Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Was it about to start at last?
In preparation for this moment, he had waited for over four months and even given up his chance in the Ranking Event!
Stretching out his hand to grasp Yan Zheke’s, Lou Cheng suddenly stood up, turning his gaze past the glorious road and into the ring above.
When the audience around them noticed his actions, they let out a satisfied sigh. While admiring the “king” in Flying Bird Stadium, as he easily beat his opponents, they shouted in unison and sincerely cried out:
“Number one!”
The top-ranked fighter of the University martial arts circle!
Hearing their praises, Mu Jinnian could not help biting her lip and stamping her foot as she looked in distress at Lin Que.
She was just so pissed off!
What a bully! Our Lin Que had just finished a tough match!
On the live website interface, there was a fierce discussion taking place.
“Only three strikes?”
“Peng Leyun actually defeated Lin Que right after warming up!”
“It seems that Lin Que is just so-so and not really qualified to be called another candidate for the favored fighter of this age.”
“Peng Leyun is really a gifted touchstone!”
“Beaten in three strikes? So what! Lin Que just defeated Fang Zhirong, and it consumed a lot of his strength. Don’t forget he was still suffering from the ‘Dark Poison Force’ impact, and is nearly two ranks lower than Peng Leyun! After all that, losing after three strikes doesn’t mean anything!”
“Fool! As you said, he is still two ranks lower than Peng Leyun! Is he still a candidate for the favored fighter of the age?”
“Yes, he is! Lin Que is a year younger and a grade lower than Peng Leyun. Naturally, he is much more talented. He will catch up sooner or later!”
“Catch up? Can he rise two pins in a year? Can he become a strong Sixth Pin by this time next year? I think it’d be difficult. No, it’s almost impossible!”
...
There were a lot of spectators who supported Peng Leyun, and there were quite a few who supported Lin Que. The young warriors who were competitive, handsome, cold, and elegant were always popular. Both sides quarreled so fiercely that the heated discussion almost covered up their upper images.
“Senior Zhang, what do you think, is the distance between Lin Que and Peng Leyun really that large?” the host asked the commentary guests the moment Lou Cheng came on stage.
Zhang He laughed. “The gap is certainly there. Peng Leyun is a year ahead, but if Lin Que catches up to him, then he will not be called the favored fighter of the age. As to how wide the gap is... That will have to wait until Lin Que fights with Peng Leyun in good condition. As for this round, if Lin Que hadn’t been so injured, he would not have lost within three strikes.”
“Are you trying to say that selecting Lin Que was a mistake? That it was too daring and risky?” the host asked sharply.
Zhang He shook his head and replied steadily, “It’s hard to say. I tend to believe that the Dark Poison Force’s impact on Lin Que was significant—his consumption was great, his physical strength had declined severely, and his ability to resist was weakening. If he had used other methods, he may not have even lasted that long. This would not have been as good as venturing to fight and seeing if he had a chance to give Peng Leyun a set of strikes. Even if he couldn’t win, he could exhaust his opponent. Who knows, maybe Peng Leyun’s ‘Absolute Reaction’ is more powerful when having a sense of malice inducted into the body, and so, with only three strikes he defeated Lin Que.”
“From what you’re saying, I think Peng Leyun is truly too strong to have any rivals... I’m afraid that Lou Cheng may also lose. With his Sixth Pin strength nearly at the Inhuman Level, Peng Leyun has just warmed himself up in the last fight,” the host said, sighing with emotion.
At this time, Lou Cheng slapped palms with Yan Zheke, then turned his body, waving his fist toward Li Mao and the others.
“Come on!” Cai Zongming and the rest of them shouted in response.
Without further delay, Lou Cheng left his seat to head for the ring.
Just then, Yan Zheke bit her lip slightly and suddenly shouted gently,
“Cheng...”
“Huh?” Lou Cheng looked to his girlfriend confusedly.
Yan Zheke’s eyes looked bright and firm. Making a slight lunge, she took the initiative to hold Lou Cheng’s fingers while pouting. She then mustered the courage to speak.
“D-darling, go for it!”
In public, while surrounded by hordes of spectators and with both the eyes and ears of Martial Arts Club teammates on all sides, the beautiful Yan Zheke flushed but still finished her sentence.
As for whether she would be ridiculed or not, whether she would be photographed on television or not, whether there would be any other influence or not—She did not want to think about it and did not care at that moment.
At this time, the most important thing was to support and encourage her Cheng!
At first, Lou Cheng was surprised, but then he smiled and grabbed her soft hand. Holding it, he gave a deep nod, filled with warmth.
“I’ll go all out!”
Not saying anything more, he turned his body and walked toward the ring—his thumb rubbing the area under his palm, savoring that last heartfelt touch.
Halfway up, he saw Lin Que heading toward him, gasping as if he was having difficulty breathing.
Lin Que stopped, his eyes revealing a kind of painful unwillingness from Lou Cheng’s perspective.
Even if it was only the inhumanly powerful Peng Leyun that he had lost to, and even if he had defeated Fang Zhirong despite his grievous injuries, he could not help being full of regret, feeling that he had still not done well enough and could have been better.
A painful, burning feeling arose in his eyes. Just as Lou Cheng thought his brother-in-law would say the two words “I’m sorry” like when they fought at Wensheng School, Lin Que reached out and gave him a fist bump, and said in a hoarse voice,
“Come on, Lou Cheng!”
