Chapter 220 - Hei vs. Hu Jie - 1
"Welcome to the third day of the tournament organized by the Royal Southern War Academy. We have now reached the quarter-finals of the tournament. Today we will see three fights while Lian, the winner of Group B's last match of the Round of 16, will pass directly into the semifinals due to the double-elimination in the match before her. Even so, today holds high-level fights, and I'm sure you will be surprised and excited by the matches of these quarter-finals."
As soon as the audience settled inside the stadium, Song Yazhu began with the classic announcement that kicked off the day's matches. Of the three fighters, there were only 7 left, and the first match to open the dance was a match comparable to the final of the tournament.
Hu Jie vs. Hei.
"During these two days, you got to know the best first-year students that our Academy has trained. So, without further ado, I call the first two fighters - Hu Jie of the Family Hu and Hei."
Hearing the two young fighters' names, the audience began to feel the excitement of the impending confrontation. Both young men had demonstrated exceptionally high battle skills for someone who was only at Spirit Soldier's rank. But the audience knew that they both didn’t have shown all their cards. Because their talent was so high, it was logical to assume that only an opponent just as strong could unleash their true potential.
"Ye, Xing. Stay here with Lian." Hei said, passing his two little sisters to Lian. He had decided that he wouldn’t fight alongside one of them against Hu Jie from the beginning. So instead, this would be a 1 vs. 1 match.
"Be careful. We will wait here." Lian answered as she took over Xing and Ye. Her tone of voice was calm but contained a slight trace of concern. Not so much because she thought Hei couldn't win, but because she knew that to do that, Hei would have to go all out. As a result, the chances of him getting hurt were high.
"Don't worry. I can't promise I'll be back in one piece, but I'll be careful. Besides, Teacher Song Yazhu is here to referee if anything happens. However, I'm not going to give up, at least not as long as I have strength left." Hei tried to reassure as he began to undress.
'Hu Jie knows many martial arts styles and is likely to have at least the basics of judo, a style that uses the opponent's clothing as a grip point. Meaning, I have to reduce the surface covered by clothes. These shorts I had Ye make me should more than enough.’
Normally Hei would fight in a classic martial artist's robe as everyone else. The only difference was that he also fought barefoot when he wanted to use his sharp toenails. However, this time, he chose clothing that covered only a small portion of his body. After all, in front of a hand-to-hand combat expert like Hu Jie, there was a chance that clothes would become an obstacle.
'Don't worry, Lian, Hei is strong. I am sure he will win.' (Xing)
'Yes, there is no doubt. Hei will win!' (Ye)
Meanwhile, Ye and Xing Hei tried to reassure Lian by inciting Hei's victory. So, the young woman put her worries aside, "Then go and come back victorious."
It wasn't just Lian and the two little divine beasts though, all the other members of their group were confident in Hei's strength as well. Throughout the year, they had seen the intensive workouts Hei underwent day after day. They had also seen his real battle skills in sparring and during the test in the forest. So although Hu Jie was strong, Hei wasn’t inferior.
Therefore, urged on by his companions, Hei began to walk up to the fighting stage. Waiting for him at the beginning of the long open corridor that separated the fighters’ area from the fighting stage, there was none other than his opponent - Hu Jie.
He also wore only a pair of combat shorts. As a hand-to-hand combat expert, Hu Jie didn’t like to be limited by bulky clothing, especially since he knew the opponent could exploit them.
'No clothes that cover the top? Did he know that I was skilled in judo, or he based the choice for greater mobility?' Hu Jie mused, but regardless of the reason, he didn't think too much about it. He knew so many different styles that not being able to use one or two would make no difference.
"Apparently, your teammates believe you can beat me. The same goes for Feng Chen and Long Tian. And, to be honest, I share their opinion too; I firmly believe that you have what it takes to beat me. So don't let me down and show me your best. I want to fight until I can’t stand up anymore." Hu Jie said.
Hu Jie's face was painted with a euphoric smile. He was a straightforward and sincere person. He wasn’t afraid to say what he thought, even if it might be inappropriate. He had come to the Royal Southern War Academy to find worthy adversaries outside the high society circle of the Sun Empire and had been successful.
So how couldn’t he be pumped when he could finally fight to his heart’s content against someone he considered his equal? No, against someone who might even have been stronger than him?
