Chapter 76: The Final Two Emerge
Feeling the ‘chair’ beneath her tremble, Le Mulan didn’t reprimand him, because she too had been taken aback by Zhang Yu’s breakthrough just now.
“To achieve a breakthrough in a martial art in the middle of a fight is truly impressive. No wonder Lian Tianji lost in a real battle.”
“But this alone is not enough. The gap between him and Song Hailong is still too vast.”
A level 5 Limitless Cloud Hand was clearly not enough to close the gap between them, and the situation on the stage seemed to be unfolding exactly as Le Mulan had predicted.
The breakthrough of Limitless Cloud Hand only served as a minor surprise for Song Hailong. As he unleashed his Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand, his overwhelming advantage in strength and size allowed him to ultimately slam Zhang Yu to the ground.
“It’s over.”
Le Mulan knew that for someone unskilled in grappling and wrestling, being thrown to the ground and entangled by an opponent was a hopeless situation, with absolutely no chance of victory.
But in the next moment, something unexpected happened once again.
Zhang Yu had also begun using the ‘Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand’ against Song Hailong.
On the stage.
After watching Song Hailong execute the Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand several times, and then seeing the same technique appear in his Feather Book, Zhang Yu knew that his only chance of victory now was to learn this martial art himself.
Below the stage.
Le Mulan thought to herself, Has he gone mad? Does he really intend to learn grappling and wrestling on the spot to fight Song Hailong on the ground?
Le Mulan felt Zhang Yu must have been beaten senseless. Over the next few moments of the fight, however, she could see that… although the grappling techniques Zhang Yu used were crude and distorted, they always managed to delay his defeat at critical moments, staving off the inevitable.
This was especially true when combined with his Limitless Cloud Hand, which allowed him to leverage his opponent’s strength against them during the grapple, redirecting attacks and putting up an increasingly fierce struggle.
“He truly is a martial arts prodigy. The moment he encountered grappling, he was able to grasp its principles and combine it with his own martial arts to find the key points of applying force.”
“But he’s only delaying his defeat…”
Le Mulan felt as though Zhang Yu was dancing on a razor’s edge. She knew that while the grappling on the ground might look clumsy, it was exceptionally dangerous. The moment Song Hailong locked one of his joints or vital points, it would mean snapped tendons and fractured bones—a crippling injury.
The same Zhang Yu who was full of life one moment could be crushed into a formless pulp by the immense force in Song Hailong’s hands the next.
But in the following instant, Le Mulan shot to her feet.
On the stage, Zhang Yu’s technique had suddenly transformed. It went from crude to proficient, from chaotic to orderly. He was actually using the ‘Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand’ to fight Song Hailong head-on.
He learned it?
No… he’s already mastered it?
It wasn’t just Le Mulan who was astonished; even her stool, Lian Tianji, stood up in surprise.
“Mastering an opponent’s martial art in the middle of a fight? That kind of talent…”
His expression was a mixture of excitement and fear.
This terrifying level of martial arts talent was something he had never even witnessed. In recent years, even if someone possessed such a gift, they would never dare to use it so openly.
Lian Tianji murmured, “Isn’t he afraid of bankruptcy? This is cracking a martial art and using a pirated copy in broad daylight.”
At the same time, on the other side of the arena, Bai Zhenzhen snatched Zhang Yu’s phone.
Lei Jun’s face was also a mask of excitement and terror.
“Do you know the password?” he asked solemnly.
Bai Zhenzhen nodded as she quickly worked the phone.
“I helped Yu-boy borrow money once, so I know his password.”
Lei Jun reminded her, “The technique is called Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand. Just search for Dragonback…”
Bai Zhenzhen quickly found ‘Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand’ on a shopping website, but her face fell.
“It costs forty thousand,” she said in a panic. “He doesn’t have enough.”
Just then, the notification sound of a money transfer rang in Bai Zhenzhen’s ears like heavenly music.
Received a 40,000 transfer from Zhang Pianpian.
As the digital manual and usage rights were sent to Zhang Yu’s account, Bai Zhenzhen finally let out a sigh of relief.
She and Lei Jun looked back at the stage, and it was as if they were watching two dragons, one large and one small, wrestling on the ground.
Although Song Hailong held the absolute advantage, he was unable to completely suppress Zhang Yu.
And as the two continued to clash, Song Hailong suddenly felt his opponent’s technique improve yet again. He was now able to intercept his attacks time after time and was even beginning to lock Song Hailong’s own body in return.
What!
His Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand has surpassed mine?!
If it had been a head-on brawl, a trade of fists and palms, then even if Zhang Yu surpassed Song Hailong with the same technique, Song Hailong would have been hard to defeat.
But in a ground grapple using the same ‘Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand,’ even with Song Hailong’s physique, it would be dangerous if he were completely locked down.
This was especially true since at the same time Zhang Yu’s ‘Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand’ surpassed his, a level 5 Formless Cloud-Astral Qi was also erupting from his arms.
This caused every one of Song Hailong’s grabs and throws to be redirected and broken, while his opponent’s attacks, once launched, required even more of Song Hailong’s strength to counter.
Fine, I’ll just wear him down! With my physique, his stamina will soon give out…
The two rolled and grappled continuously. With his technique now a step behind, Song Hailong had to focus all his attention on countering Zhang Yu.
