Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The audiences wiped the cold sweat off their palms and let out a sigh of relief. The entire arena was filled with thunderous cheers, boiling up for a victory that had been long overdue. Although they had not prepared mini trumpets or other items to boost the cheer, it was still sufficient to create a passionate atmosphere.
Qian Ruoyu’s expression turned incredibly ugly in the middle of it. She felt extremely wronged and stifled on the inside, wanting just to turn and leave abruptly just like that. She didn’t want to wait for even a second longer.
“I’m an adult now. I’m not a spoiled child. I must bear the responsibility of what I’ve created…” She bit the bottom half of her lip softly with her white and tidy teeth and convinced herself to be strong on the inside. She didn’t turn her head and leave right away but waited for Jiang Dingyi’s return instead.
Right now Jiang Dingyi was feeling extremely depressed as well. The match had been a dissatisfying loss to him. His meditation skill was shallow, and he had not yet reached the level where he could control every strand of muscle in his body. Therefore, he wasn’t able to pull back his center of gravity at a critical moment and dodge out of the way. Moreover, his fighting style wasn’t a hit-and-run type to begin with, so the pain and aching on his left shoulder and the sluggishness of his qi and blood were enlarged to the max after Sun Jian had gotten close to him and forced a hand-to-hand combat. As a result, his loss was decided in that one instant.
“If only I hadn’t gotten careless and let Li Mao hit me…” he thought in annoyance. He felt ashamed to meet Qian Ruoyu to the point where even his returning footsteps had become slow.
When he returned to Dream Squad’s seat area, Qian Ruoyu inhaled deeply and said,
“The main reason for our defeat today is on me. Dingyi, Shaokun, if the two of you had faced Sun Jian and Li Mao at your peak condition, the chances of your victory would be 80% or higher. I was the one who underestimated my enemy too much and lost to Yan Zheke too quickly, forcing the both of you to exhaust yourself earlier than anticipated. That was why we have lost. This is my mistake. I apologize to you all.”
Jiang Dingyi and Feng Shaokun weren’t the only ones who were surprised. Even Yu Qiao and the reserve members were caught off guard when they heard Qian Ruoyu’s words. They didn’t think that their proud little princess would stay cool, not blame someone else, and reflect on her own mistakes.
Has she gotten a little more mature?
Feng Shaokun recovered and immediately consoled her. “Ruoyu, this is not your mistake. The main reason we lost is due to a lack of sufficient information. Songcheng University Martial Arts Club’s Yan Zheke hid her level of skill too well, and no one knew that she had already achieved a small attainment in meditation, and that her 24 Blizzard Strikes had climbed to the next level.”
“Yeah, none of us had expected this.” Jiang Dingyi echoed.
Qian Ruoyu felt a little better and touched at their words. Her eyes looked red enough to burst into tears at any moment.
She inhaled deeply and calmed herself down. Then, she pointed to the opposite side of the ring and said,
“One may lose the battle, but not the war. Let us head over and greet them so that no one can say we’re ill mannered.”
Normally speaking, both parties were expected to meet up and greet each other as a show of politeness after a group challenge tournament was over. However, this usually did not happen. While the winners were happy to perform the gesture, the losers were normally too distressed even to try at all.
Lou Cheng imitated a scene he saw in a Professional Martial Arts Competition before and led the home team to clap and gesture at the spectators grandstand as a show of support. In return, they were greeted with even greater waves of claps and cheers.
It was at this moment he saw Qian Ruoyu and the others walking over to them. Therefore, he beckoned Sun Jian, Li Mao and Yan Zheke to him before meeting them.
Qian Ruoyu cast a glance at the pure and beautiful Yan Zheke before turning to face Lou Cheng. She exhaled and said,
“You all have fought very well today…”
Lou Cheng was feeling good, so naturally he turned humble and pointed at his girlfriend, smiling faintly.
“The main reason for our victory is because we have a secret weapon that caused you to misjudge the situation. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to tell to whom the spoils will go.”
