Chapter 169: Rude and Unreasonable
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
As if a giant in the legendary story, Lou Cheng brandished a “sledgehammer” downward, towering over his opponent as his mighty power flooded the arena. Gasps and shocking screams were heard from the spectators as they watched him while opponents like Gao Rao, Zhang Ying and other disciples from Mingwei Martial Arts School sprung up instantly from their seats.
They recalled seeing their Elder Senior Brother exerting his maximum strength to swing Lou Cheng out, causing Lou Cheng to temporarily lose his balance and forcing him to use the old method of wandering combat to steer himself away from danger. Yet, in less than a minute, the situation turned sour. Their Elder Senior Brother was cheated by the opponent’s feint as he revealed his weak point, and soon he would be faced with an unavoidable Downward Splitting Strike!
How is it possible?
Hasn’t our Elder Senior Brother been trained to possess near “Absolute Reaction”, where he’ll not be tackled by sneak attack or feint?
They could not make sense of what was happening. All they knew was that their dream was soon to be a nightmare. They unconsciously clenched their fists and stood sternly, as they glanced at the ring with concern and hope.
Not only did they not understand, but the four Professional Ninth Pin fighters from Azure Dragon Squad were confused as well. They could not understand the attacks between the two fighters in the ring.
Others might only know that Lou Cheng depended on “mercurial balance” to avoid danger in seeking of opportunities. Yet, they could see through the surface and knew that it was Peng Chengguang who was hesitating whether to give a direct attack. Facing with Lou Cheng’s attack, he either chose to dodge first and counterattack later, or to judge it based on his experience and a.n.a.lysis to seize the opportunity for a direct attack at Lou Cheng’s fatal point. His purpose was to corner his opponent and made him gave up on attacking again.
Why was Peng Chengguang afraid of going head-on with Lou Cheng?
Didn’t he just crush the black bricks on the ground and forcefully swung Lou Cheng out?
Based on his strength, speed, agility, technique, experience and style, there was no reason for him to be afraid at all!
The fighters from Azure Dragon Squad looked at each other with fear. They somewhat sensed that something wasn’t right.
Peng Chengguang was a fighter who had knocked them all out, so what on earth was he afraid of?
After he had swung Lou Cheng out, why didn’t he pursue on and seize that opportunity to strike another attack?
At this very moment, Lou Cheng had completely forgotten the changes to the surrounding. He was unaware of the initial shocking screams and followed by the rowdy cheers from the spectators when they finally realized what had happened. His attention was all on Peng Chengguang, and Peng Chengguang’s every movement was in Lou Cheng’s eyes. Lou Cheng then fiercely struck Peng Chengguang with a strong determination to end this battle!
If Peng Chengguang chose to counter him with Scorpio’s Tail Whip, then he would follow by Mountain Blast Punch to block Peng Chengguang’s flying kick. Thunder Roar Zen only required fighters to come into contact, but did not specify the areas. Once it was launched, the impact would be explosive that shocked the opponent. Whether or not it hit the opponent’s weakness, the effect would be the same…
However if Peng Chengguang gave up on his stance and decided to roll away to dodge the attack, then he would instantly store his energy to leap ahead. He would make use of that time when Peng Chengguang had not recovered to do something that would decide the winner…
All the possibilities that might happen flashed through Lou Cheng’s mind as he hammered his opponent with strong determination.
Just then, Peng Chengguang did not fully retreat his side kick, but instead, he made use of it to shrink his neck and hopped to his right. This caused Lou Cheng’s ferocious Mountain Blast Punch to hit his left shoulder instead of his right.
Just as his right foot touched the ground, he immediately pulled back his center of gravity as he instantly lowered himself in a half-sitting position. He curved his back slightly and channeled his strength, qi and blood to his Dantian (abdomen region slightly below the navel), and then the energy erupted and inside-out. As Peng Chengguang “spread open” his body, Lou Cheng leaped and aimed straight at his shoulder!
Peng Chengguang stomped his feet, spread open his shoulders and expanded his body muscles. He picked his shoulders to go against Lou Cheng’s Mountain Blast Punch!
Bam!
The moment both fighters came into contact, thunder cloud clapped loudly in Lou Cheng’s mind and expanded his tightened muscles, creating a series of blasts that viciously shocked his mind. At the same time, Peng Chengguang instantly twisted his back as he wriggled and shook his shoulders.
