Published at 7th of February 2020 07:25:45 PM
At noon, Lou Cheng left the Volcano Experiment Lab . Wiping his face with a white towel, he took the elevator and arrived at his private resting room . As someone who cared about his image, he refused to use his heat to evaporate his sweat, which would lower the air quality for everyone else .
Twisting open the door, Lou Cheng stepped inside .
"I…" The quiet ambience stopped him from finishing his sentence .
Golden sunlight spilled into the office-styled room from the French windows, painting everything in magnificent brilliance . The haloes around Yan Zheke's dark hair lent an oil painting quality to the scene .
With one hand below her chin and another hand on the mouse, the girl was gazing intently at the computer screen . There was a pile of printed documents at her side .
Sometimes she frowned . Sometimes she nibbled on her fountain pen . Sometimes she tapped the keyboard noisily . Sometimes she wrote things down on the paper . Completely absorbed, she gave merely a perfunctory glance with her beautiful, ink-black eyes at her husband's arrival .
Lou Cheng chuckled and sat down on the sofa without a word . He preserved the silence as he watched his his girl at work, often nibbling on her pen subconsciously .
After a while, Yan Zheke suddenly gave an "Oh!" and raised her head to look at Lou Cheng .
"What time is it now?" she asked in a daze .
Lou Cheng lit up his phone screen and glanced at the time .
"Almost one . "
Pursing her lips, Yan Zheke looked away . Her realization came with a little embarrassment .
"No wonder I kept feeling like I should eat something…"
"Haha, it's not too late . The afternoon markets are still open," said Lou Cheng . He stood up and walked towards his girl .
"Mhm…I want crab-roe buns, white sugar sponge cakes, Emperor Prawn dumplings…" mused Yan Zheke . She couldn't help but gulp down some saliva .
Then, keeping the pen and paper, she offered her hand .
"I'll leave the rest for tomorrow!"
Taking her hand, Lou Cheng smiled .
"Ditto . "
. . .
Having sated their appetites, Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke left the restaurant side by side . They stepped into the escalator to the first floor .
"There's a lot of people over there," she discerned through the mall windows as they descended . A bunch of people had crowded before a storefront on the street to their left . There seemed to be some kind of commotion .
Following her gaze, Lou Cheng saw a dense crowd . Rather interested, he suggested, "Let's go take a look . "
Even a Physical Invulnerability Mighty One has a curious heart and the genes of an onlooker .
"Okay!" said, Yan Zheke, equally enthusiastic .
Reaching the first floor, they went out of the mall entrance and walked for almost a hundred meters before arriving at where the crowd was gathered . It was a two-level building that exuded elegance and profoundness . There was something decidedly Japanese about it .
Lou Cheng read out the sign .
"Shenya dojo…"
"Sounds like a Japanese dojo…" said Yan Zheke thoughtfully . "I think I've heard of it before, it's an ancient sect . "
Peering in, Lou Cheng saw a number of girls in yukatas in front of the door . They stood abreast, forming a beautiful sight that caught the eyes of many passersby . There was a table on both sides, on which Japanese swords of varying lengths were displayed .
"You're right, it is a martial arts dojo," agreed Lou Cheng .
Looking away thoughtfully, Yan Zheke suddenly giggled, "Does this count as snatching our rice bowl?" referencing the Chinese metaphor for stealing business .
Go, Husky! Flatten their dojo! Strip their signboard!
As the girl played the scene out inwardly, Lou Cheng merely smiled .
Sponsored Content
"It's no big deal . Didn't I successively train a batch of Taoists in America in spite of the abundance of dojos?"
"Well, in this day and age, people can't get enough of novelty . Martial arts from another country, unusual environments, a touch of rich history…it's no wonder that it became popular," said Yan Zheke, gently biting her lips and giving a dimpled smile .
From there, they shot the breeze for a while . Then, pointing to the entrance, she said,
"Shall we have a look-see?"
"Forget it . If I go in there, it would be no different than challenging the dojo . Plus, I would be bullying the weak," said Lou Cheng after hesitation .
Puffing her cheeks, Yan Zheke nodded slightly . "You're right…there's not much to see in an open public dojo anyway . "
On the second floor of the Shenya dojo, a girl in red and white yukata walked to the window and peered at the bustling commercial area .
She was about 1 . 6m tall, with baby-fat on her cheeks and clear, profound eyes . It was no other than the young genius beauty, seen once every three thousand years, the successor of Xinzhai Sect, Kaori Karasawa .
