Translator: Transn Editor: Lucas
Overjoyed at the question, Geezer Shi could only nod his head and say,
âItâll be a good experience.â
âOkay!â Classmate Little Ming replied, tears almost streaming down his face.
After waiting for this long, was he finally going to have the chance to open up a tournament by himself?
Furthermore, according to Geezer Shiâs opinion, Jinfeng was arranged in order from weakest to strongest. If he used a verbal attack first to throw them off their guard, it was possible that he could easily defeat the Ninth Pin Liu Chunlai. If he was able to strike down this first opponent, itâd be praiseworthy, and even more so if he could end up facing Fang Yuan!
Beside him, Lou Cheng saw that Yan Zheke looked a bit defeated. He secretly pulled her hand and quietly said,
âThis just means that youâll have to prepare all of your strength for Capital!â
When they face Capital, simply relying on him or his brother-in-law wouldnât suffice. Every team member that went out into the arena would have to stretch themselves to the limit, and only then could they hope for victory!
Amongst all of the substitutes, his own Ke was the strongest!
âI hope so... â Yan Zheke replied meekly, longing for the semifinals and also envying Cai Zongming and Li Mao, who were about to ascend onto the arena.
...
Inside Jinfeng University Martial Arts Clubâs locker room.
Rubbing his blonde hair between his fingers, Wei Rong looked in the eyes of Coach Zheng Fei. Seeing that he didnât have any expression, he nervously patted a section of the benchâs surface, minding his own business along with Gao Shengli, Liu Chunlai, and the others.
âOur hearts arenât really in this competition. Hehe, I know myself, and Iâm the same. Any experienced person could figure out Lou Cheng and Lin Queâs behavior.â
âNow that itâs come to this, we canât sit here and expect a miracle to happen. We need to honestly and frankly plan out our little objective.â
Gao Shengliâs skin was dark; it seemed as if his entire being was made of metal. After hearing Wei Rong speech, he replied with suspicion, âWhat little objective?â
At this moment, with something of a scholarly air, Zheng Fei chuckled and said, âSongcheng University will probably let their other substitutes come out first and fight to do some physical training and accumulate real battle experience. Afterwards, itâll be Lou Cheng to settle it once and for all in one fell swoop. They wonât let Lin Que come out, since he needs to conserve his strength for the match against Capital.â
âThen our objective is not to allow Lou Cheng to defeat all three of us?â Gao Shengli asked again,
âNot allowing Lou Cheng to defeat the three of us, is it really that simple?â Liu Chunlai artfully retorted. âIf we donât lose to Songcheng Universityâs substitutes, Lou Cheng will have to defeat all of us.â
Taking this logic into consideration, there wasnât any kind of fault in it!
Wei Rong breathed in and rolled his eyes as he looked at Liu Chunlai. Then he stood up.
âI hope the three of us can defeat Lou Cheng in a war of attrition. While this is a distant hope, itâs not as if thereâs no chance of it happening. Lou Cheng still has to consider the semi-finals, so heâs not going to go all out. If we do our best, thereâs a chance we can defeat him!â
âShengli, you go out first and defeat Songcheng Universityâs substitute quickly. This way, Lou Cheng wonât have as much time to keep up his peak battle strength, and theyâll have to substitute one injured player for another. Itâll be a blow to his conservative mindset.â
âAlright!â Gao Shengli said resolutely.
Wei Rong pointed to himself. âIâll go out second and wear Lou Cheng out some more. Chun, youâll take up the rear, and hopefully weâll be victorious.â
âNo problem.â Liu Chunlai unexpectedly appeared to have no pressure.
After determining who would go out in which order, Jin Feng lined up and proceeded out of the locker room doors, heading towards their seats. They still had not been seated when they heard an explosive clamor all around them, rolling over them like an imminent tide.
When the Songcheng University group came out of the locker room... Wei Rong and Gao Shengli looked at themselves and the others, becoming aware at the same moment. It was a feeling like theyâd been unfairly mismatched. When they had come out, there was some meek clapping and the occasional toot of vuvuzelas!
After a short pause, they could see who the leading player was in the list of names that Songcheng University had submitted, but they hadnât thought that Lin Que would be this name!
âIsnât this a bit too much, to look down on us like this?â Veins popped out of Wei Rongâs forehead, and he couldnât keep his voice from rising.
Songcheng University had unexpectedly allowed their second leading player to come out?
Did this mean the confident Lou Cheng felt that if one man guarded the pass, ten thousand would be unable to get through?
Yes, he was quite impressive. He had quickly ascended through the ranks, and his luck was side by side with Peng Leyunâs. He surely was hoping that he would smash through their troops, but it also wasnât 100% guaranteed!
This was far too dismissive of them!
