"Kid, do you already have a girlfriend?"
Fan Kun winked and asked.
"Me? Have a girlfriend? How is that possible? Who told you about such a thing?" Lu Heng quickly rebuffed him.
He possessed nothing, so who would like him?
Even if someone liked him, he did not have the time nor was he in the mood to fall in love.
"Brother, you're not being honest. You even hid it from me." Fan Kun chuckled and said, "Big Mouth Jia saw it. You were dating a super beautiful female high school student outside school yesterday."
"Oh, her?"
It was only then that Lu Heng realized that Fan Kun was talking about Liu Shiyao. He pursed his lips and said, "Do you know who she is?"
"Who is she?"
"Grandmaster Liu's daughter."
"Liu... wait, what? She's Grandmaster Liu's daughter?" Fan Kun could not help but suck in a breath of cold air. "Kid, you really have a lot of luck with women. You even managed to hook up with Grandmaster Liu's daughter?"
"F*ck, you really have the guts… thinking that way. Do you really believe that she'd take a fancy to me?" Lu Heng responded unhappily.
Hearing this, Fan Kun smacked his head and slowly nodded. "That's true. Martial artists are divided into nine levels. Only those above the ninth level are qualified to be called grandmasters. People like us aren't qualified to become their son-in-law."
After saying that, he rubbed his chin and pondered. "I heard that Grandmaster Liu became a grandmaster at the age of thirty-two. After becoming a grandmaster, he got married. His wife's beauty is unparalleled. In that case, Big Mouth Jia wasn't bragging about his daughter's beauty."
Speaking of this, Fan Kun thought of something and quickly asked, "Big Mouth Jia said that Beauty Liu gave you something at that time. What was it?"
"Nothing."
Lu Heng lied.
How could he answer this question? He could not tell Fan Kun that the other party gave him a food stamp, right? That would be hard to explain.
"Was it a love letter? Or was it a token of affection?"
Fan Kun saw that Lu Heng was behaving suspiciously and that he was unwilling to explain clearly. As such, he pressed Lu Heng for an answer.
Lu Heng was being pestered by him, so he could only say, "Don't indulge in any fantasies about a toad eating swan meat. She and I are from two different worlds. It's impossible for something like that to happen in this lifetime. Moreover, before I become a martial artist, I will never ever find a girlfriend."
There was one thing that Lu Heng did not say. If he could not become a martial artist before his military service commenced, then he would rather head out into the wilderness outside the city with Xiaoxiao and die together with her.
"You even swore such a poisonous oath? Lu Heng, Don't tell me that you've been influenced by senior brother Xu?"
Fan Kun also knew in his heart that there was no possibility of anything ever happening between Liu Shiyao and Lu Heng. Therefore, when he saw that Lu Heng was unhappy, he naturally stopped teasing him.
However, he was now even more curious as to why Lu Heng would say that he would not find a girlfriend if he could not become a martial artist.
"Lu Heng, don't tell me you believe that the road to becoming a martial artist is easy? If you think that way, then you are very wrong. Becoming a martial artist is very, very difficult. Big Mouth Jia and I have been trying for almost three years, but there is still no hope in sight."
"I know that it is very difficult."
Of course, Lu Heng knew the difficulties, but now he had no other option. He had to become a martial artist.
In fact, if he did have a choice, he would not have chosen to become a martial artist. What he really wanted was to become a scientist and explore the unknown mysteries of the world.
The reason why he had applied to high school instead of a vocational school was partly for Xiaoxiao, and partly due to this dream.
Of course, it would forever remain a dream, so he could not dwell on the matter. The only way he could resolve his current predicament was by becoming a martial artist.
"You still dared to say such things even though you knew? You have indeed been influenced. But I say, you should let bygones be bygones. Don't fret too much over other people's opinions."
Fan Kun was very clear about the pressure that Lu Heng had been under during this period of time.
Most of his former junior high school classmates were part of this dojo. There were often people gossiping secretly, saying that even though Lu Heng had scored well back then, in the end, he still ended up in the same situation as them.
