Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Pam pam pam. With just his left hand alone, Lou Cheng switched between abrupt explosive force and Fillip repeatedly to create fire non-stop and exhaust the hot current inside his body.
A full five minutes later, he finally sensed the depletion of the fiery hot current that had merged into the seams of his body. The Jindan beneath his stomach started to expand and contract, circulating slowly and splitting out traces of strength.
This energy was balanced between ice and fire. It swiftly soothed Lou Cheng’s fatigue, but it did nothing to replenish the fiery current.
Lou Cheng understood very well that he had reached a critical point. While holding back his body’s subconscious writhing and strange exhaustion, he continued to urge his supernatural ability and shook his left arm once more. He punched forwards and used abrupt explosive force.
Pam!
There was a sudden hum in his brain mixed with the rapid and robust noise, and he automatically entered the bizarre state of inward vision. The Jindan that looked like a miniature starry sky was reflected into his vision.
There was a swoosh sound, and Lou Cheng saw a ‘star’ flying off the surface of the ‘starry sky’ and shaking out a small ball of ‘blaze.’ Then, he felt a slight burn in his palm, and his eyes were filled with fiery light. Scarlet color burned on top of the lake’s surface.
The scarlet blaze struggled for a while before finally extinguishing.
Unlike the time he was fighting against Ye Youting, he was venting the energy, split away from the Jindan by expression of his supernatural ability. He was not punching and attacking an enemy with internal force through visualization. Therefore, the Jindan’s performance this time was a little hyperbolic.
When the burning blaze dissipated, the surface of the lake returned to normal once more. There were only a few dried branches and wilted leaves floating on the lake. Meanwhile, the Jindan abruptly contracted inside Lou Cheng’s body and tossed out another ice crystal to achieve balance.
The ice crystal swiftly expanded into a cold current that rampaged through out his blood vessels and nerves, flowing through every corner of Lou Cheng’s body.
During this instant, Lou Cheng felt as if he had been fully frozen and turned into an ice sculpture. Even his heartbeat had slowed down.
“Holy sh*t, the rebound effect is as scary as ever...” he thought sluggishly.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he suddenly heard the thumping sound of his heartbeat, seemingly bidding the freezing ice goodbye like the thunderclap that woke up spring hibernation. It caused his frozen mind to recover to normality slowly.
Then, Lou Cheng felt his heart beating strongly as it gushed out streams of blood filled with vigorous life energy, circulating them throughout his entire body and putting an end to the cold. Meanwhile, the marrow of his bones was working full force in cooperation throughout this process as well.
In less than a few dozens of seconds, Lou Cheng had completely escaped his frozen state and sensed the advantages of having a strong physical body. Moreover, he could clearly sense that his body constitution had vaguely achieved a certain level of improvement after resisting and merging with the ‘frost.’
Now that he thought about it, he had probably undergone a similar change when he awakened his Power of Blaze. However, he had overlooked this because he succumbed to high fever and poor health.
No wonder my physical body has become stronger beyond my expectations!
Mm, this is very normal. It’d be strange if my body didn’t improve after adapting to the burning ‘flowing fire’!
Lou Cheng’s attention shifted, and he felt that his body was still weakened. A chill poured continuously out of his bones and caused him to shake non-stop. The thought of wrapping himself in a thick blanket was the only thing in his mind now.
This time, the experience only reminded him of the time he got sick when he was young rather than the time he felt like he was dying.
He took out the down jacket he prepared earlier and began examining himself to see if he had awakened the Power of Frost, or encountered the tragedy that was the cancellation of power between his Frost and Blaze.
While examining, he suddenly let out a surprised but joyful exclamation.
The cold current and hot current mingled with each other and merged into the seams of his body, forming a miraculous balance.
Lou Cheng inhaled and abruptly punched out his left arm. He activated abrupt explosive force once more and urged the Frost’s cold current at the same time.
Pam!
No thin ice could be seen on the surface of his fist, and no snowflakes could be seen flying around either.
