Chapter 157: How Can I Not Compete?

　　Amidst the misgivings of the audience, the last member of the Martial Arts University Alliance rose to the stage.

　　Chen Jiasheng, a Rank-2 martial artist and a new student of Donglin Martial Arts University.

　　…

　　Second floor.

　　Zhao Xuemei’s expression was a little conflicted as she said, “He’s the top scorer of the college entrance examination in Donglin Province.”

　　Fang Ping then recalled that Zhao Xuemei was the third-highest scorer in the college entrance examination in Donglin Province.

　　“Do you know him?”

　　“I’ve seen him once. Donglin Martial Arts University had once interviewed martial arts candidates, hoping that we would stay in Donglin Province.

　　“Back then I had been thinking about the two famous schools and didn’t agree.

　　“At that time, I had seen Chen Jiasheng. He … he wanted us to stay and he said he hoped the people of Donglin could help Donglin by offering their strength and blood.

　　“I didn’t know then… Now, I think I understand a bit now. He probably knew about the Catacombs in advance…

　　There is an entrance to the Catacombs in Donglin.”

　　Fang Ping did not ask any further. If Zhao Xuemei was telling the truth then Chen Jiasheng had not stayed at Donglin Martial Arts University simply because of the preferential treatment.

　　…

　　On the stage.

　　Chen Jiasheng’s face was calm as he stepped into the ring. He was holding a curved blade in his hand.

　　Before Fang Ping had gotten a good look, he heard someone whispering, “Wugou? (TN: A type of Chinese saber with a hook shape at the front, it literally translates to Wu Hook)”

　　“Wugou?” someone repeated once before saying suddenly, “Chen family of Donglin?”

　　“It’s the Chen family. 12 years ago… now it’s 13 years, Grandmaster Chen died in battle in 1996. Before his death, the Chen family had only successor…”

　　Someone could not help but look at the two grandmasters of the Martial Arts University Alliance and spoke in low voices, “He is the last offspring of the Chen family?”

　　“Yes, he is!” said a grandmaster of the Martial Arts University Alliance solemnly.

　　“Why don’t the men carry their wugou and charge Guanshan Fifty Prefectures (TN: This is an excerpt from a poem)… The Chen family…”

　　Some people had complicated looks as they whispered softly.

　　The Chen family’s wugou was the sign of the prestige of Chen Jiasheng’s grandfather!

　　No… not just that grandmaster of the Chen family!

　　For several generations of the Chen family, they had all used wugous. It was also a family that warranted all respect.

　　During the Donglin Catacombs riot in 1996, there were 18 members of the Chen family. Apart from the young Chen Jiasheng, the old Grandmaster Chen took the whole family and rushed to the entrance of the Catacombs for a fight to the death.

　　In that battle, 17 members of the Chen family fell.

　　In the years since the Catacombs appeared, many inspiring martial artists had appeared secretly, and many people had died selflessly!

　　Hearing this, Fang Ping suddenly felt a little uneasy.

　　The Catacombs…

　　He had not been to the Catacombs before but had heard of it. He had no personal feelings toward it and did not know what kind of trauma it caused humans.

　　However, after hearing that Chen Jiasheng had lost all his family to the Catacombs, Fang Ping felt conflicted beyond words.

　　Was this what it meant to be a martial artist?

　　Was today’s battle not fought for self-interest or fame, but to attain more cultivation resources and to make the entrances to the Catacombs like Donglin safer?

　　Perhaps this was Chen Jiasheng’s intention?

　　Fang Ping was not sure if he had guessed right but he would rather believe he did.

　　The martial artists of the Martial Arts University Alliance would all fight to the death. Maybe they also knew of the sorrow of being weak, which was why they fought with their lives on the line.

　　Otherwise, why would they go that far?

　　The crowd was in the midst of a whispered discussion when one of CCMAU’s stronger individuals said indifferently, “The Chen family is worthy of respect, but as for CCMAU, ever since the school was founded, 14 of our grandmasters fought to the death!

　　“Having the guts to fight, the ability to fight, never avoiding war, this is our CCMAU!

