Martial Arts Master

“The wind from my punch, the wind from my punch…the wind from my punch!” Lou Cheng almost pounded the wall in hysterical laughter when he heard the announcement. Thumbs up to the organizing committee’s thick skin and feigned ignorance.

Well, the next time I bring out my name, I can add the slogan “Injures with a graze, kills with a blow, capable of beating an Inhuman from a mile away”.

How grand, how powerful and how manly would that be?

After sharing it with Yan Zheke, he looked towards Peng Leyun, who just managed to stifle his laughter.

“About time you head out, Priest. There’s only a few minutes left.”

Not more than four before the grand-finals began!

“Okay,” replied Peng Leyun, who had by then changed into his martial arts suit. He stood up slowly and walked towards the entrance of the changing room.

About two steps later, he stopped and turned back to look at Lou Cheng.

“What did you just call me?” he asked confusedly.

“Priest,” Lou Cheng answered calmly, before he went on to explain with a smile. “Think about it. You are a disciple from the Shangqing Sect, and you always look like you are cultivating to be an Immortal when you are— intensively studying the profound mysteries of nature. Aren’t you a priest then?”

“If you say so…” Without much objections to his new nickname, Peng Leyun pulled open the entrance door and walked out.

Ann Chaoyang ran up to Lou Cheng and stood side by side with him.

“Don’t tell me you spent all your free time thinking up nicknames for us during the past few days?” he asked with a glance.

“No, of course not,” Lou Cheng laughed drily as he shook his head in rebuttal.

Do I look like someone with nothing better to do?

The only times I do it is when I shoot the breeze with Talker. That bastard is the one that always prompts me to such talks!

“Okay, fess up. What nickname did you give me? I can accept it as long as it’s not too weird,” Ann Chaoyang pressed suspiciously.

“Hipster, someone who is avant-garde!” Lou Cheng replied speedily.

Ann Chaoyang heaved a sigh of relief, then laughed. “That does suit me,” he replied with a satisfied nod.

Seems like Lou Cheng acknowledges my reliability from the bottom of his heart!

The corners of Lou Cheng’s mouth twitched. He thought it was better to not explain his definition of hipster— someone who lives in their own world, enjoys being melodramatic, and doesn’t fit well in society. The unreliable type.

“Speaking of which, what nickname do you have for Ren Li?” Ann Chaoyang asked curiously, glimpsing at Ren Li who had the guide’s eyes cautiously fixated on her.

Lou Cheng laughed and adamantly denied. “None. I’m serious!”

“You sure about that?” questioned Ann Chaoyang.

“It’s true!” Lou Cheng guaranteed solemnly.

With that, Ann Chaoyang let him off the hook and later went on to forget about it.

Lou Cheng heaved a sigh of relief, and wiped at his non-existent cold sweat.

He felt it disrespectful to give nicknames to girls, so he almost never did. But if Ren Li caught wind of what he and Xiao Ming had casually discussed on one occasion, she would be hunting him down through streets and alleys.

The conversation on that night went like this.

“Um, what’s Ren Li like normally?” asked Cai Zongming. He had a natural curiosity towards pretty girls, but he always kept his distance and never get too close.

“Extremely bad with directions, moderately bad at memorizing faces. Intrepid and confident. Likes to squabble with people online, and in real life too. Always enthusiastic when it comes to stirring up trouble…” enumerated Lou Cheng with copious frankness.

“Small framed, large eyes and likes to stir up trouble. Isn’t that the description of a Chihuahua…?” Xiao Ming had a way of connecting things in his mind.

Lou Cheng paused briefly and barely stifled a laugh. He screenshotted it.

“Hey, how long do you think you can survive if I showed this to Ren Li? [doubles over snickering]”

“Not long if I was the only one bad-mouthing her…” replied Cai Zongming, dismissive.

Come! If I’m going down, so are you!

“You forgot the difference between us. I can defend myself, but you can’t! Ren Li knows curses by the way! [despicably laughing so hard that it makes one’s body tremulous]” replied Lou Cheng. “Bow once, bow twice, bow thrice! Relatives of the victim, please give your respects.”

“Please spare me! [kneeling down]” replied Cai Zongming, begging for mercy without a hint of shame.

