Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
While lying on the bed, Yan Xiaoling busily switched between the forum and Weibo. She wasn’t willing to see any negative news but also wouldn’t miss out on any optimistic predictions. She kept refreshing until she saw the post by Lou Cheng.
She was shocked instantly and her eyes blurred suddenly. The more she rubbed them, the harder she found it to see clearly.
How can this be? How can this be...
Isn’t he going all out for the physical invulnerability stage? Isn’t he going to get the titles?
After getting distracted for a moment, Yan Xiaoling raised her handphone up. She was crying as she typed below Lou Cheng’s post,
“We will wait for you!”
Her reply wasn’t fast and there were many other messages above hers relating to how they weren’t willing to believe and how they couldn’t say goodbye to Lou Cheng.
“No! You will definitely get better!”
“You are a Heavenly son of the era. There isn’t an obstacle that you can’t overcome!”
“In glory times, we get wild together. In difficult times, we will also take it with you!”
“I would pray for you!”
“We must definitely meet again! Really!”
...
In Longhu Club where the members were going to have their annual holidays, the members of the “reserve team” all had their heads down looking at their phone. They were clearly shocked and disappointed.
After a period of silence, Tu Zheng sighed,
“What a shame...”
...
At this point in time, Lou Cheng’s phone had already been bombarded with all kinds of messages. Everyone had the chemistry to not call him directly but used a more indirect method.
Cai Zongming said,
“I mean it! We can consider forming a comical dialogue duo on martial arts. Alright, this is really what I mean. Based on my fortune telling ability, this isn’t the end of you. You will definitely find a way out and recover! Believe in the intuition of a man!”
Lin Que said,
“I’m almost at the inhuman stage. Don’t let me catch up with you.”
Peng Leyun said,
“What’s really the problem? My Shangqing Sect is a big sect that has a history of over a thousand years. Disregarding others, we have all kinds of strange things. Do you want to come over and give it a try?”
Ren Li said,
“There’s nothing that can’t be overcome! You can consider heading to the war-torn zones to seek life in death!”
Ann Chaoyang said,
“There’s always a way out! Moreover, When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a great man, it always first frustrates his spirit and will, exhausts his muscles and bones, exposes him to starvation and poverty, harasses him by troubles and setbacks so as to stimulate his spirit, toughen his nature and enhance his abilities!”
Jiang Fei said,
“Which great man in history hasn’t experienced any setbacks!”
Qin Rui said,
“You have been forging miracles. I believe you can do the same in the future.”
Tao Xiaofei said,
“Brother Lou, I’m just a middle school student and can’t quote any great words. All I want to say is that you will definitely take flight again!”
Auman said,
“Mr. Lou, you are the most talented martial artist I have seen. You will definitely get through this!”
...
Lou Cheng closed his eyes and heard the incessant vibrations of his phone. After a long period of time, he picked it up reluctantly and faced his scar directly.
With regard to Peng Leyun’s suggestion, he thought about it and made his reply. He didn’t talk about the causes and effects but still described the existence of Jindan and the core of the problem.
What if Shangqing Sect really has a solution?
Lou Cheng replied individually to some and in a group to others. Just as he was chatting with Yan Zheke over video conferencing, his mood suddenly got heavy once again. From outside his door, he could hear someone panting heavily and the turning of the key.
Qi Fang and Lou Zhisheng rushed in while panting heavily. After seeing that Lou Cheng looked alright, they were able to feel a little relief.
“Cheng, it’s alright! Take your time and rest well. You don’t have to rush!” Qi Fang consoled him.
At this moment, she finally understood what those strange signs, which she had not thought much about, really represented.
Lou Zhisheng asked with a heavy tone,
“What really happened?”
Lou Cheng did not intend to hide from them any further and answered honestly,
“The injuries I had left sequela. My body would stiffen from time to time but it doesn’t really affect my day-to-day activities. It is just that I might not be able to go for ring fights in the future.”
Seeing the sorrowful and painful expressions of his parents, he quickly added with a smile, “Dad, mom, that’s fine too. I have already earned several million yuan. Moreover, this wouldn’t affect my ability to teach martial arts to others. There would definitely be a path I can take in the future. Moreover, who can really be certain that I can’t recover from this!”
