Chương 46: Return

Upon entering the main hall, the two approached a desk in the corner.

At this moment, Teacher Wang was meditating with his eyes closed, looking unusually serious, which gave him the air of a carefree and wise man.

"Teacher Wang, you called for me!"

Zhao Rui muttered something under his breath.

Upon hearing this, Teacher Wang slightly opened her eyes, hummed in agreement, and maintained her seated meditation posture.

"Starting tomorrow, the two of you will be assigned to the sparring group. Zhao Rui, you will still be under Wang Zhe's responsibility for your training, but your regular team training activities will be transferred to sparring."

After finishing his sentence, Teacher Wang looked at Zhang Kui and said, "Your personality is too impulsive; you need some time to temper yourself. Like Zhao Rui, you'll be temporarily assigned to the sparring group... Get busy!"

Teacher Wang gave them a few instructions and then waved for them to leave.

The two responded and turned to leave. Zhao Rui was in a very good mood, finally becoming a sparring partner.

How many days has it been since I've gained any advancement points?

Now that my wish has finally come true, how could I not be happy?

On the contrary, Zhang Kui looked dejected and gloomy, and seemed rather unhappy.

"Brother Zhang, how about I treat you to some barbecue for lunch?"

With money in his pocket, he felt at ease. Zhao Rui looked at Zhang Kui and extended an invitation.

Zhang Kui hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded and said, "Let me treat you."

"It doesn't matter who pays, it's on me today. I'll be waiting for you after training!"

"Okay! Alright then!"

The two agreed to have lunch together and then went about their own business.

Zhao Rui returned to Wang Zhe to ask about the limitations in martial arts.

The Prajna Palm is profound and extensive. Although it is only an introductory palm technique for martial arts teams, it is already one of the best techniques and skills that Zhao Rui has come across so far.

It is far superior to anything like the Azure Cloud Palm or the Thirteen Palms of Taihang.

Zhao Rui's current martial arts skills are Cloud Hands Plucking Stars, Taiyi Splitting Light Sword Technique, and Wing Chun Asking the Way.

Other martial arts are all commonplace, with very limited improvements in internal energy circulation and technique variations. Even if practiced to a high level, they are still nothing more than ordinary.

The saying goes, "Don't bite off more than you can chew." At present, Zhao Rui mainly focuses on these few martial arts, striving to take a further step beyond mastery and achieve a comprehensive understanding.

This aspect relies more on one's own cultivation and progress in understanding.

At 11: 30, Zhao Rui, who had finished training, waited for Zhang Kui, whose complexion was still not good, at the entrance of the hall. The two left the martial arts academy together.

The martial arts academy also has its own cafeteria, which is of a very high standard. It is said that the buffet there is provided according to the standard of more than 200 yuan outside the school.

Zhao Rui wanted to try it, but unfortunately he wasn't from the martial arts academy and wasn't qualified.

Instead of having a meal together near the school, the two took a taxi to a nearby commercial street, which was more bustling and had more food options.

They found a street-side barbecue restaurant specializing in beef skewers, and the two of them sat down at an empty seat, ordered some skewers and beer, and started eating and drinking.

The two weren't familiar with each other, so they chatted casually about some interesting things that happened on campus.

After drinking a few bottles of beer, Zhang Kui looked at Zhao Rui's still relaxed and composed demeanor, and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "You're really patient. Aren't you in any hurry to be a sparring partner?"

He had assumed Zhao Rui had invited him out for drinks to discuss sparring, but after drinking for a while, not a single word about it came up.

"I'm from an foreign language department, so I just do whatever the teachers tell me to do! Actually, being a sparring partner is probably the most suitable job for me."

Zhao Rui said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Kui chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "That's true. You're from the Foreign Languages Department, so you can't expect to go very far in the team anyway. Sigh!"

Since Zhang Kui had started, Zhao Rui naturally followed up with more questions.

"What exactly is the situation with being a sparring partner for our martial arts team? Brother Zhang, is there something wrong with being a sparring partner?"

"This all started with the purpose of establishing our martial arts team..."

Zhang Kui raised his glass and clinked it against Zhao Rui's, then drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Originally, the concept of martial arts teams did not exist in this world. However, due to certain reasons, the international environment deteriorated, and conflicts between countries continued.

In order to ease tensions or achieve certain objectives, international martial arts competitions have emerged under the intervention of some major powers.

Correspondingly, countries have begun to establish their own martial arts competition teams, selecting participants from the bottom up through a step-by-step process.

Later, with the stabilization of the international environment, the event not only did not decline, but instead flourished.

It has not only spawned entertainment-oriented martial arts competitions, but also driven a series of related peripheral industries, such as movies, animation, training and education.

