Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
They had never had any experience with the special competition format, so for Lou Cheng and the rest, although they knew what it was about, they were taken by surprise. The information only sank in after a good ten seconds. Then, one after another, they said,
“Special competition format?”
“What formation does the Azure Dragon Squad have?”
“Aren’t they made up of different martial arts club?”
“Why didn’t they send in the application when they were fighting the Fearless Squad?”
While facing the non-stop questions from his students, Geezer Shi just replied softly and lightly,
“Based on what I heard from the committee, the Azure Dragon Squad doesn’t have any formation.”
“What? No formation, then why did they apply for the special competition format?” Guo Qing asked.
Geezer Shi laughed softly and said,
“Probably trying to bully us? Especially since our substitutes are weak.”
He would never say that what the rival was most concerned was that the two leading players were too strong. They were afraid of Lou Cheng’s monster-like physical stamina.
Uh... Li Mao and the rest fell silent. They somewhat understood what the Azure Dragon Squad was planning to do.
They were shocked by Lou Cheng’s Tremor Punch and physical stamina. They probably considered that they would have no chance of winning if they fight in the normal competition format. Hence, they thought about using the special competition format. Their strategy was to use the two Professional Ninth Pin fighters to keep Lou Cheng and Lin Que busy. The rest would then take the rest of the team one-to-one.
Such scheme!
Sun Jian frowned and said, “Isn’t this an insult? Even if they’re of Professional Ninth Pin, they only have a pair of hands and legs. Why would they have the confidence to beat us four amateur fighters!”
If each of them throws a punch together, any Professional Ninth Pin fighter would get busy!
Heard of the saying that an army of ants could kill an elephant with their bites?
Although Sun Jian was the leading player on paper, he had put himself to the line of the substitutes. No one felt that it was any wrong. From what they see, the true leading players of the club were Lou Cheng and Lin Que.
“You think they’re just woody targets? They would stay there and let you hit them?” Geezer Shi laughed.
Out of habit, Yan Zheke raised her hands and said,
“But the Challenge Tournament is not the same as actual battles. There’re boundaries. If they want to use the physical abilities to make it a one-to-one or one-to-two fight, that would be difficult right...”
Once she saw a professional fighter being chased by seven or eight amateur fighters. Although it seemed like the professional fighter was running crazily, he was always looking out for any threats. The mob behind considered that they had more people, and they refused to give up. As time passed and dragged by, because of insufficient physical stamina and speed, they had to split into a few groups until the distance between them were too far for anyone to overcome.
Once that happened, the Professional Ninth Pin fighter started his retaliation. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and pounced backwards. Before the second team rushed forward to support the first team, he used his utmost force to fight against the first batch. He killed one and beat another one till the one was paralyzed. The process repeated itself. After that, none of the hatchet men dared to go too close to him. They kept a good distance. However, with this situation, they could not help but wait for the slowest team. With this, the gap between them and the Professional Ninth Pin fighter just grew.
This was how Professional Ninth Pin fighters would fight when they were outnumbered. To replicate this strategy in a ring competition was impossible to imagine!
What Yan Zheke asked was exactly what Lou Cheng was thinking about. Although he could be considered to have the ability of a Professional Ninth Pin, if he really met with three or more stronger amateur fighters, without the secret skill to control the situation, he could only choose to fight and run at the same time. He had to use his superior physical strength to continuously create opportunities to fight back. In the ring, just ten steps or more, he would already be at its edges.
Geezer Shi chuckled and said, “We can analyze the situation in a general manner. Firstly, some martial arts skills are more effective than others for situations where you’re outnumbered. For example, the Golden Bell Cover and the Lion Roar. Secondly, when you get out there, it’s not only one specific battle area, you could totally utilize the space where the other two battles are happening. This would help you create distance.”
“When Lin Que and Lou Cheng are fighting with the Professional Ninth Pin fighters, wouldn’t you be more cautious when you approach them? Wouldn’t you be worried that you would be hurt by any second waves? The opposition is a Professional Ninth Pin fighter, such worries won’t bother them that much. Once there is some gap, they’ll snatch the opportunity amidst the mess to fight. If you all are a tad bit slower in the chase, he’ll ample time and ability to surround and attack Lou Cheng or Lin Que...”
“So, even though they may not be in an advantageous position, at least they have a shot at victory.”
After listening to his coach’s explanation, Lou Cheng and the team was enlightened about the strategy of the Azure Dragon Squad. It was clear that they were not putting in this request out of the blue. In fact, they were thinking about the possibility of averaging out abilities so that they could have a chance to win!
Being clear was one thing, Li Mao and Lin Hua were still a little unhappy. They felt slighted. Even the usually good-tempered Yan Zheke started to pout.
“I wonder if I would be able to somewhat accomplish the Frost Force by Sunday...” Lou Cheng looked over at his girlfriend and thought to himself.
It was not a mission impossible. As long as he memorized the visualization of the Frozen Ground Diagram and how his body changes, the remaining two days, he could spend them all training for the Frozen River Diagram.
While the thoughts in his mind churned, he could not help but look at Lin Que. He wanted to know how brother-in-law was doing after recovery.
In comparison to the past, the qi and blood of Lin Que had significantly weakened. In the midst of his calmness, he exuded the aura of “silence.” Obviously, he had already reached the threshold of the Dan stage, but it was difficult to estimate just how far he had gone.
