Chapter 185 - Dark Clouds Loom, Heavy Downpour
Chapter 185: Dark Clouds Loom, Heavy Downpour
“Just wait and see. That pretty boy One Sword is surely going to lose.”
“Blood Ape is strong, but One Sword is not weak either. You have seen that move of his. It’s like a light cannon, and the low-level contestants can’t resist it at all.”
“I’m puzzled by this. They are not displaying the normal strength of martial artists at all. I feel that all my training has gone to waste.”
“I second that. I became a peak martial artist after practicing for more than 10 years, but I have a hunch I can’t even resist one punch from others.”
“Humph, they are geniuses. Of course they’re different. Their talent is different, let alone techniques.”
“Damn it, I’m so envious.”
Besides ordinary people and those who were involved in this match, many dojo masters had also come to watch this battle. They had been invited by Qin Ya.
Qin Ya was well aware that she had to show them the benefits Lin Yao could bring before making them spend money to employ Lin Yao as a spokesperson. Winning a battle between powerhouses was the best way to make Lin Yao’s uniqueness stand out.
Also, in comparison to verbal communication, coming to watch the match in person or via live stream was undoubtedly the best way to ignite their interest.
Therefore, Qin Ya made arrangements for those who were willing to come and watch the match. As for those who were unwilling to, Qin Ya sent the live stream to the decision-makers.
While sitting and chatting in a private room, the dojo masters were also discussing the battle before it began.
“Who do you think will win?”
“It’s hard to say. Lin Yao has a more powerful outburst, but God Descent skills impose huge pressure on the body. Du Ming has the upper hand in terms of this. His outburst will also stress his body, but his body has already reached fivefold the level of the Iron Body, whereas Lin Yao’s is only twice as strong. In terms of endurance level, Du Ming is in a more advantageous position.”
“That’s not the only reason. Du Ming is a young lad who hasn’t shown many of his abilities. Alas, old Fang Huai has found himself a good disciple.”
“I believe in Lin Yao more. Don’t forget who gathered us here. If she was not confident about victory, how could she possibly have done this?”
“Based on what you’re saying, we’re in for a good show this time.”
As everyone looked on, noon came. Lin Yao and the Ultimate Boxing Dojo were up against each other. Unsurprisingly, the last seeded player team of No. 1 High School had drawn a bye.
As the figures of Lin Yao and Du Ming appeared on either side of the arena, loud and enthusiastic cheers were heard from the surroundings.
“Blood Ape, defeat that pretty boy. Muscles make a man look romantic.”
“Your Excellency One Sword, go, go, go!”
The right amount of muscle would attract the opposite sex, whereas strong and bulky muscles would attract men. Most of the girls, the majority of whom were locals, were cheering on Lin Yao. Du Ming’s supporters consisted mainly of brawny men. The cheers for the two contestants were evenly matched.
Soon, the two parties and their teams entered the arena. After they bowed to each other, the opposing team didn’t provoke them. Instead, Du Ming extended an invitation to Lin Yao.
“You are very good. Would you be interested in joining the Ultimate Boxing Dojo? It’s a great place for you.”
“Thank you, but I don’t plan to do so for the time being.”
“In that case, don’t blame me for being merciless later.”
“That’s my line.”
There was no hostility, but both parties were full of fighting spirit. An inexplicable aura was spreading from Lin Yao and Du Ming, and the remaining eight people standing close to the two of them actually felt slightly short of breath.
Holding one’s fists and bowing to the opponent was part of the martial arts etiquette, and a gesture that showed this was a martial arts competition, not a life-and-death duel.
After going through the martial arts etiquette, Lin Yao and Du Ming were ready to proceed to either side of the arena to wait for the battle to begin.
As they were walking, a sudden, powerful energy fluctuation erupted from a tall building not far away. Amid this violent energy fluctuation, cloud energy started gathering toward the outburst of energy from all directions.
