Capítulo 35: Ring Seven Round Five
Sounds of punches, kicks and body collision echoed in the stadium. While watching the fight in Ring Seven, Lou Cheng unconsciously started thinking about his opponent. Amateur Fourth Pin. Baiyuan Martial Arts School. Specialized in arm boxing...
What are the features of arm boxing?
How big is a gap there between an Amateur Fourth Pin fighter and Brother Li Mao of Amateur Third Pin?
Can I prepare myself for his specialized moves?
...
The thoughts disturbed Lou Cheng from watching the fight. He took the closest seat in the audience stand and started to search for information about arm boxing on his mobile. He even watched a video where a fighter was using arm boxing in a fight to have a direct, solid understanding of his opponent despite a large amount of data it would consume.
"Arm boxing imitates moves of the monkey. Its footwork is very agile. In the video, the fighter appeared at the opponent's back right after their frontal engagement as if a ghost. His punches were thrown like a whip or a spear with abrupt explosive force throughout his body. Every strike sounded crispy and crystal..." Lou Cheng painted his opponent with his own understanding and planned his responses. "I have no chance regarding agility or flexibility. But a defensive fighter can't win. One mistake and I'll be hit. I don't know if I can handle one or two punches from him.
"Err... I only have a very brief understanding of him and his arm boxing. What does he know about me, besides my age, height, and study in Songcheng University?
"I haven't attended any Ranking Event or formal combat. Who knows what I'm working on and what I'm good at if I don't say? He-heh... This is a rather special advantage. Is it possible to make use of arm boxing's characteristics to set a trap for him? Considering he must be taking me lightly, he should be easily hooked..."
His strong points flashed across his mind one by one. Lou Cheng lost in contemplation with his mobile in hand. Gradually an idea came up and a plan was formed.
As his anxiety passed, his breath became calmer and slower. His feeling of unease and loss faded while expectation and eagerness grew.
"It might work.
"How could I give up without fighting?"
Lou Cheng suddenly rose with pride and enthusiasm. The haze and dark clouds above his head were gone. He could accept a defeat as long as he fought his best bravely. "This is the spirit and will of a real fighter!"
Back to Ring Seven, Round Three just finished and the two fighters of Round Four were trying to enrage each other by dirty swear words during the three-minute talk session. Lou Cheng looked around and noticed a group in black at the left side of the ring. Some of them had a down jacket on top of their martial arts suit and some were busy with the phone. One of them was very eye-catching as his arms were much longer than average.
"Long arms... Must be Liu Yinglong..." Lou Cheng observed thoughtfully. Liu Yinglong had also noticed him. He whispered to the bearded man, "Look, my opponent."
The bearded man looked over and laughed. "Just a young student. No wonder he comes all the way for some practical exercise."
Other members of Baiyuan Martial Arts School burst into laughter. Soon they all left for their ring except the bearded man, and a young girl concentrated on her mobile who had no fight until 2 pm.
Round Four lasted for a long time as the two fighters were well matched. After another ten minutes of stalemate, the tie was broken. The two were both out of breath.
With over 20 knockout matches lined up in the morning, no time could be wasted. The referee quickly took a sip of water and announced the start of Round Five, inviting the two fighters to enter the ring.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Lou Cheng could no longer hold back his panic, shivering from toes to teeth.
This is to be my first ever official martial arts fight!
Few spectators. No cheers!
He took a deep breath and concentrated his spirit and qi on one item to block most of the tension, leaving a reasonable amount to boost his adrenaline level which would push his body into the best form.
Leaving his jacket and all his belongings to the supervisor, Lou Cheng stepped into the ring after his number plate was checked. He stood at the referee's left-hand side, facing the long-armed Liu Yinglong.
"Three-minute talk time." The referee cut it right to the point and took this three-minute period to recover his strength to avoid slow reaction in case of accidental injuries during the coming fights. After ten rounds, he would change position with the supervisor.
"Talk time?" Lou Cheng's head was empty after the bow. "What should I say?"
If it were Talker, the opponent wouldn't have a chance to make a sound...
Not good at this psychological play, Lou Cheng stood there still, kind of cute and innocent.
Liu Yinglong smiled and spoke first,
"Don't be nervous. Take it as another daily practice."