After reminiscing, Lou Cheng decided to treat the matter as if it never happened. He looked sideways and smiled at Ren Li politely, then sat back on his spectator seat and watched as Peng Leyun ascended the stone steps.

Two minutes later, both sides had assumed their positions, about 40 feet away from each other. The referee began looking at the clock, waiting for it to reach the exact time.

“How do you think Priest will approach this fight?

Picked up the nickname real fast didn’t you, thought Lou Cheng. “Kaori Karasawa has her Earth Treasury Takedown, so using Flash Attack can easily put him at a disadvantage,” Lou Cheng analyzed thoughtfully.

.

“If it was me, I would purposely wait for the opponent to make the first move. With 30 plus feet in between, there’s ample time to make critical evaluations and react accordingly!” suggested Ren Li, excitedly joining in their conversation.

Their conversation went on until the referee raised his right hand before swinging it down.

“Begin!” he yelled.

The last match for the competition this time had officially began! The winner ascends to the throne, and the loser joins the ranks with the other losers!

Kaori Karasawa leaned her body forward as soon as the referee enunciated the words. Pushing off with her left leg, she sprang forward into a position where she could attack Peng Leyun, so quickly that it made the 30 meters between them seem unreal.

Xinzhai Sect, Shukuchi Technique!

Pom! The air current fled at the impact as Kaori Karasawa was about to withdrew her right fist resting at the left side of her waist and deliver a diagonal slash.

The Unsheathing Technique seamlessly connected with the Shukuchi Technique, extraordinarily compact and perfect, as if it was all completed in one motion.

Unlike during her battle with Lou Cheng, Kaori Karasawa gave it her all right from the start of this match.

But before she could swing out her right arm, a palm enwreathed in silver sparks had pressed down on the back of her hand, pushing her glinting “katana” back into its “sheath”!

As predicted by his little companions in the unreliable godly squad, Peng Leyun had waited before making his move. Springing towards Kaori Karasawa, he closed the distance to her and pressed his palm down, impeccably disrupting her Unsheathing Technique!

In the zapping electricity, he turned his waist and slammed his left elbow towards his enemy. Kaori Karasawa was forced to jerk her right half backwards, her body turning sideways.

While dodging, she unsheathed again, her left fist swiping upwards with a bam, leaving a shimmering white trail behind!

In that short time, the two had checked blow after blow colliding at an unceasing frequency. Everything used by them was used at its maximum potential— close quarter combat, Chin Na kungfu and joint techniques. At times, fierce clangor of the battle resounded, and at other times they wrapped around each other in terrifying silence.

It was an eye opener for Lou Cheng and the rest, and as they watched, they reflected on themselves and looked for their own imperfections.

Hmm, Priest’s approach at the start of the match matches what we had in mind, which means that he isn’t overly confident…

Finally, excluding the match against Ren Li, he’s actually not playing around!

During the best part of the fight, Peng Leyun finally heard the indistinct snap he had been waiting for since the start of the fight.

A sonorous sound that made his heart tremble!

Good timing, Peng Leyun yelled silently. He clapped his hands together and produced a loud thunder right before Kaori Karasawa extended her just retracted arms.

Boom!

The deafening roar of thunder shook Kaori Karasawa. A loud buzz reverberated in her head, slowing down the movements of her hand and nearly scattering the charged up force of Flying Dragon Takedown.

Capitalizing on the lag in her movements, Peng Leyun pulled his palms apart, producing a thin, glimmering blade of electricity.

At that point, even if the Flying Dragon Takedown was released, it couldn’t reach in time!

Fast as it was, how can it possibly exceed the speed of lightning?

Lightning flashed, and the blade found its mark, leaving a black-burnt trail on Kaori Karasawa. It left her muscles tremulous and dissipated every ounce of her charged up energy.

Snap! Peng Leyun pushed off with his feet and rushed forward. Visualizing a jade amulet, he dealt a Thunder Seal punch!

Kaori Karasawa, not severely paralyzed, managed to snap out of it in time. A white glow seeped out of her body as her clothes swelled outwards. Her right arm slashed out in a horizontal line, perilously landing on her opponent’s fist.

Zap!

Her hair turned slightly permed, and her arms were wrapped in electricity, giving off a burnt smell and a faint trail of smoke. But her attack also left Peng Leyun wobbling and instinctively shaking his stinging right hand.

