Kitchen Utensil Weapons (continued)

Zhong Lingxiu's fierce, storm-like assault had failed to break through Fan Jianqiang's defenses. She appeared to have the upper hand, but her chances of victory were gradually slipping away. Like a great wave at sea, fierce as it was, the one left standing at the end would be the reef battered by its surging waters.

To the onlookers, however, Zhong Lingxiu's attacks had her opponent pinned down and gave her the initiative. Every strike seemed capable of breaking through his defenses and leaving him in dire straits.

The contrast of a petite girl launching a furious assault on a boy undoubtedly got plenty of people's adrenaline pumping. They waved and shouted their support for Zhong Lingxiu, especially the gamblers who had bet on her victory before the match.

Ying Zhou found the noise grating and complained, "These adults have studied martial arts, at least. How can they have so little discernment? They're just like outsiders."

Si Ming laughed. "They are outsiders. The average internal cultivation level in this country is only four. In a sense, fights above level four are beyond their understanding. In fact, the vast majority of people only ever learn basic internal cultivation and basic martial arts at school. Unless they're devoted to the martial path, they study martial arts to keep fit and practice internal cultivation to meet the needs of daily life."

Murong Qing chimed in, "That's perfectly normal. This tournament is at the top of the beginner-to-intermediate level. Show adults the problems from a middle-school math competition, and you might not find one in a hundred with a middle-school education who knows how to solve them. They're outsiders when it comes to questions like those."

As Ying Zhou listened to Si Ming's explanation, an expression of understanding appeared on his face. But when Murong Qing spoke, he instinctively bristled, as if wondering why this girl he barely knew was responding to him.

Si Ming noticed and laughed inwardly. Right now, Ying Zhou was like an elementary schoolboy, drawn to his own sex and resistant to the opposite sex. He had yet to be hit by male hormones and have his magnetic poles reversed.

"Outsiders have at least touched the door, and laymen have at least brushed the edge of the circle. They all know a little something. What's most troubling is people who don't even count as laymen, who have never had any contact with it at all... It's coming to an end. Zhong Lingxiu's stamina is starting to fade. If she doesn't give it everything now, she'll have no choice but to concede."

As if to prove Si Ming's words, Zhong Lingxiu drove the elemental power within her with all her might. Some True Qi escaped her control and spilled from her acupoints, stirring up the fallen leaves on the ground and sending them floating into the air.

Then Zhong Lingxiu spun around and moved behind Fan Jianqiang, swinging her twin rings at his temples like an ironclad shellfish snapping shut. Driven by her internal cultivation technique, the Xun Wind Art, the rings churned the air, each raising a current that closed in on him like a pair of attacking wings.

Fan Jianqiang remained calm in the face of the sudden change, though his round face grew grave. He stomped one foot on the ground and spun sharply, thrusting out both arms after half a turn with a sound like thunder.

He had been silent, but when he spoke, he shook the world. While bearing the pressure, Fan Jianqiang had also been quietly gathering his strength. His Twin Dragons Emerge from the Sea was like a flood unleashed through opened gates, its force greater even than Zhong Lingxiu's. The ferocious force of his fists first shattered the swirling currents, then passed through the centers of her rings and clamped onto both her wrists.

The instant they made contact, their internal cultivation powers clashed. His level-five internal cultivation was slightly inferior to her level-six, but he had been using his body-hardening martial arts to withstand her attacks, while Zhong Lingxiu had consumed considerable True Qi in her relentless assault. With his physical advantage as well, even when Xun Wind True Qi rushed into his meridians, he was barely affected and was not driven back.

At that moment, Fan Jianqiang should have followed up with Spirit Eagle Pounces on Fish, breaking his opponent's wrists in the same motion and then throwing her out. But when he caught Zhong Lingxiu's delicate wrists, he hesitated, unable to harden his heart, and missed his chance!

Victory and defeat hung by a thread. Fan Jianqiang failed to seize his chance at victory, and it fell into Zhong Lingxiu's hands instead.

She used Butterfly Hands Weaving Through Flowers to slip nimbly out of his grip, then pushed the rings forward and hooked them around his elbows. With Sparrowhawk Turns Over, she leaped through the air behind Fan Jianqiang, lowered her knees, and used Azure Dragon Strikes the Ground to press down on his shoulders.

Fan Jianqiang felt his body sink and started to pitch forward, but he had spent years practicing stance work and had an exceptionally stable lower body. He drew a sharp breath, forcibly checked the momentum, and hunched his back, intending to heave her off.

But then a sudden pain shot through his arms. The rings dragged both hands behind his back and twisted them up, and he immediately lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

"The winner, Zhong Lingxiu!"

The referee promptly made the call. Zhong Lingxiu's legs were pressing down on Fan Jianqiang's back, and she was pulling on the rings hooked around his elbow joints, in a posture like someone driving a car. Under these circumstances, unless Fan Jianqiang was ruthless enough to cut off his own wrist like a determined warrior, he had no chance of breaking free.

"Uh, she actually snatched victory from defeat. What a surprise!"