The bearded man and the young girl on her mobile both laughed aloud. "Is Brother too used to mentoring junior members in school?"
Lou Cheng looked a bit embarrassed as if facing Brother Li Mao's instruction during the special training.
"Thank you." He responded politely.
Facing a rookie, Liu Yinglong saw no point in playing psychological warfare with words. He counted down quietly and adjusted his breathing to push his body to its best form.
In half meditation, Lou Cheng coordinated every muscle of his body to reach the most suitable state for exerting strength slowly.
Three minutes soon passed. The referee pressed his right hand.
"Fight!"
His voice was still in the air when Liu Yinglong stepped forward to take the initiative despite his higher rank. His right arm shook with strength streaming through his entire body, throwing a punch as if a javelin at Lou Cheng's chest, generating a crispy sound of wind.
To engage his raging charge, Lou Cheng got in the defensive position with his left arm blocking and right deflecting.
Bam! A dull sound came from their body contact. Lou Cheng felt heaviness on his body, realizing the opponent had slight superiority in physical strength.
Glad rather than surprised Lou Cheng felt as the slight superiority indicated the gap between them was not insuperable.
It meant the three-month training, strengthened by Jindan, had increased his physical strength to the Amateur Fourth Pin level!
For a split second, Liu Yinglong disappeared from Lou Cheng's sight and reached his back like a bounding ape, giving him to time to respond.
Liu Yinglong's softly hanging left arm was suddenly taut up like a whizzing whip. It cracked down towards Lou Cheng's neck, leaving a curve and crispy sound in the air.
A strike with his strength on top of the arm boxing's abrupt explosive force could easily crack a bone or even cause a coma or high paraplegia if the neck was the target. The referee held his breath, ready to interfere at any second.
Lou Cheng, as if he had foreseen this move, dodged with two strides forth without looking back. Liu Yinglong followed with corners of his mouth upward and threw another punch, attempting to corner Lou Cheng and force him out of the ring!
Lou Cheng slid left and Liu Yinglong followed closely. His right arm was again like a javelin thrown at Lou Cheng.
Right before the punch landed, his eyes froze as Lou Cheng suddenly straightened his back and pushed his spine, shifting his weight back to the right like a dragon rising out of the ford.
"Yin-Yang Stance!"
Lou Cheng's strongest point!
Playing on his footwork, Lou Cheng went to Liu Yinglong's back. He lowered his body and started to focus on a Brutal Blizzard and imagine the snow-capped land, whistling wind, and biting cold weather in his mind.
His mind concentrated on the chill as his strength chased the brutality. When his muscles were adjusted readily to launch one of the first eight moves of 24 Blizzard Strikes, the scene formed in his mind changed. A giant lightning bolt shot down from heaven, hitting a tree and starting a blazing prairie fire.
A numbing feeling hit his tailbone and a hot stream quickly flew through his body. Pushed by two different forces, a sense of swelling started to spread along his arms. Lou Cheng clinched his right hand into a fist and wielded it like a whip or a dagger, targeting at Liu Yinglong's neck. A whistling sound severed the air. Very similar to the last bout but the two fighters had switched their roles.
By the ring the young girl was still on her mobile, too concentrated to notice the change of tide. However, the bearded man who had been watching the match closely already smelled danger and stepped forward with his eyes locked on the two.
As soon as Liu Yinglong's powerful punch missed its target, he saw Lou Cheng disappear and almost at the same time heard the howling wind behind his back. Unable to dodge, he could barely take a step. His body tilted stiffly to save his neck from the brutal strike.
Bam!
Lou Cheng's punch landed solidly on Liu Yinglong's shoulder, pushing his entire body down with a sharp pain and the sound of bone cracking rising straight to his brain.
Liu Yinglong gritted his teeth as he swallowed the pain. He attempted to turn the table with an elbow hit but Lou Cheng gave him no opportunity. As his heart, calm and cold, gave continuous impetus to Brutal Blizzard, Lou Cheng turned sideways to parry the elbow hit and then smoothly lifted his right foot to launch another move of 24 Blizzard Strikes at the back of Liu Yinglong's knee.
