Martial Arts Master

While walking up the stairs to the arena, Li Mao felt that he was not as nervous as before. Maybe it was because this was not a very important tournament, so it did not matter even if he lost the battle. Coach Shi did not even bother to come, didn’t it?

But why am I still afraid, and my body can’t help but shiver?

Is it due to a large number of spectators? Or is it because Yan Zheke had performed much too well before that he felt pressurized not to let everyone’s effort gone down the drain?

Perhaps there is no particular reason. It’s simply that I’m born a loser who can’t face such big situation, and deep in my blood flows a sense of inferiority, or else why will I always feel nervous?

Li Mao was self-detesting as he stood in front of Feng Shaokun. He then noticed that the referee had raised his right arm and was ready to announce the start of the battle.

“I, I’m not ready yet…” A buzz sound rang in his ear as he felt extremely nervous again. Though this did not slow down his thinking, he found it hard to concentrate as well.

Just then, a sentence flashed through his mind,

“Just don’t think about anything later and remember this: Slide step left, low flying kick, followed by a Forward Punch.”

“Slide step left, low flying kick, followed by a Forward Punch…” Li Mao kept murmuring, as if holding on to his last straw of hope.

Feng Shaokun stopped his panting. Feeling the anxiety of his opponent in front of him, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Thank god, it’s him!

A few days ago, Feng Shaokun had pondered about Li Mao’s performance during the University Martial Arts Fair. He had a deep impression of Li Mao’s stage fright reaction and had long decided that if this guy were his opponent, he would attack all the way. He would not even give this guy a chance to rest!

To meet this nervous bro after depleting a large amount of his energy was like a gift from God!

“Round Three. Begin!” The referee did not give Li Mao any time to prepare.

The moment the referee announced the start of the battle, Feng Shaokun, as though there were ice floats under his feet and “flipping” wings on his back, swiftly as well as ferociously dashed towards his opponent. Within a split second, he was near his opponent.

“Slide step left, low flying kick, followed by a Forward Punch…” Li Mao, without thinking much, naturally slid step to his left to dodge the attack. He then tightened his thighs, bent his knees and rapidly threw a low kick, which directly hit Feng Shaokun’s joint.

Feng Shaokun did not expect nervous bro to be able to dodge his attack in time, so he had no choice but to put his Tiger Hug Downward Cut to a halt, a move which he had bided his time just for a chance to launch. He then twisted his body and swung his leg, using a side kick to stop his opponent.

Bam! Both legs collided with one another. Li Mao acted like a robot as he adjusted his muscles. With the help of the borrowed force, he pulled back his right arm and shot out a Lightning Punch.

Slide step left, low flying kick, followed by a Forward Punch!

Feng Shaokun jerked his right arm and threw out his Tiger Fist. He had decided to counter the opponent with an attack and was not planning to show any sign of weakness.

Bam! A dull rumble sounded. Feng Shaokun felt soreness in his right arm as the opponent struck his fist. As he did not build enough strength for his attack, his opponent had managed to hit off his fist.

Sh*t! The sequelae from the fierce battle just now! He made a prompt decision as he used his left foot as the pivot point and swung his right arm towards the back, turning his body to face the correct direction.

Li Mao, who managed to injure the opponent with a punch, seemed to get himself into the usual training momentum. He bounced his body from left to right and then borrowed the force again to throw out a left punch, which aimed directly at Feng Shaokun’s chest.

I get the upper hand?

I unexpectedly succeeded?

With such simple moves like “slide step left, low flying kick, followed by a Forward Punch”?

By then, Li Mao had finally awakened from his thoughts and his mind was back to the tournament. Though he was still feeling slightly nervous, his thoughts were still less agile, but at least he could still think, good enough to make a judgment on the situation in the battle.

Based on the current situation, he would not need to make either complicated judgment or firm decision. He just needs to be like how he usually was during training, where he skillfully launched the 24 Blizzard Strikes!

Bam! Feng Shaokun twisted his back in time, moved his shoulders, and clenched his left hand. He then pounded close to the opponent which stopped all actions, and prevented Li Mao’s blasting move.

Li Mao’s mind started to clear and his attention was focused. He began to feel that this tournament was going way too well, making him felt that he was back to his training ground.

And this “familiar” environment helped in reducing his anxiety!

He swung back his left fist and channeled the energy via his spine to his soles. He then curled his back and instantly threw a whip kick towards Feng Shaokun’s lower body.

Seeing this scene, Lou Cheng heaved a sigh of relief and was secretly happy for Li Mao. He then left his position by the ring and returned to the coach seat in a relaxed mood.

On the other hand, Feng Shaokun was feeling rather upset. He knew that he was under the pressure of 24 Blizzard Strikes, so without any hesitation, he countered the opponent with a whip kick. He then followed by a deep breath which made his face red and his temple pumped up.

Boom! Like a bomb exploded within the body, qi was released from Feng Shaokun’s right fist as he counter-attacked his opponent.

By now, Li Mao had gradually got used to the tournament atmosphere and he could handle simple analysis of the battle. He quickly judged the situation and speculated that his opponent might have depleted most of the energy. Without dodging the opponent’s attack, he made use of the borrowed energy to launch a ferocious Lightning Downward Punch.

Bam!

Both of them lost their balance and took a step back. Feng Shaokun seized this opportunity to carry out Crane Steps. He flew like a bird and pounced beside Li Mao. He then followed up with a Downward Cut where he clenched his fist like a Tiger Claw.

