Chương 102: I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself

The martial arts base is very grand in scale, with numerous training venues scattered around, each with a unique design and a modern overall style.

In stark contrast to the serene Zen temple architecture of Mingchan Temple.

The base covers a vast area, and from a distance the venues appear to be very close together, but in reality, they are tens or even hundreds of meters apart.

Therefore, there are many electric vehicles parked inside, such as small single-person electric skateboards, larger electric cars, and even larger sightseeing vehicles.

This made Zhao Rui and the others quite envious.

They originally thought that Narumi-in was good enough, but poverty limited their imagination.

This is only a provincial-level martial arts training base; I can't even imagine what the training bases established by the imperial court would be like.

Because prior arrangements had been made, Wang Zhanshan had the security guards drive a sightseeing vehicle directly into the base from the entrance.

"Coach, is everyone here a Grandmaster?"

Cai Zhengyang always had a more practical perspective on issues, and in one sentence, he revealed his true thoughts.

If you're capable, then keep a low profile.

If you're not good at it, then just show off.

Life is nothing more than a matter of "expansion and contraction"!

"You think teachers of this caliber are everywhere?"

Wang Zhanshan said calmly.

"How could that be? Master's martial arts skills are unparalleled, rarely seen in the world..."

"Alright, alright."

Wang Zhanshan was a little embarrassed by his praise and quickly said seriously, "The youth training group mainly consists of people below the Grandmaster level, and they have the most members. There are about forty or fifty people."

The professional group mainly consists of Grandmaster level cultivators. However, the number of them is small. From the entire province, no more than ten people can be selected.

After hearing the coach's words, Zhao Rui and the others couldn't help but roll their eyes.

That's not much.

There are ten Grandmasters.

An ordinary person might never even meet one in their lifetime, but wow, there are at least ten here, and they're just team members.

"Are there any from our school?"

Zhao Rui asked curiously.

You'll find out soon enough!

Wang Zhanshan kept it a secret.

The car drove around the base's wide road for about ten minutes before arriving at a huge, oval-shaped building.

Wang Zhanshan led everyone out of the car and knocked on the door of an office.

"Come in!"

Upon hearing the noise, Wang Zhanshan led everyone in, pushing open the door and saying with a smile, "Director Li, busy at work!"

Upon hearing his words, the people in the room immediately came out from their seats to greet Wang Zhanshan and shook hands with him.

"Brother Wang is personally leading the team. Looks like there are quite a few promising talents this time!"

The speaker had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square face, and a commanding presence.

"They're all a bunch of disobedient brats. I brought them here to train them and temper their tempers."

"Haha, young people, that's the kind of energy we need."

The guests and hosts took their seats, and soon staff came over to pour tea and water.

After chatting familiarly with Director Li for a while, Wang Zhanshan took the initiative to leave, citing the need to arrange accommodations for the staff.

Director Li smiled and arranged for one of his officials to coordinate with him.

Then everyone followed the official to the personnel registration office of the training center, where they used their ID cards to complete the necessary procedures such as obtaining passes and accommodations.

They all stayed in single rooms, which were in excellent condition, fully furnished with modern furniture, and provided with additional calming incense and other supplementary cultivation supplies.

Just as everyone had settled into their accommodations and were gathering in the lobby, a young man in his early twenties rushed over in a hurry.

"Coach, you're here!"

Upon seeing the group, the young man immediately greeted Wang Zhanshan with a smile.

"Look, they were just asking me if anyone from our school was here. And look, here they are. Yue Pengxiang, he's six years ahead of you."

Wang Zhanshan stood up with a smile and introduced himself to everyone.

"Hello, fellow students!"

Yue Pengxiang is tall and handsome, with a shallow dimple when he smiles.

"Greetings, senior brother!"

Zhao Rui and the others quickly greeted them.

"Let's go eat first, Coach. It's been two years since you last came, hasn't it?"

"You, you just like to rub salt in my wounds, don't you?"

"Haha, the more pain you feel, the more you'll appreciate how good my junior brothers and sisters are to me!"

Hey, this senior brother is quite a character.

Zhao Rui and the others instantly developed a good impression of him.

