Chapter 76
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Chapter 76: The Two Finalist Emerges
Feeling the tremor of her chair, Le Mulan did not blame the other person. She too had been momentarily stunned by Zhang Yu’s breakthrough just moments ago.
To achieve a martial arts breakthrough during combat is truly impressive. No wonder Lian Tianji lost in actual combat.
But even with this, the gap between him and Song Hailong is still too vast.
The Level 5 Limitless Cloud Hands alone clearly could not bridge the gap between them. The situation in the arena seemed to be unfolding exactly as Le Mulan had predicted.
The breakthrough with the Limitless Cloud Hands had only caught Song Hailong off guard for a moment. As he unleashed his Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand, coupled with his overwhelming strength and physique, Song Hailong eventually slammed Zhang Yu to the ground.
“It’s over.”
Le Mulan knew that someone unskilled in grappling and wrestling techniques was in a hopeless situation once taken down and entangled by their opponent. There was absolutely no chance of victory.
But in the next instant, something unexpected happened again.
Zhang Yu had begun using the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand against Song Hailong?
***
On the arena.
Zhang Yu watched Song Hailong execute the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand repeatedly. Seeing the same technique appear in the Feather Book, he realized his only chance of victory now lay in mastering this martial art.
***
Below the arena.
Le Mulan thought to herself, Is he crazy?
Does he actually think he can learn grappling techniques on the spot and fight Song Hailong on the ground?
Le Mulan initially thought Zhang Yu had been beaten senseless. But in the next few moments of combat, she could sense something else. Zhang Yu’s grappling techniques were crude and distorted, yet he always managed to stall his defeat at crucial moments, delaying his inevitable loss.
This was especially true when he combined it with the Limitless Cloud Hands, which allowed him to use Song Hailong’s own strength against him, redirect attacks, and struggle with increasing ferocity.
He truly is a martial arts prodigy. The moment he encountered grappling, he grasped the underlying principles. He can always integrate it with his existing martial arts to find the key points for channeling his power.
But it’s only delaying the inevitable…
Le Mulan felt as if Zhang Yu was dancing on a knife’s edge. She knew the ground combat looked ugly, but it was incredibly dangerous. If Song Hailong locked onto a joint or vital point, it would mean torn tendons, fractured bones, or crippling injuries.
One moment Zhang Yu was full of life, and the next he could be crushed into a bloody pulp by the immense force in Song Hailong’s hands.
But in the very next instant, Le Mulan suddenly shot to her feet.
On the arena, Zhang Yu’s technique underwent a dramatic transformation. His movements, once clumsy and chaotic, became refined and orderly. He was actually trading blows with Song Hailong using the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand.
He learned it?
No… he’s already mastered it?
It was not just Le Mulan who was stunned. Even Lian Tianji, the seat of the sacred one, stood up in surprise. “Mastering an opponent’s martial art during combat? Such talent…”
His expression was a mixture of excitement and fear.
He had never personally witnessed such terrifying martial arts talent, and in recent years, anyone who possessed such an ability would have been too afraid to use it.
Lian Tianji muttered, “Isn’t he afraid of going bankrupt? This is openly cracking a martial art and using a pirated version in broad daylight.”
Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen snatched Zhang Yu’s phone.
Lei Jun’s face was a mix of exhilaration and terror. He said solemnly, “Do you know the password?”
Bai Zhenzhen nodded as she quickly worked the phone. “I helped Yu Zi borrow money before. I know his password.”
Lei Jun reminded her, “This martial art is called the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand. Just search for Dragon-Back…”
Bai Zhenzhen quickly found the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand on the shopping website, but her expression darkened. She said, flustered, “It costs 40,000 yuan. He doesn’t have enough balance.”
Just then, a transfer notification sounded in her ears like celestial music.
Received a transfer of 40,000 yuan from Zhang Pianpian.
As the electronic manual and usage rights were sent to Zhang Yu’s account, Bai Zhenzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She and Lei Jun turned back to the Arena and felt as if they were watching two dragons, one large and one small, locked in a fierce ground battle.
Although Song Hailong held an absolute advantage, he could not completely suppress Zhang Yu.
As the two continued to trade blows, Song Hailong suddenly sensed his opponent’s Martial Arts had improved again. Zhang Yu was now repeatedly intercepting his attacks and even starting to lock his body.
What!
His Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand has surpassed mine?!
In a head-on clash of fists and palms, even if Zhang Yu had surpassed Song Hailong using the same Martial Technique, Song Hailong would have been hard to defeat.
But in a ground fight where both were using the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand, even with Song Hailong’s robust physique, being completely locked down was perilous. This was especially true because as Zhang Yu’s technique surpassed his opponent’s, his arms also erupted with Level 5 Formless Cloud Gang Qi.
This meant that every time Song Hailong attempted a takedown or throw, Zhang Yu would disrupt it, while Zhang Yu’s own takedowns and throws required Song Hailong to expend even greater effort to counter.
I’ll just wear him down! With my physique, his strength will soon falter…
The two men grappled and rolled across the arena floor. Song Hailong, at a disadvantage in skill, had to focus all his mental energy on countering Zhang Yu.