If it were the Li Mao from before, he would most likely have a hard time to defend against this attack. However, this time, Li Mao raised his right arm and lowered his center of gravity.

Clap! The instant the Tiger Fist hit the right arm, Feng Shaokun suddenly conjured a “Crane beak”. He took advantage of the borrowed energy to bounce himself and pecked towards Li Mao’s temple.

Li Mao’s right arm went down with the hitting trend. He then bent his knees to steady himself, which made his body instantly shortened as he dodged Feng Shaokun’s Crane Peck.

At the same time, he channeled his energy to his left leg, which transformed his body into a bullet, as he dashed towards Feng Shaokun’s abdomen.

Feng Shaokun chose not to go head-on. He made use of Crane Steps, swiftly dodged the attack and changed to a new position for his next attack.

Within a minute, he launched a series of attacks. However, Li Mao had already kept himself cool. He seemed as though he had returned to the coldest night in the twelfth month of the lunar year, when he was up against the darkness against the chilly wind. As he recalled the tough days he practiced hard while others were having fun with the firecrackers, he no longer felt nervous. Every movement and every stance that he exhibited was precise, and his defense was impenetrable.

Just right this month he had managed to master the 24 Blizzard Strikes!

While launching his attacks, he suddenly felt that Feng Shaokun’s strength had reduced a lot. The time taken between each step was also obviously longer than before.

“He’s at his limit!” Without much thinking or hesitation, Li Mao instantly took a sliding step and pounced towards his opponent.

Feng Shaokun’s chest tightened. He abandoned all the wild thoughts on his mind as he straightened and wriggled his back. He raised both his arms and posed them like the wings of a sacred crane, as he slammed fiercely towards Li Mao’s temples.

Just when his palms were about to hit the opponent’s raised arms, he suddenly lifted his hip and changed his center of gravity. Now, he displayed the stance of a golden rooster standing on one leg. His right foot silently kicked out, like a tiger doing a straight kick.

Tiger and Crane Assault!

Bam! Bam! Just when Li Mao had managed to block off the attack of the “Sacred crane”, he saw a killer blow was on his way when the opponent’s right foot flew in his direction. Since he could not defend against it in time, he bent and rolled on the ground—Lazy Donkey Rolling on the Ground.

As he was rolling, he felt a sense of disappointment. It was not easy that he was finally fighting normally. Yet he seemed to have fallen into his enemy’s trap and was about to fail.

Just then, Li Mao noticed that Feng Shaokun did not pursue him on, which provided him with a breathing space.

Is he really exhausted already?

Was that his last counterattack?

While the thoughts ran through Li Mao’s mind, he shot up from his back like a carp jumping and stood up once more. Facing Feng Shaokun who had just got closer to him, he leaped from his feet, and together with his spinal cord, he violently threw a Blast Punch at his opponent.

Bam!

Feng Shaokun raised his right arm and blocked the punch in time. However, his body could not help but swayed from the impact. It was obvious that he had reached his limit.

Li Mao took advantage of the situation. Without sparing any thoughts for his opponent, he pursued with another strong punch.

Bang! Feng Shaokun’s arms gave way. His stance was broke apart.

Li Mao’s eyes almost turned red. He took a sliding step to get closer to his opponent. He then slanted his body and fiercely knocked the opponent.

Feng Shaokun leaned backward while trying to dodge the body slam. However, his energy was fully drained so he lost his balance and fell down.

Li Mao rushed over and tightened his thigh. With a jerk from his knee, he kicked out his leg and stopped it in front of Feng Shaokun’s throat.

“Round Three, Li Mao wins!” The referee raised his right hand and announced the result.

I really won?

I really won?

Li Mao couldn’t believe his ears. In that split second, he felt as though he was back to the University Martial Arts Fair, where he had disappointed everyone by losing to his opponent easily even when he had gained the upper hand, and it was all because he was nervous.

Yet now, I finally won?

At this moment, many scenes flashed in front of Li Mao’s eyes. He saw Chen Changhua was so disappointed that he punched the shelves till there was blood on his fist, Lin Que was using a warm towel to cover the painful expression on his face and Coach Shi was trying his best to encourage the defeated team. He could see his own disappointment and heartache everytime he lost in a battle, and his tough and bitter self-training that he persisted on everyday. He recalled the days where he continued his training in a chilly and bone-piercing winter wind, as well as in the early morning when the sky was still dark and everywhere was dead silent. He also saw the scenes where Lou Cheng and the others were cautiously taking care of his feelings, as well as racking their brains to ease him from anxiety…

Everyone at the arena was cheering and shouting. He could not help but turn his head to look at Songcheng University Martial Arts club seating area.

There, he saw Lou Cheng holding onto Yan Zheke’s hand, Yan Zheke holding onto Guo Qing’s, Guo Qing’s holding onto Li Xiaowen’s, Li Xiaowen holding onto Lin Hua’s, Lin Hua holding onto Sun Jian’s and Sun Jian holding onto Lin Que’s. When Li Mao was looking at their direction, they unitedly swung their hands up and cheered aloud.

“Li Mao, you’re the best!”

Li Mao’s eyes reddened as tears continuously flowed from his eyes. He knew the camera was locked onto him and everyone could see his expression from the large projected screen. Yet he could not stop himself from crying.

He was a big man that was eight feet tall, but yet at this moment, he cried like a little child.