Martial arts, which initially involved life-or-death battles and vying for international influence, has gradually evolved into an entertainment-oriented competition and event.

The amount of money involved each year reaches hundreds of billions or trillions.

Such martial arts competitions have, in a way, become a shortcut for many martial arts practitioners to get rich and reach the pinnacle of life.

Dongqi University, as a top-ranked key university in Dongqi, has always been a well-known martial arts training base in the province.

In addition to the school's martial arts team, there are also carefully selected provincial-level martial arts professional teams, all located within the Martial Arts Academy.

Zhao Rui participates in the school-level martial arts team, and the main competitions they compete in are the provincial college league, the national college league, and the adult group B competition.

Outstanding athletes can be selected to join provincial professional teams and participate in more professional martial arts competitions such as the National Martial Arts League.

For a martial arts student to stand out and gain fame and fortune, they must have the opportunity to stand out and attract the attention of social media.

Whether it's a university league or a provincial league, you need to be eligible to participate.

The sparring partner, as an auxiliary team member, is temporarily disqualified from the competition.

This is one of the reasons why Zhang Kui is so upset.

After hearing Zhang Kui's explanation, Zhao Rui felt more at ease. It turned out that it was just a temporary disqualification from the competition, which was not a big deal for him.

Don't be fooled by his current level of martial arts skill (level six).

However, it should be noted that all martial arts students who can be admitted to the Martial Arts Academy of Dongqi University are at least Level 5 martial artists.

Level 6 and 7 are too common.

Even reaching level eight is not impossible.

These are the true chosen ones.

Don't let Zhang Kui's elimination as a sparring partner fool you; he's a genuine level seven martial artist.

Level 6 martial artists were eliminated at the end of the first semester.

Zhao Rui only got in because he was there first; if he had applied again in the second half of the year, he wouldn't have even been eligible to get in.

So the competition wasn't important to him at all; all he needed was to practice with others and earn advancement points.

"Brother Zhang, Teacher Wang is actually doing this for your own good. Take your time to reflect and mature; you'll eventually achieve great things."

Zhao Rui sincerely comforted him.

"Oh, thanks for the kind words, but let's focus on advancing first. Otherwise, I'll be eliminated when the new students arrive in the second half of the year."

"I heard that this year's freshmen have two level eight martial artists, and quite a few level seven ones too. They're really impressive!"

Zhang Kui clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Let's drink! Let's drink!"

Zhao Rui's heart tightened. He never expected this year's freshmen to be so amazing. He used to think that being a fifth-grade student was already a high-achieving student, but now it seems that he was just a frog in a well.

"drink wine!"

The two clinked glasses and gulped down the wine in their glasses.

The two chatted for another half hour, and seeing that it was getting late, they paid the bill and left the restaurant.

Zhao Rui did not return to the martial arts academy. Apart from specific training times, the martial arts team did not restrict the members' free movement.

Often, especially lower-level team members, they would go to the Cicada Academy to train on their own initiative.

Zhang Kui said it was because the feng shui there was good, which could improve the team members' training speed and comprehension.

Don't know if it's true or not.

Today wasn't a designated training day. So after leaving the restaurant, Zhao Rui went straight back to his rented apartment and took a nap.

I slept until after 3 a. m., washed my face, and then returned to the Cicada Courtyard.

Just as he entered the courtyard, before he even reached the side hall where his team was located, Zhang Kui beckoned to him mysteriously.

Zhao Rui quickly moved closer and heard Zhang Kui look around before whispering in his ear, "The main members of the martial arts team who went out to participate in the competition will be back tomorrow."

Hearing this, Zhao Rui looked at Zhang Kui with some doubt, and then heard him continue, "Be careful, don't offend them. I heard that if you don't play well, you'll be eliminated in the second round."

Zhao Rui nodded upon hearing this. It was only the second round, and he had indeed not done well, failing to even make it into the top sixteen.

"Thanks, Brother Zhang!"

"Don't mention it!"

Zhang Kui smiled, giving off a feeling of leading a younger brother.

After chatting for a bit, Zhao Rui went straight to his team.

As soon as they entered the side hall, they noticed the atmosphere in the group was rather heavy. Wang Zhe's face was pale and looked unwell, as if he had been injured.

Zhao Rui walked over with some doubt, just as Pang Wenyu, the team's "physique expert," suddenly stood up and shouted, "Brother Zhe, this can't just be left like this!"

"So what if it doesn't count? Sit down."

After Wang Zhe finished speaking, he coughed slightly, and then, seeing Zhao Rui coming over, he pointed to the cushion in the corner and said, "Zhao Rui, come and sit down too."

