Yan Zheke replied within seconds with a tearful emoji.
"Liu Xunzhen?"
"Yes. Why are you using this emoji?" Lou Cheng left the screen and walked towards the second arena, his phone in hand.
The tournament had entered the third round of knockouts. Only four arenas remained in the competition area.
Yan Zheke answered with a kind-looking emoji. "I know him. His supernatural ability is really special and troublesome, enough to cause headache even for mighty fighters of Dan stage."
"Very troublesome? A headache for mighty fighters of Dan stage?" The scenes in the promotional video flashed in Lou Cheng's mind. He took a deep breath and typed on his phone. "Why troublesome?"
He spent all his spare time deepening his understanding of "contract" and practice these days so he could enter the Dan stage. That was why he did not study videos of seeded fighters in advance. Only when the drawing results were announced, did he began to analyze his opponent seriously.
"His psychokinesis isn't that great. It's only used to move light things without touching them." Yan Zheke sent a deep-in-contemplation emoji with both hands crossing under its chin. "If it came to strength versus strength, he won't gain any advantage in his fight against Professional Ninth Pin. But, you know, there are many delicate and fragile parts in the human body... "
"Like the eyes?" Lou Cheng frowned.
"Um. The power of his psychokinesis isn't strong enough to poke someone's eyes out, but it's enough to affect on the eyes, like causing temporary blindness adversely. It's likely to cause injury or disability in martial arts competition." Yan Zheke sent an emoji of a covered face in tears again.
The power of a supernatural ability depended not only on its type, but also on its intensity and to what degree its owner could utilize it. Lou Cheng's ice and blaze supernatural ability sounded great on paper, but its intensity was too weak. It was only strong enough to light a cigarette or serve as a portable air conditioner. It did not live up to its name. However, Liu Xunzhen had made impressive progress in his psychokinesis to his current level. This could seriously influence the development of the match and its outcome.
In competitions where contestants with strange supernatural abilities participated, the referees were often ultra-capable adepts to prevent injuries. However, unless the referee was a seer, it was impossible for him to deal with all and any sudden accidents. To be sure, the contestants who meant to hurt his opponent would be punishable by law.
Lou Cheng could imagine the horror of being attacked on his eyes by Liu Xunzhen with his long-distance psychokinesis. He sent a stunned dog emoji. "It's unfair... "
"That's not the worst... " Yan Zheke used the sitting at a loss emoji. "I saw him use his supernatural ability to nip some organ at a distance... Um, the private... "
"F*ck!" Lou Cheng felt a chill between his legs and could not help cursing.
Although Liu Xunzhen's psychokinesis was not strong enough to explode his private parts, it was enough to hurt it! It was not a joke, but real pain!
How should he fight him?
Impulsively, he wanted to quit and live the rest of his life happily with Ke...
Seeing Lou Cheng's strong reaction, Yan Zheke sent him a smiling emoji with its hands covering its mouth, "Don't worry too much. He's a gentleman. He won't touch a girl's chest in a match. As for men, it'd be his last resort."
"It's, fortunately, an arena competition. If I met an opponent with such supernatural ability in life and death battle, this one will hurt... " Lou Cheng replied with an emoji wiping cold sweat.
After frightening her boyfriend, Yan Zheke sent a snickering emoji.
"Don't be afraid! Go bravely, young man!"
"I've made a summary of his supernatural ability. First, his psychokinesis can't penetrate a physical block. Second, h
e can't use this ability at a distance of over 15 meters. The closer you get to him, the stronger his psychokinesis. Third, it's similar to your "lighter." His ability needs to be triggered with a move. So there's a chance for you to prepare for his attack. The truth is the mighty fighters of Dan stage can use Absolute Reaction to sense it even without his triggering move. But his psychokinesis happens in a flash and transmits with the velocity of light. That's to say even if you can sense it, you can't dodge it... "
Lou Cheng was shocked for quite a while.
"Ke, how do you know this?"
"Hmm, I studied all videos of the top 12 seeded fighters!" Yan Zheke sent an emoji tossing its head arrogantly.
"She isn't participating, but did so much for me... " Lou Cheng felt his heart warming and sent a flushing and smiling emoji. "Ke, you're awesome!"
