Chapter 57 Senior Brother, May I Ask

The leaders were left speechless, let alone the remaining coaches and students. Thus, the exchange meeting came to an end in silence.

Early the next morning, Wang Zhanshan, accompanied by several assistant coaches and a few team members, hurried to the campus hospital to visit Li Xinran and Zhang Kui, who were recovering from their injuries.

They brought regards from the department leaders, particularly Dean Zhang, along with a monetary gift of two thousand yuan.

Although they had suffered a rather miserable defeat in this competition, proper courtesy had to be observed, especially in Zhang Kui's case. Had it not been for his shameless tenacity, the exchange meeting would likely have ended in a shutout.

Therefore, his contribution was substantial.

"The school has initiated the procedure for accepting new members. The selection for the freshmen will begin next Monday."

After Wang Zhanshan and the others left, Zhao Rui, Qin Rui, and the others gathered in Li Xinran's hospital room.

Even Zhang Kui, who had several stitches on his face, sneaked over from his own ward.

"Initiated or not, it doesn't really matter to us anymore. Since our sophomore team lost so miserably this time, our chances of direct recommendation for graduate studies are definitely very slim."

A trace of melancholy appeared on Qin Rui's pretty face, adding a touch of fragile vulnerability that stirred one's pity.

"I applied to quit the team with Coach Wang!"

At that moment, Zhang Kui chimed in from the side.

"Ah?"

"So soon?"

The group was taken aback. Although they had heard him mention it multiple times, they hadn't expected him not to even plan on staying through the first semester of their sophomore year.

"Unfortunately, the coach didn't approve it! Hiss..."

"If I had known... I wouldn't have won!"

Zhang Kui's cheek twitched slightly as he spoke.

The others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief while rolling their eyes at him in speechlessness.

Now he claims he didn't want to win.

When that female student from the Eastern Arts University of Technology came to the campus hospital to visit you yesterday, why wasn't that what you said?

"Coach Wang told me not to be discouraged... Yo-yo, that martial arts path is like sailing against the current... He meant what he meant, yo-yo!"

"What he said... wasn't just for me, it was for you guys too..."

Zhang Kui said, baring his teeth in pain.

"I think you'd better keep your mouth shut. Anyone who doesn't know better would think you have hemorrhoids!"

Cao Guannan, listening to him struggle through his words, couldn't help mocking him.

"You're the one with hemorrhoids! You can't tell a good heart from a bad one!"

Zhang Kui gave a light snort and then said, "Anyway, I can't take this beating in vain!"

"Senior brother, you just can't bear to part with that girl from Eastern Arts, right?"

Zhao Rui exposed his ulterior motive from the side.

"Damn it, am I that kind of person?"

"Yes, you are!"

The group replied in unison.

With Zhang Kui's abrupt digression, the sense of helplessness and defeat that had previously weighed upon Qin Rui was instantly dispelled by more than half.

"Senior brothers and sisters, we've fought side by side. Let's all keep it up!"

"Keep it up!"

"Hiss!"

"You'd better hurry back and lie down. Maybe that girl will finish class and bring you a loving dinner!"

Li Xinran lay on the bed, smiling as she teased Zhang Kui.

"Right, I need to get back and lie down!"

With that, Zhang Kui made an OK gesture, then turned around and hurried back to his own ward.

"Let's go too. Senior sister, get some rest, we'll come see you again tomorrow!"

Zhao Rui said.

"Mm!"

Li Xinran nodded with a smile. Although Zhao Rui was a grade below them, he was noticeably much more mature than the other male members.

He was also better at keeping the group together.

Otherwise, given Cao Guannan's personality, would she have bothered coming to the hospital room to check on her?

...

Time waits for no one when resting, and the day soon arrived on Monday.

At this early hour, the morning sun had just emerged, gradually fading into overlapping layers of clouds, instantly filling the sky with a breathtaking and peerless rosy glow.

About fifty or sixty students, walking in groups of three or five or in pairs, were heading toward the entrance of the Mingchan Courtyard.

"So this is our Martial Arts Department! It's so pretty!"

"Indeed. I heard the lowest level inside is a seventh-rank master. I wonder if we can make the cut."

"Our cohort is said to be the strongest in nearly a decade, so don't hold us back."

"I'm solidly at the sixth-rank level, well above average!"

"I wonder if there are any pretty senior sisters? I heard there's a senior in her fourth year named Ye Jingqiu who is the cold and ethereal type."

"The one you're talking about is a refrigerator."

"Tch, you'll know when you see her."

The bustling crowd soon passed through the gates of the Mingchan Courtyard, following the flagstone-paved path toward the grand hall of the Chan Courtyard.

"Everyone register your information over here."

Near the entrance of the grand hall, a wooden desk appeared before the crowd.

