"The finals, Lou Cheng wins!"
Since he still felt dizzy and disoriented, it took Lou Cheng quite a while to figure out what was in the referee's indistinct voice.
Did I win the game?
Did I defeat Han Zhifei with the last blow?
I'm still on the arena?
As all these ideas flashed through Lou Cheng's mind, he finally broke away from the layer of gray covering him and got a clear view of the surroundings. He saw Hang Zhifei puffing in front of him, the two footprints embedded in the floor behind him, the broad arena he was on and the referee standing nearby, who was familiar and strange for him.
Sensing Lou Cheng's gaze, the referee gave him a kind smile. "Are you okay?"
"I'm, I'm fine now." Lou Cheng felt his brain numb and mind filled with chowder, which weakened his control of lung and throat, added difficulty to his breathing and finally produced a series of gasps.
His eyelids were drooping uncontrollably as if he would immediately fall asleep.
Holding back the feeling of being sleepy, he filliped a blaze with two fingers and gave the back of his hand a quick burn, which made his body tremble slightly as the sharp pain immediately awoke his brain through nerves.
Until this moment, all the scenes and sound outside Lou Cheng's world began coming back to him along with the eruption of cheering from excited audiences.
"Champion!"
"Lou Cheng! Champion!"
Lou Cheng was stunned while the feeling of joy and happiness began emerging from his heart drop by drop and echoing within his body along with the feeling of tiredness.
"I'm a champion! Champion of the third session of provincial Youth Tournament!"
At this moment, he wanted nothing but to turn around, run down the arena and rush to the restroom to give his fairy a big hug, and then spin with her in excitement.
While seeing Hang Zhifei break Lou Cheng's stance twice with Double Bursts, Yan Zheke had already covered her mouth with both hands in order not to sigh regretfully.
Though she had already prepared for her boyfriend's probable failure, she never gave up expecting Lou Cheng to find a way out and perform miracles until the last minute.
As long as he doesn't give in, I'll never give up.
When Han Zhifei was about to make the winning hit, Lou Cheng uniformly distributed all his scattering forces throughout his body to strengthen the defense against his opponent. Seizing the opportunity to launch a counterattack without hesitation, Lou Cheng turned defeat into victory in an instant and stunned all the audience including Yan Zheke, who immediately jumped up from the sofa to wave her fist and yelled excitedly regardless of her politeness and elegance.
"Victory! Victory! Victory!"
At this moment, a quick glance at Lou Cheng immediately calmed her down and knotted her stomach, for she noticed the boy's dim eyes, trembling body and halting steps. He might have fallen if the referee hadn't steadied him.
What's wrong with him?
Is he Okay?
Has Cheng again squeezed his supernatural ability and is now suffering from the boomerang?
Frowning with a dismal and unhappy look, she felt an urge to rush to the boy's side.
Fortunately, the lump of tension in her chest didn't stay long for Lou Cheng soon came round and burned himself with flame supernatural ability to polish his eyes despite his visible weariness.
"You great nitwit…" The girl murmured in both joy and anger. Obviously the boy was trying to stay sober with external stimuli for his brain couldn't keep up with the body movements.
How come he should choose such a stupid way!
Why must he burn himself?
The drastic emotional changes in such a short time tired out Yan Zheke mentally, forcing her to sit back and breath a sigh of relief. But she had been focusing on the screen and the figure of some idiot.
There was a one-minute silence
in the forum of Lou Cheng's fans when no post was sent.
Unparalleled Dragon King was the first to regain his composure. "He wins…@Eternal Nightfall, @Brahman, come out and see God!"
In their previews discussion, even the two girls, who were Lou Cheng's big fans, had believed there were few chances for Lou Cheng to defeat Han Zhifei, the second seed, in his present state.
"My idol wins! My idol is the champion! I can't believe it! Wait, why should I say I can't believe it." Brahman confessed with a crying emoji, "I'm not a committed girl, I was wrong, please forgive me!"
Eternal Nightfall Yan Xiaoling replied with a blank look. "I was scared silly just now…"
"I was almost frightened to take my wig off…" Naive sent an emoji widely opening its eyes.
"I had just been convinced that Lou Cheng was going to lose the game before I saw him turn the tables." Bull King was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh.
Unlike the battle between Lou Cheng and Qiu Lin, in which Lou Cheng flight backward after using the Severe Warning and then got the chance to launch a counterattack and took an opportunity to defeat his opponent,this time there was no obvious transition before the situation was turned throughly, which gave the stunned audience no time to figure out what had happened.
