You Can Call Me Brother Feng

"Students, we've already won the competition. Tell me, do you want to keep going?"

After hearing the battalion commander, Zhao Rui didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to face all the students present, circulated his Internal Energy, and raised his voice.

With fifteen years of Internal Energy behind it, his voice was no less loud than the megaphones around the Training Ground. It rang in everyone's ears in an instant.

The setting sun slanted westward, and rosy clouds poured through gaps in the sky, draping the earth in a golden veil.

Zhao Rui stood in the middle of the field, bathed in the glow. His protective gear reflected dazzling light, making him look like a mighty golden-armored God of War.

His voice boomed like thunder; his figure looked like a divine general descended to earth.

For a moment, everyone felt dazzled and awestruck.

"Our second brother sure knows how to show off!"

At the edge of the Training Ground, Jian Congsheng leaned close to Le Bin's ear and whispered.

Le Bin glanced at the dazed expressions on the faces of the girls from their class and couldn't help nodding.

He was jealous. This was the innate advantage of a Martial Arts Student!

"Yeah!"

"Take him down!"

How could hot-blooded college students possibly disagree in a situation like this? Deafening shouts immediately rang out from the sidelines.

Zhao Rui smiled, turned around, and called to the battalion commander on the platform. "I agree!"

"Ha, this kid!"

The battalion commander couldn't help cursing with a laugh. He hadn't expected the kid to turn the tables and act as if he were the one running the competition.

"Company Commander Hao, we can't let the students say we're picking on them. Let's stick to the same rules as before: if he can stay on his feet for three minutes, we lose!"

Though the battalion commander could tell that Zhao Rui had considerable Internal Energy, he couldn't imagine him matching a company commander who had trained for nearly twenty years.

"Don't worry. He won't last a minute!"

Company Commander Hao spoke lightly, but his expression was grave. He showed no sign of taking Zhao Rui lightly.

"What about you, student?"

"Um, can we make it unlimited time?"

Zhao Rui scratched his head and rejected the suggestion. If there was a time limit, how was he supposed to copy the skill?

The two soldiers earlier had used the same technique, and that had led to an unexpected discovery: different people using the same martial art didn't affect the copying process.

The system copied the martial art itself; it didn't care who was using it.

It made sense when he thought about it. Even when practicing the same martial art, people had different insights, so the results and power of their techniques would naturally differ.

The system most likely only identified the basic information of a martial art, then reconstructed its original form through accumulated time.

That meant common martial arts, or those practiced in military camps, could be copied by piling on the number of people using them.

As soon as Zhao Rui said this, the students watching were stunned. A jumble of whispers immediately rose around the field.

"Is he being way too cocky?"

"Is he so desperate to show off that he's lost his mind? I thought he was somebody. Tch!"

Jealousy was in human nature. Whenever someone else stole the spotlight, there were always people who would let out the jealousy they'd been suppressing the moment that person made a mistake.

Even though Zhao Rui was technically fighting on their behalf.

"Don't talk about him! If you've got the guts, go down there and fight!"

"Exactly! All you do is run your mouths. You're not even qualified to step onto the field. Tch!"

Where there were doubts, there was bound to be staunch support too. The girls in Zhao Rui's class, especially, would never let anyone slander their "hero."

They rose up in a chorus of protest, displaying the mettle of heroines and forcing the boys who'd been whispering to swallow their mocking words.

"No problem. Since this student has made such a request, the condition will be that whoever falls to the ground loses! Vice Principal Peng, what do you think?"

The battalion commander smiled and spoke to Vice Principal Peng, the school official accompanying the group.

"I have no objections. Our school has always respected the students' right to make their own choices!"

Vice Principal Peng laughed it off. He only had a superficial understanding of martial arts, and since the student had made this request, he naturally supported his own side.

Since neither side objected, the match soon began in the center of the Training Ground.

Cheers rose and fell all around the Training Ground, coming from both the students and the soldiers.

Only the two men on the field stood motionless. For a time, neither made a move.

Second by second, time passed. Seeing that Zhao Rui's breathing was steady and his Internal Energy seemed inexhaustible, Company Commander Hao knew that if they kept waiting, Zhao Rui would never make the first move.

He roared and charged at Zhao Rui, his body like a flood dragon bursting from the deep, his fist like a fierce tiger pouncing down from the heavens. Power erupted all around him.

His fist tore through the air, covering the distance between them in an instant and reaching Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui's brows drew together. He angled his open palm and swept it aside, dispersing the fierce straight punch coming at him head-on. His legs shifted into the Two-Character Goat-Clamping Stance, anchoring his body.

