Legend of the Dragon Cultivator

3 Wang Chen

The situation began to get tense. But before the argument escalated further, a loud voice was heard from a distance. "What's going on here?"

A senior teacher approached them with an angry look on his face. The bullies immediately dispersed, running away from the scene quickly. The senior teacher looked at Souw Liancu and Wang Chen with a questioning gaze.

"Are you a new student?" he asked Souw Liancu.

"Yes, Sir. I am Souw Liancu."

"You'd better not get too close to Wang Chen. He is a bit... different. You should focus on your own training."

After the teacher left, Souw Liancu crouched down in front of Wang Chen. "Are you alright?"

Wang Chen looked up, staring at him with empty eyes. He didn't answer, just stared. Then he slowly stood up, picked up a broom lying not far away, and began sweeping up the scattered leaves as if nothing had happened.

Souw Liancu watched him intently. There was something about Wang Chen that he couldn't stop thinking about. Why did the school allow him to stay if he was truly useless? Why did the teachers still keep him even though he supposedly couldn't learn cultivation?

That day, after much thought, Souw Liancu decided to see Kong Jin again.

"Uncle, I have another request," he said after being given permission to enter Kong Jin's room.

"What is it, Liancu?"

"I want Wang Chen to be my personal servant."

Kong Jin was surprised. "Wang Chen? Why?"

"I saw him being bullied by the other disciples this morning. I felt sorry for him. If he becomes my personal servant, at least he will be safe from bullying and can work more peacefully."

Kong Jin looked at her with a searching gaze. "You have a kind heart like your father. But you should know, Wang Chen is not an ordinary person. He is a bit... strange."

"I don't mind, Uncle. I just want to help him."

Kong Jin sighed deeply. "All right. If that's what you want, I'll arrange it. Starting tomorrow, Wang Chen will be your personal servant. But you must promise not to regret your decision."

"I promise, Uncle. Thank you."

The first few days with Wang Chen as her personal servant turned out to be not as easy as Souw Liancu had imagined. The young man was indeed skilled at housework, cleaning rooms, preparing bath water, and even cooking simple meals. But as people said, sometimes he would suddenly shout for no apparent reason.

One afternoon, when Souw Liancu was practising in her room's courtyard, she saw Wang Chen standing at the door with a very upright posture. His straight back and long hair were very similar to the man who had helped her before, and the way he stood calmly reminded Souw Liancu of that person.

Her heart was beating fast. It couldn't be...

She immediately looked for Tan Peklong, who was practising swordplay not far from there. "Peklong, come here for a moment!"

Tan Peklong approached her with a questioning look on his face. "What is it, Miss?"

"Look at Wang Chen standing over there," whispered Souw Liancu, pointing at Wang Chen. "Do you think he could be the person who saved us back then?"

Tan Peklong looked closely at Wang Chen, then smiled mockingly. "Miss, with all due respect, I think you are thinking too much. How could someone so weak and always being bullied be the one who easily defeated ten hired assassins? The person who helped us back then was a high-level martial artist, probably having reached a very high level of cultivation. Meanwhile, Wang Chen cannot even learn the most basic cultivation. It is impossible for them to be the same person."

Tan Peklong's argument made sense. Souw Liancu sighed and nodded slowly. "Perhaps you're right. I was just hoping too much that I could meet our saviour again and thank him properly."

"We'll meet him someday, Miss. Someone like him must be famous in the martial arts world. We just need to be patient."

Souw Liancu looked back at Wang Chen, who was still standing in the same spot, staring blankly at the sky. She pushed that strange thought out of her mind and refocused on her training.

***

This morning, the sun had just risen in the eastern horizon when Souw Liancu sat cross-legged in her room.

Spiritual energy flowed through his body, circulating along the meridian pathways he had studied during weeks of training. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his breathing was steady and deep. He could feel something different, something vibrating inside him, as if a door was about to open.

Then, like a dam bursting, the spiritual energy exploded within her body. A wave of power swept through her entire body from head to toe.

Souw Liancu opened her eyes, and a bright light flashed from her eyes before fading away.

She had succeeded. She had broken through to the sixth level of body formation.

Souw Liancu stood up with a broad smile on his face. This was a great achievement for him. The body formation stage consisted of ten levels, and he had already reached more than half of them.

He clenched his fists, feeling the new power flowing within his body. His bones felt stronger, his muscles more compact, and his spiritual energy more abundant. With this strength, he was confident he could take on the young man who had beaten up Wang Chen yesterday.

Yes, it was time to avenge Wang Chen.

Souw Liancu immediately left his room and went to look for Tan Peklong. He found him practising punches in the training yard.

"Peklong, I've made a decision," said Souw Liancu with determination in his voice.

Tan Peklong stopped practising and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "What is it, Miss?"

"I will challenge Li Feng in the Power Display Arena."

Tan Peklong's face immediately changed. "Li Feng? The young man who beat up Wang Chen yesterday? Miss, that's a bad idea. Li Feng is already at the eighth level of body formation. He is much stronger than you are now."

"I just broke through to level six. I have a chance," Souw Liancu argued.

Tan Peklong shook his head vigorously. "Level six against level eight? A two-level difference in the body formation stage is very significant, Miss. It's too risky. And for what? For Wang Chen, who can't even defend himself?"

"I can't stand by and watch the oppression. Besides, there are rules in the Power Display Arena that protect the participants. He won't be able to hurt me too badly."

"But still..." Tan Peklong looked very worried.

Souw Liancu placed her hand on Tan Peklong's shoulder. "Trust me, Peklong. I know what I'm doing. And the winner of the fight will get the spirit stone, right? That will greatly help my cultivation."

Tan Peklong sighed deeply, realising that he would not be able to change his young lady's decision. "All right, young lady. But please be careful."

Souw Liancu smiled and nodded. Then she immediately went to the administration building to register her challenge. At the Martial Arts Academy, the Arena of Strength was a place where students could officially test their abilities.

Anyone could challenge anyone, as long as the difference in their levels was no more than three levels. The winner would receive a spirit stone, a crystal containing pure spiritual energy that was invaluable for improving cultivation.