Yan Zheke blushed upon hearing that. She smiled and sent a reply in a commanding tone.
"Call me Coach Yan!"
"Yes, yes, great Coach Yan!" Lou Cheng smiled. He waved at his parents, Fatty Jiang, and other friends at the stand. He found a seat and started to seriously watch the videos selected by Yan Zheke, busily going back and forth with her.
In the lounge for seeded fighters, Liu Xunzhen sat cross-legged in a small empty room, dark and quiet.
In the deadly silence, his sensitivity to his external environment receded. He was able to control his psychokinesis more easily to "see" the changes in his body, except in his brain.
His psychokinesis was so strong that it impacted his spirit. He had not achieved the concealment of spirit and Qi as well as meditation so far. He could only practice martial arts in such silent environment.
That was why he had not entered the Dan stage.
He was more often treated as an ultra-capable, rather than a fighter.
Liu Xunzhen sensed something and opened his eyes. He went to open the door.
A slender lady was approaching his door. She smiled at the sight of Liu Xunzhen. "Mr. Liu, what a coincidence! Your opponent has been announced. It's No. 18 Lou Cheng!"
"No. 18, Lou Cheng... " Liu Xunzhen repeated. He showed no reaction to the unfamiliar name and smiled. "Thank you. I'm going to look for his information."
"You don't have to. I've done it for you, including his recent matches," the lady said conscientiously.
Many fighters did not join any public competitions for one or two months in preparation of the Youth Tournament. The videos of recent matches could serve as a reference, but could not show the exact strength of the opponent. After all, progress was made over time. That was why recent videos were necessary for a fighter to have a complete understanding of his opponent.
"Thanks," Liu Xunzhen said. He sat at the desk where his computer sat and started watching the videos in the lady's USB drive.
His face turned serious, even obviously somber when watching the videos.
"Grinding... " he whispered to himself and made a comment.
Although the fights in these videos were not intense enough to give him a precise idea of Lou Cheng's strength, it was evident that Lou Cheng had made stunning progress in only two months!
The speed of his growth was no less than the best fighters like Peng Leyun and Ren Li.
Fortunately, the tournament was held this year, rather than next year, or the No. 1 seeded fighter would have to be replaced!
Although Liu Xunzhen was famous for his supernatural ability, he had never been arrogant. He had experience failing before because of that. He knew well that as an ultra-capable, he was best at his strength, but worst at his weakness. He was inferior to well-rounded fighters of Dan stage in this term as one who is most likely to go through a shipwreck in a ditch. Of course, it would be another case if his supernatural ability entered a higher stage.
Lou Cheng's mother, Qi Fang asked in confusion.
"What's the meaning of his title, No. 9 seeded fighter?"
Tao Xiaofei was worried and had no mood to answer this question. Fatty Jiang said cheerfully, "Aunty, seeded fighters are the ones with the greatest chance to win the championship. The smaller the number is, the greater the fighter's strength and chances at victory."
He tried to give the simplest explanation possible to the elder.
"It means Liu Xunzhen ranks ninth among all fighters in the tournament?" Qi Fang asked in surprise, thinking about the ranking of the 18 heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasty.
How great was he that he was listed in top 10 among all fighters under the age of 26 in the entire province!
Jiang Fei thought for a while. "That's right... "
"Is there any hope for Cheng to win?" Qi Fang asked worriedly, holding a simple comparison view. That was exactly what Cao Lele, Qi Yunfei, and the others wanted to know.
Would it be dangerous for Lou Cheng?
Will he fail?
Aware that he had become the focus of attention, Jiang Fei twisted his body uneasily. He cleared his throat. "It's not a big deal to lose one round. It's a double-elimination competition. That's to say, only a fighter who loses two rounds will be eliminated. There's a great chance for Cheng to enter the top 32."
There was little chance to meet another seeded fighter.
"So... " Qi Fang pulled Lou Zhisheng's sleeve and said in low voice, "You've learned to search on the internet. So search for some information on Liu Xunzhen."
"Okay." That was exactly what Lou Zhisheng was thinking. Under the guidance of Qi Yunfei, they started to search on the internet. So did Qiu Hailin and Cao Lele.
What they found made them silent, scared, and even terrified.
