Martial Arts Master

Cold water hit Lou Cheng’s skin and the chill penetrated through his body. Any ordinary man would stay away from the biting cold in the middle of winter but Lou Cheng saw it as a cure to save his life from the burn.

The heat inside his body was almost unbearable. The wind was roaring in his lung. With every breath, the air would intensify the flames. His consciousness was leaving him. And he curled up by instinct to keep as much of his body as possible under the ice-cold water.

On the little cabinet, his mobile flashed a new message notification on the locked screen. The faint light temporarily illuminated through the dark.

…

Outside the locker room, the odd silence continued as no one could believe what they had just seen and no one would like to doubt common sense. Ignorant and muddled, young children were scared by the atmosphere and stopped playing around.

Standing on the guest stand, Jiang Lan gazed at Ye Youting who was still shivering slightly. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and astonishment. The yoghourt cup in her hand was about to break at any second.

Lou Cheng’s victory over Zhou Yuanning yesterday was kind of within her expectation. She was a bit surprised but accepted it with ease. But this fight had completely messed her cognition. According to her martial arts knowledge and experience, Lou Cheng had merely a 1% chance of defeating Ye Youting only if she was not in her best form and took her opponent too lightly. The reality just slapped everyone.

Did he take some pills or newly developed foreign stimulant? No. In that case, he would have grabbed the upper hand from the beginning and given Ye Youting no opportunity to corner him to despair.

Thoughts flashed across her mind. She watched Ye Youting walk out of the ring alone towards the women’s locker room and hurried to give her best friend some comfort, her eyes filled with confusion and concern.

Jiang Lan’s passing by brought Wang Ye and Li Xiaoyuan back to reality.

“This makes no sense… ” murmured Wang Ye, puzzled.

If Lou Cheng could exert such terrifying combat strength at bay, how did I defeat him?

But it was not a dream. Ye Youting fought her best so it was not a faked loss. Lou Cheng’s explosive power was so real, even for them professional martial artists. They could feel the avalanche approaching. They could feel the chill.

“I find it nonsense as well.” Li Xiaoyuan didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.

Wang Ye took a deep breath and reflected on it. “What do you think just happened?”

Li Xiaoyuan recalled details of the fight carefully. “Based on all the fictions I’ve read, I believe Lou Cheng broke through himself and aroused some unusual supernatural ability in great adversity.”

“… Possible.” Wang Ye nodded after a while.

Li Xiaoyuan’s lips twitched a little. “I was kidding… ”

“Very possible.” Wang Ye looked serious.

Li Xiaoyuan didn’t know how to respond.

…

All the feelings were fading. Lou Cheng felt everything was so very far away. He couldn’t reach anything. Sounds came from heaven, misty and flashy.

Flames were rolling in his body, boiling his blood and burning his organs, causing terrible discomfort. It was so hard to get through. Thoughts perished like the tide. He was so close to black out.

Am I… Am I to die?

No… I must get up! I need to see a doctor… I can’t die here…

Illusions hovered on his mind, from his happy childhood, life difficulties, his hard-working mother, his mistreated father, to Yan Zheke’s first encouragement…

Abruptly his mobile rang and vibration came from the small cabinet as if someone from afar was worried very much.

Lou Cheng could hear the sound but his body remained under the cold water however hard he struggled as if in a nightmare of possessed by a wicked spirit.

Am I to die here?

…

In the women’s locker room, Ye Youting sat on a bench quietly. Her hair was a mess, falling down from both sides, covering most of her face but the clearly lost eyes. Her body was still shaking.

Jiang Lan felt pain in her heart for what she saw and tried to comfort. “The jerk must have played some tricks. You did nothing wrong.”

Ye Youting raised her head up and her long black hair slid to her back. Her face was pale with a layer of gray. She opened her mouth with confusion.

“I’m not sad… ”

She opened her cuff and rolled up her sleeve, revealing her arm to Jiang Lan. A thin layer of frost was there, slowly volatilizing.

“This… ” Jiang Lan drew in her breath.

…

In the auditorium the odd silence broke apart, replaced by cheers, shouts, and murmurs in a whirl. Some of the spectators were cursing and yelling, accusing Ye Youting and Lou Cheng of a faked match in cooperation with gambling firms.

The childish young girl Yan Xiaoling gazed at the ring blankly, her lips half opened.

The girl with a ponytail gradually recovered from the massive shock and loss and turned to her best friend. She asked irritably, “Why are your mouth opened so widely? I wish I had some bullshit to feed you!”

