Chapter 775 - 775 Can't Afford to Lose
This battle lasted a full fifteen minutes, and the man deliberately kept his distance from Yunpeng. However, his strength was always a notch below Yunpeng's and he ultimately fell to Yunpeng's forceful punch, defeated.
Having won two consecutive fights, the excitement of the people from the Southern Xingyi School was imaginable, more invigorating than before. The disciples of the Northern Xingyi School, on the other hand, all had ashen faces. In particular, Du Yongwu had fought three matches earlier and was utterly confident, convinced of an easy victory today. Unexpectedly, two challengers from the Southern Xingyi School emerged one after another and turned the tables with two wins, making the situation unclear once more.
"Lao Qi, you're up!" Not waiting for Yunpeng to speak, Du Yongwu barked the order, clearly not wishing to give Yunpeng any time to rest.
Having fought for a good fifteen minutes across two bouts, Yunpeng's energy had been significantly depleted. Seeing Du Yongwu act in such a manner, the people from the Southern Xingyi School could not help but raise their voices in protest, accusing him of not allowing Yunpeng the time to rest.
"Uncle Du, as an elder fighting us younger generation, do you really need to resort to this tactic of constant battling?" Tie Weihua asked with a light smile, his mood notably better after the win. His words were tinged with irony, now finally able to return some of the frustrations he had endured earlier.
"Didn't my disciple also fight four matches in a row just before? Speaking of ganging up, that's truly what happened to him!" Du Yongwu replied strongly.
Tie Weihua said, "But your disciple, after each match, had a half-hour break. Our second senior brother has just finished his fight. He hasn't rested for a minute, and you immediately send someone to fight. Isn't that somewhat lacking in the demeanor of an elder?"
Du Yongwu replied indignantly, "I didn't ask you to give him time to rest just now, did I? Since it's a martial arts competition, it's natural to aim for a swift resolution. It's nearly noon, do you plan to drag this out until nightfall?"
"Sect Leader, don't waste words with him!" Yunpeng exclaimed loudly, "If they can afford to lose face like this, then let's keep fighting. I can still fight!"
Seeing Yunpeng speak up, Tie Weihua felt somewhat reassured and said with a faint smile, "Uncle Du, since you put it that way, we juniors can't criticize you. Fine then, we'll admit to being too naive earlier, not as shrewd as Uncle Du, acting too much like gentlemen. That was our mistake!"
Although Du Yongwu picked up on the sarcastic tone in Tie Weihua's words, he was solely focused on having his disciple swiftly defeat Yunpeng, so he pretended not to hear. With a wave of his hand, he commanded sternly, "Begin the fight!"
At Du Yongwu's disciple's cry, he immediately charged forward, clashing with Yunpeng.
The bystanders watched the scene intently, all noticing that Yunpeng was rapidly running out of steam. While fighting the man from the Northern Xingyi School, his punches and kicks were not as powerful as before, and his dodging had slowed considerably. Chased by the man from the Northern Xingyi School, the situation looked quite grim.
People from the Southern Xingyi School were furious, but since the fight had already begun, nothing they said would matter at this point. Of course, whenever they looked at Du Yongwu, their eyes showed disdain and anger, clearly disdainful of his tactics. Du Yongwu, however, did not make eye contact with anyone, focusing solely on the bout, almost wishing he could knock Yunpeng down himself.
Although Yunpeng was running out of strength, his abilities were unmistakably superior, and he nearly caught his opponent off guard several times. Just that due to his waning energy, the speed of his fists and feet was not as fast as before, preventing him from hitting the man from the Northern Xingyi School. Still, after a few close calls, the man grew more cautious, deliberately keeping his distance from Yunpeng. He refused to close in again, instead constantly circling around the perimeter.
After a while, the crowd began to see the obvious strategy—this man from the Northern Xingyi School was simply biding time, aiming to completely exhaust Yunpeng's remaining energy.
"If you're capable, come and fight, spinning around in circles, what kind of skill is that?" people from the Southern Xingyi School couldn't help but shout out.
"Since it's a martial arts match, of course, we must consider positioning. Do you even understand martial arts?" someone from the Northern Xingyi School shot back defiantly.
"What nonsense about positioning, this is plainly running away!"
"You Southern Xingyi School people only know how to stand still and fight, unlike our Northern Xingyi School's varied boxing techniques. If you don't understand, just stop talking!"
As the bout within the ring remained unresolved, the spectators from both the Southern and Northern Xingyi Schools had already started quarreling, neither side pleased with the other.
Meanwhile, Du Yongwu remained silent, eyes locked on the bout, thoroughly satisfied with his disciple's approach. Yunpeng's energy depletion was severe, and wearing him down further seemed the best strategy. Once Yunpeng was utterly drained, victory would be as easy as reaching into a bag to take something, without any difficulty whatsoever!