"You little brat, don't think I can't teach you a lesson now! You dare to joke with me."

"No, no!"

Yue Pengxiang chuckled.

The group of seven took the shuttle bus that stops at the entrance and headed to the base canteen.

This place is dozens of kilometers away from the city center, and it's surrounded by the Yellow River Forest Park, so it's definitely inconvenient to go out for meals.

However, the food in the cafeteria here is just as good as, or even better than, that of big hotels.

Whether it's food safety or the level of care taken, it's unmatched by any other place.

After having dinner and chatting for a while, Yue Pengxiang said goodbye and left.

At 2 p. m., Wang Zhanshan led everyone to the training center to officially begin the training schedule.

In addition to the standard training equipment commonly used at Dongqi University, there are also some special equipment here.

These devices are generally only available in professional martial arts training bases at the provincial level or above.

Even prestigious universities like Dongqi University don't have it.

These devices have a straightforward purpose: they were specifically developed for martial arts.

Unlike in the past, which relied solely on traditional methods and self-discipline, modern cultivation also incorporates technological elements.

Using specialized equipment, critical conditions are simulated to stimulate the physical responses of martial artists.

To maximize the adaptation to and breakthrough of limits, thereby achieving the goal of improving performance.

This method requires many special materials and nutrient solutions.

The cost is extremely high.

Ordinary places can't afford to supply it either.

Moreover, this method is, after all, an external practice, and in terms of tempering one's character, it will leave some marks of artifice and will not be smooth and thorough enough.

This necessitates the use of additional instruments—psychological aids such as mood regulators—to correct and improve the condition.

Technology creates incredible skills, and this moment perfectly exemplifies that.

Wang Zhanshan's first stop was to show them these impressive pieces of equipment.

Zhao Rui and his group did not disappoint Wang Zhanshan's expectations; after visiting the equipment, they were all dumbfounded.

So this is how martial arts can be practiced.

Isn't this cheating?

"Do you think just anyone can use this thing? Once the machine starts, it's worth a fortune. The cost of operating these devices is in the tens of thousands."

"..."

Truly extravagant!

"Cultivate diligently, and when you are strong enough, you will naturally have the opportunity to experience it one day."

Wang Zhanshan encouraged everyone and then led them back to the training ground.

Although the equipment here is not as advanced as the top-of-the-line instruments we just saw, it is still much more advanced than what universities purchase.

It's not that universities can't afford them, but the intensity and effect are different.

University level, not needed.

Moreover, the updates here are not as timely.

When they arrived, there were already four rows of players training inside.

These people looked to be around the same age as Zhao Rui and his group, mostly male, with less than a third being female.

Their arrival naturally attracted the attention of this group of people.

When the team leader saw Wang Zhanshan, he came over with several assistant coaches, greeted them with smiles, and then looked at Zhao Rui and the others.

He clicked his tongue in admiration and said, "They just left from Ocean University a couple of days ago. I thought they had quite a few geniuses over there."

"I didn't expect your University of Tokyo to be just as impressive. Haha."

"We can't compare to you professionals. The youth training group did quite well at the last martial arts tournament."

"It's alright. Our Dongqi Province is a populous province... but even so, the higher-ups are still not entirely satisfied."

After a few casual words, Wang Zhanshan said to Zhao Rui and the others, "This is Bai Wenlong, Coach Bai. You'll be training with him for the next month, at the same intensity as these youth training players..."

Zhao Rui and the others then realized that coming here was no joke.

Wang Dalong and the others who had previously trained under Wang Zhanshan frowned.

Although the place we went to last time wasn't as formal, Coach Wang was already very strict back then.

The intensity of this attack is self-evident.

However, Zhao Rui didn't feel that way, looking at the dozens of people in the opposing team.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

These are all blatant advancement points.

What place could be more anticipated than this?

Let's go!

After the conversation, Bai Wenlong and Wang Zhanshan led Zhao Rui and the others to the group.

Then Zhao Rui and the other four were placed in a corner of the group.

"We welcome the students from Dongqi University to our training center for intensive training. Everyone, please welcome them... I hope that during this month, everyone will help each other, uphold the spirit, make progress together, and showcase the style of our youth training team..."

