At lunchtime, Lu Guoping returned home. Knowing that Lu Chenzhou would come, he bought some snacks that children love on the way and handed them to Lu Chenzhou upon entering the house.
Then came the usual nagging.
"The Yang Flame Lamp wasn’t turned off at night, was it?"
"No, there were still occasional Void Things causing trouble in Su City according to the news, so we didn’t dare turn it off. We’re not fools; that’s one expense we really can’t skimp on."
Li Xianghua hurriedly said.
Lu Chenzhou then said,
"You should spend that fifty thousand scholarship, I don’t have to worry about food and drink at school, and Martial Arts Supplements are supplied by the state; all I need is a bit of pocket money."
"You keep it, you earned it!"
There was indeed a bit of a cash crunch at home recently. Between the martial arts academy, Martial Arts Supplements, and various living expenses and electricity bills, quite a bit had been spent.
He did have some large fixed deposits, but the terms weren’t up yet. Work hadn’t been going well either, as the company was getting on board with the trend of automating with Artificial Intelligence—the many jobs being replaced, including his tech position, which suddenly wasn’t worth much.
Cursing didn’t change anything, and with nowhere else to go, Lu Guoping stayed put.
"I don’t need it, you keep it."
Lu Chenzhou said with a rather firm tone. As his strength increased and with admission to the Martial Arts School, his status had risen, and the old couple respected his opinions even more.
"Alright, just tell Mom if you need money."
Li Xianghua agreed without waiting for Lu Guoping to speak.
Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.
"Core must be stable! Arms must be agile! Legs must be lively!"
Ji Xuantong himself was demonstrating, coaching the students on their "Sea-sweeping Body" technique.
Shi Ruyu was also among the students, listening intently. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
"Du, you give it a try."
Du stepped onto the wooden post, managing to maintain his position for a full ten minutes before descending, his face showing delight, and the other students looked on with envy.
"Brother Du is still amazing."
"Has he already got the hang of ’Sea-sweeping Body’?"
"More than that, he might be close to mastery."
"Apart from Brother Lu, Brother Du is the best."
"Brother Lu? Is he also from our hall?"
A curious newcomer asked.
"You’re new, so you wouldn’t know how incredible Brother Lu is. A low-class root bone, he’s made breakthroughs through the Third Rank in just half a year, and now he’s been accepted early into Dragon City Martial Arts University."
The newcomer was shocked.
"Is he really low-class root bone?"
"He’s been tested several times, and that’s indeed the case. But Brother Lu must have had an epiphany. His comprehension can’t be measured by ordinary standards, so he’s still a genius."
"I’m quite close with Brother Lu, I’ll send you his WeChat later, and you can add him. We’re all from the same Martial Arts Academy; it’s good to get to know each other."
The students of the Martial Arts Academy started to take pride in knowing Lu Chenzhou.
Remembering Lu Chenzhou, Du felt even more motivated.
He thought about the days he sparred with Lu Chenzhou with a sense of nostalgia.
"Will I see him at the Martial Arts Academy again?"
What’s available at the Martial Arts Academy is available at the Martial Arts School.
Except for some personal special training needed for Martial Artists like Huang Hao, most who move on to the Martial Arts University won’t—or will rarely—return to the Martial Arts Academy.
"Keep training, no chit-chat."
Ji Xuantong scolded and walked away, mumbling to himself,
"All of them together don’t work as hard as Lu Chenzhou does."
Just at this moment, a figure strode in powerfully.
Lu Chenzhou’s face beamed with a smile.
Seeing this, Ji Xuantong couldn’t help but smile and said,
"You’re back, eh? How do you find the Martial Arts University?"
"It’s great, but I’ve missed everyone here."
The other students exploded in excitement.
"Holy shit, Brother Lu is back?"
"It feels like Brother Lu got even stronger in just a week."
The new student also eyed Lu Chenzhou.
"So this is the man the old students can’t stop thinking about?"
Shi Ruyu clapped his hands and said,
"Welcome home, Brother Lu."
Lu Chenzhou replied with joy,
"Sister, it’s been a long time."
