The Truth

Yun Haoran sensed the sarcasm in the words, but his composure was impeccable. He didn't get angry or flustered, and said in a calm voice, "As a craftsman, I am honored to receive your praise."

"A craftsman?" Ying Zhou raised an eyebrow. "If you consider yourself a craftsman, you shouldn't be standing on this stage; otherwise, it would be an insult to your opponent."

"Off the stage, I am a craftsman; on the stage, I am a warrior. In my view, only the craftsman himself can unleash the full power of a weapon, not through the hands of others."

Yun Haoran was referring to a school of thought prevalent among blacksmiths, who believed that rather than finding a suitable owner for the weapons they forged, it was better to use them themselves. No one understood the weapon better than the blacksmith. This is somewhat similar to the idea in love that "if you love her, you must believe that only you can give her happiness."

Of course, this doesn't mean that the blacksmiths of this faction only forge weapons for their own use—such blacksmiths would eventually starve to death—but rather that they keep their most cherished weapons for themselves, while weapons they forge casually or commission for others can be given away.

"I don't care what you think. If you really consider yourself a martial artist, then show me your strength! What were those things just now? Was it child's play? Utterly boring!" Ying Zhou raised his sword again, pointing it at his opponent. "The next move will decide the outcome. If you don't want to lose too badly, then fight with all your might, otherwise you have no chance of winning."

This incredibly confident and domineering declaration naturally drew cheers from the audience, as well as screams from the women.

Si Ming was carrying out the plan, felt a headache coming on. "Inspiring the opponent during battle? What kind of fighting style is that? The correct way to win is to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of the situation. Isn't imitating Iori Yagami enough? Now he's trying to imitate Super Saiyan Vegeta? This kid hasn't learned the essence of the original at all."

The Dragon Ball warriors can be so carefree because they have the Dragon Ball and can revive at will. In reality, everyone only has one life. If you get carried away and the enemy seizes the opportunity to turn the tables, you'll have no one to blame but yourself for your regrets.

Murong Qing said, "At least it helps us. Everyone's attention is drawn to him, reducing the chances of our actions being noticed by the criminals."

Hongdou also said, "But doing this is very popular; everyone thinks Ying Zhou is very handsome."

Listening to the waves of "I want to be his wife" and "No one is allowed to steal my husband" from the crowd, Si Ming felt that Hongdou's words made a lot of sense. Fighting against a strong opponent should indeed be done with extreme caution. One should seize any opportunity to eliminate the opponent without giving them any chance to turn the tables. However, in a ring duel, it's better to show some sportsmanship. After all, a little recklessness won't kill anyone. At most, one might accidentally capsize in a ditch. Then, one can simply say, "You really didn't disappoint me," and leave gracefully without affecting one's reputation. Winning would even bring a lot of popularity. It's a win-win situation.

Si Ming turned his gaze to Ying Zhou, who stood on the stage, completely unaffected by the outside world. He thought to himself that this kid was born to be in the spotlight, no wonder he became so famous. He just hoped that Ying Zhou wouldn't be too successful in actual combat in the future.

The two on the arena weren't thinking much about it; their attention was focused on each other. After hearing Ying Zhou's words, Yun Haoran's morale was indeed boosted. While secretly admiring him, he shouted, "Then so be it! Witness my Carp Dragon Transformation!"

He stretched out his arms to the left and right, his fingers spread wide, and a large amount of True Qi overflowed out, stirring up the air and causing thousands of scattered hidden weapons to be drawn together by the True Qi and immediately condensed into one place, arranged according to a fixed pattern. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a five-meter-long dragon-shaped puppet, its appearance lifelike, with sharp claws and teeth, exuding a fierce and menacing aura.

Si Ming glanced at it and couldn't help but ask, "How did he manage to carry something so big on his person?"

Previously, I only felt that there were many hidden weapons, as numerous as the stars, but since they were scattered, I didn't get a real sense of them. Now that they are assembled into a real object, the contrast makes it feel extremely jarring.

Murong Qing glanced at it as well and guessed, "It might be a storage item, like the bracelet you used to store the Profound Armor."

Because the Vermilion Bird Profound Armor was taken for repair, the bracelet was also handed over. Si Ming almost forgot that this world had already developed spatial storage equipment, but the production was scarce and it was a high-tech product. However, if the other party was really a disciple of the Sword-Forging Manor, it was normal for him to have one.

Ying Zhou glanced at the majestic puppet dragon, an appreciative expression on his face, and said, "Not bad. At least this level of strength is worth my serious attention."

Yun Haoran said, "Just take it seriously?"

Ying Zhou laughed heartily, raised his sword to the sky, his blood boiled, his eyes turned bloodshot, and his vital energy mixed with True Qi extended along the wooden sword, condensing into a three-meter-long qi blade.

