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墨書 Inktalez
Upon entering the room, I noticed that half of the people were preparing in the contestant area while the other half were whispering in the audience seats. This was not surprising, as the morning session featured the winners' group, leaving the losers seated among the spectators. I found Old Bi and sat down quietly beside him, setting my things down before retreating to a corner. I took off my outer clothing and changed into my training gear, then made my way to the contestant seats to wait for the start.
After the leaders took their seats, the host first reported on the situation from the first round and then announced the beginning of the second round for the winners' group. There were two venues: one for equipment and one for striking techniques, and the matches were about to commence!
The tall girl that Old Bi liked had already changed into her outfit and stepped onto the stage. Old Bi was intently focused on her. I had initially planned to stretch my legs and warm up a bit, but when I saw Shen Han slowly walking toward the venue, I decided to sit back down.
I had missed Shen Han's first strike in our previous encounter, but this time I couldn't afford to miss it. My instincts told me that he was an opponent worth watching.
My gaze fell on Shen Han's "steel pole," or rather, it was more accurate to call it a rod. Sitting close by, I could see clearly that what he held was almost a size smaller than my Long Staff. If it weren't for the pointed tip, I wouldn't have known what purpose it served. A rod that thin wouldn't deliver much force; perhaps it truly was a spear meant for thrusting.
Shen Han faced off against a Blade User, holding his slender spear horizontally and pointing it at his opponent. The Blade User embraced a Thick-Backed Blade, and both were sizing each other up without adopting any particular stances. At that moment, the whistle for the match sounded!
Surprisingly, Shen Han didn't move; instead, the Blade User took a step forward, spun around with his Great Sword, and swung it horizontally at Shen Han. Shen Han didn’t dodge; he simply thrust his spear forward with one hand, aiming directly at the Blade User's left shoulder. The spear was longer than the sword, and with the Blade User charging in, it felt like he was throwing himself onto the spear's point.
Gasps filled the audience. I knew that all weapons used in this competition—be they knives or swords—were not sharpened; these were traditional martial arts implements that no longer needed sharpening for practice. I believed that most of these cold weapons were merely decorative at home. My confidence in Shen Han's performance stemmed from knowing that if Sister Black couldn't even control her strength properly and accidentally injured her opponent, her skill level couldn't be too high.
However, with a charge like that from the Blade User, even a non-sharpened spearhead would be quite uncomfortable if it struck his shoulder. Sure enough, he managed to halt his momentum just in time, sidestepping to avoid the thrust while simultaneously attempting to slash back at Shen Han in hopes of closing in.
To everyone's surprise, Shen Han remained still; with a swift motion of his right hand holding the spear, he pulled back sharply and thrust again—this time aiming at the Blade User's right side as he turned.
The Blade User had no choice but to step back again while bringing his Great Sword down to deflect Shen Han's spearhead. Just before making contact with the spearhead, Shen Han swiftly withdrew his weapon and aimed another quick jab toward the Blade User's head.
This strike came so fast that despite having already swung his sword several times with one hand, the Blade User couldn't keep up with this attack and had to retreat once more.
After several exchanges without any blades clashing directly, the Blade User found himself pushed back to his original position!
Impressive! The Blade User must have realized that although Shen Han's spear was thin and lacked power, using his thick-backed Great Sword’s weight and momentum could potentially break through if he could just make contact with it. Yet Shen Han didn’t even give him a chance to collide with his weapon.
Now trapped in a dilemma, if he didn't attack he would surely lose; yet if he did attack without sustaining pressure on Shen Han’s defenses, his strength and speed would diminish further after being repeatedly evaded.
I watched as uncertainty flickered across the Blade User's face; after hesitating for several seconds in place, he suddenly shouted and charged forward two steps with both hands gripping his sword tightly as he brought it down heavily.
It seemed he understood what was at stake; he had no choice but to go all out in hopes of breaking through to close combat where victory might still be possible.
However, as fate would have it, at that very moment when he raised his sword and stepped forward into Shen Han's striking range, Shen Han flicked his wrist and sent forth his spearhead like a snake striking its prey—piercing straight into the open chest of the Blade User. Fortunately for him, perhaps Shen Han hadn’t used full force; stunned for a moment, the Blade User dropped his sword with a clatter as the whistle blew—Shen Han had won!
The audience buzzed with chatter; this Shen Han had defeated his opponent without moving from his spot—it was indeed impressive. I looked at him on stage; his expression remained as indifferent as usual. Only when he glanced our way after stepping down did I catch a glimpse of some emotion flickering within him. When our eyes met briefly, there was a strong hint of provocation in his gaze. I sighed inwardly; if this continued on like this, dealing with Shen Han would not be easy.
Just as I pondered this further, another whistle blew nearby as Old Bi slammed his fist down exclaiming "Ah!"
