The Way of Restraint

Chapter 183: The Tip of the Iceberg

“Why should we?” Jiang Nanzhou and many members of the fighting club were displeased. “We worked so hard to invite King Liu Long, what did your martial arts club do? And you want to sit in and get guidance?”

Liu Long’s guidance was very expensive, and the fighting club members, having finally gotten this opportunity, naturally didn’t want the martial arts club to share it.

Liu Long wouldn’t be here for long, and the number of people he could guide was limited.

“Alright,” Qin Hui commanded directly, “The martial arts club and the fighting club will wait here for King Liu Long to arrive. Fang Hong, Jiang Nanzhou, you two come here for a moment.”

Fang Hong and Jiang Nanzhou were both arrogant and unruly, managing a club and considered prominent figures at school, but under Qin Hui’s command, they could only obey. 

“That Qin Hui is really arrogant,” Tan Dashi muttered. “Boss, should we stay here or leave? They look like they’re trying to kick us out. I want to see Liu Long.”

Liu Long was a superstar idol to martial arts enthusiasts, and Tan Dashi’s desire to meet him in person was intense.

Not only him, but Wang Shun and Lin Tang, after being introduced to the martial arts world by Su Jie, also longed to see their idol.

Su Jie knew that sometimes, idols could be a source of psychological motivation for them.

Even he himself wanted to exchange a few words with Liu Long; not facing him in the Haoyu Cup tournament was a great regret.

Qin Hui pulled Fang Hong and Jiang Nanzhou aside: “What’s the point of the martial arts club and the combat club arguing? Why not merge them? How about this: if you merge, combining performances and competitions, I’ll help you get investment from outside. Our school’s training facilities aren’t very advanced; I can find better training facilities outside, get world-class combat coaches to train you, and even sign contracts with team members, giving them the opportunity to compete on the world stage. What do you say?”

“Really?” Jiang Nanzhou was surprised.

He knew that Qin Hui, this senior, was incredibly resourceful, and his own combat skills were even stronger than his own, he just didn’t show it. Once, in a sparring match, Qin Hui subdued him with just one move.

Moreover, Qin Hui had already started his own business outside, owning his own company, reportedly involved in foreign trade, and earning a considerable income each year.

Facing this vice president of the student council, Jiang Nanzhou felt both apprehensive and respectful. 

“Would I lie to you?” Qin Hui’s eyes swept over them. “Fang Hong, your Fang family is a martial arts family, the lineage of White Crane Fist passed down from Fang Qiniang of the Qing Dynasty. The essence of the four styles of White Crane Fist—Crane Cry, Flying Crane, Crane Eating, and Crane Sleeping—is now only found in your Fang family. You’re also the only one in your family in recent decades to have truly mastered the ‘Pine and Crane Longevity’ concept. But what era are we living in? This little family secret is utterly worthless in the face of the information age. Your idea is to revive traditional martial arts, but that’s a false proposition. Swords will never beat cannons. I’ve been to high-end training facilities abroad. A set of movements is input into a computer, and artificial intelligence can instantly analyze and improve it based on human kinematics. It can even use a robotic arm to correct your mistakes, precisely setting your daily exercise volume. Frankly, ten or eight years of your training won’t be as fast as someone else’s one year.”

“How do you know so much about our family’s secret techniques?” Fang Hong was deeply shocked, a shock that showed on his face. 

“It’s hardly a secret,” Qin Hui said calmly, displaying an air of indifference.

“Alright, Fang Hong, I know you have some skills, but the training methods of your martial arts club are incredibly outdated. You spend your days leading them in stance training, parrying moves, practicing routines, and even some kind of qigong practice—it’s all inefficient. With your martial arts club’s methods, even after three to five years of training, our combat club, after three months of sparring, could easily beat you to a pulp. We spar every day, bleeding and sweating, while you’re just showing off!” Jiang Nanzhou mocked.

“Jiang Nanzhou, your training is quite primitive. With the most advanced training methods, a month of training would completely crush you,” Qin Hui said. “My company recently received an investment. If you cooperate with me, you can also enjoy the latest training methods. Think it over. Also, when Liu Long comes later, don’t make a mess. Get rid of those irrelevant people.”

“You mean those four?” Fang Hong said, “That freshman is a master; even Jiang Nanzhou isn’t his match. I think he can be recruited into the martial arts club.”

“There’s no need for now.” Qin Hui’s eyes flashed. “The most important thing for the martial arts club is character. These freshmen have only been here a short time; we need to assess them. Besides, I’ll soon introduce you to a business group to bring in funding for development. If the personnel are too complicated, other problems might arise.”

“Then I’ll go ask them to leave.” Jiang Nanzhou wanted to impress Qin Hui.

