50. Fair Match

Chapter 50: A Fair Spar

Twenty minutes later, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, the venue for the Kanto Region High School Karate Tournament.

Lin Xinyi and the others had already arrived by subway.

"Ugh, that dark-skinned guy really doesn't know his own strength."

"How can a handshake injure someone so badly?!"

Suzuki Sonoko grumbled about Makoto Kyogoku's "violence" with a slight hint of displeasure, all the while unceremoniously grabbing Lin Xinyi's hand and applying ointment to it.

The Karate tournament venue, naturally, was well-stocked with emergency first-aid supplies for external injuries, from cold packs and ice bags to pain relief sprays and bruise-healing ointments.

These medicines were perfect for treating Lin Xinyi, whose hand had suffered sheet-like subcutaneous bleeding and large bruises from shaking hands with a certain human-shaped Gundam.

"Um, Miss Suzuki, I can actually apply the medicine myself."

Lin Xinyi instinctively wanted to maintain his distance.

But seeing Suzuki Sonoko's concerned and focused expression as she applied the medicine for him, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

After a moment of hesitation, he silently accepted.

"Oh, and remember to put medicine on the injury on the back of your neck too," Lin Xinyi kindly reminded her.

"It's fine, I'll put the medicine on you, and then you can put it on me later."

Suzuki Sonoko boldly flirted, making it very difficult for Lin Xinyi to handle.

Beside the two of them…

Makoto Kyogoku: "…"

He stood silently to the side, his wheat-colored face looking even darker:

Because he had accidentally used too much force when competing with Lin Xinyi, he had inadvertently created an opportunity for Suzuki Sonoko, who was single-mindedly pursuing Lin Xinyi, allowing her to take advantage of the situation and slightly close the distance between herself and Lin Xinyi.

Thinking of this, Makoto Kyogoku felt a bit depressed.

He now wished that he was the one whose hand had been injured.

At this moment, Lin Xinyi also noticed Makoto Kyogoku's odd behavior:

The human-shaped beast, whose strength was beyond imagination, stood silently not far from him, staring intently at him with eyes full of "fighting spirit," without making a sound.

Hey, why are you looking at me with that resentful gaze, like you just found out you were scammed out of 16 million by a fake company seal?

I was clearly the one who got hurt just now, wasn't I?

"Um…" Lin Xinyi asked, somewhat concerned, "Mr. Kyogoku, don't you need to prepare for the competition?"

The other contestants rushed to change into their gis and put on their protective gear as soon as they arrived at the venue, preparing to warm up.

Only Makoto Kyogoku seemed to have nothing to do, silently following him and Suzuki Sonoko.

"Uh, I'm just here to lead the team; I'm not competing."

Makoto Kyogoku answered somewhat guiltily.

He was already the Japanese Karate champion, so of course, he wouldn't participate in this regional Karate competition.

Makoto Kyogoku's main purpose for coming this time was to serve as the team leader for Beido High School's Karate Club, acting as a coach for the younger students participating.

He didn't need to compete, but logically, he should have been with his club members, responsible for giving those juniors a pre-match pep talk.

However, Makoto Kyogoku currently had more important things to do—for example, standing around and spacing out next to Suzuki Sonoko and Lin Xinyi.

"So you're free now?" Lin Xinyi's interest was immediately piqued. "Want to spar?"

Only by sparring with strong opponents could one be forced to break through; training alone, no matter how hard, would not yield practical combat results.

Many martial arts masters perform forms with impressive power, but once they step into the ring, they fight like they've never learned martial arts, only throwing wild, uncoordinated punches—this is because they only focus on practicing martial arts forms and lack practical sparring.

Therefore, to become stronger, Lin Xinyi was now very enthusiastic about fighting.

"Now?" Makoto Kyogoku looked at Lin Xinyi's hand with some hesitation.

"It's just a bruise; it won't affect my performance," Lin Xinyi said confidently, clenching his fist.

"Alright then!"

Makoto Kyogoku's fighting spirit immediately surged.

He was not good with words and had an introverted personality, so he was shy about expressing his feelings. This was a perfect opportunity to showcase his charm to Miss Suzuki through his best skill, combat.

"No!" But Suzuki Sonoko flatly refused.

Lin Xinyi was clearly weaker than Makoto Kyogoku; even she, an outsider, could see that:

"What if you injure him again with your lack of restraint?"

"…"

Makoto Kyogoku felt a wave of frustration. After a long silence, he replied in a calm tone:

"I can suppress my strength and speed to the same level as Mr. Lin Xinyi for a fair spar."

Hearing this, Lin Xinyi was even more impressed:

Strength and speed aren't things you can just suppress; for Makoto Kyogoku to dare make such a promise, his body control must have reached an unparalleled level.

This was undoubtedly a formidable opponent he couldn't hope to defeat right now.

"But..."

"Only competing on technique, not strength?"

"Then it might not be me who loses."

Lin Xinyi smiled confidently.

He immediately met Makoto Kyogoku's gaze with an imposing air, and Makoto Kyogoku returned his look with fierce fighting spirit.

And so, the two left the infirmary and headed to a small dojo reserved for contestants to warm up, ready for a "friendly" sparring session.