Lou Cheng fell into deep thought rather than disappointment. After a moment of pondering, he abruptly sent his palm flying towards the closest, giant rock.
Pam! His palm pressed against the giant rock, and he slowly raised his hand away to reveal a sheen of ice cold frost in the shape of his left hand!
Lou Cheng nodded thoughtfully as he watched the white frost swiftly dissolving. He had roughly figured out how to use the Power of Frost.
Right now, his supernatural ability wasn’t strong enough to sustain external release just yet, but he could merge it into his own strength and cause his every strike to be covered in ice. He did not need an extra ‘ignition’ movement to trigger it.
Different supernatural abilities have different characteristics.
On its own, a frost like this wouldn’t be too useful in actual combat. However, Lou Cheng believed that it would display a pleasant amount of effects once it was mixed with a similar force of the Ice Sect.
“Phew. Once my arm recovers next week, I’ll report to master and tell him that I’ve awakened the Power of Frost. Hehe, I’ll like to see his reaction and what plans he has for me...” Lou Cheng tightened the down jacket around him, carried his sack, shivered and walked towards the cafeteria.
He was in desperate need of a glass of hot milk right now.
Right now, Lou Cheng didn’t dare to attempt his second wave of awakening just yet. This was because the awakening thus far had only involved the surface of the Jindan. If he lost control again, then the interior of the Jindan might very well become involved. The might and rebound of the Jindan would be far stronger than it was now. It would be better if he waited until his physical body had reached a certain limit, and that his level of martial arts had stepped into Danqi State before making a decision.
Inside the cafeteria, Lou Cheng held a tray of porridge, steamed bun, egg and milk before walking to the table Yan Zheke and he normally ate together.
There was a pillar at the back of the table, and it created a relatively quiet and secluded environment.
He lay down his tray, picked up his milk and took a gulp right away. He could feel the warm stream flowing down his throat, comforting his stomach, and reducing the cold clinging to his body.
“How comfortable...” Lou Cheng praised in satisfaction before bringing up and having some of his porridge.
It was at this moment he caught Yan Zheke walking towards him while holding a tray from the corner of his eyes. There were soy milk, deep-fried dough sticks and wheat steamed bun on the tray. The girl’s peering figure looked just like a part of the cafeteria scenery.
“Eh? Cheng, are you done with today’s training already?” Yan Zheke was extremely surprised to find a boyfriend at this time. Then, she immediately discovered that Lou Cheng didn’t look well and hastily asked with concern and anxiety, “Are you sick?”
“No, I’m not sick.” Lou Cheng’s shiver had subsided quite a bit, and he laughed mischievously and said, “Let me tell you a secret.”
He was especially warmed by Yan Zheke choosing the same table as he did at the same time.
It wasn’t just fate that enabled them to encounter each other in this canteen amidst an unending flow of students!
Yan Zheke put down her tray and sat beside Lou Cheng. She examined him doubtfully and asked, “What secret? You’re looking very pale. Why don’t I accompany you to the doctor?”
Lou Cheng moved beside her ears, lowered his voice and said, “I was trying to train my supernatural ability this morning, and I gave it a try beside the lake. Just when I was about to hit my limit, I suddenly awakened a supernatural ability related to Frost. The reason my face looks pale is because of the rebound effect, but it’s much less worse than it was before, so it’s not a big problem.”
He could see that the girl’s ears were starting to blush red under the harassment of his breathing. It looked both translucent and cute.
“You’ve awakened a supernatural ability again?” Yan Zheke’s pink lips were parted in half to reveal a few of her pearly teeth. Her distinct black and white eyes were filled with astonishment and bewilderment, painting her in a cute and dumbfounded light.
“I don’t know why it happened either... maybe it’s because it obeyed the path of balance between fire and ice. It’s unlikely that another awakening will happen in the future...” Lou Cheng explained a bit.
To be honest, he felt a little guilty every time he lied to the girl. However, the Jindan was directly connected to his life. Telling her this would only add pressure to her and make her nervous.
