Chapter 258 - Fatal Weakness!
"Ah, what's going on? Why is Nie Feng-ming throwing up blood too? The opponent didn't even hit him!" The spectating people were all dumbfounded. Even some of those combat experts were boggled, with only a few people at a higher realm becoming speculative ...
Inside the Wuji box, Han Yu, Wei Ji, and the rest, who had initially been happily chatting and joking around, not thinking much of this match, finally found their expression's twisting in shock. Han Yu in particular could not help but exclaim, "What the bloody hell is going on? It can't be that this is a supernatural encounter, right?"
The opponent was clearly not as skilled as Nie Feng-ming, and he had already been pummelled by Nie Feng-ming till he was half-crippled — even stranger was the fact that Nie Feng-ming had not been hit whatsoever ... how then had he mysteriously gotten injured to the point that he was puking out blood?
Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun shared a glance, Zhao Jun's eyes similarly brimming with confusion. This was because there was no one who could intercept an opponent so many times at the precise spot where the opponent's strength was the weakest. As this bizarre situation had never occurred before, most people just could not conceive of it, and hence were unable to figure things out.
Li Lanfeng's eyes remained as calm as before, but inside his heart, he kept thinking that those movements were rather familiar — it was as if somewhere deep in his memory, someone else had done something similar before ...
When Nie Feng-ming began throwing up blood, he had no choice but to stop attacking. He leapt back abruptly, pulling away, thinking that Qi Long would follow him, but unexpectedly, Qi Long only stood there, not moving a single step. Instead, Qi Long's eyes were wide as he continued to sport his split-mouthed grin — backdropped by his bloody face, his expression seemed rather stiff and eerie.
Nie Feng-ming swiped at the blood on the corner of his lips, eyes trained on this unbeatable youth before him. No matter how steady and level-headed he was, at this moment, he could not help but become anxious internally. He sorely wished he could strike this detestable youth down with one punch and end this unending sticky-candy of a match.
"Feng-ming, be patient!" Right then, Nie Feng-ming heard a familiar voice ring out from behind him. Turning to look, he saw that Boss Huo had already come up to the edge of the stage, and was giving him a quiet reminder.
As long as the people by the stage did not climb onto the stage, verbal communication was within allowed parameters during the fights. Thus, Ling Lan's words to Li Yingjie, as well as Boss Huo's words now to Nie Feng-ming, were all considered legal actions — neither side would have any objections.
Nie Feng-ming nodded at Boss Huo, his initially slightly restless and impatient heart settling down. He turned once more to look at the motionless Qi Long — it was just as Boss Huo had said, the current Qi Long was not the Qi Long at the beginning of the match. Even though he looked half-crippled, for Nie Feng-ming to truly defeat the other, he needed to first find a way to avoid the other's perfectly timed interceptions.
Nie Feng-ming took a deep breath and moved. However, the direction he chose to attack in was no longer straight on, but from the side — he was betting that Qi Long's broken body was unable to move.
As expected, Qi Long's body did not move — his head did not even twitch. Only one fist again appeared abruptly before his eyes, again aiming for that most uncomfortable spot.
So the side doesn't work? Nie Feng-ming leapt back the moment his fist bumped Qi Long's. He then once again changed directions to get behind Qi Long.
This scene made everyone cry out in shock, because they all knew what Nie Feng-ming was planning — he wanted to attack Qi Long from behind. This action might seem somewhat unsporting, but on the battlefield, there was no such thing as fairness. Only the person who survived would be the winner.
However, were things really as he imagined them to be? Just as his foot was about to hit Qi Long's back, he suddenly found that a large fist was once more before his eyes, accurately striking the side of his kneecap.
There was a 'crack!' — this was the sound of a joint being dislocated. Qi Long's strength had accurately struck at the most fragile spot on Nie Feng-ming's leg, finally causing Nie Feng-ming to grunt involuntarily.
Nie Feng-ming was no ordinary person — even though his knee had been unexpectedly dislocated by Qi Long, he did not yell out. With a stomp of his left leg, he flew backwards to once again stand at his original position. However, now he was using only his left leg as his support. His right leg was dragging on the ground, no longer able to exert any energy.
Qi Long had in fact not turned around completely. He had only shifted half a step, but this half step had been enough for Qi Long to obtain the angle he needed to swing his fist, intercepting the opponent's attack in a timely manner while bringing him the unexpected benefit of wounding the other further.
With this, the outcome of the match was once more shrouded in mystery — it was possible for either side to win or lose. After all, one person's body was heavily injured, while the other's right knee was dislocated. The scales of the match were once again balanced. At this point, even Boss Huo from Leiting could not help but frown, because now even he could not tell how this match would turn out.
He peered at Qi Long, who was still wearing that bloody grin, and felt that that grin of his was really too creepy and unnatural. In his memory, the other had seemed to be like this ever since he had begun using that inscrutable fist to intercept Nie Feng-ming's attacks ...
Could it be ...? Boss Huo's gaze lit up, and both his eyes locked onto Qi Long, tracking him closely. The fight was still ongoing — even though Nie Feng-ming's knee was dislocated, this did not prevent him from attacking. Very soon, Qi Long and Nie Feng-ming were once more engaged in combat.
This time, Boss Huo did not spare any of his attention on Nie Feng-ming. He put his entire focus on Qi Long — whether it was Qi Long's smile or gaze or even his reflexive actions, Boss Huo missed none of it. In the end, his eyes brightened even more. He had discovered what condition Qi Long was in right now.
Apparently, Qi Long was already at his limit. The grin on his face was not a true grin, only there because Qi Long just did not have any spare energy to shift the muscles of his face. He had funnelled all his remaining energy into his fists. As long as Nie Feng-ming continued to harass Qi Long, and drain all his energy, the other would fall in due time ...
While Boss Huo was just figuring out Qi Long's condition, Ling Lan, as Qi Long's boss, had already begun frowning deeply the moment Nie Feng-ming had chosen to attack Qi Long's back.
When Qi Long had shifted that half step to counterattack, the furrow of Ling Lan's brow had deepened even further. That's right, at that point, when no one else had noticed anything, Ling Lan had already discerned that Qi Long was already running on fumes.
For that half step, Qi Long had had to hold back the agonizing pain all across his body to move with a Herculean effort. Beneath both of Qi Long's almost immobile feet were two average-sized puddles. The puddles did not consist of the blood Qi Long had spat out from his mouth, but of sweat which had poured from his body when he had pushed through the pain to execute that half step ...
Ling Lan closed her eyes in regret, feeling sorry for Qi Long. She knew Qi Long's personality well — as long as there was a chance of winning, he would not think of losing at all. However, Qi Long's breakthrough had still been too late. His internal injuries were too severe; his broken body simply could not support his counterattack.
However, this pity Ling Lan felt only lasted for a brief instant. What she prioritised the most was still the improvement Qi Long had gained in this match. Trading one defeat for Qi Long's breakthrough, Ling Lan felt that this was unbelievably worth it.
"Feng-ming, don't be so one-minded! Attack from all angles!" shouted Boss Huo once again.
Nie Feng-ming had the utmost trust in his boss. Thus, hearing his boss's instructions, he did not pause to think about it — with a spring of his left leg, he flew into the air like a large bird of prey. This time, he did not attack Qi Long directly, but in accordance with Boss Huo's instructions, he came up behind Qi Long ...
And then he leapt into the air once more, sending a fist hurtling towards Qi Long's lower back!
With a 'bam!' the two fists collided forcefully. Although Qi Long tried his best to turn around, his battered body would not allow him to abuse it a second time, finally lodging its protest.
This time, Qi Long only managed to shift a small half step, even smaller than that of the first time. Although he did manage to turn, it was not a complete turn, so he did not have the time nor the space and angle to disrupt the opponent's attack. In order to protect his body, he could only take this attack by force.
This was the first direct Qi-Jin confrontation between Qi Long and Nie Feng-ming since Qi Long's breakthrough. The difference was that this attack of Nie Feng-ming's was of a tentative nature, and so did not contain his full power, so Qi Long managed to bear it.
The two fists could be seen to push against each other for about 1 to 2 seconds, and then Nie Feng-ming was sent flying back by the rebound force of the collision. Meanwhile, Qi Long's body swayed violently in place, and the blood which had stopped flowing began to trickle from his mouth once again. Still, even so, he did not retreat even half a step.
