Chapter 29
"Songcheng University!"
Thunderous shouts and screams surged hard, raising the roof of the stadium. Bringing up the rear, Lou Cheng noticed a brief halt of Chen Changhua, Li Mao and Guo Qing. Even the quiet, calm and collected Lin Que seemed to have slowed down a bit.
How could anyone stay cool in front of such blood-tingling enthusiasm?
The referee, a wide-faced man in his 40s, was already at the heart of the ring. The Martial Arts Alliance required that referees and supervisors of any formal compet.i.tion must be at least two pins higher than the combatants to minimize the possibility of accidental death or serious injuries. However, it didn't apply to matches between martial arts masters of Third Pin or higher with physical invulnerability, as the role played by the referees and supervisors was weakened to barely existent. Fortunately, fighters of that league could be defeated but severe injuries would rarely happen to them since they all had a secret move or two that could save their life.
The gentleman of Professional Seventh Pin took a good look at Songcheng University Martial Arts Club and Guannan School Martial Arts Club in their respective resting area. He shouted sonorously after a deep breath, "Compet.i.tion between Songcheng University Martial Arts Club and Guannan School Martial Arts Club, round one."
"Lin Que versus Gu Yue!"
Without Liang Yifan's talent, he had to seek help from a megaphone to send his voice out above the screaming audience.
More screams and louder cheers. The atmosphere inside the stadium was pushed to the apex.
The leading player of both teams would fight in the first round?
Gu Yue loosened his limbs and shook the robe off his shoulders. In a sky blue martial arts suit, he strode ahead to the stone stairs.
"Good luck, Gu Yue!" The pep squad of Guannan School burst into cheers.
Their voice was instantly suppressed. There seemed fire of pa.s.sion burning in every corner of the stadium.
"Come on, Lin Que!"
"Come on, Lin Que!"
Gu Yue stepped into the ring, facing a figure in a black-edged white suit. Lin Que touched the school logo of "all peaks under my feet" on his chest as his face twitched slightly which was soon replaced by his usual calmness and coldness. He bowed with no emotion at all.
"I don't understand why you are such an idiot, choosing Songcheng University. Don't you know the Martial Arts Club there has become another name for a garbage dump? If you came to Guannan, you could fight into the national finals this year!" In accordance with established practice, the referee announced a three-minute conversation time prior to the actual fight where the two combatants could catch up or throw some hurtful remarks. Gu Yue didn't waste this spiritual combat.
This practice applied to the first round only. Before the second and last rounds, fighters weren't even given time to catch breath.
Lin Que calmly stared at him without a word.
"Why not say something? Afraid of revealing the rage or regret deep in your heart?" Gu Yue pushed and pushed like a jerk, attempting to tear off Lin Que's annoying calm face before the actual fight.
The timer of three minutes would soon tick but Lin Que's face remained the same, which started to bring frustration to Gu Yue. Words jumped out of his mouth, "Do you have autism? Or are you a natural deaf?"
He didn't expect an answer but to his surprise, Lin Que began to talk in a cold, flat tone, "To the weak I have nothing to say."
Nothing to say to the weak? The weak? All of a sudden, rage flooded into Gu Yue's head, turning his eyes blood red.
At this moment, the referee stretched out his hand and pressed down the timer.
"Fight!"
Gu Yue dashed forward on his side in an aggressive manner, trying to force Lin Que into a close melee.
Lin Que moved to the side and swayed his hip to throw a powerful punch with each of his hands at Gu Yue's left and right temples.
His feet seemed to be solidly planted on the ground. Gu Yue leisurely lowered his center of ma.s.s and raised his hands to block Lin Que's strike. He then turned into grasping hands to lock Lin Que.
Lin Que took another step sideways to dodge the catch. His body twisted and waist pulled to launch a low kick at the opponent's s.h.i.+n. As soon as the kick was blocked, he quickly changed his position and put on a cla.s.sic skirmish fight posture.
"Skirmish fight... According to the information we have collected, his endurance is not a match for mine. Skirmish fight will consume his strength faster than me playing defensive.
Lin Que stepped to the left and Gu Yue s.h.i.+fted his position and weight accordingly. Suddenly, Lin Que straightened his spine and moved his weight back to the previous position like a snake. His palm cut to the opening Gu Yue left on the side.
What the heck! In a little frenzy, Gu Yue's head was clear and fast at making decisions. He bent over with his knees twisted and got away from Lin Que's palm. He quickly adjusted his weight and raised his hands to block Lin Que's further attacks.
Bang!
Seeing no opportunity, Lin Que moved away and continued with skirmish fight, throwing surprise punches at Gu Yue here and there.
"That was close. Lin Que's control and adjustment of weight have almost reached the Danqi stage. No wonder he has chosen skirmish fight. He's seeking opportunities to take me ruthlessly by surprise." Gu Yue played a safe defense while speculating, "I can't play defensive forever. I need to create an opportunity to drag him closer. If his swiftness plays on, there will be more problems I'll have to deal with!"
As this idea became clear, Gu Yue acted to be out of patience. Upon another sneak strike from Lin Que, he stepped out to counterattack, leaving his footwork in chaos.
Bang! Lin Que didn't let go of this opportunity. He moved to the front of Gu Yue and hit his right shoulder blade with his palm.
"Excellent!" Cheers came from the audience.
