Chapter 15: Top Floor

On the run back home, Chen Chuan clenched his hands into fists. Even though he could not use a clock to test it right then, he was sure that after his duel with Ding Shuo, the time he could overlap with his second self had increased again.

He also had a feeling that the time had increased by quite a large degree. It might be even more than when he defeated Shan Xiong.

The reason was not solely because he won against Ding Shuo; it was not that simple.

When he overlapped with his second self and threw full-powered attacks at Ding Shuo, he had forced Ding Shuo into a defensive position. The feeling of being able to use his strength at will and the glee he had when he attacked without restraint lit a fire in him. That rush was the real push that got his second self to increase the time Chen Chuan could overlap with him.

But certain other things also needed to be considered. Just who was Ding Shuo? Why was he able to master refined force, the technique more advanced than breathing techniques? Why did he have such great durability? If Chen Chuan ran into someone like him during the follow-up exam, how could he win?

The simplest solution was to use refined force against refined force, but Yu Gang had said that refined force was far more advanced than breathing techniques. Chen Chuan doubted he would be able to master it at his level.

How should he deal with it, then?

After some thinking, Chen Chuan decided to ask Yu Gang about it. There had to be a way.

“Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three…”

Wei Bing was doing handstand pushups on the railing of his balcony in the residential building where he lived. When he saw Chen Chuan running down below, he mumbled, “He sure is going home early today…”

Wei Bing had been training on the balcony day and night recently, so he saw Chen Chuan running through the alley every day. Once Chen Chuan disappeared from sight, he snapped out of his musings. “Ah. Where was I? …Eh, forget it. I’ll start over.”

Chen Chuan ran back home. Since it was still early, he took a shower and changed into a clean set of clothes—it was still the school uniform he wore when he took the entrance examination.

The old Chen Chuan spent all of his allowance on books and movies, so he mostly wore durable, long-lasting clothes that were quite dated. The school uniform was the only presentable piece of clothing that still fit the current Chen Chuan.

He left behind a note for Yu Wan and took his bicycle out.

Once he got on the road, he started riding with the gentle evening breeze blowing against his face. He rode past the electricity poles as the dark blue sky continued turning darker while the fluffy, golden red clouds drifted along the sky. It was a breathtaking sight.

The graduation party was held at Douyi Hotel, near the downtown square. It was twenty-seven stories tall and was the second tallest building in Yangzhi City.

Even though it was not time for dinner yet, quite a number of cars were already parked inside the hotel’s parking lot.

Chen Chuan turned his bicycle handle to take a turn and parked in the parking lot across from the hotel before crossing the road.

When he arrived at the hotel’s entrance, he looked up. The graduation party was located on the roof. Not only was the cost for reserving it astronomical, but also required certain connections.

Not everyone who studied in Yangzhi’s First High School was a commoner. A handful of students came from really wealthy and powerful families, and some of them were clearly involved in organizing the graduation party.

Chen Chuan walked through the revolving door and let a beautiful female usher guide him through the hall with a smile. He then entered the grille-door elevator with a few other people.

The business at the hotel was good. The elevator kept stopping at the lower floors, and Chen Chuan saw a stream of fashionably dressed people coming and going. Most of them stared at him when they walked in and saw him.

Despite wearing a school uniform, Chen Chuan’s tall build stood out. He had also been going through high-intensity training for the past month or so, which made him look full of spirit. His symmetrical, well-defined features, clear eyes, and a proportional body were all pleasing to the eyes.

Fewer people got on or out after the twentieth floor. As the elevator continued going up, the floor number on the rotating panel kept flipping upwards. When Chen Chuan finally reached the twenty-seventh floor, the elevator trembled before finally stopping, and the grill doors slowly moved to the sides with loud creaks.

Chen Chuan walked out of the elevator and into a spacious emergency corridor. He saw a few elevators on both sides. Two female ushers were waiting in front of the door across from him. Once they saw him, they smiled and handed a notebook for him to sign. Then, they opened the door for him.

Chen Chuan stepped over the high cement threshold and stepped out onto the roof. Immediately, a night breeze blew past him and made his hair dance.

The roof was around a few thousand square meters big. Rows of open canopies spread across the place, and tidy rows of chairs and tables were placed under them. The gathering was done in the style of a buffet. The waiters and waitresses pushed carts along to set up cutlery and prepare drinks and food.

Chen Chuan came early, but quite a number of First High School students were already present. They were gathered together in small scattered groups.

Chen Chuan’s class was not the only one present. The students from the other five classes had come as well. After comparing the students’ faces with the old Chen Chuan’s memories, he recognized some of them, but could not recall their names.

He took a few steps to the roof’s parapet. The view from so high up was truly magnificent. He could see most of the buildings in the city.

Not far to the north was the tallest building in Yangzhi City—Black Orchid Co.’s building. Due to its dark blue curtain wall and streamlined silhouette, it looked all alone, like it did not fit in with the rest of the surrounding buildings.

A little further north was North Ornament Highlands. Chen Chuan could also see Smoked Hills’ silhouette clearly to the east.

Right then, the sunset glow spilled down from between the scattered clouds. When the light hit the buildings, it painted them in rich, warm colors. The cars and people on the ground basked in the sunset, where light and darkness melted into one.

At that moment, Chen Chuan heard cries of surprise behind him, along with claps and cheers. He looked over and saw a group of students surrounding a person, who was performing some martial arts moves before jumping about.

