Martial Arts Master

This route, from the locker to the arena, Lou Cheng had already walked twice. He could imagine the surroundings with his eyes closed. The crowd that grew continuously, the shadows that stacked continuously, the trumpets that children played and lights that lit the gloomy winter day, the cameras set up at every corner. And, in the midst of this chaos was the limestone stage, representing the honor and glory of the fighters.

No number one for academics, no number two for the fighters, not convinced yet? Let’s fight it out!

As Lou Cheng climbed the stone steps, images of what he did after waking up from his morning nap, replayed in his mind:

Accommodation was only booked till today, and he would make his way home at 8 tonight;

The front desk called, reminding him to check out by noon and gently telling him that there were no more available rooms for him to extend his stay;

He first packed his laptop, mouse, charger and the rest of his things, and then he put on the freshly laundered Longhu Club martial arts suit, tried to look for a bag to put the clothes he just changed out of, and squeezed them into his huge backpack. After all of these, he went around the room one last time to check for things that he might have missed out;

With all his things back in his backpack, he felt the room in which he stayed for several days seemed strange again, but he would forget here. He would always keep it in the corner of his memory because it was a witness for his growth day by day, his reborn for the first time in his martial arts journey, and his independent entry into unknown territories for the first time in his life;

Throwing the big, heavy backpack over his shoulder, and looking at the room for the last time before closing its doors, he took the room card to the front desk to check out, and from that moment onwards, the only thing left between him and Yanling was this last round of the Challenge Tournament;

From this moment, besides his bank card and mobile phone, he only had dinner money and a ticket back home!

The backpack sat in a cabinet in the locker room. After this round, would he hop on the transport home just like how it had been arranged, or would he overcome all obstacles, win the prize, change his ticket and move to a better hotel?

With all these thoughts swirling in his mind, Lou Cheng could not help but be amazed at how far he had come since he decided to join the tournament.

Looking at how much he had developed regarding martial arts level, to mental maturity, he could call himself a real fighter with pride!

He stopped at the left side of the arena and looked towards the other side, where Zhou Yuanning stood. Zhou Yuanning just stepped out of the locker room. With the light under his feet and around him, step by step he climbed the stone stairs and soon, he stood opposite of Lou Cheng.

“This person will be my final opponent for this Challenge Tournament. Will he be a stepping stone and push me forward towards the next level, meeting stronger rivals?”

As Lou Cheng’s thoughts started to settle, Yan Zheke’s singing continued to ring in his ears. He was a little bit nervous yet a little excited, with warm blood pumping through him, all ready to take on his strong opponent.

Lou Cheng started the conversation,

“I’m glad that you were not injured by Wang Ye.”

The voice was deep and mellow. It flowed into Zhou Yuanning’s ears. He was a little taken aback, and was overwhelmed by the sense of rivalry and fearless confidence that Lou Cheng was exuded.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to fight you in your best form.” Zhou Yuanning gave a small smile and looked straight into Lou Cheng’s eyes. Without any glimmer in his eyes, he said, “To be able to defeat an opponent like you, would probably be my biggest achievement in this tournament and much more rewarding than any prize money out there.”

Lou Cheng was not used to exchanging such sharp and provoking words, so after saying his true thoughts, he fell silent. His original plan and intention returned to his thoughts for one last time.

After going through seven battles in six days, “Road to the Arena” Zhou Yuanning was showing clear signs of exhaustion. For a fighter who used the guerrilla hit style to fight, this meant that he was handicapped and his hands were tied. Since Lou Cheng was now well-known for his crazy physical stamina, Zhou Yuanning would not choose strategies that involved him waiting till Lou Cheng made a mistake. He would have a better chance at creating a larger gap between them when he was starting off. This would help to throw the rhythm off.

This also meant that Zhou Yuanning would use his speed, agility and quick footwork. With the continuous execution of Kuang Bao Zhi Feng (Wild wind), Long Juan Zhi Feng (Whirlwind) and others, he would attack Lou Cheng madly. This would lead to great pressure on Lou Cheng, and Lou Cheng might just slip up during the defense.

