Chapter 3  : A Real Man Is Like That

The crowd was jostling inside the gym. Fortunately, Lou Cheng and Cai Zongming had just made their way in, so they were close enough to the door to see two figures walking through it.

A man in suit with saggy cheeks and wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had his hair combed back. Appearing to be the coach of the Martial Arts Club, he walked at a steady pace while looking around solemnly. His solemnity softened when he turned to the man in jeans and a white t-shirt next to him, who was half a head taller than him. Slender and with short hair, this fresh-looking young man was carrying a bulging black gym bag on his back.

“He must be the legendary Lin Que,” Lou Cheng thought.

Lin Que’s appearance quickly quieted down the gymnasium, like a silencer. He remained cool and continued walking despite all the eyes locked on him, filled with curiosity, excitement, and adoration. He gave a gentle nod without a word when he was introduced by the coach, and then he was led through the crowd straight into the locker room, as if he were a celebrity.

The short silence was replaced by a fervent discussion as soon as his figure disappeared.

“So cool!”

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“The Martial Arts Club does have handsome boys!”

“How charming and challenging!”

These were some comments from the girls.

“What’s that apathy for…”

“The capable ones are never easygoing.”

“If I had the rank of Professional Ninth Pin, I would be just as proud as him!”

“Our club is going to rock!”

“Yeah, when we defeat Guannan and Neihai, they can be arrogant no longer!”

“We might reach the amateur fifth or sixth pin by the university graduation with his help. One more way to make a living…”

Those comments were from the boys.

As Lou Cheng withdrew his eyes, he happened to notice Yan Zheke in that red and white Han costume by the door. Her face and eyes were filled with admiration, just like the other girls.

“Sign… How much I envy him!” Lou Cheng complained to Cai Zongming. “I wish I were of Professional Ninth Pin to enjoy this.”

Cai Zongming tut-tutted. “It is a good time to quote some classic to show your literature skills. You should say ‘a real man is like that’!”

“A real man is like that…” After a moment of reflection on it, Lou Cheng took a glance at Yan Zheke and quipped to Cai Zongming. “And you will then say ‘I can replace him’?”

“You really are my bosom friend.” Cai Zongming laughed and raised one arm with a clenched fist to show his muscle. “Though I skipped quite some martial arts training sessions, I’ve made it to Amateur Fifth Pin. Imagine if I take it super seriously. I’ll reach Professional Ninth Pin in no time and become the most charming man in the Martial Arts Club!”

“You are probably the only one that can talk about skipping classes this proudly.” The two continued to exchange good-natured banters.

After a while, Yan Zheke went into the women’s locker room.

The Orientation started on time. As the light was turned on, a muscular man stepped into the ring.

“Everybody, I am Chen Changhua in my senior year, manager of this Martial Arts Club…” In a black leotard, Chen Changhua looked sharp and husky. As he went on to introduce himself with a big smile, his fierce look softened.

“Ha-hah! Check out his eyebrows. They remind me of the song ‘Bugs flying o bugs flying’…” whispered Cai Zongming to Lou Cheng during Chen Changhua’s speech.

Lou Cheng glanced at him. “Casanova, you really should join the Crosstalk Club. Don’t waste your talent!”

Their whispering back and forth seemed to have no impact on Chen Changhua’s introduction.

“As you all know, Martial Arts Realm has four stages – body refining, Qi, invulnerability, and restriction. The latter two are out of our concern today, as the amateurs are probably never gonna get there. So I’ll focus on explaining body refining and Qi. The body refining stage is all about training our body like refining pills of immortality or smelting metals. It requires coordination from many aspects. A trance training or a session in the weight room is far from enough.

“I’m telling you this because I want you to know that no prior martial arts training experience is okay. We will help you with it. The Songcheng University Martial Arts Club has a long history and our body refining training is professional and proper to the tradition, nothing like that taught in those random martial arts clubs or gyms. Commit yourself to it for the next four years and you will easily reach the rank of amateur fifth or fourth pin, which will be enough to get you a coaching position in any martial arts club or gym. Then, you will have one more way to make a living.

