172: Azure Dragon Squad's Strategy

Chapter 172: Azure Dragon Squad's Strategy

Translator: TransNEditor: TransN

"What idea?" The Azure Dragon Squad's leader, Mo Zicong, turned back from the front seat and stared at Deng Hua in shock.

Lou Cheng had mastered the Tremor Punch, and Lin Que was going to return, which seemed that we were doomed to lose. What other ideas could there be?

Deng Hua touched his Mohican hair and exhaled. "We can apply for special competition format!"

"Deng, are you dumb? We don't know how to do formations!" Zhu Tao, a baldy with short stubble, looked at his friend like his friend was an idiot.

Special competition format meant that the team could claim that they fought in formations, and applied for the permission to have three people enter the ring at one time. The opponent could also use formations to fight, or put in up to six people to use numbers to match formations.

The Azure Dragon Squad was made up of a collaboration of several martial arts club. Even if they did have formations, the four professional fighters mastered entirely different skills, how could they execute any formations?

Xu Zheng, who was driving could not hold and started to scold. "Deng, stop thinking about the impossible. Damn, something went into the heads of the Songcheng University team right! Do they have nothing better to do? Why are they in these preliminaries? Now, we have to wait till next year!"

When they first formed the squad, they were confident. They were sure that they would come out tops in any division or group. Who would know, Songcheng University would come up as a black horse. In addition, Pan Chengyun from Hongluo Martial Arts School had already attained the Professional Ninth Pin level. Jiang Guosheng and Fang Tong, both, could not be overlooked!

This was completely a "death" team that you would only come by once in a decade.

Deng Hua had already planned out the details. He smiled and said, "Yes, we don't know how to make formations, but the substitutes of the Songcheng University Martial Arts Club are very weak!"

"Tsk, share more details." Mo Zicong took a deep breath and kind of grasped what Deng Hua was trying to hint at.

Deng Hua sniggered and said, "We can't beat Lou Cheng's Tremor Punch, and we also can't beat Lin Que who is about to return. But, we can be considered as strong Professional Ninth Pin fighters right, and if we can predict what's going to happen, we wouldn't just fail right? We can probably hold them up for a while. For example, Brother Cong, you can try to fight Lin Que. Wouldn't you be KO-ed within a couple of seconds right? If we intentionally put in the effort to defend, we probably can hold two to three minutes at least?!"

"I have some confidence in this area you're talking about." Mo Zicong nodded lightly, somewhat understanding what Deng Hua was thinking about.

Deng Hua looked at baldy senior, Zhu Tao, and chuckled. "Brother Cong will take care of Lin Que. I'll handle Lou Cheng, the rest of Songcheng University team are no-professionals. Maybe not even One-Pin, do you think you can beat the rest of them within a short time?"

"Many mosquitoes can kill an elephant. I can only say the chances are 50-50." Zhu Tao answered cautiously.

"That's it, isn't it?" Deng Hua raised his voice. "Wait till you're done with those non-professionals, you can come and join hands with us to attack Lin Que or Lou Cheng. I doubt they've more than a pair of hands and legs. If they get flustered, they'll probably make more mistakes!"

"Deng is right. If we don't do it this way, we wouldn't even have a 10% chance of winning. We can only hope that Lou Cheng and Lin Que don't perform well, and with the special competition format, we would have at least 50% chance of victory!" Mo Zicong agreed readily. "Let's apply quickly. If we're late, it'll be difficult to get approval."

Once the special competition format was used, there would be a huge crowd and mess on the ring. One referee was not enough at all, even if there was a competition supervisor, it was also not enough. A specific arrangement was required, so the earlier you applied the higher chances it would be approved.

Of course, the Azure Dragon Squad themselves had some connections and could persuade the committee to "believe" in their saying of formation play.

"Great!" Zhu Tao and Xu Zhengqi shouted in agreement together, recovering the lost passion and fighting spirit.

…

Yan Zheke closed her laptop and was just about to do laundry when she heard her phone vibrate.

She picked it up to see and found that it was a call from Cheng. Unknowingly, a smile appeared on her face and she walked back to the balcony and shut the sliding door that separated the balcony from the room.

"Sorry, the number you are calling is engaged. Please try again later." Yan Zheke's eyes sparkled with mischief and said these words as formally as she could.

Why would Lou Cheng not be able to recognize his girlfriend's voice? He laughed and said, "Which telephone company would play the recorded message after a few rings?"