Interested, Chen Chuan walked over and saw a lean, tall boy in a martial arts uniform demonstrating his moves. He seemed to prioritize kicks. Occasionally, he spun, jumped, and did a sweeping kick with a shout. He looked really imposing and impressive.

Another student introduced him like he was showing off a celebrity. “Senior Brother Sheng Hai is now a member of Heroic General School. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a freshman in high school, so that’s four years.”

In order to take the entrance examination, Chen Chuan had done his homework on the martial arts schools and martial arts training centers in Yangzhi City. Heroic General Fist was a foreign martial art brought into the country. Later on, the martial arts experts in the country added a few new techniques to make it even more comprehensive, and it became a rather popular martial art.

Since the martial arts school was really good at promoting itself, its name had spread far and wide.

Chen Chuan had seen students practicing this martial art in school. He had only watched them for fun before and thought that the moves looked nice, but when he observed it this time, he had a different experience.

The chained forms were mostly for the visual impact. Unless there was a large disparity in strength between the two fighters, they would be unusable in an actual fight.

Chen Chuan had understood one concept from his fights: at the core of all duels was the body. Techniques just put the body to use. Hence, in normal situations, the person was the one who was strong, not the techniques or the school that taught them.

Chen Chuan watched for a while. Sheng Hai had decent power, good coordination, and great rhythm. Setting aside how he would perform in a duel, he had to have spent a lot of time practicing.

Sheng Hai demonstrated the Heroic General Fist for a while more before he stopped. Even though he had performed for quite a bit, he did not gasp for breath, and he was not sweating a lot either.

He smiled. “Every year, people from within the city and even the prefecture come to the Heroic General School to choose suitable martial arts to participate in competitions and tournaments. Even film studios come to it to scout action stars. You know Xi Mubing, the action star, right? He’s from the Heroic General School. If you join us, you’ll get plenty of opportunities.”

The student who had introduced Sheng Hai had to be in the same martial arts school, because he said, “That’s right. If you train hard, you can set up your own martial arts school. Our instructor joined the martial arts school as a student.”

As he spoke, he took out a few flyers from his bag and handed them to the surrounding students. “Take a look. If you’re interested, you should join us. You can check out the martial arts school and try the Heroic General Fist for yourself. We offer the first week of lessons for free.”

“How’s Heroic General School compared to Martial Valor University?” a student asked.

Another student chuckled dryly. “How can the Heroic General School compare to it? My dad said that the security advisors in his department are all from Martial Valor University. Every year, the municipal government buys security equipment from Martial Valor University. The Heroic General School is nothing.”

“My mom says that martial arts schools are full of thugs. Most of them join gangs, so it’s better to not go to such places. If we want to learn martial arts, we should go to proper training centers or hire a trainer to teach us one-on-one. The entire course is only in the hundreds, anyway,” a female student continued.

After that being said, the other students felt awkward about taking the flyers. Even if some felt it rude to say no, they threw the flyers away.

Once the students left, Sheng Hai and his companion walked around a little more before a breeze blew, and a flyer flew over. Someone then stepped on it.

The companion grumbled, “How could they do this?”

Sheng Hai had to have seen this before, because he was not mad. He just patted his friend’s shoulder and said, “Forget it. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” The student thought about it before walking over to pick up the flyer. Just then, a shadow fell over him, darkening his view, and he looked up to see a tall and handsome boy coming up to him. He was stunned.

Chen Chuan reached out and asked, “Can I have the flyer?”

“Huh? Oh! Okay!” The student was delighted and handed the flyer to him. He then said enthusiastically, “I’m Liang Tong. If you want to join the martial arts school but have questions about it, you can ask me.”

Chen Chuan took the flyer and examined it before asking, “I heard that you’re offering the first week of lessons for free. What is the martial arts school going to teach?”

“Mainly some basic moves.”

“What if I already have a basic foundation?”

“You can still come,” Liang Tong answered without hesitation. “Many of the martial arts school members join with some foundation in martial arts. If someone has learned from another martial arts school, we will ask a student to fight them, so they can have a hands-on experience of Heroic General Fist.”

After some thinking, Liang Tong added, “Of course, you can join the school solely for the sake of getting sparring partners.”

“As long as I pay, right?” Chen Chuan asked.

Liang Tong giggled sheepishly.

Chen Chuan laughed as well. “Thanks, Liang Tong.”

“It’s okay.” Liang Tong then remembered something. “You’ll find a number of addresses on the flyer. The martial arts schools in each district are different. If you come to our district’s martial arts school with the flyer, you can get a discount.”

“Okay,” Chen Chuan said, waved them goodbye, and walked away.

Sheng Hai had not said a single thing throughout the interaction. Right then, he asked, “Is he from First High School too?”

“I think so. I’ve seen him before. I think heʼs from Class Four, but I canʼt remember his name,” Liang Tong answered.

Sheng Hai stared at Chen Chuan’s retreating back until he became certain of his first impression. “That schoolmate of yours is practicing martial arts.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know about that, but it’s pretty normal for people to practice martial arts nowadays, isnʼt it?” Liang Tong did not find it out of the ordinary. Martial arts schools and training centers were everywhere across the Great Shun Republic. It was not strange at all for a student to be a martial artist. Both he and Sheng Hai were martial artists themselves.

But Sheng Hai did not just mean that Chen Chuan was a martial artist. When Chen Chuan was standing in front of them, he gave Sheng Hai a feeling he could not put to words. That feeling was something he had only ever sensed from the experienced martial artists and coaches of the martial arts school.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep