Martial Arts Master

The applause came in waves, each louder than the one before. Lou Cheng was panting heavily, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. He could feel his muscles cramping, evidently drained of all energy.

After struggling for several seconds, he finally managed to calm down. He felt his mind clear up enough to focus, allowing him to concentrate his force.

His muscles bulged as he condensed and released his qi and blood. His chest lifted and fell as he opened his mouth and expelled a breath of foul-smelling air. He finally felt like he was alive again.

Even so, he still felt weak and out of breath. He would have to depend on his robust body and high metabolism to gradually ease him out of his fatigue. It wouldn’t be something quick and easy.

As expected, he had lost all strength to fight again. He barely managed to eek out the last two moves through the sheer power of will. Some light finally returning to his eyes, he saluted Ren Li and thanked her for the worthwhile match.

During their match, Ren Li had also managed one Force Concentration with much difficulty. She was barely recovering from the raging qi and blood in her. She reciprocated Lou Cheng’s bow and was about to say something when she suddenly pressed her hand over her mouth and spat blood into her palm. She could also feel that a few of her teeth had loosened from the shockwave and were close to falling off.

Capable Dan stage martial artists were known for their vigorous qi and blood and rich life force. Even if their teeth were knocked out, they would grow back over time. These weren’t considered injuries at all.

Ren Li thought that she was going to practicing non-speaking vows for the next few days. She pressed her lips together, no longer speaking. She then turned around and climbed down the flight of stairs. As her limbs were still suffering from cramps and convulsions, every step she took felt unnatural and she was trembling all over.

Shen You, Jiang Kongchan, and the others immediately rushed forward and supported her.

Lou Cheng didn’t fare any better. On his way down the stairs, his calves were cramping with each step he took. He also felt short of breath and had to constantly take deep breaths.

Yan Zheke, Cai Zongming, and the others ran to him to support him by the arms.

“Freaking awesome! You actually managed a draw!” With his idle hand, Cai Zongming gave his friends a thumb up.

“Are you complimenting… or ridiculing me?” Lou Cheng joked. He paused in between his question, indicating his poor condition.

Cai Zongming grinned. “Of course I’m complimenting you. I wonder how many gamblers are now heading for a rooftop. Nope, I bet the rooftops are full. The ground is full of bodies, piled up so high that they reach the edge of the roof.”

The vast majority had betted on a victory or a defeat!

“It’s not like I can do anything about that… Honestly, Ren Li should’ve won, but I forced a draw…” Lou Cheng said, honestly admitting that he was still lacking compared to Ren Li.

Before he could finish his sentence, Yan Zheke interrupted him both out of irritation and concern. “Don’t talk anymore! It’s already so hard for you to talk… do you want to go to the emergency ward?”

“No need, I’m feeling much better… I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” Though Lou Cheng had just received a scolding, his smile was actually so much brighter now.

…

Since it was a tie, there was no rush for the next round to begin. The referee motioned for Lin Que and Chen Diguo to wait for the staff to clean the arena.

In the studio, the host, Liu Chang, took this opportunity to jokingly lament the outcome of the match.

“Who would have guessed it would be a tie… This is so rarely seen!”

He added, “It’s probably really difficult for the referee to make such a decision. In my opinion, he could’ve named any of the two the winner and an amateur spectator like me would be none the wiser.”

Chen Sansheng chuckled. “The referee had taken into consideration that they would both be hurt badly in the last bout and thought a draw wouldn’t be unreasonable. Ren Li and Lou Cheng were obviously at their limits. I’m not talking about their physical limits; it’s their negative condition that stopped them from further combat. They could have lowered their heads or tilted their necks to avoid attacks, but neither would be able to make another attack after.”

“Haha, that’s true. Their physical conditions were noticeably turning for the worse,” Liu Chang said thoughtfully. “After taking Lou Cheng’s Tremor Punch, Ren Li probably sustained injuries. Afterward, she had to suffer his Force Concentration directly. With so many injuries stacked on her, her negative condition was triggered. It was very easy to understand what happened to her, but what about Lou Cheng? His strength had inexplicably become weaker and weaker…”

Chen Sansheng pondered over it carefully for some time, motioning for the producer to air a replay of several highlights from the match.

“Pause! Pause right there! Did you see it? When Ren Li was withdrawing, Lou Cheng rushed to the side instead of pursuing her. He was panting as if he had been holding his breath for a long time.”

“You mean Lou Cheng didn’t breathe that much in the collision earlier? Or perhaps, he didn’t dare to breathe?” Liu Chang asked, looking rather terrified.

“Yes. The secret moves of the Plague Sect are all odd and unpredictable, harming their opponents imperceptibly,” Chen Sansheng replied. “I can’t tell exactly which move she performed, but I can guess how it affected Lou Cheng. In their second major confrontation, he likely suffered Ren Li’s simplified physical invulnerability of the Plague Sect and sustained a certain impact. Ren Li certainly wouldn’t let go of this weak point in the following bouts, likely continuing the use of her secret move to strengthen the impact.”

“Her Plague Sect secret move seems to act through the respiratory system. How mysterious!” Liu Chang said, stunned. “Why didn’t Lou Cheng adopt the guerrilla strategy and avoid the area with Ren Li’s ‘special scent’?”

