Gao Wu: Ten years of sparring experience, one move and the world knows him

Chapter 45 He Wanqing

The Mingchan Academy covers a vast area, including several functional halls, training rooms, martial arts arenas, and even dormitories.

However, this dormitory is generally not occupied by team members. It's not that the environment is bad, but rather that anyone who can make it in the martial arts team has some income.

They all have places to stay outside.

After listening to Senior Brother Wang Zhe's explanation of many precautions, Zhao Rui obediently went to a practice room that was not occupied by any senior brothers or sisters and opened the file sent via WeChat.

"The Prajna Palm takes emptiness as its essence and compassion as its function. When practicing it, one should contemplate the five aggregates as fleeting as dew or lightning; when the palm extends, all phenomena cease to be phenomena; when the palm retracts, all dharmas return to oneness."

"...Practice circulating Qi in the Tanzhong and Hai points, drawing the water of the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian upwards, passing through the Yuzhen point and entering the Baihui point, transforming pure Yang into sweet dew, which then flows along the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and into the Laogong point in the palm."

"...With palms slightly hollow and fingers slightly bent, as if plucking a flower branch or embracing the full moon, one can attain the wonder of 'power arising from non-abiding'."

After reading this, Zhao Rui was stunned. It actually followed the Taiyin Lung Meridian, which was exactly the same as the internal energy circulation route of Cloud Hands Plucking Stars.

He was immediately overjoyed. He had already opened up a vital acupoint, so wouldn't practicing the Prajna Palm be twice as effective with half the effort?

Without hesitation, Zhao Rui immediately began practicing the techniques according to the instructions recorded in the manual.

This martial arts routine consists of nine forms, implying the concept of the Nine-Rank Lotus Platform. The postures are easy to learn; just follow along.

The difficult part is learning how to operate the meridians.

Why did I have martial arts moves in my past life, but they were powerless? It wasn't that the moves were wrong, but that the internal energy flowing through my meridians was wrong.

The martial arts practiced by people in the previous life did not involve the circulation of internal energy, so how could they generate extraordinary power?

It's like the difference between taking Viagra and not taking it before sex. Although the substance is the same, the amount of blood flow and hormone content inside are different, so the effects are naturally vastly different.

This martial art contains Buddhist principles, emphasizing the Zen concept of emptiness as non-emptiness and non-emptiness as emptiness, and it also requires a very high level of comprehension.

Even if the flow of Qi through the meridians is the same, the transformation between emptiness and fullness during Qi circulation and the derivative changes between moves will be different if one's comprehension is different.

Zhao Rui is inherently stubborn, and since he has chosen the path of martial arts, patience is absolutely essential.

Practice once, practice ten times, it's still practice.

If you have an understanding, you should practice; if you don't, you should still practice. At worst, there's the system panel to fall back on.

This practice session lasted for the entire morning.

When Zhao Rui pushed open the door and came out, it was already 12:30 pm.

However, he was not the last person to stay at Mingchan Academy. Passing by the main hall, he estimated that there were at least seven or eight senior brothers and sisters lingering inside.

Some were meditating and resting, some were practicing martial arts, and some were even watching videos on their phones.

Let's not bother each other!

Seeing that Wang Zhe and the others were not there, Zhao Rui quietly picked up his backpack and left the Zen temple.

A few birds occasionally perch on the bluestone path outside the courtyard, hopping and playing, or pecking at the ground for food, looking quite leisurely.

Under the huge ancient trees on both sides, two young female students were half-lying down, whispering intimately to each other in a languid manner.

What a wonderful atmosphere!

Zhao Rui was in a good mood and slowed down his pace to admire the lush green "world".

By the time he left the martial arts academy grounds and arrived at the nearest canteen, the eighth canteen, it was almost one o'clock.

"One bowl of beef noodles, two eggs, and one thick grilled sausage."

I've heard that eating like this is good for your health.

A few minutes later, Zhao Rui carried a large bowl of steaming beef noodles from the cafeteria window, walked to an empty table, and sat down.

Then he started eating it in big, slurping mouthfuls.

"Luo Min, isn't this hilarious? A guy from the foreign language department actually gave me a love letter today. I'm dying of laughter."

As he was eating, a girl's voice slowly drifted into his ears from not far away.

"Luo Min?"

Zhao Rui was taken aback and looked up slightly toward the source of the sound.

The speaker was a round-faced girl with long hair. Her features were quite pretty, but her skin was a little dark and she had a strange tattoo on her arm.

However, this was not Zhao Rui's focus; he was looking at the girl beside her.

She was a girl with exceptionally beautiful features and figure.

Zhao Rui's gaze naturally attracted the other person's attention. When their eyes met, the girl was slightly taken aback, and then returned a smile.