A girl with slanted bangs walked to her slowly . "Kaori-chan, what are you looking at?"
Her features were natural and pleasant, but not beautiful . However, the way her eyes curved when she smiled was redolent of the brilliant sun .
Holding a sheathed tachi in her hand, Kaori Karasawa had a relaxed expression on her face .
"Just looking at the busy streets, there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between us, China, and America, apart from the language . "
"Yet the people in every country give off the feeling of being starkly different from each other . "
"Do people from the Xinzhai Sect all talk so cryptically? It's almost as if you are monks," said the girl talking to her, beaming . "Let's talk about you . l know about you . Why did you suddenly apply for a visa to China? Didn't you recently enter Deity Territory?
Scanning across the streets, Kaori Karasawa located a few surveillance cameras . Rather sentimentally, she said,
"I have to fulfill a wish . "
"In the previous King of Youth Pro League, I lost to Peng-kun from China even when I was the first to advance to what they call the Inhuman stage . One of the reasons was that I wasn't allowed to use a weapon . But, I have to admit, he was very strong . "
"At that time, I told myself I would have to fight him again with my full strength . "
Sponsored Content
"Two months ago, when I returned from the war-torn zones, I realized that even Peng-kun's speed of advancement outstrips mine . "
"I don't want to wait any longer . I'm scared that if I keep waiting, I'll lose my courage . "
"Therefore, after mastering all the Kendo in Xinzhai Sect, I immediately made my way here . "
"Peng Leyun…Why not go straight to Hudong?" the girl with slanted bangs frowned slightly .
"I wanted to walk around and sightsee for a bit to gain momentum . " Looking away, Kaori Karasawa suddenly froze as she saw a familiar figure—Lou Cheng in his black-framed glasses and dark knitted hat!
Lou Cheng immediately felt the presence of her aura . Raising his head, he looked at the second-floor window . His eyes met hers, deep like an ancient well .
Subconsciously, Kaori Karasawa gathered her aura, guarded her mind, and reached for her tachi .
Like a heavenly forged weapon long sealed in a coffer, she had been waiting for too long while sharpening herself and honing her skills . And now, she was ready to radiate and slice through the heavens .
However, at that moment, Lou Cheng seemed to vanish . Before her was endless darkness and majestic stars . She would melt if she got too close, and she would freeze if she got too far .
Such majesty, such vastness, such danger, and such terror . It made Kaori Karasawa feel as though she would only cause a small disturbance if she unsheathed her blade .
This was like the times in the past when she practiced her Kendo below the starry sky . Her target might be the waterfall, the bamboo forests, or the big rocks . But never the starry sky, because that would be a waste of effort .
For a long time, she couldn't clench her right hand on the hilt of the sword .
The universe dispersed as the stars faded . Retracting his gaze, Lou Cheng led Yan Zheke, hand-in-hand, to the other end of the street .
"What happened?" she asked, puzzled .
The corner of Lou Cheng's mouth moved slightly .
"An opponent of the past," he replied evenly .
"She has also attained Physical Invulnerability . "
Sponsored Content
On the second floor, Kaori Karasawa drew a breath as she watched the two figures fade into the distance .
She already knew about him attaining Physical Invulnerability and his current standard from watching his recent matches .
However, compared to the previous time, his essence was strange . An unprecedented level of strange .
Strange to the extent that she couldn't draw her blade .
Noticing Kaori Karasawa's silence, the girl with slanted bangs waved at her .
"Kaori-chan?
"Eh?" Kaori Karasawa turned her head blankly, collecting her thoughts .
"Are you . . . thinking about something?" the girl with slanted bangs asked cautiously .
Kaori Karasawa ruminated for a couple of seconds .
"China has too many Physical Invulnerability Mighty Ones . "
"Mhm, hmm?" the girl with slanted bangs waited for her to continue .
Kaori Karasawa's face was wistful as she continued .
"And we have too little . "
She went on before the girl with slanted bangs could ask again .
"That's why we couldn't organize large-scale top tier pro matches and titled matches . That's why we couldn't go through trials on a weekly basis . Unlike their Physical Invulnerability experts, we have to constantly improve our ways and techniques . "
"That is indeed the case," the girl with slanted bangs nodded in agreement .
Kaori Karasawa suddenly gave a beautiful smile . Mysteriously, she said,
"Do you think it's possible for me to stay in China and attend similar competitions?"
"Apart from sects, they also have Martial Arts Federations and clubs . They do accept foreigners, right?"