Martial Arts Master

Chapter 382: Half Rank

Translator: Transn Editor: Lucas

“First round, Lou Cheng wins!”

The referee’s words echoed throughout the arena. Yet the spectators were slow to react. They remained where they were. They did not cheer, neither did they boo.

The scene of Lou Cheng crashing down the arena was still fresh in their minds. The sound so loud like an explosion, still ringing in their ears. How could he? How did he just turn the tables and bring down Ann Chaoyang in a split second?

The big screen replayed what happened in slow motion. Through that, the spectators finally managed to see how Lou Cheng had borrowed the strength of the explosion wave and flew back to the arena like an immortal. Only after the screening did the spectators become clear about what had happened and what to remember from this battle. The crowd started to ruffle and gasps of astonishment could be heard.

What was an absolute counter-attack? This was an absolute counter-attack!

What was rebirth from the depths? This was rebirth from the depths!

The spectators roared uncontrollably. They could not believe their eyes. They were still basking in the incredible turn of events — how Lou Cheng had managed to pull himself back into the game despite being so close to losing. The spectators were cheering their hearts out.

An exciting battle! An invigorating battle!

The powerful Ann Chaoyang, the even more powerful Lou Cheng!

Woooo!

At the same time, the vuvuzelas played, pumping the atmosphere further.

...

“First round, Lou Cheng wins!”

In the midst of the seats of the Songcheng University Martial Arts Club, there was Yan Zheke, who had never taken her eyes off the stage since the fight started. The moment the referee announced that Lou Cheng had won, her arms flew up in excitement. Her expression was filled with so many emotions. No words could describe what she was going through right now. On her lower lip, there were faint teeth marks.

I knew it! I knew that Lou Cheng would not throw his arms up and give up like that!

While being engulfed by the happy cheers, she heard Cai Zongming nearby mumbling to himself in surprise.

“I think I’ve seen this scene somewhere before!”

Before Yan Zheke could ask him what he meant, Little Ming muttered to himself again.

“Yes! Dragonball! That episode where he used Kamehameha to propel back to the arena!”

Huh... A thought flashed past her mind. Yan Zheke suddenly recalled something in the past. That time, Cheng mentioned that his family was not doing very well after elementary school. So he did not have money for new manga, he could only rely on his cousin’s, Lou Yuanwei, and his classmates’ old collections. That was how “Dragonball” became his favorite manga.

At that time, what Yan Zheke replied was,

“Uncle Cheng, I’ve never read manga from the previous generation!”

“Wait, was he inspired by Dragonball?” Yan Zheke’s dimples surfaced. Her eyes sparkled as she looked towards the arena. She saw her boyfriend standing there, straight and upright. His martial arts suit, drenched in sweat, was sticking to his skin, revealing his good figure.

Seeing this scene, the girl again was reminded of Lou Cheng in the first half of the match. He was bright, strong, and manly. These were great contrast against his usual gentleness, attentiveness, and calm atmosphere. Her heart skipped a beat.

Hmm, how should we describe this contrast?

As she was immersed in her thoughts, Yan Zheke burst out in giggles. This made Lin Hua, who was beside her, very curious.

“Ke, what’re you laughing at?”

Yan Zheke’s eyelids fluttered, she pressed her lips into a smile, and said,

“Just thought of a sentence to describe how different Cheng is during a fight and normal times... ”

“What?” Lin Hua got even more interested.

With her dimples deep, Yan Zheke smiled brightly and said,

“Yup. ‘Quiet like a virgin, active like a fleeing hare!’”

...

“First round, Lou Cheng wins!”

In the midst of the Huahai University Martial Arts club, Piao Yuan touched his bald head like a monk. In fact, he forgot to stand up at the first moment. Xing Jingjing, Zhang Dongliang, and the others who were next to him were all silent. It was like they had trouble accepting the fact that Ann Chaoyang’s near victory had turned into a loss.

Senior Brother Ann had already displayed strength and abilities that had surprised everyone, including himself. But Lou Cheng had still won!

...

From the moment that Lou Cheng fell out of the arena and threw out the fireball, the broadcasting studio was silent. Only after the referee had announced the results did Chen Sansheng utter a broken sentence.

“Amazing... Superb... ”

Lou Cheng had actually managed to turn the tables with such a move!

