Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Lou Cheng’s fan forum.
“I believe that senior could improve even more this time and make it to the top eight!”
“Eternal Nightfall,” Yan Xiaoling, commented fervently.
“What a coincidence! I have the same premonition! [clenched fist],” “Brahman” seconded.
“Unparalleled Dragon King” laughed, “[evil smile] You guys are already lowering your karma now?”
“This isn’t like the preliminaries of ‘Master Battle’ which adopts a double-elimination format, where one still has the chance to recover after a loss. If Lou Cheng is matched against a strong enemy, he could easily be eliminated in the first round. It’s important to increase your karma right now! [cunning expression],” “Bull Demon King” replied.
“A Plumber Eating Mushroom” analyzed, “The first round should be fine as long as there are more opponents who are relatively weaker. The importance of one’s karma starts in the second round.”
“I suddenly feel that karma is really important... ” “All The Good Names Are Taken By Dogs” replied.
“I’m, I’m wrong! I’ll admit to it!” Yan Xiaoling had never paid attention to how others looked at her as she quickly changed the topic, “Let’s discuss senior’s future nickname! He’s been saying that his path in martial arts is based on the Cosmic Universe Style. How does ‘Cosmic King’ sound? No, it sounds like some useless king in history. Then, then let’s call him ‘Star King’! ‘The King of All Stars’! That sounds awesome!”
“What? Ape King? [listening emoji],” “Okamoto’s Fan” asked, noting the similarities of the words in Chinese.
“Road to the Arena” followed, “What? Soul of Cinder? I’ll spread, I’ll spread the fire! Will this not do?”
“You guys are too much. Every word has a bunch of other words that sound the same. Don’t get caught up in those details. That can’t be avoided. Just like ‘Dragon King’ could be easily mistaken for ‘Deaf King’!” Yan Xiaoling said angrily.
When she commented, the forum instantly went silent. For a whole minute, no one posted a reply. This made Yan Xiaoling nervous and uneasy.
“Where are you guys?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“Little Nightfall, it’s better if you don’t head out any time soon. You might very well be beaten up...” “Brahman” sighed.
Yan Xiaoling replied, “[covered-face emoji] Delete, delete... Can I just delete?”
...
May 11th, Hexi City, on the night when the second round of matchups is determined.
Lou Cheng sat with his legs crossed on his bed looking at the television in the guest room, while also chatting casually over QQ.
He was matched against Gou Wen from Xuanwu School who had made the great leap in the same year as him in the first round. Many considered this a good draw for Lou Cheng.
This didn’t mean that Gou Wen was weak. As the leader of the younger generation of Xuanwu School, she didn’t just practice unique techniques of the Water Sect or the Xuanwu Divine Sword. Because she was from the Miao Tribe which had a talent for black magic, she practiced the incomplete chapters from Plague Sect that the Xuanwu School had kept. No matter if it was Plague Missionary, which could surround the environment with viruses and bacteria and weaken her opponent over time, or Five Plagues Poison Palm, which was lethal in each strike, or the ninth move, Emperor Di Direction.Swinging Scorpio, she had gained full mastery over them and had strength close to a second-pin.
However, she was going against Lou Cheng. His high-temperature hell could reduce the effects of Plague Missionary to a minimum and the fire coverage of his Nine Rotations of Five Flames made it hard to use techniques from Plague Sect, which required contact with the other party. In the end, she lost helplessly.
Obviously, this wasn’t simply about Lou Cheng having an advantage in style. What was more crucial was that Lou Cheng’s strength was no longer just half a notch higher than hers.
After replying to his girl, Lou Cheng switched between the group chats and saw Ren Li saying,
“Let’s continue with our bet!”
“We can still bet on who will last till the end! The winner gives the rest a treat!”
You look like you aren’t convinced by the results... Lou Cheng laughed silently as he imagined Ren Li’s unconvinced face. He replied simply,
“Sure!”
