Martial Arts Master

In the studio, Chen Sansheng sighed with emotion as he watched Lou Cheng stepping out of the ring.

“What a pity…”

“What’s pitiful, Sansheng?” Liu Chang, the host, asked to cooperate with him.

Chen Sansheng sighed. “Lou Cheng was pretty close to defeating Piao Yuan… It is unbelievable that he was still able to do this when he was already worn out!”

Noticing that Liu Chang was still bewildered, Chen Sansheng added, “In his final attack, if Lou Cheng had frozen Piao Yuan’s thoughts and spirit as he usually does instead of using his newly-learned physical invulnerability, Piao Yuan would be like a trembling lamb in mid-air, waiting for Lou Cheng to kill him at any moment.”

“Yeah! Why didn’t Lou Cheng use that movement? Did he make a mistake again?” Liu Chang tapped the table slightly.

“No, he actually reached the limit of his stamina and was unable to make that series of attacks then, and that’s why I feel sorry for him. If he could have made another Force Concentration, Piao Yuan would have definitely lost the match. By the way, this proves that Ann Chaoyang was not easy to deal with, since even Lou Cheng defeated him at the expense of all his stamina and energy.” Chen Sansheng explained to Liu Chang, “Did you notice what Lou Cheng did after being forced to take a few steps back by Piao Yuan’s burst of the Dan Stage? Piao Yuan was actually frozen then, and Lou Cheng wouldn’t have been able to seize the opportunity if he used the simplified physical-invulnerability movement of the Ice Sect without the aid of Force Concentration. So Lou Cheng used his newly learned simplified movement of physical invulnerability instead, which injured Piao Yuan and will save Lin Que some time to win the next round.”

“I get it!” Liu Chang showed an expression of dawning comprehension and began echoing Chen Sansheng’s words. “Besides, Lou Cheng wouldn’t be forced to retreat by a Dan-stage fighter of the top Eighth Pin if he hadn’t reached his limit.”

“Yeah, he had to take steps back to weaken the force of Piao Yuan’s punch, or his joints and bones would’ve been broken.” Chen Sansheng turned his gaze to the broadcasting screen, in which Lin Que walked towards Lou Cheng to encourage him.

There was not much time left for them, and Liu Chang hurried to raise his final question. “I was wondering, when Lou Cheng grasped Piao Yuan’s shoulder to throw him into mid-air, why didn’t he throw him onto the ground directly to stun him?”

He was still able to win the match!

Once he caught Piao Yuan, why did he leave Piao Yuan the chance to counterattack?

His abundant experience of hosting broadcasts of the Martial Arts Competition was enough to change him into an expert.

“Of course Lou Cheng would have seized the opportunity if he was able to do so. But actually, it was inertia that helped him catch Piao Yuan, and he couldn’t pour any amount of force into this action to restrain the moves of Piao Yuan’s joints. So Piao Yuan was still able to take actions under those conditions and counterattack. Since that Force Concentration was enough to help him out and even offer him an opportunity to counterattack, Lou Cheng knew that he couldn’t block Piao Yuan’s punch and thus threw Piao Yuan into mid-air to keep away from him…” Chen Sansheng was replaying the competition in his mind with great enthusiasm like a drunkard getting access to old wine.

Liu Chang nodded slightly. “Well, competition between superiors is indeed filled with knowledge. The next round is coming, let’s focus on the ring.”

…

In Lou Cheng’s fan forum, Yan Xiaoling, Eternal Nightfall, published a post:

“QAQ, that commentator is really a good man. Now even I could understand the specific changes of the fight!”

“The more I understand, the more sorrow I feel…” Brahman replied with a crying emoji.

Heavenly Horse, a newcomer, said jokingly, “It is also because we are still too weak! If each one of us was able to lend a second, no, a little of our stamina to Lou Cheng, he would have easily won the match!”

Okamoto’s Fan soon began leading the topic toward a dirty direction. “You are wrong here! What if someone in this forum is affecting him with impotence? Even one second is of great importance to him!”

Since the whole competition had not yet come to its end, they did not spend much time on the celebrations. Instead, they soon turned their gazes back to the screen except for Yan Xiaoling, who @Unparalleled Dragon King in a strained tone:

“Do you think Songcheng University can win the competition? Even Lou Cheng was forced to use up his stamina!”

Unparalleled Dragon King replied with a funny face, “It’s hard to say. Huahai was not a fruitcake and Piao Yuan is going to reach Seventh Pin with the ability to make five strikes in a short time. Piao Yuan’s failure in the Ranking Event was just because he didn’t get a chance to develop his own Force systematically. As for this match, his three Force Concentrations were not used in a short time, so they actually didn’t cost him much energy. However, Lou Cheng’s simplified attack of physical invulnerability had actually injured him and he may have less than 70% of his energy remaining now.

“It’s not difficult for Lin Que to defeat him, but Lin Que must control his use of energy while fighting against him. Xing Jingjing is Lin Que’s next opponent, and this girl with illusion supernatural ability was said to be able to match an Eighth-Pin fighter when she joined in the Youth Tournament of Xing Province last July, and she was thus recorded in the Apotheosis of Fighters. Now nine months have passed, so she must have made more progress even if she hasn’t reached the Dan Stage yet. Since she is known for her illusion supernatural ability, it’s hard to judge how powerful she is now unless she is compared with a certain tough opponent in a competition.