Zhao Rui smiled and nodded, then lowered his head to continue eating his noodles, clearly not intending to go over and say hello any further.

Zhao Rui knew this girl well; she was Luo Min, his high school martial arts classmate and also a student at the Martial Arts Academy of Dongqi University.

However, the two were not close when they were in school, and even after graduation, when they learned that they had both been admitted to Dongqi University, they did not keep in touch.

We bumped into each other once during military training and exchanged greetings.

After a while, Zhao Rui finished his noodles, grabbed his backpack, and went straight out of the restaurant.

Who is it?

After Zhao Rui left, the girl next to Luo Min glanced at Zhao Rui's back and asked curiously.

"A high school classmate!"

Luo Min smiled, glanced at Zhao Rui briefly, and said casually.

"High school classmates? Your high school classmates include people from our martial arts academy?"

The girl was surprised because she had never seen this boy during military training.

"He used to be in the martial arts class, but he chose to be assigned to another major when he took the college entrance exam, and now he's in the accounting school."

Luo Min explained that she actually wanted to go and chat with Zhao Rui for a bit. Firstly, they were classmates and went to the same school. Secondly, she was curious about why he decided to give up martial arts.

During the last military training, there were too many people, so I was too embarrassed to ask too many questions.

Unfortunately, after nodding, the other person continued eating their noodles.

This made her give up the idea of ​​going over for a casual chat.

The typical path for students in high school martial arts programs is to apply to universities with martial arts majors. Only if they fail to get into a university will they choose a junior college.

If you can't even get into a junior college, it just means that your future in martial arts is bleak and you're not suited for this profession.

Most students then gave up on martial arts.

However, Zhao Rui is different. His grades are not bad, so it is understandable that he could not get into the martial arts academy from Dongqi University, a top university in the province.

For him, getting into a regular undergraduate or even a regular first-tier martial arts academy is a sure thing.

But he gave up and chose to be assigned to a different major, which meant choosing a non-martial arts major.

How is this any different from giving up martial arts?

Luo Min really wanted to talk to him about this.

"Ha, so he realized he has no talent and has given up completely!"

Upon hearing this, the girl next to Luo Min smiled dismissively and continued, "But at least he has the self-awareness to not come over and bother you! Usually, if a guy sees you greeting him, he would have already come over."

"What are you saying!"

Luo Min rolled her eyes at her, then muttered to herself with a hint of doubt, "But it's quite strange, he usually seems unwilling to talk to me, and has never taken the initiative to speak to me."

"Ha, there really are guys like that. Could he be gay?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? He's my classmate, for goodness' sake."

"Haha, I'll remember him."

The girl laughed even more unrestrainedly.

……

With the cultivation techniques and an organization, Zhao Rui's life finally returned to its previous state of being engrossed in martial arts. He even moved out of the dormitory and into a rented apartment.

I mentioned this to my counselor, Liu Jie, who took Zhao Rui's special circumstances into consideration and readily agreed.

When it was time to leave, the other three people in the dormitory had mixed feelings. On the one hand, they were reluctant to see Zhao Rui go.

After all, with Zhao Rui as their backer, who would dare to bully them?

On the other hand, they wanted Zhao Rui to leave. Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Who knows what kind of temperament and personality Zhao Rui has?

We've only known each other for a little over half a month, and we don't really know each other's true nature yet. What if we offend Zhao Rui in the future? That would be terrible.

Zhao Rui was also aware of the situation. He simply waved goodbye and bid farewell to his short-term life in the university dormitory.

Back in his rented room, Zhao Rui immediately felt relaxed and sprawled on the bed, shaking his head in a sprawling manner.

It feels so good to be free.

Others may not know, but he certainly didn't want to sleep in the dormitory.

Of course, this doesn't apply if all the girls are pretty.

After lying in bed for a while, Zhao Rui got up, went to the kitchen, and prepared to cook some good food to treat himself.

Having been single for so many years in my previous life, although my cooking skills are not as good as those of a master chef, I can still satisfy my cravings.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, deep-fried shrimp, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes!

Hmm, four dishes would be good.

I washed my hands and was just about to start cooking when my phone rang.

Zhao Rui walked into the living room, glanced at his phone, and then answered the call.

"Zhao Rui, you're not living at school anymore?"

A soft, sweet voice definitely indicates a girl.

"Yes, I rented a place outside."

"Oh, that's great. May I go and have a look around?"

"Forehead……"

"I'll bring my roommates along, okay? Consider it a home-cooked meal for you!"

"Alright!"

Zhao Rui shrugged. The girl had already gone to such lengths; it would be rather unreasonable not to invite her over.

