Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Fireworks will burn out, and sadness will disperse. Excitement and happiness are much the same, and a few minutes later, Lou Cheng, Yan Zheke, and the others headed back to the locker room. Ren Li and Chen Diguo dejectedly went back. Only a few whoops remained of the crowd’s previous cheering and screaming. The workers seized the moment to clean up the stadium, lifting up the green bricks and once again making the arena’s surface clean and smooth.
After a bit of bustling around, the final curtain had been pulled on the second round of the semi-finals: Shanbei versus Guangnan.
Under this enormous pressure, Zhen Huansheng exhibited his greatest level of strength and discovered that he had surpassed his previous decline in energy. Unfortunately, he encountered an opponent called Peng Leyun who had been fighting for a long time, so he was as helpless as before and was defeated. Peng Leyun persisted and, by risking it all for victory, defeated another opponent before voluntarily leaving the arena, setting aside Li Xiaoyuan for Fang Zhirong.
The disparity between the two of their reputations had been quite close. One faible Seventh Pin and one expectant Seventh Pin. In the intense fight, Fang Zhirong leaned on his present strength to oppose the opposition’s traditional ways. By hedging his bets and storing his strength, he guaranteed the end of the match and found his way to victory.
This was the third time in three years that Shanbei had charged into the National University Martial Arts Competitions finals match. Further, they had twice before managed to snag the championship!
Sometimes it wasn’t that you weren’t strong or not trying hard enough, it simply was that your opponent was stronger than you and was also trying hard!
In this competition, there were some special individuals amongst the crowd that didn’t seem as excited as the others and didn’t throw themselves into it like everyone else. Examining the fight closely were observers of the Haiyuan Club. They were considering whether Li Xiaoyuan and Fang Zhirong were worth bringing into the fold and the prices they were willing to pay.
Peng Leyun, Ren Li, Lou Cheng, Lin Que, Ann Chaoyang, and Zhen Huansheng had already been claimed, and at the moment, there were very few members that had the power of Li Xiaoyuan and Fang Zhirong who could attract attention!
After the splendid battle, the observers felt they had seen everything they needed to see and left the martial arts arena of the Capital City thoughtfully.
In the live broadcast, the host, Liu Chang, was doing a “wrap-up speech”.
“The two rounds of the semi-finals really exceeded the normal level of excitement, just splendid. Even after looking forward to this for so long, it didn’t in the least disappoint anyone, particularly the match between Songcheng University and Capital. Worries, complications, unexpected occurrences, small probabilities and all sorts of other elements; they were all there. This is definitely one for the University Martial Arts history books. We’d like to congratulate Peng Leyun, Lou Cheng, Lin Que, and the others. Congratulations to them for entering the finals. They’ve all come from the same division, and they’ll once again meet in the finale.
“Also, I’d like to express my blessings and thanks to Chen Diguo, Ann Chaoyang, Zhen Huansheng, and their other classmates who are on the verge of leaving our University Martial Arts circle. Thank you to them for their four years of devotion towards this brilliant arena, and best wishes to them. May their new journeys in life only get better and better.
“I’ve spoken this long, I’m starting to repeat myself. Let’s look forward to two days from now, where the winner amongst the two strongest teams in the University Martial Arts Club will be decided. Let’s see who will be able to grasp the highest honor!
“The evening of April 25th, same time, old friends. See you there!”
After he finished speaking, the broadcast switched to the currently dilapidated arena with the crisp sounds of clapping in the background, and two lines of text popped up.
“April 25th at 7:40 PM, the National University Martial Arts Competition Final Match:”
“Shanbei University Martial Arts Club VS Songcheng University Martial Arts Club!”
One year of effort comes to a close!
...
On the bus back to the hotel, Lou Cheng and the others still didn’t feel like they’d entered the finals. They were still soaking in the happiness of their narrow victory at the Capital.