Lou Cheng did not have much actual fight experience, and had been avoiding “stress tests”. Lou Cheng had quite a bit of experience in constantly moving around to avoid hits, and to wait for a chance to attack, or to attack proactively to bring down his opponents. He had not tried the pure defense tactic yet.

For the current situation, the results were not difficult to predict!

“I can almost be sure about the fighting tactic that Zhou Yuanning will use, but how is he going to determine what I’ll do?” Lou Cheng tried to think backward.

“From the comments on the live broadcast post of the Longhu Club forum, they seem to think that I will use the Mercurial Balance to move around and tackle Zhou Yuanning. So they suggest Zhou Yuanning make use of the Wuthering Eight Movements to move around quickly. At the same time, he could narrow his movement space to compel me to fight head on.

“Similarly, based on my fight with Jin “Invincible Punch” Tao, Zhou Yuanning is aware that I have another choice of strategy. That is to fall back on my crazy stamina to hold against my opponent, turning the attack into defense. I can use the Brutal Blizzard to hold down and delay the rival, not giving a chance for any retaliation until the winning bell rings.

He is probably well prepared to handle these two fighting strategies and will decide his moves as they fight.

Perhaps I can use this method to lead him on…” Lou Cheng retracted his thoughts and started his concealment of spirit and qi to enter meditation.

Dispelling all random thoughts, it seemed like he had entered the most silent world. The shouts and cheers around, the trumpet sounds, all seemed so far away, but yet as clear as the sound of the wind around him and his breathing.

“Fight!”

The referee announced the start of the last tournament of the afternoon!

Just as the referee ended his sentence, Zhou Yuanning moved his torso. It was almost like his body was creating wind itself. He moved swiftly to Lou Cheng. In a split second, the distance between the two fighters was so small that they could feel each other’s breath.

Such speed and agility were as almost excellent as Ye Youting’s Leopard-Simulate’s. This was just Zhou Yuanning’s level after all these years of non-practice, almost unimaginable how quick he was during his heydays.

Lou Cheng was all prepared with his core, swaying non-stop. When Zhou Yuanning burst out in speed, he curved his back and bounced back, just like a dragon soaring into the sky. He moved rapidly to the left, displaying the perfect standard fighting stance of Mercurial Balance.

Zhou Yuanning had expected this response, so with a tap of his toes, his body transformed into a small arch and went after Lou Cheng with tremendous speed.

Wuthering Eight Movements! Uninhibited Wind!

Just as Lou Cheng started his guerrilla hit, there was a sudden drop in his core, and an image of highlands and mountains covered in snow appeared in his mind.

Boom!

Lightning cracked across the arena, lighting up the entire area with blinding white light, ruffling the layers of soft white snow.

Boom!

A huge avalanche from the snow mountains started to tumble down!

Lou Cheng’s left shoulder dropped and he stepped forward. Instead of avoiding the chase, he went straight on into a clash with “Road to the Arena” Zhou Yuanning, just like a huge avalanche threatening to cover and smother everything in its path. His ferociousness shocked the audience.

By using the Mercurial Balance to step aside, he led his opponent to think that he was going to use the run-to-defend tactic but once the opponent was near, he would immediately retaliate with the most devastating avalanche and even the most horrifying avalanche!

Facing this attack, Zhou Yuanning who was as light as the wind, stopped his movements abruptly, almost like a galloping horse pulling to a stop, standing, with its feet in the air. He seemed to have lost his regular rhythm, breaking loose from all restraints.

With a pause, he rebounded and rose again. With the loudest shriek, he moved swiftly forward, breaking through the oppressing explosion of Lou Cheng, causing a huge stir in the flow Qi.

Phoom!

The two fighters collided into each other and queer sounds of an explosion could be heard. As if a hurricane swallowed him, Lou Cheng’s strength was suppressed and his core was rocked. He could not help but step back two steps. Zhou Yuanning also stepped back a step, and with a light tap of his heel, he propelled forward again, bringing him to the side of Lou Cheng.