It was not that Qi Long did not want to retreat, but once he did, the breath holding him upright would escape. Even under these circumstances, Qi Long still did not want to give up, because he did not want to lose to anyone other than Boss. In Qi Long's mind, he could only lose to Ling Lan.
As expected! Nie Feng-ming landed on one foot, because his other leg was powerless, and to stabilise himself, he had to take several hops back. Though he looked a little clumsy and dishevelled, all this could not stop him from smiling. Due to Boss Huo's advice, he had found Qi Long's fatal weakness.
It turned out that Qi Long was really already at his limit, and could no longer turn around!
"Has it still been exposed in the end?" Ling Lan sighed. Even though Ling Lan had known that Qi Long's weakness would eventually be discovered by the opponent, Ling Lan had still hoped for a lucky fluke in her heart. She had hoped that Qi Long would have a chance to defeat the other before he was figured out by the opponent.
Since Nie Feng-ming had discovered Qi Long's weakness, he naturally did not prolong the fight. He once again moved to Qi Long's back and attacked with a rapid fist ...
Qi Long was still holding on. From the stage, sound after sound of fists colliding could be heard. Following the increase of Nie Feng-ming's strength, the swaying of Qi Long's body became more and more extreme. The blood never stopped flowing from his mouth, instead increasing in volume with time, until it was flowing out like water ...
Now was the time! Nie Feng-ming sensed the power levels from Qi Long's fists once more, and his eyes instantly shone with a radiant light. The next move would be when the outcome would be decided — with just one more punch, he would defeat Qi Long.
However, he did not want to end things like this! As the second strongest combat expert within the military academy, this fight with Qi Long had greatly hurt his pride. Under the situation where he had the full upper hand, he had actually been inflicted with internal injury in a mysterious way. Moreover, the opponent had even found a chance to dislocate his knee. Nie Feng-ming felt that this performance of his was a disgrace. If he could not utterly crush the opponent, he would never be able to lift his head before the people of Leiting ...
A trace a cruelty flashed through Nie Feng-ming's eyes. He took in a powerful breath, concentrating all the Qi-Jin in his body, and shouted, "Pneumatic Punch!"
Chapter 259 - Giving Him a Taste of His Own Medicine!
Boss Huo stood up abruptly, yelling in shock, "Feng-ming, stop!"
On the stage, Tang Yu's expression changed drastically. With a shift, his body sprung into motion, prepared to stop this highly destructive ultimate move of Nie Feng-ming. If some major casualty occurred in these fights he was refereeing, it would be a great dereliction of duty ...
There was a 'thwack', clearly distinct from the dull thumps of fists hitting flesh. This sound was obviously much crisper. Everyone found to their shock that, heaven knows when, another person had appeared on the stage.
He stood between Nie Feng-ming and Qi Long, easily holding Nie Feng-ming's fist with one hand. The fluttering of his sleeve proved that this person had just rushed onto the scene.
His fist in the other's palm, Nie Feng-ming's first feeling was that the other's strength was like a bottomless ocean. When the explosive power contained in his fists charged at the other, it was like a stone dropping into a tranquil sea, with nary a splash nor ripple. It was truly as if his strength had been swallowed whole by the boundless depths of the ocean.
This feeling lasted for only a brief instant, and then Nie Feng-ming perceived the opponent's strength as a large mountain — he was only standing there without counterattacking, but Nie Feng-ming could not budge an inch.
What frightened Nie Feng-ming even more was the extremely cold air the other was currently emitting. Nie Feng-ming accidentally made eye contact with the other, and saw endless blood-soaked killing intent. Nie Feng-ming's spirit and body were both already at their limits to begin with, his mental resistance at its lowest — this surge of bloody killing intent struck deep into his inner mind, inciting endless terror, and his body actually began to tremble uncontrollably.
Colonel Tang Yu had finally rushed to Nie Feng-ming's side by this time, but he was a step too late. When he saw that Nie Feng-ming's attack had been intercepted by a passing stranger 1 , he instantly let out a sigh of relief.
However, he soon calmed down and was shocked by a realisation. He had in fact been the person closest to Nie Feng-ming, but the other had arrived a step ahead of him. Didn't this prove that the other was stronger than him?
Tang Yu stared in stupefied wonder at the other. The person was dressed in the regular green military academy uniform, was neither tall nor short, and his figure was somewhat on the slender side, but without the sense of fragile delicacy Luo Lang exuded. His straight-backed figure seemed to contain boundless energy — otherwise, he would not have been able to stop Nie Feng-ming's attack so easily without any harm to himself.
Most surprising was the fact that though he looked extremely cold-hearted and ruthless, this still could not conceal his young and immature face. That unfamiliar face and that extremely common freshman uniform instantly allowed Colonel Tang Yu to know the other's identity.
Tang Yu was not planning to berate the other. After all, Nie Feng-ming's last attack had indeed been too vicious. As teammates from the same group, wanting to save a comrade was perfectly justified — Tang Yu approved of it.
However, before Tang Yu could ask any questions, the students below the stage had already begun to exclaim:
"Who is that?"
"How did he suddenly appear on the stage?"
"Yeah, when did he go up?"
As the newcomer had moved too fast, many students whose realm was not high enough yet had only managed to see that a person had appeared on the stage out of thin air. They could not see how the other had gotten there, which was why they were so baffled.
"That person's speed has almost reached the limits of the human body!" Those people with adequate vision within the boxes all acknowledged this point, stunned to the depths of their heart. Although they did not know the other's background, without discussing it beforehand, they all mutually noted his appearance, determined to investigate once they went back to find out who he was ...
Tang Yu's complexion very quickly returned to normal, and he said to the person, "Cadet, thank you very much for your assistance. However, the fight is still in progress. Please leave the stage."
"That's unnecessary. This round, we, the New Cadet Regiment, have lost," announced Ling Lan dispassionately.
Tang Yu was taken aback, unsure whether the other could speak on behalf of the New Cadet Regiment, when from below the stage, the New Cadet Regiment representative Wu Jiong could be heard to call out, "That's right, we, the New Cadet Regiment, admit defeat for this round!"
Since the representative of the New Cadet Regiment had acknowledged the loss, Tang Yu did not raise any questions, instantly declaring, "The 3rd round, 5th year Nie Feng-ming wins! The overall score is 2-1, Leiting Mecha Clan in the lead over the New Cadet Regiment."
Tang Yu had barely finished his announcement when Ling Lan turned to look at the stubbornly upright Qi Long behind her. A surge of sour pain coursed through her heart. Although she had wanted Qi Long to break through, she had never intended for Qi Long to end up in such a terrible state, becoming so gravely injured. If she had not managed to intercept Nie Feng-ming's blow in time, the force of it would have shattered most of Qi Long's bones. Even if he managed to recover, Qi Long's initially amazingly sturdy body would be downgraded by several levels, perhaps even choking off Qi Long's boundless potential.
At this thought, the rage in Ling Lan's heart flared. She hated the other's viciousness, and cursed her own carelessness at taking things for granted. Fortunately, nothing truly regrettable had happened, otherwise she would have regretted it for life.
Ling Lan took in a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the burning rage in her heart. She said lightly to Qi Long, "The match is over. You can rest now."
The initially standing Qi Long heard this, and as if receiving some command, he collapsed. Tang Yu reacted swiftly, nimbly catching Qi Long and checking on his injuries. His complexion paled slightly, and he yelled out, "Staff, send him to the treatment centre, quickly!" He had not expected Qi Long's internal injuries to be so severe, and the boy had still fought on for so long, unwilling to fall till the very end ... what kind of mental support did this youth have?
Tang Yu could not help but think back to the previous fighters, Luo Lang and Li Yingjie. They too were the same — withstanding almost unbearable injuries to execute horrifying counterattacks ... he could not help but look at this cold-faced youth before him. Even if the other had not made it clear, he could tell that the true leader of the New Cadet Regiment was likely him.
Very soon, Qi Long had been sent to the treatment centre. As his sworn brother, Han Jijyun naturally could not sit still any longer. Without waiting for Ling Lan's orders, he took the initiative to accompany Qi Long ...
At this time, Nie Feng-ming, who had been lost in the haze of bloodlust, finally overcame his inner demon by relying on his excellent mental fortitude, becoming aware once more.
