noffsinger Chapter 111 The whole school was in an uproar and he was named a national hero!
Chapter 111 The whole school was in an uproar and he was named a national hero!
The entrance to Jiangzhou University has now turned into a sea of red.
Tens of thousands of students crowded both sides of the road, waving five-star red flags and banners that read "Lu Jingchen is awesome" and "Long live Chinese martial arts," blocking even the main road in front of the school. In addition to students from the school, there were also many citizens and media reporters who had come from the city. A row of cameras and microphones were set up, and everyone craned their necks to stare at the intersection.
"Here it comes! Brother Lu's car is here!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.
A black SUV slowly pulled up and came to a stop. The door opened as soon as it did. Lu Jingchen took Su Muyue's hand and stepped out of the car. He was still wearing his simple white training uniform, his hair slightly disheveled by the wind. His face showed no trace of arrogance after victory; he remained calm and composed.
Yet this seemingly ordinary young man broke the arm of Thai boxing champion Chatchai in the recently concluded showdown, delivering a resounding slap in the face to all those who looked down on Chinese martial arts.
"Lu Jingchen! Lu Jingchen!"
A deafening roar of cheers erupted instantly, nearly uprooting the leaves of the sycamore trees at the school gate. Students waved their banners wildly, many girls were moved to tears, and they pushed their way forward, wanting to get closer to their idols.
Ma Xiaodong and Shi Lei, along with several hundred martial arts association students, were already waiting at the entrance. Seeing Lu Jingchen get out of the car, they immediately rushed forward, forming a circle to protect Lu Jingchen and Su Muyue, forcefully clearing a path through the crowd.
"Make way! Make way! Don't push Lu Ge!"
"Everyone, please calm down. Brother Lu just finished a match and needs to rest!"
As Ma Xiaodong shouted, he raised his eyebrows triumphantly at those around him. He looked even more proud than if he had defeated the Muay Thai champion.
"Big brother! You were so cool! When you snapped Chatchai's arm with that move, I jumped right off the sofa!"
Shi Lei chimed in, his face full of admiration, "Yeah, bro! The whole internet is praising you! People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency have both posted on Weibo praising you, calling you the 'backbone of contemporary martial arts'!"
Lu Jingchen smiled and patted them on the shoulder. Just as he was about to say something, he saw the principal leading a group of school leaders walking over quickly.
The principal, whose hair was all white, was now flushed with excitement. Holding a large bouquet of flowers, he walked quickly to Lu Jingchen and grasped his hand tightly.
"Lu Jingchen! Welcome home! You are truly the pride of Jiangzhou University!"
The principal's voice trembled as he said, "You not only defeated the Muay Thai champion today, but you have also brought honor to Chinese martial arts and glory to our country! On behalf of the more than 30,000 teachers and students of the school, I express my highest respect to you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding students burst into enthusiastic applause once again.
Lu Jingchen accepted the flowers and bowed slightly: "Principal, you flatter me. I just did what I should do. Chinese martial arts are profound and extensive. I was just lucky to win a match."
"Hey, you can't say that!"
The principal quickly waved his hand, saying earnestly, "This isn't just good luck! It's skill! For years, people have said that traditional martial arts are just for show, but you've shattered those rumors with your own fists! You've shown the world the power of Chinese martial arts!"
As he spoke, the principal took Lu Jingchen's hand and led him towards the office building: "Come on, let's go to the conference room to talk. The school has decided to award you the title of 'Outstanding Alumnus,' award you a scholarship of one million yuan, and also build a traditional martial arts museum on campus, with you serving as its honorary curator!"
The surrounding school leaders also chimed in:
"Yes, Lu Jingchen, you deserve it!"
"Our school's traditional martial arts program will depend on you from now on!"
Lu Jingchen hesitated for a moment, then quickly declined, "Principal, I can accept the honorary alumni award, but I can't accept the one million yuan scholarship. How about donating the money to the Martial Arts Association for training expenses? And the Traditional Martial Arts Museum, I think that's great. I will definitely do my best as honorary curator to let more people understand and like traditional martial arts."
