Martial Arts Master

“I’m so pissed! How can Little Tiger leave us hanging at this crucial moment!? [pounds table]” replied “Brahman.”

“At least this match can be found online! [snickering]” replied “Unparalleled Dragon King.”

“What do you guys think? What does Little Tiger have to do during the most important match? [strokes chin]” replied “Invincible Punch.”

“Who knows? Maybe he has an appointment? He wouldn’t have known the order of the matches before the lots were drawn. [smirks]” replied “Okamoto’s Fan.””Shengxiang’s red light district is pretty famous!”

“Bullshit! Little Tiger went there with his girlfriend! Maybe he just had something on, what’s wrong with that?” replied “Dumpling seller.”

“Unparalleled Dragon King” had to remind the rest about the competition amidst the lively discussion.

“It’s starting! Ichiei Sakata has skills and supernatural abilities. He’s going to be a tough match for Lou Cheng, which is rare among the fighters below Inhuman stage,” he replied.

Everyone quickly shifted their focus back on the match.

…

When Lou Cheng was steps away from the arena, he felt a buzz from his phone, holding it up he found a 2-seconds voice message from Yan Zheke.

He pressed the play button and held it close to his ears, out came a soft “Muack” .

“… She really sent a kiss…” Lou Cheng paused, let out a chuckle and returned a kissing emoticon. Handing his phone and wallet to the supervisor, he walked up the steps. With every step he took, joy, excitement and slight fear formed and mixed evenly inside him.

He stood in the middle of the arena, feet slightly apart in a form that presented no openings, gazing imposingly at his opponent advancing briskly.

The blond Ichiei Sakata felt something in his opponent. His steps began to dawdle, slower with each step, until it seemed as if he was walking against strong winds or sailing against turbulent tides.

His back was straight without the slightest curve as a crazed expression broke out on his face, like a soldier that is about to commit a reckless charge or Kamikaze attack.

A step, two, until Ichiei Sakata was in the arena and at his designated spot, about ten meters apart from Lou Cheng.

“Worthy of a Japanese warrior who values mental strength and spirit…” , thought Lou Cheng as he dispersed the Army Formula in his mind, withdrawing his aura and visualizing a “Godly Mountain” standing amid the blizzard, clad in thick white snow.

He was just testing his powers, using the Army Formula he familiarized with in the two months, he visualized a malicious aura to suppress Ichiei Sakata , hoping to disturb his peace of mind, shred his fighting will or at least measure his strength. But it did none of that.

In the past 2 millenniums, Japan was deeply under the influence of China, evident in how their society runs, and also in their Martial Arts . Yet, in their own culture and environment, their Martial Arts had developed its own uniqueness.

To a country that was often plagued by earthquakes and typhoons and had scarce resources, life was ephemeral and fragile. Hence, in life, they did not seek to bloom slowly like the sakura flowers. Instead, they valued kinetic ability and spirit in their Martial Arts. After the physical training stage, the Chinese would seek to control spirits with willpower and in turn control the body with spirits, this was a gradual process to achieve internal balance. The Japanese, however, directly used their strong and extreme kinetic ability to create corresponding changes, producing unique waves called Hadou, then using that to stimulate their body to allow quick bursts of terrifying strength and mind-blowing speed.

Among them, the “Extreme Hadou Sect” was a classic representative. Lou Cheng relied on his willpower and spirit to control his body, using “visualization” as a bridge to move his muscles, fascia and organs, creating special waves to complete his produce his Force and create certain effects. “Extreme Hadou Sect”, on the other hand, used extreme kinetic ability to channel emotions such as rage and killing intent, allowing natural changes in their bodies and creating a corresponding wave, which they then use to stimulate their body or as an offensive attack.

That meant that they did not have the “Force Concentration” stage, and when they had internalized waves to become an “instinct” and truly mastered the “Pulse”, they would be considered to be equivalent to the Inhuman stage.

Before they reach this stage, they would train intensely without any care for their body, making early deaths a common occurrence for Japanese samurais.

Also, if their spirits are shattered, their power will decrease drastically. Unlike them, for Dan stage Martial Artists in China, even if they lose their motivations and have their willpower shattered, they wouldn’t go back to square one since they were already at a level where every aspect of them is balanced. Their “physical” foundation would not crumble in an instant, at most it stops progressing or slightly weaken due to the lost of control.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Lou Cheng’s mind before ceasing, as Ichiei Sakata bowed to him with a solemn expression.

He returned a greeting with his clenched fist in his palm, not lacking in manners.

At this moment, the referee raised his right hand, announcing in English,

“Begin!”

Since it was an international competition and language barrier existed, there was no need for “talk time”.

Had Lou Cheng not observed this from the other matches and mentally prepared himself, he might have been caught off guard.

“Begin!”

As soon as he said it, white light simmered from Ichiei Sakata’s body as a deep humming filled the air.

His pressed his palms against each other in reverse, lowered them to his waist, then with the swinging of his body, he thrust forward his shoulders and extended his arms, forming a “Cannon stance”!

Buzz!

His palms snapped open like the jaws of a dragon, shooting out a white beam as fast as lightning at Lou Cheng.

“Extreme Hadou Sect”—Dragon Roar Hadouken!

At the same time, Lou Cheng took a step forward, arched his body and sunk his hands, with a hook and a flick, he sent out a slithering clump of pellucid white frost flame and a brutal fireball that went straight at his enemy.

