Martial Arts Master

As the voice of the referee entered his ears, Lou Cheng heaved a sigh of relief. The intense pain in his shoulders, the shivering of his body, and the spasms of his brain welled up inside him.

Looking at Huang Ke who stood outside the line like a spear, the audience behind him, and the dense shadows, Lou Cheng suddenly got emotional. He recalled the first time he saw Spear King.

It was before the Chinese New Year of his sophomore year when he represented the Ice God Sect to return gifts to the Hai Xi Sect. At that time, Huang Ke was still just as solemn and quiet, but his aura was hidden. Just a normal glance from him was enough to send a chill through Lou Cheng’s body.

Unknowingly, four years had passed. If Lou Cheng had been himself four years ago, or even himself before the start of Warrior Sage Battle before he experienced the series of intense matches, the outcome today would definitely have been the opposite.

It’s a pity that time is ruthless. No matter which Physical Invulnerability expert it was, they found it hard to battle. Forty-five years old might seem close to forty-nine, but everyone knew the truth. One of them was at the peak of a career while the other was staring down the slope of decline. It was especially so in the aspect of mental recovery.

Even the beauties and generals of ancient times feared the arrival of old age… Lou Cheng was feeling very emotional. Enduring the discomfort of his body, he solemnly paid respect to Huang Ke.

To the Spear King of this generation!

At this moment, he felt the strong desire Physical Invulnerability experts have to reach the Forbidden stage. No one wanted to see themselves get weaker day by day, or experience one’s strong body, full of vigor, deteriorate as things that used to be easy become arduous tasks.

The more dominant one was at their peak, the stronger the disappointment, fear, and helplessness later on.

Only by entering the stage of the gods could one maintain everything until death descended.

Huang Ke returned his solemn look and gesture. After which, he took huge strides back to the arena where his Ice Chi Spear lay.

He didn’t use his Ice Spirit Force, or even the tip of his toes to flick the long spear up. Instead, he bent down slowly, grabbed the spear body, and lifted it up.

Patting it lightly, he placed the Ice Chi Spear on his back and walked past Lou Cheng towards the exit, posture straight like always.

“Time is unforgiving…” Lu Yan, who was watching the match from the VIP suite, couldn’t help but heave a long sigh.

He was just a few years younger than Huang Ke. In two to three years, he would inevitably experience the same thing. Therefore, it was hard for him to not feel a little of what Huang Ke was feeling.

It wasn’t just him who would experience it. Despite seemingly blossoming over the last couple of years, Kirin, Dong Baxian, and God-Slaying Saber, Lu Yongyuan were already forty-three and forty-four years old. In five years, if they couldn’t make the breakthrough, they would become just like the Spear King and Lion King today.

Time waits for no one.

The Forbidden stage wasn’t easy to achieve. Since the death of Elder Lin Zhongxun, there was only one in all of China, Elder Mei.

Ten years ago, Warrior Sage, Qian Donglou was widely considered as the future Forbidden stage expert. However, he still wasn’t able to reach this stage today.

Dragon King and Warrior Sage were still considered to have hopes of reaching the Forbidden stage. It might take three or five more years before they made the breakthrough. As for Dong Baxian, Lu Yongyuan, and the others, they still had hope, but the chances weren’t high.

As to who had been able to maintain their peak after fifty years old, there was only one such case over the decades. That was the Sect Master of Shushan Study, King of Swords, Wu Qiao. Even so, he only participated in two title competitions each year.

Empress Luo, Ning Zitong, who was waiting for her match in her personal resting room, shook her head emotionally.

Spear King had done everything he could within his limits but still lost. One reason was that he was already old and couldn’t maintain his peak form for too long. It was especially so for the recovery of his mental state and handling details. Another reason was that Lou Cheng indeed had super-class level battle skills capable of surprising everyone. He could always identify the weaknesses. What was even more frightening about him was that he was still young and had sufficient time to grow.

What will Dragon King say about this match? How will he appraise Spear King and Lou Cheng?

“Don’t know the enemy, don’t know oneself,” Chen Qitao, who stood in the VIP suite exit, said in a low voice.

His match had ended earlier and his wounds were treated. After which, he came over to watch the matches.

“Don’t know the enemy, don’t know oneself…” Lu Yan repeated it twice and knew that Dragon King was referring to Spear King, Huang Ke.

This wasn’t a vicious comment, but was definitely heart-breaking.

The two assistants at the side also understood the hidden meaning within it as they converted Dragon King’s comment into Internet lingo.

How old are you this year, Huang Ke? After a few intense matches, don’t you know the state of your mental recovery?

