Chapter 79: Chapter 53: Dongqi Arts and Sports, Arriving as Promised (Part 2)

Instead, they hung various calligraphies, paintings, and decorations with a Zen-like charm in prominent places throughout the main hall.

At the same time, a type of incense for Concentrating and Calming the Mind was lit in the censer. Delicate wisps of smoke curled upward, adding to the solemn atmosphere.

They’d really made the place look the part.

This was all the result of the unofficial team members working overtime yesterday to get it ready.

’In my past life, I would have had to hire people for this kind of work,’ Zhao Rui thought. ’But now? For a group of Martial Arts Students who can practically fly and burrow through the earth, tidying up is a piece of cake.’

Outside Mingcan Temple, two large buses slowly drove along the asphalt road toward the entrance of Mingcan Courtyard.

The words “Dongqi University of Art and Sports” were emblazoned on the side of the buses.

This was the very exchange school they had been “looking forward to” for days.

Outside Mingcan Temple, the members of the Dongqi University Martial Arts Team were joined by the top administrators and teachers from the Martial Arts Academy.

The reception was quite high-level.

It was, after all, a “friendly” exchange visit between schools.

The buses pulled into the empty parking spots in front of the courtyard, and people began to file out. First came a few middle-aged administrators, followed by student team members who were about the same age as Zhao Rui and his friends.

Once the visiting administrators shook hands with the leadership from Dongqi University’s Martial Arts Academy, the entire group headed for the Mingcan Courtyard reception area.

With their part of the reception duties complete, Zhao Rui and the other students gathered and followed the procession into the courtyard.

“Did you see that tall, brawny guy?”

Beside him, Zhang Kui pointed to a Martial Arts Student from the University of Art and Sports and turned to Zhao Rui.

“Yeah.”

Zhao Rui nodded.

“That’s their Martial Arts Team Captain. He reached the Grandmaster Realm even before Captain Gu. And that girl over there is incredibly strong, too.”

He then leaned close to Zhao Rui’s ear and whispered, “She can’t stand it when people call her ugly. I heard she gave Senior Ye Jingqiu internal injuries just because she was too beautiful.”

“Also, she likes keeping pretty boys on the side.”

“See that guy over there? Word is, he committed a crime, but the school covered for him. I think he… you know… did something to a girl.”

“And…”

“Uh, so there’s all that, huh.”

Zhang Kui nodded seriously, a clear sign that these rumors were based on real events. He’d inherited all this gossip from last year’s team members.

’Hearing all this, it makes our own Dongqi University Martial Arts Team members seem like absolute saints.’

Of course, the exchange event wouldn’t kick off with a martial arts competition right away. There were plenty of formalities to get through first.

Zhao Rui and the other students only had to stick around for a little while before they could disperse and wait to be called upon by the school.

They couldn’t go far, though—they had to stay within the Martial Arts Academy grounds.

Zhao Rui, Zhang Kui, and the other sophomores on the team gathered together.

With nowhere else to go, they wandered into the dense woods in front of Mingcan Courtyard, found a grassy spot near the lake, and sat down, leisurely watching the waterfowl play on the water’s surface.

If nothing else, the Martial Arts Academy had an incredible environment. There was a mountain—a hill of earth and rock a few hundred feet high, dotted with jagged rock formations and covered in pines and cypresses. From its summit, you could overlook the entire campus.

On the mountain stood a pavilion inscribed with two characters: “Cicada’s Shell.” The script was archaic, painted in gilded gold. A stream flowed through the pavilion, trickling down into the lake at the mountain’s base.

Below the mountain lay a lake. It was quite large, easily the size of two or three soccer fields. It was home to many water birds that sometimes played on the surface and sometimes hopped among the reeds along the shore.

It was a scene of natural, peaceful beauty.

In addition to the mountain and lake, the grounds also held a vast, dense forest—the same place Zhao Rui had used for his training before.

Such beautiful scenery was truly something special.

It was no wonder students said Dongqi University was just a comprehensive university built around the Martial Arts Academy.

The group gathered by the lake, some sitting, some lying down. No one spoke.

Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

After a long silence, Zhao Rui glanced at the lake, picked up a stone with a flicker of interest, and, with a WHOOSH, skipped it across the water’s surface.

Infused with his Inner Strength, the stone shot forward like a meteor. It struck the surface of the lake, bounced, fell, and bounced again.

It skipped all the way to the opposite shore before finally burying itself in the dirt.