Thump, thump, thump! Kaori Karasawa backed off on her own, stretching their distance to buy time for reducing her paralysis with generated Qi.

When Peng Leyun pounced at her again without much ado, she arched her body slightly. There was another indistinct snap, but much faster and briefer than the previous, not giving her opponent any chances of using Thunder from a Clear Sky.

Xinzhai Sect, Flying Bird Takedown!

Boom! In the blast, Kaori Karasawa slashed at her enemy with the back of her left arm, leaving afterimages behind.

At such a critical moment, she couldn’t care less about the fact that the battle had only been in progress for two to three minutes!

Peng Leyun lowered his waist to stop in his tracks before violently jerking backwards, changing the direction of his punch as though he was prying a huge rock. His fist flicked upwards, accurately disrupting the glow from Kaori Karasawa’s “blade” and catching her in the arm, fending off her counterattack.

But Kaori Karasawa’s right hand had already formed a blade. She dealt slash after slash that was equally fast and vicious, as though she wanted to end things right there.

Suddenly, Peng Leyun’s body emitted noises reminiscent of a madly turning turbo, one after the other, as though his power was accumulating.

A strong repulsion was produced between him and Kaori Karasawa, repelling and slowing down her attack!

Bam!

Peng Leyun’s punch shot out and landed right on the edge of the “blade”. With the repulsion and rebound, he leapt backwards, putting some distance between them and forcing Kaori Karasawa’s Triple Aerial Ace to end prematurely!

No matter how fast it was, a blade is useless if it cannot find its mark!

However, Kaori Karasawa also took the chance to put herself in a much better position than the perilous spot she was previously in.

The fierce battle began again, and she grew more cautious knowing that Peng Leyun had probably learnt the secret of Flying Dragon Takedown from Lou Cheng. Carelessly using her ultimate move could end up giving more openings to her opponent, and she will have to go on the defensive again.

Without the intimidation of Flying Dragon Takedown and her weapons, Kaori Karasawa gradually became disadvantaged in the close quarter combat. She also had to use a good amount of her Qi to deal with the accumulating effects of paralysis. If not for her Aerial Ace that could push Peng Leyun back and the threat of Flying Dragon Takedown, she might have already lost.

After a few more minutes, Kaori Karasawa knew she couldn’t let things go on. An idea passed through her mind.

That was when Peng Leyun heard the indistinct but sonorous snap once again.

Without hesitation, he clapped his palms together again and casted Thunder from a Clear Sky once again.

Amidst the blast, the look in Kaori Karasawa’s eyes did not waver, as though she was waiting for it. Taking a step forward, she deftly dodged sideways, in an attempt to let the Cloudless Thunder Blades miss its target.

Making the preparation for Flying Dragon Takedown was a deceptive move from her to bait Peng Leyun to strike first! And now she can look for the fleeting opportunity to use her ultimate move that will tear her enemy apart!

The snap came again, but the look in Kaori Karasawa’s eyes changed when she saw Peng Leyun’s palms still glued together.

He looked like he was having a hard time maintaining the stance, with perspiration beading on his forehead.

Cloudless Thunder Blades can be released after a delay!

Knowing that Kaori Karasawa wouldn’t carelessly use her Flying Dragon Takedown, how could Peng Leyun not have any defensive measures?

Bam! A silver spark flicked past, landing on Kaori Karasawa. The strike resonated with all the paralyzing effects in her body, causing her to tremble ceaselessly. It was no longer possible for her to cast Flying Dragon Takedown or Flying Bird Takedown.

Stepping forward, Peng Leyun lashed out with his Machine Fist in a series of thuds. Retracting and releasing his Qi and blood, pulling and tensing his fascias, he delivered a flurry of attacks that seemingly left afterimages.

With the lingering paralysis effects, Kaori Karasawa managed to block a few more moves before she was completely unable to keep up. She stared helplessly at her opponent’s fists, stopping before her as the referee announced the result.

“Peng Leyun wins!”

Whew… Peng Leyun heaved a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt slightly disappointed.

Sigh, I didn’t get to personally experience Flying Dragon Takedown.

But then again, had Lou Cheng not warned him about the sign, the match would have been extremely hard. In fact, he could have very possibly been the one to lose.