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墨書 Inktalez
She was taken aback for a moment, then still attempted to hook at me with her weapon. I didn’t block it; instead, I retracted my staff and took a step back, saying, “You lost! You’re out of bounds!”
“You!!” Sister Black was clearly furious, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Don’t get angry; you did well, your reflexes are quick! I took advantage of the weapon,” I said calmly. I knew she was competitive, having rolled around on the Stage for half the time. If I didn’t say a few words, I feared she might be overwhelmed by her anger. But there was no way around it; with a first strike, I couldn’t wait for her to get back up before continuing to engage with her. I needed to conserve some strength and didn’t want the audience to see all my capabilities.
After that, I turned and dragged my staff away. At this point, murmurs erupted from the audience, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Once outside the Venue, I saw Old Bi and Jing approaching. “Wow! You really don’t show any mercy! Letting her roll around on the Stage like that!”
“Brother Wang, why didn’t you let Sister Xiaqi have a turn?” Jing asked timidly.
“Letting her would just be mocking and insulting her, right? With her personality, I think it would make her feel worse. Besides, I did take advantage of the weapon; she should understand that,” I replied, noticing their surprised expressions. Why was Jing thinking this way? And Old Bi too? Did he really have feelings for her sister?
Before I could ask Old Bi about it, I saw Qin Sihu walking toward us with Twin Whips in hand. As he passed by me on his way to the stage, he paused to glance at me and gave a cold smile before moving on.
Wait! Wasn’t Qin Sihu supposed to be earlier in the lineup? Why was he going on now? Could the competition order be reversed? I watched him enter in surprise; his opponent had already stepped into the Venue for identity verification. Interestingly enough, his opponent also wielded a pair of weapons—batons commonly used by police and security abroad. I recognized them from an old Jet Li movie.
No way, I muttered to myself as I noticed Old Ma circling around from the leadership area. Ignoring Old Bi and Jing, I walked straight over and stopped Old Ma.
“Haha, you fought well, brother! Clean and decisive! You didn’t disappoint me!”
“Hey, Old Ma, are you guys still doing Backstage operations?”
Old Ma looked astonished. “What do you mean?”
“See that guy with the Twin Whips? He should be facing Cultural Instructor; why did they switch the order?”
“Oh, you’re asking about that? Come here; let me explain. You weren’t here last night, so you wouldn’t know.” Old Ma pulled me aside a couple of steps.
“Do you know what kind of background Qin Sihu has?”
“What does that have to do with the competition?”
“His father used to be a Commander in the Northwest military and fought in the Vietnam War. He settled in Beijing with his mother and learned martial arts there—apparently at a Martial Arts School in Beijing that produced Jet Li and Donnie Yen. He’s obsessed with martial arts and has won several championships. It seems he participated in underground competitions up north; maybe they were worried he’d offend someone and brought him to our military district.”
“What does that have to do with changing the competition order?” I asked in confusion.
"You listen to me. Last night, for some reason, he saw that player with the crutch. They had a sparring match, but it seemed like there was no clear winner. The one with the crutch must have studied abroad; that's probably where he learned this. When Qin found us, he wanted to face this player in advance without waiting even a moment. His original opponent was more than happy to avoid the fight, and not to mention, he managed to call the organizing committee. As long as it didn't violate anyone's interests, everyone was willing to do him a favor. You know what I mean? Well, it's starting now. Just watch for yourself. Hey, tell me honestly how you think you compare to them."
"I see." This person seemed quite arrogant. I ignored Old Ma and turned my attention back to the arena, deep in thought. This person was unruly; his skills must be considerable, but why was he so close to Zhu Wu? They clearly had different personalities.
From my vantage point, I could see everything clearly in the venue. The two competitors were already prepared and waiting for the match to begin. Qin Sihu's starting stance was quite unusual; he bent forward at the waist and crossed his Twin Whips on the ground in front of him. The one with the crutch stood with one foot forward and one back, his left hand in a defensive grip while his right hand held an attacking stance. Both were intensely focused on each other; it was evident that they were both strong.
As I pondered this, the referee blew the whistle, and I immediately perked up, nervously watching the arena. To my surprise, the two remained in their stances without moving!
What does this mean? The venue fell silent as everyone stared at them, while on the side, the Striking Group continued their practice with loud thuds. The referee looked bewildered as he glanced between both sides, unsure of what to do.
At that moment, a whistle sounded from another part of the venue, causing everyone to turn their heads to see what was happening. Suddenly, Qin Sihu and his opponent moved! They both shouted loudly and charged at each other.
The club should belong to heavy weaponry; Qin Sihu's club was black and looked heavy. In ancient times, clubs were more effective against armor than swords or knives; many had been killed by such powerful blows. This Height of strength should not be underestimated.