Seeing this, Zhang Kui found a stone and copied him, skipping it across the lake.

His stone also skimmed across the water, disappearing onto the opposite shore after several bounces.

“You two certainly have refined hobbies,” Cao Guannan scoffed, his expression full of disdain.

Zhao Rui picked up another stone and, with a WHOOSH, tossed it to him.

“Give it a try!”

Cao Guannan snatched the stone out of the air. He stood up lazily, a contemptuous smirk playing on his lips, and with another WHOOSH, he sent it flying.

“Let us try, too!”

Seeing the fun, Li Xinran and Qin Rui eagerly joined in on the childhood game.

After a couple of rounds, Zhang Kui’s voice turned somber. “Do you guys think you’ll ever be able to place in a competition?”

“I used to think I was pretty good,” he continued, “but ever since I joined the Martial Arts Team, I’ve realized just how many incredible people are out there.”

His words sent a wave of contemplation through the group.

Their sophomore class was known for being the least talented in the history of Dongqi University’s Martial Arts Academy, with the lowest admission Levels on record.

When they were first selected for the Martial Arts Team, it was a matter of picking the best of a bad bunch. By the end of the first semester, two-thirds of them had already been cut.

They were even worse off than the current junior class, which had been widely considered the worst in the academy’s history up until then.

’Just as Zhang Kui asked, did they really have any hope of placing?’

’If they couldn’t place, not even in a provincial competition, then what was the point of being on the Martial Arts Team at all?’

’Instead of wasting their time, it might be better to just focus on grad school exams or finding a stable government job.’

’Their progress on the Martial Dao would never be as fast as a team member’s, but at least it would be a stable and decent path in life.’

“Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean we can’t. You can’t carve rotten wood!”

After saying this, Cao Guannan’s gaze flickered away for a moment. Then, without looking back, he turned and strode away from the lake.

Li Xinran and Qin Rui exchanged a look and smiled. “We’ll just stick it out for as long as we can,” Li Xinran said. “At least it’s a good life experience.”

“Why overthink it?” Li Xinran added, her tone light. “Being on the Martial Arts Team doesn’t stop us from studying, either.”

Zhang Kui just smiled at her words, saying nothing more.

“Alright, Brother Kui, you getting all serious like that is a little weird. Why don’t you go for a swim and wash it off?”

Zhao Rui chuckled and gave Zhang Kui a playful shove.

Caught off guard, Zhang Kui staggered, about to tumble into the lake.

“HOLY CRAP, ZHAO RUI.”

Zhao Rui just laughed. Right as Zhang Kui was about to fall in, Zhao Rui grabbed his own jacket by one end and threw it to him.

With quick reflexes, Zhang Kui snatched the jacket and stopped his fall.

“Why don’t you both go in!”

Just as Zhao Rui was about to pull Zhang Kui up, he heard Li Xinran and Qin Rui laughing. They suddenly ganged up and pushed him from behind.

“Damn it! A woman’s heart is the most venomous thing!”

Luckily, Zhao Rui was prepared. He sidestepped at the last second, narrowly dodging their push.

Li Xinran burst out laughing and, with Qin Rui in tow, ran giggling up the hillside.

Meanwhile, before Zhao Rui even needed to pull, Zhang Kui used the momentum, flicking his wrist and vaulting himself back onto the shore from his precarious position over the lake.

“Get them!”

Zhang Kui and Zhao Rui shared a look and instantly took off up the mountain after them.

A few moments later, the sounds of their playful shouts and laughter echoed from the top of the hill.

’Maybe Li Xinran and the others don’t want to face reality just yet,’ Zhao Rui thought. ’Or maybe they already know it but don’t want to admit it.’

’Either way, I can understand how they feel right now.’

They hadn’t been messing around for long when a call came in from Cao Guannan.

He told them to assemble at the Martial Arts Arena; the exchange matches were about to begin.

Zhao Rui and the others finally reined in their antics and raced toward the Martial Arts Arena.

In the span of a dozen breaths, the four of them arrived at the Martial Arts Arena and saw Cao Guannan waiting for them at the entrance.

When he saw them arrive, Cao Guannan shot them another cold glance before turning and entering the Martial Arts Arena, acting as if he hadn’t just been standing there waiting for them.

The four of them followed close behind, quickly entering the Martial Arts Arena. Inside, a combat ring had already been set up, with rows of spectator chairs arranged below it.

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