Chapter 318: Apprenticeship
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Luo Yuan paused, and burst into laughter out of nowhere. He was sick of people who were as stubborn and self-righteous as they were. First was the crazy Mr. Wang, and now there's another one. He would not be surprised if he were to meet more of their kind, in the future.
Seeing Luo Yuan’s sarcastic smile, Fang Peibin felt an imminent sense of danger. He had goosebumps, and his muscles were stiff. Suddenly, his arms shook and when he looked, the wooden saber in his hand had vanished.
He was shocked. He tried his best not to take a step back and stared at Luo Yuan in all seriousness. Luo Yuan gripped the wooden saber, lifted it and touched the surface softly.
A dimmed glow sparked, and clouds of sawdust were falling like flour. He touched it with his palm again, and it was now a layer thinner, in a split of a second. He also played with the saber, it was now lighter and handier.
The people who were watching were not surprised at Luo Yuan’s thinning of the saber using his bare hands. After all, besides Minister Ren, they were all evolved people, who were used to such abilities. What caught their attention was how Luo Yuan played with the saber, especially Fang Peibin, as he was watching Luo Yuan's every move without so much as a blink.
As compared to the other evolved people who were ordinary people before the apocalypse, he was a master in a traditional martial arts school. Being an expert in all sabers, guns, sticks, and even boxing, he paid the most attention to the art more than anyone else did. From holding the saber to the position of the stance, Luo Yuan seemed to have mastered them all. He did it so naturally, exuding a strong elegance in his might.
"I’ll just show you what I've got. There’s no need for battling. I want us to be at peace with each other." Luo Yuan said in a relaxed tone. The people who were watching were relieved, as the tense atmosphere had simmered down immediately. Fang Peibin was confused. At the time, he did not know that Luo Yuan was giving him an out. Considering his ability to steal the saber from his hands without his knowledge, it showed how powerful Luo Yuan was. It was a sure loss for Fang Peibin, or, it was simply an oppression. Things would not look good on his side if they were to battle.
Luo Yuan then walked towards the gym and soon arrived in the middle of it. He then stood there. People were observing every move he made without blinking, as they did not want to miss a thing. Luo Yuan took a breath, his body became blurry for a second, and a sharp whistle sounded at the same time. A white line flew by indistinctly, before vanishing in a blink of an eye. Luo Yuan then appeared back at the spot he was before as if he did not move a muscle at all.
Everybody looked at each other in shock. Although Li Dong and Xie Junhui had witnessed how fast Luo Yuan was, they had not seen one as fast as that, as it was unable to be traced by the naked eye.
However, when Luo Yuan attacked just now, all they could see was a blurry shadow moving with the saber, like lightning, and the next second, he was back at his original spot. Everything was done in one go, rather smoothly. From silence to movement, the attack was over in a blink of an eye. It was akin to a cobra that was ready to catch its prey.
The speed when one ran and attacked were of a stark difference. Before the apocalypse, there was a trained boxer whose punching speed was 20 meters per second; it was almost twice the speed of his running. Through the realization of the system, Luo Yuan could move 80 percent of his body muscles, while his speed of attack could go up to four times the speed of his running. His attack speed was approximately 200 meters per second, which was 720 kilometers per hour.
The rest could still see Luo Yuan during his attack if they tried very hard, but to Minister Ren who was an ordinary person, he saw nothing. He could only hear the sound of something moving. Next, Luo Yuan performed some basic movements with the saber. There was a distinct pause to every move, and strokes of white Qi were created by the stimulation of airflow. The Chi was different from the glow made by the gathering of Will power. It was due to the fast-moving tip of the saber, which broke the high-speed airflow.
It was the first time Luo Yuan witnessed the saber's Chi. As his Zhanmadao was extraordinarily sharp, there was little air resistance when in use. It would only happen for sabers that were as blunt as this one. The saber's Chi did not only affect the speed of swinging, but its power was limited too. The best it could do was to leave a scratch on a rock. It paled in comparison with the saber glow, and might not even be effective for mutated beasts that were blue-level and above.