"You've woken up?" Ling Lan's expression was still cold and emotionless, but the suppressed rage in her eyes burned brightly once more following Nie Feng-ming's awakening.
"This match is over. Cadet, please let go of the representative." Although Nie Feng-ming's final Pneumatic Punch had been somewhat vicious and uncalled for, nothing unsalvageable had happened after all, so Tang Yu was hoping to minimise the fuss. After all, the match involving Nie Feng-ming was already over — the New Cadet Regiment would not gain anything from chasing the issue.
Hearing Tang Yu's words, Nie Feng-ming began to struggle, trying to wrest free of Ling Lan's grasp. For some reason, he just felt that this cold youth before him was way too dangerous. His instinctive reaction was to get away from the other.
"We admit defeat because our skills are no match for our opponent. However, those who intend to harm my brothers will have to pay the due price!" Ling Lan's icy voice reverberated throughout the entire combat hall. This was Ling Lan's declaration to the entire military academy — towards anyone who would harm her brothers, she would not show any mercy.
Yes, Ling Lan was truly angry now. She wanted everyone in the military academy to know that she, Ling Lan, was no cowardly limp-egg that would willingly shrink away quietly and just take what others dished out 1 .
Her words had barely faded when Ling Lan's hand on the other's fist abruptly lifted, and Nie Feng-ming was thrown bodily into the air. When he was about 2 metres away from the ground, Nie Feng-ming felt a cold and powerful hand press on the back of his skull, which then pushed forwards forcefully ...
This sudden action of Ling Lan's made the expressions of both Tang Yu on the stage and Boss Huo below the stage pale drastically. They thought that Ling Lan was about to commit murder. Without prior agreement, they both leapt at Ling Lan, trying to stop the other's rampage.
Tang Yu was only one step away from Ling Lan, but he had only just thought of approaching when an invisible surge of Qi-Jin stopped him. Meanwhile, Boss Huo was too far away — the duration of that blink of time was not enough for him to get there in time.
A loud "boom" rang out! The entire stage shone with a radiant light and emitted an ear-splitting alarm. The majority of people could not tell what this represented, but as the referee, Tang Yu knew that this meant the force the stage had received was already close to its maximum capacity. If a little bit more force was added, the stage may collapse entirely.
At this moment, Tang Yu could no longer maintain his composure. His face was extremely pale — it should be known that the sturdiness of this stage in the combat hall was enough to withstand all damage below Domain stage. Since the stage was sounding its warning, could it be that this new cadet was already infinitely close to Domain? Or perhaps he had already arrived at that rumoured half step into Domain?
Only after the light from the stage had faded and the warning alarms had died down, could all the spectating students see the situation on the stage clearly, whereby they were all flabbergasted.
Nie Feng-ming's entire body was laid flat on the stage, his front plastered to the ground. On his face which was turned slightly to one side, both of his eyes were rolled up so the whites were showing — it could not be determined from appearance whether he was dead or alive. With his body at its centre, countless large gaping cracks had spread across the entire stage, causing the stage to seem broken and dilapidated. It really led people to worry whether the three people still standing on the stage would collapse the stage entirely if they moved.
Boss Huo, who had already rushed onto the stage, saw Nie Feng-ming's terrible condition, and his eyes turned red. He pointed at Ling Lan angrily and questioned, "Why did you kill him?"
Ling Lan flicked her sleeves, as if brushing off some dust, and replied emotionlessly, "Don't worry, he isn't dead!"
"Not dead?" These words made Boss Huo calm down instantly from his towering rage. He quickly turned to look at Colonel Tang Yu.
At this time, Tang Yu had already rushed forwards to check on Nie Feng-ming. He probed the side of Nie Feng-ming's neck, and his initially troubled expression eased. Luckily the boy was only severely injured and not dead. Otherwise, even if he had wanted to help the New Cadet Regiment, things would not have been so easily settled.
"He's still breathing, but the bones of his entire body have been broken. He must be sent to the treatment centre immediately. It looks like Nie Feng-ming won't be able to recover fully without spending about a year and a half's worth of time." Tang Yu let Boss Huo know Nie Feng-ming's condition, and then swiftly instructed the staff to send Nie Feng-ming to the treatment centre.
Right then, Tang Yu really did not know what to say anymore. In three consecutive rounds, all six participants were sent to the treatment centre. Was this really a combat showdown or was it actually a death match? Never had any wagered fight been so brutal — at the bottom of it, it was all because these freshmen, each and every one of them, were such tough nuts to crack, unwilling to admit defeat ...
During the new cadet admission assessment, didn't those unholy terrors 1 break these new cadets' proud bones and teach them a good lesson? Colonel Tang Yu could already sense that the pride of this batch of freshmen were extraordinarily robust, not at all like students who had been tormented and shamed ...
Hearing that Nie Feng-ming was ultimately fine, Boss Huo finally let out a sigh of relief. He suppressed the rage in his heart as he asked in a measured tone, "Why did you harm our team member without any reason?"
"Without any reason? I was only giving him a taste of his own medicine." Ling Lan's cool gaze was locked onto Boss Huo, "Could you not tell what your team member was doing just now? If that move of his had landed, my brother would be in his current condition."
"Didn't you manage to save him? Since your brother is fine, why would you be so cruel?"
"And if I had not managed to save him?" Ling Lan shot back, "I will not forgive anyone who harms my brothers. No matter how powerful the other's faction is, or how formidable the other is personally."
At this point of her speech, Ling Lan's icy gaze swept out to encompass everyone watching the fights. She bit out word by word, "Right here, I want to remind everyone in the military academy, including all the major factions. If anyone dares to trouble my brothers for no reason, or harm them, I will definitely never let it rest. No matter how long it will take, I will make sure they pay for it."
Using her spiritual power, Ling Lan made her voice ring out by everyone's ear, including those within the boxes. Quite a few weaker students actually found themselves trembling, their entire bodies feeling cold ...
Only Li Lanfeng's expression shifted at these words, a subdued spark flashing through his eyes. What familiar energy! Could the other be a kindred type 1 ? Li Lanfeng, who had initially held very little interest in Ling Lan, instantly slotted Ling Lan into his mind. When he found an opportunity later on, he would be prepared to test the other. If they were alike, perhaps there was the possibility of a collaboration ...
1. Meant metaphorically. As in an uninvolved person.
2. 忍气吞声愿意做缩头乌龟的软蛋: A rather convoluted phrase. I've polished it to make it read better and be easier to understand, but for those who are interested, the original literal version is 'limp-egg that would hold her temper and swallow her voice to willingly be a head-retracting tortoise'.
The 'limp-egg' part can also be understood as 'floppy and soft', i.e. no backbone.
3. 鬼见愁: Here, the phrase is referring to the examiners on the ships who were ferrying the new cadets. The original phrase is literally 'ghosts see and fear', which pretty much refers to how terrible and frightful someone is that even ghosts are frightened by the mere sight of them. The examiners are very, very scary, or well, they were supposed to be.
4. i.e. Are you a specter just like me?
Chapter 260 - Spiritual Life Coach?
Boss Huo found his breath stifled for a moment by Ling Lan's question, but fury soon followed in response to Ling Lan's arrogant words. In his extreme rage, he laughed and said, "What shameless boasting. A tiny first year actually daring to threaten us?" Where did these first year students get the gall to do this?
"Oh no, I'm just clarifying our New Cadet Regiment's principles in dealing with outsiders," responded Ling Lan calmly, "I also believe that, the other groups, including senior's Leiting Mecha Clan, will have something similar to this creed as well. We are just doing what we should."
Ling Lan was not wrong. As an organisation, in order to protect the group and the welfare of its members, there must be some action. For example, the Leiting Mecha Clan's method of doing things was even more bossy and tyrannical than what Ling Lan had said. It went to the extent where if an outsider did not want to submit to them, they would be targeted on all fronts.
However, this was all established on individual strength ... an idea sparked in Boss Huo's mind. He unleashed his full aura and pressed it down on the youth opposite him, and said slowly, "Ambitious, and your words are haughty, but it still remains to be seen whether you have the corresponding level of strength to back them up. Otherwise, it's all hot air, and you will only be laughed at for biting off more than you can chew."
