Nightmare Despair

Chapter 16 Sparring
As the explosion subsided.

A burning sensation exploded on his left cheekbone.

Warm liquid gushed out instantly, sliding down her cheeks and dripping into the corner of her mouth.

Salty, fishy.

Zhou Kai subconsciously took half a step back and casually wiped his hand away.

"The response has been good."

Chen Ping withdrew his fist and stood there, his face showing no apology whatsoever, not even a flicker of emotion.

His eyes were as calm as a deep pool.

"But it can be even faster!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ping resumed his fighting stance, his solid killing intent locking onto Zhou Kai once again.

"continue!"

Zhou Kai took a deep breath, the air mixed with the smell of blood filling his lungs.

The stinging pain from the wound on his face felt like it had opened a valve on his adrenal glands.

It's here... a familiar feeling.

My heart pounded like a war drum, and my blood surged and roared through my veins.

A subtle shiver ran through his body, not from fear, but from excitement.

"Okay! Continue!"

Zhou Kai grinned, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth with his tongue, and the clarity in his eyes was replaced by a kind of madness.

The world rapidly faded in his perception, leaving only black and white.

Chen Ping is no longer a coach, but a collection of countless weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

throat, eye sockets, temples, knee joints...

boom!
Zhou Kai stomped hard on the floor and shot out like a cannonball.

He stopped defending and dodging, and instead used all the skills he had learned in the past few days—Mixed Martial Arts, Light Footwork, Soraka Swordsmanship…

All of these elements are combined into the most primitive and purest form of attack!
A smile also appeared on Chen Ping's lips.

That's right, that's it!
This is the kind of person I've been looking for!

The muffled thuds of fists colliding and the crisp clanging of bones colliding echoed wildly within this enclosed space.

From 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

It lasted a full six hours.

Zhou Kai can't remember how many times he was knocked down, nor how many times he was awakened by excruciating pain from the brink of fainting.

His left arm dislocated three times, but Chen Ping casually pushed it back in place.

My right leg muscle is torn, and it's still burning with pain...

At 9:01, when Zhou Kai tried to get up from the ground again, his body finally gave way.

No amount of adrenaline could restart this machine that was nearing its limit.

He leaned against the weapon rack, every muscle in his body trembling.

Across from him, Chen Ping only had a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Coach Chen," Zhou Kai's voice was hoarse, "is this also an effect of ancient martial arts?"

"Yes." Chen Ping casually picked up a single-edged sword and gestured seemingly aimlessly. The blade gleamed under the lamplight, its coldness chilling to the bone.

"How much of your strength did you use when you fought me?"

Chen Ping raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "I don't want to undermine your confidence, let's talk about it later."

"Yeah……"

Zhou Kai did not press the matter further.

It's in vain to ask.

The difference in strength must be measured with fists.

We'll find out sooner or later.

He closed his eyes and looked at the subtitles indicating the results.

[Mixed Martial Arts Experience +5]

[Light Steps Experience Points +7]

...It was worth it.

As he focused on recovering, Chen Ping suddenly spoke up: "There's one thing about you that has exceeded my expectations. Very few people at your stage can utilize their emotions instead of being controlled by them."

Zhou Kai opened his eyes, his gaze still clear, or rather, with a unique calmness.

Chen Ping put down his single-edged sword and praised him generously: "Learning to utilize hormones and emotions, treating your body like a machine that can be overclocked at any time, is a prerequisite for becoming a qualified martial artist. You already possess the key to controlling even greater power." Zhou Kai raised his hand and gently touched the scabbed wound on his cheekbone.

"I see. That punch you threw was to get me into the zone..."

"No." Chen Ping shook his head, an innocent smile on his face. "It was just that I got carried away and didn't control my strength properly."

Zhou Kai: "..."

“Go have dinner.” Chen Ping turned around. “My promise remains unchanged. If you can come back, I will stay here until tomorrow morning.”

Zhou Kai's eyes flashed, and he nodded, saying, "Okay, I need a few hours. I'll be back in the early morning."

He prepared to return to the nightmare and use the fireplace to recover from his exhaustion.

……

Downstairs at the Falcon Wing Boxing Gym, Lu Yan, carrying a bag, had been waiting for over an hour.

Seeing Zhou Kai come downstairs, she immediately ran over and noticed the wound on his face, her eyebrows furrowing in shock.

"Why isn't he answering the phone? It must be that coach again, right? What does he want? No way, I'm going to report him!"

The fact that someone had been waiting for him relieved Zhou Kai's vague sense of tension, but it also made him even more exhausted.

Zhou Kai raised his hand and pressed down on the phone she was about to dial.

"Sis, it's a misunderstanding. Coach Chen is doing this for my own good."

Lu Yan was taken aback by his gaze, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she awkwardly pushed his hand away, rolling her eyes: "Fine, I wasted my time worrying!"

Zhou Kai smiled, revealing just the right amount of apology: "Shall I treat you to dinner today?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something: Oh, right, you still transferred the money for the meal to me yesterday.

Lu Yan, with a haughty expression, put her hands on her hips and nodded: "Who wants to eat the food of a poor boy like you!"

However, twenty minutes later...

At the food stall, Lu Yan happily snatched the pan-fried buns from in front of Zhou Kai.

Both of them exercise and have good appetites.

After finishing the first batch of dishes, I was only about 50% full.

Lu Yan then asked the waiter to order more dishes.

While they were adding more food, Zhou Kai casually asked, "Sister Yanzi, has my sister recently made a friend named Sui Die?"

Lu Yan was Zhou Qing's college roommate and best friend; their relationship was so close they were like sisters...

So much so that Zhou Kai practically treated her like his own sister.

Lu Yan froze, her lips twitched, and her eyes darted away: "Ha...she even brought people to see you?"

Zhou Kai narrowed his eyes: "Just who is she?"

Lu Yan seemed to be hiding something, and stammered, "Anyway, I don't know much, I just know that the two of them... met last year."

Last year?
Zhou Kai was relieved; his previous judgment had been confirmed.

As for what Sui Die is actually doing with her sister, it's best not to worry about that.

Zhou Kai and Lu Yan's eyes met, and they both seemed to know what the other was thinking.

Lu Yan gave a dry laugh, indicating that there were some things we shouldn't discuss.

"It's all in the juice!"

Lu Yan held up the orange juice.

Zhou Kai also raised his lychee soda.

……

After having enough wine and food.

"I'll go pay the bill, you stay here."

Lu Yan said she would quit drinking, but after drinking a glass of juice, she felt a bit depressed.

Soon, after downing six ounces of liquor, she was so feverish that she collapsed onto the table, becoming a lump of mud.

For Zhou Kai, this was purely accidental.

'Looks like we need to figure out a way to get Sister Yanzi home first.'

Zhou Kai shook his head, patted Lu Yan's shoulder, and gestured for her not to move.

He strode quickly to the front desk.

"Bill, please."

However, to everyone's surprise, the receptionist's chin almost hit the counter, and her head bobbed up and down like a roly-poly toy.

(End of this chapter)