Chapter 83 Quick Victory

“He’s warmed up, but I haven’t. It’s not quite fair to me. Let him rest for ten minutes before we fight.”

Feng Yin casually found an excuse to let Chu Ming rest for ten minutes.

“Pfft—haha!”

Hearing Feng Yin’s bizarre words, Xiao Yu burst into laughter. She slapped Feng Yin’s arm. “Eldest Junior Brother, stop messing around! Are you trying to make me die of laughter?”

Tang Army’s mouth twitched upon hearing this.

This Feng Yin looked cold and aloof, but who would have thought he was actually… what was the word young people used nowadays? A sly troll.

Meanwhile, Chu Ming was somewhat speechless. They were both high-spirited youths and one-in-a-million geniuses. He had just wanted to flex a little, but not only did Feng Yin not play along, he even told him to go rest instead. Chu Ming felt like the tables had been completely turned on him.

He took a shallow breath and said in displeasure, “Heh, you seem quite confident, handsome. Then we’ll wait ten minutes. Go put on your Protective Gear.” With that, he turned and walked away in frustration.

Tang Army took a deep look at Feng Yin, shook his head, and turned to follow Chu Ming. However, there was a hint of worry on his face.

Unlike Chu Ming, a genius who had yet to truly experience the harsh reality of the world, he clearly knew that there were certain super geniuses in this world who defied all common sense. And all those geniuses shared a miraculous trait.

It was an Absolute confidence to meet any challenge head-on. That confidence deeply ingrained in their bones was something entirely different from the kind of confidence Chu Ming had. Today, this Feng Yin made him sense that trait once again.

Could Chu Ming actually lose his first public battle since his debut?

***

On the other side, Feng Yin walked to a resting area in the corner with Xiao Yu, under the angry glares of the many students engaged in Martial Arts Performance.

Xiao Yu looked at Feng Yin with a wicked smile. “Well done, Eldest Junior Brother. You made him see red right away.”

Feng Yin returned the smile. “He really does look like he just finished a match not long ago. I don’t want to win unfairly.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll help you put on your Protective Gear first.” Xiao Yu took the silver-white box from Feng Yin’s hands. She opened it to reveal the equipment inside. It was a plain, white, full-body set of Light Armor.

Xiao Yu gestured for Feng Yin to stand straight with his arms out. As she helped him put on the Armor, she explained, “This is tournament-grade Protective Gear developed and produced by our Xuan Guang Group. It’s made of ultra-light, high-Strength materials. Tests show it can withstand full-force attacks from Fierce Level fighters using unsharpened weapons, and it drastically reduces the impact force.”

“The most important thing is,” Xiao Yu said, knocking on a piece of the chest plate she had already strapped on, which produced a crisp CLACK, “this material is far lighter than metal. It minimizes the physical strain on the wearer.”

As they spoke, it only took Xiao Yu a few minutes to efficiently dress Feng Yin in the full-body Armor. She then smilingly placed a completely transparent, hard Helmet on his head.

Taking two steps back, she beamed at the sight of Feng Yin, her eyes sparkling. Then, she furrowed her brows slightly. “This mass-produced Protective Gear still isn’t worthy of you…”

Feng Yin moved his limbs and, feeling perfectly fine, said softly, “It’s not a special occasion, so there’s no need to be too demanding. It’s about time; I’ll head over.”

With that, he pressed down on his Sword Box and drew the unsharpened Dragon and Snake Sword. Just like that, he walked over to the central ring of the club, lifted the ropes, and stepped inside.

Seeing this, Chu Ming couldn’t wait any longer. Tucking his Helmet under his arm and holding his sword, he quickly walked into the arena.

“Have you rested enough?” Feng Yin asked softly.

“Cut the crap.” Chu Ming simply frowned at him. Then, he secured his Helmet, gripped his sword with both hands, and extended it forward, pointing the tip straight at Feng Yin.

Feng Yin looked at Chu Ming’s posture and recalled its name and characteristics from his morning sparring session with Huo Ming. It was the Long Pointing Stance, a commonly used posture in the Battle Flower Long Swordsmanship.