Yes, narrow victory! If Yan Zheke had been forced to use her secret moves too early, then the previously prepared Jiang Kongchan absolutely would not have taken the bait that easily and she’d have trapped her in a “consecutive moves” trap. There would have been more than a 70% chance that she’d have won!
If there is certain victory against a faible fighter, then happiness won’t last for long because it’s regarded as inevitable. However, if you go through hell, rack your brain, and use every ounce of your strength to overcome a strong opponent, then the excitement and happiness afterwards will remain for quite some time, to the point where a few days, dozen days, even a few hundred days afterwards, you’ll occasionally recall the event with a certain fondness.
Yan Zheke currently resided in this state. She was obviously excited, and if it wasn’t for Geezer Shi forbidding celebrations and staying up all night in order for them to keep their minds on the finals, she’d surely go out and celebrate with everyone.
Watching his girlfriend turn into a little “chatterbox”, Lou Cheng chuckled and said quietly,
“Should we wait a while and sneak out to have a little date, eat some food?”
He actually would rather go back to the hotel and move on to a massage and whisper sweet nothings to one another, but seeing how happy little Ke was, it was obvious that she was hoping to do other activities to allow her soaring spirits from the previous competition to continue floating high for a while longer.
“That’s not good... ” Yan Zheke stared out of the bus window at the brightly lit streets.
Although she said this, her eyes were filled with eagerness.
Sigh... don’t blame me, it’s that Cheng is always seducing me to do bad things!
“What are you scared of? My master is actually a big softie at heart. As long as it’s not everybody going out, he’ll surely look in the other direction.” Lou Cheng snickered, his mouth moving close to the girls ear out of fear that behind them, Shi Jianguo would hear them talking.
Yan Zheke’s ears were extremely sensitive, and just the slight caress of air caused them to become a tender pink, which was very attractive.
She leaned her head, turned her eyes, and with an embarrassed face said,
“Since you’ve invited me so earnestly, then I’ll have to think about where we should go and what we should eat.”
While she was talking, the bus stopped at the entrance of the hotel, and everyone got off the bus in succession. Geezer Shi was the first to enter the lobby and headed towards the elevator, seeming to be in a hurry.
Damn, he’d been so excited that he’d drunk all the alcohol he’d brought with him!
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Yan Zheke saw that there were a couple of shared bikes parked by the road. Her heart jumped, and she blurted out a proposal.
“Cheng, should we take a bicycle and ride it to the capital? We’ve been here for so long but still haven’t gone out for a stroll.”
Seeing the brightness in her eyes, he couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Lou Cheng was about to respond, but Yan Zheke had already furrowed her brow and changed her mind, “No, you’re in the midst the Plague Sect, so your body still has a void. We can’t ride this kind of bicycle... ”
She actually wasn’t very tired. Due to the speed of her victory, she hadn’t used up much energy. All she’d used was the Army Formula along with Meteor Force, and that had been her full set of moves and evasions. Therefore, she still had energy to spare and wasn’t the least bit exhausted.
“It’s fine, I recuperated earlier and got rid of all the negative influences before. Actually, back then, Ren Li and I hadn’t reached our limits.” Lou Cheng voluntarily consoled.
His own spirit still hadn’t been used up, and as for his strength, he had the Jindan to help replenish it, so he had even less of a problem. At the moment, the worst that could be said was that he felt he felt like he was floating slightly, like his roots weren’t too stable.
“No, no!” Yan Zheke shook her head with concern and pursed her lips. She was deep in thought, trying to come up with a method that would be the best of both worlds.
Suddenly, her dimples appeared as she smiled and said sweetly, “How about this: I’ll ride the bicycle and escort you to the Capital? Before, you carried me on your back, so this time allow me!”
“Uh... ” Lou Cheng went blank for a moment, and then with great interest replied, “Alright!”
He wasn’t worried that Ke wouldn’t have the strength to carry his greater body weight. She had practiced the Swordsman Formula and her Qi and Blood was vigorous. She was at a peak Professional Ninth Pin level. He’d wait for her to get tired, then he could take over, but first he’d let her fulfill her strange fantasy!
