"Haha, you had learned from the best. Li Feng wouldn't choose you if I didn't have any mojo. On the other hand, Li Shiming had done a great job by becoming one with the blade." Mr. Wannabe praised.
"Ah... about that… Do you know what happened at the end when I struck him with the lance? I can't remember a thing."
Mr. Wannabe pulled a tout face and said, "Oh.. mm... you have done a good job, rest well. I have something else to take care of, bye." Before Mr. Wannabe left, he rolled his eyes at Wang Tong. He knew what it was called, Reverse Causality, but he had no idea how Wang Tong had pulled that off. What was worse, Mr. Wannabe didn't want to admit that he couldn't answer his question.
Wang Tong didn't mind Mr. Wannabe's perfunctory reply. Not only had Mr. Wannabe provided an immeasurable help to him, but the most saline point in certain techniques could also never be taught. Although Wang Tong was victorious, the fight had exposed some of his shortcomings. Luckily, those shortcomings could be mended through strenuous training and conditioning.
Li Shiming possessed a keen battle awareness, but it was no match for Wang Tong's survival instincts. Even Mr. Wannabe admitted that he had underestimated Wang Tong's ability.
Before the fight, both combatants had equal power, and both of them had advanced their cultivation in the heat of the battle. But in the end, Wang Tong won the fight with a hair-thin margin.
Regardless of Wang Tong's recent improvement, he knew that the fight with Patroclus would be a tougher nut to crack than the last match. He promised himself that as long as he was able to move about tomorrow, he would go and watch Patroclus's fight with Lie Jian. Wang Tong conceded that he had almost exhausted his abilities while Patroclus was still holding back his power. He wished that Lie Jian would be able to force Patroclus to reveal more about his concealed abilities.
Everyone knew that as long as Lie Jian was able to defeat Patroclus, he would have gained the title of the champion, since both Wang Tong and Li Shiming would not be 100% after injury. Lie Jian's strategy was simple, 'Finish the fight as fast as possible and use the fire poison to slow down Patroclus.'
"Michaux, do you think I will win?" Lie Jian asked.
Michaux was amused by the question. "You never ask things like that."
"Hehe, yeah. Somehow, the more I advance my cultivation, the less confidence I have." Lie Jian said as he flexed his wrist. He always told Michaux his deepest feeling as Michaux, a friend since childhood, was the only person he could confide in.
Michaux smiled lightly and said, "Your winning chance is less than forty percent. It's not your fault though, Patroclus is just too powerful for you."
"So, you knew I will lose all the while?" Lie Jian asked without betraying his resignation.
The young master nodded.
"F*ck it! Even though the odds are against me, I will show him who I am!" Lie Jian burst out, his face knotted. He was still very confident in his abilities, despite the urge to agree with his friend's outlook.
"Let me help you. We can't let them look down on us Martians," Michaux announced.
"How? Do tell!" Lie Jian was pleasantly surprised. He knew that the Divine Masters had many tricks up their sleeves. Some might not appear to be deadly on the spot, but they could be useful when deployed at the right time.
"I learned a secret technique called Soul Transfer that allows me to store a part of my soul energy inside your sea of consciousness to increase your power," Michaux said.
"Really? Get out of here! Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Lie Jian's eyes lit up with glee. He knew that if he could have the aid of the young master, he might tip the scale on the battlefield in his favor.
Michaux gave Lie Jian an ugly grin and said, "It's just a small trick, useless for me, and ... could be harmful to you."
"I don't care, let's do it now!"
"It's still early. The energy would dissipate over time, so we better time it right."
"Whatever you say!" Lie Jian announced as he cracked his finger joints. He was willing to do anything for the victory.
The fight between Wang Tong had Li Shiming had rekindled the passion for METAL combat inside every ordinary citizen. However, today, another would-be legendary fight was about to pull back its curtain—Patroclus versus Lie Jian.
Although Lie Jian had missed his opportunity of avenging his last tournament's defeat, his performance had proven that he was back and more powerful than ever. The victor of this match would face the most popular fighter of this year's tournament—the Dragon Warrior, the Omni-Fighter, the one and only Wang Tong.
Wang Tong was still unable to move, and therefore, Ma Xiaoru set up a virtual display unit inside his bedroom. She would be watching the fight with Wang Tong beside his medic pod.
This match was an opportunity of a lifetime for most young warriors. They would never experience such event the same way after they grew up.
Inside the arena, the usually aloof Ivantians shouted and cheered at the top of their lungs. Drunken by Patroclus's intoxicating personality and overbearing power, the Ivantians worshiped him like a god.
Despite Patroclus's superior performance, his power was at par with a couple of other contestants that made into the final rounds, such as Wang Tong. However, many people still believed that he was the strongest among all younger generation fighters. The thought came to the audiences so naturally that they didn't even take a second to think how they had arrived at such a conclusion. In the audiences' eyes, Patroclus was a god, and he was invincible, was simple as that.
The clamor in the arena started to die down as the contestants were about to enter the stage. Patroclus appeared on the stage first, followed by Li Jian. One looked like a handsome prince from a fairy tale while the other a wild fiery beast.
After only a brief moment of quietness, the arena exploded with cheers and applause.
Not only were the Ivantians were excited about the match, but also the Martians. Once Lie Jian defeated Patroclus, House Lie would exert their influence outside Mars onto the entire confederation.
Patroclus waved in the air and a wave of ear piercing shrieks from his female fans immediately rose from the audiences. Patroclus was the idol of all teenage girls across the confederation, regardless of their origin.
Zhang Zhongren and Rockefeller weren't sure what to make of Patroclus's paparazzi squad. As a warrior, being idolized for the same reason as a movie star was not entirely a compliment. Nevertheless, any audience who had dabbled with history would know that it was a blessing/curse of House Dower. Rilangalos had also been the sex symbol during his time, and after his marriage, the teenage girl suicide rate of the same year was reported to have tripled.
Whether Patroclus's power was at par with his ancestor was yet to be seen, but his popularity among girls was definitely close to that of Rilangalos.
Patroclus turned to face his opponent and said, "Please!"
Lie Jian returned the courtesy as the two fighters bowed to each other, signaling the start of the battle.
Lie Jian straightened himself and thrust out his two large pec-muscles, as flame surrounded him.