Yan Zheke pursed her lips and smiled. "I've always thought that you're dumb right? So maybe you'll believe when I say such stuff like caller's engaged or something!"

Her bright tone and liveliness infected Lou Cheng, making his mood better. He gently laughed and said, "I saw the video you posted on the forum..."

He spoke with tenderness and as Yan Zheke heard his voice, her dimples surfaced again. Bashfully, she said,

"What're you talking about? How come I don't understand!"

She decided to upload the video to the forum and not send it to Lou Cheng because she was too shy. She would never tell her boyfriend that she had specially asked her friends, Dirty Tong and the other all, to help him record a video of the match so that he and his fans could see it in advance.

That would be so embarrassing!

Of course, if Lou Cheng did not check the forum in the afternoon, she was all prepared not to do any explanation and sent it to him directly. Then she would say, "Quick, praise me!"

After hearing her pretending not to know what he was referring to, Lou Cheng burst out laughing, his heart warmer than ever. He asked, "What price did you pay to get this?"

Yan Zheke did not deny any further. She leaned against the window ledge of the living room and said with a small smile, "A meal."

Then, she said proudly, "I feel that "Lou Cheng's whatever" such IDs would be in high demand soon. So many people registered just now!"

"Pfft, what're they called?" If it was not because he was using the phone to speak to Yan Zheke, he really wanted to send a lovingly spoilt emoji.

Yan Zheke pressed her lips together and looked toward the sky. In slightly high-pitched voice, she said,

"Not telling you!"

After talking about random stuff for a while, she thought about something important. She took a deep breath and said,

"Cheng, my mum may be coming over these couple of days..."

Lou Cheng was shocked. "Mother... I mean auntie, why is auntie coming over on such short notice? "

About "Mother-in-law", this living species, most men feared them. It was like facing a "Queen Mother".

"It's all because of Uncle Xie! " Yan Zheke pushed all the blame to Xie Chengzhen. "That day, not only did Xie Tianque see us holding hands, his dad saw us too. We were all not aware. In the end, two days back, when he went to visit my grandpa, he spilled the beans. So, my mum found out. Good thing my brother covered us up. He said that it was because I was trying to shoo away the pesky Xie Tianque, so I asked someone to help..."

After explaining, she had no more energy to speak. She made a mental note to herself. "Those were words of Cousin, not mine..."

Luckily, Yan Zheke finished explaining in one breath. Hence Lou Cheng's did not beat too fast. He said carefully, "It's all my fault. I couldn't bear to waste time that I could spend with you... Will your mum really come and make her rounds?"

Upon hearing her boyfriend's first sentence, Yan Zheke's frown disappeared. With a serious tone, she said, "Believe me! My mum is the kind of person who would do what she says! I suspect she's probably on her way to the airport already!"

The explanation would not satisfy her intelligent mum! She would not believe!

"Huu..." Lou Cheng exhaled deeply. With some disappointment and regret, he said, "So, that means we have to keep a distance these few days?"

Yan Zheke's pearly white teeth bit her lower lip. She thought about it and replied, "It's not that serious. As long as we're careful at a couple of places Iike from the martial arts arena to the class building, from the conference hall to the bridge, the start of the pathway to my dormitory. My mum probably can't follow me all around, right?"

"Oh yes. During meal times, there're so many cafeterias, so many people, and so many tables. The chance of meeting her is really small." Lou Cheng was rejuvenated and said admirably, "But, how did you narrow down to these three "risky" places?"

"Just a guess..." Yan Zheke suddenly blushed. She looked demure and beautiful.

It was because of this matter, Dirty Tong had teased her that her mind was now corrupted and would never be pure again!

After a couple of exchanges on this topic, she worriedly asked, "Cheng, would you be unhappy? Would you feel that we have to play hide and seek and be secretive about us?"

Lou Cheng answered sincerely,

"No. In fact, I feel rather guilty myself. I feel that I'm not good enough yet, and I'm not good enough for you. In fact, I wouldn't have the guts to meet your mum. I don't have much confidence. I'm afraid I wouldn't leave a good impression. If the first impression is no good, it'll be difficult to change it, and it'll be even more challenging to be together in the future..."

"I've been trying hard to improve myself. Hoping that I'll be good enough eventually. Then, I would meet your parents and give them the first impression that I'm a reliable person, and they could give their daughter to me, with confidence..."

