Celestial Taoist

Chapter 6 Kowtowing and Apologizing

As luck would have it, just as Li Mofan joined the queue, a familiar face followed closely behind him and playfully patted his waist. Turning around, he saw that it was the black-clad disciple who had been supporting him all day yesterday.

"Big brother, I guessed yesterday that you'd be joining our martial arts school, and I was right!" The man leaned closer, his voice low but barely concealing his smugness. "I knew it! With a face like yours, it's a shame you're not at the Gale Martial Arts School!"

Li Mofan glanced at him helplessly, swatting away the scarred hand still resting on her waist: "Stop yelling, it's time to assemble. By the way, I still don't know your name?"

The disciple chuckled, revealing two front teeth, and leaned closer: "My name is Zhao Qiang, everyone in the martial arts school calls me Brother Qiang! What about you, big brother? I'll protect you from now on. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll be the first to fight them!" As he spoke, he patted his chest, but he didn't control the force well and almost knocked Li Mofan off balance.

Li Mofan straightened himself up and said helplessly, "Li Mofan, I'll have to trouble Brother Xiaoqiang to look after me from now on."

As soon as the two finished speaking, the coach loudly ordered the training to officially begin. Li Mofan was still a little unfamiliar with the basic moves of the martial arts school, but he put his all into every movement. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead and soaked the collar of his training clothes. Zhao Qiang occasionally secretly demonstrated the punching postures and sometimes leaned over to whisper a few words of advice, but he didn't dare to delay the training.

After a full hour of training, the disciples dispersed to rest. Li Mofan was wiping his sweat, preparing to find a place to rest, when a tall figure blocked his way as he turned the corner of the training ground. The man, also dressed in black training clothes, was upright with a hint of arrogance in his eyes. Li Mofan recognized him many times; he was Zhang Lei, a renowned expert from the martial arts school. Zhang Lei crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on Li Mofan, his tone provocative: "You're Li Mofan?"

Li Mofan stopped in his tracks, nodded calmly, and said, "It is indeed me. May I ask what guidance Senior Brother Zhang has for me?"

Zhang Lei scoffed, taking a step forward, his tall figure completely enveloping Li Mofan in shadow. His tone grew increasingly contemptuous: "Instructions? A newcomer who just joined the school dares to ask me for instruction? I just heard that yesterday, that good-for-nothing Zhao Qiang managed to carry you all the way back to the martial arts school, and even got you a private room arranged by the headmaster?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and shoved Li Mofan with tremendous force, causing Li Mofan to stagger back two steps. Zhao Qiang appeared out of nowhere and immediately rushed over to shield Li Mofan, his face pale but forcing a smile as he shouted, "Zhang Lei, don't go too far! Brother Li is my friend; bullying him is bullying me!"

Zhang Lei raised his hand and slapped Zhao Qiang on the back. Zhao Qiang staggered and almost fell to the side. "You? You dare to talk to me like that?" Zhang Lei's eyes swept over Zhao Qiang, then turned to Li Mofan. "I don't care who you were before. When you come to Liefeng Martial Arts School, you have to abide by my rules. Either kowtow and apologize to me now and acknowledge me as your elder brother, or let me teach you a good lesson about how the rules of this martial arts school came about."

Li Mofan slowly straightened up, wiped the sweat from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes turned cold: "Senior Brother Zhang, I respect you as a senior and do not want to cause trouble, but I will never allow myself to be bullied."

Zhang Lei laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. He raised his hand and swung it towards Li Mofan's cheek, the force of the punch clearly showing no mercy. Li Mofan instinctively dodged, but the force of the punch still grazed his shoulder, sending a shiver down his spine. Before he could regain his footing, Zhang Lei's fist followed, slamming heavily into his chest. Li Mofan groaned, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a wooden stake. A mouthful of blood instantly spurted out, staining his training uniform crimson.

He struggled to get up, but his legs wouldn't obey him. The excruciating pain in his chest made it difficult to breathe, and his vision began to blur. Zhang Lei pressed closer, raising his foot to kick him in the stomach, his eyes filled with ruthlessness: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences. Today I'll cripple you and see who dares to go against me!"

Just as the foot was about to land, a deep, powerful voice suddenly rang out: "Stop!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it made Zhang Lei freeze in mid-air. The fierce look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of panic. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man with a buzz cut walking quickly towards them. It was Zhao Qiankun, the owner of the Liefeng Martial Arts Academy.

Zhao Qiankun's gaze fell on Li Mofan, who was covered in injuries and collapsed on the ground, then swept over Zhang Lei, who looked flustered. His tone was icy: "Zhang Lei, my martial arts school taught you martial arts so that you could protect your fellow disciples and bring glory to the school, not so that you could bully the weak and oppress newcomers! Do you know your mistake?"

Zhang Lei hurriedly withdrew his foot, bowing deeply. "Master, I...I know I was wrong. I was confused for a moment and shouldn't have attacked the newcomer." Although he was resentful, he knew Zhao Qiankun's strength and didn't argue. Zhao Qiankun didn't look at him again, quickly walked to Li Mofan's side, his brows slightly furrowed, then took out a pill from his pocket, fed it to Li Mofan, and said in a deep voice, "Hold on, I'll take you to the hospital."

Zhao Qiang, who was standing nearby, also quickly got up and ran to Li Mofan's side. He didn't dare to say anything, but carefully supported Li Mofan's arm as they slowly left with Zhao Qiankun.

The hospital ward was quiet. This was the first time in over thirty years that Li Mofan had suffered such a severe injury. He lay on the hospital bed, his chest wrapped in thick gauze. After the anesthesia wore off, the throbbing pain made it difficult for him to fall asleep. He decided to ponder the supernatural power cultivation method. Perhaps because of his severe injuries, he vaguely felt a glimmer of inspiration. Li Mofan focused his mind on that inspiration and vaguely saw a human figure. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to hear some voices, "...Participate... a month later..." The voice was intermittent. The tone of the voice startled him. Wasn't that Wang Xin's voice? Could it be that his supernatural power was clairvoyance and super hearing, or was it related to Wang Xin? He calmed his mind and tried to sense it again, but he couldn't find that inspiration anywhere.

While Li Mofan was deep in thought with his eyes closed, Zhao Qiang ran into the ward with some fruit in his pocket, looking guilty. "Brother Li, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. If I were more capable, you wouldn't have been bullied by Zhang Lei." As he spoke, he peeled an apple for Li Mofan and handed it to him.

Li Mofan took the apple, shook his head slightly, and said in a weak voice, "It's not your fault. I underestimated his strength. I thought I would only take a few punches, but I almost got killed by him." The two chatted casually, mostly about trivial matters at the martial arts school, as Zhao Qiang had told them. According to him, Zhang Lei had been punished by the school master and placed in confinement, and could not cause trouble for a while.