Martial Arts Master

In the broadcast room, the guest commentator, Zhang He was praising Lin Que’s earlier attacks.

“If you look at these three moves individually, it shows a brilliant use of force and skill. The way they complement each other; ay, these complementary moves, are a perfect combination. There is a continuous flowing force, like rain flowing through the clouds, one after another, never giving Fang Zhirong the chance to retaliate. Lin Que has certainly scored those few points with the Fighting Sect’s essence.

“Till the very end, Fang Zhirong didn’t manage to struggle free. One was because his arm was held; two was because his joint was restricted from moving. And three, Lin Que must have given him a blow that affected him deeply, into his bones. This paralyzed him and he was not able to make another move. That is why we call this move, ‘Doomed Death’.

“The moment when Lin Que grabbed Fang Zhirong — take a close look at his fingers. There is evidence of ‘Dark Poison Force’. This should be the ultimate move of the Fighting Sect’s ‘Swirling Star”. If I guessed right, it’s probably Ji Family’s ‘Yin-Yang Twist’. Risky move, very risky. At the stage that Lin Que was at, it was a risky move…

“At the end, Lin Que held back on his force. With that move, he held his opponent down, jumped and hit the ground. If he didn’t control his energy, given the physical condition of Fang Zhirong, he would have been badly injured. If he was unlucky, and his spine had hit a sharp stone, he would be paralyzed by now…

“Ay, this Fang Zhirong. How should I put this? Other people take a day before they start getting impatient. Him? Only one move and he completely forgot to be careful. He was too anxious to win. He was too eager.”

Hearing Old Mr. Zhang’s explanation, many lines appeared on the screen.

“Gosh, Lin Que looked so good when he pushed the other guy to the floor!”

“I can feel the blood pumpin’ through my veins!”

“That moment, that sound, when Fang Zhirong hit the floor! OMG! I’m burning!!”

“This is what we call a battle. This is what we call martial arts.”

“That miserable one earlier? But I’m a supporter of Shanbei!”

“The way that Fang Zhirong was thrown on to the ground made me, a fervent reader of novels, think about an expression — a bullied, torn rag doll… ”

“Ay, seems like Fang Zhirong is off the team now. He’s probably out of the race for the overall championship too.”

“Can’t even beat Lin Que. Trash!”

“Damn! Is this rigged… Just look at the betting odds!”

“To think that I backed him so much. Really, soft mud would never become a wall!”

…

The disappointment was apparent on everyone’s faces in the audience. “Losing” was not something that everyone enjoyed seeing. But, as the supporters of the defending champions, with the gripping experience and battles all these time, they still managed to keep their cool and gave heartfelt applause for Lin Que. The applause was for his performance and effort.

Facing Mu Jinnian’s agitated and excited shouts, they also held their cool. When Yan Xiaoling saw this, she could not help but be stunned by it. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind: Maybe Shanbei did not have many supporters to start with, and all these people must be hired performers.”

Uh, great sportsmanship. So, this means I can just be unrestrained later! She thought to herself silently.

In the midst of the applause, the Shanbei students subconsciously looked towards the seats where the chairperson was seated. They were waiting for the “king” of this stadium to raise his “staff”, sit on the “throne” and to say a few words to comfort everyone.

Since he entered university, he had never lost once!

Peng Leyun looked towards the arena. Unhurriedly, he pulled down the zipper of his sweater. He took off the winter coat, revealing the martial arts suit inside.

Shanbei’s traditional martial arts suit is pure white — quite similar to Songcheng University’s white with black trimmings. With such a similar outfit, it would be difficult to differentiate one from the other. This puts the broadcasting people in a spot. So, the defending champion had to put on their backup uniform — black.

Decked in mysterious black made Peng Leyun’s skin look so fair, like white jade. It was like there was some dull shine, making his whole aura seem purer than ever, like a god.