“This, this doesn’t count as a defeat?” Host Liu Chang asked subconsciously.

“No. He did not touch anything outside the arena. Uh, except for air.” Chen Sansheng regained his composure and started to explain with examples. As for the fireball that he hit against the ground, it didn’t count as part of his body. In usual fighting situations, there’ll also be the use of supernatural abilities that would fall outside of the arena. Those can’t be considered defeat, right?”

Liu Chang had mixed emotions on his face. He smiled and said, “Except for top professional competitions, I’ve never seen anything like this before. So my brain is not exactly working properly.”

In top professional competitions, the arena was arranged based on environment. It would be advantageous for the home team. For example, the Xinghai club used the advantage of a large, abandoned vessel at sea as the match ground. This allowed the Water Sect to exploit the environment to their benefit. The spectators would take their own boats and watch from afar. The VIPs would be in helicopters above.

“Not just you, even I couldn’t think straight,” Chen Sansheng exclaimed. “I thought that Ann Chaoyang was going to win. I didn’t expect Lou Cheng’s Power of Blaze to be so strong at full strength.”

Of course, this must have been a result of training. Only when the fighter has exceptional control over his or her body’s transformation can the fighter push out all the supernatural ability in one go. If not, most would only be like how Lou Cheng was when he was going through awakening — use it bit by bit until it is depleted. Since matches were fast-paced, rivals could retaliate and avoid, so the effectiveness of using supernatural ability bit by bit was rather low.

Liu Chang went along and said, “The two of them have performed well beyond my expectations. Ann Chaoyang has the abilities and standards of a strong Sixth Pin, right? ”

“Yes. In fact, he is stronger than that. It was because he made a mistake at the end. That’s why he lost. If not he could still battle on... ” Chen Sansheng took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Lou Cheng... tip top Sixth Pin for sure! ”

In less than four months, he moved from a weaker Sixth Pin to a top Sixth Pin!

Although this speed of development was not exactly out-of-this-world, it was definitely not like what An All-knowing Man in Ganghood said about him slowing down with a steep drop!

“Top Sixth Pin? Didn’t Lou Cheng just win by a little?” Liu Chang asked in surprise.

Since Piao Yuan had not taken the arena yet, Chen Sansheng quickly explained, “From my perspective, my personal opinion, Lou Cheng is stronger by half a rank. It’s not about being strong in the realm, abilities, and such things. I’m talking about his momentum, his fighting strategy. Don’t you think that Lou Cheng was much more aggressive today compared to the past? There was an overpowering sense of fighting between life and death. From the crazy attacks in the beginning, his control on being the aggressor, he was attacking so much. If not for his mistake, Ann Chaoyang probably wouldn’t have been able to find a chance to attack him. He was pushing his opponent bit by bit, until his opponent could not come back from the depths of failure.”

“What are you talking about? You just said Ann Chaoyang made a mistake, now you say that Lou Cheng also made a mistake... ” Liu Chang saw Piao Yuan stand up and rush towards the arena. Liu Chang quickly threw out his last question.

A glitter of exclamation appeared again in Chen Sansheng’s eyes. He quickly replied,

“In such a match where both are in the same stage, same standards, win-loss is largely determined by who has the upper hand, who makes the least mistakes. Even one mistake could mean defeat. If this was a real fight in the actual world, it could even mean losing your life! ”

“Lou Cheng’s first attack strategy was too aggressive. It was obvious that Ann Chaoyang was not used to it, and hence, he was placed in a disadvantageous position. Weakened one step at a time. But once the chance to retaliate and to grab that victory appeared, Lou Cheng wanted to win too badly. So instinctively, he chose to transform the paralyzing Ice Sect into physical invulnerability and he tried to end the match then. But Ann Chaoyang grabbed that opportunity to use the Lake and Mirror Like Wisdom to retaliate. That move that I mentioned earlier.”

“At that moment, if Lou Cheng was not so anxious, if he had transformed his last move, the move he was struggling with, Deluge, into a new physical invulnerability... That’s an explosive physical invulnerability. It wouldn’t be possible for Ann Chaoyang’s Force Concentration to dispel it entirely. This also means that he wouldn’t be able to retaliate, and on the other hand, he would be affected and his defending position would continue to the end.”