"Moreover, I know that I've confessed my feelings for you too abruptly. You probably haven't got used to it or accept it fully yet. If there's any pressure, I'm afraid that you'll feel that this relationship is too troublesome, too restrictive. So, there's nothing bad about being a little secretive now..."

Yan Zheke quietly listened to Lou Cheng's somewhat clumsy words, and thoroughly felt the sincere but somewhat clumsy love. With a warm and fuzzy feeling, her eyes reddened and she said softly,

"Cheng..."

Actually, I already like you very much...

"Hmm?" Lou Cheng asked.

Yan Zheke bit her lip again and smiled. She said,

"Nothing just wanted to call your name..."

About me liking you very much, I'll tell you when the time comes in the future...

…

"Mother-in-law is coming to visit..." After he put down the phone, Lou Cheng was still a little distracted. He felt that he needed to do something, but after thinking through, he concluded that not doing anything was probably the best strategy. The more he did, the more room there would be for mistakes, and the higher possibility that he would be found out.

"Ay, can't believe that though I'm only 19, I can already understand the awe of mother-in-law..." He laughed at himself. He couldn't understand how his high school and middle school classmates, those who started dating early, managed to face the "mother-in-law" pressure, or rather, didn't they meet at all?

After spending some time to calm down and straighten his thoughts, he refreshed and rechecked the forum. He saw how the Road to the Arena and the Unparalleled Dragon King had led discussion through a train of related topics: "Lou Cheng, himself-Songcheng Martial Arts Club-coach". They started to discuss his master.

"Old Dragon, you're my most respected human encyclopedia. Do you know the background of Coach Shi of the Songcheng University Martial Arts Club?" the Road to the Arena asked curiously. "I asked around before and also searched online, but I just cannot find any relevant information. He has skills from the Ice Sect, he has a last name, plus he seems to possess physical invulnerability, it should be easy to find out about him."

The Unparalleled Dragon King sent an emoji with a bitter expression. "I had searched before, but like you, I found nothing... Even his name in the list on the preliminaries website is "Coach Shi". I'm even wondering if he's really called Coach Shi! But, to have the last name, Shi and the skills of the Ice Sect, I feel that he must be related to Shi Yuejian of the 'Wuyue Club'. Of course, he could be using a fake last name..."

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Chapter 173: Eureka

Translator: TransNEditor: TransN

"Shi Yuejian..." Lou Cheng murmured. This name was not unfamiliar to him.

Born in the Internet age, he tried to find out his master's full name via search engines and wanted to know more about him. However, like "Unparalleled Dragon King" and "Road to the Arena", entering "Unique Skill of the Ice Sect" plus "Shi" through keyword searching only filtered out one result—the Physical Invulnerability Mighty One of Wuyue Club—Expert Shi Yuejian of Three Pin.

Lou Cheng suspected that she was the daughter as Geezer Shi has mentioned, also his so-called Senior Sister. But he was not certain about it. Who knows his master's real last name is?

"Why is he so mysterious?" He could not help but grumble. When he remembered that Geezer Shi had deep relationships with the military and was involved in many secret matters, he felt relieved.

"Judging from his looks, he was probably an expert when professional games just started. During those times, the Internet was not available and televisions were not popular. Games recorded in the remaining videotapes were all well-known events. But clearly, I can't think of any other Mighty Ones like him. I even suspect that he played few Challenge Tournaments." The Unparalleled Dragon King continued his analysis.

"So, you mean, he grew up in life and death fights?" The Road to the Arena was shocked.

"It's only a guess. But at that time when professional events and title matches were still in their infancy and many areas were in turmoil, it's not surprising to see life and death fights." The Unparalleled Dragon King explained.

Seeing these conversations, Lou Cheng suddenly remembered what Geezer Shi said previously. Before he became the Physical Invulnerability, he ventured in war-torn areas and even used the Thunder Roar Zen, shocking a strong opponent to death.

It quite fits in with the Unparalleled Dragon King's inference...

Lou Cheng scrolled down and found no more chats. Then he logged out from the forum, discussed this issue with Yan Zheke and waited for the dinner time.

…

Near the Weishui Lake on the next morning.

Lou Cheng came to the same place and did routine practices of Yin-Yang Stance. However, he reduced his practices on skills that he had mastered earlier, such as the 24 Blizzard Strikes. He wanted more time to train the Thunder Roar Zen and meditate on the essence and spirit of the visualization.