"Haha... It will be broadcasted this time!" Yan Xiaoling refreshed the video list and posted a new message. "His opponent is the No. 9 seeded fighter, the No. 9!"
Unparalleled Dragon King noticed the keyword used. "Do you know what the 'seeded fighter' means?"
"What are you talking about? How would I know?" Yan Xiaoling, with the username Eternal Nightfall answered directly.
Unparalleled Dragon King briefed them on the meaning of seeded fighter and said at last, "If Lou Cheng met the No. 8 or No. 10, I think he'll win. There's a chance for him to win a Professional Eighth Pin of Dan stage. First, he should reach the threshold of Dan stage with his rapid progress in the past two months. Moreover, he had a better grasp of Tremor Punch and Ice Sect Force. He also had much more experience with Mighty Ones. However, it might be difficult for him to win against Liu Xunzhen, whose supernatural ability is really troublesome...especially for a new opponent… "
"Uh... " Yan Xiaoling kept silent for a while and answered, "Whatever! My Lou Cheng will win! It's the female intuition!"
"I agree! I have the intuition too!" Brahman popped up and said cheerfully.
Unparalleled Dragon King sent an emoji with hands on its face. "How can two little kids call themselves women... "
"I'm already an adult... " Yan Xiaoling replied with the same emoji.
"Little Eternal Nightfall, your photo and voice betray you. You're a young disciple!" Brahman changed the topic into something more humorous. They would not be returning until the competition began.
After watching the videos, Lou Cheng had a basic understanding of Liu Xunzhen's style. He turned towards the second arena.
The first match between two fighters of disparity in strength was over soon. The broadcast equipment was being set in front of the second arena.
"It's about to start... " After texting Yan Zheke, he stood up and stretched himself.
He could not treat the ultra-capable as a normal fighter in terms of fighting styles.
Yan Zheke quickly replied with a voice message.
"Cheng! Good luck!"
Lou Cheng smiled and stretched his neck. He typed a quick response. "How can you cheer me up in such an ordinary way when my opponent is so strong?"
"Then, should I sing?" Yan Zheke asked after some hesitation, gritting her teeth.
"We've been dating for so long. Why don't we change the way to call each other?" Lou Cheng flirted with the girl in a relaxed mood. "For example, sweetie... "
"No way! Bad guy! Shameless!" Yan Zheke typed furiously with a red face, both shy and angry.
How embarrassing! Cheng was a jerk!
Zhang Zhutong was standing leisurely several rows before Lou Cheng, in the company of a beautiful girl.
"You want to watch the following match?" the girl asked, seemingly bored.
Zhang Zhutong chuckled and said, "Yes. Liu Xunzhen hasn't participated in any competition for three months. His opponents previously were so weak that he did not show his progress in supernatural ability. He meets a not bad opponent this time, which might tell us something valuable about him. Look, Han Zhifei and Qiu Liu are all here."
He waved at Han Zhifei and others who were not far away from him, as if he was the owner of the arena.
Han Zhifei ignored him and touched the scar on his face. He asked Han Ying and Xiong Yu beside him.
"Is the fighter Lou Cheng?"
"Mm!" Han Ying nodded solemnly.
"Okay, fine. I accept your singing as encouragement." Lou Cheng flirted with Yan Zheke for a while. Although she did not call him sweetie, his mood had still improved.
He would not allow himself to be careless so as to enjoy happiness rather than depression and pain.
He will go all out!
The referee announced the names of the fighters not long after he approached the second arena.
"Second Round. Liu Xunzhen and Lou Cheng!"
When he was about to hand over his phone to the supervisor, a text arrived.
Did Ke send her singing clip to cheer him up? He unlocked his phone with a smile and placed it near the ear before clicking on the video message.
"D-dea... Good luck!" Yan Zheke shouted in a shaking voice, shy and nervous.
She buried her face in a cushion after sending the message.
Cheng, this jerk!
"Dear... ? Are you Taobao's customer service?" Lou Cheng chuckled, his heart bursting with power.
She was who he wanted to protect!
"Oh! Sir Lou is in the ring!" Wu Ting looked at the second arena and cheered.
Wei Renjie did not hear what she was cheering about, but only four arenas were remaining, so he subconsciously looked in that direction only to find a familiar figure there.
Lou Cheng?
What round was it now?
Was he still here?