“If some of you are true martial arts enthusiasts, you do have a chance to pass the Ranking Event and rank Professional Ninth Pin. I don’t have a special gift in martial arts but I’m hard-working. Last year I got my Amateur First Pin certificate and now I’m preparing for the coming Ranking Event. So you know the Professional Ninth Pin is totally possible for us Songcheng University Martial Arts Club members. Diligence and devotion will get you everything!

“Of course, if you are a real talent, it is also possible to break through the body refining state and enter the Qi practice. Shanbei University has a genius who’s been giving us lots of trouble whenever we encounter…”

Lou Cheng frowned in confusion and turned to Cai Zongming. “Shanbei University got last year’s championship of the university martial arts event?”

“That’s right,” nodded Cai Zongming.

Lou Cheng asked with some hesitation. “Chen Changhua’s words sounded a bit weird, didn’t they?”

It seemed that he was secretly alluding to someone…

“Weird for sure. He’s talked so much and I’m gonna summarize it into two sentences. First, Professional Ninth Pin is not that rare, so Lin Que is not a big deal.” Cai Zongming laughed before continuing, “Second, our Martial Arts Club is not doing very well because our competitors are too strong!”

Having his suspicion confirmed, Lou Cheng shook his head. “Chen Changhua seems to have a problem with Lin Que. But isn’t it bad for him to say it out loud?”

“Whatever. It has nothing to do with us.” Cai Zongming got bored and took out his mobile.

Finally, Chen Changhua finished his long speech and put on a smile.

“Well, now let me introduce you our senior members. They all have experience in the Ranking Event and they are of Amateur Sixth Pin or higher…”

Before Lou Cheng could raise his head to have a proper look, Cai Zongming pulled at his clothes.

“Come on. Let’s go back,” Cai Zongming lowered his voice.

Lou Cheng didn’t expect this. “Now? It’s still early.”

“Are you waiting to meet those senior members? Come on! You are here for a girl. Do you actually think yourself an undiscovered talent who had no basic training in his first 18 years but will just achieve enlightenment all of a sudden and rocket to become a martial arts master greater than all the senior members? Do you see yourself winning the championship of the National Martial Arts Competitions for Songcheng University and attract attention from the top guys to start your rising to the peak of your life with money and women?” Cai Zongming indeed had talents in joking.

Lou Cheng laughed with embarrassment. “We are already here. Let’s stay and see.”

Cai Zongming looked around and said, “You are just gonna mess around here until you get your girl. What’s the point in meeting the senior? I can teach you anyway…”

Cai Zongming lowered his voice. “If you leave now, you will have one more pretext to talk with your goddess.”

“Ha?” Lou Cheng was lost.

“Think about it. You make up some excuse to leave early and later you can ask her what you have missed. Schedule for training sessions or anything. A conversation starts naturally without making yourself an aversion of hers. Then, you can easily move on to other topics,” Cai Zongming spoke with fervor.

Lou Cheng gazed at him for a few seconds.

“Little Ming, I admire only you among all the roommates!”

“Call me Casanova, please!” Cai Zongming slightly bent over and made his way toward the exit while the senior members were going into the ring. Lou Cheng followed behind him.

As soon as they got out, Lou Cheng was surprised to see an artistic man was filming them with an eye-catching camera.

“Damn! My skipping martial arts lesson is going on television?”

A young girl in a classic office outfit stood next to the cameraman.

Seeing Lou Cheng and Cai Zongming walking out, the young girl, with some nerdy looks, approached with a bright smile.

“Hello! I’m a reporter from Songcheng TV Station. Do you have time for a quick interview?”

With a refreshing short haircut, long dark eyebrows, clear eyes and a cute nose, she looked like a fresh graduate with a pair of dimples when she smiled. The identity card placed in front of her chest had her name, Shu Rui.

“What interview?” asked Lou Cheng to the microphone.

“No problem,” Cai Zongming answered with no hesitation.

