Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng meant to call Geezer Shi to share his victory and progress in martial arts, but on second thought he’d rather wait until all his fights were over as he wanted to ask for advice from Geezer Shi after collecting enough information.

During the competition, Lou Cheng, like a sponge, eagerly learned from other fighters’ secret moves and styles, and if fighters started to talk and rest, he just leisurely checked the information on the forum.

In the live broadcast post on Longhu Club forum, “Invincible Punch” had already sent a link to the video of Lou Cheng’s morning competition along with a signing emoji, “It’s getting harder for me to understand him. The Listening Skill he shows today is too impressive for me to catch up.”

In secret delight, Lou Cheng kept reading other replies.

Without forum users being baits for attention, few were interested in a low-level competition like the Phoenix Cup Warrior Sage Candidate Challenge Tournament. In about three hours, only a handful of people clicked his video and left comments. Most forum users just sent meaningless posts, changed the subject or joked about “Invincible Punch” being half-naked in a published photo.

“A Plumber Eating Mushroom” was one of the few who watched Lou Cheng’s video seriously. He replied, “How powerful his Listening Skill is! I have seen many Professional Ninth Pin masters, among which one or two who are direct disciples of some great masters from big sects can compete with him. If he could overcome his weakness, I’m pretty sure he’ll soon pass the Ranking Event and achieve the Professional Ninth Pin in half a year or one year.”

“Thanks for your compliment…” Lou Cheng tried to hide his joy.

“I kinda look forward to the fights from Songcheng University Martial Arts Club. It’s just Songcheng is assigned to a division where Sanjiang Club and Shanbei Club are too powerful to compete with. Their chance of making it to the final will be slight unless Shanbei and Sanjiang run into each other beforehand.” “Unparalleled Dragon King” agreed as well.

“Pig-Riding Knight”, the moderator of the forum, added, “Hey, we are probably witnessing the first combat of a future master with physical invulnerability.” （ a funny face typed in words）

“Brahman”, the little girl on holiday after finals, sent an emoji shooting out golden stars and said, “Well done! I am hesitant to ask Uncle “Road to the Arena” to get an autograph for me. Perhaps Uncle “Pig-Riding Knight” is right about him. Then his first autograph will be of special meaning!”

“Hell no, I can never do it, meanwhile he is far from achieving physical vulnerability. Peng Leyun and Ren Li entered the Danqi Realm, ranking Professional Eighth Pin at the age of 18, not to mention that monk from Daxing Temple who is said to be a living Buddha.” “Road to the Arena” firmly rejected her.

“Peng Leyun… Ren Li…” Lou Cheng heard their names many times since he had entered the Martial Arts Club. He could not see how good Peng Leyun was in person since Songcheng University was defeated by Xu Wannian this year. What a pity!

Lou Cheng continued to watch matches after reading all the replies. When Round Five began, competitions were mainly among experts. Four Professional Ninth Pin masters were assigned to the same round before the group competition. Unbelievable as it may sound, their fights were so magnificent that you definitely would not want to miss it.

Benefiting from their matches, Lou Cheng, with his mind full of fighting scenes, eagerly wished to find somewhere quiet to practice what he had just learned. Unfortunately, players getting the direct pass couldn’t leave as there would be drawing lots and other relevant events coming after. Lou Cheng had to stick around and continued to grasp some excellent moves.

Lou Cheng also watched the match of “Road to the Arena”, during which he and an Amateur First Pin master were inextricably involved. He got the victory only with the help of explosive force that came with Wuthering Eight Movements. But “Road to the Arena” was getting familiar with his moves and strength, recovering 70-80 percent of his level from his peak. His biggest problem lied in his strength, which got worse after fighting two competitions in a day. That also explained why he wanted to finish this match as soon as possible.

Around 4:50 pm, Round Five ended and the result of top 32 from the Warrior Sage Challenge Tournament released.

Among eight or nine hundred participants, the most outstanding were these 32 combatants, and Lou Cheng was one of them.

Without the direct pass or endurance provided by Jindan, Lou Cheng may not be one of fewer than 5 % lucky ones. What mattered was his getting better in martial arts, both physically and mentally.

Staff busily prepared the central ring, setting the table with boxes filled with draws. Host, singers, and dancers came out to get the audience involved.

After their warm-up performances, the host invited three guests to draw lots. They were the mayor of Yanling, the chairman of Yanling Martial Arts Association who was once a Professional Fourth Pin master and Liu Zunyu, the chairman of Yanyu Group as well as the sponsor of this event. He was also a home practicing disciple of the supreme Kongtong School, an enthusiast for martial arts, whose companies were closely connected to Kongtong School, ranging from medicine, security to the real estate.

In this Warrior Sage Challenge Tournament, eight seeded players were “planted” into the bracket according to their pin and previous performances. By doing so, the best did not meet in group competitions, and the following competitions would be fiercer.

Huang Zhenzhong and Jiang Lan were Professional Eighth Pin experts in Danqi Realm, and fighters like Ye Youting, Bai Song, and Wang Ye were Professional Ninth Pin masters. No doubt these outstanding combatants would be picked as seeded players, and audience agreed with applause. Later the mayor started to draw lots, first announcing their names and then which group each was assigned.