After listening, the principal nodded approvingly: "Good! Excellent! Not arrogant or impatient, and responsible! Lu Jingchen, you are truly a rare talent! Let's do as you say, donate all this money to the martial arts association!"
The group walked into the office building chatting and laughing, leaving behind a group of excited students.
"Brother Lu is so low-key! He donated a million just like that!"
"This is a true master! Not only is his martial arts skill superb, but his character is also impeccable!"
"I've made up my mind, I'm going to register at the martial arts association tomorrow! I want to learn traditional martial arts too!"
An hour later, Lu Jingchen came out of the office building and went straight to the training hall on the third floor of the gymnasium.
As soon as he pushed open the door of the training hall, hundreds of students who were practicing stopped instantly and all looked at him.
The next second, everyone stopped what they were doing and started clapping loudly.
"Hello, Brother Lu!"
The unified shouts reverberated throughout the training hall.
Lu Jingchen smiled and waved his hand: "Everyone, continue practicing your skills, don't worry about me."
But the trainees couldn't concentrate on practicing anymore; they all crowded around, chattering about the match they had just witnessed.
"Brother Lu! That move you made was so cool! You just broke Chatchai's arm!"
"Yeah, yeah! It was so satisfying to see Chatchai rolling around on the ground in pain!"
"I used to think Muay Thai was really impressive, but now it seems it's far inferior to our traditional martial arts!"
Ma Xiaodong squeezed to the front, shoved his phone at Lu Jingchen, and excitedly said, "Big brother, look! Eight out of the top ten trending topics are about you! #LuJingchenBreaksThaiBoxingKing'sArm# #ChineseMartialArtsYYDS# #LuJingchenWinsGloryForTheCountry#, it's all trending!"
"And that's not all! Even the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised your match on Twitter, saying 'This is the power of China'! Now the whole world is talking about you!"
Lu Jingchen took the phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, his Weibo homepage was full of news about him, and the comments section was full of praise. Those who had mocked him before had all disappeared, and many people were apologizing in the comments, saying that they had misunderstood traditional martial arts before.
"I used to think traditional martial arts were just for show, but now I apologize! Lu Jingchen is awesome!"
"If anyone says traditional martial arts are no good, I'll throw the video of Lu Jingchen breaking the Muay Thai champion's arm in their face!"
"This is real Chinese Kung Fu! It's so awesome!"
Lu Jingchen smiled and handed the phone back to Ma Xiaodong: "Alright, stop looking at your phone and get back to practicing. Winning a match is nothing; what we really need to do is pass on traditional martial arts and carry it forward."
The trainees nodded in unison and shouted, "Yes, Brother Lu!"
Seeing the students practicing diligently again, Lu Jingchen smiled with satisfaction. Su Muyue walked to his side, gently took his arm, her eyes full of love: "Look, more and more people are liking traditional martial arts now. Your efforts haven't been in vain."
Lu Jingchen turned to look at her and smiled gently: "This is not my achievement alone, but the result of everyone's hard work."
Just then, his phone rang. He took it out and saw it was the principal calling.
Lu Jingchen answered the phone: "Hello, Principal."
The principal's polite yet slightly urgent voice came from the other end of the phone: "Lu Jingchen, are you at the training hall right now?"
"Yes, Principal, what is it?"
"Here's the thing, a very important guest has come all the way from out of town to see you. He's in my office right now, could you come over?"
Lu Jingchen asked, somewhat puzzled, "An important guest? Who is it?"
The principal paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "It's Mr. Lin Zhengxiong, the chairman of the Genting Group. You should have heard of him, right? He's the richest man in Jiangzhou, and the Genting Hotel is one of his properties."
Lu Jingchen was taken aback. He had certainly heard of the Cloud Top Hotel; it was Jiangzhou's top-tier five-star hotel and one of the most luxurious hotels in the entire Jiangnan region. Lin Zhengxiong was a legendary figure in Jiangzhou, having built a vast business empire from scratch over several decades.