Right beside them, Colonel Tang Yu sensed the great force of Boss Huo's aura pressing down, and his expression could not help but shift subtly. He threw a hurried glance at the main target of this force, but found Ling Lan still standing there with his back straight, expression unchanged, and the colonel's expression eased as he let go of his worry.
Ling Lan seemed to not feel any of the pressure Boss Huo was silently heaping on her. Airily, she replied, "You can try."
Boss Huo was just about to retort to that when Colonel Tang Yu suddenly opened his mouth to interrupt, "The names of the 4th round have yet to be announced, so both of you please leave the stage. Do not affect the continuation of the fights."
Boss Huo cast a contemplative glance at Tang Yu, and then peered searchingly at Ling Lan for a long moment before sneering and said, "I hope we'll have the chance to fight. What you suggested just now is precisely what I intend to do ..." That said, he did not linger. With a dash, he left the stage, returning to Leiting's area.
The corners of Ling Lan's lips quirked at these words, revealing a very light trace of mockery. She of course knew what the other was hinting at. It was nothing more than wanting to take revenge for his team member ... the two of them were destined to fight in the end anyhow; she would just wait and let things be.
Thus, Ling Lan also dashed back to her own territory. Right then, Wu Jiong approached nervously and asked in a low voice, "Boss Lan, can we really win?"
For the first time, some uncertainty actually appeared in Wu Jiong's expression. This greatly surprised Ling Lan — in her mind, Wu Jiong had always been a mentally stable and assured youth who would never lose confidence in himself.
"What are you trying to say?" Ling Lan quirked an eyebrow.
Wu Jiong averted his eyes briefly and said, "Even Qi Long lost, will I ... will I be okay?"
Wu Jiong knew very well that the situation was extremely disadvantageous for the New Cadet Regiment right now. They needed to win both of the final two rounds to win this wagered fight. This meant that, regardless of which match he had to fight, he could not lose. This type of pressure was not easy to bear, and on top of that, he had just seen Qi Long, who was stronger than him by a hair, fighting so hard just to lose in the end anyway. This caused him to begin harbouring a tendril of doubt in his own abilities.
These words of Wu Jiong's made Ling Lan turn her head abruptly, her bleak gaze shooting straight at Wu Jiong.
This gaze pierced Wu Jiong's heart like a sharp blade, causing him to lower his head in shame. He knew that something had gone wrong with his mental state — behaving so disgracefully at this critical juncture, he was really letting Boss Lan down ...
With a 'thwack', Ling Lan flicked a forceful finger onto Wu Jiong's forehead, causing Wu Jiong to look up and cover his forehead reflexively, his expression confused.
"Have you woken up?" asked Ling Lan.
"Ah ..." Wu Jiong was gaping in bewilderment, reflexively making a sound in response. It looked like Ling Lan's finger-flick had really stunned him silly. After all, he and Ling Lan's relationship was unlike that of Ling Lan with Qi Long and the others of his team — childhood companions who had grown up together — but more of a working relationship. And Ling Lan's action just now was extremely intimate, like the way one would treat a beloved follower. This made Wu Jiong emotional and conflicted at the same time, making him unsure how he should react all of a sudden.
"Wu Jiong, frankly, your combat talent is not much weaker than Qi Long's," said Ling Lan after Wu Jiong had calmed down slightly.
"Ah ...?" Once more, Wu Jiong was left stunned by Ling Lan's words. Was Boss Lan trying to console him? Mind you, he had always been suppressed by Qi Long, having never beaten the other even once. It was obvious that his talent was no match for Qi Long's.
"The reason you can't beat him, is that you are not as simple as Qi Long here," Ling Lan pointed to her own chest.
Ling Lan's words confused Wu Jiong, but Ling Lan continued to explain, "Other than combat, Qi Long's heart has nothing else. But you are different. The things you think about are many, such as your future, and the futures of the members of your team ... all these distract your mind from pure combat, which is why you will never catch up to Qi Long in terms of combat."
Wu Jiong grinned wryly at these words and replied, "Qi Long has you, Boss Lan, to help him. Of course he can focus without any distractions ..."
Ling Lan interrupted him to say, "No, remember when I left the academy for three years? Without my help, you still did not manage to chase up to Qi Long. Have you never considered the reason for that?"
Wu Jiong blinked, his expression troubled. For a beat, he could not understand what Ling Lan was saying, but he was after all a clever person. After turning the idea around in his mind for a while, he figured it out, and instantly chuckled bitterly, "So that's how it is. It's because Qi Long has Han Jijyun, has Luo Lang, has Lin Zhong-qing, has Xie Yi ..."
"Yes, Qi Long's other strength is his willingness to believe in his companions. He believes his companions will handle the other things well, so he does not have to worry, able to immerse his full heart and soul into the path of martial combat," said Ling Lan, nodding, "Qi Long understands his role in the team very well, and has always been working hard to live up to his role."
At this point, Ling Lan peered at Wu Jiong and said, "On the other hand, you, trusting only Ye Xu, have taken on the roles of almost everyone else ... you have too much to worry about, so with regards to martial combat, you of course cannot match up to Qi Long."
As he listened, Wu Jiong ducked his head in shame. What Ling Lan was saying was precisely the problem with his team. Despite being very strong individually, in comparison with Ling Lan's team, his team members were all clearly much weaker in their role designations. Previously, he had always thought it was because the skills of his team members were no match for Lin Zhong-qing, Xie Yi and the others of Ling Lan's team, but now, from the looks of it, he himself was the problem.
"But, from another perspective, you should also be proud of yourself." Ling Lan's words took an abrupt turn, causing Wu Jiong to lift his head in surprise, to stare at Ling Lan in disbelief. He had already behaved so terribly ... why would Boss Lan still say he should take pride in himself?
"Even though your attention had been split up among so many things, you still were not left too far behind Qi Long. Isn't that something to take pride in?" Ling Lan asked, lifting an eyebrow.
These words of Ling Lan made Wu Jiong's heart feel warm instantly — so he really was not that much worse than Qi Long!
"That is why I believe in your strength, that you will definitely win at the critical moment ..." Ling Lan finally gave her answer. All of this talk was actually just to eliminate that little speck of self-doubt in Wu Jiong's heart. As the big boss of the regiment, she really did not have it easy ...
Ling Lan was in fact very bothered inside. When had she also taken on the job of being the spiritual life coach of these children? Li Yingjie was one, and now Wu Jiong was another ... but, upon reflection, Li Yingjie's and Wu Jiong's behaviours were more like those of a normal 16 year old teenager. Qi Long and Luo Lang were the ones who were weird, actually submitting themselves to a round of torment on the field without any reservations.
Could it be that because she was not a normal 16 year old girl, her companions who grew up with her had also become abnormal along with her? At this thought, Ling Lan could not help but feel a bout of remorse. Of course, this feeling only lasted for a very brief moment before being thrown to the back of her mind.
In the course of one conversation, Ling Lan achieved her purpose. From his initial uncertain state, Wu Jiong had now become unbelievably confident. This also allowed Ling Lan to relax — after all, no mistakes could be made in these final two rounds.
"Boss, the opponent has submitted their name list! As expected, it's their weakest member, Chang Le 1 !" Little Four finally piped up from within the mindspace. This time, Leiting had submitted their name list very late, basically right at the border of the allocated 5 minutes. However, following the submission of the opponent's name list, Little Four instantly sent Wu Jiong's name over.
This was Ling Lan's instruction. She had already told Little Four that she would be fighting against that strongest Boss Huo, while the weakest Chang Le would be Wu Jiong's opponent. Thus, when the opponent'name list was revealed, Little Four had sent Wu Jiong's name over without checking in with Ling Lan again.
On Colonel Tang Yu's end, to the naked eye, it looked as if the New Cadet Regiment and the Leiting Mecha Clan had submitted their name list at the exact same time. This made the colonel raise his eyebrows, silently impressed at how unruffled the two factions were, able to wait till the very last second before submitting their name lists. He could not know that this process involved some flawlessly excuted cheating by a miraculous intelligence entity.
"Leiting Mecha Clan vs New Cadet Regiment, 4th round. 4th year Chang Le against 1st year Wu Jiong!"