Come on! Use my pain and everyone’s hope to refuel. Come on!
Don’t be affected by my emotions...
“Come on...” Lou Cheng spat out a foul air as he passed by Lin Que and approached the stone steps. With each step, his body was adjusting, his strength was condensing, and his fighting intention was pumping up.
For more than four months, he had not gone all out in a fight and was now somewhat unused to the feeling of bursting out with all he had.
“Pop!” Crisp sounds emanated from his body, sounding like machines that were starting up again after a long time and were shaking off the rust, applying lubricant, and debugging precisely.
When he entered the ring and stood opposite Peng Leyun, his entire body became vigorous, sharp as a soldier’s posture, and not even the slightest relaxation or awkwardness could be seen.
Staring at Peng Leyun’s smiling eyes and watching his leisurely fighting stance, Lou Cheng also displayed his own fighting stance—left-hand low, right-hand high—and declared in his heart,
Let’s fight! Let’s burn with passion!
The referee raised his right hand and was about to put it down.
...
“Brahman” was in front of the computer screen and unconsciously tightened her two braids, forgetting about the snacks beside her and refusing to post in the forum, focusing her eyes as her tension solidified.
“It’s time to get started! We’ve been anticipating this fight for more than four months!” “Unparalleled Dragon King” made a toast emoji in the live posting section of Lou Cheng’s Fans Forum.
...
“Elder sister, it’s about to start!”
“Soon, boss.”
“Sister, you finally arrived!”
In the office of the martial arts club at Capital College, a group of people glanced at the screens while looking out at the gate, and cried out in a half-cheering, half-joking way.
Shen You took a breath and smiled at the girl beside her before saying, “Don’t take notice of them. Go in quickly. Peng Leyun and Lou Cheng are about to fight.”
With an average height, the young girl had straight, shoulder-length hair, a very long nose, and big eyes like a real doll. Appearing nonaggressive to all observers, who could have imagined she was Ren Li of Kongtong School and enjoyed a popularity equal to Peng Leyun’s.
Ridiculing the fighters, she entered the door while shyly saying,
“Oops. I got lost again and kept everyone waiting.”
“Haha, Xiao Li ‘I think I’m a road nerd’. No, you’re not a road nerd. In fact, my getting lost is due to your infection!” Another main force of Capital College, Chen Diguo, loudly exclaimed as he spread his hands and laughed.
The cute girl, Jiang Kongchan, laughed. “School sister, school sister, I think you have the potential to act as a heroine! If someday you go into the wrong room of a hotel and encounter the overbearing President, a romantic story will begin!”
Ren Li sat down on a chair and calmly replied, “Overbearing president? Punch him with just one fist, and if that doesn’t work, then two fists.”
As she spoke, she looked at the live screen and saw the referee’s right hand waving downward.
...
Above the stands, Yan Xiaoling held her breath. She had forgotten everything—to take out the banner she brought, to blow her small horn, and even to shout and cheer.
In the home team’s seats, Fang Zhirong covered his head with a white towel and did not watch the match, while Xu Wannian changed his cross-legged posture and subconsciously started praying.
Brother Peng, do not leave that monster to me!
In the visiting team’s seats, Yan Zheke, Lin Hua, and the others all stood up, nervously watching the ring. No one was sitting and no one was speaking, except for comrade Shi Jianguo. After all, he was well experienced and knowledgeable.
...
“Begin!”
With a swift roar, the referee abruptly lowered his hand finally.
With the shouts still ringing in his ears, Lou Cheng felt the vibration of the earth as he simultaneously saw Peng Leyun appear in front of him with his clothes clinging to his body.
“Flash hit” style, a well-deserved reputation!
Only when encountering a situation face-to-face could one understand the meaning of uncertainty!
But Lou Cheng remained calm and adjusted his muscles, visualizing a mighty demon with a beast head and a human body riding on a red dragon in order to suppress the tyranny of his body’s flame!
He leaned forward with his left-hand hanging and flicked his wrist forward as he threw a crimson flame that swam against the ground and contained a dangerous breath.
The Ice Sect’s revision of the 26th type of “Ice Burning”—”Fire Burning”!
The flame was pressing close to the ground and quickly rushing toward the lunging Peng Leyun. Once it made contact, it would immediately blast out, gushing upward with great power, and combust everything in sight.
Just then, Peng Yueyun paused his steps. His muscles were bulging as the friction of his body against the air created a loud burst.
“Bang!”
The loud noise seemed to contain thunder as gusts of wind wantonly swept around Peng Leyun and suddenly stoked the flame, triggering it prematurely.
“Shang Qing Move! To Tread Dubhe and Alkaid!”
Peng Leyun had practiced this footwork to the realm of “Thunder and Invulnerability Go Hand in Hand”—thunder at every step, invulnerability at each transition. He seemed to be able to communicate with and call upon God!
“Boom!”
The flames thrown out by Lou Cheng exploded and sprang up just half a foot from Peng Leyun, shining and casting flickers on his face.
Of course, Lou Cheng did not think that one strike would be able to hurt the favored fighter of the age. “Fire Burning” was just thrown out as the body followed up, and the Brutal Blizzard did not stop, not even to rest!
Just this brief fight had stunned the audience in front of the computer screen. An idea naturally formed in their hearts:
It was similar to a fight between two men at the physical invulnerable level, and it seemed like watching a showdown between the “Dragon King” and the “Warrior Sage”!
Fire and thunder! Passion and fury!