“This was a martial arts competition, a match between two fighters. He couldn’t do as he pleased.” Chen Sansheng smiled, shaking his head. “Didn’t you notice? Ren Li was obviously grasping the chance to break down Lou Cheng’s combat force with a series of Dan stage explosions, which would leave him no chance to escape. Judging from this point, we can tell that she had the upper hand during this part of the match and had a higher chance of winning compared to Lou Cheng. But she didn’t think she could hold on and couldn’t see an end to this match, and she had the option to retreat. Lou Cheng didn’t have this option.

“However, the tables were turned when she retreated. Lou Cheng also forced himself to shoulder on, grabbing the opportunity to use guerrilla warfare. Ren Li took her time to calm her qi and blood, ease her wounds, and shake off her uncertainties. Considering their performance in the earlier bouts, she would probably soon regain her initiative and boost her winning chances. It was hard to predict the outcome at that point, but the odds were definitely against Lou Cheng.”

Liu Chang looked like he was suddenly hit by a realization. “I see… Tsk, tsk. Lou Cheng was truly shockingly imposing. He threw punch after punch as if he had no limits, with the sole aim of knocking his opponent down even at the cost of his life! No wonder Ren Li’s confidence was shaken and she chose to take a step back…”

“That’s right. When they reached that point, they could no longer accurately determine each other’s condition. Everything depended on their will, every move sustained by their confidence and vigor. At that moment, they couldn’t accurately tell the rival’s condition. It took all they had to affect each other. Lou Cheng did better here, using those aspects to make up for his inferiority in strength. Hehe, I’m not calling him weak. It hasn’t been that long since he started practicing martial arts, but he already has a tie with Ren Li! He’s doubtlessly a favored fighter of the age!” In his analysis of the match, Chen Sansheng sincerely complimented Lou Cheng.

Yan Xiaoling, also known as the Eternal Nightfall, as well as Brahman 001 and Unparalleled Dragon King, tagged An All-knowing Man in Ganghood on Weibo just then.

“I’m just here to laugh a little. Haha, haha. I’ll cover my mouth and leave.”

“The more I see you, the more I feel you have the potential to be the next Poison Milk. Looks like you’re ready to replace Master He (the Go Die emoji).”

“He had a tie with Ren Li after only one and a half years of martial arts training. If he’s not considered a favored fighter of the age, who is?”

“I’m sitting tight and waiting for your long post. Let’s see what kind of nonsense you’ll make up this time!”

…

An All-knowing Man in Ganghood started breathing heavily after reading all the posts that tagged him on Weibo. He suddenly grabbed the mug sitting on his desk and hurled it away.

Crash!

The mug hit the wall and broke into small pieces.

Meanwhile, many users were leaving comments under Superstitious Belief Is Bad’s prediction post on Weibo.

“I feel like this time you’ve served a good cup of poisoned milk to the Capital.”

“Now that Lou Cheng wasn’t cursed with rebound effects, you’re finally showing your specialty to the fullest. I have faith in you!”

“Don’t put it like that. What Master He predicted was the overall loss of Songcheng due to their weak bench fighters. Isn’t it still too early to say he’s wrong? After this post, I’ll go and put in another 100 bet on Songcheng.”

…

In the seating area for the Songcheng team, Geezer Shi clicked his tongue after taking a quick glance at Lou Cheng.

“Not bad. You’ve managed to push it to this extent. Let’s see if Qi Ling, that old spirit, will brag about her disciple in front of me from now on.”

Old spirit… Feeling much better now, the corners of Lou Cheng’s mouth twitched as he said, “Isn’t Master Qi much younger than you?”

She looked to be in her early fifties.

“Yeah, she’s younger.” Geezer Shi scoffed. “But she has no respect for seniors and still calls herself an elder sister in front of fighters of a younger generation.”

Wasn’t this quite ordinary for women… Lou Cheng didn’t quite get his master. He returned to his seat, accepted the Sedative and Brain-invigorating Fluid from Yan Zheke, and took a huge gulp from it.

“Back then, Master Qi was a known beauty in the martial arts circle. She had knowledge and versatile talents; she was also well-versed in poetry and painting…” Yan Zheke lowered her voice, momentarily gossiping before began to complain. “Why can’t you care more about yourself? Why did you have to fight with Ren Li like that?”

She knew Lou Cheng did what he thought best after a thorough consideration, but she couldn’t resist nagging him about it.

Lou Cheng took a deep breath and smiled. “There might be other moves I could’ve used to lower the influence of Ren Li’s secret move, but there’s no way to stop or isolate the influence. I could only slow it down. Under the circumstances where I was getting weaker as the match continued, I wouldn’t have any chance to turn the tide if I didn’t use tremor punch to intensify her shivers and weaken her…”

The referee inspected the fighting ring while they were still talking and waved at Lin Que and Chen Diguo.

Lin Que was already up, standing at the edge of the seating area. He gave each of his team members a fist bump before walking up the stone stairs. His expression was serene and his eyes were energetic, hiding a fiery passion inside.

Whether or not Songcheng could win against Capital would completely depend on this upcoming match against Chen Diguo!

The audience had also stopped reminiscing about the exciting match earlier and focused on the arena once again.

“Good luck, Chen Diguo!” the supporters of the Capital College Martial Arts Club cheered in unison.

Several scattered voices started shouting in the arena.

“Songcheng University!”

“Good luck, Lin Que!”

After an intense fight, only one of the two favored fighters of the age would be able to advance to the semi-finals.