“This mistake by Lou Cheng caused him to lose a great upper hand and fall into a dangerous situation. However, at the critical moment, Ann Chaoyang also made a mistake. After he took a physical invulnerability blow from his rival, he probably thought that Lou Cheng had fallen out of the arena and was going to lose for sure. So he didn’t move, he didn’t defend. He just stood there and tried to enter the Dan Realm to recover. Then he became a target board instead.”

The crux of the simplified physical invulnerability is about visualization, and the changes within the body matches the muscles and fascia. It had nothing to do with the moves. Chen Sansheng could only watch Lou Cheng through the screen, hence he could not see what move Lou Cheng had used. They had wait till the match was over. Only through the report and interview with Lou Cheng could they possibly figure out what move it was.

Liu Chang listened and nodded vigorously. With an emotional tone, he said,

“A match of such standard is simply breath-taking. That moment of victory, who made more mistakes, who had to receive that punishment. Ok, let’s look towards the arena once again. The second round of competition is about to start! ”

...

Just as the host and commentator were taking apart the battle, He Xiaowei used the name “Superstitious Belief Is Bad” and with a “rolling on the floor laughing” emoji, he wrote:

“See, see! Didn’t I say it? Lou Cheng will definitely win! The favored fighter will definitely win! Next time all of you who say I’m poison milk, that my words will curse his victory, and throw whatever superstition in the air, wait for the lightning to strike! ”

The moment his Weibo post was uploaded, there were multiple replies. They were all sad and negative.

“Damn, I only thought of your cursing abilities and forgot that Lou Cheng could reverse curses!”

“Tomorrow’s news headlines will be ‘The Lucky Star Who Will Never Be Cursed’!”

“You’re gloating? The person that you support and depend on for a living has been beaten by Lou Cheng!”

As she read these replies, Yan Xiaoling, Unparalleled Dragon, and the rest could not stop smiling. They quickly moved to the fan forum, hoping to share the joy with everyone.

At the same time, they glanced at An All-knowing Man in Ganghood’s Weibo page. They found that he was still stubborn and posted this:

“Victory and defeat are a matter of thought. In a situation where abilities are evenly matched, it is not surprising whichever side wins!”

Tsk! Yan Xiaoling raised her middle finger at the screen.

...

In the bar, Xu Wannian, Fang Zhirong, and the rest were silent for a short moment.

After a few seconds, Corvine Mouth’s classmate said with a sigh,

“Lou Cheng is really awesome... ”

“Yup.” Peng Leyun nodded lightly. He looked at the screen thoughtfully.

In the office of the Capital College Martial Arts Club, Ren Li’s expression was similar to Peng Leyun’s, only that the five fingers on his right hand were slightly separated, as though he could not wait to strike a move. This set him aside from Shen You, Chen Diguo, and the rest, who were just standing still.

In Li Xiaoyuan’s room, Zhen Huansheng leaned his head back, as though the baggage on his shoulders had just grown heavier.

...

On the arena, Lou Cheng was panting heavily, trying to make up for the lack of oxygen from the mental dissipation that had just occurred.

Within his body, the Jin Dan started to turn silently, churning warm currents, relieving the fatigue of the muscles and fascia. However, the supernatural ability was recovering slowly, like a gentle stream trying to fill the sea.

In the last fireball explosion against the ground, because he did not practice this move previously, he was not very sure about its strength. He could only try his best. Hence, the rebound wave did not only push his body back up, it also jolted his inner organs. Although it was not very strong, he was definitely affected.

“My spirit could probably still do another Double Explosion... ” Lou Cheng quickly assessed his condition.

To be honest, he had thought that his spirit had reached its limited. However, because of the hard-earned victory, the adrenaline rush had pumped some strength into his spirit.

As for the Swordsman Formula, either it should be trained for internal strength, or he had to use it on others. It was ineffective on himself.

At the moment, Ann Chaoyang recovered from the blow. He used whatever remaining strength he had to turn and shook hands with Lou Cheng. Unstable, he wobbled towards the stone steps with the svelte manner of a past champion. He looked even more pitiful and sad.

Piao Yuan came up and high-fived his Senior Brother Ann. With quick steps, he climbed onto the arena, not giving Lou Cheng any more time to recover.

Round two was about to start!