"Luckily I didn't bet a naked trail this time…" All Good Names Are Taken By Dogs sent a "let go" emoji in bewilderment.
Yan Xiaoling, who was watching their discussion with a blank look, suddenly sent a post:
" It was too dramatic, and I still feel as though it had all been a dream. Did my Lou Cheng win the championship? @Okamoto's Fan, hurry up! Come out! Send me some porn to let me know I'm still living in the real world!"
"Gosh! Lingling, you're getting more and dirtier." Okamoto's Fan joked.
Rubbing her face, Yan Xiaoling went on watching the forum and game broadcast at the same time for the hope that she would get an affirmative answer from the old special guest.
In the studio of Xing provincial satellite TV, the host sighed with emotion after a long silence.
"I'm afraid he will be the most unexpected champion in the past three sessions of competition."
Who had expected Lou Cheng to win the championship before the match and even several days after the match?
At that time, Lou Cheng was unfamiliar to almost all the audience!
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Yu Hong shook his head and smiled. "But he is the most powerful one among all the three champions we ever have."
On the way to victory, he had defeated the first, second, fifth, sixth and ninth seeded players one after another, which showed his incomparable strength that had never been seen in the former two champions. And it was likely that no one would be as brilliant as him in the following several sessions!
"Professor Yu Hong, what do you think about the match just now? It was obvious that Lou Cheng had almost lost the game, so how could he turn the tables in such an instant?" The host was still kind of confused.
Yu Hong smiled at him. "Throughout the whole match, we could tell that Lou Cheng had chosen the proper strategy. Since he was able to restore stamina at an unexpected speed, of course, he would drag Han Zhifei into a situation where they could only rely on the dissipation of stamina and energy. But Han Zhifei was not a fool, as he noticed Lou Cheng's attempt in advance and thus risked his worsen injuries to launch a counterattack without considering the result, which almost helped him to touch the victory."
"However, he finally lost the game, what a pity. On the one hand, he hadn't seized the best opportunity to restrain the stamina consumption of his body and thus couldn't provide his injured body with growing amount of energy and stamina to maintain the final outbreak of strength, on the other hand, it was Lou Cheng who had used some special means."
"Irregular means?" The host was confused.
"Let's playback the last several movements to see Lou Cheng's facial expression." Yu Hong made a sign to the direct, "You see? Lou Cheng was obviously so tired at that time with glassy eyes. But after a sudden shiver, he immediately gained some energy to light his eyes and refresh himself to some extent, which enabled him to accomplish the final movement of Force Concentration… I wonder if he had used some secret disciplines to stimulate his body or overdraw his potential and thus could take reactions in time and finally turn the tables."
"Yeah, I see! Professor Yu Hong, I wouldn't notice his last several movements if you didn't mention it, and I do believe there are many audiences still kept in the dark like me." The host immediately realized what had happened.
As he said, the live audience was stunned with a blank look when the referee was announcing the result of the match, unable to believe what they had seen or heard.
Why is Lou Cheng the winner?
Though it's confirmed by the referee, obviously it was Han Zhifei who almost won the game just now!
In a weird silence, Tao Xiaofei burst out laughing while pounding his legs.
"I win, I win! Eighteen hundred yuan, I gain eighteen hundred yuan! Haha, it's the first time for me to earn a fortune all by myself!"
He was used to be called "Loser of Every Bet."
Being awakened by his laughter, Qiu Hailin let out her breath in a long exhalation and then sighed with emotion, though she was still in bewilderment.
"It's just like a dream…"
In the dream, Cheng, who had originally been predicted to reach the top 32 or at most the top 16, defeated a string of tough opponents all his way to reach the semifinals as one of the top 8, and finally entered the finals to win the championship!
It was just like a dream…
But she was still a college student with no achievement in the dream.
Turning to look at her, Jiang Fei sighed silently. Yeah, it was just like a dream, while the ridiculous plot was that Cheng should have made Yan Zheke his girlfriend…
Standing by in silence, Cheng Qili saw all their reactions while feelings welling up in his heart. Besides the joy and excitement, he also realized how weak he was and had an urge to advance and make achievements bravely.
"I have never realized before that a plain-looked boy could also be handsome…" Cao Lele murmured while looking at the arena. Turning her gaze to Qi Yunfei and the other girls, she found them all flushing with shining eyes.
"He wins… Is Cheng the champion?" Qi Fang tugged at her husband's sleeve excitedly to make the final confirmation.