After Qin Sihu shouted, he charged forward while swinging his Twin Whips; they flew up and down in front of him like a whirlwind as he lunged toward his opponent. This behavior was completely different from how he usually presented himself; at least I felt that Zhu Wu should be more of a fierce warrior type.
The length of the club exceeded that of the crutch and was heavier; after all, the crutch was made of wood. I wanted to see how his opponent would counter this attack. The person opposite him also appeared to be of average build—not particularly muscular or imposing—yet somehow managed to fight evenly with him last night. He must have some unique skills.
If I were him, I wouldn't choose to confront directly like this. Just as I thought that, they collided with a clang! It turned out that the crutch was also made of steel! I nearly gasped out loud.
As their weapons clashed, the crutch successfully blocked the Twin Whips. In an instant, both withdrew their weapons simultaneously; Qin Sihu thrust his club fiercely toward his opponent, who did not retreat but instead used his arms against the crutch to push aside the Twin Whips from within outward. With a swift motion of his hands, he turned the end of his crutch and aimed it straight at Qin Sihu's chest!
"Good!" Qin Sihu shouted as he maneuvered his Twin Whips up and down again, deflecting the incoming strikes! He knocked them away; neither could gain an advantage over the other!
Both retreated a step and resumed their intense gaze at each other.
Exciting! The strength of Twin Whips lies in their ability to continuously attack without revealing any weaknesses during preparation; rapid strikes can break through typical defenses instantly. Meanwhile, the steel crutch is versatile for both offense and defense—quickly transforming from a striking weapon into a guard—both fighters were indeed evenly matched.
Suddenly someone outside began clapping and cheering; just as I turned to see who was making such noise, both fighters moved again.
The first round seemed merely a test for both sides; perhaps Qin Sihu realized that grappling wasn't suitable—if he got pierced by that Short Staff it wouldn't end well—so he decided to continue with his whirlwind strategy relying on brute strength to force his opponent into direct confrontation.
The opponent likely understood their relative strengths and chose to retreat instead, constantly circling around the arena. Whenever Qin Sihu slowed down even slightly, he would rush in for a quick counterattack before retreating again. Yet Qin Sihu remained steady as if fatigue didn't affect him at all while swinging his Twin Whips in pursuit of his opponent.
I suddenly found it strange; according to common sense, such ferocity shouldn't last long—but how could Qin Sihu still keep going after all this time?
After watching for a while, I noticed a characteristic of Qin Sihu's technique. Despite his rapid and powerful attacks, if you observe closely, his hands always move close to his body. It took me some time to understand why!
It was because he was using his waist to generate power! The reason Qin Sihu moved so quickly was to increase the inertia of his entire body. When he stepped forward to attack, he always relied on the strength of his waist to unleash the Twin Whips. Since the Twin Whips were heavy objects, it was impossible to rely solely on his hands for long periods; only by using his waist to drive the Twin Whips could he execute his moves efficiently. This meant that his actual arm strength might not be as great as it seemed.
Looking at his opponent, I had always thought that blocking the force of the Twin Whips with the Steel Rod held on the outside of his arm would be quite painful. However, whenever they clashed, he would always deflect the incoming force by swinging his arm away, effectively dissipating the impact!
The more I watched, the more interesting it became. Qin Sihu and his opponent represented two extremes of short weapons: one was heavy and smashing; the other was agile and nimble. No matter how powerful a heavy weapon is, if it can't hit the opponent, it's useless. Similarly, no matter how agile a short weapon is, if it can't take down the opponent, it serves no purpose.
Qin Sihu's movements were straightforward, while his opponent's were flexible. Although the opponent was constantly retreating, his steps remained steady, almost like he was dancing in circles to exhaust Qin Sihu's energy. For a moment, neither side seemed to gain an advantage; all that could be heard were the continuous clashing sounds of their weapons. Meanwhile, the Striking Group had stopped their competition, and everyone in the arena was watching these two fight intensely.
This match was likely the longest so far. I felt my heart racing with excitement; I almost wished I could join in on the battle myself. Glancing at Shen Han below, I saw him tightly gripping his Fine Tube Gun—he seemed eager to participate as well!
When I looked back at the arena, I noticed that the situation had changed slightly. The counterattacks from the opponent were increasing, often involving dual weapons against Qin Sihu's single strike—each engagement followed by a quick retreat. He was testing him! He was searching for Qin Si Shui's weakness! It was difficult to train both hands to have equal strength with dual weapons; therefore, he must have been looking for the weaker hand as a breakthrough point!
Thinking about this made my breath quicken; victory or defeat was about to be revealed!
(To be continued; tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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