Wuthering Eight Movements, Horrifying Hurricane!

Smack! Zhou Yuanning released an abrupt explosive force. With a light shake of his right arm, he aimed to hit Lou Cheng’s neck with a tilted palm.

Lou Cheng’s body just steadied itself. Without enough time to adjust his core balance, his left arm moved up and blocked that blow.

Just as he was about to borrow some strength from his rival to “listen” and steal possible movements, Zhou Yuanning’s strength exploded like the lit gunpowder. Lou Cheng could not borrow the short and explosive power bursts at all, nor could he “listen” to any movements.

Smack! With quick body movements, Zhou Yuanning had made his way behind Lou Cheng and launched an attack with his left fist.

Lou Cheng’s back arched, pushing his body aside to avoid the hit. Following the flow of body movement, his legs straightened, and he swept himself behind like a lashing whip.

With a tap of his feet, Zhou Yuanning leaped again. Going along with the sweeping movement with incredible speed, he avoided the leg attack and remained behind Lou Cheng.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Zhou Yuanning’s limbs were in constant movement, continually attacking Lou Cheng. Like a tornado, he circled Lou Cheng, hitting him mercilessly.

Lou Cheng felt trapped. He was having a hard time blocking and avoiding all the blows. If it were not because of the Mercurial Balance that helped him to sway away, he would not have been able to withstand the never-ending blows.

“If this continued and if he started to use “Invisible Wind” and abrupt explosive forces to attack, I would be thrown into a state of confusion. It would mean serious trouble and I would possibly lose.

Although I have expected Zhou Yuanning’s movements, and have made the necessary defenses and responses against them, I still get into this disadvantageous situation. This is a clear display of vast difference in levels.”

At this moment, Lou Cheng’s back took a strong hit, sending ripples through his body, reaching his frozen heart.

Not good!

Zhou Yuanning added a Silent Palm amongst his abrupt explosive force!

Without any time to think, Lou Cheng started to react based on his battle instincts. He lunged forward, creating some distance between his upper body and Zhou Yuanning’s palm. Using his left leg, he swept aside, flipped his body up and kicked. Zhou Yuanning had no choice but to retract his palm attacks to avoid the kick.

After adjusting his muscles, and changing his core, Lou Cheng regained his balance. His left leg touched the ground and he straightened his back to stabilize himself. His right fist was in combat mode, ready to lash out anytime to block Zhou Yuanning’s attacks. Lou Cheng’s back was stinging with pain. He took a hit, but since he managed to move forward, he did not absorb the full force of Zhou Yuanning’s palm. It would probably be a bruise or swelling.

“Good thing I was quick!”

Lou Cheng was feeling lucky. Though he was expecting an attack from Zhou Yuanning, his opponent did not move any forward. Instead, he retreated a few steps back, creating some distance between them. He was breathing slowly and deeply.

“Why isn’t he continuing his attacks and pressure on me? Given the situation earlier, with just a few more attacks, I’d probably not be able to hold on any longer…”

Oh yes! Yan Zheke mentioned the difference between the Brutal Blizzard and the Long Juan Zhi Feng (Whirlwind) of Wuthering Eight Movements. While the Brutal Blizzard depends on the listening skill and breathing to execute continuous attacks, the Long Juan Zhi Feng (Whirlwind) has to be done in one breath to maintain its speed and continuity. Once the fighter runs out of breath, he has to pull himself back and regain his breath. It’s the unique characteristic of Long Juan Zhi Feng (Whirlwind). So Zhou Yuanning did not change his strategy, it was just that he had reached his limits for this wave…”

His mind turned at lightning speed and he took the chance to carry out an attack. However, once he was close enough, Zhou Yuanning had already regained his breath. Lou Cheng took another round of whirlwind attacks. This made him think,

“With Zhou Yuanning’s stamina, he can probably make maximum five rounds of such attacks…

It’s already so strenuous to defend one round, how many rounds can I take? ”