Martial Soul

The scolding from the other end of the phone immediately snapped Zhang Li back to attention. A sheen of sweat broke out on her pretty face.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Manager Han," Zhang Li said, repeatedly assuring him before hanging up the phone.

"Dear viewers, the current situation of the match seems very unfavorable for East District School. After a series of losses, the scales of victory have tipped in favor of West District School."

"If West District School maintains this momentum, I believe the final victory will surely belong to them." Zhang Li wanted to say something good for her school, but her superior had already spoken, so she could only state the facts.

The situation seemed to be leaning entirely towards West District School.

Su Lin nodded to everyone in the lounge and was about to step onto the arena.

"Su Lin," Liu Yu suddenly called out. Seeing Su Lin turn his head, Liu Yu gave a wry smile and said, "Don't force yourself if you can't win. After all, our school will have another chance in the next Fighting Competition."

The fact that she could say this indicated that Liu Yu had completely given up hope for her team.

He remembered what he had told his family about leading a team to the national Fighting Competition. It seemed to have become a perpetual joke.

Hearing Liu Yu's words, Su Lin didn't feel any lighter; on the contrary, his heart grew heavier.

Under everyone's gaze, he walked step by step onto the arena.

Seeing Su Lin step up, Hu Tianhua's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Are you feeling a lot of pressure? Why don't you just surrender? After all, everyone starts as a novice." The seemingly encouraging words were filled with endless mockery.

Su Lin recalled his master's words: martial ethics. A martial artist's first lesson is how to conduct themselves.

He immediately suppressed the anger in his heart and calmly replied, "No need for your concern."

Seeing that his bait hadn't worked, Hu Tianhua wasn't too bothered, as he was just saying it casually. He nodded at Su Lin and said, "Of all my opponents, you're the only one with some martial ethics. Unlike those two idiots before you." Hearing this, even the referee on the side frowned, considering whether to propose a rule against mocking opponents in future matches.

"I've already expended some energy. Although I can win this match, I'll sustain some serious injuries, which will be detrimental to our school's next match."

Hu Tianhua's words directly declared that East District Academy would lose this match.

Hu Tianhua shrugged and said, "I forfeit."

"What?" The spectators in the stands were stunned, their jaws dropping. They never expected Hu Tianhua to surrender when he was on such a roll.

"Haha, buddy, that's your ignorance showing. If you don't have confidence in winning, just surrender quickly. Otherwise, you'll just end up getting beaten down by your opponent."

"Exactly, who would seek out suffering for no reason?"

"But Hu Tianhua could clearly win, why didn't he win this match before forfeiting?"

"I don't know about that."

Perhaps hearing the crowd's discussion, Hu Tianhua's lips curved into a smile. He then loudly said to Su Lin, "I want to give my teammate a chance to gain experience."

Although these words were directed at Su Lin, everyone present wasn't deaf and understood perfectly.

The mockery that Wu Min had directed at West District School earlier was now being thrown back at them, word for word.

In the lounge, the actual members of the club blushed deeply, secretly sizing up Wu Min. Wu Min put away his playful grin, his expression calm, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

Zhao Haiyan and Zhao Feiyan, who were lying in the lounge, also woke up. Upon learning that they had both been defeated by the same person, they felt so ashamed they wished they could crawl into a hole.

In the stands, hearing Hu Tianhua's explanation, the crowd burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter, Hu Tianhua swaggered off the arena. Su Lin clenched his fist, wanting desperately to rush up and teach Hu Tianhua a lesson. But if he really did that...

Even his team would be disqualified from the competition.

Seeing the next person from West District School slowly walk onto the arena, Su Lin preempted him, "Are you going to mock our school again? I advise you to stop."

Su Lin expected him to retort, but instead, the person slowly shook his head. "To be honest, if it weren't for your captain's strength, your team could have easily made it into the top five."

Fifth place was already a pretty good ranking among nine school teams.

"But you shouldn't have offended someone you shouldn't have. Now, you're destined for last place."

Su Lin frowned upon hearing this and tentatively asked, "Li Hui."

The person shook his head. Seeing that the other party wasn't going to make things difficult, Su Lin didn't bother to pursue it further. Even though this opponent had also forfeited, they were still trailing by one point.

Considering that Li Hui would definitely go easy on them, they would need to win two more points just to tie.

To win, they would need to secure three points. This was almost impossible.

If they lost the first match, what else could they be but last place?

The referee glanced at the personnel from both sides and said, "West District School's Wang Tian versus East District School's Su Lin." He then blew his whistle.

Wang Tian adopted a defensive stance and quickly charged towards his opponent. Like the previous participant from West District Academy, there was no probing; he went all out from the start.

Su Lin quickly assumed a defensive stance. He knew that if he lost this match, it would mean East District School had truly lost. He didn't dare to be careless.

Like most people, Wang Tian used a Taekwondo defensive stance. However, Wang Tian didn't follow the typical Taekwondo routine of feinting with the left fist to confuse the opponent before delivering the killing blow with the right.

Instead, he launched a powerful kick towards Su Lin with his right leg.

"What, Wang Tian isn't following the usual routine!"

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't Taekwondo supposed to start with a left fist feint to confuse the opponent, followed by a right fist strike? But Wang Tian is attacking with his leg. Is this guy's brain short-circuited?"

"My friend, you don't understand. The highest realm of martial arts is to strike at will, with profound mystery hidden in every move."

"Simply put, it's like dancing. At first, you just dance one move after another. When you reach mastery, each movement is already integrated into your body and soul."

"As soon as the music starts, you can dance naturally. And this Wang Tian has reached that level."

"Whoa, that's terrifying. So that guy Su Lin is definitely dead, right?"

"Haha, not necessarily. It's a competition, after all, so he won't die. But whether he'll lose a limb or two is another story."

"Hahaha, that doesn't really matter to Su Lin, does it? He's just unlucky."

In the lounge, Wu Min stared intently at Wang Tian on the arena, murmuring slowly, "I didn't expect Wang Tian to have already grasped the essence of his Martial Soul."