Following this announcement, Leiting's Lin Zhidong rapped his own head with a fist in frustration. He had initially wondered whether to let Boss Huo go up in this 4th round, but then, he was afraid that that mysterious youth who had crippled Nie Feng-ming in one blow would also be fighting in this round. After much thought, he decided to send out the weakest Chang Le to be sacrificed against the opponent's strongest member, but unexpectedly, the opponent was so calm, actually sending out their regiment commander, Wu Jiong.
At this moment, Lin Zhidong already knew that this Wu Jiong was most likely just the public regiment commander of the New Cadet Regiment. The one truly in charge of the New Cadet Regiment should be that mysterious youth, because the pressure the mysterious youth exuded was much heavier than that of Wu Jiong's ...
"This is good. I really want to personally teach that youth a lesson," Boss Huo suddenly spoke up from beside him, causing Lin Zhidong to jump. With that, Lin Zhidong no longer dared to reveal any more of his frustration, only nodding to show that he understood.
However, both their reactions showed that they did not look favourably upon Chang Le's chances in this match. After all, Wu Jiong was the public regiment commander of the New Cadet Regiment, so he really could not be that weak. The other three who had come out so far were all at Qi-Jin stage, so this Wu Jiong must surely be at Qi-Jin stage as well. It was just unclear whether he was in the early stages of Qi-Jin or the middle stages ... meanwhile, although Chang Le was also at Qi-Jin stage, he was only at the mid-level of early stage Qi-Jin. This match, would definitely be tough to win.
1. 常乐: This person's name is so cute. It literally translates into 'always happy'. :3 I wonder how happy he'll be after the fight ... *smirks*
Chapter 261 - Wu Jiong's Calculation!
After taking the stage, Wu Jiong and Chang Le had their guards up. Wu Jiong shouldered the huge pressure of having to win, while Chang Le hoped to end this battle in his turn and become the great hero of Leiting.
In contrast to Lin Zhidong's and Boss Huo's uncertainty, Chang Le was extremely confident of himself as he had already reached mid-level early stage Qi-Jin, and believed that Wu Jiong was around the same level as those two new cadets who had come out earlier on, who had just entered first-level early stage Qi-Jin. He was not convinced that there would be new cadets stronger than him, and Qi Long, the one who came out during the third match, was probably the rumoured aberrant as he was extremely strong.
Chang Le had overlooked Ling Lan's existence at this moment. He was under the impression that Ling Lan could severely injure Nie Feng-ming in one strike only because Nie Feng-ming and Qi Long had been in a situation where both sides had suffered serious injuries, so Nie Feng-ming had been defenceless. It had to be said that having a huge discrepancy between their strength made one unable to see the actual facts, and Chang Le was currently in such a state.
When Chang Le saw Wu Jiong doing a high-level military physical defensive hand gesture when he took the stage, he was instantly delighted.
There were numerous top-class combat arts in the military academy, one of which was the top-class combat art used by the military. When Chang Le had advanced into Qi-Jin, the physical skill he had selected to match his upgrade was that one. As such, seeing that Wu Jiong was also using that same set of military physical skills, he was overjoyed. When using the same series of physical skill, the higher levels countered the lower levels. With that, Chang Le was even more convinced that victory was in his grasp.
He who was extremely confident did not think of probing his opponent, instead using a powerful finishing blow from the military physical skill right off the bat.
Witnessing the situation, Wu Jiong's eyes gleamed. Perhaps the opponent's attack speed was extremely fast and he could not dodge, as Wu Jiong merely braced himself by making a cross with his arms to defend and intercept the opponent's attack!
"Bang!" A loud sound resounded and Wu Jiong was knocked back hard, his feet sliding across the ground, marking it with two streaks. Meanwhile, Chang Le's body simply shook before he steadied himself.
Solely based on this encounter, it seemed like Wu Jiong's strength was a notch lower compared to his, and Chang Le was heartened by this. He did not even think it through before he continued attacking, his foot kicking out forcefully.
Wu Jiong did not choose to receive the attack but instead dodged it with a slide.
This action reaffirmed Chang Le's belief that the other party was weaker, thus not daring to receive his attack directly. Before he went up on stage, Boss Huo had reminded him to exercise caution and thoroughly understand the opponent's strength before making a move. Currently, Chang Le whose whole head was filled with grand dreams of being a hero had tossed Boss Huo's warning to the back of his mind. In addition, burning up with passion, he had long forgotten the need to retain thirty percent of his strength for defence as he unleashed all of his strength into his attacks against the opponent.
He did not notice that, despite the fact that Wu Jiong had been sidestepping from the beginning and seemed like a small boat struggling amidst a surging gale, his face was abnormally calm. Every dodge of his was extremely efficient without being sloppy, and those with keen eyesight could see that Wu Jiong seemed to have a well-thought-out plan with every dodge and clearly understood his opponent's path of attack.
"No good, Chang Le's too impulsive, and I'm afraid he's fallen into the opponent's stratagem." Boss Huo who was seated below and observing the match furrowed his brow, involuntarily looking towards Ling Lan seated in the New Cadet Regiment's area with his hands crossed, his expression calm, seemingly having a card up his sleeve.
Apparently sensing Boss Huo's line of sight, Ling Lan coldly met his gaze, and then, the corner of her mouth raised slightly, as if saying victory belonged to them...
Boss Huo felt stifled. Although he had had a premonition of Chang Le having a difficult fight, Boss Huo did not wish to lose...
"You're stronger than your opponent and as long as you remember to go steady and strike hard without advancing prematurely, we can win this match." Wu Jiong who was dodging on the stage suddenly recalled the words Ling Lan had told him before he took the stage, and endless admiration welled up in his heart.
After receiving an attack from the opponent, Wu Jiong was aware that the opponent was inferior to him by a notch. Initially, he could have chosen to attack head-on and fight a fierce battle, and defeat his opponent that way, but Wu Jiong did not wish to do so.
After three consecutive bitter and desperate battles, Wu Jiong wanted to gain a complete and overwhelming victory to prove the might of their New Cadet Regiment. Therefore, he had revealed weakness on purpose, so that the opponent would have the mistaken impression that his strength was weaker, and abandon defence to focus fully on offence …
Of course, there was another reason why Wu Jiong had set this up. — he knew the opponent had also learned the top-class military use combat arts. If it had been any other combat move, he would not have done so. After all, deliberately showing weakness might very well lead to shooting oneself in the foot, allowing the opponent to seize the flow of the match and put him in a passive position. Just like during the first battle Luo Lang fought, it was the opponent's mocking that allowed Luo Lang to seize the opportunity and gain upper hand.
However, it just so happened that the opponent had learned the top-class military combat move, and who was Wu Jiong? He was a direct descendant of a military elite family, the Wu family, a genuine N-generation military family descendant. In addition, the inherited martial arts in the family was the physical skill used by the military, and when he had advanced in Qi-Jin levels it had caused a sensation in Wu family because he was the youngest descendant in the family who had advanced. Even the family head was alerted, who then directly instructed him in the Wu family's exclusive secret moves.
These combat moves had been researched and tempered through N-generations of Wu family masters, assimilating the best traits of the top-class military combat moves while harmonizing them with other top combat moves. It was inevitable to be extremely familiar with various types of military physical skills while learning their family's secret moves, and there were even many moves that specifically countered those of the military physical skill set, including the top-class military combat moves.
This was also the reason Wu Jiong had fearlessly devised this plan. He was familiar with the opponent's moves and even during the first few attacks, killing moves aimed to counter them had directly surfaced in Wu Jiong's mind. However, Wu Jiong believed that the opportune timing had yet to arrive, so he had endured silently until now...
But now, Wu Jiong considered that timing to have arrived. The opponent had once again struck out with both fists — this was a military top-class combat move called the Twin Dragon Strike. The scary part of this attack was that as long as both hands were to simultaneously make contact with the opponent's body, a Qi-Jin loop would appear between the fists, directly destroying the opponent's internal organs, which made this one of the most powerful killing moves of the military top-level combat arts.
Yet, there was a fatal weakness in this attack, and that was the user's chest would be completely exposed, and when both fists struck out, the move had to be completely executed without any leeway for retreat. Thus, as long as he pinpointed a weak spot, the opponent would not have time to change moves even if he wanted to save himself. Therefore, Wu Jiong believed that his opportunity had arrived...