After the first round, Luo Yuan’s movement became coherent. The air nearby started to tremble, and dust was all over the place. Clear strokes of white lines were dancing in the gym, coming and going. More and more of them appeared; they were getting dense. Eventually, a web was formed.
The people kept moving back, and the intense pressure slowly disappeared when they were 40 meters away.
As Xu Qianshen came out of his shower, a strong wind blew towards him when he was at the door. His cheeks were hurting. He was stunned and used his hand to perform a wave. The wind then disappeared immediately. Soon, he was attracted by what was happening at the gym. He was impressed with what he saw and did not blink while watching the shadow.
Luo Yuan’s movements were astonishing. Each and every move he made was swift and natural, with a touch of elegance. It was addictive to watch. Soon, Luo Yuan suddenly stopped in his tracks. The performance went on for a full three minutes, but to the audience, it seemed like only a short moment had passed. Some of them were disappointed with such a brief performance. Fang Peibin slapped his own thigh and said, "I should’ve recorded it!"
"A normal camera is useless here. You might need to use a high-speed camera." Li Dong mumbled, still stunned. The team had welcomed someone extraordinary, so much so that they were even wondering whether or not their captain was stronger.
"We can always request for a high-speed camera, but I don’t think we need to go through that trouble. Since we are a team, we can consult you anytime, we can even be your apprentice." Xie Junhui said in excitement while walking over to Luo Yuan with admiration. Fang Peibin was embarrassed for provoking Luo Yuan earlier. Even if he had unleashed all his powers, with such a breakneck speed, he was better off digging his own grave.
As Luo Yuan walked towards his direction, he felt slightly awkward. "I didn’t introduce myself, so let’s do it now. I’m Luo Yuan," he said with a smile. "I saw both of you training earlier, there’s something wrong with your technique. It seemed like you picked up some bad habits in your initial training, which has hindered your ability to unleash your full potential."
Although Fang Peibin always had a smile on his face, his temper was bad. If those words were said by someone else, he would have been furious and rolled up his sleeves in anger. However, after seeing Luo Yuan’s amazing performance, the man who he tried to provoke, he was excited.
"Brother... Brother Luo, I realize it now, is it too late to change?"
"Just call me Luo Yuan, that will do. You can change, but it would be even harder than a beginner level, as you’ll have to train from the very start." Luo Yuan said with a wave. Fang Peibin was much older than him, being called Brother Luo gave him goosebumps.
"As long as Brother Luo is willing to teach, I will be willing to learn, no matter how hard it may be. Or maybe, I could be your apprentice." Fang Peibin looked at Luo Yuan with a burning desire. He was impulsive, he wanted to kneel down but was stopped by Luo Yuan.
Then, his body started to tremble, and he managed to break free from Luo Yuan’s grip. His strength was extraordinarily mighty, despite his skinny body. He managed to kneel on the ground and gave Luo Yuan three loud and hard kowtows.
He was a traditional martial artist. As a veteran, he knew the rules of apprenticeship. "Please accept my kowtow to you, master." Luo Yuan felt helpless. This time, he could not run away. Since Fang Peibin had already kowtow-ed to him, he hesitated and said, "Alright, you can get up now!"
"Yes, master!" Fang Peibin said with respect. "The ceremony was simple, I hope you won’t mind, master. We will do a proper one when the captain and vice-captain are back."
Xie Junhui was pouting at the side, clearly not happy that his suggestion was snatched by someone who was reluctant. But to a young man who received a modern education, he could not bring himself to kowtow to anybody like how Fang Peibin did.
"Let’s skip the trouble, we don’t have to be so serious." Luo Yuan looked at the respectful Fang Peibin, who was twice his age. It felt like he was establishing his own clan.