Chapter 400: Fighting

Luan Mei was silent for a long time, and just as she was about to say something, Mo Jiao kicked her secretly.

Luan Mei stopped talking.

"Nothing." Mo Jiao looked at Chen Ling, who was lowering his head to eat, and smiled. "Junior Brother is diligent and serious, and should have results soon... Today is only the first day, it’s time to adapt."

Luan Mei nodded in agreement.

"That’s true." Ning Ruyu turned to look at Chen Ling,

"Junior Brother, tomorrow you go to learn [Reciting] from the third senior brother first, and then come to find me in the afternoon."

"…Okay."

Chen Ling sighed in his heart.

Today’s two basic skills had completely shattered his illusions. He was simply not cut out for learning opera. Although Mo Jiao was still comforting him, Chen Ling knew how much he was worth;

That incomplete sense of pitch... no, it should be a disabled sense of pitch, plus the chaotic sense of limb rhythm, made Chen Ling feel for the first time that life was so difficult.

When he was a director, seeing those actors perform on stage, he didn't think much of it. Only when he tried it himself did he know what "one minute on stage, ten years of work off stage" meant. Any traditional actor going on stage meant years or even decades of time poured into it, and neither talent nor hard work could be missing.

After eating, Chen Ling returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, the sky was already dawning. After washing up, he pushed the door out early.

Creak—

Just as he opened the door, Chen Ling stood frozen in place.

He saw a white porcelain vase placed on the ground at the door again, with a golden flower bouquet inserted on it, shining in the sun.

"This..." Chen Ling weighed the flower in his hand, and after feeling its solid weight, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes,

"Pure gold??"

Chen Ling carefully observed the golden flower. The branches, leaves, and petals were lifelike. Not to mention the value of such a large piece of gold, what kind of craftsman could carve gold so meticulously?

Chen Ling’s gaze fell on the leaves of the golden flower. A small piece of paper was hung in the center, and the same crooked characters swayed with the wind:

—Sorry (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Did that person come again last night... This time, he didn't notice it at all. Was the other party vigilant after being discovered last night?

Chen Ling looked at the golden flower in his hand, sighed helplessly, and placed it on the cabinet at the door, putting it together with the exceptionally large flower bouquet from the night before last.

Yesterday it was a magical flower from who knows where, today it turned into a golden flower... Could it be that he will come again tonight?

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

……

At noon, Chen Ling sighed as he walked out of the third senior brother’s house.

The few hours of [Reciting] class teaching mainly focused on learning breath resonance, articulation, and the subtle differences in speech between people of different ages...

Although this lesson was not as torturous as yesterday’s [Singing] and [Acting], it was not easy for him, and could only be considered average.

As for the third senior brother, Wenren You, he never had any change in expression, always keeping a straight face, as if Chen Ling owed him tens of thousands of dollars.

After resting for a while, Chen Ling took a deep breath and knocked on Ning Ruyu’s door.

Knock, knock, knock—

Chen Ling waited for a while, but there was no movement behind the door, which made him a bit confused.

He knocked a few more times, but there was still no response.

Just as he was hesitating whether to wait a while longer, a brilliant light burst out from the room. A scene was like a page being unfolded, expanding and folding outward crazily, covering the whole world in the blink of an eye!

Chen Ling took half a step back subconsciously. The grassland, snow mountains, and houses before him all disappeared... Replacing them was a street with old houses from the 40s or 50s.

Smoke and dust floated on the street, and everything around was dilapidated. Chen Ling looked down and saw that the center of his street had become a ring at some point.

"This is..." Chen Ling suddenly felt that the scene before him was a bit familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

Just then, a figure in white walked slowly to the other end of the ring. He looked at Chen Ling with a smile, his clothes and ribbons dancing in the wind...

"Senior Brother?"

"Junior Brother, to practice [Fighting], we still need a spacious place. The courtyard is definitely not enough."

Ning Ruyu spread his palm, and a transparent disc case appeared before Chen Ling’s eyes:

—《Ip Man》, Wilson Yip, 2008;

Sure enough... it was the scene from that movie.

Chen Ling confirmed the guess in his heart. He knew this place very well. In the movie "Ip Man," Ip Man had his final battle with the Japanese general Miura here. The only difference was that Ning Ruyu had removed the "crowd" watching.

"How to practice [Fighting]?" Chen Ling asked tentatively.

"The opera postures are not a problem for you now, so the focus is still on 'fighting' itself... which is combat."

Ning Ruyu raised his hand, and a long silver spear appeared out of thin air in his palm. As the spear’s radiance swirled, a whistling sound of air being torn apart echoed through the sky.

"Neither of us will use mental power. We will fight using pure technique. This is what 'fighting' is."

Chen Ling’s eyes brightened slightly, but the previous lessons had left him with significant psychological trauma, so he asked as a follow-up:

"Just fighting is enough? I don't need to sing while I fight, or strike a pose while I fight?"

"It doesn't have to be that complicated." Ning Ruyu chuckled and slowly raised the spear in his hand.

"Come on... let your Senior Brother see your talent for combat."

Hearing those last four words, Chen Ling’s eyes shone like stars. He was like a piece of dead wood that had been suppressed for too long, suddenly ignited by a raging fire at this very moment, his fighting spirit climbing higher and higher!

Ever since Chen Ling entered the Ancient Archive of the Opera God, he had either been singing or dancing, to the point where he was almost depressed. Hearing that he was finally returning to a field he excelled in, he felt an indescribable sense of relief throughout his body!

"Alright!! Then let's fight!"

Chen Ling crouched slightly on the arena, and the next moment, he shot out like a bolt of red lightning!

Whoosh—!

His bright red opera robe tore through the air, emitting a faint hum. Chen Ling swept forward with a gale, flashing to Ning Ruyu’s side and unleashing a heavy punch aimed straight at his vitals!

"Very good, nice angle."

Ning Ruyu stepped back lightly, letting the punch graze his sleeve. He was just about to strike with his spear, but seeing Chen Ling’s empty hands, he backhanded the spear into the ground at the edge of the arena instead, switching to a vertical palm strike toward Chen Ling’s face!

Chen Ling, as if he had anticipated the move, dodged sideways a step early, then shifted his weight and stomped heavily on the ground.

Thud—!

With knees bent and shoulders lowered, and with eyes burning with fighting spirit, Chen Ling slipped past Ning Ruyu’s arm and smashed a fist toward his chest!

Seeing these fluid, seamless movements, a flash of surprise crossed Ning Ruyu’s eyes!