The ice sheets were boundless in the white snow and the wind was blowing with biting cold... After looking carefully at this visualized picture for several times, Lou Cheng closed his eyes, pictured a scene in the freezing temperatures, and combined it with his personal feeling with winter, attempting to render a unity of both form and spirit.

How cold is it on earth? So cold that you have to wear cotton jerseys, thick sweaters, and down jackets.

How chilly is the wind on earth? So chilly that it feels like a knife is cutting the face...

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but he still failed to integrate his everyday feelings and insights into the visualization.

Gradually, these thoughts streamed in his mind and tangled up, so much that he could no longer control his spirit and had to quit the concealment of spirit and qi.

"You're too rash today." Geezer Shi chuckled next to him.

"You're right." Lou Cheng took a breath and replied in a low voice, also realizing his problem.

Too hasty and anxious!

Since it was already challenging to start with, I should relax, experience rather than getting too ambitious. However, I keep thinking about succeeding overnight, so it'll have opposite effect.

Why I become so rushed suddenly? Does it come from the newly unknown pressure in my mind?

Ke's mother is coming. My mother-in-law is coming...

After setting his goals of his college career in Tiantong Taoist temple, he was quite clear about his road ahead and felt more motivated to work hard. But this urgency and pressure were not overwhelming since he still had an entire three and a half years to go.

But now, the "Queen Mother" was expected to arrive. Even if he didn't have to face himself, the target suddenly came before him within his reach, reminding himself all the time. So, he wanted to prove himself eagerly and anxiety came inevitably.

Breathing out... he exhaled the fresh air, calmed down and entered a meditative state in peace.

How can I capture the essence and spirit of the visualization?

Is everyday observation, feeling and accumulation the only way to it?

... Will taking advantage of the natural environment similar to the visualization help me acquire it faster?

But understanding the nature can only be attained by rare geniuses or Mighty Ones. Am I capable of doing that?

Even if I can, I have neither time nor money to go to the Arctic or Antarctic.

Well, can I replace it with some second-best places, such as Ice and Snow amusements and mountain ski resorts?

With many ideas flashing through his mind, he considered the viability of visualizing by understanding the nature while thinking about an ideal place.

I am still a university student who can't support myself financially, add to that much money was spent on dates and presents, so this method seems unrealistic...

At this moment, Lou Cheng brainstormed what could replace the natural environment for enlightenment!

"How can I be so silly?" He cursed quietly.

Since I have coldness ready to help me, why do I bother to acquire it from outside?

The Jindan (the Golden Elixir) in my body is half fire and half ice already!

Of course, I can sink down my spirit and feel the coldness in the Jindan!

All of a sudden, Lou Cheng was enlightened as if the sky also became clear and bright.

Well, it's a little dangerous definitely. But don't I have my master next to me?

At the thought of that, he decided to do it right away. He calmed down and resumed the concealment of spirit and qi.

This time, he did not attempt to picture a scene in the freezing temperatures. Instead, he came into a state of inward vision slowly and allowed the Jindan (the Golden Elixir) in the lower abdomen to amplify before eyes inch by inch!

Clear and fantastic, these ice crystals rotated round the fiery blazes of distinctive colors just like stars, reflecting their own lights and blazing with colors.

Gradually, it was as though he had been in the immense universe and lost in directions without edges.

He came to one of the stars cautiously and amplified it before eyes, allowing the brilliantly fine crystals to have a delicate contact with himself.

Within a minute, Lou Cheng was frozen from the spirit to flesh. Before the eyes was a blanket of white devoid of life, by his ears was the howling cold wind, and the surroundings were brought into the state of extreme coldness that froze the blaze and movements.

Within merely two or three seconds, his spirit was bounced back and the dazzling nebula in the lower abdomen inflated and contracted. Such feeling was so wonderful that was imprinted in his mind!

At this point, Lou Cheng suddenly understood. With the help of that feeling and a few more times, he would be able to capture the spirit and essence that he could not even name or point to!

He wanted to have a try at once, only to find that he was exhausted and the mind also came slow.

"It's Just a couple of second and it consumed so much of my energy..." With no choice, he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"If you feel tired, don't push yourself." Geezer Shi watched peacefully and reminded.

"Yes, Master." Lou Cheng listened to his advice, took down his stance and started to run around the lake for morning practices.

"I had no idea that the Jindan could work!" He thought happily to himself while running. Meanwhile, he felt that there were many hidden abilities in the Jindan to be explored. Something could only be felt, not said.