“As a result, even if Lin Que is unable to get two straight wins, he must force Xing Jingjing to use up her stamina like Lou Cheng did just now. Or Xing Jingjing will bully his teammates in the next rounds since most of the fighters of the same level are unable to resist her illusion supernatural, including Yan Zheke, who is now a Professional Ninth Pin. I hope that Yan Zheke has learned some special Kung Fu like Ice Mirror, but I remember that even Lou Cheng had spent quite a lot of time to manage it.”

Brahman had been watching Unparalleled Dragon King analyze the situation. Then she sent a punching emoji. “I initially had much faith in Lou Cheng, but now you make me feel nervous!”

“Yeah, I’m trembling while praying,” Yan Xiaoling replied with a funny emoji.

…

“Pop!”

As Lou Cheng stepped down from the ring, his sweat was falling onto the ground and breaking into countless drops. Though the Jindan within his body could restore his stamina and relax his drawn body, it could not prevent him from feeling hot while using his Force to make a punch. So Lou Cheng believed that even this Jindan had its limits, for at least it could not create water from nowhere, and without water, even a Mighty One would soon shrivel up.

As soon as he left the ring, Lou Cheng saw Lin Que walking toward him in a quick but relaxed pace.

Stretching out his right hand with a smile, Lou Cheng intended to say, “Now it’s your performance time.” But he soon gave it up since Lin Que used to keep all the stress to himself instead of relieving it through words.

“Good luck!”

Lin Que gave him five and then nodded slightly. There was an invisible flame jumping in his eyes.

After brushing past Lin Que, Lou Cheng saw Yan Zheke waiting for him with a towel in her hand, which made him accelerate unconsciously.

“Come on, dry your sweat!” Yan Zheke gave him the towel, getting herself drunk in the familiar smell of sweat.

Shaking her head slightly, she smiled with bright eyes. “I knew that you could defeat Ann Chaoyang, but I had never expected that you could nearly defeat Piao Yuan.”

Though it was a little pity that Lou Cheng had reached his limit and missed the chance to get two straight wins, it was not proper to mention such minor details now.

Coach Yan was also good at praising others!

“I might have won this round if that bald-headed man was not so cowardly and cunning.” Lou Cheng walked back to their seats with the girl while drying the sweat on his head and face with the towel. It seemed that he was now in a good mood instead of feeling depressed after losing the match.

Cai Zongming approached them, giving him a smile.

“Cheng, you learned that movement from Dragon Ball, right? You just bombarded the ground with a fireball to create the chance for rebound?”

Lou Cheng squinted at him, showing him a smile.

“That’s a secret!”

“Secret…” Little Ming was stunned, and there was a moment that he felt as if it was Lin Que standing in front of him.

“Damn it.” It was true that different environments provided different influences, and even Cheng had been infected by Lin Que’s deadpan humor!

When he was still in confusion, he saw Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke sit down shoulder to shoulder, and then heard the girl ask in a low voice,

“Cheng, did you really get inspiration from Dragon Ball?”

Lou Cheng smiled and replied honestly,

“Yes.”

“Er… Forget what I said… I have never seen such a ditching of friends for a girl…” Cai Ritian refused to give in to him! Cai Zongming sighed, covering his face with both hands.

After puting down the towel, Lou Cheng saw Ke delve into the bag near her foot and then pull out a transparent bottle with liquid waving in it.

“A gift from me, your elder sister~” Yan Zheke handed the bottle over to Lou Cheng, pretending to be casual.

Lou Cheng found no label on the bottle, so he asked in confusion, “What’s this?”

“Sedative and Brain-invigorating Fluid! Haven’t you mentioned it before that it was not your stamina but your energy that had been consumed in large amounts during a match? Well, there is an ancestral formula in the Ji family, and my mom has recently improved it. I’m sure it will suit you well.” Yan Zheke whispered in his ear in order to keep the secret from others.

“You have already gotten it prepared?” asked Lou Cheng, pleasantly surprised.

“Of course~! I’m always reliable, unlike you reckless men!” Yan Zheke raised her chin to squint at Lou Cheng.

Lou Cheng was greatly satisfied, feeling more comfortable than when he defeated Ann Chaoyang. When he was able to give Coach Yan a compliment, he heard Old Shi calling someone near them.

“Haha, my stupid disciple isn’t that stupid when fighting against someone.” Holding his cellphone, Old Shi was wearing a big smile and Lou Cheng could hardly see his eyes.

“You routineer, you haven’t even taught Ann the Nine Words Formula.

“Don’t be so modest. If Ann had learned the Nine Words Formula, my stupid disciple wouldn’t have won the match unless he used up all his energy…”

His master was showing off to the Queen of Thought, right? Was it not showing off? Lou Cheng pretended that he had not heard what Old Shi had said, with the corners of his mouth twitching. Again turning his gaze toward his fairy, Lou Cheng began praising her reliable deeds and consideration.

After opening the bottle with his fingers, Lou Cheng spread the nice smell of Sedative and Brain-invigorating Fluid all over the room.

…

In the ring, a cold shiver ran down Piao Yuan’s spine as he saw Lin Que’s emotionless face, and then he recalled the fighting video of this new opponent.

Lin Que was also good at launching quick attacks as soon as the match began!

Not to mention that he had mastered the Xing Formula now!

So again, I’d better dodge first!

After looking around, the referee raised his right hand and then waved it downward.

“Begin now!”

The third round between Huahai and Songcheng University began!