After a brief introduction and welcome, Wang Zhanshan stayed for a while before taking his leave of the training venue.

Since the training was arranged, it was somewhat inappropriate for him to be "supervising" from the sidelines.

After Wang Zhanshan left, Bai Wenlong and his assistant coach resumed their training sessions.

Their training is more rigorous and professional.

It won't be as free as in university.

Today's lesson was on hand techniques.

The chosen technique is the highly skilled hand martial art of "Flower-Piercing Finger".

This martial art is not particularly profound, but it demands an extremely high level of control over the muscles in the hands.

Here, it is used to train hand muscles.

Zhao Rui and his group were newcomers, so naturally they wouldn't know how.

Bai Wenlong sent a male team member over to teach them several times.

The higher a martial artist's skill level and the stronger their power, the faster they can understand the moves.

Just like dancing, a professional can roughly imitate it after watching it twice, but a layman can't even do it properly even after watching for a long time.

After learning the basics, Zhao Rui and the others followed along, patiently practicing the moves to activate their arm muscles.

Promotes the movement of small muscle groups.

This kind of swinging motion cannot utilize internal force.

Since everyone here doesn't practice external martial arts, they usually mix internal energy into their training and don't feel tired at all. Now, suddenly abandoning the support of internal energy is not an option.

After practicing for a short time, I felt uncomfortable all over.

But being new to the place, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere.

Finally, they got a break, and the five of them quickly circulated their internal energy to relieve the soreness and discomfort in their arms.

What year are you in?

During the break, several of the more outgoing female team members came over curiously and asked.

"We are freshmen."

Zhao Rui replied with a smile.

"You freshmen, what about you? And what about you upperclassmen?"

"Um... they went on vacation!"

What can Zhao Rui say?

"That's hilarious! You guys must be really amazing!"

The female team member raised an eyebrow slightly and asked.

"I don't know how good others are, but I got in because of my looks."

"Pfft, you're the most shameless one!"

The female teammates around them also giggled.

Listening to Zhao Rui chatting idly with the female teammates, Cai Zhengyang was incredibly envious.

I wish I could kick him away and take his place.

The female team member who spoke was not as pretty as Miao Miaomiao, but she was still a beautiful and charming young woman.

It's truly a case of some people dying from drought while others are drowning from floods!

The rest period was short; after a brief break, training resumed.

This kind of training lasts for two hours at a time.

Zhao Rui and the others endured an incredibly sour and spicy experience.

After the arm training, there will be routine practice.

Each person, based on their own circumstances, needs to master the martial arts techniques through continuous training without internal energy.

This training session lasted another hour.

After finally making it to a little past 5 p. m., Zhao Rui and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that tiring, but mainly the monotony and the unfamiliarity.

"The trainee team members and students from Dongqi University will continue their extra training tonight."

Bai Wenlong's words instantly made Zhao Rui and the others lose their spirits again.

Fortunately, when night fell, Bai Wenlong did not have everyone continue with this kind of mechanical training.

Instead, they took them to the equipment room and used the equipment to conduct a detailed analysis and refinement of the group's strength, agility, and other characteristics.

This practice session lasted until late into the night.

By the time Zhao Rui and the others returned to their dormitory, it was already past nine o'clock at night.

After a long day, everyone took a short rest and then went straight to sleep.

Prepare yourself to be well-rested for tomorrow's training.

The next day, everyone ate breakfast early and went to the training hall to wait for the training session to begin.

Before the class even started, Zhao Rui was surprised to find a group of young people walking in through the door.

Zhao Rui had met several of these people once before.

They're from Dongye University of Arts and Sports!

"Why are they here too?"

Zhao Rui frowned slightly and said in a low voice.

"Do you know them?"

Miao Miaomiao asked curiously.

"Yes, they are from Dongyi Sports."

"Dongyi Sports? Those are the people who came to our school for exchange before."

Miao Miaomiao was taken aback.

"Looks like this training session will be quite interesting."

Wang Dalong narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a calm voice.

While Zhao Rui and the others were discussing the other party, the other party, under the guidance of the coach, also handed over the reins to Bai Wenlong.

Then, a short while later, he was also brought to the group.