But he and Lin Zhengxiong were complete strangers, so why did Lin Zhengxiong make a special trip to see him?
Seemingly anticipating Lu Jingchen's confusion, the principal continued, "I don't know exactly what he wanted to see you about, but he was very sincere and said he had something very important he wanted your help with. You see…"
Lu Jingchen thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go over now."
After hanging up the phone, Su Muyue said with some concern, "Lin Zhengxiong? What does he want from you? Could it be that he wants you to be his bodyguard?"
Lu Jingchen shook his head: "I don't know, we'll find out when we go and see. Anyway, we'll deal with whatever comes our way."
"Then I'll go with you."
"it is good."
The two walked out of the training hall side by side and headed towards the office building.
On the way, Su Muyue gave Lu Jingchen a brief introduction to Lin Zhengxiong's situation: "Lin Zhengxiong has a good reputation in Jiangzhou. He has done a lot of charity work and donated to build dozens of Hope Primary Schools. However, I heard that he has recently encountered a lot of trouble. It seems that something happened to the Yunding Hotel, and its business has plummeted."
Lu Jingchen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Something happened? What happened?"
"I don't know the specifics, I just heard it from my dad. Apparently, the hotel is haunted, a lot of guests were scared away, and a few people even died. Lin Zhengxiong has consulted many masters, but nothing has worked, and now he's in a real mess."
Su Muyue frowned and said, "But these are all rumors, I don't know if they're true or false."
Lu Jingchen nodded thoughtfully. He had grown up with his master since childhood, learning not only martial arts skills but also some metaphysical knowledge. However, he rarely revealed it, so no one knew.
Could it be that Lin Zhengxiong sought him out for this matter?
Soon, the two arrived at the principal's office. Lu Jingchen knocked on the door, and the principal's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Pushing open the door and stepping inside, I saw a middle-aged man in a black suit sitting in the office. He was probably in his fifties, with his hair neatly combed and a refined demeanor, but his eyes held an undisguised weariness and anxiety.
It was Lim Cheng Xiong, the chairman of Genting Group.
Standing beside him were two tall bodyguards in black suits, with sharp eyes, clearly skilled in martial arts.
Upon seeing Lu Jingchen enter, Lin Zhengxiong immediately stood up and quickly went to greet him.
Before Lu Jingchen could speak, he took the initiative to extend his hands and hold Lu Jingchen's hands tightly, his attitude being excessively respectful.
"Master Lu! I've long admired your name! It's great to finally meet you today!"
Lin Zhengxiong's voice was tinged with excitement, "I've been watching your match live the whole time, you fought so well! You defeated Thai boxing champion Chatchai in one move, it's truly gratifying! You've brought glory to us Chinese!"
Lu Jingchen was somewhat surprised, not expecting Lin Zhengxiong to be so polite. He gently withdrew his hand and said, "Chairman Lin, you're too kind. Just call me Lu Jingchen. I was just doing what I should do."
"Hey, you can't say that!"
Lin Zhengxiong quickly waved his hand and said earnestly, "Master Lu, you are too modest! In all of China now, who doesn't know your name, Lu Jingchen? Not only are your martial arts skills unparalleled, but your character is also impeccable. It is my honor to meet you."
The principal smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, Chairman Lin, student Lu Jingchen, everyone, please sit down and talk this out."
The group sat down, and the principal poured them tea. Then, smiling, he said, "Chairman Lin, I've brought Lu Jingchen with me. You two can chat at your leisure. I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer."
After saying that, the principal got up and left the office, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Only Lu Jingchen, Su Muyue, and Lin Zhengxiong remained in the office, along with his two bodyguards standing at the door.
Lin Zhengxiong picked up his teacup, took a sip, but didn't drink it. He put down the teacup, looked at Lu Jingchen, his smile slowly fading, and his eyes becoming serious.
"Master Lu, I've come to see you today because I have a very important matter to ask for your help with."
Lin Zhengxiong's voice was low, carrying an undisguised pain and despair, "No one but you can help me with this. Please, you must help me!"