The Commencement of the Clan’s Youth Martial Arts Test
“It’s alright if it was just a fluke. We cannot condemn you for not being able to pull it off since you have never learned the trick. It was probably a coincidence.” Tong-Tieng said disappointedly…
“I had a plan to teach you the Sword of the Wind skill today, but I guess it’s not necessary now.” Tong-Lang also made a disappointed face. He really thought that Zheng-Fu could do the trick because the last time he followed Zheng-Fu’s lead, his skill improved…
“Thank you, Master Tong-Lang. After you left, I tried to practice the Sword of the Wind skill, but nothing happened. It was just now that I got upset and tried things out and the result was what you saw.”
“It seemed like you achieved the skill…? Tong-Lang wanted to recheck…
“It is true that I achieved the first step of the skill, but it was…” After trying to explain, Zheng-Fu started to show the two Masters the fighting routine, the one that he practiced before meeting with the glowing entity…
Thud! What came out of the attempt was a light wind that could only blow tree leaves gently. Then the wind lost strength, which showed that the attempt was a big flop…
“Gosh!” Seeing that Zheng-Fu spoke the truth, Tong-Tieng became even more disappointed, then let out a long sigh and said, “I guess you are right. If you are stronger the trick will become more powerful, like what I could do.”
Whoosh!
Boom! The wind wave was released from Tong-Tieng’s sword powerfully destroying the ground in front of them badly instantaneously… “The outcome is this powerful because I am at the advanced level, but you…well…” Tong-Tieng said while looking at Zheng-Fu with a dry smile… “I don’t know how else to help you because the time is so limited. If we met earlier, it would be different. Right now, it is already superb that you achieved the basic defensive skill.” Tong-Lang felt that it was too bad for the boy because he knew well that it took more than just a few days to achieve this sword fighting skill…
“I understand Master. Everything takes time. I will never quit and spend the rest of the time that I have left to practice as much as I can. At least, I can still survive the test with this “Soft for Defensive” skill.” Zheng-Fu said, smiling naively to both Masters…
“Since you have understood the Sword of the Wind skill, I’ll start teaching you the “Sword of the Willow Leaves” skill. But it is a very difficult one. So, the path from the start to achieving this skill is not easy at all, but I’ll teach you as much as I can. Whether you can achieve it or not, it is up to you.” Tong-Tieng said, giving him a warm smile once again…
“Thank you, Master Tong-Tieng. I will do my best.”
“Good!”
The whole day was spent by Tong-Tieng explaining the theories of the new skill. Tong-Lang had the duty to show the moves for Zheng-Fu to work on. After he tried to follow Tong-Lang’s lead and observed his movements, Zheng-Fu started to feel that the movements were not smooth, but strange. He thought that those movements were not completely perfect…
‘Master Tong-Lang’s movements look strange. They seem to be smooth, but somehow harsh. It is like they are soft but rigid as if something is missing.’
When Zheng-Fu opened the book to recheck the movements, he noticed that there were some parts of the movements missing. They did not seem to be right…
“Do you think you understand it…?” Tong-Tieng asked after finished explaining.
“I think I do, Master.”
“Good. So, the rest is up to you. When the clan’s test comes, we will meet again, kid.” Tong-Lang said and smiled at Zheng-Fu. The Master patted the boy’s shoulder with a glimpse of pride. He was confident in Zheng-Fu…
Tong-Tieng and Tong-Lang had not been to the clan’s youth martial arts test for many years because they did not think that anything was interesting there. However, they looked forward to going to the clan’s upcoming test and that was because of their new student, Zheng-Fu…
“I appreciated your guidance, Master. I’ll never forget your kindness for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t get so serious. After all, we’re Master and student. It’s my job to teach you. And I might not have much to give you. I only have these lower-leveled Qi energy stones.” Tong-Tieng said and brought the Qi energy stone out from his sealed dimension ring…
“Right. We’ve never opened to recruit students before. You’re an exception because I feel like we can hit it off. So, as our first student, you go do your best in the clan’s test.” Tong-Lang said excitedly as if he got a new project…
“Yes, Master. I, Zheng-Fu, won’t let you down.” Zheng-Fu confirmed while bowing to pay respect to both Masters one more time, then took a cloth bag that contained Qi energy stones from Tong-Tieng…
“We will wait to see your success,” said Tong-Tieng and Tong-Lang.
After finishing the sentence, both Tong-Tieng and Tong-Lang disappeared from Zheng-Fu’s sight. They had the duty to monitor the area around the clan’s estate, so they did not have much free time. Both of them were very fond of Zheng-Fu, even though it had been a few days with him. Zheng-Fu helped them improve their “Soft for Defensive” skill better…
“Should I tell the Masters the truth..!?”