Jin Tao, the Invincible Punch, took a deep breath and nodded.
"Champion!"
However countless the fighters below the age of 26 in the whole province were, Cheng had made himself the most powerful one among them!
In the tumultuous applause and cheering, Lou Cheng's parents were greatly moved with eyes growing moist.
"When will we check out of the hotel?" Qi Fang wiped her tears and asked.
Gradually calming down with the fading cheering, Lou Zhisheng smiled. "Well, are you too excited to leave in such a hurry? Want to stay a few days longer? We'll check out of the hotel Fatty Guo booked tomorrow noon, and we can go to find another cheaper one."
Even though Cheng would get the champion bonus, they should always maintain moderate consumption thrift.
"No, I want to go back, go back home now!" Qi Fang's eyes were extraordinarily bright, "I'll share the news with them! I'll visit all our relatives! I'll invite my friends for dinner!"
It was time for her to show off in front of all the relatives and friends who used to pay no attention to them!
This time Wu Ting didn't bounce and dance in excitement as she usually did in previews competitions, instead, she had been yapping at her father Wu Qinggui and uncle Wei Renjie about Lou Cheng.
"My coach is the champion of the provincial Youth Tournament!"
"My coach is the champion!"
Being amused by the little girl, Wei Renjie took a glance at Sun Yixing and Chu Weicai, and then sighed with emotion. "Still any different opinions on inviting Lou Cheng to teach our team for preliminaries?"
"Nope, how dare we object it!" Chu Weicai answered happily.
Sun Yixing also shook his head. "No, it's my honor to have such a teacher."
To be honest, the first time when he knew Lou Cheng, who was younger than him, would come to give them special training, he was a shade reluctant. But now it meant he was going to be taught by the provincial No.1 fighter, which was a great honor to him!
In the living room of Lou family.
"He wins?" Lou Debang leaped to his feet and asked Lou Yuanwei.
"Yeah, he wins!" Lou Yuanwei nodded in great joy.
"Champion?" Lou Debang added.
"Champion!" Lou Yuanwei replied in excitement.
"Hahaha." Lou Debang burst into a loud laughter, "ancestors bless us! Ancestors bless us! Let's visits their graves and tell them the good news when Cheng come back!"
Saying like this, he again picked up the phone.
"The champion of the provincial youth tournament, what a great honor…" Staring at Lou Zhiqiang, Wang Lili commented while gnashing her teeth.
Lou Zhiqiang was still murmuring, "Why are you so excited? He's not our son…"
Realizing what he had said, he suddenly stopped to look at Lou Yuanwei.
The latter gave him a wry smile.
Though having realized his mediocrity, he was still longing for an extraordinary life, which forced him to struggle in vain. What a pain it was…
"Senior brother Zhou? Have you watched the match?" After calming herself down, Ye Youting texted Zhou Zhengquan.
Zhou Zhengquan soon replied with a "wry smile." "Yeah… I've never expected to be surpassed by him in such a short time."
How long ago did he win Lou Cheng in May?
Now he even gave up comparing himself with the Lou Cheng for he was sincerely convinced by the boy's strength!
"Well, you can go for a short rest. Don't forget the awarding ceremony half an hour later, or you'll miss the bonus." Yin Huaming, the referee reminded him jokingly.
"Okay, thanks for your hard work." Lou Cheng replied politely regardless of his aching head, and then walked towards Han Zhifei with his right hand stretched out.
Having stopped gasping, Han Zhifei looked at Lou Cheng for a while and then gave him a high-five.
Click, the moment was captured in the flashlight.
"Though I still had no idea how I lost the game, it's the fact I should accept with no excuse. Congratulations, you deserve it." Han Zhifei said sincerely.
Lou Cheng didn't want to conceal his condition from Han Zhifei, so he replied with a smile. "At the last gasp, I stimulated myself with supernatural ability to squeeze potential and overdraw energy. So I'm going to be weak in the following several days."
At least several days…
"I see…" Han Zhifei was completely relieved. Shaking his head self-deprecatingly, Han Zhifei turned around to leave the arena.
He was walking on a slow path since he was aching all over.
Lou Cheng left the arena in the opposite direction. Though he was still able to support himself with the remaining stamina, he was stumbling and even zigzagging.
"Hello, Lou Cheng. Congratulations for your becoming the most powerful young fighter in this province." Wu Wei came out of nowhere as she always did and blocked the new champion, who was a horrible guy.