“Ahh?” Yan Xiaoling instantly shut up her mouth, completely puzzled.

“Sigh… Sister Ye lost… How could Sister Ye lose the match?” muttered the girl with a ponytail sadly.

Yan Xiaoling turned her head away and whispered to herself, “What an intense fight! How brutal! How handsome! Oh no… I’m falling… ”

Her eyes turned to the service desk, planning on asking for that young man’s information and downloading his match videos and relevant news. As a Scoia’tael, it was her instinct to collect, classify and save resources.

Among all the reporters, finally someone came back to sense and became abnormally excited, his pen flowing rapidly over the paper.

“The biggest surprise of the Phoenix Cup Warrior Sage Candidate Challenge Tournament took place today! The mysterious sleeper Lou Cheng continued his miracle!”

…

It felt like a long time when Lou Cheng gradually came back to himself, resuming feelings and senses about his surroundings. He struggled to get back on his feet but he had no strength to support his weight. His forehead and face were still burning hot but the heat within his body quieted down.

“So very close to death… ” He turned off the water and reflected with fear. “Thank goodness I didn’t push my limit during those endurance training… ”

To Lou Cheng, the suffering must have lasted for days. He moved to the cabinet and picked up his mobile. It was only 20 minutes and there were over a dozen missed calls from Yan Zheke. Almost one every minute.

“Out of contact right after the match. Of course she’s worried… ” Lou Cheng felt very joyful, enjoying Yan Zheke’s concern for him. What a wonderful feeling! Discomfort and unease in his body seemed to get better already.

He dried his body with difficulty and put his clothes on before returning Yan Zheke’s call.

“Hello, Cheng?” Anxiety and unease were obvious in her voice.

“It’s me.” Lou Cheng’s voice was unbelievably dry and hoarse.

Yan Zheke sounded relieved. “Thank god. I was worried it might be from the emergency center… You really scared me! Why didn’t you pick up your phone?”

Her voice trembled with emotion and gave a kind of sob. Lou Cheng was touched, his eyes turning red and his heart full of joy.

He answered honestly, “I almost passed out. Still recovering.”

“Phew… I thought I was just making it up… You didn’t reply my message so I watched the video of your match. Your final explosion was too… Terrifying… I was worried something might happen to you. I called and called but no answer. I was so concerned you might black out and be sent to the emergency room or maybe no one noticed you and you were dying in a corner. I almost phoned the host of the tournament!” Yan Zheke finished everything in one breath. Her voice was rough and low, very different from her usual sweet and soft tone.

“I’m OK. Much better now. Don’t worry.” Lou Cheng tried to conform Yan Zheke. In his heart were warmth and happiness.

Yan Zheke heaved a sigh. “That’s good. How do you feel now?”

“I feel sick with a fever, dazed and weak,” answered Lou Cheng frankly.

“Hang up the phone and go to see a doctor!” Yan Zheke shouted fiercely.

Lou Cheng seemed to enjoy being scolded by her. He laughed.

“Yes, sir! Talk later.”

“Hurry up!” Yan Zheke hastened.

After the phone call, Lou Cheng put on his jacket and packed his belongings. He headed towards the medical room, his feet weak and floaty as if walking on clouds, his head dizzy and his face and forehead very hot.

…

“Lou Cheng, a student of Songcheng University. 18 years old, of no rank. Wow! He’s of no rank… ” Yan Xiaoling couldn’t help praising while reading the information.

The girl with a ponytail rolled her eyes. “I’ve told you his background. Apparently you didn’t listen.”

“He-heh… ” Yan Xiaoling smiled in an awkward way without answering.

“What do you get Lou Cheng’s information for?” asked the girl with a ponytail.

Yan Xiaoling nodded her head heavily. “I’m kind of falling for him. How handsome and impressive he was! I’ll make a forum for him. I want to be his very first fan! I’m going to study in Songcheng University!”

“Sounds like you could get in there easily, fool!” The girl with a ponytail joked as she felt better.

…

In the emergency ward, a doctor checked Lou Cheng’s temperature. He stared at Lou Cheng as if he was a monster.

“With a high fever of 40 degrees, you defeated Ye Youting… ”

“So one injection for your fever plus some physical cooling to save your brain… ”

Lou Cheng answered in a very weak voice, “I got the fever from the fight.”

“Ha-hah. No jokes in the emergency room,” laughed the doctor.

“I’m not joking… ” Lou Cheng remained silent.