"You better honor those words because I also have high expectations of you. Stay up to the end, and I will satisfy your urge for battle." Hei was excited too. His fighting spirit was on top, and he couldn't wait to start.
The two challengers then positioned themselves in the middle of the fighting stage. Around them, there was absolute silence. The audience was afraid to make a single noise so as not to miss a moment. Even the VIP spectators, figures of great caliber even within the Sun Empire, were silent.
Hu Jie, the Hu Family's future head and one of the Best Generation members against Hei, a boy who came out of nowhere but created one miracle after another. So far, Hei had overcome strong opponents who weren’t at the peak of the younger generation. However, this time, the opponent to overcome represented the best of the best that the Sun Empire could offer. So, Hei’s victory could change the cards on the table of many things inside the Empire, and for this reason, the VIP spectators were eager to know the outcome of the battle.
"Start. " Song Yazhu proclaimed. Even he, a Spirit King and their teacher for a year, dared not give a prediction.
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Whoosh!
The instant Song Yazhu gave the go-ahead, Hei and Hu Jie sprinted forward without preamble.
"Nightmare Spider Bloodline, Activate! Poison Law, Poison Coating!"
"White Tiger Bloodline, Activate! Metal Law, Diamond Body!"
Both of them activated their bloodlines from the beginning; since they already knew the danger of their enemy and his way of fighting, they didn’t need to hold back to probe the waters. Therefore, Hu Jie covered his body with the super-hard diamond layer while Hei coated his fingernails and toenails with poison.
"Snake Fist!"
"Tiger Jab!"
The fingers of Hei's right hand closed forward in one place. Then, using the technique's speed, the sharp nails of that hand landed on Hu Jie's throat, right on Adam's apple. Simultaneously, Hu Jie's right fist moved fast forward and landed on Hei's nose.
Peng!
Hei's claws scratched the diamond surface, leaving not even a mark. Instead, Hu Jie's jab went to sink into Hei's defensive layer of spirit power without doing any damage.
"Tiger Assault."
"Snake Run + Snake Coiling, Snake Dodging."
Without warning, Hu Jie released jab after jab at devastating speed in Hei's direction. The latter, however, didn’t dodge by moving away from that dangerous position. But he stayed where he was and waited for the punches to arrive. Whenever one of Hu Jie's punches was about to hit him, Hei just had to bend his body slightly to dodge the attack.
'His flexibility is incredible. Although he doesn’t have a minute frame, he is capable of such movements. Hehe, he's just like it's a snake.' Hu Jie chuckled to himself as he continued hitting.
Although he couldn't hit, Hu Jie didn't care; there was only a big smile on his face. This was because not only was Hei constantly dodging, but he was landing one Snake First after another, crawling between Hu Jie's onslaught of attacks.
'With Snake Fist speed, I can land as many hits as I want. The problem is that none of my attacks are strong enough to break his defense. In fact, they can't even stop his charge. However, it is something I expected.' Hei also smiled as he continued to attack and dodge at the same time.
"Tiger Knee Kick!"
Hu Jie took a step forward, interrupting the jab assault on Hei. Instead, he raised his right leg to strike Hei's left side.
'He took a step forward to make sure his kick hit me even if I tried to move backward.' Hei analyzed quickly. Actually, Hu Jie's leg was more extended forward than a normal kick, so much so that more than a kick, it was rather a knee to the side. By doing so, Hu Jie made sure that Hei had no room for maneuver behind him.
Whoosh!
Hu Jie's kick lashed the air as he passed over Hei. In fact, the latter had bent his back, always remaining in place, and had avoided the kick. However, Hu Jie wasn't that easy to stop.
Whoosh!
As soon as he saw Hei bend backward, Hu Jie restrained his horizontal kick and swooped his leg down, concentrating the force in the heel of the foot. He made this move so smoothly that Hei had no way of avoiding it this time.
Peng!
Hei put his hands forward to curb the landing heel. Again, his claws created sparks as they made contact with the diamond layer. But as before, they didn’t create any fractures.
"Tiger Stomp!"
Hu Jie used the fact that Hei was holding his heel to climb with the rest of his body. Then he dropped his free foot with all his strength against Hei's head.
Peng!