I hope that I can digest the Jindan soon and make this power mine for real as soon as possible. Then I wouldn’t feel guilty anymore.
Yan Zheke had witnessed too many ‘miracles’ from her boyfriend, which was why she swiftly recovered from the shock. She blurted out and said, “Why did you go train your supernatural ability all of a sudden? Even if you do want to train it, you should at least train in front of Coach Shi. If the rebound effect was too severe, then there would at least be someone around to help you! If anything happens to you, I, I...”
While speaking, her eyes suddenly turned red. There seemed to be a sparkle on the surface of her eyes.
Lou Chen bit the bottom of his lips softly and extended his hands to hold the girl’s soft hands. “I won’t do it next time. I’ll cherish myself greatly and think things over better!”
He had felt the burden of responsibility in that instant. His life no longer just belonged to himself and his relatives...
Yan Zheke inhaled and suddenly swung his hands away. She humphed and said, “Are you trying to freeze me? Your hands are so cold!”
“It’s the remainder effects of the Power of Frost. I can help you remove some heat during summer.” Lou Cheng smiled flatteringly.
Yan Zheke was relaxed and asked curiously with a slight move of her eyebrows, “You don’t need to ‘ignite’ anymore?”
“It’s unnecessary for the Power of Frost. If I wish someplace to be cold, then it’ll be cold.” Lou Cheng said in a somewhat boastful manner.
Yan Zheke pushed over her fresh and hot soy milk and smiled through pursed lips. “Make it cooler then. It’s too hot, I can’t really drink it!”
“Alright~” Lou Cheng grasped the cup containing the soymilk gently and began circulating a weak cold current.
The insides of his body seemed to have undergone a change, and it was continuously producing ‘Frost’ while maintaining a miraculous balance with ‘Blaze.’
A short while later, Lou Cheng let out a sigh of relief and removed his hand. A layer of frost appeared on the surface of the soy milk cup, but it immediately disappeared.
“The temperature should be fine now...” He touched the cup, passed it to Yan Zheke and awaited her review.
Tan Zheke took a sip and felt her eyebrows soothed. She nodded and smiled. “This is just nice. Your new supernatural ability is pretty useful~!”
Lou Cheng did not think that his supernatural ability would first be applied to such a task, but the feeling of accomplishment wasn’t diminished in the least. He had managed to make the girl happy at least!
“As long as you like it.” He beamed and said, “Oh right, have you finished watching the video file Coach Shi sent yesterday?”
It was the information on weekend’s preliminaries opponent.
“I’ve finished watching it. What about you?” When the matter was brought up, Yan Zheke immediately grew greatly interested. She was the first substitute in the line up, and she had a chance to go up the stage.
Although Lou Cheng’s trembling had stopped, he was still feeling a little weak. He smiled faintly and said, “Of course I’ve finished watching them. I’ve also found out something else.”
Although he couldn’t go on stage, he had put in even more effort than he would have if he had gone on stage himself because it involved Yan Zheke!
“What is it?” Yan Zheke asked curiously.
Lou Cheng laughed mischievously and said, “While ‘Dream Squad’ looks like an amateur rank team, their contestants are all the second and third generations of martial families. They have a high-ranked Dan Stage senior in the family, who is among the top fighters of Songcheng’s martial arts circle.”
Yan Zheke didn’t react in fear or nervousness towards the high-ranked Dan Stage fighter. Instead, she asked with great interest, “And?”
She drank a sip of soy milk and bit a chunk of the deep-fried dough sticks. She looked like a kid staring at Lou Cheng and listening to a story.
“You may not believe this, but the reason they formed the Dream Squad and participated in the preliminaries was due to a case of jealous lovers. Jiang Dingyi and Feng Shaokun both liked the childhood sweet who grew up with them, Qian Ruoyu and argued with each other so much that they almost had a fall out. Meanwhile, Qian Ruoyu’s attitude was extremely ambiguous, and she never declared her position even now. In the end, she dragged them both, summoned her friends and formed the squad and said that it was to see who could perform better in the preliminaries.” Lou Cheng explained the matter.