Zheng-Fu finally stopped thinking about everything. He only thought about the clan’s test because it was the most important thing for him right now. He needed to achieve the sword skills that he picked before the clan’s test started…
A week had gone by (as quick as the time in the novel)
The clan’s youth martial arts test had finally arrived. Zheng-Fu remained in his room doing a meditation to adjust his Qi energy level and took the opportunity to rejuvenate his body at the same time because he spent the whole past week practicing heavily on the Sword of the Willow Leaves skill and the other two sword skills. His body was a wreck…
Zheng-Fu needed to rest for a whole day to revive his energy and body to get ready. He was now successfully achieving the three sword skills. He could apply them skillfully too, even though he could only get to the first stage of each sword skill…
Knock knock!
“Zheng-Fu! Are you ready?” As Zheng-Fu meditated, Kong-Shi knocked on his door and asked whether he was ready for the clan’s test…
“I’m ready, father. I’ll be right out now.”
Creak!
When Zheng-Fu opened the door, Kong-Shi widened his eyes automatically because he was appalled by the sight of his son in front of him. It had been only a week that he took him to the manual tower to pick up fighting skills manuals, but his son’s body and energy vibe had improved tremendously…
“S…S…Son!”
“Greetings, father!”
After Kong-Shi finished being overwhelmed, he smiled with the joy of seeing his own son with the new development. The more he looked at him, the sweeter his smile was…
“Father, are we going now?”
“H…Hi, Zheng-Fu! I almost forgot why I came here. Let’s go to the clan’s test.” Kong-Shi said with a light funny smile on his face. He was so stunned that he forgot the reason why he came to his son until his son greeted him. Both of them realized that there was not much time before the test began, so they rushed off to the test venue…
As both of them walked to the test venue, Kong-Shi turned to Zheng-Fu and asked, “How did it go with the three sword skills that you chose?” Kong-Shi waited for the answer while wishing to hear the best news…
However, Zheng-Fu did not give him any answer, but an innocent smile…
It did not take long for them to reach the test venue because their house was not so far from the place. Zheng-Fu’s mother did not go with them…
When they got to the test venue, Kong-Shi said, “I can only walk you up to this point. The rest is up to you, son.”
“Yes, father. Please don’t worry. I’ll definitely pass the test.” Zheng-Fu told his father with a confident smile…
“Good!”
Kong-Shi stroked his son’s head with love and affection. He never worried about his son’s capacity. What worried him was the third stage of the test because it was a free-sparing test. If his son chose to compete in that stage, it would…
Zheng-Fu was not the only 8-year-old boy in the competition. There were about 30 of them, both boys and girls participated. Basically, everyone in the clan, no matter how rich or poor they were, had the right to participate in the test…
“Dong-Chu, look!. That’s Zheng-Fu!” A skinny boy urged Dong-Chu to look at Zheng-Fu as Zheng-Fu entered the venue…
“What a nerve to come here! He doesn’t know his place at all!” Another chubby boy made a harsh remark when he turned to check out Zheng-Fu. He looked down at Zheng-Fu with his judgmental facial expression…
Dong-Chu felt satisfied to see Zheng-Fu at the test venue with a light smile on the corner of his lips and then said, “Good! If he dares to come here, I’ll make sure he pays for everything that he owes. You guys just wait and see! Tee-hee, tee-hee”
Upon the stage, a middle-aged man appeared as the test was about to begin. He looked around at the people at the venue and then said, “Attention please, may all young martial artists approach the courtyard for the registration.”
At the stands beside the test courtyard…
Upon the higher seat on the stands, there was a middle-aged man who was about Kong-Shi’s age sitting next to the leader of the clan. As the man saw Kong-Shi walking in his direction, he smiled lightly and said, “Why? Kong-Shi, brother…I thought you wouldn’t come to see the competition! He said while making a face to look down at Kong-Shi…
“Of course, I would. Why didn’t you think that I would come, Lao-Chu, brother?” Kong-Shi ignored the man’s attitude and responded to him politely as he always did…
That middle-aged man was Lao-Chu, the great elder of the clan. He was also Dong-Chu’s father. Lao-Chu did not get along well with Kong-Shi for a long time. However, Lao-Chu could not hurt Kong-Shi any more than making sarcastic conversations with him because Kong-Shi had been contributing to the clan’s success…
Everybody at the venue was used to the tension between them, so they merely let out dry smiles and did not say anything as they saw the two exchanging words…