"Okay, we'll be there in a bit. Send me the address on my phone."

After saying that, the girl hung up the phone.

This girl was Zhao Rui's classmate, and also the one who fainted during military training. Her surname was He, and her given name was Wanqing, taken from a line in a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin: "Heaven pities the humble grass, and humanity cherishes the late sunshine!"

Her name is beautiful, and she's good-looking too; otherwise, Zhao Rui wouldn't have carried her for over ten miles.

Since the girls were coming over soon, Zhao Rui naturally couldn't just cook four dishes.

I rummaged through the vegetables I bought today; there were still quite a few left. I picked out a few kinds, made eight dishes, and started cooking.

Today is Saturday, and there are no classes. He Wanqing and the other three arrived at Zhao Rui's house half an hour later.

Before they arrived, they went to the supermarket and bought some fruit and cooked food.

"Ta-da! Look, we also brought duck wings, duck necks, and grilled sausages..."

As soon as the door opened, He Wanqing giggled and held up the cooked food she had bought.

"You came all this way, even bringing food? Isn't that a bit too formal?"

Zhao Rui smiled and took the plastic bag from the girl's hand.

"Absolutely! Wow, Zhao Rui, you can actually cook!"

As soon as He Wanqing and the others entered the room, they were greeted by a delightful aroma.

When they saw the ribs still simmering in the pot in the kitchen and the delicious-looking and flavorful dishes bubbling in the wok, they were overjoyed.

"Just make something simple, we won't go out to eat."

Zhao Rui smiled.

"I'm not going out, I want to try it first."

"Me too! Ouch, it's so hot..."

The girls picked up their chopsticks and began to taste the deep-fried shrimp that Zhao Rui had prepared.

"It's delicious!"

"Zhao Rui, just give in to our Wanqing, then we can come and freeload off you in the future."

A girl said it casually.

He Wanqing's pretty face immediately turned pink, and she scolded playfully, "What nonsense are you talking about! Eating can't shut you up."

"Oh dear, Wanqing is shy. Hehe! Ouch, don't tickle me, it tickles!"

The two girls immediately started making a ruckus.

After making a fuss for a while, the four girls started helping Zhao Rui with his work.

Picking vegetables, chopping vegetables, washing fruit, clearing the table—the division of labor was quite clear.

With help, the cooking speed improved significantly, and a whole table of dishes was ready in just one hour.

Zhao Rui and the girls sat down at the table, raised their glasses and drank a little beer to celebrate their housewarming, and then began to eat.

"Zhao Rui, do you know any other guys like you who are skilled in martial arts, great cooks, and caring?"

A girl had drunk a little wine, her cheeks were already flushed, and she mumbled something.

"If that's what you're saying, then I won't be able to find it!"

Zhao Rui said with a smile.

"What should we do then?"

"Cold salad!"

"No way, Wanqing, give Zhao Rui to me!"

"If you say that again, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

He Wanqing was immediately embarrassed, and her tone was clearly annoyed. After all, this kind of joke is fine once, but if it is repeated too often, it will change its meaning.

"I was just joking, is it really that serious!"

The girl pouted, seemingly not understanding why He Wanqing was angry.

"Eat up! Eat more ribs, you can't get this many ribs at school."

Zhao Rui smiled and quickly interrupted the girls' conversation.

The girl who spoke earlier pouted even more.

Zhao Rui couldn't help but glance at He Wanqing, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Seeing the look he was giving her, He Wanqing puffed out her cheeks slightly in exasperation and let out a playful sigh.

Although there was a minor hiccup, it didn't affect the dinner, and the girls made up again in no time.

After they had eaten and rested briefly, Zhao Rui didn't let them stay any longer and personally took them back to school.

After all, he had been drinking, so Zhao Rui was still a little worried.

Under the warm autumn sun, a gentle breeze caressed my slightly flushed cheeks, bringing a touch of rosy blush.

The four girls linked arms and followed behind Zhao Rui, chatting and laughing.

He would occasionally crack a joke, which would elicit a burst of clear, crisp laughter.

After sending the girls back to their dorms, Zhao Rui turned around and went straight back to his rented apartment.

Before I even got home, I received a message from He Wanqing on WeChat: "I won't take them anymore."

"Um!"

Zhao Rui's reply was simple and clear.

……

For the next week, Zhao Rui diligently practiced the Prajna Palm martial art and had already made some progress.

That day, he was consulting with Wang Zhe about the variations of a move in the Prajna Palm when Zhang Kui rushed over from the direction of the main hall.

He called out to Zhao Rui from afar, "Teacher Wang is calling for you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui quickly told Wang Zhe, then hurried over and went to the main hall side by side with Zhang Kui.

(End of this chapter)