Wu Jiong suddenly came to a stop and no longer dodging, his hands abruptly came together, while both his arms thrust forwards to place him between Chang Le's fists. With a loud shout, his originally joined hands suddenly separated, while his arms spread open to push out forcefully against the opponent's forearms …
Only after both of the opponent's fists had brushed past his body, did Wu Jiong retract his arms and used both fists to strike fiercely at the opponent's chest —— Twin Dragon Strike Remake! This was the Wu family's secret move, a revised first-rate combat move of Twin Dragon Strike. This secret move allowed offence and defence in one move, counteracting the weak point of the original Twin Dragon Strike of being unable to defend!
Chang Le received a direct blow from Wu Jiong and crashed heavily to the ground with a thud, sliding out several meters before spitting out a jet of blood...
This unexpected scene shocked everyone, because Chang Le had held the upper hand all along, so they had not expected the situation to suddenly change, for Wu Jiong to actually knock down the opponent with one move.
Chang Le collapsed onto the ground, covering his chest, but was unable to contain the fresh blood in this mouth. He then asked painfully, "Why do you know this move…?" Familiar with the military combat art, he naturally understood that the move the opponent had executed was from the same series.
Wu Jiong coldly replied, "As a student of the military combat arts, you should know which family has the strongest military combat arts."
Chang Le recalled something, and his complexion turned deathly pale. "The Wu family. So you're from that Wu family… I am too unlucky." That said, he fainted and was thoroughly unconscious. Wu Jiong had pulled his punches and only injured his heart instead of completely destroying it. Otherwise, Chang Le would not even have had the opportunity to speak with him….
Unlucky? Was it truly just bad luck? A hint of disdain was revealed on Wu Jiong's lips and he felt ashamed for actually losing confidence earlier on. Luckily, Boss Lan had made him realize in time that he was strong enough ...
At this moment, Colonel Tang Yu had gone up to examine Chang Le's condition, and discovering that the youth's injuries were severe, he hastily called out for staff members to send Chang Le to the treatment centre. Subsequently, he announced the New Cadet Regiment the victor for this match, bringing the overall score to 2-2, with both teams back at the starting line once again.
Everyone's attention was now on the last match. They were all looking forward to whether Boss Huo, the number one in combat arts, would truly appear on stage...
Wu Jiong coolly walked off the stage. Out of the four matches, he was the only representative who was uninjured. His performance was sufficient to prove that he was absolutely suitable to be the public regiment commander of the New Cadet Regiment.
"You've done well." Spotting Wu Jiong walking over, Ling Lan was generous with her praise.
A hint of a smile appeared on Wu Jiong's originally stony face at the praise. He recovered his senses very quickly, however, and mentally shook his head. He had not expected to be so happy with just one sentence from Ling Lan — he was even happier than when he had received his father's acknowledgment...
This time, Little Four immediately submitted Ling Lan's name without waiting for the opponent to publish their list, as regardless of who came out, Boss was going to fight the last battle anyway.
The five-minute intermission finally elapsed, and Tang Yu loudly announced on the platform, "New Cadet Regiment Vs Leiting Mecha Clan, 1st year Ling Lan against 5th year Huo Zhenyu."
Following the announcement, enthusiastic shouts sounded from the audience. Reason being, Huo Zhenyu was the Military Academy's number one in physical skill combat, as well as being the Leiting Mecha Clan's previous leader. His reputation was not inferior to Thunder King Qiao Ting's, and it was only during the fourth year, after passing the position to Qiao Ting, that his prestige had declined. Even so, witnessing Huo Zhenyu actually standing up on the stage, the older students who had been looking forward to seeing him fight could no longer contain their excitement as they cheered loudly.
"He's really going to fight. Damn, seems like Leiting is determined to win against the New Cadet Regiment." The various leaders of the major forces sighed.
After witnessing Huo Zhenyu emerge on the stage previously, they had had a premonition that he might be fighting. However, they had still held on to a trace of hope, wishing that he would consider his status as the top rank in combat skills and not rashly take the stage.
Chapter 262 - The Reactions of the Various Factions!
Yet, reality crushed the hopes of the various faction leaders. This indicated that they were unlikely to obtain even the slightest share of this big fish that was the New Cadet Regiment. They could not help but secretly sigh in regret. If they had known that the new cadets this year were so outstanding, they would have long taken action instead of watching from the sidelines and allowing Leiting to take possession of this decisive opportunity right now.
The various leaders could already envision the future. After Leiting swallowed the entire New Cadet Regiment, their influence would definitely expand once again. With that, the position of the number one faction in the Military Academy would not be changing in the slightest for several years, firmly belonging to the Leiting Mecha Clan.
Putting aside the bitterness and regret of the major factions, the senior students observing the fight believed that the Leiting Mecha Clan would inevitably obtain victory in this last match without any suspense. While everyone was in shock and excitement due to Huo Zhenyu's appearance, the new cadets' reactions caused the surrounding people to raise their eyebrows, to the extent that those senior students believed that the new cadets had limited outlook and experience, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.
It turned out that, after beholding Ling Lan, the powerhouse of their hearts, ascending the stage, the new cadets were unable to restrain their excitement as they stood up in succession, raising their arms and shouting, "Boss Lan will certainly win!"
That's right, in the hearts of every member of the New Cadet Regiment, especially students from Central Scout Academy, Boss Lan who had guided them in winning the grand armed melee and taking control of the spacecraft would never be defeated.
This display of the New Cadet Regiment caused the others to be secretly shocked at the position Boss Lan held in the members' hearts. Previously having considered them to already be in their grasp, Lin Zhidong's expression changed subtly upon witnessing this scene as he recalled Boss Huo's warning. He began having misgivings towards Ling Lan while pondering on methods to diminish Ling Lan's prestige among the new cadets after taking in the New Cadet Regiment.
At this moment, no matter how slow-witted the various leaders of each faction were, they were now clear about the devil who had caused Zhang Jing-an to be so apprehensive.
In Wuji's cabin, Han Yu's face suddenly darkened after hearing the fanatic shouts from the new cadets. "Apparently, the aberrant Zhang Jing-an mentioned should be this person." Besides him, there should be no one else who could achieve this.
Han Yu's gaze was shadowed as he looked at that stern, lean youth on the stage, and he felt a complicated emotion silently emerge within him. Thinking back on the time when they themselves had entered the Academy, even though they were proud and arrogant, they had had no option but to join the Wuji faction which belonged to their galaxy as they were under pressure from all sides.
Even so, as 1st-year cadets, they had always been ordered about and lectured by the older cadets with seniority and no one would help them. They could only clamp down their tails and endure the toughest first year, and then work their utmost hardest to increase their strength later on. After that, he had expended great effort to climb up the hierarchy, fighting and scheming, to finally become one of the leaders of Wuji Mecha Clan.
Han Yu was simply unwilling to recall how much hardship he had endured during that time. He had originally thought that this was an inevitable route every cadet had to walk without exception, as even the formidable Thunder King, Qiao Ting, had walked that same path.
Yet against everyone's expectations, the new cadets this year had taken an unprecedented path. To avoid being bullied and enslaved, they had established a faction belonging to them alone that was not weaker than the other influential powers almost immediately after entering the military academy. Then, soon after, they had accepted Leiting's challenge in a high profile manner, causing the new cadets to become the focus of the entire academy. And at present, they were tied against Leiting, proving their strength.
Despite all this, Han Yu did not believe the new cadets would be the final victors. Still, based on their performance on the stage, the senior members of Leiting would certainly refrain from provoking them even if they joined the Leiting Mecha Clan. It was apt to say that, in the military academy, the strong were respected, and honour was obtained through strength.
Wei Ji heard Han Yu's words and quietly sighed. "Seems like we've belittled this aberrant. It's no wonder Zhang Jing-an regarded him with importance while simultaneously avoiding him."
Since the third contestant from the New Cadet Regiment was already at mid-level intermediate stage Qi-Jin, it was reckoned that Ling Lan should be at mid-level advanced stage Qi-Jin at worst. Even he had to look up to this realm as his physical skills had only entered the early stages of Qi-Jin, because they had concentrated on mecha piloting all these years …
Wei Ji felt lingering fear just thinking about it — the strength of new cadets this year had exceeded his expectations. Fortunately, he had not provoked them on impulse from the start, as Wuji did not have a solid foundation like Leiting. If they were to have fought on the stage, the outcome of the battle would have been hard to say.
