Take this!

The first round of the tournament was over, and the list of contestants advancing had been finalized. Next came the crucial semifinal matchups.

Everyone kept their eyes glued to the arena. Even the air seemed tense. They all knew these two matches would directly determine who became the next Village Chief.

Holding a wooden board, the referee announced the final semifinal matchups, his voice carrying clearly across the arena.

"First semifinal-Senku vs. Kohaku!"

"Second semifinal-Li Xiang vs. Maguma!"

The moment the matchups were announced, the crowd erupted. The villagers watching began talking over one another, while everyone on Senku's team fell straight into despair.

Ginro's face darkened on the spot, and he let out a hopeless wail.

"Damn it! Why did it have to be these matchups?!"

The very situation everyone had dreaded most had come to pass.

The ideal matchup would have been Kohaku against Maguma. With her unmatched fighting ability, Kohaku could have easily crushed the brute and won without a hint of suspense.

Instead, their strongest fighter, Kohaku, was up against Senku, who couldn't fight at all, while Li Xiang had to face Maguma.

Their luck with the draw couldn't have been worse.

Had Senku's bad luck rubbed off on them?

Kinro frowned deeply, his eyes filled with frustration and self-reproach as his fists tightened.

"If only I'd been stronger in the first round... if only I'd taken Maguma out right from the start, we wouldn't be in this situation."

He had fought with everything he had, but he had still lost to Maguma, leaving his teammates to deal with their toughest opponent.

Seeing this, Chrome reached over and gently patted Kinro's shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Kinro. You fought really well. Everyone's seen how much you've improved lately. You were already amazing."

Unfortunately, Maguma's natural brute strength was undeniable. There was no shame in losing to him.

Everyone had their own concerns, while the atmosphere around the arena only grew tenser.

Ruri stood at the very front of the crowd, her small hands clutching the hem of her clothes. Her eyes remained fixed on Li Xiang, who was about to fight, and her face was full of worry.

Standing before the slender Li Xiang, Maguma towered over her by more than a full head. The difference in their builds was enormous.

Anyone looking at them would have thought the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

Maguma looked down at Li Xiang, his massive frame radiating pressure. His eyes were filled with undisguised contempt and arrogance.

Deep down, he scoffed at women who fought, and he had even less interest in facing someone as small, skinny, and frail-looking as Li Xiang.

Maguma snorted, his voice dripping with disdain.

"I suggest you get out of the arena now. I never hit women. If I accidentally hurt you, it'll be embarrassing when you start crying."

Seeing his smug, arrogant expression, Li Xiang couldn't help curling her lips into a smile. Her tone was breezy.

"What a coincidence. I never hit women either."

Before he could react, the referee blew the whistle to officially start the match!

The tournament rules were brutally simple. Once the whistle blew, the match began for anyone standing inside the arena.

Still wrapped up in his own arrogance, Maguma leisurely prepared to throw out a couple of casual moves and end the match.

But that single second of underestimating her became his greatest opening.

Li Xiang suddenly moved, so fast that she left only a blur behind. Giving her opponent no chance to react, she closed the distance in an instant!

With remarkable agility, she twisted aside and neatly dodged the heavy punch Maguma threw on instinct.

The rush of his fist swept past her ear with vicious force. Had it landed, it would have bruised bone and split flesh.

Every villager's eyes widened. No one had expected Li Xiang to be this fast!

Maguma was startled too, his brows drawing together.

How was this woman's speed so ridiculous?

Through several exchanges, Li Xiang kept weaving and dodging, relying on her superb footwork to evade every attack.

But repeatedly dodging at top speed drained her stamina rapidly. In mere moments, her breathing had grown uneven, her arms ached, and she was close to her limit.

She couldn't win by dodging forever. Dragging things out would only exhaust her and hand him the victory.

Maguma gradually figured out her pattern and grew increasingly cocky, hurling insults in a voice full of contempt.

"Is dodging all you can do? You're like a little mouse scurrying around!"

"If you don't dare fight me head-on, just give up!"

His grating taunts kept coming, convincing everyone watching that Li Xiang had been backed into a corner.

Just as everyone accepted the inevitable outcome, Li Xiang suddenly raised a hand and shouted for a pause.

"Wait! Stop a second!"

Maguma paused, instinctively pulling back his fist. He stood there looking utterly baffled.

Couldn't beat him, so now she wanted to beg for mercy?

He stood still and dropped his guard completely, quietly waiting for Li Xiang to speak. His eyes shone with the smug certainty of victory.

Now!

The instant he relaxed and left himself defenseless, Li Xiang's gaze sharpened. Seizing that one opening, she launched a sudden attack!

No flashy techniques! No wasted movements!

"Take this-Life-Taking Strike!"

As her clear shout rang out, she snapped her foot up in a crisp, precise kick.

The angle was vicious, the force perfectly applied. It struck Maguma squarely in his most vulnerable, most devastating weak point!

In the language of Flower-Country, Li Xiang said, "Your little friend... I'll be taking that."

Thud!

The precise blow landed.

A second later, the entire arena froze.

Maguma's body went rigid, his pupils contracting sharply. The smug arrogance on his face shattered in an instant.

An unbearable aching pain surged through his entire body, striking straight into his soul and leaving him unable even to stand.

His towering body doubled over. Unable to hold himself up any longer, his legs buckled, and he hit the ground with a heavy thump. He curled up in the middle of the arena, twitching all over from the pain, unable to utter a single word.

The villagers, her teammates, and the referee all stared speechlessly at the scene in the middle of the arena.

For a moment, things were painfully awkward.

Li Xiang calmly walked over, reached down without hesitation, and dragged Maguma, who was completely incapacitated and numb with pain, straight out of the marked competition area.

Once he was completely outside the arena, his defeat was official.

With everything settled, Li Xiang raised a hand to wipe the light sweat from her forehead. She panted softly, her movements brisk and effortless.

Turning around, she found everyone staring at her with identical expressions of speechless disbelief.

Li Xiang looked baffled and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you all staring at me for?"

"Isn't winning the match all that matters? You people are way too fussy."

A win was a win. Anything went in the arena. If the rules didn't forbid it, it was a legitimate victory.

Faced with her utterly unapologetic attitude, everyone was left without a word to say.

It seemed... she did have a point.

Whatever her methods, the result was that Maguma had lost, and Li Xiang had secured her place in the final.

Chrome gave a couple of quiet, awkward coughs and tried to smooth things over.

"Right... a win's a win. A win's a win."

Next came Senku's match against Kohaku.

There was absolutely no suspense in this one.

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Kohaku promptly raised her hand and conceded.

With both semifinals over, the finalists were decided.

Li Xiang vs. Senku.

Everything had gone according to their original plan.

Li Xiang looked at the perfectly composed Senku across from her. Her lips curved slightly, and she spoke without hesitation.

"I concede."

The referee announced the final result on the spot.

"The champion of this Ishigami Village martial arts tournament is-Senku!"

The entire village burst into jubilant cheers, the crowd roaring.

Cause for celebration-and a Coca-Cola.

Still, the villagers whispered among themselves, feeling that his path to the championship had been rather less than honorable.

Faced with their peculiar looks, Li Xiang didn't care in the slightest and shrugged casually.

"So what if it wasn't honorable?"

"We were never after empty fame or some supposedly fair and square victory. We wanted results."

As long as Senku became Village Chief, that insignificant bit of pride wasn't worth mentioning.

Beneath the sunlight, Senku stood at the highest point of the arena.