At the chest area of his martial arts suits, there were two embroidered crowns. This represented that Shanbei had two championship wins at the National University Martial Arts Competition — two years ago, there were none at all!

Under the watchful eyes of the spectators, Peng Leyun straightened his clothes, collected his thoughts and with focused eyes, he stood up.

The moment he stood up, the whole arena roared. Countless cheers reverberated,

“Champion!”

…

On the arena, Lin Que released Fang Zhirong and stepped back two steps. He opened his mouth and started to take huge breaths of air like the air was thin and had little oxygen. This was because he had used up too much of his energy and fatigue was starting to set in. This was also because of the remnants of the “Dark Poison Force”, which continued to affect his body.

— “Dark Poison Force” contains toxins. Although its impact and pain could be resolved with “Force Concentration” there would be some after effects. The toxins would have to be removed from the body slowly with each metabolic cycle. If a fighter received such a big blow and did not have a strong enough body, he would need medication before he could recover.

When Lin Que was not using “Force Concentration” to fight against Fang Zhirong’s “Turn of Two Ends”, he was already risking it and was using the “Dark Poison Force”. He wanted to use the “Yin-Yang Twist” to catch his rival off guard. This was because he felt that the combination of the Dark Sect and Plague Sect was crafty and toxic, just a small distraction would cause a mistake and that meant that he would lose the competition. If that was the case, he would rather take the initiative to create the opportunity for victory. Even if it meant that he had to pay a hefty price, he would still go for it.

Against a rival like Fang Zhirong, it was impossible to win without pain, without paying a price!

Although Geezer Shi had reminded him time and time again before the match started that he should not rush, Lin Que eventually trusted his own instinct and judgment when it came to the battle.

Fang Zhirong struggled to stand. In his eyes were all fire and fury. He was angry with his opponent and even angrier with himself.

If he had not been too pleased with himself after he had hit Lin Que’s body with the “Dark Poison Force”, if he had not been too greedy to hit Lin Que one more time, he would not have been injured by the “Swirling Star”! If only he followed the usual strategy of withdrawal and not give his opponent the opportunity to retaliate while waiting for the poison to take full effect!

In that case, Lin Que would not only lose one round of exploding his Dan stage to neutralize the poison, he would also be weaker by quite a bit. This meant that he would have been so close to victory!

Regret and pain pricked Wang Zhirong’s heart like twining vines with thorns. This made him lose his composure. He turned and exited the arena in an unsteady manner. It was like the fury in his body would explode at any time.

He could already imagine what kind of comments would appear on the forums. Thinking about these, he got even more upset and embarrassed. He felt even more regret, more fury, and pain!

On his way back, Fang Zhirong met Peng Leyun. However, he was completely immersed in his own world. Fang Zhirong did not notice Peng Leyun, or rather, he did not want to notice Peng Leyun.

Walking past each other, they made no further effort to interact. Peng Leyun took in a small breath and shook off the little bit of unhappiness that he was feeling. He smiled and walked to the stone steps. He climbed the steps. He did not release any other air or power, but with just the aura he was giving off, Lin Que subconsciously held his breath.

The name of the person, the shadow of the tree, the favored fighter of this age, naturally his aura would be overpowering!

Amongst the spectators, Lou Cheng, Yan Zheke and the rest had focused expressions. They stopped cheering. They fell silent and solemn.

Since he had executed the “Force Concentration”, followed by the “Triple Explosion”, with the remnants of the “Dark Poison Force” in his body, how much more can Lin Que take? How much more could Lin Que fight to challenge the reigning champion?

In the midst of the oppressive atmosphere, only Geezer Shi was nagging and talking to himself. “This rascal never listens. Told him so many times, don’t rush, don’t rush. He had to rush like that. If it was not because Fang Zhirong got agitated by him and also panicked, he would have lost. If Fang Zhirong was more rational and clear-minded, this rascal would have no chance. Ay… never listening to his elders. Ay, ay. ”

He did not want him to suffer a loss!