Pam! Both Peng Chengguang’s martial arts shoes split apart, like b.u.t.terflies that spread open their wings. Whereas Lou Cheng was like a kite with a broken string that was thrown into the air as he landed a few meters away.
With just a simple move of lowering the body and a half-sitting position, Peng Chengguang had barely managed to block off the Thunder Roar Zen killer move under such hopeless situation!
However, he was not feeling good either. His joints, fascias and muscles appeared to be s.h.i.+vering. He could feel his qi and blood were crazily churning within him and his internal organs were shaking. Every part of his body was buzzing and trembling, totally out of his control.
Lou Cheng flopped to the ground. He got up and ran a few steps forward. First was to adjust his muscles and to recover his balance. Second was to store his energy for the next attack.
Pam! He channeled his strength to his right leg as he crushed the bricks on the ground and took the chance to twist his body. Like a ferocious eagle, he pounced onto Peng Chengguang once more. Seizing the opportunity that his opponent had not recovered from his previous attack, he struck another Thunder Roar Zen!
I’ll kill you while you’re down!
His pounce brought him forward by a few meters. Lou Cheng tightened his right arm muscles and swung his body. He then stretched his fascias and threw out a violent Mountain Blast Punch.
The third blow of Thunder Roar Zen!
Peng Chengguang had not recovered from the tremble, so he dared not block the attack. With his shoeless feet, he stomped onto the ground and leaned backward. As if there were eyes at his back, he leaped backward and landed steadily a few meters apart.
Lou Cheng did not give up on pursuing. He placed his left foot forward and crushed the bricks beneath his foot. Borrowing the rebound force, he once again pounced forward aggressively and bid his time for a Tremor Punch in his right hand!
Peng Chengguang stomped his feet again as he continued to retreat, and within a few seconds, he was a few meters apart from Lou Cheng.
The effect of his dodging technique was similar to the method Lin Que used to avoid Wei Shengtian’s attack, just which the latter looked like an agile goat, while the former looked like a swan goose that flew backward.
Lou Cheng was not disappointed at all. His eyes were fixed on his target as he cleared his mind and stepped out his right foot. He continued to pursue his opponent with a series of attacks, not providing his opponent any chance of resting.
After retreating thrice, Peng Chengguang was already standing by the edge of the ring. He suddenly froze both his legs, like a dam that was built to suppress the flood. His body was instantly straightened.
During his second retreat, the tremble of his body was near recovering. The purpose of retreating for the third time was to seize the opportunity for a back thrust.
Peng Chengguang lowered his body as he tried to gather his qi and blood, as well as muscles together. When all were gathered as one, he first swung his right arm and evolved it into a spear. Together with his terrifying strength and the agility of his muscles, he aggressively struck an attack towards Lou Cheng, who no longer had the upper-hand!
Lou Cheng did not dodge the attack. Using the bravery he had with the thought of no turning back, he swung out his right arm. Loud thunder clap blasted through the air, as the arena s.h.i.+vered.
Bang!
The two fighters collided. Peng Chengguang felt dizzy and his chest felt tight as his qi and blood churned again. However, his explosive attack just now had managed to offset a large portion of the collision, so his body did not tremble as badly as before.
On the other hand, Lou Cheng retreated three steps as he crushed the bricks on the ground one by one. That was how he managed to offset the heavy impact and stabilized himself.
Yet just then, Peng Chengguang had already followed up with a leap and he appeared in front of Lou Cheng. He then moved half a step before launching a Burst Fist.
For Peng Chengguang, he had already reached his limit after launching his explosive attacks thrice. Moreover, he had already gotten two to three Thunder punches. It was likely that he could no longer take it anymore. Not to forget that his opponent was very capable of feints, causing him unable to make any judgments. He could only depend on his eyes, ears and other senses to help him in understanding the situation. As a result, it would be tough for him to counterattack. He could only corner his opponent and made his opponent give up by attacking his opponent’s weak points.
Thus, he needed to get nearer to use hand-to-hand fight, not giving his opponent any chance to prepare for another Tremor Punch.