Just then, he felt his opponent’s strength begin to wane.
A flicker of joy lit up Song Hailong’s heart. My chance to win is here.
But in the next moment, Song Hailong suddenly felt the ground beneath him vanish.
Having focused all his energy on the ground battle without paying attention to his surroundings, he had unknowingly rolled to the edge of the stage with Zhang Yu.
And then he was thrown out of bounds.
Thud!
As his feet landed heavily outside the ring, Song Hailong’s mind was still a complete blank.
I lost?
Suddenly realizing he was outside the arena boundaries, a flash of fury crossed Song Hailong’s eyes. His muscles bulged as he prepared to charge back onto the stage.
But in an instant, three figures appeared before him.
Three referees simultaneously placed a hand on his shoulders, their presence gradually calming him down.
He took a deep breath, looked at Zhang Yu on the stage, and said slowly, “You won.”
With that, Song Hailong squared his shoulders. “Let go of me. I’ll walk on my own.”
The three referees withdrew their hands, watching as a stone-faced Song Hailong walked back to the White Dragon High School rest area.
On the stage, another referee had already stepped up.
“Song Hailong’s Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand,” he asked. “Do you have the usage rights for it?”
Clearly, Zhang Yu’s display of learning and using the technique on the spot had raised suspicion of him having cracked a martial art and using a pirated version.
Just then, Bai Zhenzhen rushed over, holding Zhang Yu’s phone.
“He bought it, he bought it! He bought the usage rights for Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand. Here’s the order.”
While showing the order on the phone to the referee, Bai Zhenzhen also took out the Talisman Tome that Zhang Yu had left offstage and flashed the Investigation Department’s mark on it.
Seeing the order and the Talisman Tome, the referee took no further action, merely giving Zhang Yu a word of caution before departing.
Only then did Bai Zhenzhen breathe a sigh of relief. She turned to Zhang Yu and complained, “What in the world were you thinking? Cracking a martial art right on stage? Learning and using it on the spot? If the company finds out, they’ll sue you into bankruptcy!”
Zhang Yu helplessly scratched his head. “Sigh, I got carried away in the heat of the moment. My mind was so focused on winning that there was no room for anything else.”
Then he smiled at Bai Zhenzhen. “Besides, I just knew you guys would have my back.”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. “This Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand cost forty thousand! If you don’t win this championship, you can pay off the debt with your own part-time work.”
After saying that, she asked, “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Zhang Yu shook his head.
Although the close-quarters battle had been incredibly dangerous, apart from a few bruises, Zhang Yu was largely unharmed.
The real issue was the mental exhaustion…
Right now, Zhang Yu was continuously rubbing his head. The prolonged state of total concentration, the close-quarters combat on the verge of bankruptcy, and the all-out effort of battle cultivation… he hadn’t felt it while it was happening, but now that it was suddenly over, his head felt like it had turned to mush.
“Zhen, help me back so I can rest. I’m so dizzy.”
Bai Zhenzhen snorted, then simply scooped Zhang Yu into her arms and started walking toward the Songyang High School rest area.
As she walked, she said, “We’ve invested way too much in this martial arts competition. You have to beat that witch Le Mulan in the next fight.”
Zhang Yu closed his eyes, slowly letting his mind rest, and hummed softly in agreement.
Bai Zhenzhen then whispered, “Let me tell you where Le Mulan’s weaknesses are…”
Meanwhile, with Song Hailong’s return, the atmosphere in the White Dragon High School rest area instantly grew heavy.
The competition coach cleared his throat and said, “This Zhang Yu is indeed very impressive. His stats aren’t high, but his martial arts talent is astonishing, and he can even achieve repeated breakthroughs in battle. He certainly has what it takes to defeat a stronger opponent.”
“Sigh, really, Hailong, your true strength is still greater than his. If it weren’t for the arena rules, his defeat would have only been a matter of time.”
There are two ways to rationalize a loss.
One is to say you were careless; the other is to praise the opponent for being amazing.
Clearly, the competition coach was now using both methods.
In truth, if any other student had lost, this coach wouldn’t have gone to such lengths; he would have made them kneel first.
But when the richest and best-performing student in the class lost, he obviously couldn’t do that.
The other students quickly chimed in with their agreement.
“That Zhang Yu is pretty amazing.”
“Big Brother Hailong just wasn’t watching his feet, and the stage was too slippery today. Otherwise, how could he have lost with his strength?”
“Who could have expected him to have repeated breakthroughs in battle? And even learn Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand?”
“By the way, does he have the usage rights? Couldn’t we get him disqualified…”
“The referee already checked. If there’s no problem, then there’s no problem.”
The White Dragon students’ attitude toward Zhang Yu was contradictory.
Because they didn’t believe Zhang Yu’s true strength surpassed Song Hailong’s—his stats were even lower than theirs—they were all a bit unconvinced by the result.
But Zhang Yu had also achieved something they absolutely could not do through his profound martial arts skill and talent, which stirred a faint sense of admiration within them.
And on a nearby stretcher, Chu Qiuhe, who had been feigning unconsciousness, was secretly delighted.
That’s right, keep praising Zhang Yu.
The more they hyped up Zhang Yu’s strength, the more justifiable his own defeat would seem.