Yan Zheke nearly spat out her soy milk, and she had to cover her mouth with her hand for a while before finally saying, “Who picks their boyfriend like this? She sounds like a little girl...”
“She’s half a year older than you. You’re the little girl here.” Lou Cheng chuckled.
“Humph, maturity is decided by mental age, okay!” Yan Zheke wrinkled her nose and asked in puzzlement, “How did you know about this?”
“We have a local in our dormitory who is rather well informed. I had purposely asked him about this.” Lou Cheng reported honestly.
He had done his homework for ‘Coach Yan’s’ sake.
Yan Zheke’s eyes turned into curves, and soft dimples appeared on her face. She looked sideways and said, “I guess you haven’t forgotten your coach after all!”
Lou Cheng finished his steamed bun really quickly, drank his milk and continued, “The martial arts passed down in Qian Ruoyu’s family originated from tai chi. In this respect, they’re a little similar to your grandfather’s family. Jiang Dingyi’s grandfather is famous for his blade art, but because weapons aren’t allowed in challenge tournaments unless the fighter had reached high-ranked Dan Stage, he created a martial arts on his own that applies blade art to his palm. Feng Shaokun is well versed in Tiger and Crane Double Form and Modern Blast Punch...”
“I’ve watched the video and I believe that I can imitate their forms a little. I’ll brief Coach Shi about this later so that I’ll act as your sparring partner during the last half an hour of every day’s special training. I’ll get you used to their fighting style.”
Yan Zheke puffed her cheeks and looked to the side with a faint blush on her face.
“Sure...”
She no longer rejected sparring with Lou Cheng during their daily special training.
While the duo were speaking to each other and eating breakfast, their free time gradually approached its end. Suddenly, Yan Zheke looked at the cafeteria’s big clock and exclaimed.
“It’s almost eight. We’re about to be late!”
“Yeah...” Lou Cheng followed her gaze and noticed that it was already 7:54 p.m.
Yan Zheke flew into a rage out of embarrassment and pinched him softly.
“It’s all because of you. I normally won’t be late!”
Lou Cheng let out a mischievous laugh and only felt sweetness rather than pain. He pulled her arm and said, “Quickly, we can still make it!”
The duo hastily left and ran towards the martial arts club. They finally arrived with only several dozens of seconds to spare.
Yan Zheke panted and cast Lou Cheng a glance. She happened to meet Lou Cheng’s gaze and immediately felt both warmth and happiness.
She felt so happy even if they were just doing something as trivial as this together.
...
For the next few days, Lou Cheng lived his days in order of his working routine, with the added work of sparring with Yan Zheke. He had not heard from Geezer Shi about Longhu Immortal Den any longer, but he didn’t dare to inquire recklessly about it either.
In the blink of an eye, Saturday had arrived. Songcheng University Martial Arts Club would be facing ‘Dream Squad’ at 3 p.m. at their home field.
Since they were only training for actual combat, and they had lost all of their professional rank leading players, Songcheng University Propaganda Department did not do any promotion at all for this competition or informed the teachers and students of the university. The number of audiences was predicted to be very low.
Lou Cheng took a short nap and was just about to head outside Yan Zheke’s dormitory and accompany her to the martial arts arena. Suddenly, he received a call from Geezer Shi.
“Brat, your master has something to do last minute and won’t be able to attend this afternoon.” Geezer Shi said absentmindedly, “You will be the coach today.”
“Ah, I’m going to be the coach?” Lou Cheng was surprised.
Geezer Shi chuckled and said, “For this kind of competition, you can chain a dog as your coach and still participate. What are you afraid of? Alright, I’m hanging up, use your discretion and arrange a suitable entry order.”
“Master, please don’t be so irresponsible!” Lou Cheng was just about to say this when he heard the beeping tone from the other side of the phone.
“What the hell, how did a wounded person like me suddenly become the coach?” In a daze, he suddenly remembered something:
Could the reason that master didn’t show up last minute be that his friend has found the abode of Longhu Immortal and invited him as a helper?