Then he stepped forward quickly and threw a straight punch, parrying and attacking at once, meeting force with force.

Earlier, the other man had watched Zhao Rui fight his comrade. Zhao Rui had done nothing but dodge, relying on nimble footwork and evasive movement.

So Company Commander Hao had planned to launch a fierce attack right from the start, seize the initiative, and overwhelm Zhao Rui with momentum.

He hadn't expected Zhao Rui to show no intention of dodging at all, meeting his attack with an attack of his own.

That instantly blunted much of the edge of his assault. Fortunately, he had plenty of combat experience and quickly adjusted his moves, steadying himself.

Their exchange was as fast as thunder. In the blink of an eye, they had changed positions several times.

"Good kid. I underestimated you!"

As a level-six expert, Company Commander Hao had been through plenty of fights. His combat experience was more than a little better than Zhao Rui's.

But Zhao Rui had a wide range of techniques, with both fists and palms at his disposal. He was also levelheaded and never acted rashly, leaving Company Commander Hao unable to find an opening.

His composure was nothing like that of a student in his teens.

Most surprising of all, Zhao Rui's Internal Energy was hardly any weaker than his own.

A martial arts prodigy like this shouldn't be in a regular class, should he?

He had to be a student from Dongqi University's Martial Arts Academy, sneaking in under the radar.

Those cunning, treacherous intellectuals!

The more Company Commander Hao thought about it, the angrier he became. He let out a sharp shout, brought both palms to either side of his waist, then crossed them in front of himself, one above the other. Gathering and circling his energy, he suddenly thrust his palms forward.

The force of that palm strike was as unstoppable as a flood rushing down a mountain. The air wailed wherever it passed.

Ever since seeing a Grandmaster Realm expert make a move at Carefree Pavilion, this was only the second time Zhao Rui had witnessed such a powerful technique.

It was far beyond what people at their level should have been capable of.

The system panel in his mind instantly provided information about the move.

"Iron Clothes Suppressing Mountain Art fragment, can be copied!"

A fragment of a martial art?

It had reached the point where it could be copied. What level of martial art was this?

How could Zhao Rui dare to meet its edge? He hurriedly retreated while pushing his Cloud Hand Plucks Stars to its limits.

His Internal Energy flowed from his Dantian and Qi Sea into the Hand Taiyin Lung Channel, gathering at the Zhongfu acupoint. At once, a stream of inner energy, born from the same source as heaven and earth, surged forth within the acupoint.

"Flowing Clouds Veil the Moon"

"Cloud Dragon Appears Thrice"

"Stars Hang over the Open Plain..."

Zhao Rui unleashed the moves of Cloud Hand Plucks Stars in one breath, each one meeting the force of Company Commander Hao's advancing palm.

Company Commander Hao had been charging forward without pause, but now his palm seemed to sink into a thick mass of clouds and mist, where his Internal Energy was steadily dissipated.

He had no choice but to pour in more Internal Energy to fight against the resistance, like rowing upstream.

"How is this possible?"

Company Commander Hao was shocked. He had learned this extraordinary technique by chance. Even when facing the battalion commander, its unstoppable momentum usually forced his opponent to retreat.

But now, he was feeling pressure from a freshman.

That pressure kept him from unleashing his boxing techniques to their fullest. Once his momentum ran out, he would have no way to seriously threaten his opponent.

If his martial art had a second move, that wouldn't be a problem. The trouble was, it didn't.

To the students and soldiers watching, Company Commander Hao looked like a raging bull, charging and crashing forward.

Zhao Rui, meanwhile, seemed like a child leading a bull, constantly changing position in front of him and guiding his direction.

"Can't that soldier change his stance?"

"Exactly!"

"Why do I feel like they're nothing special? Look, this soldier isn't even as good as the ones who fought earlier!"

"Maybe they're all in on it. I bet this guy from our school has connections in the army and is putting on a show."

Most of the students knew little about martial arts. All they saw was Company Commander Hao charging headlong while Zhao Rui dodged and shifted in front of him. They couldn't tell that Company Commander Hao had no way to change course.

But to the experts on the platform, including the battalion commander, the scene looked entirely different.

"There's something odd about that kid's Internal Energy. Company Commander Hao shouldn't have used that move."

"If he doesn't withdraw now, he's going to lose!"

"Crafty little bastard. There's no way someone with this level of skill is in a regular class. We'll have to give them extra drills later!"