A group of people surrounded Lu Chenzhou, very curious about his experiences at the Martial Arts School. Lu Chenzhou did not talk about the confidential stuff, but he shared plenty of ordinary amusing stories.
The students were filled with longing.
Du was warming up, itching to give it a try.
"Chenzhou, let’s have a spar!"
Aside from a few rarely seen community students, he couldn’t find a suitable sparring partner in the academy and was eager to scratch that itch.
"Shall we go on the wooden stakes?"
The two jumped up onto the wooden stakes, and Lu Chenzhou noticed that Du’s movement technique had improved significantly; it seemed he had really worked hard during this period. The determination to ’break the cauldrons and sink the boats’ evidently had an effect.
With such resolve, there would be no problem getting into Pingjiang Martial Arts University.
"I’ll use ’Swallow Return Fist’ and ’Sea-sweeping Body.’"
Lu Chenzhou thought for a moment.
"I learned ’Mountain Crossing Body’ at the school recently; I’ll use that."
His ’Sea-sweeping Body’ was already mastered, and it would be too easy against Du.
It had only been a few days since he learned it; he was at best a beginner.
"Yeah, it’s just a spar anyway, winning or losing doesn’t matter."
"Alright then, watch my fist!"
Du transformed into a diving swallow sweeping across the sea, throwing a powerful splitting punch. In contrast, Lu Chenzhou moved like a `Black Tiger Crossing the Mountain` through the forest, his feet making a loud clacking noise on the wooden stakes.
The fierce punch almost caused Du to lose his balance, but with his experience, he dodged Lu Chenzhou’s next charging punch and swept a kick towards his opponent’s lower body.
"Nice leg technique!"
Lu Chenzhou leaped up, like a tiger jumping a stream, and then kicked towards Du’s head, who quickly retreated. The kick shook the wooden stake violently. Lu Chenzhou landed on it, steady as a tiger, his waist powering up before lashing out again.
With each punch accompanied by his movement technique, his strength grew more ferocious. The explosive sounds of the training clothes snapping signaled the unstoppable force behind each strike, leaving the students awe-struck.
"Is this really the power of a Third Rank?"
"It feels like Brother Lu has gotten even stronger... and it’s only been a week."
Lu Chenzhou easily dodged Du’s attack and followed up with a kick. Despite Du’s attempt to block and dissipate the force, it was to no avail. The subsequent flurry of left and right spinning kicks came too fast.
He tumbled uncontrollably off the wooden stake.
Du rolled upon landing and sprung up, feeling exhilarated and far from embarrassed.
After all, Lu Chenzhou was somebody who got into Dragon City Martial Arts University.
Wasn’t it normal to be unable to beat him?
"Great! Spectacular!"
As a Fifth Rank, Old Zhang couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Shi Ruyu also smiled and applauded, thinking,
"My apprentice seems to have transformed again in just a week."
Ji Xuantong felt extremely satisfied in his heart.
The Martial Arts School was worth it.
With ’Mountain Crossing Body’ coupled with ’Black Tiger Fist’, Lu Chenzhou had indeed brought out the true power that Tiger Form Fist should possess; the Martial Arts School really made a difference.
His insight was incredibly sharp. He knew that, both being Third Rank, even two Dus would be no match for Lu Chenzhou now; the young man hadn’t even gone all out.
For the Martial Arts Academy’s exchange competition in May, Old Ji was determined to prevail, regardless of the child of the mighty elephant, or whoever had the True Inheritance of Jiang Jiao. In front of Lu Chenzhou from the Martial Arts School...
They were insignificant!
After socializing and sparring with everyone, Lu Chenzhou followed Ji Xuantong to the Martial Arts Room and said, "Teacher, I still want to learn ’Swallow Return Fist’."
"Okay, as long as you can handle it, I’ll teach you! Tiger Form is a fist technique for short, fierce attacks, but it’s not adept at agile fighting. Swallow Form will complement that weakness perfectly."
Old Ji had been too conservative before.
A genius requires the teaching methods suited for a genius!