"Lou Cheng's final choice was quite impulsive!"
"Should he not have used his legs to dodge Brother Zhou's explosive counterattack, and then patiently wait for another opportunity?"
If he'd have done that, he not only could have successfully dissolved Senior Brother Zhou's "all-out effort", but could have gone on to cripple him and hit him with another Ice Sect Force!
However, he'd neglected the best choice and shown that he was inflexible and impatient. Making all that racket and making up for it with another Frost Force, it was hard to understand.
This and the impression of his skill she had before didn't quite fit!
Not waiting for Jiang Lan to reply, Ye Youting suddenly thought of how Lou Cheng and Hou Yue had both been impetuous in their moves during the fight. Her heart stirred, and she started to make the connection. She felt that this change was complimentary.
She recalled some rumors that had been spreading amongst the Wensheng school, as well as her private conversations with Jiang Lan, and it struck her. She lowered her voice and said, "Could it be Junior Brother Hou's supernatural ability?"
Its influence had unexpectedly carried over to this round!
"It's very possible..." Jiang Lan said, seemingly speaking to herself. Afterwards, she added, "But I think the way Lou Cheng dealt with it wasn't that big a problem."
"Why?!" Yu Youting blinked, her face full of confusion.
Jiang Lan chuckled and explained, "Don't you think that Senior Brother Zhou was scared stiff, and was overly cautious?"
"Sister Lan, are you saying that Senior Brother Zhou tried to minimize the energy consumption when breaking Lou Cheng down? This's the right choice, isn't it? Lin Que is still waiting afterward!" Ye Youting saw nothing wrong.
Jiang Lan sighed. "This may be because he has only fought in Challenge Tournaments before. According to my experience, the more you want to conserve, the more you want to economize and use the most frugal method to defeat your enemies, you'd end up losing more than you gain. If Senior Brother Zhou had suppressed Lou Cheng with the Continuation pose afterward, regardless of the cost and gone all out one time, the result possibly could have been completely different. Lou Cheng simply had no time to use the Ice Sect Force. At best he could have used Tremor Punch."
"When Senior Brother Zhou discovered that by trying to conserve his energy, he was only opening himself up to an Ice Sect Force surprise attack and he didn't have to in the least bit go all out. His following moves were then different. If Lou Cheng chose to dodge this time, there might not be another chance for him to hit Senior Brother Zhou with another Ice Sect Force."
In other words, he could have chosen to hit his opponent with more Ice Sect Force, or allowed him to go all out. Which was better? Different people would have different opinions.
Ye Youting nodded but did not quite get it, rethinking and mulling over the fight.
...
Over in the home team side, Zhuo Yanjun, Li Shengnan, and others yet again looked towards Hou Yue in excitement, praising him.
"Junior Brother Hou, has your supernatural ability improved again?"
It's been this long, and yet it can still break Lou Cheng's spirits?"
Hou Yue was baffled. "Could be, could be that he's easily influenced..."
Even though he didn't quite understand this development, at least it wasn't unexpected ...
...
In the fan forum, as it cut to shots of Lin Que, "Eternal Nightfall" Yan Xiaoling said with excitement, "I'm so angry! The show needs to record Lou Cheng more. I'd like to see him head back to the substitute seat!"
"Me too!" "Brahman" jumped in. "Didn't you notice last time there was a super beautiful substitute girl in Songcheng University Martial Arts Club? I've always wanted to see how she and Lou Cheng would interact with each other. Wonder if she's Lou Cheng's girlfriend!"
"If she's Lou Cheng's girlfriend, I can accept it..." Yan Xiaoling responded as she daydreamed, "Spending every day together, asking for guidance and direction, studying move sets, their bodies would come into contact from time to time. Agh! It's like a pile of dry sticks, one small ember and the fire will start blazing!"
"Brahman" responded with a blinking emoji, "I also can accept it, after all, I'm still young... We can't say for sure if there still some rich or other powerful suitors. By then, Lou Cheng's martial arts ability has increased by leaps and bounds. Time will change many things. Do not discriminate against a poor young man..."
"Unparalleled Dragon King" used an insipid emoji and interrupted. "What novels and TV shows are you all watching? Furthermore, don't you guys think that Lou Cheng's final hit was a little strange?"
"I've read both boy and girl novels!" "Brahman" responded in delight, "Little Changye, Little Changye, Speaking of this, do you still remember Lou Cheng's Girlfriend's ID? Isn't it similar to yours?"
"Sure is! A lot of interesting ones have been taken!" Yan Xiaoling retorted indignantly. "Fanfan, what did you register as?"
"Me, I registered under 'Lou Cheng's Number 1 Girl', you?" "Brahman" flaunted.
Yan Xiaoling sent a bewildered emoji.
"I registered, registered 'Lou Cheng's Daughter'..."
"Whoah...." The Unparalleled Dragon King, Okamoto's Fan and others expressed their admiration one after the other.
As expected, Little Changye was shameless!
"By the way, Little Dragon, what did you just mention about something being strange?" Yan Xiaoling said, bringing the discussion back around.
"Unparalleled Dragon King" responded with a funny-looking expression,
"Nothing, I shouldn't discuss such an indecent topic during such a solemn occasion!"
And furthermore, after thinking carefully and analyzing it over, it seemed that he could understand it.
...
Facing Lin Que, Lou Cheng extended his hand, and they bumped fist, completing the "Connecting Ceremony." Afterward, he lowered his voice and warned.
