Chapter 55

【Fourth Update, Seeking Favorites, Seeking Votes】

"Senior Brother, you're finally back!" His words were filled with excitement. Even after nearly a decade, Xu Shichang had grown from a middle school student into a master of Wing Chun, but in front of Jiang Chen, he felt as if he had crossed time and returned to the past.

With his excited shout, not only Xu Li but also the young man who had been chatting with Jiang Chen earlier, and all the disciples in the hall, stared dumbfounded at the scene before them. After being in the school for a long time, this was the first time they had seen Xu Shichang so excited.

"Junior Brother Xu." Looking at the extremely excited Xu Shichang, Jiang Chen's face was filled with a gentle smile. He reached out and gently patted his shoulder, his voice tinged with a mix of emotion and melancholy, "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Good, good, I'm very well." Xu Shichang's face was flushed with excitement, "Senior Brother, where have you been all these years?"

"Where else, just challenging people everywhere." Jiang Chen smiled, "The world is vast. Only when you truly step out can you discover that the sky is vast, the earth is vast, and the realm of martial arts is even vaster than we imagined. It's not enough to just see yourself; you must also see the world and all its people."

Hearing this, Xu Shichang was taken aback. Looking into Jiang Chen's eyes, a strange light suddenly appeared. He seemed to see many scenes of battles, where Jiang Chen challenged masters from all over the world, stirring the blood and qi within him. After much hard training, he finally grasped the essence of transformation.

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your guidance!" After breaking through, Xu Shichang's cultivation was no less than that of the former Yip Man. Such martial arts skills were not only top-notch in Hong Kong's martial arts world but also among the best in the world. But he knew that this opportunity and enlightenment were all due to Jiang Chen, who had given him a second life. How could he not be grateful?

"What guidance? We are all fellow disciples, why be so formal?" Jiang Chen smiled faintly and then asked, "By the way, are you the only one at the martial arts school? Where is Master?"

"Today is the day when the masters of the Chinese martial arts community in Hong Kong gather. They meet at the Zhenhua Teahouse, which you organized and opened. Master is there too. Come, Senior Brother, I'll take you to find Master. He will be very happy to see you back." Xu Shichang said excitedly and immediately pulled Jiang Chen out.

Only after the two left did Xu Li and the others, who had been stunned, gradually come to their senses. Xu Li murmured in disbelief, "I just heard Senior Brother Xu Shichang call that person 'Senior Brother'? Could that person be......"

Could that person be the Senior Brother of our Wing Chun National Martial Arts School, the one who once defeated the foreign boxing champion Tornado and has never lost in challenges around the world, known as the greatest martial artist in the world, Jiang Chen?!

No one said it out loud, but they all had the same thought. Just this thought made their hearts race wildly, as if their blood was boiling.

After all, the reason they joined the Wing Chun National Martial Arts School to learn martial arts was not only because Yip Man was a master in Hong Kong's martial arts world but also because the school had a master like Jiang Chen, known as the greatest martial artist in the world. Those who don't chase stars can never understand the excitement of seeing their idol in person.

While Xu Li and the others were still in a state of excitement, Jiang Chen and Xu Shichang had already arrived at the door of the Zhenhua Teahouse. Xu Shichang said that because he had defeated the foreign boxing champion Tornado, the masters of the Chinese martial arts community in Hong Kong chose to gather here regularly, almost every month, to meet, drink tea, and chat.

The Zhenhua Teahouse was doing very well, especially today, as it was a special day. People were coming and going, mostly martial artists. Each table was occupied by people wearing different martial arts school uniforms, drinking tea and chatting. The environment was peaceful and elegant, and occasionally, someone would show off their skills, truly making it a grand gathering of martial arts.

"Senior Brother, Master is over there!" Soon after leading Jiang Chen in, Xu Shichang pointed to a table by the window and introduced, "Here, each martial arts school in the Chinese martial arts community has a fixed table. People usually gather here to drink tea, chat, and exchange martial arts insights."

Jiang Chen followed Xu Shichang's finger and saw several people drinking tea and chatting at the table. One of them, wearing a black long robe with more than half of his hair gray, was Yip Man.

"Mr. Li, the prosperity of our Chinese martial arts community today is inseparable from masters like Master Yip. If you write a report, don't forget to mention such masters!" An elderly man with white hair and beard was smiling and recommending Yip Man to a young man who looked like a reporter, his words filled with admiration and respect.

"Of course, of course!" The young reporter surnamed Li quickly nodded and smiled in agreement.

"Master Tian, you're too kind," Yip Man humbly smiled, "I am just a junior. Masters like you are the true pillars of the martial arts community..."

"Master!" Before he could finish his modest words, he heard a familiar voice behind him. He was slightly stunned, smiled apologetically at the people at the table, and then turned around, asking, "Ah Chang, why are you here..."

He stopped mid-sentence, this time not needing anyone to interrupt him. His gaze had shifted from Xu Shichang to the young man beside him, and he was momentarily stunned.

Seeing this, the people around were surprised and curious about the identity of the young man beside Xu Shichang, wondering how he could elicit such a shocked expression from the usually calm Yip Man.

"You... you are..." Among them, Master Tian seemed to recognize the newcomer. He was first stunned and then shook with excitement, his eyes widening!

First Yip Man, then Master Tian, both were so shocked that the reporter Mr. Li and the other junior disciples were very curious about the newcomer's identity.

Standing beside Xu Shichang, Jiang Chen glanced at Master Tian, a familiar face he had seen at the martial arts exchange meetings and the Sino-foreign boxing matches. It seemed he had recognized him.

He smiled and nodded in greeting, then clasped his hands and bowed respectfully to Yip Man, saying, "Master, your disciple Jiang Chen has come to pay respects."

"Ah Chen? You really are Ah Chen!" Seeing the Jiang Chen who seemed unchanged, Yip Man quickly stood up, his hands trembling with excitement as he supported him, "It's good to have you back, it's good to have you back..." Although he had a thousand words of concern and worry, he could only repeat these four words.

Jiang Chen could feel the genuine emotion from Yip Man and was deeply moved. Xu Shichang, seeing that many people were looking over, quickly smiled and said, "Master, Senior Brother just got back. You won't let him stand here, will you?"

Hearing this, Yip Man came to his senses and quickly pulled Jiang Chen to sit down, apologizing to Master Tian and the others, "I'm sorry, this is my senior disciple Jiang Chen, who has been away for a long time. I was a bit too excited, please forgive me."

"Master Yip, what are you saying?" The junior disciples didn't recognize Jiang Chen, but Master Tian remembered him clearly, even after nearly a decade, "How could I forget such a hero? It's all thanks to Master Yip that we can meet him again after so many years!"

Jiang Chen quickly smiled and said, "Master Tian, you're too kind." At this moment, many senior martial artists, including Master Luo and Master Zheng, who had once fought with Yip Man, had gathered. The table quickly became the center of attention in the teahouse.

Seeing this, the reporter Mr. Li and the junior disciples from various schools were amazed and couldn't help but wonder: Who is this person?