Hei's hair stopped in front of his head. With both hands occupied, his hair was the only defense left. Hu Jie wasn’t impressed and kept dropping his left foot repeatedly against the hair shield.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
Hu Jie's stomps gained more and more strength, forcing Hei to touch the floor with his back. Yet the shield of hair didn’t give out, and despite his difficult position, Hei wasn’t at all intimidated.
'Spider Lance, Kick Mode.'
Whoosh!
Hei was on the verge of using his Spider Lance variant with his left leg, but as he began to gather his spirit power, Hu Jie stopped his attacks and quickly walked away from there, relinquishing the lead position he had gained.
'Chills… it's been a long time since my instincts told me to dodge against someone on my level. However, my instincts have never let me down before, and I am aware that Hei possesses a technique with strong penetrating power. Nonetheless, is that technique really so much power that it can break through my diamond skin? I guess I'll find out just by experimenting with it.'
"HAHAHA, you become more and more fun with each passing second." Hu Jie said loudly.
"Thank you. The same goes for you. " Hei answered as he drew his spear from his space ring. The match had started right after the start and had been so tight he hadn't had a chance to get it out before.
The dark purple spear was twisted in his hands a couple of times before being grabbed by his hair as if it were another limb of his body.
"Intent of the Spear, Snake Sting."
Hei's spirit power focused on the tip of the spear as the bundle of hair maneuvered it from the shaft. At that point, the bundle of hair dropped the spear from above against Hu Jie as if it wanted to impale him.
Stab!
The tip of the spear hit the floor of the fighting stage, missing Hu Jie. However, Hei's offensive wasn’t that simple: the bundle of hair immediately brought the spear back up and then brought it back down to where Hu Jie had moved.
Stab!
Once again, Hu Jie dodged with speed, but the spear had already risen to descend once more. Therefore, a shower of stabs was created, which acquired more and more momentum and penetration power each time the spear rose.
"Tiger Dance."
Hu Jie was forced to activate a movement technique. As a result, his movements became smoother and faster as he used his whole body to dodge. In particular, his feet came under severe pressure as they provided the momentum for his movements. But Hu Jie knew how to disperse the pressure on the feet throughout the body. Indeed, more than a movement technique, it was a real dance - a war dance.
"Muay Thai, Tiger Flying Knee!"
Hu Jie, in the midst of the flurry of spear strikes, shot forward like a spring. His right leg was raised as his knee was brought forward. This surprised Hei, who had to stop his attacks to dodge with a shift to his left.
"Capoeira, Monkey Tiger."
Seeing his knee being dodged, Hu Jie put down his raised leg to restrain his forward movement. Then with his back to Hei, he brought his body backward as his hands touched the ground. Simultaneously both of his legs lifted and landed on Hei, who was forced to parry using his arms.
Peng!
It was as if a hammer had hit his arms. Despite the defensive layer of spirit power, Hei felt his arms tremble with the violent power of impact. Nonetheless, it wasn’t something he couldn't stand.
"Tiger Kick Rain."
Still using his hands to support his body, Hu Jie started flapping his legs back and forth, going to beat Hei's arms. In a way, it was as if the previous situation had been reversed: first, it was Hei who attacked Hu Jie with a barrage of blows; now, it was Hu Jie's turn to give Hei no respite.
"Snake Fist Storm, Kick Mode."
Hei's left leg went up and hit Hu Jie's body with crazy speed. The latter remained indifferent, however, as if the move had had no impact on him. But Hei didn't stop and kept clawing his opponent with the claws of his feet.
"Snake Tail Blow, Leg Mode:"
After an impressive number of consecutive quick strikes, Hei bent his left leg back as far as he could. Then, he brought his leg forward as if it were a spring, and with the acquired momentum, he hit Hu Jie's side violently.
Peng!
Hu Jie, this time didn’t remain unperturbed as before. Hei's blow made itself felt and sent him flying a few meters. It wasn't enough damage to break his diamond skin, but it was enough to feel pain.
“Hahaha, now we are talking. No matter how quick hits you can land, if they don't have a strength equal to the move you used just now, they are useless." Hu Jie laughed, at the same time urging him to do more damage.
Hei didn't answer immediately but smiled in response. Then he reached out with his left hand and folded his fingers except for the thumb back and forth as if to tell Hu Jie to step forward.
"Then make me!"