Cassell College, Lionheart Society Headquarters.
Training Ground.
Chu Zihang was wearing a loose black training uniform, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Murasame was placed horizontally beside Chu Zihang. The blade was long, and its mirror-smooth surface shimmered with a faint light.
Cheng Sui knew that Japanese samurai had a practice called Zazen, which was a refinement of the "mind" that helped them eliminate distractions, allowing them to accurately judge situations and face life and death with composure during combat.
Chu Zihang currently gave him the impression of a samurai performing Zazen, solemn like a statue.
Cheng Sui shifted his buttock slightly to relax his back; sitting upright for a long time made him uncomfortable.
Yesterday, he asked Angers for Chu Zihang's contact information. With a mindset of just trying it out, Cheng Sui sent Chu Zihang an email asking him to spar.
He had expected Chu Zihang to refuse or ignore the email entirely, but unexpectedly, Chu Zihang replied, inviting Cheng Sui to be a guest at the Lionheart Society's training ground the next day.
Cheng Sui bought colored contact lenses first thing in the morning, and after putting them in, he headed straight for the Lionheart Society.
But as soon as Cheng Sui arrived, he saw Chu Zihang sitting upright here. He didn't feel right disturbing him, so he just sat down opposite him.
Cheng Sui looked at the face barely half a meter away from him. Gossip on the Night Watchman Forum claimed that Chu Zihang was once an overwhelmingly popular heartthrob in his high school, with followers lining up from the classroom to the school gate.
Cheng Sui once thought this was just an exaggeration, a legend fabricated by his followers.
Chu Zihang's eyes were tightly closed. His face was clearly defined as if carved by a knife, his forehead broad, his nose bridge straight, his eyebrows dark and prominent, and his eyelashes neat and thick, exuding an inherent coldness.
Such a face would be considered one of the best even at Cassell College, where handsome men were abundant and beautiful women were everywhere, let alone in Chu Zihang's high school.
Now Cheng Sui somewhat believed the rumors about Chu Zihang on the forum.
"Hey, how long do you think they're going to keep sitting like this?"
"How should I know? Why does this Day of Freedom winner look so spacey? He doesn't even know to call the President."
On the second floor of the training ground, Lancelot and Su Xi were leaning over the railing, watching this somewhat bizarre scene and couldn't help but complain.
Su Xi bit the straw in her mouth, flattening the tip, and vigorously sucked the iced Coca-Cola in her hand.
Only when the aluminum bottle made a "gugugu" sound, indicating not a single drop was left, did Su Xi place the cola next to the railing.
Resting one hand on her cheek and staring at the sitting Chu Zihang, Su Xi murmured, "Although the President acts like he doesn't care, he actually cares more than anyone about yesterday's defeat. Caesar was indignant because he was ambushed, so he challenged Cheng Sui. Isn't the President the same?"
Su Xi's voice grew softer until it was almost inaudible: "I really don't know what burden he carries that makes him climb so desperately, like a drowning person grasping at a straw."
Lancelot didn't hear Su Xi clearly. He glanced at the empty bottle on the railing, then looked at Su Xi, whose face was still flushed from her workout, and kindly said, "Drinking soda right after exercise can make you gain weight..."
"Mind your own business!"
Su Xi frowned slightly, snatched the cola bottle, squeezed it so it crinkled loudly, glared fiercely at Lancelot, turned, and left without looking back.
Lancelot scratched his head, unsure what he had done to anger Su Xi. He was just trying to be helpful.
Sigh, women are so troublesome.
Lancelot sighed emotionally.
Clearly, the romantic genes of French men were not passed down to Lancelot.
Meanwhile, on the first floor of the training ground, Chu Zihang slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Cheng Sui constantly shifting his butt, a hint of surprise flashed in his deep, clear eyes.
"Why did you choose to ambush Caesar?"
The first sentence Chu Zihang spoke made Cheng Sui momentarily stunned.
Senior Brother Chu, do you have to be so nosy? You probably spent half the day thinking about this, didn't you?
Cheng Sui gave a wry smile, shrugged, and spread his hands: "I see everyone on the forum treating me like some insidious and cunning villain, but actually, my motive at the time was very simple."
Chu Zihang's eyes shifted slightly, and he unconsciously leaned closer to Cheng Sui. His face still held its usual poker expression, but his ears were perked up.
"Caesar wasn't paying me anyway, so I just lay near the fountain pretending to be a corpse and slacking off. I didn't expect you two to fight right next to me. I was afraid you might injure me by mistake, so I had no choice but to strike first," Cheng Sui bluffed seriously. "As for why I ambushed Caesar, I was a 'corpse' and couldn't move. Since he exposed his back to me, who else could I ambush if not him?"
In his previous life, while Cheng Sui was collecting famous quotes to meet the word count for his essays, he saw a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin: Half a truth is often a great lie.
This saying was indeed true. Chu Zihang was now completely taken aback, looking like he genuinely believed his nonsense.
Chu Zihang nodded, looking satisfied with the gossip. He then picked up Murasame, stood up, walked to the weapon rack standing beside the training ground, placed Murasame on the rack, and slowly drew out a wooden sword.
"You said in your email that you wanted me to instruct you on swordsmanship, but honestly, I'm not very good at teaching people." Chu Zihang said this while already putting on protective gear and raising the wooden sword in his hand into a middle stance. The blade was held perfectly horizontal to the ground, the tip pointing straight at Cheng Sui's throat. "But my Youth Palace coach once said that actual combat is the best instruction."
Cheng Sui nodded. Actual combat was what he wanted too; only in real combat could his Sharingan exert its maximum effect.
"After the Day of Freedom, I watched the recording of you defeating me several times. Your decision-making in combat was flawless. This kind of combat instinct cannot be honed without undergoing battle after battle."
"So I'm very curious why someone who has honed such combat instinct would want to learn swordsmanship from me. You should have already developed a fighting style that suits you."
Cheng Sui also put on his protective gear and raised his wooden sword, but his posture was nowhere near as standard as Chu Zihang's.
Damn it, Cheng Sui had only ever seen how to hold a katana in Japanese anime.
But he couldn't exactly hold the sword at his waist like Himura Kenshin. It looked cool, but its practical use in combat was almost zero.
[Sasuke saw you sparring with Naruto and felt a little unbalanced, so he privately sought you out too, asking for your guidance. Looking at the Uchiha genius before you, you decide to show off a little.]
[Mission Objective: Defeat Uchiha Sasuke]
[Mission Completion Reward: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]
Cheng Sui's mouth twitched slightly. He was already used to the system's erratic behavior. He was the one who sought guidance from Chu Zihang, yet the system made it seem like he was guiding Chu Zihang.
Taking a deep breath, Cheng Sui relaxed his shoulders. Beneath the black cosmetic contacts, his Sharingan quietly activated.
Chu Zihang also became serious, not underestimating Cheng Sui because of his clumsy starting stance.
The battle was about to begin!