Martial Arts Master

The rain drizzled and dropped lightly on the windowsill. It was Sunday morning. Isolated from the outside world, people were reluctant to get up and leave their warm beds.

Yan Xiaoling was wrapped in a warm quilt and didn’t want to wake up. It seemed that as long as she was dreaming, she could forget the failure and sadness of yesterday, and no longer needed to worry about disappointing things.

She also had a bad habit of waking up intermittently. She got up to check her cell phone from time to time. Correspondingly, she had a good habit of falling asleep quickly.

Opening her eyes reluctantly, she brought the phone under the warm blanket. She unlocked the screen and refreshed the university forum. She found a newly updated post marked in red:

“Are there any students who want to cheer for the Martial Arts Club right now?”

Cheer for the Martial Arts Club? Wasn’t the game held yesterday? Or did all those things happen in my imagination? Yan Xiaoling rubbed her face to revive herself and then clicked on the post. In the post, the writer wrote,

“I watched the match between our Martial Arts Club and Shanbei. I am fuming with anger and excitement. But I also feel pity for the members of our club. They played so well, but they were still defeated. So I am thinking maybe we can do something for them.

“Do you want to join me and go to the martial arts arena to show your support? It doesn’t matter whether you are boy or girl, all are welcome!”

Well… Yan Xiaoling looked through the whole post and saw several responses. The more she read, the more impulsive she became. Finally, she decided to overcome the coldness of the winter morning and pull herself out from under the comfortable blanket.

She put on her long down jacket, opened the door of her dormitory and ran out into the biting wind.

As a girl from Yanling, she would never adapt to these southern winters.

…

In the Martial Arts arena, Lou Cheng was taking a break as he always did after practicing the “Zhe” Formula. He practiced in a very reasonable way; it was not too intense. It fully demonstrated his awareness of his injuries.

He noticed that one after another, his fellow students kept coming into the arena. They sat on both sides of the stands in a disorganized manner.

What was happening? Lou Cheng worked at instructing and correcting Yan Zheke’s movements, yet he was confused by the scene in front of him. He had no idea what exactly was happening.

Is this Flash Mob Dancing?

Not really…

“Cheng, look, look! There are so many students… There have never been this many students to watch our special training before.” Yan Zheke was also aware that something was different. She took the opportunity that Lou Cheng afforded her and raised her chin toward the stands.

“Yes. I’m confused too. I’m always afraid of sudden big, bad news.” Lou Cheng looked around and answered her in a low voice.

Cai Zongming had also noticed the students in the stands. His gaze met Lou Cheng’s. In an excited tone, he said, “Cheng, do you see this scene? So many people have come to watch our training, in particular, so many students! This means that we’re now very famous. Only martial arts masters receive treatment like this! ”

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating?” Lou Cheng was shocked by his words.

Just as Cai Zongming was about to make up a set of theories that could explain his nonsense, the students who had come to the arena on such a cold Sunday morning, stood up one by one. They made their hands into trumpets and shouted cheers for the members who were doing their special training.

“Keep going!”

“You can do better!”

Hearing their cheers echo through the arena, Lou Cheng and the other members paused for a moment. But they quickly understood that the students were showing their support for the last match that they’d fought.

When they screamed “you can do better”, they meant “you already performed very well in the last match!”

“Keep going!”

“You can do better!”

Their scattered sounds became more and more synchronized, gradually merging into a unified sound wave. Members of the club, including Lou Cheng, began to practice harder. It was as if they’d eaten Popeye’s spinach. What’s more, they became more motivated and passionate.

“Quickly! Record this!” Shu Rui’s bright eyes were almost moved to tears and she asked the cameraman to videotape it.

How excellent these students are! 

How lovely this scene is!

Not until all the members had left the arena did the special training also come to the end. Shu Rui finally got a chance to record their reactions to the last match, which she had been too embarrassed to record yesterday.

She decided to start with the most difficult one.

“Lin Que, how do you feel now? How is your recovery going? Has the Dark Poison Force in your body been completely eliminated?” Shu Rui asked with a friendly smile.

He will definitely answer me if I start the interview showing great concern for his health! 

Lin Que looked at her. He was breathing heavily and sweating. He said,

“That’s a secret.”

“A secret? Again a secret! God damn secrets!” Shu Rui opened her mouth slightly and the corner of her eyes twitched with anger.

After taking a breath, she maintained her professional composure and a polite smile. She then asked, “Are you afraid that the information about your recovery will be explored by Sanjiang College? Well, okay then. I’ll ask a different question. Today you look extremely energetic. Have you gotten out of your negative mood about the failure?”