Si Ming shook his head, looking astonished.

The surrounding spectators erupted in cheers, taking the result for granted. As they saw it, Zhong Lingxiu had smashed through her opponent's defenses with a succession of attacks, and victory had followed as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Murong Qing said, "That's how fights are. They're always full of unpredictable variables, especially at our age, when our strengths often aren't far apart. The result comes down to who's better at seizing an opportunity."

"Going by the order, I can watch one more match. It'll be my turn after that. I wonder what kind of opponent I'll get."

Si Ming felt his excitement rising, and his heart was beating considerably faster.

Seeing this, Murong Qing did not tell him to calm down. For a martial artist, excitement before a match was beneficial: it not only sharpened focus but also made the body's cells more active, helping one enter a competitive state in advance. As long as he didn't get too excited, it was fine.

A little while later, Zhong Lingxiu came skipping over, her face alight with joy. "I made it through the first round!"

"Congratulations. Remember to keep it up."

Although Murong Qing had previously declared that Zhong Lingxiu wouldn't make it past the fourth round, she wasn't foolish enough to say so to her face. With a father from the Confucian School, she wouldn't be muddleheaded about social niceties. For now, encouragement was the order of the day.

"Too bad I was so happy after winning that I forgot to strike the classic victory pose from Legend of the Divine Radish Hero." Zhong Lingxiu sighed with regret, then looked expectantly at Murong Qing. "It's up to you next, junior. You have to spread the spirit of the Great Radish Hero. I think there must be plenty of Radish fans in the audience too. If they see someone upholding the Radish spirit, they'll be deeply moved."

They'd be moved, but I'd have nowhere to hide in shame.

Murong Qing remembered the time at the Mohist Knight Guard base when she had gotten carried away and cast aside her shame to strike poses with Zhong Lingxiu. Her face burned at the thought, and she hurriedly shook her head, sealing the memory away.

As a devoted fan of the Great Radish Hero's films, Murong Qing understood how Zhong Lingxiu felt. If she saw someone strike that familiar pose after winning a martial arts match, she would be sure to smile knowingly. But if she had to do it herself in front of everyone, she would never go out and face people again.

Si Ming asked suspiciously, "You didn't enter the tournament just so you could strike that pose in front of everyone, did you?"

"That's right. It's a shame I forgot just now, so I have to win my next match!" Zhong Lingxiu spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Ying Zhou snorted beside them and said impatiently, "How childish. Legend of the Divine Radish Hero is just something to fool little kids."

The cheerful Zhong Lingxiu bristled at once. "It is not! Lots of adults like Legend of the Divine Radish Hero too. Senior Pan is a devoted Radish fan."

"Either he said that on purpose to humor you, or he's just as childish. Whether someone's childish has nothing to do with their age. There are plenty of adults who can't even solve elementary school math problems."

Zhong Lingxiu puffed out her cheeks angrily. "That's prejudice! Anyone who says that must never have watched Legend of the Divine Radish Hero and is just parroting what others say. If someone watched it properly and understood the Great Radish Hero's spirit, how could they not be moved?"

An irritated expression appeared on Ying Zhou's face. "Of course I've watched it. Isn't the so-called spirit of the Great Radish Hero just that whole friendship, effort, and victory routine? That's why I say it's childish. Work hard together with your companions and you'll win? Where in reality is anything that wonderful? The real world is about interests, talent, and crushing your opponents. That's the truth of the world! Anyone who doesn't understand that will always be a childish brat living in a fairy tale."

After hearing him out, Zhong Lingxiu calmed down instead. She stared at Ying Zhou and said, "I get it now. You're a lackey of Venerable Garlic, the Great Radish Hero's archnemesis! You and I can't coexist under the same sky!"

Si Ming had regarded their dispute as a quarrel between children and ignored it, but now he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Why is Radish's archnemesis Garlic? Radish's archnemesis is obviously Potato! Did they make Garlic the villain because he gives off a strange smell? That's prejudice, judging a vegetable by its appearance! Garlic can kill germs, fight cancer, and treat impotence. It can also ward off evil and repel vampires. It has so many uses, yet people reject it over a mere smell. Do you know how unfairly garlic has been treated?"

Zhong Lingxiu and Ying Zhou stopped arguing because they didn't know what to say. Although they had been taking things seriously themselves, they now had the feeling that "if you take it seriously, you lose."

Murong Qing had no choice but to speak up. "The plot requires it. Garlic's image suits a villain..."

"Then change the script! Garlic should be a hero walking in the darkness, like Batman, who always has a mouthful of phlegm and wears a kinky skintight suit while fighting supercriminals and protecting the city's peace. Who on earth wrote Legend of the Divine Radish Hero? Find him. I promise I'll only beat him half to death!"

Just as Si Ming was preparing to launch into a lengthy speech to clear garlic's name, the gong sounded to mark the start of the second round of matches, and the other three breathed a sigh of relief.

There wasn't much to see in this match. The two contestants were quite far apart in strength, and barring any surprises, one could guess the ending from the start. The only thing worth watching was what one of the martial artists was wearing.