Chapter 220 - Hei vs. Hu Jie - 1 (1/2)

”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.

Whoosh!

”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!