"First seed? Is he the most powerful one?" Lou Cheng's mom asked, her voice trailing off.
Jiang Fei still heard her question due to the temporary silence in the stadium. He nodded, even though he was unwilling to admit it.
"In theory, he is… "
"Then isn't Cheng in danger now?" Qi Fang hissed.
As a cultured man who cared about his son, Lou Zhisheng had already studied the seeded players. He comforted his wife upon hearing her worries. "What are you worrying about? Cheng has already made into the semi-finals. He has achieved his goal, so it doesn't matter if he loses now. To borrow the words of the news anchor, what's important is enjoying the match and giving his best performance. So what if it's the first seed?"
Lou Zhisheng was not a heavy internet user, so he was not aware of the derogatory comments and quarrels involving his son online.
"What's wrong with me caring about our son? If you're not concerned about the result, then why are you still here?" Qi Fang stubbornly retorted. Musing to herself, she said, "The top 4 will be awarded 200,000 RMB each. That's good enough… "
Jiang Fei and Qiu Hailin exchanged looks of worry.
If Cheng ended up losing to Zhang Zhutong, God knows what those antis will post online!
And there was a high probability that Lou Cheng would lose...
As the first seed, Zhang Zhutong had been under the spotlight the past few days. His match naturally attracted the most spectators. After watching one of his matches while trying to kill time, Tao Xiaofei and Cao Lele became deeply impressed with the powerful figure known as the No. 1 youth fighter in the Xing province.
"I didn't expect Brother Cheng's next opponent would be him… " Qi Yunfei murmured.
She recalled when Brother Cheng and Zhang Zhutong met at the side entrance of Ming Qi International Hotel. No one knew or cared about Brother Cheng then. He was not invited to that dinner party before the tournament. His opponent did not even get a chance to look at him. On the other hand, Zhang Zhutong was the center of the attention and the favorite to win the tournament. He was surrounded by numerous cameras and fans.
Who would expect these two, whose circumstances were so sharply different, to meet in the semi-finals?
Brother Cheng must win… Qi Yunfei, Chen Xiaoxiao, and Maxi all prayed silently.
In the living room of Lou's family house, Lou Yuanwei subconsciously looked at his grandpa after the draw, afraid that he will be calling friends and relatives again.
It was not a good time to brag.
Lou Cheng might lose!
"See, I told you so. There's no need to call Old Xin." Lou Zhiqiang straightened his back and took this rare opportunity to make his retort.
He may not be well-educated, but he still knew that the first seed would be much stronger than fifth or sixth-seeded player!
Wang Lili glared at him, not opening her mouth to reply.
The phone rang. Lou Debang picked up the phone.
"Lou Debang, this match is pretty risky for your grandson. My eldest son told me the opponent is a huge shot, the strongest young man in our province." The voice from the other side of the phone was energetic and animated.
Lou Debang laughed.
"He's in the top 4, you know, the top 4 among all the youngsters in our province. We're pretty satisfied. If the match will be dangerous, then so be it. We're not asking him to be the champion. There can only be one champion. Sometimes that takes luck and blessings."
Lou Cheng's grandparents repeated their words again and again as one call came after another. It wore them down quickly. After all, it was different from bragging.
In the QQ group of Lou Cheng's senior year classmates.
"Damn it! Why did they draw Zhang Zhutong? I wanted Cheng's opponent to be Liu Xunzhen. When he makes the finals, he can use his indefinite strength to exhaust the guy." Tao Xiaofei sent a frustrated-looking emoji smashing the table.
As someone who spent all year jumping from one bar to another, Tao Xiaofei was involved in the trifecta of drinking, smoking, and gambling. After the top 16 fighters were determined, he placed a 10,000 RMB bet on Lou Cheng winning the championship.
Had he foreseen the drawing result, he would have spent all that money on 'investigating' the nightlife in Gao Fen.
"Isn't it normal for Lou Cheng to encounter either Zhang Zhutong or Han Zhifei? The real news is if he doesn't encounter any of them," Du Liyu answered with a head-scratching panda emoji.
"Yep, I know. Never mind, it's just me complaining," Tao Xiaofei said with an emoji with outstretched hands.
Other schoolmates started joining the conversation, suggesting the Saudi Arabian to send a red pocket as a way to wish Lou Cheng well.
"Little Sun, what do you think of the match? Who do you think will?" Wei Renjie rubbed his eye bags and looked at Sun Yixing, Wu Qinggui, and Chu Weicai.
Sun Yixing thought for a while and said, "It's acknowledged that Zhang Zhutong is the No. 1 among all young fighters under the age of 26 in our province. Han Zhifei recognized this himself, but he just thinks his chances against Zhang Zhutong are 6:4. A rather big probability."
He threw some English in his words. After all, he did take a relative course in language in the martial arts school.
"If Lou Cheng can defeat Zhang Zhutong, he'll be No. 1 in our province regardless if he wins the final. He's indeed impressive, but I think he's still at least a year or a half away from that title," Sun Yixing said, sharing his opinion.
In consideration of the television broadcast, the semi-finals and finals were packed so closely together that the fighters only have an hour and half to rest. In other words, the physical strength of the fighter and his opponent in the semi-finals and the intensity of their match will all affect the final match. The loser may not necessarily be weaker and the winner may not necessarily be stronger.
"Sir Lou doesn't care about being No. 1. He's a superstar!" Wu Ting said, butting into the conversation and making Chu Weicai and Wei Renjie laugh.
When she turned around, she saw Zhang Qiufan and Yao Ruiwei with downcast expressions and it made her worry again. She subconsciously furrowed her eyebrows.
