Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Although Wei Renjie did not know much about the Taoist school, he had made it this far and was no fool. His experiences over the past year had taught him a lot. As soon as he saw Lou Cheng towering over the arena yet again on the second day of the knockout phase, he could not help but be astonished.
What a remarkable young fellow!
At the very least he was a Professional Ninth Pin, rather than an ordinary Ninth Pin!
After taking into account the previous five rounds, you could see the direction of the tournament from the first day. Yesterday morning there had been thirty nine matches, resulting in thirty nine losers so far. The afternoon had another thirty nine fights. From these thirty nine losers, as many as thirty-two were eliminated with two losses. What did this mean? It meant that those who were not strong would be culled!
Wei Renjie’s mind was racing as his mouth sat half open. Finally, still feeling shocked, he commanded with a deep voice. “Huang, help me find Lou Cheng’s profile. Hurry!”
Without waiting for secretary Huang to make a move, Wu Qinggui by her side had already taken out her phone, flipped through the bookmarks, and handed it over.
After hearing from his daughter that their new coach was incredible, as a good father, he had already done as much research as he could on Lou Cheng. He couldn’t figure out what was on Wei Renjie’s mind. Wu Qinggui did not dare to bring it up in the first place, but now the information he had collected showed it’s value.
After Wei Renjie took the phone, he became even more surprised as he skimmed through the information. When he read that he had “practiced martial arts for less than one year”, he could not help but nervously pull at his necktie. He was so shocked, he had to take a deep breath.
Wu Ting, who was at his side, didn’t even notice his reaction. She was meeting there with Zhang Qiufan and a few other partners. They sat in the side by side seats closest to the arena, while beside them sat Xing Jingjing and Gu Shuang.
...
In the broadcasting room for Xing Province Satelite Television, the host asked his guest,
“Master Yu, I’ve seen Lou Cheng’s profile, and I think he has a fascinating background. He started training in martial arts only after entering university. This means that he hasn’t even been training for even a year, and yet he’s already reached the top level of Professional Ninth Pin. His future prospects look limitless. As a rising star in our province, Do you think he could defeat Liu Xunzhen?”
Yu Hong was the senior vice-principle of the Xing Province Police Academy, and was at the Dan stage Inhuman level. Hearing this, he laughed and said, “It’s hard to say, I’ve yet to see the progress this kid had made in the past couple of months. Liu Xunzhen has a supernatural ability. Anyone who has not practiced Absolute Reaction would be defeated. Even a fighter of Eighth Pin Dan Stage would be in danger if he were careless in face of Liu Xunzhen... ”
After watching highlights of Lou Cheng’s previous bouts, he had discovered more of Lou Cheng’s potential than Yingxiong. Liu Xunzhen, Han Ying and Xiong Yu. He felt it was hard to make further judgments, so he turned to analyze the supernatural ability of Liu Xunzhen.
...
Yan Zheke’s clear voice echoing in his ear, Lou Cheng stepped up to the arena, and stood in front of Liu Xunzhen. He gathered his fighting spirit, as vigor filled his body.
The referee did not waste any time and announced,
“Three minute talk time.”
Staring at his opponent’s white hair, Lou Cheng smiled and said, “Frankly, this is my first fight with a fighter who relies on supernatural abilities, I’m a bit nervous.”
This was not simply casually spoken. It was what he felt, although obviously not the full extent of his feelings. He was trying to cause Liu Xunzhen to drop his guard and create an opportunity during the fight.
His plan was to strike quickly and attack the opponent’s weak points while using his strengths!
Liu Xunzhen had clearly focused on strengthening his psychokinesis, rather than his physical strength. He was only as quick and nimble as one might expect from a Professional Ninth Pin.
If he fails to keep up physically, how could his Psychokinesis work?
A weapon that cannot hit its target gets no benefit from an extra bit of strength.
The only real problem was, under normal circumstances, it is impossible that a Professional Ninth Pin would be unable to catch up with an Eighth Pin Dan’s movement. Otherwise, the outcome of the match would be a foregone conclusion. He’d have no hope of facing Wei Shengtian and Zhou Zhengquan.
Liu Xunzhen’s pupils and gaze were deep and unfathomable, as if he could stare deep into the heart. He smiled and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen a Professional Ninth Pin who has grasped the core force of the Tremor Punch and the Ice Sect. Since you are close to Dan stage, I won’t show mercy.”
Showing no mercy meant that he would not hold back or avoid sensitive body parts!
Hearing this, Lou Cheng was panic-stricken. He had no idea whether Liu Xunzhen was bluffing to scare him or if he intended to take it as a life and death fight...
He took a deep breath, and as he became more agitated, his true power began to awaken.
Go all out!
They fell into silence for a while, each drifting in their own thoughts.
The referee raised his right hand, and then waved it down suddenly as Qi Fang and Cao Lele looked on nervously.
“Begin!”
As the sound of his voice reverberated, every fiber of Lou Cheng’s qi, blood, and spirit began to congeal, freezing into a pellet that seemed only larger than a single point, no larger than his thumb.
With Force Concentration, this “Dan stage” fighter burst explosively into the match.
As the match started, he didn’t hold back in the least!
Boom!
All of Lou Cheng’s energy exploded violently, he saw stars spiraling around him, as an extreme blast of energy rose up from his feet.
Bang! Like a fierce eagle, Lou Cheng rushed at his opponent, throwing himself at Liu Xunzhen faster than anyone could blink.
Facing the attack, Liu Xunzhen remained calm; he stretched out his hands and then pulled them backward.
Lou Cheng found that his wrists were unable to move, as though tied by an invisible rope. Normally such a thing would not faze him, but now under the rising tension, he quickly became lost control!
