Chapter 325 - 325 War Doesn't Tire of Deception
The two had been entangled in combat for about fifteen minutes when Jin Yi Nan finally caught Ye Qing's lapse and delivered a heavy kick to Ye Qing's chest,
"Nice one!"
The people from the surrounding Taekwondo Gym screamed in unison as if Jin Yi Nan had already won.
"The head coach is invincible under the heavens!"
"What sect, what boxing technique? All are useless in front of Taekwondo!"
"Taekwondo is the strongest martial art in the world, no other martial arts can compare!"
The crowd shouted incessantly with unchecked arrogance as their momentum climbed again. Meanwhile, the color drained from the faces of Ye Qing's supporters; could Ye Qing really be about to lose?
"Ah!" The tall man couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. He hadn't expected Ye Qing to be the first to falter.
The old bodyguard smiled faintly and said softly, "The youngster is quite clever!"
"What do you mean? Isn't he about to lose?" the tall man asked in wonder.
The old bodyguard said, "After fighting for so long, their punches and kicks are not far apart; it's very difficult to determine a winner. In this situation, to get a result, one must change the approach. You see, he just took a kick, but he actually had a contingency in place. When that kick hit him, he had already diverted some of the force, so the kick didn't do much damage to him.
However, he took the opportunity to gauge the other person's strength from that kick. If I'm not mistaken, this battle is about to end!"
The tall man looked at the old bodyguard and then at Ye Qing. Naturally, his eyesight was not as good as the old bodyguard's. However, the fact that Ye Qing received such praise from the old bodyguard indicated that he was indeed no ordinary person.
Sure enough, after another two minutes of combat, when Ye Qing's chest showed an opening once again, Jin Yi Nan repeated his move, lifting his leg to kick Ye Qing's chest with even more force, hoping to defeat Ye Qing in one fell swoop.
However, just as his foot was about to hit Ye Qing's chest, Ye Qing, who seemed to be throwing a full-strength punch, incredibly pulled it back and instead caught Jin Yi Nan's ankle. Although Jin Yi Nan's kick had hit Ye Qing, he himself fell into Ye Qing's grasp, resulting in a pyrrhic victory.
Jin Yi Nan's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly tried to retreat and withdraw his foot, but it was too late. Ye Qing, with a loud shout, grasped his ankle, exerted force, and flung him through the air, slamming him heavily against a distant wall. Jin Yi Nan was powerful, but the fall still left him disoriented, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, indicating internal injuries.
A sudden uproar erupted among the onlookers; after a moment of silence, Mad Dog's underlings were the first to shout: "See that? See that? That's real strength!"
"Bastard, roll back to your Bonguk!"
"What crap Taekwondo, how can it compare to our Huaxia's martial arts!"
The Taekwondo Gym's people were dumbfounded. They had been fighting well, and Jin Yi Nan had even been gaining the upper hand. Who could have anticipated that, in just a brief moment, Jin Yi Nan would be directly defeated? The result was too unexpected. With that, the members of the Taekwondo Gym no longer had their previous arrogance.
Despite the insults from Ye Qing's side, they hung their heads low, not daring to utter a retort.
Jin Yi Nan slowly stood up, the tumult in his chest and abdomen preventing him from continuing the fight. Seeing the disappointed expressions of the people from the Taekwondo Gym, he was furious. He pointed at Ye Qing and cursed up a storm in his native tongue.
"You despicable trickster, using such methods to deceive people, you're not worthy of practicing martial arts, you don't have the qualities that a martial artist should have," the interpreter loudly translated Jin Yi Nan's words.
"What qualities should a martial artist have?"
Before Ye Qing could answer, the old bodyguard who had been standing to the side stepped forward, laughing and saying, "In war, there is no such thing as cheating; this has been a truth passed down in our Huaxia since ancient times. Our Huaxia's martial arts not only value techniques but also intelligence. In critical moments, one must use flexible tactics and should not be confined to techniques.
If Bonguk people can't keep up intellectually, after losing, talking about a martial artist's qualities is truly laughable."
Except for Jin Yi Nan, everyone present understood Chinese. Listening to the old bodyguard's words, they began to whisper amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Jin Yi Nan's face was a portrait of rage, urging the interpreter to translate the old bodyguard's words.
After hesitating for a moment, the interpreter still conveyed what the old bodyguard had said to Jin Yi Nan word for word. Jin Yi Nan's complexion turned icy, and he frowned, taking a while before asking in Bonguk language with a somber voice, "What does it mean to be intellectually lacking?"
"Uh..." The interpreter scratched his head and whispered, "He... he's calling you all dumb..."
"What!" Jin Yi Nan erupted in anger, pointing at the elder and unleashing a torrent of abuse.
"Old Undying, you've got no right to speak here. You dare to insult our great Bonguk people, you're literally asking for death. Don't think because you're old you can say whatever you want, keep spouting this nonsense, and I'll be the first to let you have it!" The interpreter translated Jin Yi Nan's words verbatim.
The old bodyguard chuckled coldly, pointing at the interpreter and said, "Tell him, with his stupid look, I could beat him without even using a technique!"
"Ah?" The interpreter was taken aback, whispering, "Old gentleman, maybe you shouldn't stir up trouble, the Bonguk people are not to be trifled with..."