　　“We have not squandered the resources and we do not owe anyone. This battle is not a matter of right and wrong!”

　　The grandmaster of the Martial Arts University Alliance also smiled faintly. “Indeed. That is why we never use one’s life experience to achieve anything. Chen Jiasheng earned his spot in the main team because of his strength, not because of the Chen family!”

　　The words of the grandmasters once again made Fang Ping and the others feel a particular emotion. Fang Ping did not know whether it was sorrow or admiration.

　　At this moment, the rest of the people upstairs made no sound.

　　All these years, were only a few grandmasters killed in battle?

　　…

　　“Martial Arts University Alliance, Chen Jiasheng!”

　　“Capital City Martial Arts University, Zhang Zhenguang!”

　　Zhang Zhenguang, who had just broken Liang Weiyao’s arm, was also solemn at this moment. This was the second Rank-2 martial artist in this battle!

　　Although Sun Mingyu, the first Rank-2, was defeated by Han Xu who was a Rank-1 martial artist, Sun Mingyu had also shown the strength of a Rank-2 martial artist. Had it not been for Sun Mingyu’s hard hit, Han Xu would not have been worn down so easily by Bai Yin.

　　The two bowed and then, Chen Jiasheng was like rushing thunder, his wugou suddenly split down the middle into two separate blades!

　　Chen Jiasheng had no intention to conceal the fact that Chen family’s wugou was a dual-wielded blade!

　　No defense, just fight!

　　The two wugous slashed through the air with a blinding arc!

　　Zhang Zhenguang did not try to fight back. He was unarmed but he was not intimidated. Chen Jiasheng rushed forward and Zhang Zhenguang’s feet stomped the ground heavily!

　　The next moment, Zhang Zhenguang’s trouser legs burst open and he kicked off the ground, straight into the range of the wugou!

　　Zhang Zhenguang’s moved rapidly and he quickly found the gap between the two sabers. Both his hands suddenly stretched into the gap and gripped Chen Jiasheng’s right hand.

　　“Wrestling technique…”

　　Liu Huarong whispered and then quickly explained, “This is the evolution of the combat techniques in the army. It seems that Zhang Zhenguang does not only know how to use softness to conquer strength…”

　　When things got tough, Zhang Zhenguang could face it with equal toughness.

　　He was not Han Xu; he knew he could not compete with the Rank-2 Chen Jiasheng in Vitality depletion. He may not even consume much of the other party’s Vitality.

　　In this case, it was better to fight fiercely. Even if he lost, Chen Jiasheng would be unsettled.

　　Before Liu Huarong’s words left his mouth, the wugou in Chen Jiasheng’s hand swirled and sliced at Zhang Zhenguang’s hands!

　　Zhang Zhenguang’s arm twisted. He grabbed Chen Jiasheng’s right hand, roared, and tried to throw him over his shoulder!

　　Chen Jiasheng did not budge and gave a war cry. His right foot slammed the floor and the platform seemed to shake!

　　…

　　“How strong!”

　　Fang Ping felt slightly intimidated. Chen Jiasheng had honed the bones of his upper limbs but his lower body was also steady like a mountain. It was not a result of the honing of his lower limbs but of his strong pole-standing.

　　It was at the peak of firm stance!

　　This was Fang Ping’s judgment. Maybe… it could even be an elevated stance.

　　Zhang Zhenguang had decided to have a close-distance fight after judging that Chen Jiasheng’s lower limbs bones had not been honed, but his judgment had failed him and he immediately put himself in danger.

　　If Chen Jiasheng was not thrown out, Zhang Zhenguang would pay for it.

　　The wugous rotation speed was extremely fast and Zhang Zhenguang had no way to knock him into the air. In the next moment, the wugou drew blood on Zhang Zhenguang’s arm. His sleeve was cut into pieces instantly and fell to the ground, dyed red.

　　After losing the upper hand, Zhang Zhenguang realized that he would not be able to win if he faced his opponent head on and immediately began to pull back, opting for a dogfight.

　　Next, Chen Jiasheng’s action once again caught everyone’s attention.

　　Chen Jiasheng had begun throwing the dual-blades!

