Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Lightning sparks flickered and shadows flashed. The successor of the Xinzhai Sect, Kaori Karasawa, took a total of eleven minutes to barely win against the second seed, Veigar, and qualified for the semi-finals in advance. The ring was in tatters after the match.
This intense battle made the audience gain a new understanding of these two inhuman stage experts. Veigar, who was giving everything he had, was at least two to three times stronger than when he almost lost to Lou Cheng in the double-elimination preliminaries. Those who were watching were all in awe. As for the beauty Kaori Karasawa, her explosiveness at the crucial moment was even more terrifying and was comparable to Peng Leyun’s performance of turning the tables from the verge of defeat and beating the “Arhat”, Wahku. There’s no wonder that she was assigned the name of the first seed.
In the live thread, “Unparalleled Dragon King” exclaimed excitedly,
“Brilliant! Veigar is strong but Kaori Karasawa is stronger!”
“Get your benches ready and wait for the match between Lou Cheng and that wretch guy.””Wanton Seller” was currently enjoying her summer holidays as a third-year high school student and was living a carefree life.
“Why is he a wretched guy?””Okamoto’s Fan” was a little sensitive to this phrase.
“Wanton Seller” replied, “[Rolling Dumpling emoji], He is always hiding in that corner and act sneakily. Therefore he is a wretched guy!”
“Lol, that’s apt!””Brahman” replied with a [Laughing And Pounding The Floor expression].
“Eternal Nightfall”, Yan Xiaoling came across and left a message, “I’ve been waiting for all the heavyweights to get here for the analysis of this match...”
After completing this sentence, she added another line weakly,
“The fourth seed is only one number above the fifth seed. He shouldn’t be much stronger right...”
“They have different battle styles and cannot be compared directly.””Road to Arena” explained to the little girl with much satisfaction. “Mouko Yamashita fights in a direct manner and is the type that focuses on attacking strongly. This suits Lou Cheng very well. However, Banam prefers short burst close combat and guerilla-type battles. He will either not give you the opportunity to use big moves or will dodge your big moves. In addition, Ann Chaoyang had commented on Weibo that Banam’s “Darkness” could silently weaken his opponent. The exact method is still not known. In other words, the longer Lou Cheng fights, the greater the likelihood of losing.”
“A Plumber Eating Mushroom” supplemented, “Therefore, the odds are about four is to six. Lou Cheng has 40% chance while Banam has 60% chance. Both parties have the chances of winning. Yeah. Banam’s battle style was shady, ruthless and vicious and is good at avoiding his opponent’s strength while attacking his weaknesses. Even if Lou Cheng wishes to end the battle quickly, he probably cannot catch him. In this case, this would be dangerous...”
“Yeah, using three minutes as the threshold, if Lou Cheng cannot win against Banam in the first three minutes, then he will really not be able to win!” answered “Pig-Riding Knight” in approval. “Even if “Force Concentration” can effectively neutralise the weakening, he also will not be able to withstand the accumulated weakening!”
His girlfriend, “Above The Sky” replied, “[Arms On The Waist expression], I’m really looking forward to the first three minutes of this match. It will definitely be more intense than the previous match!”
“What they said was what I wanted to say.””Unparalleled Dragon King” replied in a jokingly manner.
“I will probably suffocate in the first three minutes... [Covers Head and Kneeling on the Floor Trembling expression]” Yan Xiaoling replied.
“Brahman” immediately replied, “[Crying expression] I’m so nervous that I cannot eat my snacks now!”
......
As they were chatting casually, time was passing by in seconds. The second match of the quarterfinals would be starting soon.
“It’s starting soon.” Lou Cheng glanced at the electronic clock, smiled faintly and heaved a sigh. After which, he informed Yan Zheke about it on QQ.
She should still be on her way to school.
Yan Zheke quickly replied without delay. This time, it was still a picture of the oven. Inside it was various ugly-looking small biscuits.
“All the best!”
“Sniggle. So this is really part of the oven series?” Lou Cheng shook his head and broke into laughter.
Yan Zheke replied, “[Covers Mouth And Look At The Sky expression], Of course. I’m a man of my word~ However I have only tried out cakes and biscuits. There’s no more third picture. If you wish for another type of encouragement, then you have to fight for another match!”
“Alright!” Lou Cheng held back his smile and answered decisively.