Just then, he sensed Zhang Yu’s strength beginning to wane.
Song Hailong’s heart leaped with joy. My chance has come.
But the next moment, Song Hailong suddenly felt the ground beneath him vanish.
While he was completely absorbed in the ground battle, he had not noticed that he and Zhang Yu had rolled to the edge of the arena.
Zhang Yu then flung him out of bounds.
Thud!
As Song Hailong’s feet slammed onto the ground outside the arena, his mind remained blank.
I… lost?
Realizing he was out of bounds, a surge of fury flashed in Song Hailong’s eyes. His muscles bulged, swelling his frame, and he lunged toward the arena, ready to fight again.
But before he could move, three figures suddenly appeared before him.
The three referees simultaneously grabbed his shoulders, gradually calming Song Hailong.
He took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Zhang Yu in the Arena. “You’ve won,” he said slowly.
With that, Song Hailong’s body trembled. “Let go of me. I will walk on my own,” he said.
The three referees withdrew their hands, and Song Hailong, his face as cold as ice, strode back to Bailong High School’s rest area.
Meanwhile, another referee had stepped onto the Arena and asked, “Do you have the usage rights for Song Hailong’s Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand?”
Zhang Yu’s impromptu display of learning and applying the technique had raised suspicions of unauthorized use and copyright infringement.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen rushed forward, holding Zhang Yu’s phone. “He bought it! He bought the usage rights for the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand. Here’s the order!”
As she showed the order on the phone, Bai Zhenzhen also produced the Talisman Register Zhang Yu had left offstage, displaying the Patrol Department’s seal on it.
Seeing the order and the Talisman Register, the referee did not press the matter further. After a brief warning to Zhang Yu, he left.
Bai Zhenzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Zhang Yu and scolded him. “What the hell were you thinking? Directly breaking down a Martial Arts technique on stage? Learning and applying it on the spot? If the Company comes after you, they’ll sue you into bankruptcy!”
Zhang Yu scratched his head sheepishly. “Ah, I got carried away during the fight. All I could think about was winning.”
“Besides,” he added with a smile at Bai Zhenzhen, “I just knew you would help me.”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. “That Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand cost 40,000! If you don’t win this competition, you can work your own tail off to pay back that debt.”
Then she asked, “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Zhang Yu shook his head.
Although the close-quarters combat had been incredibly dangerous, he had only suffered some minor bruises and was otherwise unharmed.
The mental exhaustion on the other hand was a different story.
Zhang Yu kept rubbing his head. The prolonged state of Full Concentration, the close-quarters combat that had pushed him to his limits, and the all-out effort of his battle training had not felt so bad in the moment. But now that it was all suddenly over, he felt as if his brain had turned to mush.
“A-Zhen, help me back to rest. My head’s spinning.”
Bai Zhenzhen huffed and simply scooped Zhang Yu up in a princess carry, heading toward Songyang High School’s rest area.
As she walked, she said, “We’ve invested so much in this Martial Arts Competition. You absolutely have to beat that wretched Le Mulan in the next match.”
Zhang Yu, his eyes half-closed as he slowly recovered his mental energy, gave a soft grunt of agreement.
Bai Zhenzhen then leaned in and whispered, “Let me tell you where Le Mulan’s weaknesses are…”
***
On the other side, Song Hailong’s return plunged the Bailong High School rest area into a palpable gloom.
The Competition Coach cleared his throat and said, “This Zhang Yu is indeed formidable. His stats are not high, but his talent for the Martial Arts is extraordinary. He can even achieve repeated breakthroughs during combat, which certainly gives him the ability to defeat stronger opponents.”
“Sigh, in truth, Hailong, your actual strength still surpasses his. If it were not for the arena’s rules, his defeat at your hands would have only been a matter of time.”
There are two ways to justify a loss.
One is to claim carelessness, and the other is to praise the opponent’s skill.
Clearly, the Competition Coach was employing both tactics at that moment.
In truth, if any other student had lost, the coach would not have bothered with such niceties and would have made them kneel first.
But when the wealthiest and highest-achieving student in the class lost, he obviously could not take such a heavy-handed approach.
The other students quickly chimed in with their agreement.
“That Zhang Yu is pretty strong.”
“Big Brother Hailong just wasn’t watching his footing, and the arena was extra slippery today. Otherwise, how could someone with his skill possibly lose?”
“Who could have guessed he would keep breaking through during the fight? And that he even learned the Dragon-Back Mountain-Toppling Hand?”
“Right, does he even have the right to use it? Can we get him disqualified…”
“The judges have already checked. If they say there is no problem, then there is no problem.”
The Bailong students had mixed feelings about Zhang Yu.
In their eyes, his true strength had not surpassed Song Hailong’s, and his stats were even inferior to their own, which left them feeling rather indignant.
Yet Zhang Yu had used his profound Martial Dao skills and talent to achieve something they could never do, which also instilled in them a faint, grudging respect.
Meanwhile, on a stretcher nearby, Chu Qiuhe, who had been feigning unconsciousness all along, was secretly rejoicing. That’s it, keep hyping him up! Keep hyping up Zhang Yu for me!
The more they built up Zhang Yu’s strength, the more justifiable his own defeat would seem.
