Chapter 748: Clairvoyant
After tending to his wounds, Lou Cheng was in no hurry to return to his hotel. Instead, he lingered in his private resting room to watch the other semi-final match.
Though everyone was convinced Kirin, Dong Baxian was sure to win, anything could happen in a real fight, and not even Lou Cheng could say for certain that Ren Li would lose.
In the arena, strength didn’t guarantee victory. There were many other factors to consider—mentality, courage, perseverance, seriousness, disposition, health, mental health, as well as disadvantageous and advantageous match-ups. Without a huge difference in stage and with all factors aligned, even a third-pin Physical Invulnerability expert stood a tiny chance at defeating the Warrior Sage.
Back when Qian Donglou was thrashed by the Dragon King, he began to doubt himself and became indecisive, consecutively losing to second and third-pin opponents. It took him some time to recover from the trauma.
Therefore, Ren Li, who had the power of a first-pin, was merely a cut below Dong Baxian. If she had some tricks up her sleeve and used them at the right time, combined with her opponent’s arrogance and contempt, she might be able to stage an upset.
For most super-classes, there was a seventy to eighty precent win rate for every ten rounds against a normal first-pin. However, in just one round, there was no telling who would win.
If not for that, there wouldn’t be any dark horses in the martial arts scene, or even the need for title tournaments. It would be like the olden times, and a duel between Dragon King and Warrior Sage once a year would suffice.
Sipping on a hot drink, Lou Cheng set his eyes on the big screen, relaxed. The fight developed according to everyone’s expectations: Ren Li fought guerilla using her Wind Sect movements against Dong Baxian’s ferocious attacks, waiting patiently for him to run out of gas before making a counterattack.
Three or four minutes later, Ren Li gradually fell into a passive position, struggling to defend herself.
A while later, she was stepping on thin ice and dancing on the edge of defeat. Defeat seemed like just a matter of time. Lou Cheng had seen many things from her—techniques from the Wind Sect and Plague Sect, as well as self-invented moves that suited her style. However, Dong Baxian managed to beat her at every turn with his superior strength.
“Any minute now...” muttered Lou Cheng, controlling his body to begin self-reparation on a microscopic level.
Right at the moment when it seemed like Ren Li could no longer dodge or defend herself, a pure sword light flared, shining with indomitable spirits as it pierced at Dong Baxian.
Bam!
Ren Li flew back from the impact of the palm strike, blood gushing from her mouth. Dong Baxian stood rooted to the ground with an odd expression, a hideous wound where the longsword had pierced through him.
Thump! Ren Li fell outside the arena, struggling to stand but failing. As the referee announced Dong Baxian’s victory, he gestured for immediate medical attention.
Seeing such a development, Lou Cheng frowned. At Dong Baxian’s current level, he shouldn’t have been able to get hit by Ren Li’s last-ditch attack. What slowed him down, causing him to pay such a heavy price for victory?
Soon, he remembered Ren Li’s Hidden Scent move when she was in Dan Stage. The three minutes of battle replayed in his mind. It dawned on him that the delay in Dong Baxian’s movements hadn’t appeared out of nowhere. There had been signs, signs insignificant enough for a spectator like him to overlook.
Was this the Hidden Sect’s corresponding Physical Invulnerability secret art?
The result of Kongtong School merging with Plague Sect Lost Chapters and Wind Sect?
A horrifying biological weapon?
Isn’t this scary when combined with Wind Sect’s movement techniques?
Thank goodness Heaven’s Equal Swordsman, Feng Zhi never explored this domain...
Retracting his gaze, Lou Cheng had formed a speculation.
Dong Baxian’s injuries were worse than they seemed!
Could it be that Ke Ke’s prediction came true?
Lou Cheng shared the events with the busy Yan Zheke, then slowly stood to meet up with Auman and return to the hotel.
Entering his suite, he suddenly received a call from Empress Luo.
“Have you visited Fa Yuan, Divine Monk lately? Your luck is too frigging good!”
She tried hard to imitate how the youngsters talked on the internet to stay young at heart, but she didn’t realize she was using words that were already out of trend.
“What’s wrong, Sister Ning?” Lou Cheng roughly guessed it was about Dong Baxian, but he doubted Empress Luo would call him personally just to talk about it.
Ning Zitong chuckled.
“I just caught wind from the committee that Dong Baxian might be pulling out due to his injuries... This girly from Kongtong School is something else...”
Of course, chihuahuas are much fiercer than big dogs like huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, thought Lou Cheng. He then fell silent at the realization.
Wait..?! Dong Baxian is pulling out?
Then wouldn’t I walk over the finals and become the final challenger?
This, this luck!! I don’t dare believe it!
Lou Cheng chatted half-heartedly until Empress Luo hung up. He still felt that the whole affair was too magical to believe.
Launching the Weibo app, he scrolled through it perfunctorily. He saw new content from He Xiaowei:
“According to internal information, Dong Baxian might be pulling out of the championship due to injuries...”
In a breath’s time, tens of thousands of replies had appeared below it,
“The heck? He’s forfeiting?”
“Another victim falls to the Poison Milk Hierarch...”
“Respect...”
“Press ‘F’ for respect...”
“He couldn’t even handle a sentence of your jinxing blessing... This is scary...”
“You are invincible!”
“Maybe it’s Ren Li’s luck at work!”
“But Lou Cheng is the benefactor... He must have received the blessings of a monk!”
“Sigh, if Dong Baxian received the challenger’s ticket, he might still win against the full-powered Dragon King. As for Lou Cheng, he’s not quite there yet... The result is obvious!”
“Yeah, boring. It’s gonna be the Dragon King’s win.”
...
Lou Cheng’s lips twitched. The whole thing felt unreal.
Suddenly, a message from Talker came.
“Cheng... Have you gained reverse karma by stepping on dog shit lately?”
Amused and annoyed, Lou Cheng replied, “Yeah, must have been your masterpiece?”
As other friends texted him to talk about the matter, Yan Zheke managed to spare time for a message.
“Oh no... Did I become a crow-mouth...” using the term for people who praise the side that ends up losing.
“Of course not! You are my precious clairvoyant, my ever-right seer, my shining lucky star!” praised Lou Cheng.
As he chatted idly, his phone rung once more. It was Empress Luo again.
“Has Dong Baxian confirmed pulling out, Sister Ning?” blurted Lou Cheng when the call connected.
Ning Zitong chuckled. “Nah, I’m here to tell you he has decided to attend the finals despite his severe wounds.”
“With Dong Baxian’s arrogance and conceit, he’s probably convinced that he can beat you while half-crippled! In fact, he might even think it’s going to be an easy win.”
Lou Cheng laughed, his fighting spirits surging and burning.
“I’m looking forward to it.”