Sir Lou will be meeting the real devil this time…
"Hahahaha! Look. This hypocrite who reached the top 4 with unacknowledged kungfu is gonna get his ass kicked."
Yan Xiaoling punched her bed when she saw those nasty posts on the forum.
She was so pissed off!
She wanted to argue with the antis, but she did not have enough knowledge to back her up. What she could do was stare at the screen, looking for some support from that grandfatherly guest on live.
"Teacher Yu Hong, can you analyze the probability of the outcome for us?" the host asked.
Yu Hong gave his answer with a smile. "Let me put it in this way. Let's disregard his strength, power, and speed. How many successive bursts can he pull off? Has he achieved the crushing force? Or has he even mastered the moves of physical invulnerability? Lou Cheng is a real fighter of Seventh Pin in the Dan stage, and a good one. But if we look at him as a whole, his foundation is still lacking. At most, we can treat him as a weak Seventh Pin. Plus he had only stepped into the Dan stage a couple of days ago and he's learning 'withdraw' for less than two months. His fighting experience and techniques in Dan stage are far inferior to Zhang Zhutong."
"Meanwhile Zhang Zhutong's record is seven successive bursts and he has even completed Furnace Force. What's left for him is simplifying the moves of physical invulnerability."
"Going by this analysis, I think the probability should be 7:3. Zhang Zhutong's winning rate is 70% and Lou Cheng 30%. It's not that he doesn't have a chance at all. He had even pulled off several miracles in the past."
The guest's words depressed Yan Xiaoling even further. She secretly prayed.
"Primeval Lord of Heaven, Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, Buddha, God, amen. Please bless Lou Cheng so he can defeat his opponent!"
"The top seed? Zhang Zhutong? I know him. He's super awesome!" Gu Shuang clapped her hands in excitement.
Realization hit her when the two people sitting next to her shot her a look. She chuckled, feeling guilty. "Ke, your man is even better!"
Yan Zheke pursed her lips and looked at Lou Cheng who was seated in the guest seats, her gaze affectionate.
When she looked at her phone, she abruptly stood up and walked towards the other end of the aisle.
"Ke, where are you going?" Gu Shuang asked curiously.
"Restroom." Yan Zheke's answer was simple.
"Why aren't you asking me to go with you?" Gu Shuang was used to going to the restroom with her entourage of close friends.
"You just went there with Sister Jing." Yan Zheke did not turn around.
"Haha, I almost forgot," Gu Shuang replied, fiddling with her hair.
The match was beginning soon. Spectators who needed to use the restroom had already gone. The next round was yet to come, so the restroom was silent without the usual line of people.
This was exactly the environment Yan Zheke needed. Standing in front of a mirror, she took out her phone. With her even, white teeth biting her bottom lip, she gathered her courage and spoke at a neutral pitch.
"D-Darling, go for it!"
She blushed after finally saying those words, beyond embarrassed.
Beloved Cheng…
"D-Darling, go for it!"
Lou Cheng never thought he would receive this voice message as he did not have time to request this of Coach Yan.
The corners of his mouth lifted and a wide smile appeared on his face. Lou Cheng listened to her voice over and over again and carefully added this voice message to his Favorites inbox.
"Ke, your cheering is such a surprise that I don't have much reaction. I just listened to that voice message for like 38 times." Lou Cheng amusingly expressed his excitement and happiness.
"Well, do your best!" Yan Zheke answered aloofly.
"Yes, Madam!" Lou Cheng put down his phone with a big smile and took advantage of the remaining time to adjust his mental and physical state.
Yin Huaming, the chairman of Martial Artist Association in the Xing province, stepped into the arena five minutes later. He was the referee for the match. The arrangement showed how much importance the martial arts circle placed on these young fighters.
"The first round: Zhang Zhutong versus Lou Cheng!" His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it echoed throughout the stadium and set off the cheers from the audience.
The whole stadium was now echoed with cheers and jeers. Lou Cheng walked to the arena with all the spotlights blazing his path.
It may surprise people, but it was indeed his first time-fighting in the semi-finals.
The stone staircase was like a road to glory. Lou Cheng was the first to step into the arena. He watched as Zhang Zhutong walked towards him, slowly and proudly, the same way he did that night.
Zhang Zhutong wore a cyan and red martial arts suit with phoenix stripes, looking tall and handsome. His pupils were extremely dark.
"Talk time starts," announced the referee.
Zhang Zhutong gave a gentle smile.
"Lou Cheng, have you checked the internet? People are saying you made the top 4 with unacknowledged kungfu."
"Are you saying Meng Jiefeng isn't that powerful?" Lou Cheng's reply was indirect as he did not want to fall for Zhang Zhutong's trap and affect his mood.
Besides, his reply was already incisive. Meng Jiefeng and Zhang Zhutong were both mainstays in the Gao Fen martial arts circle. Meng Jiefeng just happened to be in the police system. If Zhang Zhutong thought he was not strong enough and was unqualified to be in the top 4, then Zhang Zhutong and Meng Jiefeng's relationship in the future would be very interesting.
These kinds of conversations were not all lies. Otherwise, who would be tricked?
"Nope. I'm just musing. When you participate in a tournament, it's not only your strength that matters. There's also your luck," said Zhang Zhutong. "I competed in the last Challenge Tournament as well, you know. I was so confident that I had what it took to make the top 4 even though I just stepped into the Dan stage then. In the end, I met Caption Gao early and only made into the top 8."
His eyes turned terrifying sharp.
"Let me judge if you're qualified to be in the top 4!"
His muscles abruptly bulged, bursting with strong belligerence. A soft storm rose around them.