An Explanation

Li Hui looked coldly at Zhou En, who was crouched before him, and inwardly let out a breath. As long as he won, he would have completed the task assigned by the Iron Blood Gang.

His younger sister was safe for the time being.

As he thought this, he looked toward the referee.

The referee glanced at Zhou En and shook his head at Li Hui. Li Hui understood that the referee had determined Zhou En was still capable of fighting.

He slowly walked toward Zhou En. Since you refused to surrender, I'll just knock you out and spare you the suffering.

Zhou En clutched his stomach and struggled to rise, trying to make one final stand.

Bang! Li Hui launched a side kick at Zhou En's head.

Whoosh! Coach Liu Yu abruptly rose from her seat, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.

Zhou En's body flew backward once more and slammed into the ground like a torn sack.

"One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds..." Seeing Zhou En lying unconscious, the referee began the final countdown without expression.

"Get up, Zhou En. Are you really giving up just like that? That isn't a quality a martial artist should have," Su Lin muttered.

"Zhou En, you have to win. I still want to be brothers with you for a few more years," Chubby said to himself as he watched Zhou En on the ring.

In the stands, Leng Yanxi watched Zhou En lying motionless on the ring, and her heartstrings trembled for no reason.

Get up, get up, get up.

In Zhou En's hazy consciousness, a voice seemed to be repeating itself endlessly.

"Eight seconds, nine seconds..."

Li Hui's lips habitually curved into a smile as he turned away. He knew he had won.

Just as he was about to step off the ring, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong, and his foot froze in midair.

He realized what was wrong. He had not heard the referee call out the tenth second, nor had he heard the referee announce his victory.

He spun around and saw Zhou En swaying as he rose to his feet. Li Hui sneered. "Zhou En, is there any point in keeping this up? You're only making me kick you a few more times."

Hearing those humiliating words, Zhou En would have rolled up his sleeves and charged at him in the past. But after being beaten until the pain sank into his bones, Zhou En clearly understood that rushing in recklessly was useless.

What should he do? If he could not come up with a move to make up for the weaknesses of the Sun Character Consecutive Fist, he would definitely lose.

There was no talk of a cosmos bursting forth here, nor was there a Ji Ning who could achieve enlightenment in a moment of danger.

Zhou En's mind raced wildly. Every move he had ever seen flashed through his head like scenes in a movie.

Seeing Zhou En lower his head without speaking, Li Hui sneered and rushed toward Zhou En. He wanted to end this quickly and avoid any unforeseen complications.

His right foot shot toward Zhou En's face. Zhou En's refusal to surrender had completely enraged Li Hui. He wanted to break Zhou En's nose and make him understand that not everyone could be provoked.

In the stands, some timid girls had already covered their eyes, seemingly unable to bear the sight of the bloody scene.

Coach Liu Yu's beautiful eyes, fixed unblinking on the ring, shut tightly as well.

Just when everyone thought the match was about to end, just as Li Hui's foot was about to strike Zhou En's nose—

Zhou En moved. His upper body swayed slightly. With just that tiny movement, Li Hui's foot missed.

But Li Hui was no benchwarmer. His stance was extremely steady, and he quickly withdrew his missed kick, giving Zhou En no chance to exploit the opening.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent, as if the earlier uproar had never existed.

Coach Liu Yu did not hear the sound of a foot striking a nose and breaking bone. Her reason told her that Zhou En must have dodged it, but her emotions told her that dodging it had been impossible.

With complicated feelings, Coach Liu Yu slowly opened one eye and saw the scene before her: Zhou En and Li Hui staring at each other. Her small mouth formed an O.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief.

Even Zhang Li beside her stared blankly at Zhou En on the ring. Though exhausted, he still stood straight, and she could not process it for a while.

After a brief silence, the audience erupted into loud discussion and applause like a tidal wave.

"How is that possible? Zhou En actually dodged Li Hui's attack. Th-this... this is completely beyond my understanding."

"Way to go, Zhou En! I support you!"

"Keep going, Zhou En! Your dream can come true!"

"Come on, Zhou En! Defeat Li Hui and show the school what a foolish decision they made."

"Zhou En is my idol!"

Amid the thunderous applause, a girl watched Zhou En at the center of the ring with a complicated expression. She was Sun Peiyu, the one who had helped Li Hui provide false testimony before later clearing things up.

Ever since receiving a minor disciplinary demerit, Sun Peiyu had resented both Zhou En and Li Hui. She had been studying perfectly well, yet she had been dragged into their conflict. She had gotten caught in the crossfire for no reason.

So when she heard about the match between Zhou En and Li Hui, Sun Peiyu immediately threw down her textbook and hurried over to watch.

She had originally thought Zhou En would lose. Sun Peiyu had already planned to mock him a few times when she passed by him someday and vent the anger in her heart.

But she had never expected Zhou En to dodge Li Hui's attack.

Could Zhou En possibly win?

Sun Peiyu could not help letting her imagination run wild, and a trace of regret rose in her heart.

If she had not given false testimony for Li Hui, perhaps she and Zhou En would already be good friends.

Seeing Zhou En's exhausted yet upright figure on the ring, Chubby bragged to the benchwarmers beside him, "See that? That's my brother. Watch where you're going from now on, and don't mess with Lord Chubby."

As he spoke, he pointed at himself with his short little finger, looking extremely arrogant. His earlier attempt to comfort Zhou En and persuade him to forfeit had long been tossed to the back of his mind.

The other benchwarmers gritted their teeth in frustration, but there was nothing they could do about Chubby.

Su Lin stared at Zhou En on the ring and nodded slightly. He muttered to himself.

"With talent like that, he can barely qualify as my opponent."

In the lounge, Wu Min was also quite surprised. He muttered, "Now this is getting interesting."

In the stands, Zhang Li, who had been staring blankly at Zhou En, finally came back to her senses. She said uncertainly, "What did we just see? Zhou En actually dodged Li Hui's attack."

"Coach Liu Yu, I'm a little confused, and I believe most people here feel the same way. Could you explain it to us?"

Zhang Li's words finally brought the stunned Coach Liu Yu back to her senses. Her pretty face reddened as she stammered, "I didn't see that clearly just now."

She inwardly cursed herself for closing her eyes.

Seeing Coach Liu Yu like that, Zhang Na could not help smiling. "Even the famous Coach Liu Yu did not see it clearly. Was that an accident, or was it a new move from Zhou En? Let's keep watching and find out!"

On the ring, Li Hui stared at Zhou En across from him with a gloomy expression. Something had gone wrong. The worry in his heart finally erupted. This was the outcome Li Hui least wanted to see.