I looked up and was surprised to see that Long-Legged Beauty had lost! She was facing Zhu Wu, and now Long-Legged Beauty was sitting on the ground, looking somewhat dejected, while Zhu Wu triumphantly raised both hands in a show of victory. "Wow, Zhu Wu is that strong?!" I couldn't help but ask.
Old Bi frowned and said, "The girl has decent leg techniques, but maybe she lacks strength. Perhaps Zhu Wu has strong resistance; every strike landed without much threat to him. Zhu Wu was just defending, avoiding critical hits, and seized an opportunity to grab her leg and throw her out."
At that moment, on the stage, Zhu Wu reached out to pull her up, but Long-Legged Beauty pushed his hand away and stood up, escaping the net. Sister Black quickly rushed over to her.
It seemed that Zhu Wu also had considerable strength.
While the referee was tallying the results, I said to Jing and Old Bi, "You two keep watching; I'm going out to warm up a bit." Without waiting for their response, I grabbed my Steel Rod and walked out through the side door.
Outside the side door was a patch of open grass. I had noticed yesterday that many competitors were stretching their bodies here. Since it was still early, no one else was outside yet. I walked to the center of the grass, first warming up my limbs before casually swinging the Steel Rod and stretching my body.
Before long, I heard a voice behind me sneer, "Hmph, it's too late for last-minute preparations."
I stopped and turned around to find it was Sister Black. I didn't know when she had come out; she was holding a pair of hooks. This was the first time I had seen such a weapon. The hooks were about forty centimeters long, with a hook at the front and a grip at the back. The grip had a curved guard with upward-turned ends, which could also be used to hook an opponent's weapon. Such unusual weapons could only be wielded by someone from the Martial Arts Team.
Seeing me staring at her, Sister Black asked bluntly, "What are you looking at?"
I squinted and replied, "Nothing much; those hooks are indeed special. Just take it easy on me later. Oh right, are you here to warm up too? Go ahead; I'll let you have your space."
"Hmph! I don't need to prepare for you," she stomped her foot and walked away.
"You're quite competitive," I said in surprise. I didn't really understand why she seemed to have a grudge against me; wasn't it just that I had teased her a bit yesterday? I chuckled lightly; if she scratched me later, it would be troublesome.
As I stepped into the activity center, I noticed that Cultural Instructor's match had already ended. The referee was calling for the next competitors to enter. Old Bi and Jing were both standing there watching me; when they saw me come in, they immediately waved their hands and pointed towards the venue.
I waved back to indicate that I understood and walked down the steps into the venue where Sister Black was already waiting inside.
Honestly, practicing alone is one thing; stepping onto the competition venue feels entirely different. I glanced around; many eyes were on me—some from leaders at the podium, some from Jing and Old Bi, and many other competitors as well. People around were whispering among themselves; there was a buzzing sound that felt surreal.
At that moment, I admitted my emotions were somewhat stirred. Taking a deep breath with my eyes closed before opening them again helped me focus; suddenly the surrounding noise faded significantly as I fixed my gaze on my opponent's dual hooks about four or five meters away.
After verifying our identities, the referee stepped back. "Both sides prepare—beep!"
The whistle blew! As my opponent in this match, I saw no distinction between genders. Hearing the referee's whistle, without hesitation, I charged toward Sister Black with my Steel Rod. Her eyes showed a hint of surprise; perhaps she thought I would let her make the first move.
After that brief moment of surprise passed, she moved too—advancing rather than retreating. Her right hook shot out toward my left shoulder while her left hook remained poised in front of her chest, likely ready for a follow-up attack if her first strike missed.
I shouted loudly, my body suddenly halting. The hook swiped through the air in front of me, but my right hand yanked and swung the Steel Rod swiftly from behind toward her left side. With the added weight from inertia, there was no way she could block this strike.
Sure enough, the whooshing sound of the rod cutting through the air changed her expression. It was too late for her to retreat; she leaned back, and the rod swept past her face.
Impressive flexibility! As I saw the rod miss its target, I quickly reached out with my left hand to grab the lower end of the rod. With a downward thrust, I aimed to bring it crashing down!
The Martial Arts Team indeed had agile skills; Sister Black managed to bend backward and ultimately fell to the ground, rolling sideways.
Just as the tip of my rod was about to touch the ground, I pushed both hands toward her direction, and the tip followed suit, sweeping toward Sister Black as she rolled away like a persistent shadow.
Caught in a passive position, Sister Black had no choice but to continue rolling to evade my attacks. Of course, I wouldn’t give her a chance to get back up. I stepped forward, aiming the sharp end of the rod at her chest and thrusting down. This strike couldn’t be blocked by a hook; she had to roll away again.
I stepped forward once more, bringing the rod down like a shovel along her path of escape. Now she couldn’t even stop herself. When my rod finally came to a halt, she executed a fish-like leap upward. However, just as she jumped, she froze in surprise; she had reached the edge of the boundary net and collided with it mid-leap.
The whistle blew!
(To be continued, more exciting events tomorrow!)
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