Chapter 15: Visiting the Xingwu Gym
Not far from the gym, there was an underground parking lot.
Chen Sheng followed Li Chenghu, preparing to go to Xingwu Gym to meet the latter's father.
The Grand Master of Xingwu Gym, Li Xingwu.
Only with his consent could Chen Sheng officially join Xingwu Gym and become Li Chenghu's disciple.
*Ding ding*
Arriving at a part of the parking lot, Li Chenghu pressed the remote control.
*Plop*
Seeing Li Chenghu's car, Chen Sheng, who was drinking water, turned into a fountain.
Li Chenghu's car turned out to be a police car.
"What are you staring at? Get in."
Seeing Chen Sheng standing there dumbfounded, Li Chenghu opened the car door and called out to him.
"Tiger Bro... should I sit in the front or the back?"
Chen Sheng usually preferred to sit in the right rear seat when riding in a car.
But looking at the metal bars in the police car...
He felt that sitting there would be somewhat strange.
"If you want to experience what it's like to be a criminal suspect, I don't mind."
Li Chenghu smiled ambiguously while taking out a limited edition silver bracelet from the car.
"I can also provide you with the gear."
Upon hearing this,
Chen Sheng awkwardly smiled and obediently sat in the passenger seat.
"I'll have the chance to experience it some other time."
As soon as he finished speaking,
Chen Sheng suddenly felt that there was something odd about his words.
Before he could think too much about it,
Li Chenghu started the car and drove towards the exit of the parking lot.
"Tiger Bro, I thought your family runs a martial arts hall, so why do you have a police car?"
On the road,
Chen Sheng casually chatted with Li Chenghu.
"My family is my family, and I am me."
"This disciple of mine is actually just a namesake; my talent in martial arts isn't much."
"Although you will officially be my disciple in name later on,"
"The ones who will really teach you are the people in the martial arts hall."
So, that's how it is...
Chen Sheng nodded in realization.
Immediately after, he raised another question.
"So, Tiger Bro, your actual job is...?"
"That's right."
Li Chenghu nodded.
"I am the captain of a team under the Quanjiang City Martial Security Bureau."
"The Martial Security Bureau?"
Chen Sheng inquired in confusion.
He had heard of the police and the Cultural Bureau,
But this so-called Martial Security Bureau was new to him.
"Its full name is the Martial Arts Safety Management Bureau, which mainly targets martial artists, Qi-sensors, and Heavenly People who commit crimes using martial arts. It has the authority to supervise all humans with extraordinary individual strength. The bureau was established just a year ago."
"Because it was recently established, and due to the high mortality rate, we have always been short-staffed."
Hearing this,
Chen Sheng immediately understood what Li Chenghu meant by asking for his help earlier.
He suddenly fell silent.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help,
but rather whether he could be of any assistance with his current strength.
Li Chenghu seemed to see what was on his mind and explained with a smile.
"Don't worry, we won't ask for your help right now."
"Facing those wanted criminals, the weak ones can be dealt with by ourselves, and if you were to face the strong ones, you'd just be courting death."
"Just honestly practice martial arts, and you'll have opportunities in the future."
Hearing this,
Chen Sheng nodded understandingly, looking firmly at Li Chenghu.
"Don't worry, Tiger Bro. I'll be ready to help whenever you need me."
"Just... can I run if I encounter danger?"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Li Chenghu burst into laughter.
"You'd better be able to run."
"I've seen too many reckless people die at the hands of those criminals."
"Only by surviving can you protect more people."
"Many of my colleagues failed to understand this, and as a result, they lost their lives."
As he spoke, Li Chenghu seemed to recall something, and his expression turned somewhat melancholic.
Chen Sheng, with his keen senses, noticed this and didn't say anything further.
The police car continued towards its destination.
Half an hour later.
The Port District, Xingwu Gym.
The location was about twenty kilometers from Chen Sheng's home.
Chen Sheng looked out of the window.
Gazing at the surroundings, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
After thinking for a long time,
he finally remembered.
Wasn't the previous location of Xingwu Gym, the Youth Palace?!
As a child, Chen Sheng had even learned Taekwondo here.
After being beaten up by his parents for secretly kissing a little girl from the neighboring art class, he refused to come back, sulking.
After so many years,
little did he expect it to have become a martial arts hall.
"Let's go."
Li Chenghu had no idea about Chen Sheng's inner monologue.
After parking, he led Chen Sheng towards the entrance.
Upon stepping through the gate, the ancient and elegant atmosphere came into view.
