals where Lin Que at the edge of Professional Eighth Pin and the Dan stage was the only selling point and you were merely a talent with some potential and insane physical strength. Next year I’m sure more capable youngsters will consider our school.”

“True. A great result from the national finals and Internal Training Methods are enough to draw some talents’ attention.” Lou Cheng stood up to exercise his body, looking forward to the future.

Until this day, he still wouldn’t call himself a talent though he was used to being called one by many.

…

After the long holiday, soon it came to the middle of October.

A sharp alarm went off, waking Yan Xiaoling up from a sweet dream. She struggled to get out of her bed.

She sat there still, very confused, and finally realized why she got up so early.

The Martial Arts Club’s orientation is on this morning!

She opened He Zi’s mosquito net and muttered, “He Zi! Oh! He Zi! Wake up! Wake up!”

Inside the mosquito net was a black cat with green eyes, sitting by the rally carelessly.

“Err… ” Yan Xiaoling was lost for a second but soon shouted in shock, “I knew there was a cat! He Zi, you are transformed from a cat! There are monsters in this world!”

She suddenly felt odd and turned around to the door, seeing He Zi come in from the washroom.

She took another look at the black cat and understood there was some misunderstanding.

“Idiot… ” He Zi’s mouth twitched.

“Ha-hah… I was kidding.” Yan Xiaoling watched the cat jump down from the bed and run out of the room. “He Zi, this is your cat?”

“No, we can’t have any pet in the dorm. I think its owner is a teacher living in that teachers’ apartment. It often comes here to see me.” He Zi suddenly softened talking about the cat, her eyes shining brightly.

“How did you know it?” asked Yan Xiaoling curiously as she got off her bed.

He Zi smiled while recalling, “This is destiny! “I got to the room first and found it trapped behind the wardrobe, meowing. I tried really hard to get it out. I even planned to tear the bed apart… ”

“Then? You moved the bed away and saved it?” Asked Yan Xiaoling with great interests.

He Zi was lost for a second and then smiled,

“Not really. It broke free before I got there.”

Why the heck did I waste so much effort and sleeping time?

Yan Xiaoling frowned and nodded solemnly. She walked to He Zi and patted her shoulder to comfort her.

“I think we will be good friends.”

…

After washing up, Yan Xiaoling, He Zi, and Mu Jinnian headed towards the martial arts club. The last student of this room, Chen Youni was still not here. According to the counselor, she was sick and wouldn’t come until her disease was cured.

Thanks to the two members in the Dan stage and their outstanding performance last term, the martial arts club attracted many new members, including a decent number of students in their second or even third years. The stadium was packed, way busier than last year.

“How lively!” Yan Xiaoling looked about excitedly.

Her eyes shone when she spotted the pretty Yan Zheke in her white martial arts suit.

“Can you see? How beautiful that senior is! She’s prettier in real life than on the screen!” Yan Xiaoling pointed her out for He Zi and Mu Jinnian with joy.

“Yep.” He Zi took a quick glance and nodded.

“I really want to take a photo of her!” Yan Xiaoling whispered with excitement.

She saw the elegant, fresh Yan Zheke turn and move towards them.

“The closer, the prettier!” Said Yan Xiaoling with a fascinated smile. She suddenly stopped when she realized Yan Zheke was heading towards her!

Coming to me?

Coming to me for what?

Confused and stressed, as soon as Yan Zheke stopped in front of her, she nervously greeted, “Hi, sister.”

What is the matter?

Yan Zheke smiled gently, “Hi, Little Changye.”

“Ahh? Little Changye? Little Changye!” Yan Xiaoling was shocked, opening her mouth wide like a stunned cat.

All of a sudden, she no longer knew who this beautiful senior was.