683

Chapter 683: A Friend From Afar

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

After consolidating and stabilizing their wounds, the members of Longhu Club left the hotel on their bus and were on their way back south.

When they arrived in Huacheng, it was already late in the night.

“I’ll just sleep in my room in the club.” After stepping off the bus, he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

Dragon King and Empress Luo had serious injuries and had been dropped off at a hospital affiliated to the club. Although their self-recovering abilities were strong and they could recover on their own, one had to be aware as a martial artist. In other words, the earlier they could recover, the better. Even if it speeded their recovery marginally, they should take that approach.

Accidents wouldn’t wait for you and neither would enemies. All the experts with ample experience in the war-torn areas clearly understood this point, including Chen Qitao and Geezer Shi, and also Lou Cheng, Peng Leyun, and Ren Li.

Therefore, taking advantage of modern medical technologies for recovering was the obvious choice. Even the proud Dragon King wouldn’t reject this option.

After hearing what Lou Cheng had said, Coach Lu mumbled,

“At moments like this, I need a bed that I’m accustomed to.”

After speaking, he asked his personal driver to drive over and left.

“Alright, I’ll ask Old Zhao to head back and rest.” Auman turned around, ran a little, and informed the driver, Zhao Zhenhua.

“Let him give you a ride!” Lou Cheng instructed with a smile.

“It’s alright. I’ll just sleep in the club, too. I have a room at the Assistant Team. It’s already past two. Instead of spending more time travelling, I might as well catch more sleep,” Auman answered with a smile. She seemed to be in a good mood.

Lou Cheng didn’t press. After seeing that Guo Jie had also chosen to stay behind at the club, he passed the guarded main gate, took the lift to the fifth floor, and prepared to get some rest.

At this moment, Yan Zheke had just finished her dinner and was attending a conference. Lou Cheng, who had recovered his strength on the bus after a deep sleep, suddenly felt bored.

At this time, other than some night owls, there weren’t many people he knew who would be awake. Lou Cheng stood beside the window and looked towards the faraway lake. Looking at the flickering lights in the quiet, deserted night, he suddenly had the feeling that he was the only one awake while the rest were all drunk with sleep.

Priest hasn’t slacked off at all. His goal is to overtake me, that’s what motivates him.

The reason we won against Shangqing Sect was luck. If their super-class Taoist Yunyan wasn’t injured, things would have definitely been different.

I did well this time and defeated a weakened Warrior Sage. However, the difference between us in all aspects is still pretty obvious.

I have to stay humble and composed and work harder!

Lou Cheng was suddenly exhilarated. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Yan Zheke,

“I’ve slept too much…Time for practice!”

“I have a big goal now, and that is to catch up to Dragon King and Warrior Sage!”

After a while, Yan Zheke replied,

“[Covered mouth and laughing emoji] So you mean you want to ‘get up and go high’?” referencing a popular Chinese meme that one should get up and do something instead of sleeping.

Lou Cheng broke into silent laughter. Keeping his phone, he changed into his martial arts suit and walked through the safety tunnel leading to the underground corridor to arrive at the entrance of the Volcano Experiment Lab.

There were people on duty twenty-four hours a day at the request of the Dragon King.

After keying in the password and passing through the scans, Lou Cheng arrived in the facility that seemed very much like science-fiction. He instructed the staff to start the volcano mode.

In the white metal room, heat invaded the atmosphere and seemed to boil.

After a short while, the density of the air changed to a fog that shrouded the room. Lou Cheng’s long and steady breathing began to slow. It was as though there was a need to filter the air before allowing it into the body, to prevent burns and injuries.

In his vision, he was surrounded by a red and yellow-orange glow, making Lou Cheng feel like he was completely surrounded by flames as his skin and pores ached from the burning sensation.

He lifted his vitality and started regulating his Emperor Yan Force to control the surrounding flames. They were subdued like toys and moved happily along Lou Cheng’s clothing.

The temperature rose higher and higher until it reached its limit. Lou Cheng endured the feeling of being engulfed in flames while opening his stance to start his practice.

After his battle with the Warrior Sage, he realized that the other party’s ability to control the environment was very strong, unlike his own. His powered-up punches and kicks through supernatural abilities or heavenly reinforcement were distinct from each other, and he was only able to combine them simply. He hadn’t thought about the effects being greater than the sum of the parts.

What was more important was that Warrior Sage had even converted his experiences, thoughts, and understandings into moves that connected strongly with his surroundings, creating magical hidden changes that made one feel as if he had become one with the environment.

That’s something I can’t match right now. Other than the training of my mind, I can’t relax in similar ways.

As these thoughts surfaced, Lou Cheng became even more serious with his practice.

There wasn’t a bead of perspiration seen on him, because once it appeared, it was vaporized.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally felt the fatigue setting in. He stopped and deactivated the volcano mode in the room.

Not too bad… He smiled faintly as he stretched his arms and legs. He walked slowly out of the experiment lab and saw Guo Jie outside the door.

Guo Jie thought she would meet Lou Cheng coming for morning practice, rather than leaving. She was rather shocked and blurted out of the blue,

“So early?”

“You’re pretty early too,” answered Lou Cheng with a smile.

She’s indeed true to her nickname, martial arts fanatic! Just seeing the match from the side was enough to make her want to train harder!

Guo Jie frowned slightly and didn’t speak further. She walked towards the Volcano Experiment Lab.

Lou Cheng smiled and continued his walk through the silent and deserted corridor.