This form of encouragement isn’t bad!
After finishing, he locked his screen and passed it to Ann Chaoyang together with his wallet. At the same time, he gave him a high-five.
“All the best!” Ann Chaoyang swung his arm with a faint smile.
Peng Leyun and Ren Li who were standing to the left and right of Ann Chaoyang also did the same action. After giving Lou Cheng a high-five, they said,
“All the best!”
“Yeah!” Lou Cheng nodded his head with force. He turned his body around and was ready to walk towards the ring.
At this moment, Ann Chaoyang realised that the screen of the phone was locked. He called out in hesitation,
“Lou Cheng? I do not have to help you take pictures and upload them today?”
“Yeah.” Lou Cheng replied with a smile. “I have already thought of an excuse.”
If I let these unreliable people do it the second time, I’m really going to change a username for my account!
“What’s the excuse?” Ann Chaoyang returned another question. Ren Li also leaned over with a face full of curiosity.
“Heehee, I’ll tell you when the match is over.” Lou Cheng didn’t speak anymore. He turned his head around, waved his hands and took steps towards the ring. He started concentrating his mind, gathered his aura and his thoughts were moving quickly.
Based on the discussion with Yan Zheke over the last two days and the interactions with Peng Leyun, Ren Li and Ann Chaoyang, he had a mature perspective for the upcoming match.
To deal with Banam, he had to end the battle quickly to prevent himself from getting weakened gradually. Otherwise, he would be seeing the situation becoming more helpless with no chances of turning the tables. At the same time, he couldn’t be too reckless. If he was, an assassin-type martial artist like Banam would easily find an opportunity and take him down in one go!
This was the overall strategy but he could not be careless in the details either. Although he could infuse “Flame Force” in every strike and attack currently and make use of the high temperature to burn his proteins till they denatured, rendering poison ineffective, the reasons for the weakening effect of Banam’s “Darkness” was still not known. There’s only a possibility that it was caused by poison.
If it was similar to Ren Li’s “Hidden Scent” or other special waves he would not have any defense against it. All he could rely on was “holding his breath” or “Force Concentration” to neutralize it. He had to finish his opponent off quickly.
As to how he could finish his opponent off quickly, Lou Cheng also had a rough idea. Banam shouldn’t be aware that he had mastered “Ice Mirror” just like he didn’t know Ann Chaoyang had mastered “Lake and Mirror Liked Wisdom”. It was only until they fought for the first time that he realised!
Martial arts liked “Ice Mirror” and “Lake and Mirror Liked Wisdom” were supporting types. Without experiencing it first hand and just looking at videos of battles, it would be very hard for one to discover them. Moreover they were from a different country and the information collection process was bound to have various loopholes. Therefore when fighting with Ann Chaoyang, Banam had chosen to use his “Darkness” ability to affect Ann Chaoyang’s senses in order to ambush him. However he had also wasted an opportunity by doing so.
Based on his style, if he has not considered “Ice Mirror”, he will definitely make similar attempts as previous matches. The only difference would likely be him being more cautious and indirect as compared to when he went against Ann Chaoyang.
And this will be an opportunity for me!
An opportunity for him to fall into my trap!
Once I get the upper hand and have the opportunity to win, I need to aggressively grab hold to it!
Various thoughts flashed through his mind as new thoughts kept coming and also leaving. When he was near the ring, Lou Cheng consolidated his emotions and focused his attention on what was in front of him.
He knew that Banam had ways to avoid being suppressed by his aura. Therefore he kept his terrifying snowstorm-like aura in check and not revealing them while waiting for an opportunity.
Step, step, step. He came to the predetermined position with steady steps and saw Banam, whose hands and legs were all wrapped in white bandages, walking silently towards him with a gaze that hunters used on their prey.
His gaze is really abominable. I really wish to bash him up... Lou Cheng thought to himself. He quickly calmed his mind and kept distracting thoughts away.
When Banam arrived at the ring, the referee counted thirty seconds quietly, raised his right arm, looked around him, swung it down quickly and announced,
“Begin!”
Lou Cheng stabilized himself with his footwork, straightened his knees, twisted his waist and “blew” towards his opponents like an erupted snowstorm.