Burning Ice and Flame!

Bam! The scarlet flame clashed with the white beam, neutralizing each other while sweeping up a strong gust. Ichiei Sakata seemed to have expected it, and right after the Dragon Roar Hadouken, with a fanatical expression on his face, he stomped on the ground with both feet and leaped up, instantly closing the distance between him and Lou Cheng, putting himself before Lou Cheng.

He stretched out his right hand, formed a palm knife and with his falling momentum he sliced towards his opponent’s neck, leaving a pale white light trail in its path.

“Extreme Hadou Sect”— Fierce Tiger Shock Cutter!

Unhurriedly, Lou Cheng pushed with both of his legs and swung out a right uppercut to meet the opponent’s slicing blow.

Bang!

The edge of the palm met the fist. Ichiei Sakata’s body trembled, swung his arm slightly backwards, melting and coiling around Lou Cheng’s wrist like a serpent. At the same time, he jerked his waist and whipped out his left foot, crackling as he kicked towards his opponent’s waist with intense ferocity while leaving a trail of white light behind.

“Extreme Hadou Sect”, “Razor” and “Flexible Wrestling”, a kick and lock combination that could easily disorientate the enemy!

Not only did the kungfu from this Sect have hitting techniques, it also included wrestling techniques!

Lou Cheng ignored Ichiei Sakata’s armlock , immediately adjusting his muscles, fascia and organs as he visualized many rays of cold radiance that were crystal clear yet filled with loneliness and darkness.

“Ice Spirit Holy Light Diagram!”

After a period of tough training, he had made decent progress and can then barely manage its visualization, making his first advancements from “Frost Force” to “Ice Spirit Force.”

Bam! The coldness condensed into a radiance that followed Lou Cheng’s fist that punched out from his waist.

Bam!

Ichiei Sakata’s “Razor” met with the fist covered in frigid mist as his right hand found its way to Lou Cheng’s wrist.

However, the skin that came into contact was as slippery as ice. With nowhere to exert his force, his hand slid off with a “shoop” .

Ice Sect, 15th move, Ice Armor!

Ichiei Sakata rapidly adjusted, channeling his fervent Hadou to stimulate his body in order to break the layer of ice armor. Suddenly he felt his an indescribable chill infiltrating from his left foot that came into contact with Lou Cheng’s fist previously. In an instant, the numbness had spread throughout his whole leg as white mist condensed on his pants.

His lips turned pale , ignoring the dangers he borrowed the stimulation his body had received to forcefully twist his waists, kicking again as he switched from defense to offense.

Bam!

Ichiei Sakata’s right leg swept out horizontally, an extension to the “Razor” moves from before.

“Extreme Hadou Sect”— Whirlwind Kick!

Lou Cheng’s body moved on its own. Withdrawing his Qi and blood he twisted his waist, allowing him to squat down and seamlessly dodge the incoming attack.

Boom! The Dan Force in his body surged, his body stretching all of a sudden as his arms bloated, his right palm shooting upwards like a cannon.

Bam! Pale white waves surfaced on Ichiei Sakata’s body briefly, his right leg eerily stopping mid-air before it tensed up and hacked downwards like a battleaxe.

Bam!

Fist and leg collided at high speeds, frozen in mid-air momentarily as muscles and veins became frighteningly visible.

Thump thump thump, Lou Cheng backed away three steps while Ichiei Sakata, suspended in the air with nowhere to direct the impact, flew backwards.

Snap! Lou Cheng pushed his legs to shift his gravity, pouncing forward like a ferocious beast that has locked on to its prey, in his mind he rapidly changed the image he had visualized from “Ice Spirit Holy Light that held endless darkness and no warmth” to “dark skies covered with thunderclouds”.

“Severe Warning”—”Ice Spirit Force” version!

Just as Ichiei Sakata hit the ground, he saw his opponent pouncing in front of him. With a grunt he hurriedly threw out a right punch.

As his fist went forward, his body began emitting dense white light.

The light formed a dragon and a tiger, instantly “igniting” Ichiei Sakata as though it was fire, turning him into a huge lump of “Hadou” as his fists punched towards Lou Cheng in the roars of Tiger and Dragon.

“Extreme Hadou Sect” Ultimate move —”Roaring Dragon Mighty Tiger Punch!”

This was initially an ultimate move exclusive to the warriors that have mastered “Pulse”, but due to Ichiei Sakata’s supernatural ability of a similar nature, he can forcefully use it at his current stage!

Bam!

Lou Cheng’s fist, covered in pellucid ice mist, punched into the huge lump of white light. He felt the terrifying strength and power in his opponent, as if it contained scorch of flames and the force of explosion, and stepped back involuntarily, leaving a footstep and a crack with every step.

He managed to recover after a few steps, but his right arm was still trembling uncontrollably.

But no follow up attacks came from Ichiei Sakata. He stood rooted to the ground as the white light slowly seeped out of him, exposing his bare body.

His blond hair was bestrewn with ice crystals as he stood shivering, eyes ridded of focus and consciousness escaping him.

At that moment, Lou Cheng raised his hand to form a seal and visualized an ancient word.

“Attainment!”

He said in a low voice as he bounded to his opponent at a speed that almost left afterimages.

In that moment, among the Japanese representative team, Takeshi Yamashita’s irises shrunk.