The skies were still dim. The moon hung low across the sky and a faint light shone down, making his shadows seem elongated. Despite feeling fatigued, he was motivated and exhilarated.

Enjoying the cool breeze, Lou Cheng’s steps suddenly got lighter. He felt that after such a long road, the dawn would definitely arrive.

At this moment, he had the feeling that his future was no longer just a dream of the past.

…

Monday the following day, Lou Cheng followed his schedule and attended the Guidance Class of the Reserve Team. He attended in the identity of a Physical Invulnerability expert.

What he had not expected was that amongst Tu Zheng and the rest, he saw a familiar face, with refined, delicate features and long hair. It was the Banished Immortal, Li Xiaoyuan. The Li Xiaoyuan who had always shocked him with his aesthetic, and whom he had first met at the Phoenix Cup Warrior Sage Candidate Challenge Tournament in Yanling.

Isn’t he in Haiyuan Club? Lou Cheng mumbled to himself but maintained his neutral expression. After the Guidance Class ended, he stopped Li Xiaoyuan, pulled him to the corner and asked,

“You’re sitting in?”

“Exchange learning, exchange learning,” answered Li Xiaoyuan with a smiling face. “The higher management said we can be considered as under the same system with some connections and should interact and learn from each other. After which, I was sent here.”

Lou Cheng’s mouth twitched a little before continuing, “Sending you over right after poaching Optimus Prime? Is this courting envy?”

“Pfft. Are you guys are going to start a fight?” Li Xiaoyuan appeared shocked, eyes open wide. Lou Cheng didn’t know if he was truly afraid or just teasing him.

Lou Cheng’s face turned dark and he said,

“A Physical Invulnerability expert wouldn’t have the time or energy to deal with you.”

I have to understand where I’m standing!

Following which, he smirked, pointed at Jia Lu and the group, and said, “I’m just afraid the members of the Reserve Team might get a little excited.”

“Them…” Li Xiaoyuan followed Lou Cheng’s gaze and looked over. He tidied his hair, made a snort, and answered with some interest, “That would be pretty nice.”

Why is this dude acting like he isn’t worried about causing trouble. He might look as refined as Ren Li but…Lou Cheng took a deep breath before inviting Li Xiaoyuan out for seafood as he tried to demonstrate courtesy as the host.

…

They went to a seafood restaurant recommended by Lou Cheng. Li Xiaoyuan held a mantis shrimp that was larger than his palm as he said with a faint smile,

“I heard that there are people from some place who have a special technique to eating this. They can just use a chopstick to get rid of the shell easily.”

“Isn’t this easy for people like us?” Lou Cheng laughed lightly as he pressed against a shrimp.

A faint purple line of flames spread over the hard shell of the mantis shrimp, which opened up instantly, revealing fat white flesh.

Stuffing it in his mouth, the faint taste of salt mixed well with the sweet and fresh taste of the shrimp. The taste spread in Lou Cheng’s mouth, making him let out a sigh of satisfaction.

“This…” Li Xiaoyuan said as though he recalled something, “The Phoenix Cup Warrior Sage Candidate Challenge Tournament. There’s already a Physical Invulnerability expert among the participants of the inaugural tournament. I heard that they’re interested in inviting you as their guest for this year’s competition?”

“I probably wouldn’t be free.” Lou Cheng shook his head and laughed, “Besides, there are quite a number of outstanding martial artists in the first batch.”

“That’s all there is to it.” Li Xiaoyuan flicked his wrist and shook off the hard shell of the mantis shrimp. As he ate, he said, “Ye Youting is still at the sixth pin level, and she’s the same age as me. Jiang Lan is also stuck there. She probably has no hope of reaching the Physical Invulnerability level. Let’s just hope that she can break through to the Inhuman stage earlier. As for the one who beat you, the guy with the surname Wang…he just reached the seventh pin and isn’t too bad.”

He sighed emotionally, “If I didn’t come to Guangnan for studies, if I didn’t join the martial arts club and wasn’t chosen by Haiyuan, I’d probably be the same as them.”

“It was a really fun time. No worries each day. Other than practicing, we just caused trouble. The place where we ate street food and got into fights with some gangs isn’t too far from here. We often broke their bones in our fights.”

“Considering how refined you look, I really couldn’t tell!” Lou Cheng’s memories of his university life were triggered as he shook his head and broke into laughter.

Li Xiaoyuan also laughed before saying,

“I’ve always been the type who would choose not to speak if I can fight.”

Is this a gangster version of Banished Immortal…After cursing silently, he asked, “Why did you choose Haiyuan then? With your style, you’re better suited in Longhu Club to practice moves from the Fire Sect.”

“Hmm. Compared to fighting head-on, I prefer to ambush from the side.” Li Xiaoyuan replied honestly, also seeming to mock himself.

Lou Cheng almost broke into laughter. Following similar topics, he enjoyed his chat with Li Xiaoyuan. After all, the two of them had known each other at an early stage and had come from the university’s martial arts club.

After finishing their sumptuous meal and conversation, Li Xiaoyuan took a look at Lou Cheng and gave a toast to him before nonchalantly sighing,

“Hopefully I can make the great leap and become a Physical Invulnerability expert before you get a title.”

When he completed his sentence, Lou Cheng suddenly felt that the bright moon had illuminated his memories of the past four years. There were so many different routes he could have taken, and so many emotions he had felt at each point.

Who would have thought that he would meet Li Xiaoyuan in Guangnan again, with one of them reaching Physical Invulnerability while the other had become an Inhuman.