Cloud energy gathered and quickly turned into dark clouds. Splash… Rain fell from the sky. Dark clouds loomed over the sky of the city stadium, and the originally cloudy sky quickly turned gloomy before a heavy downpour ensued.
The sudden rain captured everyone’s attention, and the local powerhouses of Ninghai City flew toward the location of the energy outburst. Lin Yao’s battle could only be halted temporarily.
Soon, a powerhouse reached the top of the tall building warily. However, sounds of apology were heard repeatedly before he could holler.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Something went wrong during my practice. I’m really sorry, This is my fault. I’ll compensate you for any losses.”
“Zong Qi, what the hell are you doing?”
“Nothing. Something went wrong during my practice.”
More and more powerhouses arrived at the top of the building. Soon, someone thought of something and said in shock, “How much did Fang Huai pay you to do this?”
“I don’t understand what you mean. By the way, am I going to the police station or the Abnormal Ability Department? You guys should quickly count the damage and calculate how much money I need to pay.”
The powerhouses were not allowed to unleash their power or fight in the city for no reason. After all, they were very strong and could easily cause huge damage.
Zong Qi had created a huge commotion, but he’d only turned the cloudy sky into a rainy day, and the impact had only affected the surroundings of the stadium. The loss was negligible.
Therefore, those powerhouses couldn’t do anything to Zong Qi. Even though he was fined a sum of money, it was only a symbolic gesture. However, everyone knew the reason Zong Qi had done this.
Besides the powerhouses, the commentators at the competition venue knew this as well.
“This… This situation is very unfavorable for Student Lin Yao. His God Descent forte is a light element, and certain battlefield conditions need to exist for its presence. His strength will be greatly weakened on such a rainy day.”
“This is troublesome. He should count his blessings if he can even unleash half of his strength.”
Those who could control the elements had certain environmental requirements. If someone had a water attribute talent, the prowess they unleashed by a river or a lake would be completely different from what they unleashed in a desert. Similarly, the powers unleashed by the light attribute angel were different during the day and night.
Although a cloudy sky was much better than nighttime, the angel would not be able to unleash as much power as it could during daytime.
This was the weakness that Fang Huai had discovered in Lin Yao.
As the heavy rain poured down, Lin Yao frowned but said nothing. However, Du Ming, who was a member of the opposing team, spoke. “Referee, I request a match suspension. This is allowed if there are unforeseen circumstances during the match.”
When he heard his words, the referee looked at Lin Yao.
“What do you think?”
Without answering immediately, Lin Yao looked at Du Ming. “You are very nice. However, the weather can no longer affect me. In fact, this will help me. My strength will be enhanced tremendously by the rain.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
Upon seeing that Lin Yao and Du Ming had no plans to retreat, the referee did not say another word. He told the two parties to stand firmly. Raising his hands high, he started counting down.
This scene made the two commentators on the commentary stage look puzzled.
“What’s happening? Why didn’t Student Lin Yao agree to suspend the match?”
They were not the only ones feeling puzzled. The audience was also discussing this. Some of them even scolded the Ultimate Boxing Dojo for being despicable, and others said that Lin Yao was foolish.
However, the words of others didn’t affect Lin Yao or Du Ming in the slightest.
“The battle begins!”
As the referee waved down his palm, the blood ape war soul rose behind Du Ming and merged with him, swelling up his body. As he transformed, Du Zhuang also unlocked his talent and pulled out the transmission gate in front of Du Ming.
However, as soon as the door was pulled out, Du Ming suddenly sensed something before he could use the Whale-Like Engulfing Method of the North. His expression changed drastically, and he wanted to pull Du Zhuang to his side.
His movements were rapid but, unfortunately, a little late. When Du Ming’s palm fell on Du Zhuang, a dazzling beam of light suddenly appeared under the dim rain.
The sudden appearance of this dazzling, bright light stunned the onlookers. Due to the light, many people who were holding snacks in their hands trembled and spilled their food.
