Chương 58: New buds have arrived, poised to sprout

"Whether the new students come or not, we're all under a lot of pressure. December is a busy month for martial arts competitions. There will be not only the provincial martial arts competition, but also various cup competitions. Everyone should focus on training!"

Qin Rui sighed, feeling somewhat powerless.

"Why do you look so tired, Senior Sister? Don't put so much pressure on yourself. I have some medical knowledge, I can give you a massage to relieve the pressure."

Zhao Rui said kindly.

"Junior sister, I can do it too! And my technique is really good!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Kui raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"You two bastards, how dare you flirt with me!"

Qin Ruixiu stood upside down, her pretty face instantly turning frosty. She flipped her slender palms outwards, like a vajra pestle striking, and instantly cleaved towards the two of them.

"The wrathful Vajra!"

"Junior sister, spare my life!"

Zhang Kui took off running.

Zhao Rui was taken aback. He reached out and deflected her palm strike, using the "Dragon Step" to dodge as he said, "Senior Sister, I really know massage. You don't need to take off your clothes."

"Still talking!"

Qin Rui blushed, and her moves became even more fluid and powerful.

"Senior sister, I'm not lying to you!"

"That son of a bitch Zhang Kui!"

Zhao Rui hurriedly tried to dodge while explaining, but Qin Rui didn't believe him at all.

Alright, the best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee!

Taking advantage of the moment when Senior Sister Qin was using the Prajna Palm Technique, Zhao Rui ducked to avoid her attack, then slipped away and ran off into the distance.

As he ran, he said, "Senior sister, junior brother admits defeat!"

"Zhao Rui!"

Qin Ruilian paused lightly, let out a coquettish cry, and flew after him.

……

The review process was short; the next day, twenty-four freshmen gathered at the Mingchan Temple of the Martial Arts Academy.

He became a new team member.

After a brief introduction and speech, Wang Zhanshan said to Zhang Kui, "You'll handle the registration for the new students, and you'll also help with Zhao Rui."

Zhang Kui reluctantly gave an "oh," as all the dirty and tiring work was his responsibility, but at least he was the only winner at the last exchange meeting.

After the team dispersed, the more than twenty eager new members all turned their attention to this place.

Zhang Kui scratched his head and said, "We haven't divided into teams yet. You'll split into two groups on your own, one with me and the other with Zhao Rui."

Not long after he finished speaking, the twenty-four freshmen quickly split into two groups and, led by Zhang Kui and his companion, headed toward the two-story building behind the main hall.

Luo Min naturally chose Zhao Rui's group, and several of her female companions also joined in.

Zhao Rui's team was made up of mostly girls.

Zhao Rui naturally saw this scene, and Chong Luomin nodded slightly as a greeting.

"Senior brother, where are we going?"

As the group moved along, a petite girl asked curiously.

"We need to register our identity information, otherwise we won't be able to get into the Mingchan Institute."

After Zhao Rui finished speaking, he added, "Um, I have something to tell you all. I'm not your senior. Just call me Zhao Rui. I'm a freshman too."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, not only Zhao Rui's group exclaimed in surprise, but even Zhang Kui's team looked over curiously.

"Hey, senior, did you fail your exam and have to repeat a year?"

"..."

The brain circuits are working well, but the answer is wrong.

"I'm a freshman like you, except I'm not a martial arts student. I'm in the accounting department. I arrived a few months earlier than you."

"Is this okay?"

"Haha, so you're a freshman too. I've been calling you 'senior' several times."

"That's right, that's right."

Everyone immediately relaxed and started chatting and laughing freely.

However, some people stared thoughtfully at Zhao Rui, looking at him with more caution.

In this world, there are two kinds of people: ordinary people and extraordinary people.

Generally speaking, there are two situations for people who are different from ordinary people.

One type has powerful backing, the other is being powerful themselves.

Regardless of the reason, Zhao Rui, this early arrival, should not be underestimated.

"How strict are the assessments for our martial arts team?"

"What do you usually do?"

How many matches are there?

A barrage of questions poured out of the girls' mouths like a bomber.

Zhao Rui patiently explained, and the group arrived at the two-story antique-style building they had visited once before.

"There's a senior person inside, let's go in and not make a lot of noise."

Zhao Rui shushed them, signaling the freshmen to be quiet.

"senior?"

Upon hearing this, many people's eyes lit up instantly.

In legendary biographies, the word "senior" doesn't just refer to an elderly person; it could also refer to a person's fruitful adventures and achievements!