…

In the midst of the deafening cheers of “Champion”, Peng Leyun and Lin Que stood on either side of the referee, in their positions.

The referee did not wait any longer. He announced loudly,

“Round Two. Fight! ”

As “Fight” was still echoing in the air, the qi and blood around Lin Que started to contract and expand, pumping quickly. Everyone thought that Lin Que would use the avoidance tactic and try to preserve his energy while trying to tire Peng Leyun. It was only logical that he would wait for the critical moment before he allowed his Dan stage to explode again.

Bam! The ground below Lin Que’s feet seemed to have exploded. Millions of shards flew everywhere. His entire body had transformed into a speeding heavy duty truck. With a loud bang and an aggressive posture, he bulldozed towards his rival like he was ready to flatten everything in between them.

However, just as he took a step, it was like Peng Leyun had already expected this move. Peng Leyun’s qi and blood gathered and thickened. He lowered his waist into a sitting position and started to sway. He was like a cloud, natural and harmonious; ready to bounce out anytime, ready to face the attack, not moving a single inch.

With this sway, a shadow seemed to appear in the air. It was like a split second after Peng Leyun made his move that he had already arrived in front of Lin Que.

Bam!

With a stomp of his foot, he shook the entire arena. Everyone in the spectator seats, Lou Cheng and Li Mo all felt the power and force of thousands of galloping horses. They saw Peng Leyun strike a pose with his arm at the back and with a lightning strike; he threw a powerful fist out.

The 36th stroke of the Thunder Sect, “Flash Attack”!

Lin Que quickly stopped and tried to turn the moving force into strength. The muscles around his body swelled. With a raised arm, the fist became like a bomb and there was a spark of electricity.

He knew Peng Leyun had the “Flash Attack”, but he did not expect that his rival would have predicted his moves!

Boom!

The “Meteor” exploded. The air currents turned into waves, crashing into Peng Leyun, trying to drown him. The champion, simply hit back with one fist, and dispersed the waves, swooped through like a tornado and hit Lin Que’s left fist dead on.

The ringing sound was muffled by the loudness of the explosion. Lin Que’s body bent backward. He seemed like he had trouble holding on and was about to retreat. Then he used the “Force Concentration” again, stabilized his qi and blood and regained control over his balance. He steadied his stance, took a step with his right foot and looked ready.

Almost at the same time, Peng Leyun entered the Dan realm, his left leg swelled and he channeled a force down the soles of his feet.

Bam!

The arena rumbled from within, but the tiles did not crack!

Lin Que’s “Earth Cracking” was just easily neutralized like that!

Peng Leyun borrowed the rebound force; he straightened his body and stretched out his hands to grab his rival’s shoulders.

Lin Que only felt a piercing pain through his shoulders. He quickly raised his arms and tried to hold his stance. At this point, every vein and vessel of Peng Leyun were bulging and rippling under his skin like snakes and dragons. It was obvious that he possessed great strength. With a move of his waist and back, he flowed smoothly behind his rival, like a quiet river. His grip never changed but he moved in an arc and avoided Lin Que’s move.

Peng Leyun’s arms pressed down and he applied force to his fingers, numbing Lin Que’s body. Lin Que was paralyzed, almost collapsing like jelly.

The referee raised his right hand and announced loudly,

“The second round, Peng Leyun wins!”

Three moves, exactly, and Peng Leyun won!

Lin Que recovered a little and turned to look at Peng Leyun. His eyes were filled with mixed feelings while his opponents were calm and relaxed. He said in a low voice,

“Thank you.”

Thank you for not cutting me any slack and fighting me with your full force!

Peng Leyun smiled gently. He did not look like he had just fought a battle.

In the midst of the spectators, Lou Cheng exhaled deeply and took off his jacket.

These four plus months of training, rounds, and rounds of scenario practices and discussions with Yan Zheke, all these flashed past his mind.

So, are we finally going to start?