Chapter 20: A Challenger At the Door
We commonly see such practitioners around. In fact, they are ones who make up the bulk of martial artists.
Experts like Lin Sheng and Poison Scorpion were as rare as hen’s teeth. They belonged to the group of practitioners who managed to utilize the extent of their studies to the fullest.
4While people like Lin Sheng could carry the fate and responsibilities of their martial sect on their shoulders, people like Li Fei could be better described as outer circle disciples.
However, even outer circle disciples could be considered as masters in the eyes of regular folk.
“Are you also part of the martial arts world, Mr. Lu?” Li Fei asked as he looked at Lu Xuan. While Lu Xuan looked young from his appearance alone, the dominating pressure he had was not something that one could develop within a short time.
Even if he had kept it collected within his body, some people are born to be different from others, even if they were simply standing there.
He was an untainted lotus flower emerging from the mud, an outstanding existence within the common crowd, the crane standing tall among a peck of chickens… Phrases like these were made to describe people like Lu Xuan.
2“No, I am not part of your pugilistic world!”
Of course, Lu Xuan quickly denied it.
He was not part of the martial arts circle for sure; he was a cultivator. While warriors belonged to a subset of cultivators, he was not in that subset.
Upon hearing his words, Li Fei misunderstood and took it that Lu Xuan did not know any martial arts. He could not yet comprehend why Lu Xuan felt special, though. Pale skinned and clean looking, Lu Xuan did not look like someone who had practiced martial arts.
“No matter what, you have an exceptional air around you, Mr. Lu. Your insight is impeccable, and you have an in-depth understanding of my master’s intentions. If you are interested, you may consider joining our Martial Arts Gym. I will waive all fees for you!” Li Fei hurriedly offered.
“I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not interested!”
Lu Xuan declined.
Li Fei did not insist, He looked towards Ling Fei and said, “It would still be possible for you to do martial training with us, Ling Fei. However, we might need to postpone it to the afternoon. We have something later!”
“What do you have on, Senior Li?” Ling Fei’s interest was piqued.
At the same time, Lu Xuan noticed that more and more students had gathered in the Martial Arts Gym. At the same time, their expressions became grimmer as the minutes went by.
It was almost as if something terrible was about to happen, and they could not help the grave expression on their faces.
“I heard that that guy called Park Ji Hyun’s very powerful. What should we do? He’s coming over to challenge us!”
4“The Gym Master can handle this, I think. Although rumor has it that Park Ji Hyun’s a black belt or whatnot, our Gym Master’s also a martial arts master. There’s nothing to be afraid of!”
“He has already crippled two of our first-level Neijin seniors. They are still recuperating in the hospital!”
“He’s too much! This is China. How dare a Korean come and commit such atrocities over here?!”
10The worried chatter of the anxious students made it into Lu Xuan’s ears.
He made out what was going on right away.
Li Fei looked at Ling Fei and then glanced once again at Lu Xuan. He paused and explained, “I will be honest, Ling Fei. Someone will come this morning to openly challenge us!”
“Coming over for a challenge? Who’s the blind man? Doesn’t he know that you’re the provincial champion of kickboxing?” Ling Fei smiled mildly.
Li Fei’s expression, however, became slightly serious. “He’s the new President of the TaeKwonDo club. Ling Fei, have you heard of the exchange student from Korea, Park Ji Hyun?”
Ling Fei frowned as she recalled, “You mean that plastic surgery guy? I heard that he got onto the rankings of campus heartthrob!”
3Li Fei nodded, “That’s him. Two months ago, I defeated the then President of the TaeKwonDo club during an interclub competition within the campus. Park Ji Hyun has since taken over as the President of the TaeKwonDo club. It was said that the very first day he joined the club, he defeated everyone in the TaeKwonDo club and forced them to change their President. Two days ago, he defeated two of our strongest elite students. Yesterday, he came up to us and challenged me, full name and all, to an open battle!”
Lu Xuan wasn’t surprised when he heard that. The martial arts clubs within schools had always been competitors. Furthermore, martial artists had always been rowdy and difficult to control. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have a saying that went, “pugilists flaunt the law with martial arts.”
Sparrings and challenges were commonplace between warriors.
“Are you confident then, Senior Li?” Ling Fei asked.
Li Fei shook his head. “That Park Ji Hyun is very strong, and he is way more dangerous than we could ever grasp. I cannot say anything for sure, as I have not fought him. However, I have invited a senior from my sect to help out. He’s taking his Masters in our university, and so it’s not a violation of the rules!”
Ling Fei could feel the immense pressure weighing on Li Fei. She had known Li Fei for quite a couple of years, and they had always been on good terms. She knew very well about how prideful Li Fei was. If he weren’t genuinely unsure of his odds of winning, he would never bring in back up from the outside.
“That’s why you need not worry, Ling Fei. My talents are limited, and I can only be considered to be in the outer circle disciple in my sect. However, my senior is different. He has been learning under the direct guidance of my master and is a lot stronger than I am. Even if Park Ji Hyun does come, it would not be that easy for him to leave!”
Li Fei assured.
Ling Fei truly wanted to tell Li Fei that Lu Xuan, whom he assumed to know nothing about martial arts, was the real expert here. While she might not know much about the man Li Fei brought in as support, he was obviously no match for Lu Xuan, whom Lin Sheng had described as a man infinitely nearing the level of a martial arts legend.
Not long after, a middle-build, muscular man quickly made his way over to the building. He strode towards Li Fei.
“Junior Li, looks like I’m on time!” That man laughed out loud. Compared to Li Fei, this large man looked more like a man of the martial arts realm.
“Senior Zhang, thank you so much for coming over today!”
Li Fei quickly welcomed him.
That man pounded on his chest and said, “No worries. You’re my junior. Anyone who tries to wreak havoc at your place is trying to slap us in the face!”
“These two are?” That man asked when he saw Ling Fei and Lu Xuan. His gaze fell on Ling Fei for a short second before he immediately turned to Lu Xuan. Almost instinctively, he could tell that there was something not that simple about Lu Xuan.
COMMENT
While he could not pinpoint what that feeling was, he believed in his gut instinct. It was the sixth sense of a warrior, and most of the time, they proved to be quite accurate.
“This is our junior, Ling Fei, and this is her friend, Mr. Lu Xuan. Mr. Lu Xuan, Ling Fei, this is my senior, Zhang Gang!”
Li Fei introduced them as he stood in the middle.
When Zhang Gang was looking fixedly at Lu Xuan, Lu Xuan was also observing Zhang Gang. He quickly concluded that he was an expert who had cultivated to the third level of hidden energy, AnJin.
Zhang Gang should have just broken into the level of AnJin, and so he was not yet adept at suppressing his pressure. However, he was undoubtedly a lot more powerful than Li Fei.
A warrior of his caliber was more than enough to participate as a trump card in a campus competition.
“Nice to meet you!” Zhang Gang greeted.
Ling Fei felt a little amazed. She was used to being the center of attention wherever she went no matter the occasion, but that was not the case today. First, it was Li Fei, and then it was Zhang Gang. Both of them focused their attention on Lu Xuan almost instantly.
1It was like there was an invisible spotlight shining on Lu Xuan, guiding their eyes to notice him at first glance.
However, she did not know that the current Lu Xuan did develop some sort of subtle magnetism towards martial arts practitioners. It was so very slight, that even if they could not pick it up clearly, they could still detect a faint scent of a certain something.
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