Sitting behind the desk were two students, a man and a woman, with the male student's cheek still bearing traces of injuries.

Who could this look belong to if not Zhang Kui? He was paired with Qin Rui, in charge of registering people at the entrance.

"Please line up and register in order."

Zhang Kui stood up, walked over to the line of freshmen, and began directing them.

Once the crowd was lined up, he returned to the desk and resumed registering the applicants' names alongside Qin Rui.

"I heard there are quite a few beauties in this batch. Finally, you won't have to be lonely like a solitary flower."

Zhang Kui glanced at a pretty junior who had just finished signing her name and left, saying with a smile.

"Lonely about what?"

"Lonely and standing out all by oneself as a unique beauty!"

"Pfft. Save your smooth-talking for that Eastern Arts girl, don't waste it on me. You're not within this lady's consideration range!"

"Damn, I complimented you and you insult me. But to be honest, this batch..."

Before Zhang Kui could finish, Qin Rui said, "Look, here comes another one!"

Zhang Kui quickly raised his eyes and saw a graceful figure walking slowly toward the registration point at the entrance of the grand hall.

The previously orderly queue actually parted automatically to clear the front position upon her arrival. Not only that, but the students behind her stood nearly two meters away, as if she were a man-eating tiger.

Soon, the female student walked up to the registration desk.

"Senior brother and senior sister, hello, I'm from Martial Arts Class 1, Miao Miaomiao!"

Meow meow meow?

Zhang Kui looked up at her, a hint of dazzled astonishment flashing in his eyes. He hadn't expected this "cat" to be quite so pretty.

Especially the way her slender fingers slightly curled to brush her bangs aside while she spoke gave one a fluttering sensation in the chest.

Zhang Kui was actually stunned for a moment.

"Bang!"

At that exact moment, a punch was suddenly delivered to his vital ribs, bringing a sudden wave of sharp pain that snapped him out of his daze.

"Cleansing Heart Incantation!"

The one who had punched his ribs was naturally fellow student Qin Rui.

Hearing the words "Cleansing Heart Incantation," Zhang Kui gave a start, hurriedly gathering his wits and averting his gaze from Miao Miaomiao.

"Senior brother, are you alright?"

Seeming to notice Zhang Kui's discomfort, a look of worry instantly surfaced on Miao Miaomiao's pretty face, sorrowful and mournful yet filled with deep concern.

It was enough to stir compassion in one's heart, making one wish that everything she said and did was right.

"N-no, I'm fine! Next!"

Zhang Kui hurriedly recited the mental formula of the Cleansing Heart Incantation, exhaled a slight breath of stale air, and quickly shooed this "cat" far away.

There was no help for it; there were simply too many freaks in this batch of freshmen.

This cat was one of them. Not only was she an eighth-rank martial artist, but she had also practiced a bizarre charm technique of immense power.

Unless their inner strength differed vastly, very few people could escape her charm.

The freshmen privately referred to her as the Cat Demon.

Some seniors in their third and fourth years had been unconvinced, relying on their superior martial arts and coveting the cat's beauty to launch a frontal assault, attempting to suppress her charm technique on the spot.

They wanted to display their prowess and win the woman's favor.

As a result, not only did they fail to suppress her, but they were directly bewitched on the spot, losing control of their speech, and one particularly egregious fellow even stripped off his pants right then and there.

Social death on the spot!

This incident became a running joke within the Martial Arts Department for a time.

"Wang Dalong, Martial Arts Class 2, age eighteen, martial arts level: eighth rank!"

Not long after the Cat Demon left, another eighth-rank martial artist made an appearance.

This person had an ordinary name, ordinary looks, and ordinary height.

Dropped into a crowd, he was a total nobody.

Yet his name was known to everyone in the entire Martial Arts Department.

An eighteen-year-old eighth-rank martial artist with exceptional talent in inner qi, he had cleared his Conception and Governing meridians at a tender age, and his mastery of the Dragon-Subduing Palm was ferocious and domineering. In battles among peers, he rarely met a match.

"I'm starting to regret not insisting on quitting the team!"

After Wang Dalong left, Zhang Kui turned and leaned close to Qin Rui's ear to whisper.

"It's not too late now."

"Uh... How come these people are such monsters? If I had known, we should have let this bunch join the team a month ago; we definitely could have beaten Eastern Arts black and blue."

"What does that have to do with us? Do your job!"

Qin Rui stopped his rambling without a pleasant expression.

Registering dozens of people went fairly quickly. After signing in, everyone followed the directional arrows and headed toward the martial arts arena.

The venue there was spacious, complete with martial sparring rings, making it ideal for selecting team members.

At this moment, Zhao Rui was there with a group of sophomore and junior members, busy selecting the new recruits.

The selection for the martial arts team didn't just involve reviewing past historical records; various other factors had to be considered, such as their current strength, past competitions they had participated in, and their results.