According to Huo Ming’s explanation, this stance—reaching out to point the sword at the opponent from the maximum possible distance—could fully utilize the length advantage of the longswords from the Ousu and Soviet Countries. It was akin to a long spear facing a short weapon; range defeated everything.

Feng Yin also drew his longsword and tossed the scabbard back to Xiao Yu. Then, he assumed the mid-level stance of the Jiao Swordsmanship—which was functionally similar to his opponent’s Long Pointing Stance. However, he could tell at a glance that Chu Ming’s sword was slightly longer than his Dragon and Snake Sword—by about ten centimeters.

The two sides thus engaged in a quiet standoff.

Nearby, Tang Army walked over holding a long staff. “Since the head coach isn’t here and I have some experience, I’ll act as your temporary referee. We’ll use point-scoring rules. One match decides the winner, with five rounds in total. The first to strike the opponent three times wins. Any questions?”

Both Feng Yin and Chu Ming shook their heads silently.

“Go, Feng Yin!” Outside the ring, Xiao Yu cheered loudly for him, full of energy.

Not to be outdone, the other club members began to fully leverage their home-field advantage.

“Chu Ming, take this kid down!”

“Dojo-crashers don’t deserve any mercy! Shut him out!”

“Don’t waste time! Go straight to your Ultimate Techniques and Fixed Forms, and show him what you’ve got!”

The entire club immediately descended into a noisy clamor. The voices of the crowd easily drowned out Xiao Yu’s lone cheers, infuriating her so much that she made faces at them. “Feng Yin is the one who will definitely win!”

On the other side, Tang Army had already finished announcing the relevant rules. He slammed his staff heavily against the floor and shouted, “Begin!”

The suppressed anger in Chu Ming’s eyes suddenly erupted. Maintaining his Long Pointing Stance, he surged forward with swift steps. The tips of their swords met, instantly sparking a struggle for dominance over the centerline.

Feeling the steady weight of Feng Yin’s sword tip, Chu Ming didn’t break his stride. Smiling confidently, he took another step forward while rapidly twisting his blade to disrupt Feng Yin’s sword. He was trying to drag him into a “Coiling Sword” exchange to test their reaction speeds!

He thought, “My reaction Speed is exceptional even among Fierce Level fighters. Let me show you what agility suppression looks like… Here it comes!”

In a flash, Chu Ming accurately caught a slight deviation in Feng Yin’s blade during their Coiling Sword exchange. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he pushed forcefully off the ground, lunging forward to thrust at his opponent’s chest!

SWISH!

In a split second, Feng Yin astonishingly shifted his footing. By twisting his body, he neatly evaded Chu Ming’s thrusting blade. At the same time, using this pivoting motion, he brought up his own longsword—which Chu Ming had just deflected—into a vertical parry. As their blades crossed, he instantly turned the tables, pinning Chu Ming’s longsword to the outside. Immediately following that was a high-Speed horizontal slash.

SLASH!

The two fighters brushed past each other.

Chu Ming’s reactions were extremely fast, but unfortunately, in his rush to attack, he had lost control of the centerline. It was too late to retract his sword now; he could only watch helplessly as Feng Yin’s blade glided across his chest plate.

CLACK! A harsh scraping sound rang out.

Feng Yin had already assumed a defensive stance to guard against any follow-up strikes, quietly sidestepping out of the way. Chu Ming stood frozen in place. The cheers from the club students came to an abrupt halt.

Xiao Yu, however, jumped up in excitement, pointing eagerly at the arena. “Point, point! I saw it perfectly clear. Feng Yin takes the first point!”

Tang Army sighed and tapped his staff against the floor. “Feng Yin struck Chu Ming’s chest and abdomen for a point. Return to your positions.”

The two men silently returned to their starting marks.

Feng Yin said softly, “You can’t beat me if we’re only competing in reaction Speed. Bring out your real skills.”

Chu Ming’s breath hitched, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. He slowly lowered his sword naturally half-downward to his right side, assuming the stance known as the “Iron Gate.”

He said slowly, “Next, you will face my most proficient Fixed Form… the Fiore High Wall!

“Attack if you dare.”