Martial Arts Master

“It’s the finals…”

When Yan Xiaoling heard Liu Chang’s voice through her headphones, she became inexplicably nervous. Her body trembled and she felt her breathing become labored.

Was this the atmosphere and feeling of the finals?

She logged into the fan forum and found many fans leaving their wishes in her prayer post. Unparalleled Dragon King, Road to the Arena, and Okamoto’s Fan were talking in high-sounding phrases, arguing what Songcheng should do to grasp the scarce opportunity and win.

Based on her character, this was the part where she would chime in with her brand of nonsense and jokes and brighten the entire forum. But today she was too nervous to spam anything.

Fanfan, Little Wonton, Eaten By Dog ,and Qiqi… Those who were discussing in the forum earlier had all disappeared… Were they beginning to feel nervous like her?

Drinking a gulp of water, and yet another gulp, Yan Xiaoling only felt her chest feeling tight. She could not help getting up and pacing back and forth in her room.

She then noticed that Mu Jinnian was breathing deeply and asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Jin?”

“I’m fine, just feeling out of breath now that the match is about to start,” Mu Jinnian replied. She was dressed in her favorite hanfu.

On her desktop, a cartoon version of Lin Que was set as her background.

Ah… Yan Xiaoling was relieved to know she was not the only one getting nervous like a quail.

Jin was so tough that not even five of Yan Xiaoling would be capable of defeating her. But she was also out of breath now!

…

He Xiaowei, who had been making mistakes, once again posted a prediction on Weibo without shame. This time, he even bet on his reputation and future.

“I don’t believe Shanbei will lose today! No matter which aspect you look at, they’re sure to win. If they still lose, I’ll change my nickname to Poison Milk Hierarch. You can call me whatever you like from then on!”

He had been quite riding on the hype during this period of time, thus many comments flooded his post as soon it went up.

“Damn, the secret force from the east is beginning to demonstrate its power!”

“I’ll kneel to you. I have just betted on Shanbei…”

“What should I do? Should I sell my pants and bet the money on Songcheng? Can someone give me an answer? It’s quite urgent!”

“Just wait! If Shanbei loses tonight, I’ll deliver you a car full of blades.”

“Can cursing the team by foretelling its victory really change its fate?”

…

Amid all this jesting, An All-knowing Man in Ganghood resurfaced with a Weibo post after disappearing for several days.

“I won’t make predictions, but I want to tell you that Peng Leyun has crossed the threshold and began morphing into a warrior of the Inhuman stage. You all know what this means.”

A breakthrough was a process, not a milestone.

An All-knowing Man in Ganghood sighed with relief after making the post, feeling the moodiness that had haunted him recently had largely dissipated. Picking up the cup to have a drink, he refreshed his page to check for new comments.

“That means it’ll be another 10 to 15 days before Peng Leyun reaches the Inhuman stage?”

An All-knowing Man in Ganghood spurted out water from his mouth. The water dirtied his computer screen.

Though the commenter was not wrong, that was not his main point!

Once Peng Leyun began morphing, he would soon gain some inhuman ability. That meant his strength would once again see an improvement!

Shanbei, with their great advantage in the first place, would be sweeping the Songcheng team clean!

He took out a tissue and cleaned the screen before reading the rest of the comments.

“Well, Poison Milk Hierarch has just demonstrated his power… Is Peng Leyun going to challenge the heavens and destroy Poison Milk’s supernatural ability directly?”

“Though your analysis and predictions are often inaccurate because of your obvious subjectivity, your insider news is always on point. No wonder you’re dubbed the An All-knowing Man in Ganghood.”

“What can I say? As a Songcheng University student, I can only pray that Lou Cheng and his team doesn’t lose too badly this time. 3:2 is good enough, 3:2!”

“Peng Leyun really found a good timing to morph. He’s the true Big Devil…”

…

Reading these discussions, Yan Xiaoling and the rest on the fan forum became more nervous.

