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After entering the main hall, the two of them went to the desk in a corner.

Teacher Wang was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He rarely looked so serious; there was even a hint of the carefree air of a reclusive master about him.

"Teacher Wang, you wanted to see me?"

Zhao Rui muttered under his breath.

At his words, Teacher Wang slowly opened his eyes and gave a quiet "Mm," without changing his seated posture.

"Starting tomorrow, you two will be assigned to the Sparring Partner Group. Zhao Rui, Wang Zhe will still be in charge of your training, but your regular team practices will shift to sparring."

After finishing, Teacher Wang turned to Zhang Kui. "You're too restless by nature. You need some time to temper yourself. You'll be assigned to the Sparring Partner Group for now, just like Zhao Rui... Go on, get to it."

After giving them a few instructions, Teacher Wang waved them away.

The two acknowledged him and turned to leave. Zhao Rui was still in a very good mood. He'd finally become a sparring partner.

How many days had it been since he'd earned any advancement points?

Now he'd finally gotten his wish. How could he not be happy?

Zhang Kui, on the other hand, looked dejected, his face gloomy and displeased.

"Brother Zhang, let me treat you to some barbecue for lunch?"

With money in his pocket, Zhao Rui had nothing to worry about. He looked at Zhang Kui and invited him.

Zhang Kui hesitated, then nodded. "I'll treat you instead."

"What difference does it make who pays? Today's on me. I'll wait for you after training!"

"Mm! All right!"

After making plans to eat together at noon, they went their separate ways.

Zhao Rui went back to Wang Zhe as usual to ask for guidance on the bottlenecks he'd encountered in martial arts.

The Prajna Palm was profound and vast. Though it was only a beginner palm technique for the Martial Arts Team, it was already one of the best techniques Zhao Rui had encountered so far.

It was far better than the likes of the Azure Cloud Palm and Taihang Thirteen Palms.

Of the martial arts Zhao Rui currently knew, Cloud Hand Plucks Stars, the Taiyi Light Splitting Sword, and Wing Chun Inquiry were the strongest.

The rest were common, run-of-the-mill techniques. They offered very limited improvement in Internal Energy circulation and variations in moves; even mastered to their depths, they were still merely ordinary.

As the saying went, "Greed for more leaves you unable to digest." For now, Zhao Rui focused on these few techniques, striving to advance beyond proficiency and reach mastery.

Progress in this area depended even more on his own cultivation and insights.

At eleven thirty, after finishing training, Zhao Rui met Zhang Kui at the hall entrance. His expression was still poor. The two left the Martial Arts Academy together.

The Martial Arts Academy had its own cafeteria, and it was quite upscale. It was said that its buffet was on par with meals costing over two hundred yuan outside campus.

Zhao Rui wanted to try it, but he wasn't part of the Martial Arts Academy, so he wasn't allowed in.

The two didn't eat near campus. Instead, they took a taxi to a commercial street not far away, which was busier and had more food options.

They found a street-side barbecue shop that specialized in grilled beef skewers, took an empty table, ordered some skewers and beer, and began eating and drinking.

They weren't close to begin with, so they casually chatted about amusing things happening on campus.

After a few bottles of beer, Zhang Kui looked at Zhao Rui, who was still perfectly at ease, and shook his head with a smile. "You really know how to keep your cool. Aren't you at all worried about becoming a sparring partner?"

He'd thought Zhao Rui had invited him out for a drink because of the sparring assignment. But they'd been drinking for ages, and Zhao Rui hadn't said a word about it.

"I'm from an outside department anyway. I'll do whatever the teacher tells me to. Honestly, being a sparring partner might be what suits me best."

Zhao Rui smiled as he spoke.

Zhang Kui gave a self-mocking smile. "True. You're from outside the academy, so you never expected to get far on the team. Sigh!"

Since Zhang Kui had brought it up, Zhao Rui naturally followed the thread.

"What's the deal with sparring partners on our Martial Arts Team? Brother Zhang, is there something bad about being one?"

"That goes back to the purpose behind establishing our Martial Arts Team..."

Zhang Kui clinked glasses with Zhao Rui, then downed his drink.

It turned out that martial arts teams hadn't existed in this world at first. But for certain reasons, the international climate had deteriorated, and conflicts between nations had become constant.

To ease tensions or achieve certain goals, international martial arts competitions had emerged under the intervention of several major powers.

In turn, each nation began establishing its own martial arts teams, selecting competitors level by level from the ground up.

As the international situation later stabilized, the competitions didn't decline. On the contrary, they grew more and more popular.

They not only gave rise to entertainment-focused martial arts competitions, but also drove a whole range of related industries, such as film, animation, and training and education.

