Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng finished the ten-step distance in no time and stood by the ring, watching Jin Tao the Invincible Punch across the two fighters.

Tall and robust, Jin Tao of the strong frame had a brush cut and eyebrows like scimitars, handsome and masculine. The loose-fit martial arts college uniform seemed tight on his body.

To be honest, in the past several months messing around on the forum, Lou Cheng dearly envied Invincible Punch. Good looking, almost at the professional level, brisk and active, and popular among other forum users, he seemed to have everything Lou Cheng ever wanted. His presence made Lou Cheng feel inferior. The only thing he could overtake Jin Tao was his intelligence.

Now the mountain of his longings and desires stood right in front of him. The once so far away Amateur First Pin was right there. Would Lou Cheng cross the mountain or stop by it?

No other evidence was needed, Lou Cheng’s eyes were enough to convince Jin Tao he was the opponent.

With no connection to the host of this tournament, Jin Tao was unable to get videos of Lou Cheng’s first two rounds, but he took this student-looking young man the most seriously. In ancient times, the elderly, the minor and the monks required the most attention in the wild martial arts world. And when it came to the modern days, of no rank deserved the most care from any pros!

A friend of the middle-aged man in a leather jacket pointed at the ring and asked, “Old Zheng, which one is the sleeper you’ve been talking about? Left or right?”

Old Zheng pointed at Lou Cheng, “Him. The one to the left.”

“He looks just ordinary.” The middle-aged man wearing a leather cap shook his head.

Old Zheng laughed, “Ordinary or not, we shall see!”

The young couple was in the same situation. Their friends were wondering which one the fabled Lou Cheng was.

They looked around but couldn’t find the middle-aged man in a leather jacket. Looking at each other blankly, they had no idea how Lou Cheng looked.

After a moment of thinking, the shy girl pretended to be mysterious. “You’ll see once it starts.”

Lou Cheng should have the upper hand, right?

The ninth match took seven minutes to finish. The referee took several deep breaths before calling for the next pair.

“Match Ten, Jin Tao versus Lou Cheng!”

Old Zheng and the young couple adjusted their sitting position, and Liu Yinglong and other members of Baiyuan Martial Arts School withdrew their attention from other matches and fixed their eyes at Ring Two.

Lou Cheng handed over his jacket, number plate, and other personal belongings to the supervisor before crossing the white line into the ring and taking a stand to the left of the referee, two meters away from Jin Tao the Invincible Punch.

On the stand, Road to the Arena kept the live broadcast post updated. “The match is about to start. Punch is more overwhelming than his opponent!”

He uploaded a photo, arousing a heated discussion. Some commented on Punch’s handsomeness, some cheered for their forum member, and the other criticized Lou Cheng’s looks, thinking he was nothing special.

Four eyes met in the ring. Jin Tao burst into laughter.

“Honestly, I was thrilled this morning knowing you are my opponent. My previous two matches with weak fighters were more like a warm-up. That’s not what I’m here for. Don’t disappoint me.”

He sounded so confident as if he attempted to defeat Lou Cheng with his mental strength.

Having Yan Zheke’s gentle voice echoing in his ears, Lou Cheng was full of energy and fearless. He smiled gently.

“I hope the same.”

He remained silent from then on, no matter how hard Jin Tao tried to provoke. In his mind, the match scenes of tiger form, bear form, blast punch and Shooting Fillip appeared and then quickly vanished until a final decision was formed.

Since Invincible Punch will focus on himself, giving me no chance to make plans in advance, I better do the same and play offensive instead of defensive!

Playing offensive was not a decision prompted by a impulse but a result after considering all the factors. He was short of actual combat experience and quite far away from the Amateur First Pin level. In a defensive position, he would be easily upset or bewildered. His best chance would be suppressing the opponent with 24 Blizzard Strikes and giving him no room to counterattack, dragging the match into a stalemate. The longer he could make the match last, the more advantages he could enjoy!

After ten minutes, he will be exhausted at least!

Set on this idea, Lou Cheng held his spirit and qi. Thoughts in his head were settling like water forming ice. Half of him fell into a meditation state and the other half stayed sharp for all the movements around him and all the changes in his opponent’s body.

This was the practical use of Condensation Stance with his meditation. Lou Cheng felt his soul separating from his body and floating up high to watch everything from above.

Without the last two fights, without the observation of dozens of matches in the past two days, without the breakthrough in 24 Blizzard Strikes yesterday, I won’t be able to do this!

The referee raised his right hand and suddenly swung it down after checking his watch.

“Fight!”

Right after the referee’s shout, Jin Tao the Invincible Punch approached quickly to Lou Cheng in an aggressive manner like a ferocious tiger coming down a mountain, giving Lou Cheng no chance to dodge.

As the distance between them was shortened, Jin Tao’s body froze for a second and then expanded visually. He raised his right hand and launched a downward cut fist in the form between a grab and a slap, generating a loud whistle.

Roar!

When tigers howl with the rise of winds, animals flee in all directions with fear!

Lou Cheng dared not take Jin Tao’s fierce advance lightly. In his head was a cold scene of a Brutal Blizzard. He lowered his weight and held his qi in his Dantian. His palms reached out like snowflakes, engaging Jin Tao’s right wrist by his face and warding off this attack.

His arms shook a little, indicating the opponent’s superiority in physical strength.

Bam!

Jin Tao’s slashing fist suddenly turned into a claw with his four fingers shooting at Lou Cheng’s face like bullets accompanied by an ear-piercing sound. This strike would certainly leave four deep holes in Lou Cheng’s face if it hit solidly and there was not much the referee could do to stop.