His leg was a little uncomfortable, an injury from the recoil after he slashed at Su Jie, but it didn’t affect his walking.

Approaching Su Jie, Jiang Nanzhou said, “Classmate, our match is canceled, and you don’t need to be the referee. Our two clubs have an event later, so you’ll have to leave.”

“Liu Long is coming later, why can’t we interact with him?” Tan Dashi said, “Boss, we’re not leaving, we’re waiting for Liu Long. I still need to ask him about combat.”

Su Jie remained calm. He already knew Qin Hui was behind it all. Qin Hui had been speaking from a distance, but Su Jie’s hearing was far superior; their conversation had been completely absorbed.

“Don’t cause trouble,” Jiang Nanzhou frowned. If it were just a few ordinary students, he would have immediately chased them away, but Su Jie’s skills made him wary. If a conflict broke out, he feared he would suffer.

“Making trouble? This place is open to all students, not your fighting club’s private area. Your two clubs fighting over space and then clearing everyone else out is just an unspoken rule. Don’t act like some old ladies doing square dancing in a park.” Lin Tang said, “We’re not leaving today. We’ll train here and wait for Liu Long to arrive. Let’s see what you can do to us!”

“We’re all classmates, no one is superior to anyone else,” Wang Shun chimed in. “Old Jiang, look at your groveling. A student council vice-president isn’t a real official. If an official in our town violates the rules, I can write a report and they’re immediately dismissed. It’s pointless.”

“Are you leaving or not?” Jiang Nanzhou’s face darkened.

“How can you not even handle such a small matter?” Qin Hui, seeing this from afar, strode forward: “Gentlemen, our student council has an event to attend to. Please leave immediately.”

“Tch, who are you trying to scare? The student council? Do you really think you’re some kind of official?” Wang Shun laughed loudly. 

Su Jie chuckled. Wang Shun came from the countryside, and according to common practice, such freshmen were the most obedient, always timid and submissive upon arriving at school. But Wang Shun was different; he was alright at first, but now he was incredibly bold.

Qin Hui’s gaze turned cold, and a ruthless aura emanated from him.

Su Jie narrowed his eyes. In that instant, he sensed that Qin Hui was not just a student; the ruthlessness he had just displayed was definitely not something honed in the student council.

“Jiang Nanzhou, ask them to leave!” Qin Hui had no interest in speaking to these freshmen anymore. “Miss Lu, write down the names of these four freshmen and report them to their counselor and the college leadership. Punish them accordingly.”

“Yes, sir.” A female student behind Qin Hui nodded and took out a tablet to record the information.

“Such bureaucratic airs! Thank goodness it’s just a student council game; what would happen if he actually became an official?” Lin Tang shrugged. “If I had your skills, boss, I’d beat him up right now and make him lose all face.”

“The four of you, I’m Lu Xuan from the Student Council’s Discipline Inspection Department. I’ve written down your names. I hope you’ll stop causing trouble and disrupting school order, otherwise the consequences will be severe. It will be reported to your class, department, and college, and you’ll definitely receive demerits, which will seriously affect your future graduate school applications and graduation. If you continue to disrupt school order, you might even be expelled. You worked so hard to get into Q University; you should cherish it.”

This Lu Xuan from the Discipline Inspection Department spoke very formally, her tone even more bureaucratic, using words like “demerits” and “expulsion,” which would definitely scare away many students.

Sure enough, Lin Tang, Tan Dashi, and Wang Shun all looked at Su Jie.

Clearly, they saw Su Jie as their pillar of support. The words “demerit” and “expulsion” instilled fear in them.

Su Jie found the girl’s bureaucratic tone utterly ridiculous.

Just as he was about to speak, several more people entered through the door. Among them was none other than Liu Long, followed by several fighters from his “Dragon Club.”

At this moment, the student council officers didn’t have time to say anything to Su Jie and the others; they immediately rushed to greet them, with Qin Hui being the fastest, dashing forward.

“Qin Hui.” Liu Long was very approachable, without any airs, just an ordinary person. He didn’t seem to have the glory of a fighting king; he had returned to simplicity. He shook hands with Qin Hui. “I know you. I saw you at the club in Solo. It seems you trained there for a long time?”

“I’m just a student. It’s good that you remember me, King Liu.” Qin Hui said with a beaming smile. “Our student council invited you to teach this time to improve the fighting level at Q University.”

“Not at all. Q University students are all the cream of the crop. I missed getting in by ten points, and I still regret it. I’ll definitely come here to study after I retire.” Liu Long said, “I already spoke with the school leaders, and they all said it’s fine.”

While talking, Liu Long glanced at the people present and suddenly saw Su Jie. His eyes lit up, and he strode over.