“No, I have not,” Lin Que answered seriously.

What an honest boy… Even Shu Rui wanted to sigh and cover her face. But instead, she smiled in a good manner. “Why do you say that? You seem to care less about the last match now, don’t you?”

“The failure pushes me to move forward.” Lin Que answered frankly.

This was a good standard answer. But why do I feel as if I’m being tricked by him in some way… She stopped asking questions and watched him turn and go back to the locker room.

Concealing her disappointment, she stopped Lou Cheng and greeted him with a smile.

“You’re in a good mood, right?”

“Failure means nothing to a young man… ” Lou Cheng let out a chuckle.

“I always like to chat with young people like you because it makes me feel like I am full of vitality again.” Shu Rui tried to amuse him in a self-deprecating way. “What did you think of the match yesterday?”

“I realize the gap, well, and also see the hope. More importantly, I set my goal.” Lou Cheng answered frankly and did not try to hide his thoughts.

“You are on a roll!” Shu Rui gave him a thumbs-up and sincerely praised him. After she interviewed him, she went to find Yan Zheke.

“Were you disappointed that you didn’t get to enter the ring yesterday?” She handed the microphone to Yan Zheke.

Yan Zheke pursed her lips and smiled faintly. “Yes, it’s a pity.”

Although I can’t change anything, it was still quite a disappointment for me. 

“I heard that Peng Leyun likes jumping from tall buildings to cut corners. Also, this is an ability only Sixth Pin fighters in Dan stage can achieve. Has Lou Cheng ever performed similar movements?” Shu Rui asked.

While she had offered this question casually, Yan Zheke was shocked. She almost revealed her astonishment.

Is Reporter Shu asking me on purpose? This is on purpose, right? 

This is too much of a coincidence. Now, after Cheng cradled me to experience the excitement of jumping from the building last night, she comes to ask me about it? 

Did someone see us last night and tell her?

“This kind of thing, umm… ” She looked suspiciously at Shu Rui and then let out a sweet smile, showing her cute dimples. “Jumping from a building is dangerous. Good kids should not try it! Well, that’s my answer.”

Uh… Shu Rui was puzzled by Yan Zheke’s odd answer.

…

Time passed. All the members were busy making up their missed classes and studying. On December 28th, at three o’clock in the afternoon,

Songcheng University Martial Arts Club would go to the guest arena and challenge the Martial Arts Club of Sanjiang College. If they lost this match, they would fail to enter the finals!

They paid a great deal of attention to this match. They packed up their luggage and gathered at the school bus station. They intended to set off one day in advance. A smooth and steady night’s sleep would help them to store their energy in case the long-distance driving affected their state.

Shu Rui stood in front of the bus offered specially by the university. She was holding a microphone and had the camera in the background. She asked the club members,

“We have another match in the guest arena, do you want to say anything?”

“Say something?” Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke thought carefully about how to respond. Little Ming seemed to come up with something. He patted members on the shoulder one by one and whispered something to them.

Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke, held each other’s shoulders. Yan Zheke also held He Zi’s shoulder. The man next to He Zi was Mu Jinnian. The members linked their shoulders one by one. All of them linked together and formed an arc.

They bent slightly and shouted in unison:

“We want victory!”

We want victory, no matter who our opponent is!

…

On December 29th, at 2:50 pm, in the Sanjiang College martial arts arena.

In the host team locker room, Qu Hui looked around at the members of his club. He wore a black swallow-tailed suit and a top hat. In a serious tone, he said,

“As we all know, Lou Cheng has not completely recovered yet from his internal injuries. Also, Lin Que is still affected by the remaining power of the Dark Poison Force. They are definitely not at their peak states. This is our chance!”

“We have to admit that no matter what kind of career or what kind of business we are in, luck is always of great significance. Well this time, the luck belongs to us. If it wasn’t for us confronting Songcheng University in the second round; or if Songcheng University hadn’t been greatly hurt by Shanbei, we wouldn’t have any hope of winning against them. But, presently, we have much more of a chance to win!”

“Since we have the chance to win, we cannot miss it. What’s more, we cannot let the chance go because of our own mistakes.”

“There is an old saying, ‘God will blame you if you refuse to take what he gives to you!’”

“God will blame you if you refuse to take what he gives to you… ” Luo Haize and Yin Xiangxi repeated this sentence in their hearts. They were inspired and motivated by what the club manager, Qu Hui, said.

…

In the guest team locker room, Geezer Shi glanced at Lou Cheng and Lin Que. He greeted them and asked,

“You two brats, can you fight today?”

Although Lou Cheng and Lin Que did not look at each other, they answered him in unison,

“I can!”