　　He kept one blade close to him, and tossed the other!

　　The thrown wugou swerved in the air and while Chen Jiasheng closed in, it attacked Zhang Zhenguang from behind.

　　“It’s being used as a boomerang?”

　　“I think it’s a flying guillotine (TN: The flying guillotine is a legendary Chinese ranged weapon used during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor in the Qing dynasty).”

　　“It can’t be guarded against. Is this the proper use of a dual-wield?”

　　“The key is that he has strong control and the strength used is just right. It’s not as easy as it looks…”

　　The contestants on the second floor were all discussing in whispers. At present, Zhang Zhenguang’s defeat was certain. Now, it just depended on how much Vitality he could force Chen Jiasheng to use.

　　CCMAU still had three people left. Even if Zhang Zhenguang was defeated, there were two others after him and they were not weak. Even Chen Jiasheng would have an immensely hard time stringing three victories in a row.

　　The result was not unexpected. Within 3 minutes, Zhang Zhenguang had been attacked from all directions and was unable to keep up. His left arm was hooked by Chen Jiasheng’s wugou and a piece of flesh was torn off, leaving a lacerated wound. He had to leave the field for treatment.

　　…

　　By the seventh round of battle, the people realized that CCMAU’s strategy had changed.

　　Delaying!

　　The fourth martial artist of CCMAU to go upstage had honed his lower limb bones. His pole-standing was of the firm stance and he had cultivated Stepping Techniques.

　　He was not as forceful as Chen Jiasheng and stayed out of reach. They were just revolving around the ring.

　　Many people in the audience had the urge to curse.

　　The first six battles were fought with burning passion. Even Zhang Zhenguang, who fought softly in the beginning had also fought with ferocity in the end.

　　The fourth person of CCMAU, however, had almost never got in contact with Chen Jiasheng from beginning to the end.

　　At this moment, it depended on who could endure it longer. Even if they did not run out of Vitality, a single mistake could prompt the other party to strike like lightning.

　　The person from CCMAU ran around in circles and Chen Jiasheng could not remain indifferent and he also kept spinning in the middle of the field while keeping an eye on the opponent.

　　The two entangled themselves for more than ten minutes—the longest match in this competition.

　　As many people began to yawn, Chen Jiasheng suddenly unleashed a burst of offense at the cost of being punched by the opponent, and managed to take down his adversary.

　　…

　　“Is this a turnaround?”

　　Fu Changding pouted. “CCMAU has one last person. Although Chen Jiasheng has depleted a lot of Vitality, he probably still has one last battle in the tank.

　　“Han Xu and Li Ran have already entered the ring and now CCMAU is in trouble.”

　　Fang Ping frowned slightly, staring at the man who finally came to the stage. “If you’re from CCMAU, is there no one else for the finale?”

　　The Martial Arts University Alliance chose Sun Mingyu for the first battle and Chen Jiasheng for the finale. MCMAU chose Fang Ping for the first battle and Zhao Lei last.

　　The last person would usually not be weak to prevent the team from easily striking out.

　　CCMAU’s last person, were they really the weakest?

　　The last person of CCMAU – Fang Wenxiang!

　　Fang Ping recalled Liu Huarong’s brief introduction of Fang Wenxiang—it was nothing fancy.

　　He placed seventh in Donghu Province’s College Entrance Examination.

　　The three provinces of Donglin, Donghu and Dongwu were all in the eastern part of Sino Nation and could be regarded as economically developed regions. Placing seventh in such a province was at least equivalent to the top three of the Nanjiang Province.

　　However, there were a large number of provincial champions present and a seventh seed did not attract much attention.

　　Fang Wenxiang also did not use long weapons but wore a pair of gloves that covered his arms.

　　Fang Ping looked on with a tinge of envy. Something that covered both his arms could be regarded as an armor type weapon. MCMAU would not even lend him a full body armor!

　　In the midst of Fang Ping’s jealousy and admiration, Fang Wenxiang exchanged blows with Chen Jiasheng.

　　Chen Jiasheng’s whirling blades were a menace to others but Fang Wenxiang was unconcerned. Whether it was a frontal attack or an attack from behind, Fang Wenxiang could quickly block them with his arms.