It was the truth. They were weaker if both parties’ members were to be compared individually.
Yan Zheke was pleased, happy and embarrassed by his praise. She shot a glance at him before turning away to look at the side.
Her expression could not fool those who were experienced in such things. Both Yu Qiao and Feng Shaokun sighed respectively on the inside. “As expected, a beautiful girl’s heart is usually owned by someone else already!”
As for Lou Cheng, while a powerful 19 years old Professional Ninth Pin fighter might not normally catch the eye, it was impossible to ignore the fact that he had reached his level of prowess in just a half a year. Therefore, they did not feel that Yan Zheke was a beautiful flower poked into a pile of manure. They only felt that it made sense for a beautiful girl like Yan Zheke to become matched with an impressive man like Lou Cheng!
Qian Ruoyu felt a lot better when she heard Lou Cheng’s honest words. The feeling of self-blame also subsided by a lot as she put on a faint smile and said,
“There is definitely hope for you to advance out of the group with your current performance. I wish that you all may go higher and higher.”
Lou Cheng also smiled and replied,
“Then we’ll wish that you’ll grow stronger with each fight, and get better with each match.”
Qian Ruoyu immediately felt that he was a good person and recovered some of her old spirits. After saying a word of thanks, she then led Dream Squad into the away team’s locker room.
Yan Zheke’s eyes moved about as she watched their backs. She said with a sigh, “She isn’t as delicate as I thought…”
At this point, she broke out in laughter. “And their relationship isn’t as turbulent as I expected either…”
She sounded a little sorry for not being able to watch a real life version of melodramatic love disputes.
“Yeah…” Lou Cheng looked sideways at her with a regretful expression on his face too.
Sun Jian and Li Mao knew nothing about the gossip behind Dream Squad at all. They were bewildered when they heard Yan Zheke’s words, and when they saw Lou Cheng and her looking and smiling at each other as if they shared a little secret that only they knew about, a grimace overtook their mouths before they turned their heads and walked away.
“Let’s return to the locker room.” Lou Cheng beamed and held Yan Zheke’s delicate hand in his own, declaring his ownership under the gazes of thousands of people.
Yan Zheke blushed slightly, but she allowed the gesture generously in attempt to put an end to any potential woos that might occur after today’s match. It was just too troublesome!
As a university with rather strict management policies, the intimate gestures of the lovers in Songcheng University were normally restricted to the trees beside the lake and pedestrian walkway. No one had ever held hands under the spotlight until now. When the students saw this, they immediately thought to make a scene as those who could whistle whistled and those who could shout shouted. The scene immediately turned playful.
Yan Zheke was so embarrassed that she lowered her head and rushed towards the locker room. However, when they were about to approach the door, she noticed Lou Cheng’s sudden pause beside her.
Eh… She looked up and saw Geezer Shi drinking wine at the entrance.
“Ma-Coach Shi, why have you come? Didn’t you say that you have something to do last minute?” Lou Cheng was just as surprised.
Geezer Shi laughed mischievously and said, “If I didn’t have something to do last minute, where would you find the chance to show off? If I was here, god knows how nervous Li Mao would still be!”
“Plus, I’m already old. I’ve broken away from you youngsters for too long, and I really have no idea how to encourage you guys.”
Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke immediately came to a realization and understood Coach Shi’s earnest intentions.
“Let me borrow your boyfriend for a couple of minutes. This old man has something to speak with him.” Geezer Shi beamed at Yan Zheke.
Yan Zheke was both embarrassed and distressed to be teased by a senior. She loosened her right hand and ran into the locker room without turning around.
Lou Cheng followed Geezer Shi to a secluded spot at a corner of the locker room several steps away. Then he said easily, “I thought you really have something to do last minute, master…”
He thought that he had found Longhu Immortal’s legacy residence!
Geezer Shi let out a laugh and looked at Lou Cheng. “What did you think I’d be doing?”
