Martial Arts Master

“I’m finally able to do this interview.”

She had initially wanted to say, “You took too long,” but when “Warrior Sage” surfaced in her mind, she subconsciously changed her words to be more subtle.

Lou Cheng didn’t sit upright like most martial artists. Instead, he leaned back comfortably and said,

“I can’t help it. I have to prepare for the Warrior Sage Battle.”

“Alright... Today we’re doing a live stream on the internet without any delay or edits. If you say something you shouldn’t, everyone will hear you and you can’t go back. Therefore, please consider carefully.” Shu Rui said in a half-teasing, half-reminding manner.

Lou Cheng smiled, nodded his head, and said,

“In that case, I better think thrice before I speak.”

Shu Rui was holding on to a stack of papers that looked like the outline for the interview. However, she didn’t even look at them, instead treating them as props.

“First, I’d like to congratulate you on becoming the Warrior Sage!” She said with a radiant smile. “After that battle, online and offline appraisals of you have gone up once again. They were full of bombastic, descriptive words such as, “The future will be one super-strong among a group of strong’; ‘You have already reached the level of Dragon King and Warrior Sage’; ‘You are the king of all the contenders’; and ‘You will be the record holder for the number of titles’ among many others. What do you think of these?”

Lou Cheng thought for a few seconds before answering honestly,

“When I first saw them, I felt pretty satisfied.”

Seeing Shu Rui break into laughter, he shook his head and continued,

“That’s human nature.”

“However, they’ve lifted me a little too high. I still need several years to reach the level of Dragon King and Warrior Sage. Right now, I’m in the ranks of super-class. I’m not afraid of them and they aren’t afraid of me. In a few years, others might also approach the level of Dragon King and Warrior Sage. For example, Kirin and God-Slaying Saber, who haven’t yet reached fifty, or Wisdom King, who will be just around thirty, or Peng Leyun and Ren Li, who have their own thoughts and martial arts paths.”

Shu Rui looked around and complimented without reservation,

“But I believe that you will be the brightest among them.”

“Thank you.” Lou Cheng could only reply in such a way.

After thinking for several seconds, Shu Rui continued on the previous topic and delved deeper,

“I’m not saying this without basis. You’ve defeated Dragon King! The punch that helped Dragon King made the breakthrough was truly earth-shattering, unparalleled, and shocking. I believe that other than Warrior Sage, not a single super-class expert would have been able to take it directly.”

Lou Cheng shook his head and laughed,

“First, it’s pointless if the strongest move doesn’t hit its opponent. Even if they can’t block it, they could avoid it. Secondly, I didn’t use that casually. It required the correct location, opportunity, and luck to be able to do so.”

He was rather vague in his explanation and didn’t delve into specifics. After all, he couldn’t possibly let others know too much about his trump card.

He had been able to execute that punch largely because of horrifying pressure from Dragon King, which helped him complete his compression and created a situation where he could gather all his Forces into one point. Without that, he would have probably needed five or six years before he could finish the move by himself.

Dragon King was able to reach the Forbidden Sect because he understood Lou Cheng’s Cosmic Universe Style well. In addition, he had been deciphering the Restriction Sect’s Clear Jade Chapter for a long time. If Dragon King had faced the Warrior Sage, it would probably have been more problematic and troublesome to achieve the advancement. In fact, he might not have been able to do so at all.

Other super-class experts wouldn’t go through so much effort just to be defeated. They would intentionally avoid letting incidents like this from happening.

“Only a punch with the right location, opportunity, and luck could defeat the Dragon King.” Shu Rui seconded. Without pushing further, she changed the topic and asked, “After two years of observation, everyone is very interested in your Cosmic Universe Style. I heard that you intend to set up your own school. Hmm...different than setting up a sect. I think I speak for the audience when I ask, ‘Where can we access it?’”

Lou Cheng pondered for sometime before answering,

“I would pass the fundamentals to a martial arts school under Ice God Sect and Longhu Club. If there’s a good talent, perhaps I’ll take a disciple.”

“Whoa, that’s going to be exciting!” Shu Rui said emotionally. “It’s a shame that I’m already old and can no longer practice martial arts.”

“You aren’t really old.” Lou Cheng said courteously, seeing the opportunity to publicize for his wife. “Plus, the modified Cosmic Universe Style can be used for better health and beauty.”

“Really?” Shu Rui blurted.

Lou Cheng laughed and said, “We won’t rely on advertisement but on its effects. We’ll be coming out with something when the time is right. Yeah, this modification was done mainly by my wife.”