Martial arts had gradually transformed from lethal combat and a struggle for international influence into a form of entertainment.

The money involved each year reached hundreds of billions, even trillions.

As a result, martial arts competitions had become a shortcut to wealth and success for many practitioners.

Dongqi University was one of the top universities in Dongqi and had long been known throughout the province as a major martial arts training base.

Besides its university Martial Arts Team, the Martial Arts Academy also housed a provincial professional team, whose members were carefully selected.

Zhao Rui was on the university-level Martial Arts Team. Its main competitions were the provincial university league, the national university league, and the adult Group B competition.

Outstanding competitors could be selected for the provincial professional team and take part in more professional events, such as the national martial arts league.

For a professional martial arts student to make a name for himself and gain fame and fortune, he had to get a chance to stand out and catch the attention of social media.

Whether it was the university league or the provincial league, he needed to qualify to compete.

As auxiliary team members, sparring partners were temporarily stripped of their competition eligibility.

That was one reason Zhang Kui was so upset.

After hearing Zhang Kui's explanation, Zhao Rui felt even more at ease. So his competition eligibility had only been suspended temporarily. For him, that wasn't even an issue.

He might be a Level Six Martial Artist now.

But one had to remember that every martial arts student admitted to the Martial Arts Academy at Dongqi University was at least a Level Five Martial Artist.

Level Six and Level Seven Martial Artists were everywhere.

There might even be Level Eight Martial Artists.

Those were the true darlings of heaven.

Though Zhang Kui had been relegated to sparring partner, he was a bona fide Level Seven Martial Artist.

Level Six Martial Artists had already been eliminated at the end of the first semester.

Zhao Rui had only gotten in because he'd applied early. If he'd applied in the fall, he wouldn't even have qualified to join.

So the competitions meant nothing to him. All he needed was to spar with people and earn advancement points.

"Brother Zhang, Teacher Wang is looking out for you. Let yourself settle and build up your strength. One day, you'll take the world by storm."

Zhao Rui offered him sincere comfort.

"Ah, I'll take your word for it. First I need to advance. Otherwise, when the new students arrive in the fall, I'll be the one getting eliminated."

"I heard there are two Level Eight Martial Artists among this year's freshmen, and quite a few Level Seven ones too. They're seriously impressive!"

Zhang Kui clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Drink up!"

Zhao Rui's heart tightened. He hadn't expected this year's freshmen to be so formidable. He'd once thought Level Five Martial Artists were already top students, but now he saw he'd been a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Drink!"

They clinked glasses and gulped down their drinks.

They chatted for another half hour or so. When it got late, they paid the bill and left.

Zhao Rui didn't return to the Martial Arts Academy. Outside scheduled training sessions, the Martial Arts Team didn't restrict its members' free time.

Many members, especially those at lower levels, went to Mingchan Courtyard to train on their own.

Zhang Kui said it was because the place had good feng shui and could improve the speed of the team members' training and their insight.

Zhao Rui had no idea whether that was true.

There was no scheduled training today. So after leaving the restaurant, Zhao Rui went straight back to his rented room and took an afternoon nap.

He slept until after three. After splashing water on his face, he headed back to Mingchan Courtyard.

He'd barely entered the courtyard, and hadn't even reached the side hall where his team trained, when Zhang Kui beckoned him over with a mysterious look.

Zhao Rui hurried over. Zhang Kui glanced around, then leaned close and whispered, "The main team members who went out to compete are coming back tomorrow."

Zhao Rui looked at Zhang Kui in confusion. Zhang Kui continued, "Be careful not to get on their bad side. I heard they didn't do well and were eliminated in the second round."

Zhao Rui nodded. Only the second round—that really was a poor showing. They hadn't even made it to the round of sixteen.

"Thanks, Brother Zhang!"

"Don't mention it!"

Zhang Kui smiled, looking rather like someone who'd just taken a younger brother under his wing.

After chatting briefly, Zhao Rui headed straight to his team.

As soon as he entered the side hall, he felt the heavy mood. Wang Zhe looked terrible, his face slightly pale, as if he'd been injured.

Zhao Rui walked over in confusion. Suddenly, Pang Wenyu, the team's resident big man, stood up and shouted, "Brother Zhe, we can't let this go!"

"What else can we do? Sit down."

After saying this, Wang Zhe gave a slight cough. Then, seeing Zhao Rui approach, he pointed to the cushion in the corner. "Zhao Rui, come sit over here too."

Zhao Rui acknowledged him, grabbed a cushion, and sat at the back of the team.