“Er, didn’t you say that a friend came a long way to seek out Longhu Immortal’s legacy residence? I thought they finally found it and invited you along as a helper.” An idea flashed through Lou Cheng’s mind, and he took the opportunity to probe further.
Geezer Shi drank a sip of wine and smiled faintly. “They did find it. Last night, they invited your master to explore Zhaoshan Lake. However, it was only a side residence with nothing in it.”
“Zhaoshan Lake? Wasn’t it Weishui Lake?” Lou Cheng’s mind went blank for a moment. He had a feeling that his master and the others had hit the wrong target.
Geezer Shi let out a ‘heh’ seeing his expression and said,
“You seem to feel much more at ease after hearing this?”
“Ah?” At first, Lou Cheng was surprised. Then, every hair on his body stood on its end as he became filled with a kind of tension he never felt before until now.
What did master mean by that?
Did he learn about my Jindan?
Geezer Shi chuckled and said, “There’s no need to be nervous, brat. With exception to those people with top class talent, everyone grows stronger from a little bit of luck. The only difference lies in when they get their luck, such as a golden scale fish can only transform into a real dragon after encountering the wind and clouds. Your master has lived for a very long time. What have I not seen, and what have I not experienced in my life? Why would I care about your little fortuitous luck?”
“Er, little fortuitous luck?” Lou Cheng was stunned for a brief moment before he eased up a little and asked, “Master, when did you find out?”
“Your master only guessed it last night.” Geezer Shi said with a pleased look, “Half a year ago, your master had already sensed a strange energy fluctuation during the day of opening of the martial arts club. Unfortunately, I was a little far away from it and didn’t find anything when I reached there. Later on, you’ve displayed an extraordinary amount of talent in meditation and near infinite stamina, and although you’ve successfully unleashed the Frost Force, you’ve awakened the Power of Blaze instead… All these things seem like nothing at first glance, and they still amount to nothing when connected together. After all, some fighters awaken their talents a bit late everywhere in this world.”
“However, when we explored Long Hu Immortal’s side residence, your master discovered from some remnant records that the Immortal had emulated the core of yin and yang through the use of ice and fire. I immediately came to realize what happened. Damn it, this is the only way you could have awakened the Power of Blaze despite unleashing the Frost Force. And so, after I’ve put together everything, I went to explore Weishui Lake myself and found this thing. Hehe, your master had trod more bridges than the roads you had walked, brat. Do you really think you can fool me? I’m a physical invulnerable fighter, and cultivation is at best a reference to me. What’re you scared about?”
Geezer Shi took out the half burned, a half frozen skeleton of a black fish from his pocket and shook it to dust with a casual shake of his hand.
“Experience does count…” Lou Cheng was both impressed and left with a taste of lingering fear as he confessed honestly. “Your guesses are spot on, master. While I was training beside the lake, I encountered this black fish by accident and obtained a bit of Longhu Immortal’s inheritance from its stomach.”
At this point, he could not help but ask, “Master, are you, disappointed that I’ve advanced by leaps and bounds only because I relied on Longhu Immortal’s inheritance?”
“Not really. I have seen all of the willpower, nature and combat talent you’ve displayed for the past half a year, and I’m relatively satisfied with them. You’re not the kind of person who would grow arrogant and forget your roots just because you’ve obtained a good fortune.” Geezer Shi nodded slightly and said, “I haven’t discovered Longhu Immortal’s legacy residence in Weishui Lake either. It would appear that there’re many queer things in that place. We’ll consider this again once you’ve fully digested his inheritance.”
Lou Cheng pondered for a moment before taking the initiative to ask, “But digesting it is very dangerous. Every time I awaken something, I would experience a rebound effect. Do you have a plan, master?”
This was a tacit admission to Geezer Shi about his Jindan. Most of the worry and haze that had been hidden in his heart for the past half a year vanished instantly when he saw that his master had acted kindly and without greed.