Didn’t conserving and hiding your strengths prolong the match?

What were you thinking, prolonging a match with a twenty year old brat known for his insane stamina and Nine Words Formula?

This was what he meant by, “Don’t know the enemy, don’t know oneself.”

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Lu Yan didn’t speak anymore but maintained his usual solemn self. However, he knew why Huang Ke had done so in his heart.

Who is willing to admit their own old age?

“However, to not conserve strength against Lou Cheng would surely lead to problems.” Guo Jie, who was at his side, thought for a long time before asking.

Chen Qitao looked at the arena and said plainly,

“When it’s time to conserve your strength, conserve it. When it’s time to advance, push ahead.”

Hearing these words, Guo Jie understood and nodded his head.

What Dragon King meant was that one should indeed conserve some strength under normal circumstances to prevent accidents. However, once you identify an opportunity, you should give your all and grab onto it, just like how Lou Cheng had managed to defeat God-Slaying Saber a few months ago.

Spear King had taken an overly cautious path, which resulted in a prolonged match and exposed his own weaknesses.

This might be another example of ageing…

In the other VIP suites, the tall, burly Dong Baxian was playing with four walnuts casually as he listened to Wang Que, Lin Shuyao, and the others discuss the prior battle.

After some time, he smiled and sighed,

“Dragon ahead, Tiger behind.”

He had Dragon King ahead of him to chase after, while Lou Cheng pursued him from behind at high speed.

…

“This, this, this…” Cai Zongming was once again confused by how Lou Cheng was able to turn the tables at the end of the match. After stammering for some time, he continued, “Your commentator can’t find words adequate to praise Lou Cheng anymore!”

“Wow, so honest!”

“This compliment is elegant and simple!”

“It’s rare to see you not play with words.”

“The truth is I feel the same!”

…

Seeing these notifications, Cai Zongming laughed out loud. After which, he changed the direction of his comments and said,

“Let us not compliment but use the truth to describe!”

“Beating one super-class might be a coincidence, and beating two might be by chance. So what does beating three of them mean?”

“It means he’s truly at this level and has such strength!”

“When it comes to title competitions in the future, when we pick who are the favorites, who are the seeded contestants or super-class, we have to include Lou Cheng!”

…

The audience was dumbfounded by what they heard. After some time, notifications flooded in.

“Is this what you meant by no words to describe?”

“If you have no better words and yet can say so much so passionately, won’t he be praised to the skies when you have words to say?”

“Words can change the world!”

“Haha, well said. We are witnessing a miracle. I was born late and missed the process of Warrior Sage becoming the Warrior Sage. Luckily, I’m here in time to witness the path of Lou Cheng!”

“Eh, to the one above, that doesn’t sound right.”

“That’s because he doesn’t have a nice nickname yet. Still casual.”

…

Yan Xiaoling was so excited that she spilt food on her computer keyboard. After cleaning up, she finally regained some composure. She announced seriously in Lou Cheng’s fan forum,

“The timeline for coming out with a nickname for senior has to be sped up! As a super-class and a future title expert, how can he not have an eye-catching, nice-sounding nickname?”

“Brahman” popped out and said,

“It’s alright, don’t worry yet. Take a look at the news first. I’m so happy reading it.”

Oh damn, I forgot about that… Yan Xiaoling quickly opened her other apps and refreshed the news feed.

Headline after headline appeared in front of her eyes.

“The New ‘Dragon King’ Has Arrived? Where’s the New ‘Warrior Sage’?”

“Replacing the Old with the New, an Unchanging Rule of Martial Arts.”

“I might have just witnessed the era of Lou Cheng descending.”

“These are just the results of a first year Lou Cheng. A second and third year Lou Cheng is unimaginable!”

Praise, praise, and continuing praise! Yan Xiaoling was exhilarated.

Yan Zheke was smiling radiantly in Connecticut on her bed while waiting for Lou Cheng to complete his small surgery on his shoulders. She changed her posture from time to time and rolled on the bed.

When Lou Cheng finished his treatment and sent a message, she coughed once before typing with both hands,

“Here’s the mike, how do you feel now?”

“Uhm. I feel a little disrespectful to the elderly…” Lou Cheng answered honestly. After which, he caught his breath and continued, “And my injuries are a little more serious this time. Even with the help of Confrontation Formula, I can probably only recover a little more than fifty percent. In the quarterfinal, my right shoulder probably won’t be very convenient.”

hu

Yan Zheke replied,

“[pat on the head emoji] Rest assured! In the quarterfinals, other than a few, the rest will probably have lingering injuries, too. With Coach Yan’s karma shining over you, you will definitely get a good draw!”