"As your team leader, I've been left off the main squad twice in a row. There are objective reasons, but the truth is I'm not strong enough either."

"Tian Zirong dared to openly provoke me because he knew my strength hadn't recovered. There's no point telling Teacher Wang about it. The main team will be back tomorrow, so everyone keep your tempers in check..."

After finishing, Wang Zhe turned to Zhao Rui. "I have a grudge against Tian Zirong, and he takes it out on our team members too. Be careful around him. He has an older brother named Tian Zihao, who's on the main team. Just so you know."

Zhao Rui's face twitched as he listened to Wang Zhe. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

He'd only come to earn some advancement points. How had he ended up caught in some feud?

Had Teacher Wang deliberately put him in this group?

Did he think Zhao Rui had pulled strings to get on the team?

Zhao Rui shook his head. He couldn't figure it out, but now that he was part of Wang Zhe's group, it probably wouldn't be easy to back out even if he wanted to.

"Mm, I understand, Brother Zhe."

Zhao Rui answered.

"Mm. That's all. Everyone, go on about your business!"

With that, Wang Zhe waved them away.

Pang Wenyu snorted angrily, then went behind him and sat cross-legged, pressing both palms against his back to help him recover with Internal Energy.

Seeing this, the other team members didn't linger. They each went their own way.

Zhao Rui followed suit, leaving the side hall with the others. Then he quickly caught up with a senior student who was usually quite easygoing and called out to her.

"Senior, how did our team leader Wang get hurt?"

The senior student's surname was Peng and her given name was Xinnan. She wore simple, pale-colored clothes, understated and graceful.

Seeing Zhao Rui had stopped her, Peng Xinnan glanced toward the side hall and said, "Tian Zirong beat him up. Shh, you'll understand later. In short, stay away from Tian Zirong and his brother. Things aren't what they used to be."

"Oh, Senior, I heard there's a café by the school gate with pretty good coffee..."

"Trying to ask me out? Maybe another time!"

After saying this, Senior Li turned and walked off with a carefree air, using a touch of Lightness Skill to float away.

"Keeping secrets like that... It's either about a woman or a spot on the team!"

With fragments of the plots of hundreds of TV dramas from his past life still in his head, Zhao Rui could more or less guess what was going on.

He'd thought the Martial Arts Team was some kind of pure land. Turns out it was full of petty disputes too. Simple as that.

No wonder the team had rules for resolving conflicts in the ring.

Zhao Rui shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Right now, he was a nobody. Improving his strength was what mattered.

The next day, after his morning classes, Zhao Rui hurried to Mingchan Courtyard.

It was his first day as a sparring partner. Every second counted.

Once at the courtyard, he greeted Wang Zhe, then found the Sparring Partner Group leader, He Zhiyan, and checked in.

There were five members of the Sparring Partner Group on the training ground at the moment, including Zhang Kui.

When Zhao Rui arrived, the two exchanged a nod.

"Our Sparring Partner Group doesn't have any special requirements. Most of your training will still be with your own teams. Your main job is to spar with the competition team members, both in regular training and in actual combat drills..."

After explaining how the group worked, He Zhiyan continued, "Captain Gu and the others are coming back today. Some of them will probably do extra training this afternoon. When they do, stay with them and observe."

"Understood, Team Leader He!"

Zhao Rui quickly replied, then found a corner and trained on his own.

He'd been training for about forty minutes when he heard a commotion outside Mingchan Courtyard.

"Captain Gu, you're back!"

"Welcome back, Captain Gu!"

The greetings came in waves, from people lining the way.

Zhao Rui glanced at the members of the Sparring Partner Group. They'd all stood up and gathered at the entrance.

Even Team Leader He had gotten up to welcome them.

Zhao Rui hurried after the others to take a look.

There were about ten people at the entrance. They were dressed in all sorts of clothes, but every one of them had an extraordinary bearing. They strode along like dragons and tigers, radiating an overwhelming pressure.

Combined with the greetings from the surrounding team members, they looked like a gang of underworld bosses making an entrance.

The person at the front wasn't tall and had unremarkable features, but he was powerfully built, with a round face, broad nose, and a crew cut as spiky as a hedgehog's quills. He stood out at once.

This had to be Captain Gu, the legendary leader of Dongqi University's Martial Arts Team.

"Old Wang, are you sleeping again?"

Captain Gu's voice rang out from afar before he even arrived. His Internal Energy was so abundant and his cultivation so profound that Zhao Rui's eyes widened.

Sure enough, there was a reason so many members of the Martial Arts Team followed him.

"What are you hollering about? I'm coming!"

Teacher Wang came out dragging his slippers, his face full of impatience.