Zhao Rui and Company Commander Hao had no idea what the people on the sidelines were thinking, but by now, both of them were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If either of them withdrew, the other's technique would rebound against him. If neither withdrew, they could only keep struggling like this. Either Zhao Rui's Internal Energy would run dry and his movements would slow, giving Company Commander Hao a chance to land a heavy blow, or Company Commander Hao would run out of Internal Energy or suffer a backlash from withdrawing, and Zhao Rui would win.

But that didn't suit Zhao Rui's plan.

He wanted to buy time and copy the military skills as quickly as possible.

This martial art was unusual, but it was only a fragment, and there definitely wasn't enough time to copy it. It would be better to copy standard military martial arts instead; that would maximize his gains.

"Company Commander, there's no point in continuing like this. I'll count to three, and we'll both withdraw at the same time. How about it?"

Zhao Rui focused his voice into a thread and sent his words into Company Commander Hao's ear.

"Fine!"

Company Commander Hao had power surging through him with nowhere to release it, and he'd long since had enough of this stalemate. Since Zhao Rui was willing to withdraw at the same time, there was no reason to refuse.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

As Zhao Rui spoke the final number, he suddenly retreated, bringing both palms to his chest to guard against a surprise attack.

At the same time, Company Commander Hao planted his feet and drew back his fist, forcing all the power surging through him into the ground.

Then he used the force to dispel the momentum. As he stepped back, he left several clear footprints in the thick green bricks of the training field.

The exchange had gone far beyond what either of them expected. Once they had taken their positions again, silence fell over the field for a moment.

"What kind of fight was that? It wasn't even as exciting as the one before! What a show-off!"

Among the students watching, a boy from another college who had resented Zhao Rui's taking the spotlight spoke up again.

He'd thought someone would back him up and add a few mocking remarks. But once he'd finished speaking, no one joined in.

He hurriedly tugged at the classmate beside him, thinking they hadn't heard what he'd said.

But the classmate immediately dodged away and said, "If you want to die, don't drag us into it!"

The boy stared in shock. His classmate pointed at the field and said, "Take a guess—are your bones harder than those green bricks?"

The boy leaned forward to look. In an instant, he went cold all over, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

The green bricks Company Commander Hao had stepped on were already crushed to powder. As the wind blew, they rose with the yellow sand and filled the air.

Damn!

He'd been so busy running his mouth that he'd forgotten!

This was a Martial Arts Student! If Zhao Rui found out he'd been badmouthing him behind his back...

At the thought, the boy didn't dare show his face again. He immediately hunched down, afraid someone might remember him and report him to Zhao Rui.

"Company Commander Hao, shall we continue?"

On the Training Ground, Zhao Rui glanced at the progress bar for Hundred Battles Rending Cloud Fist on the system panel in his mind. It was only at forty percent; he still had a long way to go!

Company Commander Hao looked stern. When he looked at Zhao Rui's youthful face again, the last trace of contempt vanished from his heart.

Just as he was about to agree, the battalion commander on the viewing platform gave a quiet cough.

"That's enough. You two are evenly matched. If you keep going, it'll be dark before you finish. This time, the university team wins!"

The battalion commander raised his voice for that last sentence, and it instantly carried across the entire Training Ground.

"Yeah!"

"Awesome!"

"Zhao Rui, I love you!"

"Zhao Rui, I want to have your babies!"

The college students watching immediately leaped about in excitement.

If the counselors and instructors hadn't been keeping order, the crowd would definitely have rushed onto the field to let out their excitement.

"It was an honor to spar with you!"

Zhao Rui didn't care how the audience reacted. He had only just recovered from his disappointment.

He'd fought for nothing and hadn't earned a single upgrade point. What was there to be happy about?

Looking at the young man with the fair face and slightly boyish features, Company Commander Hao let out a long breath, nodded, and shook Zhao Rui's hand.

"Young man, you did great. Let's spar again sometime!"

"Really? When?"

"..."

Company Commander Hao stared at him, dumbfounded. I was just being polite!

"Can I get your contact information? We can set up another match. My admiration for you is as vast as the surging rivers..."

"Damn, no wonder you could fight me for so long at such a young age. You're a martial arts fanatic!"

Company Commander Hao spat out the words, but generously gave him his phone number.

They'd become friends through fighting, and he also wanted to test Zhao Rui's martial arts again and see just how he'd countered his Suppressing Mountain Art.

"My surname is Hao, Hao Feng. You can call me Brother Feng!"

"Sure, Brother Feng! Let's take a picture together?"

"..."

Though the competition had hit a small snag, in the end it still "perfectly" embodied the training program's guiding principle: soldiers and civilians were one family.

As Zhao Rui rejoined the group under the eager gazes of the girls from his school, the military camp experience reached the final activity of the event.

Bonfire party!