…

The handsome Yan Kai was seated on the stands of the martial arts gymnasium of the capital. He took Ji Mingyu’s hand in his as usual as he looked at the arena with a serious expression.

“Stop wearing that expression. You make it look like you have some deep grudge against Lou,” Ji Mingyu said, teasing her husband.

“Do I?” Yan Kai touched his face, not finding anything wrong with his expression.

Ji Mingyu shook her head and smiled, “Well… Ke will eventually grow up, fall in love, and have her own family. It’s just that she did all this a few years earlier.”

Yan Kai sighed. “I’m just worried student romance won’t last and hurt Ke. They’re still too young and naive at this age.”

“Do you think you’re the only one worrying? That’s my daughter too. I’ll watch over them,” Ji Mingyu complained. She turned her gaze to the arena. “Stop worrying about this and watch the match properly. It’s the finals!”

She had never participated in the finals in her entire life!

Yan Kai nodded. When he looked around, he could feel a sensation called ‘the finals’ gradually brewing.

…

The host who livened up the atmosphere, Liu Chang, turned to look at the guest presenter Chen Sansheng on the live broadcast.

“Sansheng, looks like you haven’t made your prediction for the finals yet.”

Chen Sansheng smiled. “It’s relatively easy to predict the result of the finals, so I didn’t make an extra Weibo post.”

“Peng Leyun has proved himself better than Ren Li and Lou Cheng in the previous matches, but he still hasn’t reached his limit. He may begin morphing at any moment, enabling himself to defeat two opponents on his own. Even if he can’t, he would create a good opportunity for Fang Zhirong to defeat the remaining opponent.

“Yan Zheke may have proved herself a top Ninth Pin fighter with various moves and fighting styles, but even Xu Wannian, the Corvine Mouth, is able to defeat her with ease. Never mind Fang Zhirong.

“No matter how we look at it, Shanbei has 70 to 80% chance of winning.

“But there are still many aspects to consider in a match, like their on-the-spot response and counteraction. Take how Lou Cheng’s kungfu firmly prevails against Xu Wannian’s. Even if the former is injured, he would still be undefeatable by the latter. That’s why if something similar happens in this match, Songcheng still has the hope of winning.

“That will have to depend on how hard they work to create that kind of opportunity!

“20 to 30% winning chance doesn’t mean Songcheng is doomed to lose. I hope they won’t give up and show us their spirit and tenacity!”

Liu Chang could not help laughing. “That last sentence sounds like you’re cursing Songcheng.”

“No, no! I’m sincere.” Chen Sansheng shook his head with a smile.

“I know! You’re cursing them sincerely!” Liu Chang joked.

They tried hard to follow the guidance of the broadcasting director to exaggerate the tense atmosphere.

…

In the locker room of the Shanbei team, the grey-haired young coach Huang Qing stood up after checking the time.

“This is the finals. Any mistakes are irremediable. I need to remind everyone to be as careful as possible!”

“We’ll show Songcheng our strongest welcome. Leyun, you’ll go first. Don’t worry about the follow-up matches and just try your best to defeat as many opponents as possible!”

Peng Leyun snapped out of his daze, his eyes gradually turning luminous as he nodded.

“Alright.”

His voice was indifferent and calm as if his victory was a matter of fact.

Huang Qing turned to Fang Zhirong and said, “Zhirong, you’ll go up next. Try to fight to the end so Wannian won’t need to enter the match.”

Fang Zhirong knew this was a crucial match and how fearsome Lou Cheng could be. He was also aware how Lin Que had won over him the last time. He did not show his attitude or vie to be the first player.

“Okay!”

Huang Qing then smiled at Xu Wannian.

“If it’s really your turn to enter the match, your performance will determine whether the outcome is a brilliant or a tragic one. Understand?”

Xu Wannian waved his fist at his coach and promised in a loud voice, “Yes! I’ll go all out!”

Being infected by his emotion, Bernhard and the other substitutes all yelled at him.

“Go all out!”