Zhao Rui responded and then sat down at the very back of the line, hugging a prayer mat.

"As your captain, there are objective reasons why I was not selected as a starter twice in a row, but it is also true that I am not good enough."

"Tian Zirong dared to openly provoke me because he knew I hadn't recovered my strength. Telling Teacher Wang about this won't do any good. The main team will be back tomorrow, so everyone should calm down..."

After Wang Zhe finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Rui and said, "I have a grudge against Tian Zirong, and as a result, many of our team members have suffered from his harassment. You should keep an eye on him. He has an older brother named Tian Zihao, who is a key player. Just so you know."

After hearing Wang Zhe's words, Zhao Rui's face twitched, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

I'm just here to earn some advancement points, how did it get involved with some grudge or resentment?

Could Teacher Wang have deliberately grouped the students this way?

Do you think you got into the team through connections?

Zhao Rui shook his head, unable to figure it out for a moment. However, since he had already become a member of Wang Zhe's team, even if he wanted to back out now, he probably couldn't.

"Okay, I understand, Zhe-ge."

Zhao Rui responded.

"Okay, everyone can leave now!"

After saying that, Wang Zhe waved his hand, signaling everyone to go about their business.

Pang Wenyu snorted angrily, then walked behind him, sat cross-legged, placed his palms on his back, and began to heal him with his internal energy.

Seeing this, the other team members also stopped and dispersed.

Zhao Rui followed suit and went out of the side hall together. Then he quickly caught up with a senior sister who was usually quite easygoing and called her over.

"Senior sister, how did our Captain Wang get injured?"

This senior sister's surname is Peng and her given name is Xinnan. She is dressed in plain clothes, which are simple, elegant and gentle.

Seeing that it was Zhao Rui who called her, Peng Xinnan glanced at the side hall and said, "He was beaten by Tian Zirong. Shh, you'll find out later. In short, stay away from Tian Zirong and his brother. Things are different now."

"Oh, senior, I heard there's a coffee shop near the school gate that has pretty good food..."

"You want to invite me? Let's do it another day!"

After finishing her sentence, Senior Li turned around gracefully, used a touch of light footwork, and drifted away.

"It's all so secretive, it's either related to women or to the quota!"

With the remnants of hundreds of TV drama plots from his past life still lingering in his mind, Zhao Rui could probably guess the reason.

I thought the martial arts team was a pure land, but the relationships there are a lot of complicated issues.

No wonder the team has a rule about resolving conflicts in a ring.

Zhao Rui shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. Right now, he was just a small-time Karami, so it was more important to focus on improving his strength.

The following day, after finishing his professional classes in the morning, Zhao Rui rushed to Mingchan Academy.

Today is his first day as a sparring partner, so he's making the most of every second.

Upon arriving at the Chan Academy, I first greeted Wang Zhe, and then found He Zhiyan, the leader of the sparring group, and reported to him.

There were five team members in the sparring group at this time, including Zhang Kui.

When they saw Zhao Rui approaching, the two nodded and exchanged a glance.

"Our sparring team doesn't have any special requirements. Most of the training is still done by our own team. Our main job is to provide sparring for the competition players, including daily training and sparring..."

After introducing the sparring group, He Zhiyan continued, "Captain Gu and the others are back today, so some of them will probably have extra training this afternoon. You can join them and see what's going on."

"Yes, Team Leader He!"

Zhao Rui quickly agreed, then found a corner and began cultivating by himself.

After cultivating for about forty minutes, a commotion was heard outside the Mingchan Courtyard.

"Captain Gu, you're back!"

"Hello, Captain Gu."

The sounds of greetings came in waves.

Zhao Rui glanced at the sparring partners, and they all stood up and gathered at the door.

Even the team leader, He Zhiyan, got up to greet them.

Zhao Rui quickly followed behind the crowd and looked outside.

There were about a dozen people at the entrance, dressed in different styles, but each of them had an extraordinary presence. They walked with a powerful stride, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Accompanied by greetings from his teammates, he exuded the aura of a mafia boss making his entrance.

The leader was not tall and had an unremarkable appearance, but he was burly, with a round face and a wide nose. His short hair was as conspicuous as the quills on a hedgehog.

This must be Captain Gu, the legendary captain of the Dongqi University martial arts team.

"Old Wang, are you sleeping again?"

Before he even arrived, Captain Gu's voice could be heard from afar. The abundance of his inner energy and the depth of his skill made Zhao Rui's eyes widen in surprise.

Sure enough, there's a reason why he was able to be subdued by so many martial arts team members.

"What are you yelling about? We're coming!"

Teacher Wang walked out, dragging her slippers with an impatient look on her face.

(End of this chapter)