No matter how Lou Cheng would develop in the future, this championship was enough for him to go down in the provincial Martial Arts history!
"Thank you." Lou Cheng smiled at her though he could no longer bear the uncomfortable feeling.
Now I just want to see Ke and celebrate with her!
"Obviously you are so tired, so I just have three questions for you." Wu Wei put on a professional smile, "could you please share your feeling and thought after winning the championship with us?"
"I'm overjoyed and yelling in my mind, but my worn out body prevented me from showing my excitement on the face." Lou Cheng took a deep breath and replied jokingly, "as for my feelings, I want to thank every opponent for giving me difference tough experience, thank my parents for supporting my wayward behavior as the stick to Martial Arts, and again thank my friends for encouraging me. But the one I want to thank the most was my coach, without whom I couldn't be like now."
He was punning for the "couch" meant both Coach Shi and Coach Yan.
On the one hand, if he hadn't met coach Shi, he would have taken lots of detours before growing to be a qualified warrior and might even die of practicing kungfu in harmful ways. On the other hand, it was Coach Yan who motivated him to join in the Martial Arts Club for fun and go for a night jogging around the lake, where he picked up the Jindan.
In the restroom, Yan Zheke burst out laughing and immediately turned her gaze away from Lou Cheng.
"Cheeky! Cheeky Cheng!" Gnashing her teeth and spouting mouth, the girl's eyes were glittering in her flushing face, which gave her joy out and made her even more charming.
He really said this in the interview!
"I have never seen such a discipline before…" Geezer Shi complained gruffly in front of the screen.
If I were the only one the brat wanted to thank sincerely, he would directly say "master"!
If it was in ancient time, such a discipline like him would survive no more than three days!
"You are really a grateful boy." Wu Wei smiled politely, "the second question, how did you manage to turn the tables finally? Our special guest professor Yu Hong said you had used a secret method of stimulating your body to overdraw stamina."
"It was far from being called a secret method. When I was in middle school, I would wash face with cold water to refresh myself each time when studying tired me out, and then I was able to gather strength." Knowing his method would soon be exposed through checking frame by frame, Lou Cheng decided to tell the truth frankly, "I was indeed exhausted before the last blow with no other ways to save myself. In desperation, I stimulated my face with The Power of Frost and it worked unexpectedly as cheering me up immediately but temporarily. But if I again use this method now, it won't work like that."
Stimulating himself with flame was also for enabling him to do the basic moves narrowly, and it was impossible for him to use Force Concentration again.
"Well… What I was still at school, washing face with cold water was actually a good way to cheer me up." Wu Wei echoed him as she was suddenly enlightened.
On the other side, Yu Hong added in the studio. "Well, Lou Cheng was somewhat good at dealing with emergencies with quick wit. But what he used was actually the original principle of potential-squeezed secret method, which would bring him serious future troubles if overused beyond the bearing capacity of his body."
Wu Wei again asked with a big smile. "The third question, since you are sure to be at the top of the Apotheosis of Fighters, do you have any ideas about your nickname?"
"As long as it was neither unpleasant nor odd." Normally Lou Cheng would make a nickname himself in advance, but he didn't have the energy now and had to reply with a wry smile.
"Okay, hurry to take a rest. The awarding ceremony is coming." Wu Wei got out of Lou Cheng's way. Seeing the boy rushing into the restroom, she then turned to catch up Han Zhifei waiting on the other side.
"Zhifei, I'm not going to mention something unpleasant." Having been to Jianxian Club several times, Wu Wei was quite familiar with Han Zhifei, "the first question, what do you think of Lou Cheng's getting the championship?"
"He deserves it." Han Zhifei kept looking down, "Since he had defeated so many tough fighters and finally got the championship, no matter whether it was to some extent for his good luck or our contempt for him, he was proved to be a tough warrior with great strength, who was powerful enough to be the champion of the youth tournament."
"Most importantly, he was young and still growing at an amazing speed." Wu Wei added, "the second question, could you please share with us your feelings now?"
"I'm disappointed, regretful and painful now. But there's not only this youth tournament for me to conquer in my career of martial arts, and I should move on to pursue my dream. I'll adjust myself as soon as possible to meet the third phase of the preliminaries." Han Zhifei exhaled, his facial expression slightly changed.
"We're expecting you to make yourself an honor for this province." Wu Wei nodded, "the third question, what's your opinion on your nickname?"