Who does he think we are, pushovers?
A feeling of scorn and being looked down upon rose up in the hearts of every Jinfeng University Martial Arts Club member. As they looked at one another, Wei Rong waved at the judge and said to Gao Shengli,
âAre you going to stand for this?â
Jinfeng City was a Guanwai League location, and the martial arts atmosphere was quite heavy over there. All of the people over there had an attitude that one may lose the battle, but not the war!
âNo!â Gao Shengli gnashed his teeth in response.
âThen go fight! Go settle this as quickly as possible!â Wei Rong clenched his fist tightly and waved.
Gao Shengli had formed his Iron Cloth around himself. It was more suitable for bullying the weak and puny, and turned him into something akin to a sharp spear.
...
At the Song Cheng University Martial Arts Club seats, after Li Xiaowen had conveyed to them the order in which Jinfeng would fight, Cai Zongmingâs mouth was gaping open. Feeling puzzled for a moment, he subconsciously turned his head, looked towards Geezer Shi, and said,
âDidnât you say that Jinfeng would come out from weakest to strongest?â
Hadnât they agreed that it would be the Ninth Pin Liu Chunlai?
Hadnât they agreed that it would be an awe-inspiring victory for him?
Recalling the Jinfeng videos that heâd seen as well as the gorilla-like figure of Gao Shengli, Classmate Little Ming couldnât stop trembling. It was as if heâd gone back to that time when heâd faced the ex-club manager, Chen Changhua, who also had a history of behaving like a terrifying ape...
Geezer Shiâs eyelids didnât lift even the slightest as he said,
âIt seems I spoke carelessly.â
Even when Fighting Jinfeng, he still wouldnât use a serious analysis?!
Lou Cheng restrained a smile, patted Talker on the shoulder, and with a look of accepting oneâs fate on his face he said,
âYou should get out there, the judge is indicating for you to come out.â
Cai Zongming directed his eyes towards the arena and blurted out, âHow should I fight this?â
âTake advantage of the talking time,â Lou Cheng honestly advised.
âSo lean on the verbal attack to confuse him, and then seize an opportunity?â Little Ming asked while in the midst of thought.
âNo, what I mean is that you should take advantage of the talking time to clear your head, and if you can say a few things during that time then itâd be convenient too, wouldnât it?â Lou Cheng chuckled.
When talking to someone like Talker, the more you comforted them, the more useless it was. Limiting it to these two sentences was for the best!
Cai Zongming looked as if he was a terminally ill patient taking advice from a doctor telling him to eat better. His heart was frozen, but he carried no burden, and he glared at Lou Cheng as he said,
âI, Cai Ritian, will be victorious!â
âNot bad, this kind of attitude is very good,â Lou Cheng complimented.
Cai Zongming extended his right hand, gave everyone a high five one by one, and finally slapped Lou Chengâs shoulder. Like an ancient general heading into battle, he walked towards the stone steps.
After ascending the arena and arriving in the middle, he saw Gao Shengli with a furious anger in his eyes. Thoughts whirled in his head, and he pondered his plan.
The judge waited for the electric clock to arrive at the proper time and then raised his hand, waved it, and said,
âBegin the talking time.â
While âweaklyâ directing his eyes towards his hands, Cai Zongming sincerely said,
âWeâre not looking down at Jinfeng, itâs just that weâre taking risks to progress to the finals.â
Eh?... Gao Shengli had never come across someone who had used the talking time to explain the situation like this. He was temporarily dumbfounded and didnât know how to respond.
Cai Zongming continued,
âCapital is very intense, so we need to continue to put together all of our strength and extract all of our hidden potential. Only then can we hope to succeed. Lin Que doesnât seem to have the abnormal strength of Lou Cheng. By resting for a day, he can once again be fit as a tiger, so we have to let him rest this round. That way, we can go to Capital in our most peak condition.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
There was truth to his words... Gao Shengli thought carefully, and unexpectedly couldnât help but nod his head slightly.
