Cherishing Talent

Chapter 19: Valuing Talent

A martial artist who offends the law, how can entertainment be absent?

The entertainment industry in this world is quite developed. Legal or illegal, open or secret, as long as you have influence, there's nothing you can't do.

Zhao Rui didn't need to guess where Yang Fan was taking him.

He spent half the afternoon at the martial arts hall, but no one sought him out as a sparring partner. He waited around for half a day.

It wasn't until evening that a young man in his twenties "selected" him.

This young man was a freestyle fighter, commonly known as a black boxing fighter.

He often came to the martial arts hall to hone his martial arts skills!

Upon hearing that the young man was a black boxing fighter, Zhao Rui's scalp tingled. Those who fight in the arena are engaged in life-or-death combat.

Although this was just training at the martial arts hall, if the opponent couldn't hold back and caused an injury, it wouldn't be a laughing matter.

He had come here without his family's knowledge.

If anything unusual happened, they would definitely find out.

He initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought, the path of martial arts, without combat, wouldn't it lose its true essence!

Flowers in a greenhouse can never withstand the harshness of extreme cold and heat.

Since there was a ready opportunity to learn and experience up close without having to go to the black market arena, why not take it!

Zhao Rui steeled his resolve and decisively stepped onto the arena.

"I might hit a bit hard later, so if you can't take it, just raise your hand to signal!"

A shallow red scar ran diagonally across the man's forehead. As he spoke, he looked somewhat ferocious.

His lean body was defined by clearly visible muscles, as if all the fat had been drained away. There were also several diagonal scars below his prominent nipples.

This appearance was completely different from the classmates Zhao Rui usually saw.

Even in his previous life, he hadn't seen so many scarred men.

"Okay!"

Zhao Rui replied, crossing his palms and assuming the starting stance of the Taihang Thirteen Palms: "Thousand Ren Locks Clouds."

Seeing Zhao Rui ready, the young man slightly moved his body, then stomped hard on the ground. His figure shot forward like a fierce tiger descending a mountain.

Zhao Rui dared not meet his charge head-on. Instead, he took to the air with his steps, retreating to evade.

The opponent, like a shark smelling blood, immediately pursued Zhao Rui's retreat, his offensive becoming even more fierce.

Zhao Rui parried with his palm and felt a tingling sensation in his arm. This person looked thin, but possessed immense strength.

His body swayed involuntarily, but he quickly stamped his feet to regain his balance.

The scarred youth's offensive did not diminish. He clenched his left hand into a fist and struck out with a thunderous roar, the strong wind assaulting Zhao Rui's face with rustling sounds.

Zhao Rui transformed his palm into a claw, like an ancient pine tree twisting upwards, directly striking the opponent's Jianjing acupoint. As the opponent dodged, he followed up by locking the enemy's joint.

This was the second move of the Taihang Thirteen Palms, "Ten Thousand Valleys Listen to Pine."

Their exchange was as swift and violent as a thunderclap.

"Good one!"

The scarred youth roared, thrusting his hips and pushing his elbows. He unleashed a set of Arhat Fist, immediately breaking Zhao Rui's joint-locking technique.

The disciples who were training below, hearing the force of the punches and palms, couldn't help but gather around. Upon seeing it was the scarred youth, they were greatly surprised.

They all asked the coach who the sparring partner was.

When they heard it was the new sparring partner, they all looked enlightened. Their gaze shifted to the scene in the arena, now filled with a hint of amusement.

"Brother Hong isn't someone ordinary people can withstand. I bet he can last ten minutes!"

"I heard he's a high school student. He'll probably only last five minutes!"

Zhao Rui paid no mind to the words from below, nor did he have the time to. At this moment, he was fully focused on responding to every move from the scarred youth.

"This won't do. The Taihang Thirteen Palms lacks inner qi support. Relying solely on the Ethereal Divine Skill, it's hard to last long!"

After parrying for several minutes, Zhao Rui felt his arms were incredibly sore and numb, as if they weren't his own.

If this continued, in another minute or two, he would likely make a mistake and be hit by the opponent.

As the thought arose, Zhao Rui changed his move in mid-air. The inner qi in his palm swirled like clouds soaring for ten thousand miles, rolling in.

It headed straight for the opponent's vital acupoints.

The scarred man changed his moves extremely quickly. He neither dodged nor evaded, meeting Zhao Rui's palms with his fists.

Zhao Rui didn't resist with full force. As palm met fist, he leaped into the air, twisting three times. His speed was so fast it seemed to leave afterimages.

Each time he reappeared and paused, he would feign a palm strike. The third palm strike turned from feigned to real, directly hitting the Tanzhong acupoint. Before the afterimages had dissipated, he had already retreated.

The scarred youth couldn't grasp his pattern for a moment, and his movements faltered slightly. He had already been struck by a palm.

Unfortunately, Zhao Rui didn't dare to attack forcefully. His strength was insufficient, and it only caused the opponent's body to sway a couple of times.

