บท 23: Ryan vs. Kang
"Yes, haha!" Azer clapped his hands with a joyful expression. "I guess our second-ranked student defeated yours."
"Keep laughing; it will soon turn into sorrow." Bernard said with a confident smirk. "Kang is the strongest."
'I have heard a lot about Kang.' Azer thought with a curious look. 'However, he'll have to face both Ryan and Kiernan for the victory. Ryan, I believe, can contest for the victory. Kiernan's true strength is still a mystery.'
Ryan and Kang stood on the ring. Their forms were vastly different. Ryan stood at a comfortable 180 centimeters, while Kang towered him over at 220 centimeters.
It was like a child facing an adult.
"The third match is between Ryan Lee and Kang Moon!" Rio came to the ring after the doctors took Shura away.
Shura was fine, a little shaken. Her ears were still ringing, but the doctors were taking care of her, so she should be fine.
"Are both fighters ready?!" Rio asked with a loud shout.
"Ready." Ryan said and moved to his fighting stance—it was a stance with focus placed on quick strikes and nimble footwork.
"Ready." Kang replied with a deep voice and moved to an orthodox stance—it was a stance known for its balance and power. It was also one of the most used fighting stances in the world.
Rio raised his arm high and then swung it down in a powerful arc. "Fight!"
Without further ado, Rio jumped off the ring. He could feel with his vast fighting experience that Ryan and Kang were above others in terms of skill and strength.
"Kang, Kang, Kang!" Irio High's supporters screamed his name so loudly that their voices turned hoarse.
Their hopes lay on the broad shoulders of Kang, the ace of Irio High.
"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan!"
Karuza High's supporters screamed loudly. They were only one victory away from the nationals. It was almost like they could taste it.
"Haa!" Kang moved forward like a tank and blasted his fists through the air with immense power.
Ryan used his incredibly fast acceleration to evade the punches, and immediately after, he unleashed his lightning-quick jabs.
Pow, pow, pow!
His jabs rained on Kang's arms. However, his defense was hard as rock. It didn't even make the giant-of-a-man flinch.
"Haa!" Kang punched with a very wide arc, but Ryan ducked just in time to avoid the fatal blow.
Kang followed up with a sweep kick, but Ryan jumped over it, and as soon as he landed back on the ring, he hook-punched Kang in the ribs.
It would bring even an adult man to their knees, but Kang simply shrugged it off and slapped Ryan across the face with a resounding smack.
Ryan was sent flying. He bounced off the ground and rolled for a little more before coming to a stop, completely winded and dazed.
"Kang, Kang, Kang!" Irio High's supporters chanted like a fervent cult.
'What a monster!' Azer thought from the VIP Room. 'The hook punch from Ryan would put anyone in tears, but it didn't effect Kang at all!'
"Hahahah!" Bernard roared in laughter. "You see the difference? Ryan might be Natural Fighter, but in my opinion, Kang is more blessed with natural talent and a body to match it!"
In the ring, Ryan lifted his legs and leapt back on his feet. His silver hair was disheveled, he was sweating heavily, and his cheek was swollen red.
A single attack from Kang put him in such a miserable state.
At that moment, Kang came rushing in like a bull, one shoulder in front of him, and rammed into Ryan like a freight train. It was a direct and powerful hit.
Ryan flew across the air like a ragdoll and roughly landed at the edge of the ring.
The crowd gasped in shock at the impact.
Irio High's supporters were in awe of the strength and chanted Kang's name as if it were some kind of mantra.
At the edge of the ring, Ryan stayed down without moving a muscle.
'What crazy physical strength.' Rio said and raised his arm. "1…"
The countdown has begun.
"Hmph." Kang cracked his knuckles. "Was that all?"
Before the number 2 left Rio's lips, Ryan stood back up with his silver hair messily falling over his face. He panted heavily, as if he were out of energy.
"Fight restart!" Rio shouted, surprised that Ryan stood back up so suddenly.
Many others would've taken those ten seconds to catch their breaths, like Nath did. Ryan also seemed very winded up, as if he couldn't properly stand anymore. Those ten seconds could've been valuable for him.
"Whew…" Ryan pushed his hair back and revealed an exhausted face with a small smile on it.
Kang again put his shoulder in front of him, as if he planned to push Ryan off the ring in the next attack.
However, then Ryan took a deep breath and lowered his stance. His leg muscles tensed up and danced like a coiled spring. This was his form for Super Acceleration!
'He is planning to use his Super Acceleration?' Klaus looked surprised and glanced at Kiernan.
'He just discovered a minor flaw in it a week ago when he got defeated by Kiernan.
'It is also not a surprise that Irio High has sent spies to check our training. What if they saw the training match between Ryan and Kiernan? They would know the weakness, and Ryan would lose.
'He must also be thinking that, but still, how can Ryan smile and be so carefree about it?'
Kiernan watched the match with a keen eye.
'Ryan, did you really discover a way to counter your weakness?'
Crack—the ground underneath Ryan cracked. His muscles were ready to unleash his Super Acceleration. It was something that pushed his body to its physical limits, and it wasn't something he could do constantly.
The whole audience's gaze landed on Ryan. Thousands of eyes watched every movement.
At that moment, Ryan vanished. There was nothing left of him. Not a single audience member managed to see him.
Kang's eyes rounded up in surprise. The speed even surprised him. But he still moved.
He threw a punch in front of him. The punch landed on empty air.
It wasn't because he knew how to counter Super Acceleration. None of Irio High's "spies" were near Karuza High when the practice match between Ryan and Kiernan happened.
They're still unaware of Kiernan's true strength. They were also unaware of Ryan's Super Acceleration.
Kang still punched for one reason only—his instincts told him to.
However, a split second after Kang punched, his instincts were screaming about a mistake. Him punching was a grave mistake.
Kang's eyes moved up to the air, and there he saw Ryan moving towards him at an impossible speed, and then his kick landed on his neck with a force that sent waves of pain throughout Kang's body.
"Aaargh!" Kang's cry of pain resounded throughout the stadium. He staggered to the side, hot breath escaping his mouth.
There was a deep purple mark on his neck, and his shoulder seemed stiff. The kick broke his collarbone, leaving him in excruciating pain.
Ryan landed back on the ground with a smile. This was a new addition to Ryan's techniques—Super Jump!
Kiernan's lips turned into a crazy-excited smile.
'Hahaha, I see now. He used his Super Acceleration to jump instead. It would bring him close to his opponent as fast as just running in a straight line.
'Also, while in the air, he can move better than when his legs are glued to the ground, allowing him to throw a kick. It's also something that no one can expect.
'If your opponent vanishes in front of you, usually the first instinct is to throw a punch.
'If he had used that in our match, I couldn't have been able to block it either.
'Now, he has both Super Acceleration and Super Jump. The preparation for each attack is exactly the same. That's why it will be a guessing game which one he will use.
'This is Natural Fighter, huh? He managed to perfectly find a counter to his weakness in just a single week.'
'Thank you, Kiernan.' Ryan thought with a smile. 'Without you, I would've probably used Super Acceleration in this match, and that would've cost us the match.'
"K-Kang is injured." Jonathan stuttered in shock. He had never seen him injured before. 'H-how is Karuza High so strong? It was supposed to be an easy victory for us!'
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