In the sparring exercise over the last few days, Peng Leyun, Ren Li, Ann Chaoyang and him had conversed frequently. Other than some core stuff, they were open about everything else so as to stimulate their thinking and generate inspiration. From these conversations, they had all benefited from it. For example, he had fused in the scratches of “Flash Attack” and unique features of “Wind Sect” movement techniques to push his own “North Wind” to a whole new level!
A good companion could really make one a better person and it was the same on the road of martial arts!
Swish!
A strong wind arose and cut like a knife. Lou Cheng in the eyes of Banam was approaching from afar at a frightening speed and becoming bigger and bigger.
His body seemed to sway and took a stride to his side. At this moment, the light in front of Lou Cheng suddenly disappeared and the noises around his ears instantly dissipated.
In that moment, the Shengxiang stadium seemed to have suffered a blackout and the audiences died quietly on the spot. Goosebumps rose up unconsciously and it was rather terrifying.
Lou Cheng had long made preparations for this. His stopped his steps immediately and switched from moving in high speed to being static. At the same time, he was adjusting his muscles and directing all his senses towards the floor of the ring.
Normally speaking, he should be hearing noises of contacts or things breaking. However the surrounding was completely silent. All the noises seemed to be engulfed by the creepy darkness.
Lou Cheng’s mind had already formed a mirror. It was crystal clear and reflecting his surroundings to him, allowing him to be not affected by the senses he “lost”.
A small ripple arose, and he immediately locked down the direction Banam was attacking from. However, a mysterious premonition in him told him that this was faint and not the real killer move.
Lou Cheng believed in his premonition and did not move. Just as he expected, the ripples quickly disappeared. Tumultuous waves followed closely behind and almost disrupted the Ice Mirror!
Great timing! I’m waiting for you! Thoughts flashed through Lou Cheng’s mind. In his mind, an image of boundless darkness appeared quickly. It has the most chilling cold and most silent atmosphere, yet it made one feels clear and magical.
In this darkness, dust accumulated and collapsed from its weight. Lava was spewed out and formed a frightening scorching hot “Emperor Yan Statue”. It had illuminated the skies, transmitted warmth and letting out a loud homing sound.
This had brought with it brilliant light rays and more intense consolidation of his Dan.
Mutated “Severe Warning”!
Lou Cheng was just waiting for Banam to ambush him using the “Darkness” so he could strike him with “Severe Warning”!
It was the first strike of this match!
Pa!
His body was turned halfway and the muscles on his right arm were bulging and shaking at great speed. Swinging it back, he hit a rather cold bloody fist.
Poof! The darkness subsided as though they were sucked away and the stadium lit up once again. Shock flashed past the cold gaze of Banam. He could only feel that within the fist of his opponent, there seemed to be a miniature vortex or heavy little ball that swallowed all his strength and sucked on to his armed tightly!
Boom!
The vortex exploded and violent shockwave spread outwards quickly like a huge hammer that smashed into Banam fiercely. Blood stains could be seen from the edge of his mouth as he lost his centre of gravity and flew out.
This was the outcome when a move used for ambushing collided directly with a simplified physical invulnerability move!
Lou Cheng’s eyes lit up and he retracted his blood and breathing. With a stomp, he pounced out with a loud thud and landed in front of Banam, who just landed, at the speed of a high-speed rail. The wind he caused might have even been able to blow a kid away!
Banam hadn’t even stabilized himself and was already on the verge of falling. A creepy light quickly gathered in his eyes and formed a “sharp edge”, ready to shoot towards Lou Cheng and ambush his mind!
With his Absolute Reaction, Lou Cheng immediately noticed. However he did not trace the “Forwarding” Formula to resist the secret arts but raised his hands to form seals. At the same time, he was visualizing the “Army” Formula!
Using attack against attack, he’s not backing down!
This was the aggressiveness that he wanted to display!
He wanted to make the best use of this opportunity and hold the fruits of victory in his hands!
“Army”!
As the low ancient voice resonated, Lou Cheng was hit by “Serene Sting”. The light in his eyes immediately dulled and it was as though he was stuck in a nightmare. In his mind, the ice mirror of his heart lake was breaking apart one after another and withstood the majority of the impact. As for Banam, his entire body was shaking. This could be seen from what he was muttering and was trembling in fear. This caused him to forget about his predicament.
With the “Ice Mirror” neutralizing the impact, Lou Cheng managed to recover first. He quickly took a large breath and compressed the fear, terror, anxiety and other emotions caused by the ‘Serene Sting’ together with his blood flow, mind and force into his lower abdomen.