Zhao Jun heard them, but he was unconvinced. He sneered and said, "Being good at physical combat doesn't mean he'll also be outstanding as a mecha operator…" That dismissive look of his caused Han Yu and Wei Ji to involuntarily purse their lips. However, they were aware that Zhao Jun was a frank and outspoken person, so they did not refute his words.
Having heard what was said, Li Lanfeng smiled. "Zhao Jun, you shouldn't speak this way. A person who performs well in battles won't be too inferior as a mecha operator." A person with robust physique would often possess a slight advantage in mecha piloting. This was also the reason why the military academy had emphasized training up their physiques as it was unlikely for the majority of experts to have bad physiques.
"Hmph, that might not be true. Isn't Zhang Jing-an a mecha cripple?" When Zhang Jing-an had entered the military academy, he was the only new cadet who reached Qi-Jin stage and was top-ranked among the new cadets. Unfortunately, after starting to learn Mecha Piloting from the second year, the other cadets had caught up with him, and he was currently on the verge of being lost in the vast sea of cadets. His figure was nowhere to be seen in the top fifty, and he had become a laughingstock between the upper echelons of the various large factions ...
If not for the fact that the Doha Central Academy faction that Zhang Jing-an belonged to had a strong foundation, just based on his strength, they might not have been able to maintain the ranking of being the military academy's number four faction.
Hearing Zhao Jun mention Zhang Jing-an, everyone was silent as this was a fact that could not be refuted. In reality, there were many cases similar to Zhang Jing-an's, of students having powerful physical skills but not excelling in mecha piloting.
At this moment, seated in a certain area among the New Cadet Regiment, Gao Jinyun spoke to a few people seated beside him. "Boss Lan is about to appear on stage. You all had better watch attentively."
One of the people he was speaking to asked nervously, "I heard that the opponent is the top-rank in combat skills. No matter how powerful Boss Lan is, he won't be able to win against the opponent, right?"
"Yeah! Although Boss Lan has capability and charisma, Leiting is ultimately the number one faction. Is it really appropriate to go against them so early?" Another person voiced this question. In reality, he was not optimistic about how the New Cadet Regiment's battle would turn out this time; if Gao Jinyun had not warned him in advance not to try anything, he might have already followed the other team leaders and considered alternative options.
Hearing what they had to say, Gao Jinyun sneered. "I specially reminded you all because of our relationship. Don't be short-sighted like the others and collude with outsiders when the outcome has yet to be revealed. Furthermore, even if Boss Lan were to lose, I'd still advise you all to follow Boss Lan… Don't foolishly think you would become a true member of Leiting after joining them."
Gao Jinyun's words caused the others to become wordless and silent. If they truly joined Leiting, could Boss Lan keep the New Cadet Regiment from disbanding? Leiting would never allow such a situation to happen, and the first person to be suppressed was most likely to be Boss Lan.
"Do you think anyone can suppress a person like Boss Lan?" Gao Jinyun's question caused everyone to shiver. Would that chilly and domineering Boss Lan acknowledge allegiance to another? Oh my god, please forgive their inability to imagine that.
Gao Jinyun sneered, "Leiting wants to devour the entire New Cadet Regiment but that would depend on whether they have the ability."
Ever since the spaceship incident, Gao Jinyun had had an inexplicable trust towards Ling Lan. While many hearts wavered, he resolutely believed that Ling Lan would never become a subordinate to another faction. In his heart, no one could become boss of Boss Lan.
"Besides, would Boss Lan lose?" Gao Jinyun concealed this sentence deep in his heart and did not say it out loud.
He was not convinced that the Boss Lan who could calmly confront the captain of the spaceship and not be at a disadvantage would lose to a mere academy cadet. Even if that cadet was in their 5th year or was about to enter the military as a combat expert. Compared to the captain who had climbed out from a sea of blood, the force of presence of a cadet was obviously weaker and completely incomparable.
These leaders had been roped in by him into the New Cadet Regiment, and thus, he had to live up to his responsibility towards Boss Lan and prevent the others from betraying him.
Perhaps Gao Jinyun's words had proved effective, for a few of the originally hesitant leaders became determined. Regardless of the result, they decided they would follow alongside Boss Lan. In any case, Boss Lan was similar to them — as new cadets of the same enrolment year, it was more likely that he would look after them. Without a doubt, this was a better choice compared to the other factions.
Hearing them say that they would not turn traitor, Gao Jinyun immediately relaxed and settled down quietly to watch Boss Lan's match. Currently, he was unaware that Ling Lan already had intentions to seize this chance to clear out those opportunistic cadets who were clearly only trying to benefit from the regiment.
Of course, these actions of his were not meaningless, because he settled the hearts of these small team members so they did not betray the New Cadet Regiment, which led the Central Academy students to truly acknowledge those students who came from the other Doha scout academies. This built a great foundation for Ling Lan to genuinely become the king of the new cadets, and it could truly be said to be an unintended side benefit ...
By this time, Ling Lan and Huo Zhenyu had moved onto the elevated stage. The two of them did not make any preparations for battle; they were merely standing casually on their respective sides. It was as if they were not participating in the final decisive match, but instead taking a stroll.
However, as the referee, Colonel Tang Yu nodded mentally in approval at the situation. Although both fighters seemed relaxed, their casual stances were, in fact, without any openings. Tang Yu believed that, as long as there was the slightest sign of movement, they could instantly enter a battle state. This was the result of assimilating combat into their basic instincts, and it could be seen that their combat realm had already exceeded that of every cadet here.
Right then, no matter how unperturbed Tang Yu was, he could not help but shoot a glance at Ling Lan while wondering to himself, where exactly had this aberrant come from …?
Colonel Tang Yu quickly sorted out his thoughts, and without asking if the two fighters were prepared, he waved his hands and announced loudly, "The match begins!" With their capabilities, it did not matter if they were prepared or not, so Tang Yu would not ask unnecessary questions.
Following Tang Yu's declaration, silence fell around the stage as everyone's attention became focused on the two combatants.
Chapter 263 - Oppressive Aura!
Although Colonel Tang Yu had announced the commencement of the match, Ling Lan and Huo Zhenyu seemed not to have heard it, not moving in the slightest.
Ling Lan's bearing was grave and stern, her gaze cold with both hands behind her back while she stood to one side. Huo Zhenyu's eyes were half-lidded as he quietly stood on the other side with a calm expression, seemingly not minding who his opponent was, as if the confrontation during the third match had not happened …
Just like that, one cold and the other calm, they stood without moving as they allowed time to pass. One minute elapsed, two minutes elapsed, three minutes elapsed … Along with the passing of time, some noise could be heard in the combat hall. In particular, some of the older students were baffled as to why Huo Zhenyu had not chosen to attack after such a long time.
They believed that, as the number one combatant of the Military Academy, Huo Zhenyu could certainly dispose of the opponent with no difficulty, so they were puzzled by his inactivity for such a long period of time.
They were unaware that it was not Huo Zhenyu who did not want to take action, but rather, he did not have the chance to do so. During these three minutes, he had been constantly searching for an opening in the opponent, but regardless of how hard he searched, he couldn't find a window of opportunity. Even though there had been a few faintly discernible chances, they had been rejected by him as they had made him feel an indescribable sense of danger.
Huo Zhenyu was not a rash person, so he had chosen to continue waiting, and with this wait, the time had exceeded three minutes...
' To not have the slightest opening … ' Huo Zhenyu could not help but smile bitterly. At this moment, he was secretly guarded against Ling Lan, the reason being that an opponent whom he could not find an opening in could not be weak.
However, should he continue waiting? Huo Zhenyu immediately rejected this thought. According to the opponent's ability, he would not reveal any fatal opening even if he waited. Therefore, Huo Zhenyu changed his mind and decided to take the initiative to force an opening.
Hence, Huo Zhenyu's aura burst out from his body and bore down on Ling Lan like a wave.
In reality, whether a combatant had reached late-stage Qi-Jin or not would depend on whether he had grasped control over his own aura. That was to say, a combatant of late stage Qi-Jin could release their own aura to oppress the opponent, causing the opponent to be unable to display one hundred percent of their fighting capability. After reaching late stage Qi-Jin, there was no possibility of losing when facing an opponent of weaker strength.