"In the apotheosis of fighters of the previous session, my nickname was Ghost General, and I hope this time it won't be more unpleasant than that…" Han Zhifei complained, which he seldom did.
After getting his cellphone back, Lou Cheng raised his hands to thank all the audience with applause, and then rushed into the restroom, where he saw Yan Zheke with flashing face and shining eyes.
The girl spouted her mouth. "What were you thinking about when stimulating your head with The Power of Frost? Since the human brain is fragile and sophisticated, even those mighty ones of physical invulnerability dare not to touch it. What if you become a fool from now on? You are originally silly enough!"
Saying like this, she could not help laughing at first. Taking a glance at Lou Cheng with her watery eyes, she said in shyness and joy, "Welcome back, my champion Cheng…"
"Don't you do something to congratulate me?" Lou Cheng grinned as if having forgotten his aching head.
Am I risking my life to tease my little fairy?
"Hmm, what shall I do? It's time for you to take a bath and relax! Smelly Cheng~!"Yan Zheke approached Lou Cheng and walked him to the bathroom.
Until this moment did Lou Cheng realize he should make an explanation. "I dared not to stimulate my brain but my skin just now."
Yan Zheke was about to say something, but she suddenly stopped to pat her forehead. "Since you have overdrawn your stamina, a hot bath might harm you. You should recover from the tiredness by yourself at first. Just sit here, and I'll knead your temple."
"No, you were hit in the chest by Han Zhifei so I'd better apply some ointment on you and knead the injured area to eliminate the hidden trouble…"
Taking a step back in embarrassment, she raised one hand like a pupil in class. "Give me some time to sort out what I should do now, I'm a little confused."
She was too excited and concerned about Cheng.
Lost in her own thought, the girl suddenly sensed the strange silence in the room. When she looked up, she found Lou Cheng staring at her quitely with brooding eyes and a big smile.
The moment their eyes met, Lou Cheng stretched out one hand to grasp Yan Zheke's wrist and then draw her to him.
Though he couldn't gather much strength with an aching head, the girl was as light and soft as a feather, who approached him on her own initiative and raised her face to welcome the hot kiss.
Sticking out her tongue secretly to let the boy suck softly with restrained passion, Yan Zheke tasted the feeling named happiness.
After a while, she carefully pushed Lou Cheng away. Turning her gaze aside in shyness, the girl stroked her hair and ordered, "Sit down and take off your clothing!"
"Okay." Lou Cheng gave her a smile and then took a step back to seat himself on the sofa. Then he took off the shirt to show the sweaty chest as well as the dark red wound.
Though he finally defused the force of Xuyin Fist with Force Concentration, he was still severely injured in the chest since the muscles there were not as tough as those in the legs and arms.
Taking a glance at Lou Cheng's chest unconsciously, Yan Zheke's face again flushed. She hurried to take out the ointment, crouch to ladle out a piece of it and kneaded to spread it with great force.
Feeling both joyful and painful while seeing the little fairy's facial expression, Lou Cheng again ginned.
"Does it remind you of the half nude photo I sent you? Well, is my figure nice?"
"You rascal! You cheeky guy!" Yan Zheke scolded him out of embarrassment and worry while still kneading Lou Cheng's injured muscles softly.
Having gotten enough benefits from the girl, Lou Cheng stopped at the right time to close eyes and relax. There were only 20 minutes left for him before the awarding ceremony.
After a while, Yan Zheke finished her work and stood up to seat herself on the sofa. Then she said in a pretended heroic manner.
"Come on and rest head on big sister's leg! I'll knead your temple to get your mind relaxed before taking a bath."
"I'm too heavy." Lou Cheng didn't want to hurt the girl.
"I'm the fighter going to join in the Professional-Ninth-Pin competition, and how can you hurt me? Come on~!" Yan Zheke padded her led while still looking aside in shyness.
"Okay." Lou Cheng laid down in great joy and rested his head on the girl's leg for her to knead his temple.
Along with the comfortable feeling and familiar fragrance, Lou Cheng's beating heart gradually calmed down, while his nervous tension also began to relax.
"Ke, sing a song for me, a quiet song." Lou Cheng murmured with his eyes closed.
Looking at him with a smile, Yan Zheke thought for a while and began crooning:
"When you are old and grey and full of sleep."
"When you are old and slow and dreaming of your youth beside the glowing bars."
"When you are old and bending down in the dim light."
"When I'm old, I do hope this song is for you."
Along with the song echoing in his ears, Lou Cheng set his thought, leaving his mind in peace and joy.