The old bodyguard glared and angrily said, "Interpreter!"
The interpreter shivered and hastily translated the old bodyguard's exact words.
"Ahhh, this is infuriating!" Jin Yi Nan roared loudly, took a running start toward the old bodyguard and aimed a flying kick at him.
The old bodyguard, who was in his sixties or seventies with an average build, looked no different from an ordinary person. Jin Yi Nan, taking advantage of his old age and presumably weaker strength, held nothing back, aiming to defeat the elder as swiftly as possible and recover some face for himself.
As Jin Yi Nan's kick came in, the old bodyguard had no intention of dodging. Instead, he slightly sank his body and pulled his right fist to his waist. When Jin Yi Nan was less than three meters away, the old bodyguard suddenly lunged forward half a step, his right fist launching from his waist as he let out a thunderous shout akin to an exploding thunderclap, vibrating everyone's eardrums on site.
Jin Yi Nan took the brunt of the shock, getting startled by the sound. Realizing something was amiss but too late to change course, his right foot collided with the old bodyguard's right fist.
With a crack, Jin Yi Nan was sent flying backward, breaking several bricks in the wall behind him. He slowly collapsed onto the ground, his right leg twisted and broken. Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth; he was utterly listless and couldn't even muster the strength to speak.
Everyone on site was stunned, including Ye Qing and Black Bear. Ye Qing didn't know who the elder was, nor understood his level of strength. However, with this move, he had a clear picture of the elder's prowess, which was undoubtedly above his own. Even the Xikou Fire Butterfly, who had exchanged blows with Ye Qing, possessed nothing close to the old bodyguard's strength.
Among all the formidable people Ye Qing had encountered, aside from the enigmatic Third Master Li, and that mysterious elder at Li San's grave, no one could compare to the old bodyguard!
"Your strength is still far too lacking!" The old bodyguard slowly shook his head and said, "You don't even have two-tenths of Jin Jia Xian's strength from back in the day, yet you dare come to Huaxia and act so arrogant? Humph, even if Jin Jia Xian himself showed up, he wouldn't dare to talk such big talk!"
Jin Yi Nan's complexion changed drastically. Jin Jia Xian was a top-three Taekwondo figure in Stick Country and an elder-level figure in their Jin Family. His Taekwondo skills were personally taught by Jin Jia Xian, whom he had always idolized since he was a child. To his disbelief, the old bodyguard seemed to know Jin Jia Xian and even spoke such words, which shocked him to the core.
Could it be that the old bodyguard had crossed hands with Jin Jia Xian?
The old bodyguard casually pointed at the folks from the Taekwondo Gym and commanded, "You guys, carry him out. And, for the things you've broken, you can leave only after compensating for them!"
The Taekwondo Gym crowd was scared stiff by the old bodyguard's astonishing strike and didn't dare to go against his wishes. They hurriedly picked up Jin Yi Nan, and several of them who had money rushed to Black Bear to figure out how much they had to pay.
Only then did the old bodyguard turn around and slowly approach Ye Qing. He examined Ye Qing from head to toe, his eyes flickering with sharpness, leaving one to wonder what he was thinking.
Ye Qing faced the old bodyguard with a calm expression. Despite the old bodyguard's remarkable abilities, he remained composed, sensing that the old bodyguard was a reasonable man.
After scrutinizing Ye Qing for a while, the old bodyguard finally said, "Shall we talk?"
Ye Qing glanced at Wang Tiezhu and asked, "Could we send him to the hospital first?"
The old bodyguard waved his hand dismissively and personally helped escort Wang Tiezhu over to Black Bear.
Ye Qing rushed over and checked Wang Tiezhu's pulse, relieved to find him stable and not in any life-threatening danger. Nevertheless, he still asked Black Bear to take several people and send Wang Tiezhu to the hospital. To be safe, he also arranged for a few people to watch over Wang Tiezhu at the hospital to prevent him from being kidnapped again.
After dealing with Wang Tiezhu's situation, Ye Qing turned to the old bodyguard and said, "Old gentleman, this way please."
The old bodyguard followed Ye Qing into the private room, took a seat at Ye Qing's invitation, and inquired, "May I ask your name?"
"Tie Yongwen," the old bodyguard paused before adding, "Sect Leader of the Southern Xingyi School!"
"So it's Old Mr. Tie!" Ye Qing said, "Is Old Mr. Tie's visit this time about the Xingyi Martial Arts School?"
Tie Yongwen smiled faintly and said, "Exchanging blows is a common thing among martial artists. Those unworthy juniors, good for nothing but causing trouble, have indeed stirred up quite a bit over the years. I have long wanted to teach them a lesson. This time, having Mr. Ye teach them was also a way for them to realize that there's always someone stronger out there. Frankly, I should thank you, Mr.
Ye. Had you not been merciful, I fear those juniors might have ended up seriously crippled!"
"Old Mr. Tie is too kind," Ye Qing glanced at Tie Yongwen and responded, "Speaking of which, I should also thank Old Mr. Tie for saving Wang Tiezhu. However, Old Mr. Tie's personal visit to Tian Sheng couldn't simply be to thank me, could it?"