…

In the changing room of the Songcheng team, Geezer Shi was about to make player arrangements when he saw Lin Que step up.

He said, “Coach Shi, I want to go first.”

This… Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke exchanged surprised looks. They waited in silence for Geezer Shi’s reply.

Instead of feeling surprised, Geezer Shi was grinning.

“Think it over. You’re likely to encounter Peng Leyun at his peak if you go first. I’m not trying to make a hit on your confidence, but you will most likely suffer a defeat.”

Lin Que kept his eyes on Geezer Shi.

“I know, but this is the only way we can win the competition.

“Lou Cheng didn’t have the chance to showcase his superhuman stamina in previous matches. Only if we take advantage of this point can we have hope to defeat Shanbei.”

Though Lou Cheng could restore his stamina with the Jindan within his body, he did not use it frequently after reaching Sixth Pin. The exception was the match against Ann Chaoyang and Piao Yuan, where he was forced to use up his stamina to his limit. But the reason why he reached his limit was his use of the Power of Blaze with all his strength in a hurry. Thus, the other fighters were not aware of his true limit even if they knew his stamina was not inexhaustible.

Of course, Lou Cheng could fight for a much longer time compared to other Sixth Pin fighters.

Since Geezer Shi just nodded without replying, Lin Que continued,

“Lou Cheng is only slightly weaker than Peng Leyun. If I give it my all and consume as much of Peng Leyun’s strength as possible, Lou Cheng may have a chance of victory. And as long as he’s left in a better condition than when facing Piao Yuan, he’ll be able to defeat Fang Zhirong as well. As for Xu Wannian, he’s too arrogant. Without Corvine Mouth, he’s not even Cai Zongming’s match.”

Hang on. Was he as weak as Lin Que had described him to be? Little Ming thought to himself with self-deprecating humor.

Lou Cheng was even more perplexed, not because Lin Que’s analysis was wrong but because he felt like the brother-in-law in front of him was a fake.

He had actually spoken so many words!

Could it be that the more concerned he was, the more words he had to say?

He turned to look at Yan Zheke and noticed the same look on her face.

Geezer Shi looked at Lin Que with a rare serious look. “You’re not wrong, but your burden will be immense. If you’re eliminated by Peng Leyun at his peak, we can just pack up and go home.”

Lin Que’s psychological problems had always persisted. Geezer Shi was worried he might be traumatized by the results of this competition.

Lin Que nodded without any change in his expression.

“I’m willing to take the burden.”

“Great.” Geezer Shi agreed without saying anything else. He looked at Lou Cheng and said, “Brat, you will take the second round and defeat Peng Leyun!”

“Okay!” Lou Cheng took a deep breath and promised confidently.

“Yan, you’ll round up the team. If you’re lucky enough to fight Xu Wannian, don’t be afraid. Just don’t give him any chance to speak.” Geezer Shi gave Yan Zheke a smile.

“Yes!” Yan Zheke nodded with all her strength.

Geezer Shi laughed and looked at Li Mao, Sun Jian, He Zi, and Cai Zongming.

“Do you feel regret since I give you no chance to join the finals?”

“Not at all!” Cai Zongming replied immediately. “That’s how I like it, Coach Shi! Just think about it! I just need to cheer for Cheng and Lin Que when they win and I’ll be able to get my bonus! What a wonderful thing!”

Facing such a shameless Little Ming, Geezer Shi was momentarily speechless.

…

Time flew and soon, it was time for the final match.

In their respective locker rooms, both teams were gathered in a circle.

The Shanbei team took each other’s hand, shook it, and yelled,

“Champion!”

On Songcheng’s side, Lou Cheng and his teammates put their arms around each other and yelled,

“Definite victory!”

Clang!

The doors to both lockers room opened and the coaches and players on both teams filed out. Under the leadership of Lou Cheng and Peng Leyun respectively, the teams walked under the spotlight.

The referee stepped into the arena to check the time.

On April 25th at 7:40 PM, the finals of the National University Martial Arts Competition began!