　　There were sparks as the wugou cut the arm guard but it could not damage Fang Wenxiang.

　　Chen Jiasheng had already won two battles in a row, and was lacking in Vitality. Before he could change his tactics, Fang Wenxiang suddenly let out a war cry!

　　The crowd saw him raise his fists like dragon’s claws and, with the speed of a tiger, his fists slammed into Chen Jiasheng’s wugou!

　　Chen Jiasheng could not hold his ground and backed up continuously.

　　However, Fang Wenxiang was also extremely fast. Not paying attention to the wugous attack, he closed in for a hammer strike!

　　“Donghu Fang family’s Heaven Shaking Fist!”

　　Liu Huarong recognized Fang Wenxiang’s move and then exclaimed, “The Vitality that bursts out from the two fists is close to 50cal. He has by far the deepest progress in combat techniques!”

　　When the power of Fang Wenxiang’s fist burst out, the Vitality was about 50cal!

　　Chen Jiasheng was forced back with every hit and his face became paler and paler. After being hammered four times in a row, Chen Jiasheng spit out blood violently and fell to his knees. As he saw Fang Wenxiang’s last punch aiming at his head, Chen Jiasheng gritted his teeth and did not shout words of surrender.

　　Upstairs, a grandmaster finally sighed. “Surrender!”

　　The referee moved out instantly and blocked Fang Wenxiang’s fist with one hand.

　　“CCMAU wins!” The referee announced the result loudly!

　　Chen Jiasheng was still on his knees. Blood was dripping from his mouth and his face was full of sorrow.

　　The first battle was a crushing defeat!

　　Although he slugged it out to the last person, the five main members were all seriously injured. Even for him, his internal wounds were not light.

　　The members of the Martial Arts University Alliance were not weak but they had encountered CCMAU. The opponent was stronger and everyone in the Martial Arts University Alliance was wounded.

　　…

　　“The Martial Arts University Alliance is defeated. Of the main fighters that can still fight tomorrow, there are only Chen Jiasheng and Bai Yin.”

　　Zhao Xuemei sighed. Of five in the main force, three would not be able to fight tomorrow.

　　If they lose again tomorrow, they might not get another chance to meet.

　　According to the match system, if Fang Ping and their side beat the Eight School Alliance, they would compete against CCMAU. If they bested CCMAU while the Martial Arts University Alliance lost to the Eight School Alliance, the two sides would never clash.

　　If MCMAU lost to CCMAU, then the two sides would still meet each other for one battle.

　　Whether or not there would be a third battle depended on Martial Arts University Alliance’s result the next day.

　　If they won, there would be a chance for a comeback. If they lost, the best result would only be third place, provided that they defeat a MCMAU that lost to CCMAU.

　　Fang Ping did not overthink it and turned around, saying, “Let’s go, it’s our turn in the afternoon.”

　　As soon as he was about to leave, Tang Feng suddenly came out and said, “Your mentor has gone out again but knowing that the people from Donghu Fang’s family are here, let me tell you something. If you don’t beat the people from Donghu Fang’s family this time, she will beat you up!”

　　“I…”

　　Fang Ping almost vomited blood. ‘Everything is always on me!’

　　‘Up to me to defeat Han Xu, up to me to make a series of five wins in the afternoon, up to me to defeat Fang Wenxiang of the Donghu Fang family…’

　　The benefits were unknown but the disadvantages were plenty!

　　Tang Feng smiled and said, “Don’t worry, your tutor and the person from the Fang family have been resentful toward each other for years. If you help her release her anger then you will naturally receive your benefits.”

　　“Is it Fang Wenxiang?” Fang Ping murmured. The opponent’s strength was great and not necessarily weaker than Han Xu.

　　At the very least, the burst of the last few Heaven Shaking punches were all around 50cal Vitality. They were almost at the level of a lethal move.

　　In order to hone the bones, the new students did not cultivate combat techniques deeply.

　　After all, they were young and time was too short.

　　It was not easy to achieve a lethal move.