Shooting Fillip! Fingers flicked like a gunshot!

Fortunately, Lou Cheng had watched combat videos of tiger style and Shooting Fillip and remembered clearly those wounds left in faces and hands. As soon as he blocked the slashing punch, he slid sideways to dodge the claw!

Bam! Shooting Fillip missed and Lou Cheng floated to the side of Jin Tao the Invincible Punch. He lowered his weight and threw out his right palm while thinking about a world of ice and snow. A stream of strength was half veiled.

Besides the Avalanche, another deadly element of the Blizzard Strikes was the formless coldness!

The second group of 24 Blizzard Strikes, Biting Chill!

Upon this strike, the sea in Lou Cheng’s heart was frozen. Half of him remained in meditation and the other half stayed vigilant about the surroundings. He noticed a tiny muscle flick on Jin Tao’s left thigh which dragged his trousers.

“This…” Lou Cheng didn’t have time to think it through. Following his instinct, he quickly adjusted his muscles and pulled his weight back, gathering the veiled energy.

A lightning bolt struck in his head, starting a prairie fire.

At the same time, Jin Tao’s left leg made a sidekick out of nowhere, giving out a crispy sound, fast, accurate and merciless, aiming at Lou Cheng’s chest like a fierce tiger with an iron whiptail.

A solid kick like this would cause some severe injuries and end Lou Cheng’s combat capacity!

Fierce Tiger Whipping Tail of Tiger style!

Switch to lightning and fire stance, Lou Cheng felt a hot flow running through his body into his right palm. He cut down using his right hand with great strength to perfectly block Jin Tao’s chest kick.

Lou Cheng’s body swayed as his hand engaged Jin Tao’s leg. The explosive force from lightning and fire stance was merely enough to balance out this powerful kick. He secretly praised in silence. “The trump of Tiger Style lives up to its reputation!” The frozen lake in his heart reflected the difference in Jin Tao’s strength through the muscles and pores touched.

Lou Cheng adjusted his muscles and shifted his weight accordingly as if a spring bouncing out with the energy absorbed from the kick. He clenched his left hand into a fist and shook his body to exert the abrupt explosive force, piercing into Jin Tao.

Jin Tao withdrew his leg, drop his weight and raised his elbow to block the punch. To his surprise, Lou Cheng’s strength seemed slightly stronger than before.

Sensing the strength from the opponent’s elbow, Lou Cheng’s muscles adjusted and weight shifted, absorbing some energy from this block to throw a sudden upward kick with his right leg.

Pang!

Jin Tao responded with a right kick, meeting strength with strength in the air.

Taking back his right leg, Lou Cheng shot a hook, an elbow block and a low kick in a roll with no break in between. Jin Tao blocked his opponent’s series of attacks but felt his blood running cold as Lou Cheng’s strength seemed to be growing with each move. At the beginning of the fight, he was obviously on the downside but coming to this point of the match, he probably got the upper hand!

Different from flood and flame, harm from the avalanche wasn’t immediate but damages from ice and snow grew increasingly dangerous and deadly over time. That was the essence of the first set of 24 Blizzard Strikes!

It required the wielder to listen to his opponent’s strength and adjust his own weight accordingly to strengthen his following moves with energy absorbed from the opponent.

It was why Geezer Shi told Lou Cheng that 24 Blizzard Strikes was known for being ferocious and frenzied, but his mind should remain calm like a condensation of water instead of going wild with the moves.

A disturbed mind wouldn’t be able to reflect the surroundings, sense the opponent’s muscles and pores, or hear the difference in the enemy’s strength!

How peaceful his heart could remain, how ferocious his strikes would become!

One bout of constant subtle muscle adjusting and energy absorbing would exhaust the wielder. Even Lin Que of Professional Ninth Pin could hardly maintain the suppression for two to three minutes.

Lou Cheng’s kicks got faster and punches became heavier. Feeling like a lone traveler in a Brutal Blizzard, Jin Tao smelt danger and misfortune.

“It can’t carry on like this!”

He took a deep breath and threw his palm to confront Lou Cheng’s blast punch before dashing into his opponent by a sudden stride and a side dive.

His body seemed expanded, full of strength like an oppressive man-bear.

Giant Bear Hitting Tree move of Bear Style!

In the forest, a giant bear could easily break a tree with one impact.

The stage seemed to shake from the extremely fierce impact. Lou Cheng got into a defensive position, putting all the energy he had absorbed into defense.

Pang!

A dull sound. Lou Cheng had no advantage in this collision at all. He lost his center and was forced to take two steps backward until his muscles adjusted and his balance resumed. He managed to keep his footwork.

Jin Tao was also exhausted by the impact. He didn’t push forward his advance but stood still to catch his breath and recover from the oppressive Brutal Blizzard.

For the very first time, the two were separated during this match, facing out each other.

After a moment of astonishment, Old Zheng stood up, cheering and applauding for Jin Tao’s Tiger Style, Shooting Fillip and whip kick and Lou Cheng’s three-minute wild defense. It was certainly the most exciting engagement since the tournament started. Anyone with some general martial arts knowledge and had watched some matches below the Danqi stage could taste the danger and forces. Old Zheng was completed infatuated with the fight in a cold sweat.

The smallest mistake in this bout could have led to a bitter defeat!

The young couple and some other spectators also clapped as this match was worth the wait. Their enthusiasm attracted more attention and more eyes to the second ring.

“I deserve my defeat…” Liu Yinglong sighed blankly.