“I have no issues with that,” Peng Leyun added.
Ann Chaoyang replied,
“[sighing expression] I can only wait for the next year.”
He was placed number one in the preliminaries of the Warrior Sage Battle and made it to the main round. However, he was matched up against the Dragon King in the first round and received his “guidance.”
However, he also meant that by this time next year, he would have become a Physical Invulnerability Expert!
Just as he finished speaking, the official lot-drawing ceremony started. Several people would get a free pass in this round, but Lou Cheng heard his name announced first.
“Longhu, Lou Cheng!”
Hehe. I wonder who it will be... Lou Cheng turned his attention to the television screen.
After several seconds, the distinguished guest took out another ball, smiled, and said,
“Haiyuan, Long Zhen!”
He was once the second main member of Longhu Club!
An expert close to super-class!
Oh damn, what a coincidence... Lou Cheng picked up his phone and started typing on the keyboard to report the results to his wife. Soon, he saw Yan Zheke reply,
“[lost expression] Rivals are bound to meet!”
“But his rival is Dragon King. [laughing tears emoji],” Lou Cheng replied.
Yan Zheke replied,
“From a practical standpoint, it’s you...since you have replaced his position, it’s inevitable for others to compare you with him.”
“That’s true.” Lou Cheng was suddenly looking forward to the match.
In the internal sparring sessions last year, I never even won against Long Zhen!
...
In the hotel where Haiyuan Club was staying.
Long Zhen, who was over two meters with thick muscles, was sitting on the sofa. He didn’t look at the television screen and slowly lit his cigar.
The Witch, Qian Hui was sitting beside him while Cheetah, Li Yuanqi had his hands behind his back as he paced back and forth. Empty Nest Greybeard, Wu Molian was casually smoking his cigar and disturbing his old friends from time to time with a call.
When the first match was announced, Qian Hui, Li Yuanqi, and the others shifted their eyes to Long Zhen. However, they found that the bald, fierce-looking man looked perfectly calm as he enjoyed his cigar. They commented,
“What a small world.”
He looked around him, leaned backwards, and said,
“If I were to fight him around this time next year, I really can’t promise you that I would win.”
He took another puff of the cigar before blowing out the smoke.
“But as for right now, hahaha...”
“Yeah. You’re the guy challenging the Dragon King. How could you be stopped by Lou Cheng?” Wu Molian laughed loudly, as though he wasn’t afraid of making it seem like a smaller incident than it was.
Long Zhen Cheng didn’t speak further, just smiled while continuing to enjoy his cigar.
There were several matches between strong experts subsequently. However, due to contestants being separated, there weren’t any classic match-ups in the meantime. When the ceremony ended, there were several contestants who got a free pass and advanced directly to Round 32. Among them included Ren Li and the Sect Master of Shangqing Sect.
Lou Cheng and Peng Leyun were dumbfounded at the results, as they truly felt the difference between having extremely good luck and bad luck.
...
The next afternoon, within the boundless Gobi Desert.
There wasn’t any grass and the building had darkened tiles. Surrounding it were stone pillars that had clearly undergone weathering. But these weren’t the arts of nature, but man-made.
This was none other than the venue and audience seating for the Warrior Sage Battle.
Naturally, there was quite a distance between these stone pillars and the deserted desert. To prevent collateral damage, the area was patrolled by experts from the martial arts association.
As the first match contestant, Lou Cheng had walked out from the tent changing room. He passed his phone and personal items to Auman before walking towards the center of the arena amidst the strong, hot Gobi Desert wind.
On the opposite side, Long Zhen looked like a moving metal tower as he walked steadily towards Lou Cheng.
He was wearing a loose, sky-blue martial arts suit and his appearance alone was enough to exert pressure.
Stopping at the predetermined point, Long Zhen looked at Lou Cheng, smiled, and said,
“This isn’t an internal sparring session anymore.”
I’ll try my best!