Hit at the back of the knee, Liu Yinglong couldn't remain standing. As soon as he knelt down, Lou Cheng held his left arm behind his back, leaving his injured right arm alone, and kept him under control.
"Round Five. Lou Cheng won!" The referee called the result.
Upon hearing the result, the young girl raised her head away from her phone, seeing her senior brother kneeling on one knee held by the student of no rank.
What? What the heck?
What just happened?
She, full of confusion, turned to the bearded man, who appeared in a trance with his terrified eyes locked on Lou Cheng whose eyes were filled with coldness and craziness.
Brother lost the fight!
How is it possible?
A moment ago, he was winning. How did he lose the fight?
The opponent was a young student of no rank! Am I dreaming?
"Round Five. Lou Cheng won!"
When the referee's announcement reached Lou Cheng's ears, he felt unreal.
I defeated an Amateur Fourth Pin master...
Did I?
Everything seemed unreal until he let loose Liu Yinglong who then gazed at him with an odd expression on his face.
"You are very strong..."
"I am very strong?" Lou Cheng was instantly pulled back to reality.
I did just defeat an Amateur Fourth Pin master!
Everything went just as he has planned: exploit arm boxing's flexible footwork to hook the careless Liu Yinglong, leave his own back vulnerable deliberately to lure him to launch a reckless attack, hit him heavily with Yin-Yang Stance after he loses flexibility from the all-out attack, and then suppress him with Brutal Blizzard. If this plan didn't work, he would most likely be the one kneeling on the ground.
As Master said, most fights between two martial artists in the body refining stage or the Danqi stage, however long it lasted, all came down to one or two solid hits unless they were specialized in Iron Blouse or Golden Bell Cover. Normal bodies couldn't take bullets, nor could they stand solid punches or kicks. Some ancient martial arts book even claimed that between life and death was only one strike.
"Thanks for your instructions." Lou Cheng bowed to Liu Yinglong with a smile.
Watching the three of them walking away and frequently turning back with fear and surprise, Lou Cheng jumped out of Ring Seven. He got back his belongings and quietly squeezed into the crowd of fighters and spectators.
In a secluded corner, Lou Cheng let joy and excitement take over, smiling, jumping and throwing punches in the air.
"I won!"
"I did it!"
I defeated an Amateur Fourth Pin master!
Capítulo 36: Spectators Accumulated One by One
The bearded man in a dark down jacket and the young girl holding a cell phone followed behind Liu Yinglong, turning around to look at Ring Seven once in a while until streams of fighters and spectators completely blocked their sight.
Liu Yinglong advanced without a word, forming a great mass of depression over his junior brother and sister.
Finally, the young girl couldn't hold her tongue any longer. She asked timidly, "Brother, where are we going now?"
Liu Yinglong stopped. He answered in a very low voice after a few seconds,
"The Emergency Room."
The bearded man and the young girl exchanged a look with disbelief. "The student of no rank defeated our senior brother and injured him?"
Dead silence again shrouded them as they barged their way through the crowd towards the emergency ward.
Injuries were extremely common in martial arts competitions. Disability and death took place every so often. All formal tournaments cooperated with hospitals to set up an emergency ward somewhere inside the venue for immediate treatment.
...
Lou Cheng, with a huge grin on his face, paced around excitedly. Words couldn't describe how thrilled he was. He took his mobile back and logged on his QQ to share his victory with Yan Zheke.
"Ha-hah! I won my first ever official match! I won! I won!" His hands typed quickly, adding a proud smile in the end.
Of course, Yan Zheke was still flying in the air. She would get it as soon as 11 o'clock when she landed if there was no delay.
Lou Cheng calmed down a bit after sending that message. He decided not to inform Cai Zongming of this good news until after all were settled as he wasn't sure how far he could go. "In case I lost in the second round, he would laugh at me for days."
He opened the forum and clicked on the live broadcast post to check the progress of Road to the Arena and Invincible Punch but only to find out their fights were both scheduled in the afternoon. They were wandering about in the stadium and watching random fights in different rings.
"Unfortunately, my match attracted no attention. Not many spectators witnessed my victory..." Lou Cheng was upset for a second. He put away his mobile and moved to the central ring to broaden his views.