"Pointing the halberd, glaring angrily, I cleave the crimson clouds!"

Driven by rage, this ultimate move resonated with the Asura Bloodline within Ying Zhou, transforming into an even more powerful force. In particular, the killing intent honed in the human-demon battlefield condensed into the Asura Wrathful Form behind Ying Zhou, which was extremely terrifying. Its gaze shot out like lightning, causing Yun Haoran's mind to tremble and instantly revealing a flaw.

Seizing the opportunity, Ying Zhou unleashed a powerful slash. However, fearing he might injure the audience, he did not use the full power of this strike, maintaining only the level of his ultimate move.

Yun Haoran immediately commanded the puppet dragon to fight, but unfortunately, he was a beat too slow. Before the battle even started, his momentum had already weakened. The moment the two sides made contact, their energy surged and they were locked in a stalemate, unable to advance any further.

Ying Zhou spun the blade and cut into the spot where the opponent's energy flow was obstructed, advancing an inch forward and prying open a scale. Then, like a flood breaking through a dam, the puppet dragon completely disintegrated and crumbled.

Although Yun Haoran still tried his best to control the disintegrating parts of the hidden weapons to attack Ying Zhou, who was activating his ultimate move, still had protective Gang Qi around his body, which shook off all the hidden weapons.

Ying Zhou swung his sword and charged straight in, fiercely slashing towards Yun Haoran's neck. Just as it was about to hit, accompanied by the referee's exclamation that he could not save Yun Haoran in time, he changed direction at the last minute, slashing the ground with his sword, which grazed Yun Haoran's body. The fierce sword energy cut a terrifying gash in the arena floor.

Yun Haoran glanced down and sighed, "I lost."

"You lack experience in life-or-death battles. Unless you experience a real battlefield, you'll never catch up to me."

Ying Zhou casually tossed the wooden sword to the referee who rushed over in a panic, then leaped off the stage and walked to his seat amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators, his posture resembling that of a king returning home.

"This kid's a real actor!" Si Ming exclaimed sincerely. "What's even more impressive is that he didn't try to act cool on purpose; it was all so natural. That's even more remarkable. Every move he makes conforms to the law of showing off; it's become second nature to him."

Murong Qing urged, "Stop talking about these trivial things. After Ying Zhou's victory, the score is 2-1. The next match is match point. If the home team wins again, the game will be over. We don't have much time left. There are still two-thirds of the area that haven't been tested. We must speed things up."

"Hearing 'We don't have much time left' gives me a feeling that defeat is inevitable. I shouldn't say things like that that will bring bad luck again." Si Ming thought of the national football team and suddenly felt that hope was slim, and that they might not be able to catch the criminal next.

Murong Qing, "You're a member of the Heaven's Will Palace now, you should uphold the stance of 'not accepting death,' how can you say such superstitious things?"

As it turned out, Si Ming's premonition was correct; they didn't scare the escaped convict out until the very end.

Murong Qing's worries came true. The home team won the fourth match. Although the strength of the athletes sent by both sides was evenly matched, the Tange Martial Arts Hall Alliance had the home advantage and the momentum. In addition, Ying Zhou's chivalrous performance boosted the morale of his teammates. In the end, they won by a narrow margin, and the martial arts match ended with a result of 3:1.

"Where exactly did we overlook something?" Murong Qing, frowning.

Si Ming speculated, "Perhaps the fugitive didn't even come to the game. He bought a ticket to deliberately mislead us and slip away."

Murong Qing her head. "No, my intuition tells me that the other party is here. Is there any clue that we haven't noticed?"

A martial artist's intuition is very accurate, Spirit Transformation Grandmaster's intuition is almost like "prediction." Therefore, Si Ming did not question the other party. He racked his brains for a while and suddenly a flash of inspiration came to him.

"Perhaps we should investigate why the other side insisted on coming to watch this match?"

Chapter 740 The Truth

After the competition, 50,000 spectators poured out of the martial arts hall. If viewed from the sky, they would appear as a dark, fan-shaped mass radiating outwards.

The visiting team's martial arts fighters were greeting their supporters who had traveled from afar. Although they had suffered a defeat, at least they hadn't been completely shut out. Moreover, it was common knowledge that playing away games was difficult, so the supporters didn't blame their own team members but instead offered words of comfort and encouragement.

As the key figure in achieving the only victory, Nie Wanzhi received the most enthusiastic support, especially since her image was already very popular with the public.

"Sister Wanzi, don't be discouraged! When we get back to our home turf, we'll make up for today's defeat tenfold!"

"Sister Wanzi, today's battle was truly spectacular! It got me so excited—I've decided! I want to apply to a martial arts class too!"

"Sister Wanzi, I really love your fighting style! Every time I watch it, it energizes me completely. Could you give me your autograph?"