Zhao Rui was all too familiar with the look in these classmates' eyes; he couldn't help but recall the white-haired, youthful-looking old man he had encountered in the woods before.

Putting everything else aside, that old man definitely has real skills; he's at least a master above the Grandmaster level.

As for how high it is, he didn't know.

The group quietly entered the two-story building, but as soon as they reached the martial arts analysis room, the noise suddenly became deafening.

"Damn, what's this for?"

"This is like a science fiction world! It's amazing!"

"Could this capsule-like area be a device for restoring bodily functions?"

Hearing the exclamations of surprise from beside him, Zhao Rui and Zhang Kui exchanged a glance.

They were just as ignorant back then!

"Alright, everyone quiet down. One by one, the rest of you line up outside. No loud noise allowed."

Zhang Kui cleared his throat and addressed the crowd, giving instructions.

Soon, the new team members, who had lined up, entered the analysis room one by one and under Zhang Kui's guidance, underwent physical function tests.

Zhao Rui was taking notes.

"Meridian permeability rate: 92%!"

"The capacity to absorb true qi is 100% higher than that of an ordinary person."

"Cellular recovery rate: 290%."

More than an hour later, Zhang Kui and Zhao Rui were stunned as they looked at the sudden data.

"Our combined data is like shit compared to theirs!"

Zhang Kui lowered his head and mocked himself.

"You're shit, I'm not!"

You're worse than shit.

The two looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

After politely declining the inquiries from the new team members about their test scores, Zhao Rui and his companion led the new team members to the information collection room.

The same old man with a gray beard, known as Uncle Deng, still guarded the house, and the environment remained quiet and somber.

Zhang Kui greeted Deng Ye in a low voice, and then led everyone to the machine to enter their information.

Zhao Rui assisted in maintaining order.

It took another half hour before the entire information collection was finally completed.

Then Zhao Rui and his companion led the new team members back to the main hall and reported the results of the tests to Wang Zhanshan.

Wang Zhanshan already had a good idea of their level, since they were all recruited by the martial arts academy and he knew their skill level in advance.

Unlike Zhao Rui, whose appearance was rather abrupt.

"You guys go ahead with your work."

Once the matter was settled, Wang Zhanshan waved his hand, signaling Zhao Rui and the other man to leave.

As soon as the two left, he gathered ten people according to the test report and took them to a secluded private room.

It took half an hour for them to come out.

When they came out, all ten of them had excited expressions on their faces. Although they tried their best to hide it, their heartfelt joy was still evident.

What happened inside the main hall had nothing to do with Zhao Rui and his companion. After they left, they returned to their respective squads.

He began to practice martial arts diligently.

Everything else is meaningless; only self-strengthening is the true principle.

Through this exchange competition, Zhao Rui has gained a better understanding of his own skill level.

After this period of "training," especially the successful replication of advanced martial arts such as Prajna Palm and Vajra Leg, his strength has made a qualitative leap.

If he had played against these talented players in the past, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even a level 6 opponent.

But now, he can get his hands on anything below level eight.

This is the confidence that comes with advanced martial arts.

A good martial art not only has a fast internal energy circulation rate and a wide range of meridian expansion, but also produces more internal energy than ordinary martial arts.

In the novel, Zhang Wuji had only cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Skill for a few short years, yet his internal strength was already unparalleled in the world.

His skill level is much higher than that of the senior practitioners who have cultivated for decades.

This is part of the benefit effect brought about by top-level internal energy cultivation techniques.

Unfortunately, Zhao Rui has never encountered martial arts of this level before.

Maybe that old man has it?

The image of the white-haired, youthful-faced old man soaring into the air and rising straight up in the dense forest flashed through Zhao Rui's mind once again.

The time for cultivation is short, and time flies like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the afternoon's practical exercise.

Zhao Rui and Zhang Kui remained on He Zhiyan's side.

The other area was divided into three teams: official players and unofficial players, also known as substitute players.

And the newly added freshmen lineup.

Wang Zhanshan glanced at everyone, nodded slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.

That's more like it.

"Sun Ning, Sun Pengfei, Li Yinuo..."

As Wang Zhanshan called out the names, twelve freshmen stepped out of the group, waiting with curious expressions for the coach to speak.

"You guys go to the sparring group first!"

Upon hearing the coach's words, the twelve people exclaimed in surprise. They had just arrived and were already being sent to the sparring group.

"What? Competitive martial arts, how can you improve without sparring? It's all about mutual sparring partners. As long as you're not a formal member, the training subjects are the same."