Bam! Lou Cheng balanced himself in time. He clenched his fist and pounded downwards, blocking Peng Chengguang’s Burst Fist. However, the opponent slightly leaned towards his left foot sideways, and followed by a strike using his elbow. This forced Lou Cheng to give up on his thought of borrowing force as he spread open his left shoulder and used his hand to block the opponent’s attack.
Pam Pam Pam! Bam Bam Bam! There were a series of collisions between the two fighters, at their palms, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and tip of their toes. Their attacks were rapid and one strike closely followed by another. It was very likely that a winner would be out soon at this instant.
The referee at the side was getting anxious as well as caution about the match. This was because every year, there would definitely be some matches that resulted in serious injuries or deaths because the referee could not be there to stop the fighters in time, and more than 70% of those matches were the hand-to-hand fight!
The sounds of fists and kicks collision were loud and clear. Under such close distant fight, Lou Cheng did not have a chance to launch his Thunder Roar Zen, even launching kicks would be tough. Regarding strength, he was not as strong as Peng Chengguang. However, his mind was as serene as a frozen sea and he could remain calm when making a judgment. His every move was determined and strong. Furthermore, his Big or Small Hand Wrap was agile and violent, so instead of attacking frantically, he trusted that Peng Chengguang would soon be weakened.
Their hand-to-hand fight had finally reached a point where their movements started to affect one another. Both of them leaned sideways, followed by a strong collision.
Bam! Peng Chengguang’s body swayed left and right. Lou Cheng, who seemed to be affected by the collision, moved a step back.
Chance!
Peng Chengguang knew that he could not last any longer. He seized this rare opportunity, took a step forward and grabbed Lou Cheng’s left arm which was placed at his back.
He knew that his Listening Skill was not as good as Lou Cheng’s, so he gave up on catching him. Instead, while he was preparing to exert his strength to “tear” Lou Cheng apart, he noticed the tightening of his opponent’s muscles as his opponent curved his body inward. This caused him to misjudge the situation.
At the same time, Lou Cheng sprung his spinal cord and moved his back. The right side of his body swung as he clenched his fist and threw a rapid violent punch. It was as if he had waited for a long time to blast out the attack!
Bam! Peng Chengguang hurriedly countered the attack. He could feel that his opponent was going erupt any time. Though the tremor given out was much weaker than before, it was still terrifying.
His body trembled as his qi and blood churned fiercely within him. Lou Cheng freed his left arm from Peng Chengguang’s grasp and retreated. He then aggressively rotated his arm and gave Peng Chengguang another heavy hammering strike.
Thunder Roar Zen!
Bam bam bam! Lou Cheng rotated both his arms and launched a series of attacks, causing Peng Chengguang to feel awful internally as his mind began to buzz.
Upon seeing this scene, Mo Zicong, the leader of Azure Dragon Squad, suddenly came to his sense as he blurted out,
“Tremor Punch!”
“Lou Cheng had mastered Tremor Punch!”
No wonder Peng Chengguang had to avoid going head-on with Lou Cheng. No wonder he did not grab the opportunity previously to pursue his opponent on with another attack!
“Tremor Punch?” Deng Hua and the other three fighters whispered in horror.
At the same moment, Lou Cheng rotated his right arm again and tightened his muscles. With the clap of thunder reverberating in his mind, he outrageously pounded hard onto his opponent.
Another Thunder Roar Zen!
Bam!
Peng Chengguang withstood the attack with difficulty. His body swayed and his eyes were filled with giddiness and blankness. He looked as if he was born with vertigo issue who had been through a rough rollercoaster ride.
Lou Cheng jerked his left arm and used it as a spear where he aimed towards his opponent. His arm stopped right in front of the opponent’s throat, which prevented his opponent from raising the arms.
The referee heaved a sigh of relief before he announced it loudly,
“Final Round. Lou Cheng wins!”
Lou Cheng exhaled as well. He smiled sincerely and said,
“You’re very powerful. I almost lost…”
If Peng Chengguang had mastered a better skill, not great skills like Thunder Roar Zen or Meteor force, but slightly better skill like Mega Avalanche, Lou Cheng might lose in this battle.
Peng Chengguang’s mind was still buzzing and he felt awful. He saw Lou Cheng opening and closing his mouth, but he could not hear what he was saying. Looking blank, he answered Lou Cheng with an immature reply,
“Wa.s.sup?”