Chapter 97: Worthy
After Chen Chuan returned to his room, he shut the door while looking as if nothing were out of the ordinary, as if the fight earlier was as normal as eating and drinking.
He took a shower and changed into new clothes. Then, he stepped out of his room, only to find that Jing Lin was already gone. Some students were still around and talking excitedly about the fight. When they saw him, they nodded at him in a greeting.
He went to the public phone, and the dormitory supervisor gave him a disapproving look. “Chen Chuan, don’t vent your anger at the wall when you spar. The paint has peeled off.”
“Sorry, Sir,” Chen Chuan apologized.
“Good. You can vent against the floor instead. Even if it breaks a little, that’s fine. Expense claims like that are easier to submit, you know?” The dormitory supervisor smiled.
Chen Chuan laughed. After the dormitory supervisor left, he picked up the phone receiver and called Cheng Zitong.
Once the call went through, he said, “Mr. Cheng, I just ran into someone who said he’s from Central City, and he said that he wanted me to meet his teacher.”
“Where are you, and when did that happen? Did you say yes?” Cheng Zitong’s voice became stern.
“I didn’t.” Then, Chen Chuan gave him a summary of what had happened.
“Got it. If that person comes to find you again, just say no. Remember this. You’re at Yangzhi City’s Martial Valor University, not Central City. I have something at hand right now, so I can’t see you, but if you run into any problems, call Mr. Gao Ping of the Admission Department. He’ll deal with it for you,” Cheng Zitong said grimly.
“Okay,” Chen Chuan promised.
After Cheng Zitong hung up, he turned around to speak to the person sitting on the sofa across from him, only to find that he was already gone.
***
Chen Chuan checked his watch. The fight had not taken a lot of time, but he did spend some time taking a shower. Still, the lunch hour was not yet over.
He took the elevator downstairs and went to the cafeteria. On the way, he replayed the fight in his head. Jing Lin was quite different from everyone he had ever seen and fought, as if he had broken free of the necessity to use his breathing to activate his mutated tissue. That ability alone, though, was not all that impressive to Chen Chuan.
Based on his observations, all the lecturers were at this level. So, unless Jing Lin knew something more, he was just full of himself.
Chen Chuan did not want to meet Jing Lin’s teacher because he did not believe in the opportunity Jing Lin spoke of. If there really was one, Cheng Zitong would have told him about it a long time ago.
Since he was Chen Chuan’s mentor, no one could bypass him when it came to this sort of thing. At the very least, they should have told him about it, but Jing Lin just bypassed him and went straight to his target. Chen Chuan could not detect any respect for his mentor from Jing Lin’s words.
That came from a deeply-rooted arrogance.
While thinking about it, Chen Chuan arrived at the cafeteria. He set the problem aside for the time, had lunch, and returned to his room to continue training.
Another two days passed, and Chen Chuan got his scheduled day off at the end of the month. He returned home. Nian Fuli was still not around. According to Yu Wan, he had been given a lot of tasks lately, but did not find it tiring in the slightest. Instead, he was more fired up than ever.
Chen Chuan could guess the reason behind it. He smiled and took out a stack of tickets. “Aunty, my mentor gave me these tickets. Both you and Uncle can go with Nian Mo and Nian Lu to watch the tournament.”
Yu Wan was pleasantly surprised when she saw the tickets. Martial arts were really popular in the Great Shun Republic, so everyone was really passionate about tournaments. Yangzhi City locals usually only saw the matches held by various martial arts schools, whose scale, caliber, and duration could not compare to Martial Valor University’s tournaments.
While the underground fighting rings owned by the Blood Scars Gang and the Chain Links Gang were of a higher caliber, they were violent and bloody. The average citizen would not go there. That was why the tournaments held at the end of the year between Martial Valor University students were the most popular. It was difficult to get one ticket, so who would have thought that Chen Chuan would be able to get so many.
She could even distribute a few to their neighbors. When the time came, they could watch the tournament together.
“Don’t mind if I do take these, Chan’er.”
“I want them too, Chan’er!” Nian Mo jumped around to grab the tickets.
Yu Wan pulled her son’s ear and lectured him, “Aren’t you satisfied with what your cousin brought back last time? Also, I told you many times before not to call your cousin by his nickname.”
“I know the rules! I’m polite! I’ve always called Chen Chuan by his name!” Nian Lu raised her chin with an expression expecting praise.
Yu Wan patted Nian Mo’s behind. “Your sister is much more mature than you.”
Chen Chuan smiled and said, “I’ll bring some tickets for you two as well next time.”
“Thank you, Chen Chuan,” Nian Lu immediately said.
Chen Chuan stayed the night at home. When he got up the next day, it was already December. Even though there was still a month before the new year, some families had already begun decorating their houses.