The battle had now dragged on for half an hour, and Xiang Yunpeng truly had no strength left, even turning his body became a struggle. Seizing such an opportunity, the man lunged forward in a swift step and aimed a kick at Yunpeng's back.
With great effort, Xiang Yunpeng managed to sidestep just in time to narrowly dodge the kick. However, the man followed up with a punch that Yunpeng no longer had the strength to evade, striking him square in the chest. Yunpeng staggered back two steps, nearly stepping out of the dueling circle.
In a martial arts duel, stepping out of the circle meant defeat. This close call caused the people of the Southern Xingyi School to gasp in alarm, their expressions changing dramatically.
Seeing such a scene, the man grew exhilarated and quickly closed the distance with another stride, unleashing a Half-Step Collapse Fist straight to Yunpeng's chest. He was intent on knocking Yunpeng out of the ring with this full-force blow, as well as inflicting serious injury in retaliation for his two fellow disciples!
"Second Senior Brother, be careful!" the Southern Xingyi School disciples cried out in panic, but it was already too late for warnings. Xiang Yunpeng feebly attempted to shift to the side, but his strength was far too depleted to avoid the impending strike.
The hearts of the Southern Xingyi School's disciples soared to their throats; they no longer hoped for Yunpeng to win, only that he wouldn't be injured. But now, it seemed increasingly unlikely!
Just as the punch was about to land on Yunpeng's chest, in this critical moment of life or death, Yunpeng's previously slow-moving body suddenly quickened, dodging the man's punch at the last second. Simultaneously, he positioned himself beside the man and gave him a forceful shove on the shoulder. The man, having committed all his power to his strike, was unable to recover his balance and was propelled out of the dueling circle.
At this moment, the entire arena fell silent, even Du Yongwu's eyes widened. He had thought victory was assured, but at the last moment, the unexpected happened. He now realized that Yunpeng had retained some strength; the punch he had taken was deliberate, luring the man into believing he was utterly drained, leading to his carelessness. And thus, under these circumstances, Yunpeng had won the fight, driving Du Yongwu nearly mad with frustration!
The Southern Xingyi School disciples burst into exuberant cheers, their faces flushed with excitement. Several, less emotionally resilient, were even close to tears. They had not anticipated this outcome; moments ago, they had prayed for Yunpeng to emerge unscathed, and now, not only had he avoided injury, but he had also won the bout. Such dramatic fluctuations in fortune were truly hard for anyone to endure.
Xiang Yunpeng really was drained of energy; he barely managed to stand upright and turned to look at Tie Weihua.
Tie Weihua too was brimming with excitement and nodded at Yunpeng, then turned to Du Yongwu and said, "Uncle Du, I apologize, but we've won another round. With this, it's three to three, even!"
Beard was so furious his mustache seemed to curl up on its own, and he clenched his teeth so hard they cracked, yet he found himself at a loss for words.
As everyone excitedly watched Du Yongwu, the man who had inadvertently stepped out of the ring suddenly charged back, kicking Yunpeng several steps back. Then, in a swift movement forward, he landed several punches on Yunpeng's chest, roaring, "I'll kill you!"
Pride wounded, the man was now beyond control, disregarding the rules of the duel, driven by the desire to kill Yunpeng to regain some face.
As the man's Half-Step Collapse Fist was about to hit Yunpeng, the Southern Xingyi School disciples attempted to intervene but were too late. They cried out in distress, but it was futile.
In this moment of dire urgency, a large hand suddenly reached out, grabbed the man by the neck, and hoisted him up as if he was nothing more than a little chicken. The man's Half-Step Collapse Fist never reached Yunpeng, and instead, he found himself helplessly caught in another's grasp.
"Scum!" the man bellowed, his shout akin to thunder shaking the heavens, sending a buzzing through the ears of everyone present. He then delivered several resounding slaps to the man's face, disorienting him completely, leaving him uncertain of what was happening.
Everyone focused their gaze on the newcomer, a man standing two meters tall, his presence like a steel tower, exuding an immense aura of intimidation. His body was all muscle, impressively imposing, and he seemed untouchable.
Recognizing this man, people of the Southern Xingyi School heaved a sigh of relief. For the man was none other than Black Bear, an enforcer of Ye Qing's!
Indeed, besides Black Bear, there were few who possessed such a physique and stature. People from the North were of larger build, and though the man stood nearly at one meter eighty, he looked like a mere chicken in Black Bear's grip, illustrating the imposing force. Outside of Black Bear, who else could command such an imposing presence?
"Oh, can't the people of the Northern Xingyi School take a loss?" At the same time, a few folks strolled leisurely into the doorway. Leading the way was a man with a sleazy appearance, his teeth yellowed, sporting an eternally unchanged middle-part hairstyle—it was Old Wang Ba!