Though he could pull weights of as much as five-hundred kilograms, he felt like he was a huge stone which had lost its balance, and he couldn’t help stumbling forward.
Liu Xunzhen leaned to the side and with his eyes twinkling, he chopped down with his right hand.
As Lou Cheng regained his footing with his mercurial balance, his extended left foot was tripped by an invisible barrier and he lost his balance again.
He had no way to generate an absolute reaction, as this time there was no direct attack at which to retaliate.
Liu Xunzhen’s expression was unwavering. He clenched both his fists, pounding inward and seized the opportunity to pound Lou Cheng’s temples.
Any force applied to the temples would lead to significant injury as the opponent would be left dizzy and powerless for a while.
Facing this, Lou Cheng took a deep breath and let his qi and blood rush into his Dantian, which helped him to generate movement of his hip. He managed to regain his footing and stopped stumbling.
As soon as he regained his balance, his response to the pain in his temple was to move back, like a tortoise retreating into his shell.
Pop!
As before, Lou Cheng was unable to avoid the next blow to the side of his head as he stood dazed and annoyed.
He had underestimated Liu Xunzhen...
Watching the stage, Zhang Zhutong whispered to himself in astonishment,
“He could generate double explosion when he has not yet entered the Dan stage? I suppose this is his abnormal strength?”
“Oh... ” Showing a look of confusion on her face, his female companion didn’t understand what he was talking about.
Zhang Zhutong was flabbergasted, but he appeared falsely calm, and laughingly said, “Nothing, I just never thought Liu Xunzhen’s supernatural ability would progress this much.”
With no actual contact, both sides could stop each other’s movement as though by an invisible barrier!
This, he figured, was much more dangerous than the ability to land double explosion!
Han Zhifei ignored him and touched the scar on his face. He asked Han Ying and Xiong Yu beside him.
“It isn’t that simple... ”
“It seems that this is the limit of Lou Cheng’s power, his match today will be difficult.” sighed Xiong Yu.
In the arena, Lou Cheng felt a great deal of energy rush forth from the qi and blood of his Dantian.
Crash! Like a bullet firing he blasted toward Liu Xunzhen.
Not toward where he was standing, but a few meters off to his side!
The burst attack of a Dan stage warrior was hard for Liu Xunzhen to keep up with. Once Lou Cheng fell to the ground, he lifted his hands and attempted to poke his enemy’s eyes.
In that instance, the power which erupted from Lou Cheng bubbled up through his qi and blood and flinched. Once again he was able to use his Force Concentration.
Xiong Yu gasped. “He’s landed triple explosion... ”
Boom! With the help of a turn along the way and a more powerful breakthrough, Lou Cheng rushed to change direction, making Liu Xunzhen’s predictions worthless.
It wasn’t that he predicted his opponent’s attack; he’d planned this from the start!
Relying on the technique of a “false Dan stage”, he went ahead with an unprecedented strike!
As long as he kept this up, he could keep the Professional Ninth Pin Liu Xunzhen from catching up with him, or locking on to him!
To a Dan stage attacking with such power, a few meters of distance made no difference. In a flash Lou Cheng threw himself at Liu Xunzhen, lifting his right hand and bracing for impact.
Liu Xunzhen had a wealth of experience fighting with opponents of the Dan stage. With a tranquil expression, he snatched upward with his left hand, as though grabbing a peach, while his right hand was pushed forward to strike.
He matched his opponent blow for blow, and in a flash rushed forth!
But as he dashed forward, he lost sight of Lou Cheng!
This...
“Quadruple explosion!” Xiong Yu shouted, amazed as he stared at the stage.
Even before Liu Xunzhen could move his arms, Lou Cheng once again gathered his strength with Force Concentration and rushed forward. It was as though his back were elastic, as he circled around his opponent with unimaginable speed.
This was to thoroughly prevent Liu Xunzhen from catching up with him!
This was an essence skirmish fight!
At that moment, his right arm was still raised, and he extended it further.
Lou Cheng spun his arm and unleashed his Thunder Roar Zen!
Liu Xunzhen had no opportunity to turn around, let alone attack his opponent’s weak point He could only lean to one side, and bind his arms tightly with his psychokinesis.
Bang!
With the force of a bomb exp[loding, Liu Xunzhen’s psychokinesis was shattered. His body was affected, and his joints began to shudder.
At this point, Lou Cheng had yet to strike. He took a breath, to regather his strength, his spirit, his blood and qi, and regain his footing.
“Quintuple explosion... ” Xiong Yu wasn’t the one to blurt it out, it was Han Zhifei and Zhang Zhutong!
Boom!
Lou Cheng’s energy bubbled up. His center shook. Quickly he disappeared from behind Liu Xunzhen.
The shaking Liu Xunzhen, without the slightest hesitation, clenched his fist, detonated his power of psychokinesis, and unleashed his final counterattack!
Whoosh!
Shards of rock came rushing up from the ground, striking Lou Cheng at every critical region of his face and body; his temples, his nose, his Dantian; at the same time an invisible force circled around him, restricting him like a rope.
All this, however, was for nothing. Lou Cheng had already pounced forward with a force befitting a Dan stage fighter.
He overcame Liu Xunzhen’s psychokinesis with his explosive power.
The thigh of his pant leg tore due to the force of the wind into fragments of fabric.
As his feet hit the floor, Lou Cheng took another breath as a rush of energy returned to his qi and blood. Once again he threw himself toward his opponent.
Boom!
He ruthlessly flew towards his rival, flinging his arms wildly.
Liu Xunzhen, with no chance to respond, fell to the ground.
Xiong Yu stood dumbfounded, murmuring to himself,
“Sextuple explosion... ”
You’re still not at the Dan stage, my dear classmate...
Are you even human?!