Chen Sheng looked around in amazement, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
"This way."
Following along a corridor, the two of them continued to advance deeper in.
Faint sounds of hitting and grunting began to surround their ears.
Chen Sheng looked to both sides.
Behind each door were variously sized training grounds.
The noises came from inside.
"These rooms are for students who want to learn martial arts and strengthen their bodies," Li Chenghu explained.
"The real disciples of the Martial Arts Hall are here."
Saying that, the two came to a wooden door at the end of the corridor.
Li Chenghua pushed the door open.
Whoosh!
A wave of heat came at them.
Noisy sounds instantly filled Chen Sheng's ears.
"Hahahaha——"
A hearty laughter was the most noticeable sound among them.
This was a training ground of about 200 square meters, with dozens of people scattered throughout, each practicing martial arts moves.
At the tea table in the farthest part of the room, an old man with a white beard laughed cheerfully, talking to a young man in front of him, and occasionally burst into laughter.
"Greetings, Uncle Li."
Li Chenghu walked by, and the disciples who had been practicing bowed one after another as they stopped their movements.
He responded one by one.
At the same time, many people cast puzzled glances at Chen Sheng.
Chen Sheng didn't feel the least bit embarrassed.
Whoever looked at him, he would smile back at them.
He seemed quite at ease.
"Rabbit bastard, you don't even know if you have a father after being away for half a year!"
As soon as the white-bearded old man saw Li Chenghu, his initially cheerful face instantly became stern, and he scolded him with wide eyes.
"I'm usually very busy, so I don't have time to come back every day."
Li Chenghu explained helplessly.
The white-bearded old man in front of him was the Grand Master of Xingwu Gym, Li Xingwu.
"Well, well, let's forget about that for today, it's a good day, and I don't want to quarrel with you."
"What's the matter today?"
Li Xingwu waved his hand impatiently.
Li Chenghu then made way to introduce Chen Sheng.
"Meet, Chen Sheng, a promising young talent I happened to discover. I want to take him as a disciple and let him learn martial arts in the Martial Arts Hall."
On hearing this,
Li Xingwu looked at Chen Sheng, his eyes gleaming.
Chen Sheng's body stiffened.
When the other's gaze fell on him, he felt as if he was being stared at by a beast, and his whole body hair was about to explode.
But looking from the outside,
Li Xingwu was just an ordinary old man, with nothing unusual about him.
Chen Sheng couldn't help but sigh... No wonder he is Tiger Bro's father.
After sizing up Chen Sheng, Li Xingwu withdrew his gaze.
He didn't find anything special about Chen Sheng.
Neither his demeanor nor his physique was any different from that of an ordinary person.
"Little Chen is a Qi-sensor, and a rare martial arts talent. He-"
Swish!
Li Chenghu's words were cut off halfway by his father's action.
Li Xingwu's arm shot out like lightning, instantly gripping Chen's wrist.
A few seconds later,
Li Xingwu's eyebrows wrinkled.
"How long ago did your transformation start?"
The sharp gaze on him put tremendous pressure on Chen Sheng.
"Little Chen has only awakened three or four days ago, I saw him beginning to transform."
Fortunately, Li Chenghu promptly spoke up to ease the tense situation.
Upon hearing this,
Chen Sheng felt his wrist loosen.
"He started transforming three or four days ago, but his physical fitness is only slightly better than that of an ordinary person."
"Is this the promising talent you speak of?"
Li Xingwu sneered.
"Forget it, forget it, if you want to take him as a disciple, then do it."
Seeing Li Chenghu still wanting to say something, Li Xingwu waved his hand to interrupt him.
Then,
Li Xingwu pulled in the young man by his side.
"Come on, let me show you what a real promising talent looks like."
"This is my new direct disciple, Wu Ran."
Speaking of Wu Ran,
Li Xingwu's face once again regained its previous smiling appearance.
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
Wu Ran had a clean and refined appearance, his eyes and eyebrows were charming, and at first glance, he didn't look like a martial artist at all.
Facing Li Chenghu, he raised his head slightly, and his face flashed with an imperceptible pride.
As for Chen Sheng,
he was completely ignored by Wu Ran.
"A direct disciple?"
Li Chenghu was somewhat surprised.
His father had already accepted his last disciple ten years ago and has never taken on any apprentices since then.
Now, how had a direct disciple suddenly appeared?
Li Chenghu then looked at Wu Ran.
With just one look, he immediately noticed something unusual.