"What? Makoto Kyogoku-senpai is going to spar with someone?"

The news spread like wildfire, creating a buzz among the contestants.

That was Makoto Kyogoku, the strongest in Japan, a legendary figure.

Compared to watching Makoto Kyogoku's live sparring match, even the afternoon's competitions seemed less important.

And so...

Before Lin Xinyi and Makoto Kyogoku even had a chance to properly position themselves in the dojo, the area around it was already packed with young Karate practitioners who had heard the news.

They were all neatly dressed in their Karate gis and sat kneeling in an orderly circle around the edge of the dojo, encircling Lin Xinyi and Makoto Kyogoku, who were preparing to spar.

Seeing the scene, Lin Xinyi momentarily felt as if he had traveled to the set of Ip Man.

"Do you want to wear protective gear?"

Before they began, Makoto Kyogoku kindly asked.

"No need, I trust your control."

Lin Xinyi boldly chose not to wear protective gear:

Anyway, as long as Makoto Kyogoku could control his strength, he wouldn't get seriously hurt.

But if Makoto Kyogoku couldn't control his strength, then with that guy's physique, even if his opponent wore protective gear, it would be as if they weren't wearing any.

"Sun-dome, or Full Contact?"

Makoto Kyogoku once again offered Lin Xinyi the choice.

Sun-dome, as mentioned earlier, refers to the "point-stopping" rule in sports competitions.

Full Contact, as the name implies, is real combat, with every punch and kick landing solidly.

Most martial arts enthusiasts sparring with Makoto Kyogoku would choose the Sun-dome rules, after all, that guy was simply too powerful; fighting him in a Full Contact match was terrifying.

But Lin Xinyi still boldly replied, "Full Contact."

His most proficient martial art was killing techniques, not competitive moves.

If it wasn't Full Contact, he wouldn't be able to unleash its true effectiveness.

Upon hearing Lin Xinyi choose the Full Contact rules, a chorus of gasps erupted from the crowd: "He actually dares to fight Makoto Kyogoku-senpai Full Contact?"

"That guy is definitely going to lose."

The person who said this was Makoto Kyogoku's junior, Wada Hina, the genius fighter of the Beido High School Karate Club.

She was the seeded player for Beido High School's team this time and a strong contender for the women's championship against Mouri Ran.

Wada Hina had also been present when the mugger was encountered at the train station earlier.

At this moment, having understood the sparring rules between Lin Xinyi and Makoto Kyogoku, she couldn't help but chuckle:

"Even in a fair competition where strength and speed are suppressed, and only techniques are compared, Makoto Kyogoku-senpai is still the strongest in Japan."

"If it were Sun-dome rules, that Lin Xinyi might have been able to lose with some dignity."

"But now... he's going to lose very badly."

"What are you saying?! They haven't even started fighting yet!" Hearing Wada Hina disparage Lin Xinyi so completely, Suzuki Sonoko, who had also rushed to the dojo, instinctively wanted to retort.

But at this moment, Miss Mouri Ran, who was also present, didn't side with her best friend at all:

"Indeed, Mr. Lin Xinyi made the wrong choice."

"Makoto Kyogoku-senpai practices 'Kyokushin Karate.' If it were Sun-dome rules, it could somewhat restrict his performance, but if it's Full Contact rules, dealing with him will be truly difficult."

Kyokushin Karate is a modern martial arts style that evolved from traditional Karate.

Traditional Karate schools emphasize Sun-dome, competition, and stopping at the point of contact, while Kyokushin Karate insists on practical combat, focusing on Full Contact matches where punches and kicks land solidly.

In Kyokushin Karate rules, participants wear no protective gear, and aside from prohibiting hand strikes to the head and strikes to the groin, all other body parts can be directly attacked, using hands, feet, elbows, and knees without weight classes.

Makoto Kyogoku had been training in this since childhood.

Now, Lin Xinyi wasn't requesting protective gear or Sun-dome; he was fighting entirely by the Full Contact rules that Makoto Kyogoku excelled at. One could say he had chosen hard mode for himself.

"Is that so..."

After Ran's explanation, Suzuki Sonoko also understood the difficulty involved.

Even someone as strong as Ran thinks Makoto Kyogoku is unbeatable (even if they were forced to compete with the same physical abilities), so Lin Xinyi probably doesn't stand a chance.

However, Miss Suzuki wouldn't give up that easily:

"Lin Xinyi~~ You've got to win!"

"I know you can do it!"

She boldly stood up from the sidelines and loudly cheered Lin Xinyi on.

Even though everyone present was staring at her with strange looks, Suzuki Sonoko didn't care at all—she was naturally a free spirit.

"Thanks, I'll do my best."

Lin Xinyi turned and gave her a smile.

Although he had been deliberately keeping his distance from this overly enthusiastic fangirl, Miss Suzuki, at a time when no one else believed in him, Lin Xinyi certainly wouldn't reject the only friend willing to have faith in him.

After returning Suzuki Sonoko's smile, he immediately turned his attention back to the ring.

Back to Makoto Kyogoku:

Huh?

Lin Xinyi observed Makoto Kyogoku, whose aura had dramatically changed:

Why does it feel like...

...this guy's fighting spirit suddenly got a lot stronger?