They looked into each other’s eyes and saw mutual disdain.

The reporter Shu Rui raised her pretty oval face and smiled. “Are you members of the Songcheng University Martial Arts Club?”

“Damn! We are caught skipping class on site…” Lou Cheng thought as he scratched his head before replying, “Yeah. We… We’ve got an emergency.”

“Yes, an emergency that we have to leave early,” answered Cai Zongming calmly.

Shu Rui didn’t seem to care. She maintained her professional smile. “Did you see Lin Que earlier in there?”

“Yeah.” Lou Cheng and Cai Zongming looked at each other with astonishment as they heard the interview was about Lin Que.

It actually made sense to see a reporter there considering Songcheng University was the best university of the city and martial arts was the hottest sport these days.

Shu Rui gave another smile. “Lin Que is the very first freshman of Professional Ninth Pin in the history of Songcheng University. What do you think about his decision to join the Martial Arts Club? Any opinion?”

“Pretty good. Our martial arts club can probably make it to the next level,” answered Cai Zongming, grinning.

Lou Cheng smiled sincerely. “Very excited. I’m actually thrilled. We are lucky to have him.”

Shu Rui withdrew the microphone and her eyes were sparkling. “Thank you for taking this interview.”

Watching the reporter and cameraman enter the gymnasium, Lou Cheng and Cai Zongming spoke at the same time.

“Cheng, was my smile a bit stiff?”

“Casanova, was my smile a bit silly?”

They shared some laughter and the tension faded away.

“It’s gonna be my first time on TV. Kinda weird,” Lou Cheng rubbed his cheeks.

Cai Zongming grinned. “Me too. Well, they might not use it. Lin Que is the key. He-heh. The reporter was not bad, beautiful, pure and in very good shape. Did you notice her legs? Longs and straight. I like her better than your goddess.”

“Hello, 911? I’m calling to report a pervert,” Lou Cheng took out his phone on purpose.

“Get lost!” Cai Zongming complained. “Just kidding.”

Lou Cheng laughed. “Well, when I meet my sister-in-law someday, I’ll tell her that Little Ming has been behaving!”

They chatted and laughed on the way back to the dormitory and soon threw the interview behind.

The dormitory of Songcheng University were two-bedroom flats with a basic living room, a balcony for laundry to the left and a bathroom and separated squatting toilet to the right. Two bedrooms, one on each side of the aisle, were shared by eight students altogether, each having their own bed on top of their desk, next to their wardrobe.

The two were not in the same bedroom. As soon as they entered the living room, Cai Zongming took out his mobile. “Cheng, I’ll make a phone call. Wait for me to have dinner together.”

“Huh. How sweet!” Knowing Cai Zongming would spend hours on the phone with his girlfriend, Lou Cheng decided to play some computer games in his room.

Walking into the empty room, Lou Cheng knew his three roommates were still in the study hall.

“So hard-working…” He felt embarrassed seeing their diligence.

The time was a bit awkward, not enough to finish a game but too much to be doing nothing. Lou Cheng soon calmed himself down and signed in the forum.

That was a platform hosting a collection of different forums. There was a forum for pretty much anything you could think of and it had quite some users. Lou Cheng was visiting the Longhu Club.

Longhu Club was in the premier league of the Professional Martial Arts Competition and was one of the most competitive forces for the title of the most powerful heir of Chinese martial arts. Founded just over three decades ago, it was like a little baby compared to those sects with a history of hundreds of years. This young club and its martial arts school for different age groups had been challenging those noble, ancient and influential sects and had scored a good number of victories. Chen Qitao, known as the Dragon King and who was also one of the Legendary Twins of the modern martial arts world, was the best example of Longhu Club’s excellent members.

Such a martial arts club with such a matchless martial artist was certainly charming, and Lou Cheng was one of its numerous fans.

In the forum, Lou Cheng subconsciously put on a wicked smile and used the name Schrodinger’s Tiger to post.

“Urgent! Just joined a Martial Arts Club today. How can I appear to be a frequenter?”