Boom!
The Dan Force was overflowing like a volcano that errupted. With the blood pumping through his body, Lou Cheng grew larger by several centimeters and his muscles pressed up against his clothes. He was full of manliness and made quite a number of audience lose their mind as they clearly felt and understood the beauty of power.
A teenage man that was gentle and easy-going most of the time now seemed extremely manly!
Bam! Lou Cheng’s muscles bulked up and he visualized thick layers of thunderclouds in his mind. He swung his right arm out and hit his opponent with a Thunder Roar Zen.
Banam had just suffered internal injuries from that mutated version of “Severe Warning” a while ago. Using the “Thunder Roar Zen” to amplify and trigger the impact would be the most appropriate move now!
Fire-like Invasion Move, second strike!
Seeing that the fist was smashing towards him like a falling mountain, Banam stimulated his blood flow and ignited his strength. He quickly raised his arms up to withstand the strike.
Bam!
Within the loud explosion, he jumped back from the attack. His internal organs had suffered a concussion, and it was clear that his blood flow was affected. A metal-like taste could also be felt in his throat.
With a determined look, Lou Cheng retracted his arm and started to compress his breathing and force again. After completing the Dan stage explosion, he didn’t give Banam a chance to dodge or counterattack as he continued to tighten his muscles to launch in a barrage of fist attacks.
Thunder Roar Zen, third strike!
Bam! Banam couldn’t demonstrate his specialty in close combat, short burst and consecutive attacks at all. All he could do was to clench his teeth and call upon the hidden energy in his body. A dull light started to emanate from his fist and gushed out from the side to receive the enemy’s attack.
Bang!
The two fists collided. He shivered at the impact and his blood flow and breathing tumbled. At the same time, he started to feel a little dizzy in his mind. Following the force of his enemy, he retreated and glided to the side.
Just when Lou Cheng was about to press on, darkness enveloped his eyes once again. The surrounding had also become dead silence as he lost traces of Banam instantly.
At this moment, using his unique ability, this inhuman stage expert from Nanzheng was looking for an opportunity to get out of combat and gather himself again!
If he was not attacking, the opponent couldn’t possibly sense him right?
Lou Cheng’s expressions didn’t change. His muscles, tendons and organs were making the relevant responses, and his mind started tracing the steady and hot image of “Emperor Yan Stature” allowing the “Flame Force” to form completely.
Following that closely, he shook his wrist and shot out a heavily compressed scorching white fire-ball towards the position he’d marked using the “Ice Mirror” previously.
Rumble!
The loud explosion broke the silence. Darkness was disturbed and subsided quickly as it lost his support.
In that instant, Lou Cheng saw raging fire waves and dust enveloping the surrounding. He also saw Banam, whose actions were affected by the explosion of “Emperor Yan Force”
Kacha!
He took huge strides to close the distance, formed seals with his hands and engraved an ancient word within the lake in his heart.
“Fighting!”
Lou Cheng growled in a low voice. He was pressing on with every step and attacked with killer moves with every strike. He was not going to show mercy now that he had the upper hand!
The fourth strike was with all his strength!
Bam! His muscles tightened and Lou Cheng seemed to have become a mountain splitting giant. Dragging along the “large axe”, he swung it down.
As the explosion propagated, Banam, who had barely formed a guard with his arms up, had sunk into the ground from the attack by an inch. Dull-red blood was also oozing out from the edge of his mouth.
Again! Taking advantage of his opening, Lou Cheng was going for the kill. He took a small step forward, raised both of his arms and formed a seal directed to himself.
“Fighting!”
With a serious look, he let out the words. Instantly, his arms expanded and the lines of his muscles were abnormally distinct. He quickly threw it out, a Burst Fist with the effects of Zen!
The fifth strike!
Dull light shimmered in the eyes of Banam. He quickly pulled both of his hands back to form a guard in front of his chest to receive the enemy’s fist.
Boom!
It was as though an explosion had occurred and Banam almost spit out blood. Using the momentum of the recoil, he shrunk his body to a ball shape as he was sent flying backwards.
Bang! Lou Cheng had executed the “Forwarding” Formula. With a stomp, the floor cracked and small pieces of gravel were sent into the air. Lou Cheng pressed forward quickly and instantly closed the distance between them.