What forms of martial arts did they excel at? Were they strong in actual combat, or strong in research?

In short, from the second coach Wang Zhanshan down to Zhao Rui, the newly appointed member, everyone shared a part of the selection work.

Zhao Rui's job was to guide the freshmen to designated locations for testing.

"Hello, senior brother! Hello!"

"Senior brother, do we get really tired on a regular basis?"

The affectionate calls of "senior brother" made Zhao Rui feel a twinge of guilt despite his thick skin.

"No need to call me senior brother. We aren't usually tired, it's quite free."

Zhao Rui casually introduced the situation of the martial arts team and took the opportunity to "kindly" discourage these "freshman chicks" from calling him senior brother.

"Senior brother, may I ask... Zhao Rui! Why are you here?"

Just as Zhao Rui was busy pointing the way and answering questions for the students, a voice as crisp as an oriole rang out beside him.

Zhao Rui turned his head and saw Luo Min accompanied by two unfamiliar female students.

"I'm helping out here!"

Zhao Rui smiled and said.

"Helping out? Does the Martial Arts Department need outsiders to help?"

Luo Min asked, full of doubt.

"We can talk later, go do your testing first."

Zhao Rui pointed in the direction of the testing site and walked a short distance forward with Luo Min and the others.

"You guys just keep walking ahead."

With that, Zhao Rui waved his hand and turned back to his post.

"This senior brother is so easygoing. Luo Min, since you know him, you must chat more. It's easier to get things done when you have acquaintances on the team, tee-hee."

One of the girls said.

"What chat more, he's just my high school classmate, alright."

"Huh? No way?"

The other two looked greatly surprised.

"We took the college entrance exams at the same time and entered the school together. Except he's studying accounting!"

"Accounting?"

The two girls were even more baffled and instantly became curious about Zhao Rui's situation.

However, with the team selection trials imminent, they temporarily set aside their curiosity and busied themselves with the tests.

Dozens of applicants could seem like a lot, but in reality, it was just a morning's work.

Around twelve o'clock, the registration event came to an end, and all that remained was to wait for the list of accepted members for the martial arts team.

Zhao Rui shrugged. As soon as he walked out of the arena's main gate, he saw Luo Min and her two classmates standing prettily by the entrance.

At the same time, another female student appeared nearby—a girl Zhao Rui had seen before in the cafeteria.

"Zhao Rui!"

Seeing him come out, Luo Min called out.

Zhao Rui frowned slightly and walked over.

"Is something wrong, Luo Min?"

"Why are you helping out here?"

"Oh, I'm a member of the martial arts team. Of course I'm helping here."

"Huh? You're in the martial... wait a minute, you aren't even from the Martial Arts Department, and aren't you a freshman too!"

Luo Min asked after a brief moment of thought.

"That's a long story. I'll keep an eye out for your name on the list, and I'll let you know if there's any news. If nothing else, I'll be going!"

Just then, Zhang Kui and Qin Rui came over looking for him.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui waved goodbye to Luo Min and walked away.

Watching Zhao Rui walk away, chatting and laughing with the senior student and the senior sister from the registration desk, while seeming rather reluctant to pay much attention to her, Luo Min felt a burning surge of inquisitive curiosity and competitive spirit.

"That girl is the girlfriend he found, the one I mentioned earlier."

After Zhao Rui left, the slightly dark-skinned girl Zhao Rui had seen before spoke up.

"Girlfriend? So that's how it is. Your classmate is really something."

That explained how he managed to get in—it was all thanks to his girlfriend.

In an instant, everything made sense.

...

At the entrance, Zhang Kui, who was walking out, narrowed his eyes and said with a half-smile, "Zhao Rui, you move fast, hooking up with a freshman girl already."

"What are you talking about, senior brother? That's my high school classmate."

"Your high school classmate? She's very pretty. How is her martial arts?"

Qin Rui glanced back slightly and asked.

"Pretty formidable."

Zhao Rui didn't know Luo Min's true strength either; after all, his own skills had been lacking in high school, and he rarely interacted with her.

Besides, several months had passed since then. He couldn't gauge what level her skills had improved to.

"Oh!"

Qin Rui let out a low note. She still cared quite a bit about pretty freshmen like that.

If her martial arts were high and her looks were good, she would definitely have an inherent advantage.

There was already a Ye Jingqiu on the team, who had always been the "darling" of the squad and overshadowed her by several notches, reducing someone as pretty as herself to a mere background character on the team.

Whenever people talked about the martial arts team, they would mention some girl named Qiu who looked truly gorgeous.

Yet no one ever mentioned her.

If a few more pretty girls with high martial arts skills joined, wouldn't her status drop even lower?

Thinking of this, Qin Rui's red lips slightly puckered in displeasure.