After Chen Chuan had breakfast, he bade farewell to Yu Wan and went back to the university. The moment he rode through the gate, he heard uniformed running and shouts from the second-class students’ training field. Some first-class students were also hurrying about. When they met each other, they only nodded at each other as a greeting.
In a few days, the second-class students would go through the preliminary rounds of the tournament, while the first-class students had to worry about their end-of-term exams. All the students were at their most tense and nervous during this period of time every year.
Meanwhile, Chen Chuan had one hand in his pocket while he pushed his bicycle forward.
Once he was back in his room, he changed his clothes and went to his usual haunt—the Weapons Department’s training hall. The supervisor there was already familiar with him, so all Chen Chuan needed to do was give him a nod as a greeting when he went in.
But today, he felt as if there was something different about the supervisor. His eyes were fixed in front when Chen Chuan came in, as if he did not see him.
After some pondering, Chen Chuan continued on until he pushed the door open. The spacious training hall was empty. Not a single student who would normally practice at this time was around. Only a tall, slender man stood in the middle. He had a faint smile on his face.
The moment Chen Chuan stepped into the hall, he already knew who the man was, but he did not retreat. Instead, he shut the double door behind him and came to stand in front of the man.
The man regarded him with interest. “You have sharp senses. I could sense you slowing down for an instant when you stepped into the training hall. You must have noticed that things were different here today. Even so, you still came in. Is it because you trust the university or because you’re confident in yourself?”
Chen Chuan thought about it. “Perhaps both.”
“Interesting. You must have gained your confidence from surviving and winning all those fights. Not bad,” the man said.
He was looking at Chen Chuan like an item requiring further evaluation. He was enjoying the process of judging his worth while debating whether to get him or give up on him.
That attitude made it blatantly clear that he put himself on a high pedestal. This was a form of arrogance too. While he showed it differently compared to Jing Lin, there was no core difference.
“Looks like he really is your student,” Chen Chuan said.
“Student?” The man was surprised, but also seemed amused. “You’re wrong. He’s just a toy to me.”
He gave a twisted grin. “He’s a bastard who was often bullied by the heir of his family when he was a child, but could not run away, because even if he was hit or abused, he still lived a much better life than ninety-nine percent of the commoners in the slums in Central City.
“He wants to be better than everyone else and longs to take revenge on the people who insulted and abused him. I decided to be generous and give him a chance, because I really wanted to see how this drama would continue.
“You need to buy tickets for a show, don’t you? That’s why I don’t mind giving him guidance, but not too much, because that would be boring. Did you know that he’s a coward and has low self-esteem? He doesn’t even dare to speak to other people loudly while he’s in Central City, but once away from it, he becomes arrogant, aloof, and condescending. That’s so interesting.”
“Then, did you seek me out for the same reason?” Chen Chuan asked.
The man immediately denied it. “No, no. Before I finish watching one show, I won’t switch to another one. Me wanting to meet you was just a spur of the moment decision. I wanted to see whether you were really as strong as the newspaper article said, but after Jing Lin came back, I started looking into your past and found that you fulfill my requirements.”
“Requirements?”
“People who come from small cities like you want a chance to get an official footing in Central City. As students of Martial Valor University, you only have two ways to go to Central City.
“First, make it to the main campus. There are only a limited number of slots for that, though, and all of them go to recommended students. The other one is more practical for you—becoming a servant to someone who has the right to go to Central City. Not everyone gets that chance, though. If you’re not good enough, no one will take interest in you.
“Now then, all that you’ve done and the fact that you just defeated my toy not too long ago proved that you’re strong and worthy enough to get that chance.
“So, if you agree to become my servant, I will bring you with me to Central City. Of course, you’d be my student’s sparring partner on paper.”
He then gave a teasing, wry smile. “I suppose you’ll need time to make up your mind. That’s fine. I’ve always been lenient toward talented people. I’ll give you two days. Once you’ve made up your mind, come find me.”
He then started heading out.
“How may I address you?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Tan Wang.” He walked past Chen Chuan and opened the door. Then, he turned around and said, “I forgot to mention, but I hate being rejected. Enjoy your day off.”
He walked out.
Chen Chuan stood in the empty training hall thinking. After some time, he walked out too.
***
Once Tan Wang left the training hall, he headed straight to the manor at the center of the lake. The moment he walked into his training hall, he narrowed his eyes. Someone was sitting on his sofa.
The man was built like a lion. He had a broad mouth, a prominent nose, and hair that fell on his shoulders. His large body was making the sofa sink, and the belted martial arts uniform showed off his well-defined muscles. An intimidating power radiated off him. Even though they were far apart, Tan Wang felt suffocated.
Tan Wang narrowed his eyes further. “Who are you?”
The man stood up from the sofa. As he did, he gave off an overwhelming presence that seemed to steal the very air from the room. In a sonorous voice, he answered, “He Xiaoxing.”