"Don't hurt yourself!"
This was the second round of the away competition. If his brother-in-law got injured, even if he was victorious, it would be the beginning of the end for the next rounds.
Lin Que withdrew his hand and nodded his head slightly. He went past Lou Cheng, heading towards the steps.
Lou Cheng had not yet gotten back to his seat when he saw Yan Zheke waving a large white towel, beckoning him over.
"Does Hou Yue have a supernatural ability?" She said in a low voice.
Lou Cheng took the towel and wiped off the sweat on top of his head and neck. He nodded his head gently. "I think so..."
"It makes sense now. Otherwise, people who're of Ninth Pin have no reason to push themselves when encountering Hou Yue..." As she said this, Yan Zheke's dimples appeared and a smile crossed her lips. "He doesn't, he doesn't..."
Lou Cheng smiled and changed the topic. "He doesn't have a group of onlookers always wanting to him get a licking?"
"Mhmm!" Yan Zheke nodded quickly and went back to the visiting team seats together with him. She also let him drape the white towel over himself to avoid catching a cold from exhaustion and the cold winds. At the moment Lou Cheng was sweating profusely, so he'd end up dirtying any clothes that he would wear.
"Well done!"
"You hit him with two Frost Forces, we're winning this!"
...
Sun Jian, Li Mao, and others rose in succession, clapping and expressing their heartfelt praise for Lou Cheng.
Shortly afterward, they sat down at the same time, directing their gaze back to the ring.
"Are you tired?" Yan Zheke said softly as she leaned to the side, moving close to Lou Cheng.
"Yeah..." Lou Cheng didn't conceal it.
Yan Zheke wanted to dote on him, and it was hard to cover up her curiosity. She looked down at her toes and said timidly, "Compared to last time you gave me a massage, which time were you more tired?"
"Of course it was that massage when I used the Tremor Force... My minds are just a little bit numb now. I'm not going to be out like a light when my head hits a pillow like last time..." Lou Cheng didn't want to make a big display of his exhaustion, so he grinned and said, "About the same."
"About the same..." Yan Zheke glanced at him longingly. She grasped Lou Cheng's hand and pulled him towards her, helping him massage the acupuncture points on his palms and arms.
At the same time, she pretended to be calm, powdering her cheeks and grasping the hood of Lou Cheng's coat to cover the place where both their hands were, covering up their interaction.
The corner of Lou Cheng's mouth twitched slightly, carrying a warm smile as he gazed towards the fight that was about to begin.
...
Zhou Zhengquan visualized a large river, making his blood surge forth like a raging current, the constant sound crashing in his ears. Using this process, he washed himself of the frost, thawing his own body.
This was the Water Sect School's teaching on how to restore one's essence!
Lin Que stood across from him, bending his waist, biding his time.
The referee raised his right hand and announced loudly,
"Begin!"
A moment after the words landed, Lin Que straightened his legs and bent his back. He seemed like a meteor as he shot out, seemingly surpassing the attack speed possible of a Professional Ninth Pin fighter.
Gasp.... in his heart Zhou Zhengquan was scared, but he did not falter. His ankles shot forward. His body surged forward like waves released from a dam. It seemed as if he and his opponent were going to have a head-on collision.
Seeing that they were both about to collide, he shifted his balance and slid, dodging to Lin Que's side. At the same time, Lin Que also shifted his balance. Changing directions in this way, it seemed as if both sides were in some unspoken synchronized dance.
Looking at the scene, Jiang Lan lifted her face from her hands and blurted out,
"Mercurial balance!"
Lin Que had already grasped the mercurial balance?"
Those who had the mercurial balance ability had to succeed in meditation and depend on their spirit for strong self-control. Every muscle and tendon had to be trained to blend in a single stance for the entire bodies' strength to be unobstructed!
In other words, Lin Que was already very close to the Dan Stage.
After arriving at this stance, fighter didn't merely have "mercurial balance". Due to the bodies muscles and tendons being trained to such a fine point in all areas, and working in tandem with a strong spirit, they were close to "Absolute Reaction"!
"At most, in two months he'll be able to enter the Dan Stage..." Jiang Lan said in shock, unable to stop from gasping.
This was nearly 100% faster than herself!
He was worthy of his reputation as someone on the edge of genius!
For an expert, one could tell whether they had it or not based on one punch. After a few short blows, Zhou Zhengquan appeared more dismal upon the current situation.
However, compared to fighting Lou Cheng, he didn't have any hesitations, any concerns, and he didn't have to be needlessly cautious. As a result, his display of his true martial arts strength was obvious!
As he slammed his foot down and recoiled, he didn't slip. He regained his balance, and rushed towards Lin Que, who didn't get out of the way at all. He slid one step to the left, put out his shoulder and threw his arm out, slamming his fist into his waist.
Bam! Zhou Zhengquan was unable to dodge again. His back muscles swole up, his backbone straightened, and his right hand became like a hammer. Ruthlessly beating down, he once again opened up with Fly Fall Punch's "Continuation."
With his two fists together as one, he sunk his waist down to his thigh. His entire bodies' strength, his qi and blood and every perception all contracted and unified as he embraced inwards. His whole body was like a single Dan.
During this process, without any warning, he acted like he was giving an ordinary hit!
I know you'll take advantage of the fact I haven't fully broken free of the Frost Force attack's influence. Here, I'm giving you an opportunity!