The lakeside in People's Park.
Lou Cheng adjusted his posture and spat out an arrow-like breath. His body then made sizzling noises, like the sound of beans being fried. It spread all over his muscles, tissues, and bones.
Combined together, they were almost unified as one!
"Uh, still needs more effort... " Lou Cheng said, a little disappointed.
His martial arts gradually agglomerated and intensified. Thanks to his mastery of the meditation method and understanding of the "withdraw" method of Jindan, his tempering progress was just as what Geezer Shi said. He was far quicker than ordinary people. With just minimal effort in ten to twenty days, he had completely unified the forces in his body as one.
Shaking his head, he put this thought in the back of his mind. He then stooped down and bent his waist.
With this movement, his will burst out of his body and integrated with his spirit. His mind clarified, allowing him to be sensitive to every nuance.
His will to protect those that he loved gathered and sank into his Dantian. Suddenly restrained, his traction spirit began to show signs of rotation.
The Qi, blood, and force around Lou Cheng and even his sense of alive oddly started to shrink and condense in that instant. They rotated around each other, maintaining a balance.
Boom!
The balance disintegrated, leaving a violent burst of infinite power!
Bang! Lou Cheng took a big step forward and punched a fist. The air around him shook, causing the strong wind to create weak but visible waves on the surface of the lake.
This attack was close to the outbreak of a Dan stage fighter!
And if Lou Cheng dared to use "running of Jindan" as the fulcrum, he would have truly completed Force Concentration. The elements would not be left collected in a mass. When that happened, he would be regarded as a true fighter of Dan stage.
Yet, he had mixed the comprehension of Cultivation. All his Qi, blood, force, and spirit revolved either around his will or Jindan to maintain a balance. This meant that he could not condense them into a point. Perhaps it was more precise to say, it was not possible at the moment. The most he could do was create a mini version of Jindan.
Lou Cheng even suspected there would be terrifying consequences when they collapsed and condensed into a point when rotating around.
Without any information available, he can only try step by step!
After tempering for a few times, he was thoroughly exhausted. He ended his morning practice and jogged back home.
In this Youth Tournament, he planned not use Jindan and fight using his strength to polish his will and temper his martial arts. More importantly, he wanted to know which rank he could achieve without cheating too much!
"Hehe. Ke still doesn't know that I've long understood the meaning of "withdraw" or that I've reached the first stage of Force Concentration. This way I can surprise her when she's watching the live match." It put Lou Cheng in a happy mood.
The last VIP training class in July.
With his hands clasped behind him, Lou Cheng walked around the students that he was very familiar with. He was teaching them how to exert their force best.
At the end of the class, he clapped his hands and smiled. "We'll meet again in August. Don't be lazy and maintain your thrice a week practice. Especially you, Yao Ruiwei. If you give up practicing, your weight will rebind. I'm not trying to scare you."
This fattie was more persistent than Luo Cheng expected. He even preserved to the end of the practice. He was now about ten pounds lighter and he had caught up to students as well.
Hearing Lou Cheng's teasing, Yao Ruiwei scratched the back of his head and laughed.
"Sir Lou, if my weight rebound even one pound, then you can take it as my loss!"
They were all half-grown kids. After they became familiar with Lou Cheng, they thought calling him Coach Lou was too strange. No one knew who was the first to call him Sir Lou, but before long, everyone in the class started to use that new name.
And what Yao Ruiwei lost what not merely weight, but also his sense of inferiority. He gradually opened up and displayed the youth and vitality boys his age had.
Everyone laughed, hearing those words. After it ceased, Wu Ting happily asked Lou Cheng a question.
"Sir Lou, is it true you're participating in Youth Tournament this term?"
"Yes," Lou Cheng answered, not particularly concerned.
Wu Ting gave a whoop. "My dad will be taking me to the tournament. I'll cheer for you then!"
"I also want to go... " Zhang Qiufan looked envious.
As she was not yet 13 years old and did not even have the civil capacity of conduct, she was unable to buy the tickets.
Wu Ting cared a lot about this young girl, so she immediately gave a suggestion. "Why don't I ask your parents if you can come play in Gao Fen with us for a few days?"
Look, look. Did she not already expose her true intentions? Was she going there to play or cheer for him… Lou Cheng shook his head, smiling.
The students in the VIP class were all well-off. When they heard what Wu Ting said, they began discussing about joining the fun.