At this moment, Geezer Shi clapped and said,
“The ones participating in the Ranking Event do a rehabilitation training, and the rest of you, the common training. We can discuss the matters of the Azure Dragon Squad later. I’ve emailed all of you the information.”
“Don’t go and watch any videos related to special competition format. It’s no use! Search for how amateurs surround and fight Professional Ninth Pin fighters. Best to look for those who used obstacles to help them with the fight. Gather some past experiences!”
...
This morning, after Lou Cheng completed the usual daily training routine, he put aside more time to train his mind so that he could master the visualization and the changes in his body. He felt that he had made good progress.
After a busy day filled with sweetness, he returned to his room and washed up. He turned on his computer and logged into QQ. Lou Cheng sent a message to Yan Zheke: “Ke, Little Ke, are you done with the materials?”
As the days passed, their feelings for each other deepened. They grew closer and the terms of endearment for Yan Zheke just naturally increased. He just called her as he pleased, but more often or not, he would fall back to the first term of endearment that he gave her, “Coach Yan”. It meant something special to him.
As for the materials of the Azure Dragon Squad, he finished watching them during the unimportant class in the afternoon. Yan Zheke had a professional class during the same period. She had to pay attention, so she could only watch the material as and when she had some time.
She responded with a cat emoji. The cat was throwing out a piece of salted fish.
“Call me Coach Yan!”
“Yes, yes, yes. Has Coach Yan completed the materials?” Lou Cheng sent an emoji with a sneaky smile.
Yan Zheke only had two short lessons in the night. She returned to the room with Zong Yanru at 8 p.m., and had been looking through the materials since. Unlike normal days, she did not revise her work. Instead, she took a short walk and waited for Lou Cheng to end his class.
This was enough to show how important the weekend match was for her. No matter how they arranged the order, she would be able to participate.
“Yes, I’m done...” Yan Zheke sent a blur looking emoji. “It was like what Coach Shi had said. Mo Zicong is a disciple from the prestigious Daxing Temple. He had inherited a skill similar to the Lion Roar. Zhu Tao had practiced the Iron Canvas Shirt since young, so his martial arts skills were rather famous in Songcheng.”
They were all of Professional Ninth Pin who were experts in fighting mobs!
“No need to worry. Your brother and I will separately hold on and pull Mo Zicong and Zhu Tao. The competition will not go as well as they wish!” Lou Cheng sent an emoji scratching its head.
Among the four fighters of the Azure Dragon Squad, Mo Zicong was the strongest. He was not only blessed with great strength, he also trained for the Throwing Elephant Skill. Without the Thunder Roar Zen, he probably could only take four to six blows.
The other three, Zhu Tao with the Iron Canvas Shirt skill, his hits were direct and difficult to deal with. Deng Hua’s “Thunderous Tsunami Iron Fist” was famous. As for Xu Zheng, he was weaker in comparison, but he had a rather solid foundation of the Bagua Fist.
Yan Zheke sent a bright-eyed emoji.
“Hng, when did I worry? I’ve already gathered some tips!”
Lou Cheng sent back an evil smile. “Then, please give me some advice, Coach Yan!”
“Beg me, just beg me and I’ll tell you!” Yan Zheke sent a sniggering emoji.
No one would care that much when they’re a couple. Lou Cheng immediately returned with an emoji throwing itself down at its feet in admiration.
Yan Zheke sent an emoji with arms crossed and hand on the chin.
“First, always keep a distance with each other. Second, never attack at the same time. Best if you have a second in between. This will prevent the rival from using Swing Force and any other skills. Third, be patient. As long as you and my cousin have enough time, you’d be able to beat your rivals. They’re the ones who should be worried...”
While he read the message, he praised Coach Yan. He completed the details for her while they discussed and analyzed the information.
At this time, in his fan forum, the number of posts increased. One was from “Lush Gives Birth to Light”.
“Sunday afternoon, 3:30 p.m., Songcheng TV station will do a live broadcast of the advancement round of the third team. Songcheng University Martial Arts Club vs Azure Dragon Squad! Special competition format!”
Within Songcheng University’s forum, the administrator posted an announcement on each microsite.
“Sunday afternoon, 3:30 p.m. Host, Martial Arts Club will fight the Azure Dragon Squad. Crucial fight for advancement!”
This time, both the tv station and school’s Propaganda Department had started their publicity!
...
In a blink of an eye, in the midst of the expectations of Yan Xiaoling and other, it was Sunday afternoon.
In the office of the Shanbei University Martial Arts Club that was a couple hundreds of miles away, Xu Wannian entered the office and saw his Junior Brother Peng, leisurely surfing the internet.
“Junior Brother Peng, you didn’t go out to have fun?” He asked in surprise.
Peng Leyun smiled and said, “Watching one round of the preliminaries.”
“What’s there to watch? We’re going to the nationals next week, at Huahai.” Xu Wannian could not comprehend the actions of his Junior Brother.
At this critical moment, as the pillar of the martial arts club, why is Junior Brother Peng watching the preliminaries so leisurely?
Peng Leyun chuckled and said,
“This could be one of our hard battles next year...”
That scent of the “starry skies,” he could not forget. Since then, he always paid attention to any related matches.
As his thoughts swirled around, he sank into the deep abyss of his thoughts, like his usual self.