“Wow, decided so quickly.” Yan Zheke raised her chin adorably.
However, her tone lowered, and she again furrowed her brow.
“A shared bike doesn’t have a back seat... ”
How could I carry someone with this? There is only a small frame in the front for storing things, so how could I find a place to put a Cheng this large?
“This is definitely a problem...” the thought of Lou Cheng passed through her mind as she pondered on how to find a solution.
In this moment, Classmate Little Ming happened to come over and said slyly,
“Do the two of you need a bike with a back seat?”
“You heard?” Lou Cheng blurted out in response. “Wait, wait, shouldn’t you have already gone into the hotel?”
The same as the others!
“I’m waiting for Fang Yuan.” Cai Zongming said with a sly expression, “You both were talking so loudly, I heard it from over five meters away. You need to consider our friendship and banter, of course I had to come over and offer assistance!”
Lou Cheng got his meaning. Pleasantly surprised, he asked, “You’ve got a solution?”
“Of course. My good friend Fang Yuan’s school is quite far from here, so every time she comes here, she rides a bike, and it has a back seat.” Cai Zongming smiled. “Tell me, how should you thank me?”
“I won’t be mean to you for three days?” Lou Cheng tentatively replied.
“You ass, how is this thanking me? How about this: later on, you teach me the Nine Words Formula movements and pronunciation. It’s not that you’ll be giving private lessons, rather it’s just that you’ll be correcting my form that I’ve studied on my own,” Classmate Little Ming said shamelessly.
“If it’s merely the movements and the pronunciation, then there’s no definite visualization, and there’s no point!” Lou Cheng responded with bewilderment.
“I’ve got the wits of our ancient ancestors.” Cai Zongming replied, immensely proud of himself.
Lou Cheng suddenly realized something and laughed. “Have you heard of the story about the wolf coming?”
“There’s no need for you to worry.” Cai Zongming laughed.
After it’d been settled, he headed outside to meet Fang Yuan. Yan Zheke pursed her lips and, while keeping back a smile, said, “Cheng, I’m suddenly starting to look forward to your banter.”
“Mmm, when you’re this skilled, you’ll accidently stumble upon all sorts of gems. If you try too hard, you won’t be able to come up with anything nearly as good.” Lou Cheng pretended to answer with utter seriousness, once again teasing her.
Not even a few minutes later, Fang Yuan came in wearing dark clothing to let them borrow the bicycle.
After a short chat, the two of them pushed the bike to the curb. Yan Zheke flipped her wrist to look at her watch.
“We don’t have too much time, we’ll just ride to a place that’s close.”
“Okay! Whatever Coach Yan says, we do! Wherever we ride, that’s where we go!” Lou Cheng snickered.
Yan Zheke rolled her eyes at him and arranged the frame. She patted the back seat, full of smiles.
“Come on, Sister’s going to take you out to play.”
“Feels like you’re kidnapping me... ” Lou Cheng laughed slightly as he sat down on the seat and grasped towards the support frame.
“Let’s go!” Yan Zheke said excitedly, her tone rising.
Her feet pressed down on the pedals as she carried Lou Cheng, shakily riding towards the other side of the road.
After waiting for her riding to become steadier, Lou Cheng lifted up both of his hands and put them around the front of her soft and slim waist. At the same time, he brought his upper body closer, breathing in the scent of her perfume.
It was the first time that Yan Zheke had escorted someone and the first time that she’d been held this way. Her body stiffened for a moment and the bikes trajectory wobbled slightly.
“Careful, careful!” Lou Cheng quickly adjusted his muscles and center of balance to help them become steady.
“Don’t wander off with your hands!” Yan Zheke protested playfully.
“My hands aren’t moving... ”
“Keep them there, they’re not allowed to wander off!”
...
Their voices gradually got farther away, and their two figures remained on the roadside as the bike once again became steady. In this moment, the sky was profoundly dark and the lights all around them were like rainbows.