Li Lei was only to talk to Lou Cheng, his admiring expression marred with confusion. "Sir Lou, these past few days I've been sparring with the students in the VIP class... "
"And you won them all?" Lou Cheng asked with a smile.
"Yes, that's right! But you never teach us any powerful attacks. We keep practicing basic moves over and over again." Li Lei cannot understand why.
Lou Cheng chuckled. "If you master the basics, any powerful moves would be useless against you. You'll manage as long as you're not facing students who have joined the Summer School a few times."
Of course, Li Lei will be able to manage. The other VIP classes emphasized on teaching cool attack moves to satisfy teen egos and had a lackadaisical attitude when it came to teaching basic skills. If those students were to fight, they would find that their powers were very weak!
"Emm." Li Lei nodded, looking thoughtful. He made up his mind to learn from Sir Lou even more diligently in August.
When Lou Cheng went home in the afternoon, he started packing while waiting for Jiang Fei's car. They were carpooling to Gao Fen.
Fatty Jiang, Old Cheng, and Tao Xiaofei had no other plans so they enthusiastically decided to catch the Youth Tournament live and cheer him on.
When he was done packing, Lou Cheng took a picture and sent it to Yan Zheke with a smiling emoji.
"I'm on the way!"
"I'm so annoyed, but still I have to smile to cheer you on... " Yan Zheke replied with an emoji that cried with holding a fist. "I want to watch the tournament live!"
Lou Cheng chuckled and typed his reply on the keyboard. "Even if you're not going to the south, Empress Dowager will never allow you to go to Gao Fen to watch the tournament."
"That's true... " Yan Zheke sent an emoji with both hands on its chin. "Then I'll try my best to grasp the inner practice of Meteor force and come back earlier. I'll say I'm looking for Sister Jingjing so I can go directly to Gao Fen. Don't be defeated too early!"
Lou Cheng sent an emoji with a red towel wrapped around its head, while holding a fist.
"I'll hang on until you come back!"
That would be the last few matches...
"Oh, how cute. Then this older sister buy you candy." Yan Zheke sent him an emoji with a crooked finger.
"Uh huh. Oh, right. What's Sister Jingjing's supernatural ability? You forgot to mention," Lou Cheng asked.
Yan Zheke answered with a grim-looking emoji.
"Call me Coach Yan!"
Pfft… A smile unconsciously appeared on Lou Cheng's face. "Yes. Coach Yan, please instruct me!"
"Sister Jingjing's supernatural ability is manipulating her surroundings to create visual and auditory illusions. In a fight, every mistake you make will put you in danger... " Without any hesitation, Yan Zheke betrayed her best friend's secrets to Lou Cheng.
Their conversation continued for a while longer. Lou Cheng then heard someone opening the door. He looked out and saw that his parents had come home early. Behind them were the three girls, Qi Yunfei, Chen Xiaoxiao, and Ma Xi.
The first thought that came to his mind was that he was going to have to sleep on the sofa again… Then he remembered he was leaving for Gao Fen anyway, so it did not matter if the girls would occupy his room.
"Dad, mom, why you are back so early?" he asked, confused.
Qi Fang complained. "It's all thanks to your dad. A few days ago, he suddenly said that we should watch the tournament live since it's a rare opportunity for you to participate in a match in our province. You and your dad are the same. He doesn't tell me his plans in advance. I almost couldn't get anyone to take over my shifts!"
"The plan was spontaneous." Lou Zhisheng laughed.
Ah? Earlier it seemed like his parents were not concerned, but they made plans to support him in Gao Fen. Lou Cheng felt very warm and he asked with concern, "Have you already booked your hotel room? Are the girls coming as well?"
"Yep! Brother Lou Cheng, we have to watch your heroic performance live!" Qi Yunfei answered, pulling an exaggerated expression.
Qi Fang rambled, "Our rooms are booked. When your dad applied for annual leave from Fatty Guo, he was so happy because he'll also be going for a vacation in Gao Fen with his family. They'll also be watching the tournament. What a coincidence... Fatty Guo happened to have a contract with a five-star hotel. Your dad was supposed to get a bonus for completing a technical task in his factory, so the bonus went to two rooms in that hotel!"
When it came to Guo Min, she would typically call him Fatty Guo or Stinky Guo whenever there were no other people around.
"We still have to pay our accommodation when we go to Gao Fen. We'll regard the money saved as my bonus. It's also our first time staying in a five-star hotel. It's a nice experience to have." A large-minded Lou Zhisheng tried to console her.