“Huang Zhenzhong, the second group…”

“Jiang Lan, the fifth group…”

“Ye Youting, the third group…”

“Bai Song, the eighth group…”

“Wang Ye, the fourth group…”

“Li Xiaoyuan, the sixth group…”

…

As names released one by one, video highlights of the above 8 fighters were played on big screens for more information and attention.

Lou Cheng was so fascinated that he even recorded some marvelous moves by his cellphone.

When another round of singing and dancing finished, the chairman of Yanling Martial Arts Association reached a box with draws of the left Professional Ninth Pin masters and started to draw lots in the same order.

Only six Professional Ninth Pin masters were left, that’s to say, two groups would be weak, leaving amateurs a chance to go for top 16.

Unconcerned and calm, Lou Cheng quietly listened to the chairman speaking.

“Gu Jiajie, the third group…”

“Qi Fei, the sixth group…”

“Zhou Yuanning, the fourth group…”

…

With the left six Professional Ninth Pin masters being assigned, the first and seventh groups were the weakest, dream places for every amateur.

Lou Cheng felt slightly nervous. He never thought about being the top 16 and winning the prize. Now, the situation had changed and he was likely to get a good draw. It might work. A jinx and a lucky dog are different!

5,000 yuan was too tempting for a poor like him, as if a hungry beggar’s eyes gleamed with excitement when smelling the savory flavor of the meat. He had been saving private money for a rainy day. Still, he needed that 5,000 yuan for dating.

The chairman of Yanling Martial Arts Association picked out the last two draws, one of Amateur First Pin went to the first group meanwhile the other of Amateur Second Pin went to the seventh group.

Lou Cheng was a little disappointed at the result upon hearing someone whisper with cheers.

Next, singers and dancers came out so that video highlights of the second 8 fighters could be played. Lou Cheng’s eyes were fixed on screens as everyone was likely to be his future opponent.

The last round of drawing began, Liu Zunyu, chairman of Yanyu Group, first addressed the event and then began to draw lots.

Lou Cheng got nervous when waiting for his draw, more nervous than him fighting in a ring.

“No. 656 Lou Cheng…” Liu Zunyu read out his first draw, deliberately adding the number as the left players were fewer than those Professional Ninth Pin masters, the audience was easy to remember them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Lou Cheng’s heart beat faster as he was not ready to get the first draw. Which group would he be assigned?

Followed by a hearty round of applause, Lou Cheng was warmly welcomed by the audience like a Professional Ninth Pin.

Liu Zunyu smiled, satisfied with audience’s response, reaching another box to find out Lou Cheng’s group.

“The fourth group!”

“The fourth group?” Wang “Ironpalm” Ye raised his brows with both hands on his knees, and “Road to the Arena” Zhou Yuanning wore a preoccupied look.

“The fourth group?” Lou Cheng was startled by this arrangement.

“Guess opponents always meet, tied together by fate. Once again I will meet my forum friend in the ring,

and I checked into the same hotel with another opponent. Amazing!”

Lou Cheng was astonished as well as slightly delighted at his draw. It was not as good as being in the first or seventh groups, yet he was relatively lucky since “Road to the Arena” was the weakest among all Professional Ninth Pin masters.

The “Invincible Punch” looked at “Road to the Arena,” worried.

“Master Road, Lou Cheng is tough.”

“Yep, I will take him seriously.” “Road to the Arena” Zhou Yuanning relaxed his clenched fists.

Seeing “Invincible Punch” still worried, Master Road comforted him with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Lou Cheng won’t be a problem if I play safe.”

Smiling secretly, Lou Cheng resisted his urge to send messages to Yan Zheke and waited for the draw result of the last player in case grief trod upon the heels of pleasure.

One by one, members of each group were finally settled. “No.245 Tang Yue, the fourth group”

“No.245, Tang Yue…” Lou Cheng memorized the name while carefully watching video highlights and introductions of each fighter on the screens.

“Ah, he is of Amateur First Pin…” Lou Cheng murmured without any delight. There were no such guaranteed victories here. Others might benefit from the locked battle between “Road to the Arena” and him.

Of course, it was much better than the other five groups.

Finish recording the video of Tang Yue, Zhou Yuanning, and Wang Ye’s competitions, Lou Cheng sent a message to Yan Zheke along with a sneer emoji. “Your good luck helps me a lot. My group is rather weak, one Professional Ninth Pin, one Amateur First Pin and one Professional Ninth Pin who hasn’t fought for several years.”

When he finished typing, he went to the service desk for more information about three fighters and the follow-up schedule. He had a fight with Wang Ye tomorrow afternoon, following a morning fight with Tang Yue on the next day, and an afternoon fight with “Road to the Arena” Zhou Yuanning two days after tomorrow.

“Come on, Lou Cheng! We all think you can make it to the top 16!” Some girls at the service desk cheered for him with hand gestures.

Lou Cheng answered with a gentle smile,

“I’ll try my best not to let you guys down.”

“I have come this far, a real martial artist by no means gives in without a fight.”