Of course, there was another reason Huo Zhenyu had activated his oppressive aura, and that was to find out the opponent's true strength, for using his oppressive aura was a good method for probing.
Ling Lan and Huo Zhenyu were at a deadlock for three minutes, each side only executing a few baiting moves during that period. However, Huo Zhenyu had not been tempted and Ling Lan could not help but silently acknowledge that the opponent was truly an experienced, expert fighter, able to see through her intentions.
That's right, the reason why Ling Lan did not take the initiative was that she could not find an opening in the opponent's defence, and even if she had attacked, it would have been useless as it would be easily dodged. However, she wanted to defeat the opponent in one move and show the might of the New Cadet Regiment, preventing others from daring to provoke them rashly ...
Ling Lan wanted to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, and sadly, Huo Zhenyu had become the chicken. Although this chicken might be a terrifying fighting chicken, it would not change the initial intention Ling Lan had when she accepted the fight from the start.
Of course, based on Ling Lan's strength, she could directly activate her ability and temporarily lock down the opponent's movements for an extremely short time, accomplishing a one-strike defeat. However, as someone who liked to hold back, Ling Lan was unwilling to reveal all her cards, which was why Ling Lan wanted to accomplish this magnificent feat while concealing her strength.
Ling Lan had been pondering her next move, when she suddenly sensed the opponent's oppressive aura pressing towards her. Ling Lan's heart thumped. ' As expected , he's at peak level late stage Qi-Jin … If it was me three years ago, it would definitely have been a hard battle. However, right now … '
Thanks to instructor Number Five borrowing Ling Lan's body, she had been able to directly breakthrough from peak level late stage Qi-Jin to optimal peak. In addition, her body had memories of Domain, allowing her to get a glimpse of the mystery of Domain.
Although she was unable to officially advance to Domain stage due to various reasons, she had indeed entered the legendary half-step to Domain stage!
With the ability to activate her domain, although the period of time was absurdly short, this allowed Ling Lan to become an unequalled ultra-expert below the Domain stage.
The moment the opponent used his oppressive aura, Ling Lan knew his intentions. The corner of her lips curled up slightly, but she revealed a grim expression, and her stance which had been without any openings slowly broke down ...
"A chance!" Huo Zhenyu's expression brightened and his figure flashed, appearing before Ling Lan in the blink of an eye. Raising his right hand he had prepared beforehand, he immediately thrust out a strong and powerful fist.
"It's here, Boss Huo has attacked." The situation on the stage could be seen clearly and when Huo Zhenyu moved, everyone who was awaiting a fight shouted. Nonetheless, both the combatants' fists had already collided against each other on stage by the time the spectators shouted.
"Good move!" Ling Lan had made a fist and faced his attack directly without fear. She had long waited for this attack and with her strength, she had nothing to fear.
In fact, Ling Lan had progressed in this type of powerful and overbearing style which, according to Instructor Number Nine, was not a route a female should take. Unfortunately, the majority of the instructors who instructed her were males and in particular, the overbearing instructor Number One.
Even if Number Nine was discontented, she dared not express her objections outright, only choosing instead to instruct Ling Lan in as many techniques that trained her flexibility as she could, hoping Ling Lan would not end up becoming a rough, masculine female brute.
"Bang", a muffled sound echoed! Ling Lan's and Huo Zhenyu's fists accurately counterbalanced each other, and even though the resulting sound seemed as if they had not exerted a great amount of strength, the edge of the elevated stage produced a brilliant light. This indicated that the entire stage had been completely saturated with the Qi-Jin released by the both of them, and was infinitely close to its critical point.
On the ground surface of the arena, with their position as the centre, countless cracks expanded outward. From that, the force both of them endured could be seen.
After remaining in a deadlock for several seconds, both of them suddenly sprang apart. Ling Lan retreated seven to eight steps before standing firm and it was the same for Huo Zhenyu. Both of them seemed to be evenly matched but there was still some difference between them — Ling Lan wore a cold expression as before, whereas Huo Zhenyu's expression was fluctuating between red then white. And then, a trace of blood could be seen trickling down from the corner of his mouth.
This scene caused all the spectators to go into an uproar and in the Leiting area, everyone's expression changed, especially Lin Zhidong's. His face had collapsed entirely on itself into an unsightly expression.
"How could this be?!" Not only were the senior cadets who were spectating the match from below the arena in disbelief, even the leaders of various factions in each cabin had reacted in unison as if by a non-existent prior agreement, crying out in surprise, unable to believe the scene they had witnessed.
Regardless of how shocked those senior cadets were, the cadets of the New Cadet Regiment leapt up and cheered upon witnessing this scene. As expected, no one can defeat Boss Lan!
Looking at the New Cadet Regiment clapping in celebration, the people from Leiting seemed somewhat depressed and silent. Many of them could only do their best in comforting themselves that their Boss Huo might have underestimated the enemy and did not use his full strength in that attack, and thus, the opponent had grasped the opportunity… They could only secretly cheer for their Boss Huo, hoping his next move would teach the opponent a lesson and prove Boss Huo's strength, diminishing the morale of these new cadets while he was at it.
Regardless of what others thought, on the stage, Huo Zhenyu was currently astounded. He originally had ample confidence in his strength and believed that even the teachers in the academy might not be stronger than him in terms of physical combat. However, at this moment, a new cadet had caused him to feel inferior — a punch he exerted all his strength to throw had been easily received by the opponent. It was to the extent that during the previous contest between their Qi-Jin, he had been at a disadvantage. Could it be that the opponent's realm was higher than his?
"Hey, do you still want to fight?" Ling Lan's chilly voice echoed in Huo Zhenyu's ears, causing cold sweat to emerge on his body. He had been so shocked by that last encounter that he had actually forgotten he was currently in a battle. If the opponent had not reminded him and had instead chosen to mount a surprise attack, he might have already fallen victim to an attack. If he had been injured as a result, then this battle would truly become hard to fight.
Tang Yu looked at Ling Lan in astonishment. That had been a good opportunity for a surprise attack and he had assumed Ling Lan would not have let this chance slip by. But contrary to his expectations, Ling Lan had shaken his opponent out of his stupor. Was he abiding by the martial arts' principles of fairness? Tang Yu could not help but furrow his brow, because this was not a desirable mindset on a battlefield.
Nevertheless, Tang Yu relaxed his frown very soon and broke into laughter. All in all, Ling Lan was only a new cadet who had just entered the Military Academy and had never been on a battlefield, so naturally, he did not know that there was no so-called principle of fairness there. Only those who survived were the true victors, and perhaps he would understand the correct way of handling matters after going out on a battlefield.
Ling Lan had thought of mounting a surprise attack, but if she were to defeat the opponent this way, the people from Leiting would have believed that she was merely lucky and had not defeated her opponent by true ability. This outcome was not what she wanted, so she had spoken up to alert Huo Zhenyu with seemingly good intentions.
"Are you prepared? I'll be attacking next," Ling Lan spoke seriously.
Huo Zhenyu smiled wryly and nodded. Since he had received the opponent's favour of warning him beforehand, he had no choice but to receive the opponent's attack. As the opponent was willing to face him with fair-mindedness, he did not want to be belittled by him.
Seeing his reaction, Ling Lan's expression brightened faintly and she continued, "This attack is my strongest killing move. Be prepared!"
These words caused both Tang Yu and Huo Zhenyu who were on stage to be at a loss. Should they criticize the other's straightforwardness or remind him not to be too frank?
Currently, both of them did not expect that Ling Lan's intentions of saying these words were in hopes of Huo Zhenyu not evading her attack. Her seemingly overly frank sentences were actually a trap intended to leave Huo Zhenyu with no room to back off, yet still making him believe it was his own choice.
At this moment, Ling Lan could not help but smirk. Her reminder had actually obtained her her opponent's appreciation, resulting in the opponent having no choice but to receive her attack head-on. This was absolutely a pleasant surprise that had saved her a lot of trouble.
Ling Lan took a deep breath, and took a slight step forward as her right fist punched out softly.
This punch looked as light as a feather, but Ling Lan knew she had used One-Inch Punch with it. However, the opponent's bearing had made Ling Lan reluctant to be too extreme, so she had only used three parts of her strength in the One-Inch Punch.