Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
They ate, drank, and talked about the past until after nine at night, when the group of ex-Songcheng University Martial Arts Club members followed the path back to their hotel. Along the way, Li Mao, Sun Jian, and the others, sang drunkenly at the top of their lungs. They were unexplainably excited as they smiled silly smiles and grabbed onto each other while continuing on.
“This drunken behavior...” Lin Hua kicked Sun Jian’s calf, embarrassed.
Cai Zongming had also had a lot of alcohol. He looked back with a smile and noticed that the alley was abnormally quiet and deserted. The few lingering people had already quickened their pace, alarmed by the drunkards.
A thought popped into his mind and a tinge of excitement flashed across his eyes. He faced Lou Cheng and stammered,
“Cheng, come. Let’s spar. Let me... Let me witness the strength of a Physical Invulnerability expert.”
Lou Cheng was silent for a minute before laughing, “Talker, don’t you know that that’s a death wish after drinking? Alcohol might embolden you, but it can’t possibly elevate you to the sky, right?”
“You brat... Brat, can’t you wait for me to finish my sentence? It such a rare opportunity to have a living, healthy Physical Invulnerability expert beside me. I, I’d like to see how much stronger is a Physical Invulnerability Expert is than the rest of us.” Cai Zongming explained. “Let’s make the rules first. You can’t use fire, can’t use ice, and can’t use Force. You definitely, absolutely cannot use unique techniques. And most importantly, you can’t hit me in the face!”
“You care about your head but not your ass?” Lou Cheng couldn’t help but tease him.
“Tomorrow, tomorrow I take part in the opening ceremony. The event will be broadcast live!” Cai Zongming extended his hand and moved it through his hair.
Lou Cheng nodded his head seriously and said, “That’s true. If there are bruises on your face when you’re broadcasted to millions of people, that won’t be good. However, you can’t just take care of your face. It also won’t be great if you have to go up on stage in a wheelchair. Am I right?”
“You! Have you been thinking about beating me up for a while now?” Cai Zongming gasped.
“Yes!” But it wasn’t Lou Cheng who answered, but the others who were still sober or single.
The long lost stand-up comedian... He Zi mumbled softly.
After fooling around for a while, Lou Cheng stood reluctantly in the middle of the alley amidst the anticipation of Lin Hua and the rest. Cai Zongming took a deep breath and suppressed his drunk feelings to make his steps more solid.
He Zi took the role of the referee as she said,
“Begin!”
Cai Zongming lowered his back and switched up his steps as he pressed ahead. This made it hard for others to tell where he was going to attack as his centre of gravity was constantly changing.
Just as he was about to strike with his punch, he noticed that Lou Cheng had raised his right leg diagonally across, waiting for him.
If I follow my plan, I’ll be tripped... Ca Zongming’s eyes turned cold as he halted his forward momentum.
Lou Cheng retracted his right leg and placed his left fist at waist level.
Cai Zongming, forcefully changed his direction without catching his breath, noticed that in the instant he hesitated, Lou Cheng was ready to strike with his punch. There was no way he could avoid or dodge.
He didn’t worry about maintaining his image as he rolled to the side. Lou Cheng smiled at him and didn’t give chase.
Bam! Cai Zongming rolled too fast and hit a bicycle.
“Are you crazy!” The cyclist in the cycling lane almost couldn’t keep his balance. His bicycle was wobbling as he scolded,
“How old are you to still be rolling on the floor!”
After scolding, he realized that they were pretty drunk. He quickly pedalled off in a hurry without further confrontation.
I’m not going to quarrel with a bunch of drunkards!
“I guess you’ve lost?” Lou Cheng placed his hands on his waist as he looked at Cai Zongming.
After colliding with the bicycle, Cai Zongming, who was initially a little drunk, instantly recovered his ability to speak fluently. Without losing in a battle of words, he said,
“You can’t point to a goat, call it a horse, and change the facts! Who made the rules that I’ve lost just because I collided with a bicycle?”
“As a martial artist, being observant of your surroundings is a basic skill,” answered Lou Cheng confidently.
Cai Zongming got up and said suddenly,
“You haven’t moved from that spot since we started!”
He won against me just by standing there?
“What do you mean by ‘since we started’? You made two or three movements.” Lou Cheng snorted with disdain.
Cai Zongming didn’t pay attention to his attitude and asked curiously,
“Is that the premonition ability you get by integrating Enemy Heart Freezing Move and All-Seeing God?”
“You know your stuff.” Lou Cheng nodded his head, a little surprised.
“Of course! As the future king of commentators for martial arts competitions, I’ve done my homework. This is what others call being interested in your work,” Cai Zongming replied.
Wang Dali asked from the side,
“Whose ‘work’?”
The group burst into laughter with the exception of Lin Que, who didn’t react much. Perhaps the joke was too cold or he didn’t understand.
After laughing, the clearly drunk Li Mao stood and said with ecstasy,
“I, I’ll give it a try, too!”