There were also busybodies who often compared Lu Heng to Sun Hao, believing that Lu Heng's choice in the past had been very wrong, and that he should have gone to a good vocational school instead of going to high school.
The pressure of studying in high school was not something that an ordinary person could withstand. Moreover, if he failed to get into the University of Science and Technology, he would still have to go for military service.
Fan Kun felt that these words must have influenced Lu Heng, resulting in his eagerness to become a martial artist.
After all, Lu Heng's personality was very headstrong. When faced with this kind of thing, he would definitely try his best to prove himself again.
Lu Heng understood the meaning of Fan Kun's words and knew that he had been misunderstood.
However, he did not correct the other party. This kind of misunderstanding was no longer important.
At this moment, he finally reached the front of the queue. Lu Heng separated from Fan Kun and walked into the dojo to look for their respective instructors.
…
The instructors of the dojo were divided into three grades, which were junior, intermediate and senior. Except for the highest-grade instructors, who had to be martial artists, the instructors of the other two grades were not martial artists. At best, they were quasi-martial artists.
Lu Heng's instructor was surnamed Wu. He was in charge of instructing newcomers, so he was a junior-grade instructor.
If he wanted to advance a grade, he had to either improve his own strength or teach his students well.
"Instructor, I have something to ask you about."
When Lu Heng found Instructor Wu, the latter had been about to enter the training room to teach a class, but Lu Heng had quickly stopped him.
"Let's talk after class."
Instructor Wu's tone showed a hint of displeasure. If every student came to find him like this, he would be exhausted.
Moreover, Lu Heng had only been practicing martial arts for less than three months, so it was impossible for him to have had a breakthrough in his martial arts. He was probably like those greedy newbies who wanted to ask for private lessons.
Noticing Instructor Wu's expression, Lu Heng quickly voiced his intentions, "Instructor Wu, I think I have mastered the introductory moveset. I was hoping you could confirm it."
"Huh?"
Instructor Wu frowned slightly. He could not help but stop in his tracks, turning to look at Lu Heng.
"Let me see it once."
"Yes!"
Lu Heng did not dare to delay and immediately did as he was told.
Pa!
A minute later, a crisp sound echoed inside that quiet corridor.
Instructor Wu's eyes lit up and he said, "Again, let's see you practice it a few more times."
When Lu Heng heard this, he thought that there was a good chance that his assumptions were correct, so he quickly followed Instructor Wu's instructions and began to practice the moveset again.
Just like before, it did not take long for the sound to ring out again.
As the sound continued to ring out with every round of practice, Instructor Wu's smile became brighter and brighter.
"It's mastered! It's really mastered!"
Instructor Wu nodded repeatedly.
Lu Heng immediately let out a sigh of relief.
It turned out that his gut feeling was correct. It had indeed been mastered.
"Lu Heng, how long have you been practicing this moveset?" Instructor Wu asked.
"Fifty-nine days."
"Fifty-nine days?"
Instructor Wu was stunned.
If Lu Heng had truly mastered this introductory moveset in fifty-nine days, then his talent was definitely extraordinary within Jiangnan City's populace.
He actually had such a powerful student under him?
"It really only took you fifty-nine days?"
Instructor Wu asked for confirmation.
"Yes, instructor. You just taught me this move on the eleventh of last month. It has been sixty days since then. I learned it last night."
"Okay! Follow me then."
This aligned with Instructor Wu's memories, so he did not doubt Lu Heng's words.
"Instructor, aren't you going to teach the class first?"
Lu Heng knew that Instructor Wu had been about to teach a class in the training room, so he reminded him.
Unexpectedly, Instructor Wu waved his hand and said, "It's not a problem. Let them do some self-practice first. First, follow me to the office and let's figure out your situation."
Hearing this, Lu Heng did not say anything further. He obediently followed Instructor Wu to the office.
The teaching arrangement of a dojo instructor was very free and flexible. It was different from that of a normal school, so what Instructor Wu did was not against the rules.