However, no one was paying attention to this. Everyone was staring at the sky in surprise, then at the arena, and then at Du Zhuang’s charred body after the bright light appeared.
“This… What happened?”
Endless doubts formed in the hearts of the audience, and it was only then that a long overdue, loud rumbling noise was heard.
Du Zhuang had been struck by lightning.
The dazzling thunderlight, the booming thunder, and the sight of the fallen Du Zhuang silenced everyone for a long time.
Then, an exclamation was suddenly heard.
“Thunder? How can there be a thunderbolt?”
“Is Du Zhuang that unlucky that he was struck by lightning?”
“What the crap? Look at One Sword! He can control thunderbolts.”
This excited shout drew everyone’s gaze back to Lin Yao. Soon, many people discovered that Lin Yao’s figure looked different from the past. The rain around him had separated, thunderbolts circled him, and mysterious lines had appeared on his face. Some sharp-eyed people discovered that One Sword’s eyes had turned into majestic, vertical pupils. At the same time, his temperament was not as gentle and bright as before. Instead, it was distant, cold, and aloof.
The feathered serpent spirit had possessed him!
Everyone’s gaze landed on Lin Yao, but the latter didn’t change in the slightest. He stretched out his palm and allowed thunder and lightning to erupt in his palm. He then said coldly, “I already told you. A rainy day will not hinder me.”
“I underestimated you, but you actually stopped and reminded me… Did you also underestimate me… Aargh!”
Just as he said the word ‘underestimate’, the muscles of Du Ming’s legs suddenly swelled. Within a breath of time, the stone slab under his feet exploded. Amidst the loud booms of the floor cracking, three-meter-tall Du Ming, whose body was full of blood and vigor, smashed through the rain toward Lin Yao like a cannonball.
Without Du Zhuang’s transmission gate, Du Ming was also a powerhouse.
Before he even reached Lin Yao, a bloodthirsty aura had already shrouded Lin Yao, making his heart palpitate.
However, this palpitation was eliminated as soon as it appeared. Brave Soul made Lin Yao fearless. Upon seeing Du Ming rush over to him like a huge, wild beast, Lin Yao also made a judgment call.
‘I’m unable to resist this. The feathered serpent spirit is not good at blocking attacks with its body.’
With this thought in mind, Lin Yao crouched slightly and faced Du Ming, who was charging at him.
Boom!
This was the sound of dashing Du Ming hitting the ground. Through the rain, one could clearly see Du Ming’s fist smashing the ground, breaking the stone slabs of the arena within a radius of four to five meters from him. Yan Yan and the rest, who were standing close to Lin Yao, didn’t even have the time to react, as they were shocked by Du Ming’s aura. They were sent flying by the afterwave of Du Ming’s punch, and blood spewed out of their mouths.
Power, immense power… Du Ming, who was possessed by the blood ape, had nothing but extreme power.
Unfortunately, before his fist could land, Lin Yao’s slightly crouched body had already risen into the sky like a rocket.
“He’s in the sky?”
Du Ming didn’t know why Lin Yao had escaped to the sky to hide, but this did not hinder his attack. Ignoring Lin Yao’s teammates, who were spewing blood, Du Ming, who had failed to win with one punch, immediately gathered the strength of both his legs and broke the stone slabs of the arena again. Simultaneously, he chased Lin Yao like a flying cannonball once more.
Besides Du Ming, the commentators and the crowd of onlookers couldn’t figure out why Lin Yao had escaped to the sky either, nor could the rich and powerful people in the VIP room and the dojo masters.
“He won’t be able to turn his body in the air. It was not wise of One Sword to do that.”
As such thoughts popped up in their hearts, Du Ming had already leaped to an altitude of 13 meters with pure strength.
This was his limit. Nevertheless, his eyes widened when he looked up, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
“No! Impossible!”