A ferocious grin climbed on Gu Yue's face. His left hand, seemingly well prepared, rolled up to grab Lin Que's arm as his feet stepped forward to stay close enough to Lin Que to give a fatal dash.
At this time, a sharp sound of wind came to his ears and a scene of a winter blizzard flashed across his mind. His face actually felt a stabbing pain.
Lin Que advanced straightforwardly with calmness and craziness coexisting in his eyes. He curled his free hand into a fist and punched madly like a barbarian. The speed of his punches was beyond imagination!
Gu Yue dared not show slackness in this bout and quitted his powerful das.h.i.+ng move after weighing the good and bad. His right hand flicked and left hand blocked his head, resuming the safe defence.
Lin Que's punch was followed by a powerful kick, an elbow hit and a knee kick. Gu Yue felt that he was standing in a vast ice field, facing an overwhelming snowstorm. He could barely breathe.
In Songcheng University Martial Arts Club's resting area, Lou Cheng stood up subconsciously. "This is the first eight hits of 24 Blizzard Strikes!"
He watched Lin Que's offense become intenser and intenser, draining his strength while taking some energy from Gu Yue's blocks by constantly adjusting his weight and muscles. The pair seemed connected by a spring. One taking a step backwards would result in the other to advance faster, pus.h.i.+ng the craziness and fierceness of Blizzard Strikes to the next level.
Fear grew in Gu Yue's mind as the fight continued. He felt exposed in a fierce snowstorm. He would die if he sat put. But he would soon run out of strength if he struggled. Less and less strength was left. Colder and colder his heart became.
"This is the essence of 24 Blizzard Strikes! It doesn't lie in a move or a style... " Lou Cheng was stunned. Every single detail of his one-month practice replayed in his mind. He broke them down and then blended them into one. His hands were itchy and he felt desperate to try it out.
24 Blizzard Strikes consisted of three groups of eight moves each. Lin Que was performing the essence of the first group, Brutal Blizzard.
Pong! Bang! Sounds of physical collisionss gradually covered the screams from the audience.
Bang!
A figure repeatedly retreated until another kick at his chest sent him down the ring.
After a brief silence, waves of hooray broke out again, "Lin Que!"
Lin Que won!
Gu Yue got up, breathing heavily. He couldn't believe he had been defeated like this with very few opportunities to fight back. The ache in his chest was unbearable.
He squinted at Lin Que who was standing in the ring panting. He let out a low hum and returned to the resting area. Gu Yue spoke to Fei Sanli through grinded teeth, "Don't give him the time to catch breath. He can't hang on much longer!"
Fei Sanli touched his bald head and laughed. He ran up the stone stairs and got in the ring.
Without the referee's announcement, he started his footwork and dashed into Lin Que.
Lin Que didn't dodge. Instead, he took a step sideways to close up the distance between Fei Sanli and himself and started a tough hand-to-hand combat.
Fei Sanli refused to back off. He threw different strikes at Lin Que.
His two fingers rubbed by Lin Que's eyelids while Lin Que's fist touched his stomach. He grabbed Lin Que's hair with his right hand whereas Lin Que's palm blade cut his arm... The fight had gone wild, leaving the referee extremely nervous about accidental injuries.
The combatants of a formal Martial Arts Compet.i.tion were bound by the waiver. However, the referee would still be investigated for any intent or improper disregard.
After two or three minutes, the two figure suddenly separated. Lin Que was trembling with his eyes squinted and nose bleeding. Fei Sanli's face was badly beaten and legs s.h.i.+vering as if he was about to rub his bruises right in the ring.
The referee looked at them carefully and raised his right hand.
"Fei Sanli won!"
The outcome was clear. He stopped them before things went too far.
Earth-shattering boos broke out. The audience was disgusted by Fei Sanli's hooligan style.
Lin Que held a breath and went out of the ring with no delay as he didn't want to give Fei Sanli any time to recover.
Chen Changhua suddenly stood up, shaking his arm muscles. He strode up the stone stairs, brus.h.i.+ng past Lin Que.
Lou Cheng stepped forward to give Lin Que a hand. He felt Lin Que was extremely weak, just a breath away from pa.s.sing out.
"Thanks..." Lin Que murmured quietly.
"You're welcome," said Lou Cheng sincerely with his eyes locked on him. "Your 24 Blizzard Strikes is brilliant!"
"It drained his strength in a terrifying way. Lin Que could barely make it through the first round. Err... What a perfect match with my style!
"I have no concern about running out of strength!
"Master has chosen this martial art set for me for a reason..."
Chen Changhua was in the ring, facing the fiercely beaten Fei Sanli, who breathed heavily.
The scene changed suddenly as if he went back to his very first fight for Songcheng University Martial Arts Club. It had been a really long time but everything was vivid like yesterday.
"I was once high-spirited and vigorous...
"I was once full of patriotic fervor...
"I was once here with glory and s.h.i.+ne!"
Cheers and hooray echoed by his ears, loud and intense!
"Come on, Chen Changhua!"
"Come on, Chen Changhua!"
Come on, Chen Changhua... Chen Changhua looked lost, unsure if he was in a dream.
His eyes slightly flamed with emotion. He gazed at Fei Sanli like a hungry tiger and sprang at him in his Snake Steps.
"At the end of my youth, I can burn another fire!
"I am the manager of Songcheng University Martial Arts Club!"