The central ring was reserved for more attractive matches which were usually between two finely balanced fighters. A martial artist of Professional Ninth Pin was not necessarily the key to a good fight as it could finish in no time if the opponent was weak.
Those reputed fighters were surely exceptions since many spectators came all the way to watch them fight. Their matches were undoubtedly arranged in the central ring.
A match just ended when Lou Cheng arrived at the central ring. Some spectators who obviously preferred close, live competitions than big screen videos were in a heated discussion.
"Baiyuan Martial Arts School is so strong. No wonder their reputation has spread to other cities in less than two years," A young man with acne said impressively to his friend.
His friend, short and stocky, nodded along. "Yeah. The fighter of Amateur Fifth Pin was only one level higher than the opponent, but he won the match so quickly with ease!"
"Ha-hah. He jumped up and down like a monkey in a dizzying pace. The opponent could hardly follow his rhythm. What's his name?" A middle-aged man wearing a black leather jacket interrupted.
"Something like Qin Zhilin, one of the better students of Baiyuan Martial Arts School." The young man with acne, probably a local, seemed to know Baiyuan Martial Arts School pretty well.
"Who is the best student of Baiyuan Martial Arts School? I'll go and watch his match." The middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket sounded very excited.
The young man with acne answered after a moment of thinking, "Their senior brother Liu Yinglong. Liu from Liu Bei, Ying like 'ought' and Long like 'Dragon'."
The man in jacket wrote the name down so he could check out which ring the fight was arranged at the service desk.
As he stepped away, the two youths opened their mouth almost simultaneously.
"Let's sign up for the Baiyuan Martial Arts School!"
Their conversation made Lou Cheng proud of himself. "He-heh! The greatest student of Baiyuan Martial Arts School has lost to me!"
Based on their words, Baiyuan Martial Arts School's arm boxing was very powerful. I probably shouldn't treat Liu Yinglong as an average Amateur Fourth Pin fighter. He might have reached the Amateur Third Pin combat strength.
Of course, the gap of one pin or two is not huge. Even the difference of three or four levels is not that depressing. The outcome of a martial art match results from the fighters' standard, body condition, mental state, style counteraction and mutual understanding. Ranks can't speak for the result or what's the point in fighting?
"In this case, which level am I of now?" Lou Cheng evaluated his level while watching the match in the central ring. "My physical strength was slightly weaker than Liu Yinglong. My flexibility and agility was not a match for him. But I'm way out of his league regarding body coordination, explosive force, and endurance. Concentration and sensation levels are hard to compare... My moves didn't fall behind, but my actual combat experience was poor... So... I'm probably of Amateur Fourth or even Third Pin already?"
The evaluation result was beyond Lou Cheng's expectation. From the actual combat, he gained a directly perceived understanding of his level.
In less than three months, I've already caught up with Brother Li Mao? Am I already of Amateur Third or Fourth Pin?
Err... Don't feel too good about me yet. Have a few more fights and then I can be sure about it!
...
Qin Zhilin from Baiyuan Martial Arts School won a fight in the central ring and attracted much attention and cheers. He felt proud and contented, too excited to talk.
He gathered with a few schoolmates who had just finished their fight in nearby rings and headed to the meeting place together.
"Hurry up! Brother Liu Yinglong must be running out of patience!" said Qin Zhilin with squinted eyes. He scored a swift victory. Probably as quick as Brother Liu Yinglong's whose fight took place earlier.
Another student from Baiyuan Martial Arts School joked along. "Brother's opponent was feeble and their match took place ahead of ours. He shouldn't blame us for being late."
He also won the first round.
Qin Zhilin and his mates talked and laughed all the way to the meeting stand where Liu Yinglong was already sitting, accompanied by the bearded man in a down jacket and the young girl on her mobile.
"Told you Brother has been waiting." Qin Zhilin suddenly noticed something was stuffed in Liu Yinglong's right shoulder.
"Brother, what happened?" He blurted out.
The other students also sensed the odd atmosphere since the vigorous bearded man didn't even greet them.
Liu Yinglong answered with no emotion after a long silence, "Injured during the match."