“That’s right!” Qi Fang quickly seconded. Suddenly, she recalled something. Lowering her voice instinctively, she asked, “Do Zheke and her family know about this?”
“She knows about it some time ago and has been very supportive of me. Her family did not have other thoughts about it as long as we can stay together happily.” Lou Cheng described it in a simple manner to his parents.
Lou Zhisheng heaved a long sigh,
“What a good girl!”
As Lou Cheng seemed fine and was just a little gloomy, the old couple was able to set aside the majority of their worries.
The next day afternoon, Lou Cheng returned from the People’s Park at Sanli Pavillion. He was sweating profusely while running. For every forty-eight to fifty-three steps, he would experience one relapse.
While passing by the neighbourhood where he used to live in, he suddenly heard someone talking about him.
“Did you hear about it? Cheng from Old Lou’s family got into trouble!”
“You know about it too? Some said that he was beaten by others and had sequela. When it happens, it is just like having a seizure!”
“Seizure? That’s really awful. How is he going to live in the future!”
“Sigh. Old Lou and Qi Fang have a really tough life. After working and getting tired for almost their entire life, and just when their son is doing well and they could enjoy themselves soon, something like this has to happen......
“Cheng, Cheng...”
Lou Cheng smiled faintly, nodded his head and greeted, “Good afternoon Aunt Zhu and Aunt Lee...”
He entertained them for a while without showing any change in emotions before passing by them and continue running. In this process, he would “stop” from time to time. However, he wasn’t trying to hide, leaving the group of neighbours heaving sighs and feeling bad for him.
Lou Cheng had long expected there would be people talking about him behind his back. This was something that he couldn’t stop. The only thing he could feel great about was that he had bought the new house earlier and moved into a foreign neighbourhood. Nobody knew about each other and this spared his parents from hearing about these depressing comments.
Due to the similar atmosphere around the neighbourhood and the hidden pain brought by the care and concern shown by his relatives in this period, Lou Zhisheng and Qi Fang were completely supportive of their son heading to America for the New Year.
The plane took flight and soared into the blue skies. Lou Cheng looked out of the window and was clearly distracted.
...
After the New Year and early in February, Lou Cheng went to Connecticut’s University Martial Arts Club.
Lou Cheng placed his hands behind his back and walked around while looking at George and the rest sitting cross-legged. From time to time, he would stop and place his hands on their shoulders to “listen” to their progress and assessed if everything was fine.
He had the intention to depend on the combination of Cultivation and Martial Arts to resolve the problems of his sequela. However, he couldn’t find a direction at that instance and couldn’t rely on his own body for such a bold attempt. Therefore, he was hoping to get inspirations from these students, who were doing Cultivation from scratch, to find a shortcut. The realm he had attained was already too high and there was no way for him to return and start from scratch.
After some time, Lou Cheng nodded his head and patted on them to signal the end of today’s meditation. Following this, they would be having martial arts practice.
In this aspect, George, Colleen and Wildon were already qualified to be half the coach. He did not have to worry too much about it.
When the lesson ended, he examined the body of his students with his “listening skills” once again. Up till now, he still had not discovered anything that would benefit him.
“My lesson had ended!” Yan Zheke messaged him.
“Lou Cheng gathered his thoughts and replied, “I’m coming to fetch you immediately!”
George and Wildon knew a little about what happened to Lou Cheng but couldn’t be sure. Seeing that their coach was behaving as per normal, they did not go to find out more.
After leaving the martial arts club, Lou Cheng walked towards the teaching block. Just as he took a few steps, a chilling sensation welled up and his left leg instantly lost all senses, leaving him frozen on the spot.
He forcefully pulled his groin area, lifted his leg and move ahead while staggering. He was having an unusually hard time just trying to walk.
Two steps later, he suddenly stopped. Tensing his facial muscles, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, he swung out his hands to the empty space beside him ruthlessly.
Yan Zheke was standing in the shade of the corridor and saw this scene from afar. Her eyes were filled with sorrows.
After several seconds and seeing that Lou Cheng had stabilized, he heaved a sigh of relief. Revealing a radiant and beautiful smile, she walked quickly towards him.