"We welcome students from Dongye Sports University..."

The familiar rhetoric and routine suggest that Bai Wenlong has probably done this kind of reception quite a few times over the years.

After settling the "new member" in, the other coach left the training hall on his own initiative.

I wonder if this person will go and fight Wang Zhanshan.

In any case, Zhao Rui sensed the tension.

What a coincidence! Dongqi University just arrived, and Dongyi Sports University followed right after.

It's highly likely that the last university martial arts tournament made Tokyo University discover that they had recruited a group of genius freshmen.

That's when I became more cautious.

However, this kind of infighting between schools has nothing to do with him.

He's now completely focused on attending the training courses.

Although I was a bit tired yesterday, after restoring myself through internal energy cultivation, I could clearly feel a different sensation in the muscle groups of my arms.

A little, how to put it!

It's similar to a four-step process: fatigue, limit, repair, and growth.

The way of martial arts is to see the big picture from small details!

The underlying principles are largely the same.

Zhao Rui is 100% committed to effective training.

The morning session was not the basic training Zhao Rui had hoped for, but rather a full three hours of practical exercises.

The entire team consisted of 56 people, including five from Dongqi University and eleven from Dongyi Sports University.

Bai Wenlong shuffled the students from the two universities and assigned them to four groups.

Each group conducted practical drills.

Each group has two teaching assistants supervising and guiding them.

These assistant coaches are mostly former professional players who have retired and taken up their posts. They are not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also have a wealth of practical experience on the field.

With their guidance, we are better able to adapt to the rules of the competition.

Professional martial arts competitions are different from life-or-death battles.

There will be many rules and restrictions, as well as a framework for martial arts techniques.

For example, martial arts moves with excessive destructive power, such as the groin kick, the tiger claw hand, and the double-peak ear strike, are not allowed.

The contestants need to abide by these rules and regulations.

After all, it's a competition; without rules, there can be no order!

If you want to watch no-rules matches, there are underground boxing leagues, where the atmosphere of the finals is no less than that of the national tournament.

Training is underway in groups on the training field.

Zhao Rui was assigned to a group with two college students from Dongyi Sports University, plus eleven other members of the youth training team.

After the team members were divided, the assistant coach assigned them to practice sessions.

The teaching assistants had just divided the students into two pairs when a student from Dongyi Sports asked to be in a group with Zhao Rui.

The teaching assistant seemed to have known all along, and smiled as he looked at Zhao Rui.

After all, the rivalry between the two schools is well-known throughout the Dongqi martial arts circle.

"What do you study?"

Zhao Rui asked slowly and deliberately.

"What business is it of yours what I'm studying? What, are you scared?"

The boy was taken aback, then asked dismissively.

"Are you scared or not? You tell me first."

Zhao Rui said casually.

"If you tell me to say something, I'll just say it. That would make me lose face!"

The boy gave a cold laugh and didn't answer him.

"Oh, coach, if I can't beat him, can I be substituted?"

Zhao Rui smiled and looked at the coach.

The teaching assistant's face twitched; it was the first time he had ever seen such an elite student who had absolutely no competitive spirit.

If it were anyone else, they would have already drawn their swords and were eager to fight in the ring.

"able!"

"Okay, senior brother, please go easy on me later."

"I will definitely hold back, but I'm afraid I might not be able to control myself."

"Then you'd be instantly killed?"

"you……"

"Alright, this is training, not a boxing ring. If you two really want to have a match, then prepare well and bring it to the official competition to settle the score."

"Here, everyone must follow the rules!"

The teaching assistant snorted coldly, and a surge of true energy pressure instantly and precisely swept over Zhao Rui and the other person.

Zhao Rui felt his body stiffen, as if his internal energy had been imprisoned.

This feeling?

Zhao Rui felt as if he had returned to the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, to the time when he first encountered the Illusionary Sound Messenger.

Although the teaching assistant's true energy strength was incomparable to that of the Illusionary Sound Messenger, the feeling was extremely similar.

Is this what it means to be a Grandmaster?

Zhao Rui couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.

Seeing that the two were feeling the pressure, the teaching assistant withdrew his inner energy and continued to assign sparring partners.

(End of this chapter)