"No way! That kid hurt you? He... Isn't he of no rank?" Qin Zhilin stuttered. Among all the students of Baiyuan Martial Arts School, he admired Brother Liu Yinglong the most. Starting from scratch, he surpassed all his peers in two years and reached the Amateur Fourth Pin level. In their master's words, he was gifted for arm boxing.
How could Brother get injured this easily?
Another student from Baiyuan Martial Arts School seemed concerned. "Brother, your shoulder's injured. What about the following matches?"
"What do you think? Quit." A female disciple retorted.
Her voice was welcomed by an awkward silence from the bearded man and the mobile young girl.
"No more following matches. I lost already," said Liu Yinglong in a hoarse voice.
Lost? Did brother lose the fight? All disciples looked at each other and exchanged doubtful glances.
"Brother, that Lou something is actually a direct disciple of some great master from one of the big sects who just never participate in any Ranking Event? Which level do you think he is of?" asked Qin Zhilin as soon as he recovered from the shock.
After thinking for a while, Liu Yinglong replied, "The body acts like one and coordinates at will... He's not far from, if not already reaching, this description."
The body acts like one and coordinates at will? Isn't that a description for the Danqi stage?
Astonishment and fear appeared in several disciples' eyes. None of them could say anything.
Liu Yinglong rose slowly after a brief silence.
"Let's go back to the school."
...
After a few minutes of wait in the queue, the middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket smiled at the girl behind the service desk.
"Could you tell me the ring and round of the match of Liu Yinglong from Baiyuan Martial Arts School?"
He was too lazy to go through the draws on the big screens. Also, he had no idea if the match had already ended.
The girl at the service desk answered with a standard smile, "Just a minute, please. Liu Yinglong from Baiyuan Martial Arts School. Emm... His match has finished... He lost."
"He lost? Ha... Interesting. Who defeated him?" The man in leather jacket showed even more interests.
Liu Yinglong's strength could be predicted from Qin Zhilin's performance. How could he lose the match?
"A fighter named Lou Cheng. He... He is of no rank." The girl at the service desk girl suddenly stammered.
The man in the leather jacket was stunned at first and then relieved. "Must be a disciple of some big sect..."
"He is... He's an ordinary university student." The girl was in shock herself.
"What?" A chill went down the man's spine and gave him a panic attack. "Please give me his information. I'll watch his fight tomorrow!"
...
Back in the martial arts school, Liu Yinglong reported to his master Yu Haichao, the owner of the school. "Master, can you tell Lou Cheng's background? Which sect is he from?"
Yu Haichao, also featuring extraordinarily long arms and some grey hair, reflected on it. "Body coordination and weight shifting are basic skills of the Danqi stage. In the body refining stage, some stance training also focuses on these. Too many possibilities. The second strike you got from him, according to Dong's description, sounded like 24 Blizzard Strikes from the Ice Sect and the explosive force of the lightning and fire stance from the Thunder Sect. I can't be sure."
"Master, could you make a phone call to find out?" Liu Yinglong pleaded.
"For what? Who didn't lose a match or two? Warrior Sage did. So did Dragon King!" Yu Haichao shook his head.
Liu Yinglong continued to plead, "Master, it's not about revenge. I just don't want to lose like this."
Yu Haichao thought about it and took out his phone to dial a number.
He opened Baiyuan Martial Arts School in Yanling two years ago, but his relationships with several martial artists were enough for him to figure something out.
Martial artists had rapidly integrated into the modern world ever since they quitted fighting against technology. They were no monsters, nor were they foe of advanced technology. They were able to use technology, wield weapons and occupy resources.
Nowadays, martial arts began to become popular. Many criminals were rather powerful, significantly stronger than poorly armed cops. The police department had to recruit martial artists who were after power or retired from the professional circle to maintain peace and stability of the society. Recently the police department positions were pretty much reserved for martial artists to confront those skillful and heavily-equipped criminals. In the army, martial artists also form a great portion of the special forces. Only some of the high-tech and high-power units were still against disciples from martial arts sects to support their own new forces.
With such human connections, Yu Haichao quickly reached an answer and turned to Liu Yinglong.
"Same as what you found from the help desk. No other information available."
Liu Yinglong frowned. "It's strange."
"Yeah, very strange." Yu Haichao heaved a sigh and continued, "But what can we do? Should I go and watch his match tomorrow?"
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