Seeing his little fairy girl, Lou Cheng immediately smiled. He extended his hand gently and held her hand.
“Let’s go, let me treat you to steamboat today!” Yan Zheke swung her other hand slightly.
After I make up for my congenital deficiencies, I’ll take the path of Martial Arts and Cultivation to serve as a reference for you!
“Sure.,” Lou Cheng smiled and replied.
...
Time passed quickly and in a blink of an eye, it was already the end of February. The weather was also getting warmer.
After attempting the solution of Shangqing Sect and finding it ineffective, Lou Cheng continued his practice on the lawn.
Bam! Bam! He moved his right fist constantly and with every punch, there was a white fog and chilling frost surround his fist.
Just as he was about to swing out his third punch, he contracted his breathing and blood flow with great precision using his “All Seeing God” realm. At the same time, he suppressed the chilling sensation that was welling up, but had not taken effect, together with his strength to a place below his belly.
Bam!
His right fist felt like it no longer belonged to him and have turned into an “ice whip”. Wriggling his shoulders, he swung it ruthlessly. Although the posture was awkward, the might wasn’t weak at all!
Bam! Bam! Lou Cheng swung his left consecutively with each punch covering with a layer of scorching hot flame “gloves”.
Following which, he attempted a Force Concentration again. However, he was a beat slower this time and the “Scorching Heat” stimulated his mind and disrupted his attempt to retract his breathing and blood flow.
After pausing for a while and enduring the pain, Lou Cheng started again and wasn’t discouraged.
After two hours, his training finally stopped and caught the towel Yan Zheke had thrown down from the second storey.
“I feel that your approach is pretty good. When you can completely master it and not make any errors, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to have a short ring fight.” Yan Zheke complimented without any reserve.
“That’s how I feel too.” Lou Cheng smiled and replied as he used the towel to wipe off his perspiration before walking into the house.
After showering and changing his clothes, he lied on the bed while enjoying the impromptu massage session by Yan Zheke. He casually picked up his phone, refreshed the newsfeed and saw a piece of popular news.
“Striking again after “Battle of the Kings”, Peng Leyun is already close to the physical invulnerability stage and has the chance to achieve it within the year!”
“Should he focus on practicing behind closed doors or going through trials in the war-torn zones?”
...
Lou Cheng was shocked for a moment and quickly opened the APP. Tapping into the conversation chat with Peng Leyun, he entered “Congratulations”.
After several seconds of silence, he deleted the word and exited.
“Why didn’t you send it?” Yan Zheke saw it from the side of her vision and casually asked.
“He hasn’t broken through yet and it’s too early to congratulate him.”
“Yeah.” Yan Zheke didn’t ask any further and instead changed to a different conversation topic.
In the middle of the night, the girl was sleeping soundly. As she flipped her body groggily, she habitually glanced to the side.
This glance instantly woke her up. This was because she saw Lou Cheng was staring emotionally at the ceiling. She didn’t know what he was thinking and Lou Cheng remained in this position without moving for a long time.
Biting her lips, Yan Zheke kept everything in and pretended to be soundly asleep. She leaned over and gently grabbed onto Lou Cheng’s arms. She curled her body and moved her face closer as though she wanted to fill the gap in Lou Cheng’s heart.
Lou Cheng closed his eyes gradually, lifted his head slightly and kissed lightly on the forehead of his little fairy girl.
...
The next night, Yan Zheke had her shower and changed into her pyjamas before walking into the room.
In the bedroom, Lou Cheng had his side facing the door while looking at the darkness outside the window. He was unusually focused.
“Cheng?” Yan Zheke sounded out softly.
Lou Cheng turned his head around, took a deep look at little fairy girl, smiled and asked,
“Ke, didn’t you say that you have a week of spring holiday in March? Let’s go see the aurora lights together? We have talked about this a long time ago and hasn’t got the time to go for it.
In Yan Zheke’s eyes, the current Lou Cheng seemed to have returned to the time before he got injured. He was passionate and wasn’t gloomy at all.
Hiding away her strong sense of doubts and worries, she nodded her head and said,
“Alright!”