"You've got some skill!"

The scar-faced youth didn't get angry, but instead grew happy, a cruel smile appearing on his lips as he charged forward. He and Zhao Rui clashed once more.

"Six minutes, seven minutes! ...Ah, what a shame! What a shame!"

The onlookers below the arena let out a cry of surprise. On the stage, Zhao Rui had been caught off guard by the scar-faced youth, who landed a palm strike on his back.

Zhao Rui staggered. He shifted his left foot into a "two-character clamping horse" stance. Seeing the enemy's fist coming, he used his "shoulder block" to stick to the opponent's arm, His waist and stance turned like a millstone, shifting the enemy's force off the center line and using his momentum to apply a "plowing hand" downward.

He neutralized the scar-faced youth's attacks one by one. Suddenly, a burst of inch-force erupted from beneath his elbow, like the primordial chaos giving birth to Tai Chi, and he struck out with a roar.

The strike landed squarely on the scar-faced youth's left shoulder.

The two separated instantly, both figures swaying.

"Good! Amazing!"

The scar-faced man looked deeply at Zhao Rui, frowning as he said, "Your martial arts are too varied! Grasping at too much will only lead to failure, it's not a good thing!"

"If it works, it works!"

Zhao Rui smiled faintly. His martial arts were different from others; he had mastered every style. As long as he diligently honed them or opened all his acupoints in the future, he could use them effortlessly.

"Ten minutes already. This new sparring partner is quite strong. He must be a top student from some school! I wonder which one."

"I think I need to learn a couple more martial arts too, just in case. A surprise attack is totally my style!"

"Give it a rest. You haven't even mastered one style properly. If you learn another, I'm afraid you'll split yourself in two!"

The chatter from below the arena slightly displeased the scar-faced youth. He turned to look at the young students below and shouted sternly, "Get lost, all of you!"

Hearing this, the students' faces twitched, but no one argued. Instead, they dispersed from around the arena with various expressions.

The coach chuckled awkwardly and leaped onto the arena in a flash, positioning himself between Zhao Rui and the scar-faced youth. "Alright, that's enough for now. Let's take a break."

The fight, though only ten minutes long, was the most dangerous Zhao Rui had ever experienced in his life.

Every move was ruthless, the attacks fierce, leaving no room to breathe.

If his Internal Energy hadn't recently increased by three years' worth of cultivation, it would have likely faltered during the exertion!

"Brother Hong, I need a short break. My Internal Energy is running low."

Zhao Rui's cold, indifferent demeanor during the fight vanished, replaced by the shyness and bashfulness of a young man.

This stunned the scar-faced youth, Brother Hong. He suddenly realized the man before him was just a student who had recently graduated high school.

"Take your rest!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rui quickly got off the arena and downed a bottle of functional drink.

In a world where science and the Martial Way coexisted, without True Qi, all physical rules were the same as in his previous life.

But once this mysterious True Qi and Internal Energy, akin to dark matter, were introduced, all attributes changed.

After finishing his drink, Zhao Rui began to circulate his energy to regulate his breathing and repair his depleted Internal Energy.

Brother Hong, the scar-faced youth, walked to the resting area, lit a cigarette, and took a few puffs.

The coach saw this but didn't stop him, and naturally, no one else dared to speak up.

After five or six minutes, Brother Hong returned to the side of the arena, leaning against a pillar. He said slowly, "You're young, but your cultivation isn't weak! Interested in fighting underground matches with me?"

Hearing his words, Zhao Rui opened his eyes and replied, "I'm still in school."

"School? Bullshit, how much money can you make?"

Brother Hong spat, "In this world, only strength and money are important."

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand!"

A self-mocking smile appeared on Brother Hong's lips. He then beckoned to Zhao Rui, "Let's continue!"

Zhao Rui heard this, stood up, and a fighting spirit surged in his eyes.

An hour later, Zhao Rui, rubbing his swollen and red shoulder, followed the coach into the physical therapy room.

"This is a famous bruise-removing ointment from Shangdu. It works very quickly."

"What's with the long face? You fought very well. What martial arts hall are you affiliated with? Why don't you join our martial arts hall?"

The coach said this while applying the ointment to Zhao Rui's shoulder.

"I saw you use Cloud Hand Palm. Are you perhaps a disciple of Li Da Naodai?"

Zhao Rui nodded and asked, "You know my master?"

"In the entire old district, who doesn't! Old..."

The coach stopped himself just as he was about to speak. It wasn't good to badmouth his master in front of his disciple.

Zhao Rui couldn't be bothered to ask further. He knew what kind of person Li Da Naodai was.

However, a master for a day is a father for life. As a disciple, it was best to ask and listen less.

"Brother Hong Fei's Internal Energy is not much worse than mine, and he has so much combat experience. The fact that you could fight him for so long is already very impressive."

The coach clearly saw Zhao Rui's potential. It was a pity that Zhao Rui already had a master and was also going to university, pursuing the path of a Professional Martial Artist.