CHAPTER 119: BASIC FOOTWORK?

Chapter 119: Basic Footwork?

.

The scene unfolding on arena number 3 inevitably started to draw everyone’s attention. After all, it wasn’t like before anymore, when there had been 10 arenas and it was impossible to keep track of what was going on in each.

Now there were only 5, which made it easier for the audience to follow the battles without missing too much of what was happening.

In fact, apart from those who were a little too absorbed in the other matches, everyone else sooner or later ended up noticing what was going on in arena no. 3, and when they did, their expressions were all the same.

"What’s wrong with that guy, is he not feeling well or what?"

"More importantly, why does it look like he’s kneeling to that second year student? What is this, is he admitting defeat?"

"Come on, if he wanted to do that, he wouldn’t do it in such a showy way.

He’s a third year, there’s no way he’d throw away his face like that. Something’s not right, look at him, he’s trembling," one sharp eyed spectator said.

Soon everyone was wondering what had happened in that arena, and it didn’t take long before someone who had been watching from the start spoke up.

"That third year student... he got punched in the stomach, and that’s when he collapsed like that," someone explained what they had seen. But even he clearly didn’t understand what exactly had happened.

After all, one was a second year and the other a third year.

Hurting the opponent with full force was one thing, perfectly reasonable. But knocking him out with a single blow? Not to mention that the third year was obviously the stronger of the two. All of this made it hard to make sense of the scene they were looking at.

Others who had witnessed it backed him up, saying:

Yeah, Senior Shi Gang launched his attack right away, but the other guy evaded it with incredible ease. Damn, that footwork was so refined... but why does it feel so familiar?"

"Of course it feels familiar, that’s just the basic footwork technique we were all taught in the first year. Everyone knows it," another first year chimed in.

A commotion quickly broke out. Barely a minute had passed since the battle had started, yet the short sequence of events that had taken place in arena N.3 had caught everyone off guard.

Those who had seen it with their own eyes were stunned, and soon even those who only heard about it from others were too.

Everyone was incredulous. But more importantly, they were all asking themselves the same thing: what kind of overwhelming attack had that student unleashed to put his opponent in that state?

While the audience was lost in their speculations, there was one person among them who had been watching the whole fight without missing a single move, his expression growing darker as he stared at arena N.3.

"Damn it... Why is he so strong?"

Li Daniu, whose own battle hadn’t yet come, had been watching Zhu Rong’s match from the very beginning.

As soon as he’d heard the name, he’d thought it might be that person, and the moment he saw him step onto the arena, he knew for sure.

His long suppressed anger boiled over instantly.

He really hoped the other side would be beaten down hard by his opponent.

He had held a grudge against him for a long time.

Li Danui thought the string of bad luck he had suffered was all Zhu Rong’s fault.

If he hadn’t interfered, he would’ve gotten the Black Panther’s beast core, and maybe even shown off a little in front of the 2 girls. Instead, the exact opposite happened, and it was all that guy’s fault.

When he saw who Zhu Rong’s opponent was, he felt happy, expecting a good show. But once the battle began, his expression changed.

He had noticed that Shi Gang, a talented third year student he knew well, was clearly furious. He didn’t know why, but he assumed it had something to do with Zhu Rong. That made him rejoice at first, thinking Zhu Rong had dug his own grave with his bare hands. But it turned out to be the opposite.

As soon as the fight started, Shi Gang, obviously enraged and eager to attack his opponent, charged at full speed, reaching him in an instant.

He had already prepared his fist, overflowing with spiritual energy, ready to blow Zhu Rong away.

But he failed.

The other side, with a masterful display of footwork, managed to dodge his strike with incredible fluidity.

That surprised Shi Gang, and it shocked Li Danui too, who instantly recognized the technique Zhu Rong was using.

It was the basic footwork taught to every student in their first year.

A simple, low level technique, nothing special about it except to lay the groundwork for more advanced footwork later on.

And yet this guy had used it in a real fight like this, and had even managed to dodge such a strong attack with it?

That left both him and the other spectators stunned.

But Shi Gang, seeing it, only grew even more furious and pressed on again and again. Each time, however, the other side slipped away like a slippery eel, dodging with ease.

The humiliation burned in him, he could feel the gazes of the spectators who had started paying attention, and putting on such a pathetic performance in front of them was like a heavy slap to the face.

He decided to stop holding back and unleashed his cultivation, revealing the power of a third stage cultivator at mid stage.

Just as he was about to attack again, Zhu Rong, who had been dodging the entire time, suddenly changed tactics.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot and reappeared right next to him.

Shi Gang was completely caught off guard by this sudden burst of speed and had no time to react.

In the very next moment, he felt a searing pain in his stomach. His breath caught as he collapsed to the ground, crouching with both hands clutching his stomach, his whole body trembling.

He had no idea what had just happened, but there was no visible injury on his body. And yet, the pain spreading from that point was agonizing, rippling through every part of him.

It was as if someone had replaced the blood in his veins with molten lava.

The agony grew sharper and sharper until he could no longer bear it. His eyes turned red and watery as he clenched his teeth, doing everything he could not to scream.

"Y-you bastard... what the hell did you do to me?"

His mind was a mess, drowning in pain, but through all the confusion he still heard the other side speak. And when he did, his rage reached a whole new level.

"If I were you, I’d stay down."