Shu Rui’s eyes were already turning red. All she wanted to ask was when it would be ready.

She continued with a few teasing sentences that all the women would be looking forward to it. After which, she giggled and asked,

“Wife? That’s so sweet! You aren’t calling her your girlfriend, but instead directly calling her your wife? Are you guys getting married soon?”

“Yeah, we’ve already collected the marriage certificate. All that’s left is the wedding. It will be in October.” Lou Cheng shared his joyous news.

After the parents of both parties had agreed on the date of the wedding, Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke waited for a few days before telling them they had collected the marriage certificate.

Obviously, they didn’t tell them when they had collected it, as Qi Fang and the rest thought it was done after the discussion of the wedding was completed.

“Congratulations on these successive joyous events.” Shu Rui placed the papers in her lap and congratulated him in the martial arts custom.

Before Lou Cheng could reply, she continued excitedly,

“What kind of wedding are you having? Are you more inclined to modern or classical?”

“More classical. However, there won’t be anything about covering the bride’s head with a red cloth,” answered Lou Cheng honestly.

“I’ll be looking forward to that scene!” Shu Rui said as she clapped her hands.

The casual chat-like interview continued for some time before Shu Rui recalled some things. She smiled and asked,

“You’ve said that Dragon King is your idol. How does it feel to defeat your idol?”

“It’s complicated and felt a little like fate. My master once told me that the greatest respect and gratitude you can show your idol is to challenge him and defeat him.” Lou Cheng answered after deliberating.

“Other than Dragon King, are there any other martial artists you idolized?” Shu Rui asked curiously.

Lou Cheng didn’t hide his answer of Late Bloomer, Liang Yifan. “At that time, I was hoping to be a late bloomer like him.”

“What a shame that you made it big while still young.” Shu Rui teased him a little. She thought for a while before continuing, “Liang Yifan once said that he regretted not being able to see you start out on the path of martial arts.”

Lou Cheng laughed lightly and said,

“He actually did.”

“Eh? Really?” Shu Rui’s eyes opened up widely.

Lou Cheng smiled and continued,

“When he came to Songcheng University, I was one of the security personnel. In the end, I even asked him for his autograph. However, I was rather insignificant. He probably doesn’t remember it.”

Liang Yifan, who was playing with his kids at home while listening to the broadcast, lifted his head suddenly with shock.

“Oh oh oh!” Shu Rui got even more excited. “That sounds magical! A small security guard at that time who could only look at his idol from afar, while burning the midnight oil. Eventually, he finally made it to the level of his idol and even defeated him!”

The online forums fervently discussed the topic. Everyone was unusually excited.

After all, who didn’t have such dreams?

After talking about Liang Yifan, Shu Rui caught her breath and looked for other topics to continue.

“Lou Cheng...no, I mean Warrior Sage! When I did the ‘A Day with Physical Invulnerability Experts’ show, I noticed that your hobbies were mainly online. Do you visit your own fan forum?”

“I do,” Lou Cheng answered simply.

Shu Rui smiled and continued, “As a member of Longhu Club and an ex-fan, did you also visit the fan forums of Longhu Club or Dragon King?”

“I did.” Lou Cheng didn’t hide the fact.

On the forum, Wonton Seller said,

“[clenched fist emoji] I called it. He came by and looked frequently!”

“It’s over... I’ve said bad things about him. Will I be killed with a punch?” A forum user said jokingly.

“I’m probably going to be burnt to death...”

While everyone discussed fervently, Shu Rui asked,

“In that case, do you have a registered username? What’s your nickname? Can you tell us?”

“Uhm...” Lou Cheng laughed softly before answering, “It’s Schrodinger’s Tiger.”

“What?” Within the forum, Wanton Seller shrieked in horror.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“What the hell?”

All kinds of messages expressing their shock and surprise popped up.

...

When the interview ended, Lou Cheng boarded his commercial car and returned to his mansion along Xiapei Lake.

He passed through the scans and placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner to unlock the door. When he stepped in, he heard Yan Zheke ask,

“Cheng, how do I look? I want to wear this for our wedding!”

Lou Cheng lifted his eyes and saw his wife in an elegant red Han Dynasty costume with black trimming. Illuminated by the light, she was so beautiful, as though she had walked right out of a drawing.

In that instant, he seemed to have returned to his freshman year. He was standing some distance from the martial arts stadium. He was looking from afar at Yan Zheke, who was wearing a red and white Han Dynasty costume.

Lou Cheng smiled and answered softly,

“My fairy!”

These sweet and beautiful memories seemed to have been only a year ago.