The cold light in Banam’s eyes became stronger as he was sent flying. Before he landed, he extended his right arm and enveloped it with a layer of dull and faint black light, forming a strong contrast with the white bandages on his hand.
The dull light quickly gathered towards his extended five fingers forming black “sharp edges”. He was trying to get to Lou Cheng and grabbed his fist.
This was the final trump card of Banam. Whoever was grabbed by him would lose his strength for a short moment.
At that time, all he need to do was to follow the momentum and create a tear to completely cripple his enemy’s arm!
Naturally, there will be side effects on him. Unless necessary, or when there’s an opportunity for a one-strike knock out, he was more willing to use “Darkness” to gradually weaken his opponent!
At this moment, it was the former case. At this critical stage, he was trying to turn the tables and seeking victory in a seemingly losing scenario!
Seeing the dark black fingertips that sent a shiver down his spine, Lou Cheng suddenly stopped. By “accumulating” the forward momentum, he created a sharp rubbing sound.
However the reason why he stopped wasn’t to dodge the attack but to buy enough time for him to visualize!
A scorching hot and steady “Emperor Yan Statue” appeared in his mind like a huge sun and compressed the Flame Force in his body into a ball.
Following which, Fire God Zhu Rong appeared from nowhere on a red dragon and suppressed the explosion that was happening because of an instant of miscontrol. Lou Cheng took a small step ahead and received the palm strike enveloped in a creepy light. He shifted his arm backwards and subconsciously responded with his fist.
Internal Explosion Punch!
The sixth strike without backing down!
If he didn’t dare to confront head-on at such moments, he would be giving Banam an opportunity to catch his breath and turn the tables around!
Moreover Lou Cheng was a martial artist that had experienced life and death situations. He had a determined will and was daring to risk his life!
His fist broke through the air barrier and a layer of flame was formed from the friction. With a tailing white “wave”, it collided directly with the palm strike shimmering in dull-black light. As the fists collided, the powers within them cancelled each other out.
When the Flame Force started pouring in, Banam’s palm also started closing. The five fingertips clearly showed minuscule muscles and dull green veins. Banam grabbed hold to Lou Cheng’s fist tightly but the creepy dull light vanished in a blink.
Boom!
Inside his body, Banam felt as though there was an explosion. The injuries and concussions he suffered previously were completely triggered. His blood flow and breathing became erratic. Internal organs were clearly shaken, and his mind was buzzing non-stop. At the same time, the metal-like taste in his throat grew stronger and his vision was beginning to blur.
He was closed to falling to the ground and didn’t have additional strength to tear his opponent apart despite grabbing him!
As for Lou Cheng, the flames enveloping his fist burnt away part of the darkness, and he only felt a little weakened. His mind wasn’t affected much by the attack.
He forcefully pressed on and used his will to control his mind and his mind to control his body. After retracting his blood flow and breathing, he compressed his force and the feeling of weakness!
Bang!
With the Dan force exploding, he recovered part of his strength. His muscles were well defined and sweat was sliding on them.
Bam! He visualized the thunderclouds once again and swung his right arm in the opposite direction.
Thunder Roar Zen, the seventh strike!
Bang!
Banam, who barely withstood the attack, jumped a step back and spit out the blood in his throat. After which, he fell weakly towards the group. Lou Cheng’s toes stopped right at Banam’s throat, supporting his body firmly.
The referee looked deeply at the two of them, raised his right arm and announced,
“Lou Cheng wins!”
It took around 10 strikes and Lou Cheng won!
Lou Cheng retracted his right leg weakly and saw Banam barely stand up. He clasped a tightened fist in his palm as a form of respect and returned to the spectator stand without stopping.
The audience finally reacted after he took several steps and let out a loud roar of awe. Once again, they started cheering “Lou Cheng” throughout the stadium.
He was able to defeat the fourth seed so quickly!
Lou Cheng was staggering but he wasn’t slow. Soon he returned to his original position and bumped fists with the still dumbfounded Peng LeYun and the rest. He quickly took back his phone and sent a “smiley” face to Yan Zheke.
“I Won!”
Following which, he switched to the live thread and saw “Wonton Seller” and the rest tagging him several times, asking him to take some pictures.
He typed with both hands quickly and replied with a smile,
“The match ended before I can take any pictures...”
This was the excuse he had prepared.