“Me too, me too!” He Zi, Wang Dali, and the rest of the group raised their hands.
“In that case, just start a rotation.” Lou Cheng shook his head, smiling.
With the goal of making him step out of his original position, Li Mao, Sun Jian, Lin Hua, and the group took turns but all failed miserably.
Bam!
He Zi dodged to the side, executed a Force Concentration, and threw a punch towards Lou Cheng’s head.
She saw nothing but space. Lou Cheng had ducked perfectly and his fist had unknowingly extended and stopped right in front of her stomach area.
“Your attack can be fierce, but you have to keep your guard up to prepare for any change in circumstance.” Lou Cheng gradually straightened as he commented.
He Zi, who was at the Dan stage level, was the last to go up against Lou Cheng.
She wanted to ask questions when she saw someone else had stepped up. It was the expressionless Lin Que.
What the... Cousin-in-law, you’re going to try, too? Lou Cheng thought to himself, half-surprised but also looking forward to it.
This is going to be a good show... He Zi retreated to the side as she regretted not having popcorn. Li Mao and the rest had similar expressions.
Hello, is this the city control agency? There are two people who are going to dismantle the streets... If it weren’t for Lin Que, Cai Zongming would have said his thoughts out loud. As for now, he could only keep them to himself.
Lin Que didn’t say anything. Bending his body slightly, the atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.
“Begin!” He Zi had almost forgotten her duty.
Bam! The concrete below Lin Que shook violently. He was like a meteor cutting through the sky as strong winds erupted from his back and he appeared in front of Lou Cheng.
Lou Cheng struck his right palm out in advance and grabbed firmly onto the fist of his cousin-in-law.
Just as he was about to use Force to shake off Lin Que’s accumulated strength, he suddenly felt the tiny muscles on the fist he caught wriggling creepily, as though they had a life of their own and were trying to escape.
Bam bam bam! Lin Que opened up his stance and struck with consecutive punches. The surrounding street lights were distorted as though an invisible hand pulled at them. Lou Cheng’s body felt as though it was submerged in water as the pressure on him became greater and greater.
However, this level influence had almost no effect on him. In an instant, he twisted his waist and opened up his fist, shaking off Lin Que.
Bam bam bam! Lin Que’s moves were fluid and each punch and kick was accurate, as though they had been measured with a ruler. However, no matter how hard he tried, coupled with the rule of not using supernatural ability, Lou Cheng faced what was dealt to him without budging from the position he defended.
After a minute, Lin Que retracted his fist and retreated. There weren’t many cracks on the floor as both parties had shown restraint.
“Encountering Gods in the Void, Self Reflection?” Lou Cheng asked excitedly as the thought popped into his head.
Cousin-in-law has reached this stage already?
Is this a blessing in disguise?
Lin Que nodded his head slightly as an affirmative answer.
“Looking at your current condition, you are already at the peak of an inhuman... Next is to look for your path Physical Invulnerability.” Lou Cheng said excitedly to his cousin-in-law.
Lin Que’s eyes didn’t waver and said confidently,
“I’ll be returning to the war-torn zones in the next month.”
“Using life-and-death situations as training?” Lou Cheng nodded his head and asked to verify his thoughts.
Lin Que shook his head, tucked his hands into his jacket, and walked towards the end of the alley before saying calmly and plainly,
“There’s an answer I want in that place.”
...
Returning to the hotel and entering the elevator, Lou Cheng, who was still thinking about what his cousin-in-law actually meant, was about to give up and ask his wife when He Zi got closer and asked with a smile,
“Senior, Xiaoling said she has forwarded an email to you regarding some television show.”
Eternal Nightfall? Lou Cheng thought about it for a few seconds before saying,
“She’s doing her internship at the television station?”
“Yeah, she specializes in editing. She’s on good terms with Reporter Shu, who recommended her for an internship at a studio. This television program is also hosted by Reporter Shu,” explained He ZI.
“Alright. I’ll keep a lookout for the email. However, I don’t remember seeing her forward an email to me,” replied Lou Cheng as he recalled his inbox that he had checked some time ago.
He Zi sank into silence. After which, she said with her mouth twitching, “With her intelligence, she might have sent it to the wrong person... But try checking again.”
At this moment, the lift reached his level. As Lou Cheng was about to step out of the lift, he opened up his inbox and indeed saw a new email. However, the sender wasn’t Yan Xiaoling at all, but had a signoff signature of,
“liu:↑greengk”
“Is it this?” Lou Cheng showed it to He Zi as he wasn’t sure.
He Zi was stunned for some time before calling Yan Xiaoling directly. She asked quietly in the corner,
“What’s the signature of your email?”
“It’s...” Yan Xiaoling kept silent for a moment, then shook her head profusely as she denied, “It’s not me, it’s not me, it’s not me!”
It’s over. I forgot to change my childish signature from my second year in middle school and my senior has seen it...
“If it’s not you, then who sent the email?” He Zi’s face was clearly twitching as she replied.
“I don’t know!” Yan Xiaoling answered decisively.