Qi Fang rolled her eyes at him. "Won't your back hurt to stay in a room that costs you a thousand yuan per night? Cheng, why don't you stay in our room instead?"
"No, no. I'm fine. The hotel I picked is close to the arena. It's quiet and convenient." Lou Cheng turned down his mom's kindness, wanting this old couple to enjoy themselves.
His cell phone rang. The phone call was from Jiang Fei.
"Cheng, we're outside your neighborhood. Are you done packing?" Fatty Jiang then lowered his voice and snickered. "Old Cheng knows you're participating in the tournament, so he persuaded our monitor and Cao Lele to play in Gao Fen."
"Wow! Old Cheng is so skilled now. Then I'll wait for Tao Xiaofei's car." Lou Cheng answered in surprise, before coming to a realization. "No, my parents are also going to Gao Fen. I'll take the bullet train with them."
"Are you worried that two cars won't be enough for all of us? Hurry up and refund your ticket. Don't waste money!" Jiang Fei proposed generously.
Lou Cheng counted the number of people and nodded. "Okay then. I'll go tell them now."
Qi Fang, of course, agreed happily since it was his son's friends who invited them for the free car ride. She told the girls to get their tickets refunded. Together they carried their luggage and waited at the gate of their neighborhood.
"Dad, mom, you take Xiaofei's car." Lou Cheng greeted Tao Xiaofei and arranged for his parents, Qi Yunfei, and Chen Xiaoxiao to sit in the BMW.
He led Ma Xi to Chiang Fei's car and saw Cheng Qili riding shotgun. Qiu Hailin and Cao Lele sat at the back.
"Cheng, good luck!" the two girls cheered with a smile.
Fatty Jiang had described Lou Cheng as an invincible fighter, making them doubt the truth of his words. They did not have the curiosity to confirm their doubts. They only came to have fun.
"Thank you!" Lou Cheng replied courteously. Then he turned to his cousin and said, "Xixi, you sit in this car."
After he getting everyone a place in the cars, he discovered a serious problem. Just now when he was counting people, he did not count himself!
The seats were all full, but he was not yet in!
This...
"Cheng, how are you going?" Jiang Fei looked at him with puzzlement.
He thought that he could not ask any of them to step out of the cars. And since they have to take the expressway, it was a bad idea to cram everyone in… Lou Cheng was momentarily stunned and hesitated to answer.
"I'll take the martial arts school bus... "
"Okay!" Without any hesitation, Jiang Fei waved and started his car, driving after Tao Xiaofei.
They were not at all worried about Lou Cheng!
Did they leave just like that? Watching his cheerleaders leave, the "protagonist" stood still in bewilderment, kissed by the hot sun and left in the dust.
Just who was the main character here?
After packing her luggage, Wu Ting followed her dad to pick up Wei Renjie and his secretary.
"Little girl, why are you so happy?" Wei Renjie asked with a big smile.
This time, he wanted to personally supervise the Xiushan Martial Arts School to select members for the special training based on their performances in the tournament.
The leading fighter had already been decided. It was a recommendation from Headmaster Chu Weicai.
Wu Ting replied happily, "Because my coach is also participating in the tournament!"
"Your coach? Lou Cheng? Not bad... " Wei Renjie said perfunctorily.
As someone with a high status, he was naturally unaware of how the Summer School in the Martial Arts School operated. He thought VIP classes were the same as postgraduate education under a well-known professor, where the teaching assistant will instruct the students most of the time.
When Wu Qinggui heard this, he felt a little puzzled. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but in the end, he kept his silence.
Luo Cheng first called the school to tell them his plans and then he made a maniac dash to rush there. Finally, he saw the Gushan Martial Arts School rented bus.
The moment he boarded the bus, Xu Rongfei and the other disciples stood up one by one and respectfully greeted him.
"Brother Lou."
Everyone knew how effective his coaching was these days.
Lou Cheng had long gotten tired of correcting them, so he merely nodded in response. He then walked to the seat beside Qin Rui and smiled to Chu Weicai and Dai Linfeng who were in the seats behind. "Headmaster Chu, I'm sorry to trouble you."
"What trouble? To be precise, you're still a member of our school." Chu Weicai laughed.
Lou Cheng did not say much. He turned around and sat down. He leaned against his seat to stretch and the bus door closed at the same time. The bus started to move.
Everyone had been waiting for very long, as if they were waiting for him alone.
Their goal: Youth Tournament!