Looking at his back, Geezer Shi smiled and said, "Hey, how could it be that easy to succeed with visualization at first try? The boy finally has the time when he gets impatient and rushes into things, if not I would have thought that he is not a young man anymore..."

...

After the special training on Saturday morning, on a rare occasion, Lou Cheng did not leave the martial arts arena walking next to Yan Zheke. Instead, he was dragging Cai Zongming and was following his girl and Guo Qing.

"Cheng, to be honest, did you do something bad?" The witty Talker began to interrogate with a smiling face.

Abnormal behavior means trouble!

Lou Cheng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Her mother will be visiting her."

"So it was about your 'mother-in-law'..." Little Ming realized it.

Lou Cheng got inspired and asked curiously, "Ay, Talker, have you ever met your mother-in-law?"

"You want to take my advice from experience? I haven't met my mother-in-law actually, but I was blocked by my father-in-law one time..."

"How did that happen?" Lou Cheng gossiped and wanted to learn something.

With a rare sigh, Cai Zongming said, "It was a love story when I was a senior high school student. That day it was storming. There was thunder and lighting. Her mother was away on a business trip while her father worked overtime. She was alone and afraid at home. I braved the rain to go to her place to keep her company. You know... that reaction when you put dry wood and fire together? In the end, her father was worried about her as well, so he came back to check her. When he saw an unfamiliar pair of men's shoes at the doorway, he locked me in her room..."

"Good thing I was rather skilled then. I quickly grabbed a chance to escape. If not, I would have been chopped up by her dad... Ay, after that, she transferred school, and I was depressed for quite a long time."

There was still some fear and regret in his voice while he recalled the incident.

Lou Cheng did not joke about it, and instead, he patted Cai Zongming on the shoulder and said,

"Casanova, I believe that your journey to love has been hard..."

…

After lunch, Lou Cheng went back to his dormitory before going to the school bus area to get in line for the bus. A few minutes later, Yan Zheke showed up, dressed in a youthful style. However, she did not greet him first. Instead, she went straight to the end of the line.

"Does it feel like meeting with the underground party?" Lou Cheng chuckled and texted to Yan Zheke first to show that he was quite calm.

Yan Zheke looked down on her phone and texted back immediately: "If you're in the underground gang, you'll be a dead man by now because you keep looking at me!"

"With such a pretty girl here, which boy wouldn't look over? If I don't, I'll look suspicious instead," Lou Cheng said with a naughty smile, and took the opportunity to praise her.

In case that they came across her mother coming by the school bus here, Yan Zheke decided to separate from Lou Cheng.

Although they were just arm's length away from each other, they continued to text each other. They were enjoying it and felt that it was fun. Time flew by and a school bus came. It stopped and the passengers alighted.

"My mother didn't come!" Yan Zheke exclaimed. "Get me a good seat later!"

After they got on the bus, the two took seats next to each other without any considerations.

"Finally, the underground gang is together!" Yan Zheke smiled cheerfully.

Lou Cheng said nothing and held out his hand smiling. Yan Zheke chuckled and also reached out a hand.

In silence, the two touched and fingers entwined.

Seeing this scene affectionately, they huddled together gradually.

…

On arrival at the old campus, they separated and made a detour to the north gate and went to Songcheng Ocean Aquarium by bus.

Looking at the magnificent entrance, Lou Cheng felt a little nervous suddenly because he had not visited the place ahead of time. How they should go about with the tour of the aquarium was not clear because all he had was little information from the Internet. In addition, the notes that he made about the marine life was kind of messy too. If he were not familiar with the route they took, he would forget a lot of whatever he had prepared.

Hand in hand, he walked to the ticket office and continued a random conversation while he tried to recall the information he prepared.

Starfish. Every part will be reborn as a brand-new one after being torn apart...

Urchin. Very timid.

Jellyfish. Beautiful but dangerous...

Manta Ray. Looks like bats in the sea...

Angelfish. Has tassels. Swimming like dancing.

...

When he almost finished a half of the remembering, Yan Zheke's phone rang. She took a close look at it and made an "shh" sign to Lou Cheng immediately.

"Mom?" She answered briskly.

From the other end of the phone came a mature voice of a woman:

"Ke, aren't you in the dorm?"

When Lou Cheng Heard Yan Zheke call her mom, a stream of anxiety and loss seized him.

Alright, I guess there's no need to review...