Cai Zongming continued honestly, âWe know allowing Lin Que to rest will make the outcome of this match uncertain, but for the sake of beating Capital, this is our only option. All we can do is taking the risk; itâs really not that weâre looking down on you all... â
When he got to this point, he laughed bitterly. âItâs actually that weâre walking a bit of a tightrope.â
Seeing how honestly and extremely courteously he was speaking, and how he was ridiculing their own choices, Gao Shengliâs fury was extinguished slightly. Still being careful not to be completely enraptured by his opponentâs words, he nodded his head and said,
âIf it were us, I reckon weâd do the same. In any case, Lou Cheng has enough strength to go through all of us.â
Upon hearing this, Cai Zongming laughed, and with a certain kind of bitter sweetness at not having met this man earlier said, âAnd furthermore, this can serve as an opportunity for us substitutes, to allow us to gain true experience and find out what itâs like to graduate from a weak battle to a stronger one. To experience the Dan Stageâs Iron Cloth is remarkable. If we were to take Lin Que and put him in my place, would it not be a bit of a waste of this opportunity?â
This guy was really something to listen to... Gao Shengliâs heart softened, and while looking in Cai Zongmingâs eyes, he slowly became more good-natured. He modestly said, âItâs no greater than other moves at this stage, like Golden Bell Cover, Vajra Body Defending Divine Skill, Immortal Flesh, Forging Jade Spell, and others like that.â
âAs far as Iâm concerned, theyâre all the same. After all, theyâre all in the name of defense.â Cai Zongming had taken the opportunity to take the talking time period and make it just an idle chat, making Gao Shengliâs mood more and more lighthearted.
At the last minute, he purposely glanced left and right, and said in a low voice,
âActually, our coach has put me out here just to polish and refine me. Why heâd choose me instead of other substitutes... hmm... have you seen my profile and previous fighting videos before?â
âIâve gone through your profile. Iâve only seen two videos,â Gao Shengli replied bluntly.
âLast February, I formally joined the special training team. Before then, itâd all work in fits and starts. Iâd trained in Kung Fu for a few years, but had only achieved Amateur Fifth Pin.â Cai Zongming feigned a sound of sobbing. âAfter doing special training for a few months, I went from a Fifth Pin to a Ninth Pin. Now, have a look at my Qi and Blood, itâs about as strong as a Ninth Pin, am I right?â
âYes. Youâve done this training for a year and two months?â Gao Shengli was a bit astonished. When he looked at his profile, he only paid attention to what level he was currently at and hadnât closely followed his previous backstory too closely.
This kid had some skill... was it really just that the coach had assigned him to come out here for some polishing?
âYep, so Iâve got a bit of skill.â Cai Zongming laughed. âThis is why our coach thinks highly of me... â
He directed his eyes towards the electronic clock, coughed twice, and said, âThe other reason is... â
While Gao Shengli had focused his attention towards hearing the answer, the judge unexpectedly raised his right hand, and suddenly threw it down.
âBegin!â
The talking time was over!
What was the other reason? That he had a supernatural ability? That he had an innate skill for battle? When the fight began, Gao Shengli was unable to keep his imagination from roaming.
By this point, Cai Zongming had already closed his mouth and straightened his back. His feet were like arrow strings and they shot out, half pouncing and half taking a step forward, arriving in front of his opponent.
Bang!
Cai Zongmingâs shoulder twisted and his right fist shot out. His five fingers spread out, heading straight for Gao Shengliâs eyes.
The Iron Cloth may be impressive, but it still had a few weak spots!
At the same time, he pressed together his backbone and stuck out his right foot, stomping between his opponentâs two feet.
He was laying a foundation for a strike!
Just then, Gao Shengli finally came to his senses and understood what Cai Zongming had purposely been doing before. Heâd made him absent-minded, thus creating a golden opportunity for a sneak attack.
All of his previous courtesy, honesty, and respect, itâd all been an act. It was all to make him drop his guard!
In an explosion, Gao Shengliâs heart soared into a raging blaze of fury that came from the feeling that heâd just been cheated, that heâd trusted him with his goodwill, and that his intelligence had been insulted!
He made me become his friend! I thought he was a good, honest person!
Gao Shengli twisted his waist and thigh so that it blocked his opponents kick, and aimed his forehead towards his adversaryâs oncoming fingers.
Bam!
Cai Zongmingâs kick landed on his opponentâs bulging thigh. It was if heâd kicked an iron panel. His five fingers that had previously been like bow strings suddenly became soft and changed from grab to press. After being pushed away by Gao Shengliâs forehead, he bounced back and quickly withdrew his entire body.
Fury consumed Gao Shengli, and all he could think of was his Qi and Blood and his exploding Dan strength. He braced both of his legs, and with the sound of snapping beneath his feet, ferociously leapt towards his opponent.
Cai Zongming had seen this and already straightened his back, forcing him to change direction, narrowly avoiding his opponentâs pounce. Of course, this was all due to how heâd taken advantage of his enemy beforehand.
While he was atop the arena, his thoughts were quite clear. To prevail against an Iron Cloth Eight Pin Dan Stage fighter was nearly impossible, so his goal was to consume him, to consume the larger part of his energy!
In order to achieve this goal, he needed to provoke him and not give him any time to calm down!
He had succeeded by depending on the talking time period.
It just so happens that Iâm quite good at this!
Come on, hit me! Classmate Little Mingâs cunning thoughts flashed through his mind.