Wang Zhanshan raised his voice slightly to stop the clamor of these "new recruits".

The twelve people who were called out reluctantly moved over to He Zhiyan's side.

When they came over, they immediately spotted Zhao Rui in the group.

His expression changed instantly; it turned out that this classmate who had arrived early was actually a sparring partner.

I thought he was a martial arts genius like Miao Miaomiao and Wang Dalong.

Once they realized this, their gazes towards Zhao Rui became more relaxed.

"I'll post the team groupings later. Today, let's train according to the established training goals. The second-year students will continue to train separately."

"The new team members will be taught form-based boxing by Professor He Zhiyan..."

After assigning the training tasks, Wang Zhanshan walked back to his desk with his hands behind his back, and leisurely crossed his legs.

With the arrival of talented individuals, he can finally unleash his full potential.

"Come here, Zhao Rui!"

At the edge of the training ground, Zeng Hongyi looked at Zhao Rui, who was standing by the sparring partners, looking a little lost, and waved to him.

"You'd better train with me!"

Zeng Hongyi was quite satisfied with Zhao Rui and naturally wanted to mentor him more.

"Why do you want to be a young heartthrob again? No, you're already an old man."

Zhang Kui grabbed Zhao Rui by the neck and pulled him into the group.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhao Rui couldn't help but laugh. To be honest, he quite enjoyed spending time with these sophomores.

If he were to train with freshmen again now, he would find it quite difficult to adapt.

"Alright, let's wrap this up. To be honest, everyone's performance at the exchange meeting a while ago exceeded my expectations..."

"But the gap is also quite obvious. Everyone needs to work even harder..."

Zeng Hongyi said a few opening remarks and then began to give one-on-one guidance to the group.

"The Prajna Palm is about the intention, not the form. Zhao Rui does this very well. You can discuss it with him more in private."

"By the way, Zhao Rui, last time I saw you use Cao Guannan's Mighty Vajra Leg technique, you didn't seem to have any hesitation at all, how did that happen?"

After teaching for a while, Zeng Hongyi remembered Zhao Rui's competition and couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing his words, everyone turned to listen.

"It was a bit of a coincidence. I'm naturally quite sensitive to techniques, and after practicing for a while, I can usually learn the basics by copying what I've learned."

"Later, I practiced mimicry boxing, and after a little thought, I came up with this method that makes the illusion indistinguishable from the real thing."

Zhao Rui tried his best to explain.

However, although it's just an excuse, it can actually be used in practice.

Martial arts, in addition to the moves we see outwardly, also include the internal operating procedures and the bursts of internal energy.

External techniques are merely superficial; what truly matters is the pathways of meridian circulation and the internal energy generated through cultivation.

Without the correct method of meridian circulation, internal energy cannot be accurately transmitted.

This is also why so many martial arts performers in the previous life only had empty shells and no real fighting ability.

The martial arts techniques that Zhao Rui simulated were all copied successfully through the system panel, and their meridian pathways were already open.

No matter what move he makes, he can channel his internal energy to reach the point of force application.

Moreover, he had also grasped a bit of the use of hidden meridians, which allowed him to freely change the meridians to exert force when making moves.

Just like Cloud Hands Plucking Stars and Prajna Palm, both use the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

He struck out with a palm; if it was the Cloud Hands Plucking Stars move, then it was Cloud Hands Plucking Stars; if it was the Prajna Palm, then it was the Prajna Palm.

Both are compatible, and you can switch between them naturally and freely.

After listening to Zhao Rui's words, Zeng Hongyi pondered for a moment, and then tried it out according to Zhao Rui's instructions. He immediately felt that his meridians were extremely painful when he exerted force, and he could not continue at all.

He shook his head and said, "Your method is probably related to your constitution. I can't use it."

After saying that, he added, "This kind of trick can only be used once. Once the opponent is prepared, you'll lose the initiative. Use it less often in the future."

Although he had doubts about the actual effectiveness of Zhao Rui's technique, he still raised questions based on his past experience.

"Coach, I know, I usually don't use it."

Zhao Rui smiled. He had gone to such lengths to explain himself, just so that he could make things easier if other martial arts moves were to appear in the future.

Although martial arts are prevalent throughout the world, it seems rather abnormal for someone to be proficient in all martial arts.

However, in the art of martial arts, the need for specific techniques decreases as you progress.

The saying goes, "One force can overcome ten techniques." When one's skill reaches a certain level, even plucking a flower or flying a leaf can be a deadly move.

True masters don't care about these superficial things.

(End of this chapter)