Tactics (Please Vote)

"Begin."

The Fourth High School teacher, acting as referee, gave the order.

Lin Gaowang and Hong Li began their standoff.

Hong Li knew Lin Gaowang had the strength for only a single move, so he did not dare act rashly.

At a time like this, he had to watch for changes and respond with stillness. Staying still meant avoiding mistakes. If he attacked first, Lin Gaowang could easily seize an opening and defeat him in one strike.

The reason He Ying from Sixth High School had lost so quickly was that he had not been prepared. He had not known how fierce and domineering the Tiger Demon Fist was, and had chosen to meet Lin Gaowang head-on. In the end, the bone in his lower leg had suffered a slight fracture.

During a match, the Martial Arts Teacher could not interfere or warn the students.

Once they intervened, it meant they had conceded.

However, after the match ended, they could provide all kinds of guidance, teaching students tactics and fighting methods for matches.

Thus, after receiving his teacher's guidance, Hong Li chose to respond to all changes by remaining unchanged.

As long as Lin Gaowang used the Tiger Demon Fist, he would dodge it and avoid its edge rather than clash with it head-on. After one punch, Lin Gaowang would be exhausted and powerless, allowing Hong Li to win without fighting.

Seeing Hong Li stand still and watch him the entire time, Lin Gaowang guessed what Hong Li was thinking.

Hong Li knew his weakness, and Lin Gaowang himself knew it very well too. He had only been training the Tiger Demon Fist for a short time and was not yet proficient in its killing moves. Once he used it, it would drain all the strength from his body, leaving him unable to perfectly control his output of power.

Lin Gaowang quickly slid forward, swaying from side to side as he closed in on Hong Li like a strange venomous snake.

He did not immediately use the Tiger Demon Fist. Instead, he used the Serpent Step from the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand to rapidly approach Hong Li. The Tiger Demon Fist gave him only one punch, so he had to find the best possible chance to secure victory in a single blow.

If he could not win in one blow, it was better not to strike. He could still intimidate Hong Li.

Hong Li widened the distance between them rather than letting Lin Gaowang approach. He began running around the Arena, constantly fleeing and dodging left and right.

So what if Lin Gaowang's Tiger Demon Fist was powerful? He still had one head, two shoulders, two hands, and two feet. He did not have three heads and six arms. As long as he could not hit Hong Li, there was nothing he could do.

The match did not require them to clash head-on.

At worst, Hong Li could drag it out for ten minutes and end in a draw.

With that, Hong Li settled on his tactics. He ran all over the Arena, refusing to engage Lin Gaowang. Even when some punches and kicks landed on him, it was not a major problem. He could circulate his force to neutralize them.

If the match had used a point system,

then Lin Gaowang's score would probably have far surpassed Hong Li's by now.

But this match did not use a point system. It followed the simplest Arena Match rules: only knocking Hong Li down or knocking him out of the Arena counted as victory.

As long as Hong Li could remain standing in the Arena, he had not lost.

By the final three minutes, Hong Li was at an absolute disadvantage. Lin Gaowang had been driving him around the Arena, with fists and legs occasionally lashing against his body. However, none of them struck vital areas, and he blocked them all by raising his arms.

He did not dare stop moving. The moment he stopped and exchanged moves with Lin Gaowang, Lin Gaowang might use the Tiger Demon Fist to unleash his strongest strike and force him into a head-on clash.

Hong Li's mindset was simple: seek no merit, only avoid mistakes.

He did not need to defeat Lin Gaowang. A draw would be enough.

It truly was an extremely shameless fighting style.

If the gap between two opponents was not too great, using such a shameless style basically made it impossible to lose—unless it was a point-based match. Even without knocking down the opponent, having more points would still secure victory.

"This won't work. I need to find a way to lure Hong Li into attacking."

Lin Gaowang thought up countermeasures while launching fierce attacks.

Soon, the match entered its final minute.

Hong Li noticed that after attacking continuously for nine minutes, Lin Gaowang was gradually showing signs of fatigue. His attacks were no longer as fierce as before. Whether it was his speed, punching force, or explosive power, all had clearly declined.

For those nine minutes, Hong Li had remained on the defensive, dodging and evading. His stamina expenditure was therefore nowhere near as severe as Lin Gaowang's.

A glint flashed through Hong Li's eyes. As Lin Gaowang continued attacking, openings were beginning to appear. Yet Lin Gaowang himself seemingly had not noticed and continued his assault.

If victory was possible, no one wanted to lose.

Continuously defending against and dodging Lin Gaowang's attacks had only been a tactic. Ultimately, it was still for the sake of winning.

As long as he knocked Lin Gaowang down and won the match, then his tactics would be a success.

Suddenly, Lin Gaowang made a huge mistake. Hong Li flashed aside, causing Lin Gaowang's punch to miss. Lin Gaowang seemed to lose his balance and lunged forward into empty air, exposing his entire body to Hong Li's attack.

"The chance is here."

Hong Li almost did not hesitate. He gathered power into his palm and struck at Lin Gaowang.

The martial art he trained in was called the Great Strength Tablet Splitting Palm. It not only had forms that generated force, but also external methods for tempering the palms. As a result, his palms looked broader and thicker than an ordinary person's, their outer skin rough like bear paws.

One palm strike could split steles and shatter stones.

"You took the bait."

At that moment, Lin Gaowang swiftly turned around. His Tiger Demon Fist had long been poised and ready.

Roar!

Lin Gaowang's aura abruptly changed. A monstrous, vicious presence erupted from his body, as though he had transformed into a demonic tiger that devoured people whole. His fist smashed fiercely toward Hong Li's incoming palm.

"I took the bait."

The instant Lin Gaowang's punch came crashing in, Hong Li knew he had fallen for it.

Lin Gaowang had deliberately exposed an opening to lure him in, and he had foolishly taken the bait.

But his palm strike was already out, and Lin Gaowang's fist was coming at him. If he withdrew his palm now, he would have to take Lin Gaowang's punch head-on. He might as well use the Great Strength Tablet Splitting Palm to meet it directly. Perhaps he still had a sliver of a chance.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided with a dull impact.

Lin Gaowang's fist slammed viciously into Hong Li's palm. Terrifying force erupted at that instant, sending Hong Li flying backward like a kite with its string cut before he finally crashed onto the ground outside the Arena.

Hong Li was knocked out of the Arena. Lin Gaowang won.

Hong Li's entire palm had turned incomparably red and swollen, and he could not muster even the slightest strength in his whole arm.

This time, the Fourth High School Martial Arts Teacher did not intervene. The Great Strength Tablet Splitting Palm had faced the Tiger Demon Fist. Even if it was overpowered, the injury would not be too serious. At most, he would recover after resting for a week.

It was unlike Qin Fen's previous match against Xu Taiping. If the Thunderclap Fist struck the chest head-on, it could fracture the breastbone and require at least three months of bed rest to recover. That would inevitably affect the progress of one's cultivation.

However, Hong Li could not participate in the upcoming matches either. He could only be a spectator.

Please vote.