　　At least, the main forces of the Martial Arts University Alliance and CCMAU showed no sign that their combat techniques reached the lethal stage in the first battle.

　　However, they had basically mastered the use of combat techniques and their Vitality outburst was about 30cal.

　　“We’ll see, it’s still early anyways.”

　　If MCMAU wanted to meet with CCMAU, they must first win the afternoon match. The Martial Arts University Alliance and the Eight School Alliance would face each other the next day. The day after tomorrow, it would be their turn to battle against CCMAU.

　　Tang Feng was silent for a while before saying, “Be careful in the afternoon, don’t overturn the boat.”

　　“I know.”

　　“…”

　　As Fang Ping and the others left, the audience also began to leave.

　　At this moment, however, the enthusiasm in the crowd had been diminished and many people were silent.

　　A total of eight battles were fought in the morning. There were no deaths.

　　Yet, of the 10 chosen to take part in the battle, apart from Fang Wenxiang who went in last, the rest were all wounded. There were also three or four who were seriously injured. The competition was more merciless than they thought.

　　This was only the first round of battle, what would happen next?

　　Would the match in the afternoon be the same as in the morning?

　　By the time of the final match for first place, how tragic would it be?

　　People did not know nor did they understand why these students were risking life and limb and fighting to the death!

　　For the five main members of the Martial Arts University Alliance, unless they were really weak, none of them would give up when they still had some fight left in them, even if they were aware of the overwhelming odds.

　　…

　　Walking out of the gym, Fang Ping sighed softly.

　　Before he had time to say anything, he heard someone crying, “Brother!”

　　When the voice fell, Fang Yuan rushed into Fang Ping’s arms and choked, “Would you please not compete in the afternoon? Brother, let’s stop…”

　　Fang Ping rubbed her head lightly and laughed, “What are you thinking? I’m the captain, you know…”

　　“Brother, don’t fight anymore! They… they are so cold-blooded…”

　　Fang Yuan’s face still held traces of fear and tear stains. The eight battles in the morning really frightened her.

　　The martial artists in her imagination were radiant and free stars.

　　The elder brother she remembered was all smiles, a jerk who cheated her of her pocket money and pinched her cheeks.

　　He was not like the martial artists on the stage today, who went up the stage and then fought to the death!

　　“Silly girl … this is how martial artists are… how can I not compete…” Fang Ping said softly.

　　Having reached this stage, if he did not compete, then he might as well give up on being part of the martial arts circles.

　　MCMAU would not agree and the Ministry of Education would not agree!

　　In the bigger picture, even the government would frown on it!

　　Sino Nation martial artists could fight timidly at times, but the first championship was no place for cowardice!

　　This was the first martial arts competition open to the public. As Fang Ping was the captain, if he fought half-heartedly, it would not only affect the school but everyone’s perception of martial artists.

　　“It’s okay, it’s okay. Your brother is strong. The people in the morning were weak, that’s why it became that way.

　　“Watch your brother beat them in the afternoon. Don’t worry… ”

　　Soothing his sister with a few sentences, Fang Ping saw Wu Zhihao and the others.

　　They also had uneasy expressions and when they saw Fang Ping, they stopped talking.

　　The day before, they were envious of Fang Ping but today, there was none of that.

　　The battle in the morning made them fully understand what the genius, who stood on the stage yesterday, had paid to reach where he was now.

　　“Go handle your stuff, it’s okay. I won’t be joining you for lunch. We have to discuss some tactics. Sister…”

　　“Brother!” Fang Yuan’s eyes were puffy and she was unwilling to loosen her grip on his clothes.

　　“Okay okay, why are you crying so much for. Your brother has gotten through the entire Rank-1 with no matching rival and it’s not as if I haven’t fought and beaten a Rank-2. Things are fine now but if you keep crying and something goes wrong…”

　　Fang Yuan suddenly stopped crying, not knowing what to do.

　　“Go on, go get a good afternoon’s sleep. Don’t come and watch the battle later. I will get someone to record it for you then you will know how impressive your brother is…”

　　After a few more jokes, Fang Ping shoved Fang Yuan to Wu Zhihao and left with Fu Changding.