The projector cast images of the ring against the far wall of the classroom. All the students fixed their eyes upon the heroic, masked figure of their drillmaster.
âHeâll win it!â No one knew who said, but they all joined in triumphant cry.
âHeâll win it!â
ζ
Lan Jue stood in the ring once again, allowing the feel of the place to flow through him. His heart eased in to a comfortable silence. There was the faintest hint of electrical light behind his eyes. Even though the fight was yet to begin, he could feel the oppressive pressure from Qi Muâs Discipline. And thatâs exactly what he was looking for!
âThree, two, one. Begin!â
As the buzzer sounded, Lan Jue stood tall and straight. Suddenly he seemed bigger⊠Not his body, necessarily, but his presence seemed to swell. Meanwhile, Qi Mu quickly shifted to only his first form. He seemed unconcerned about this fight.
Lan Jue wasnât annoyed by the slight. He switched up his tactics, like he had before. He did not immediately rush in to the Forest of Lightning. Instead he raced to the center of the ring along with Qi Mu. Although Zeus didnât seem all that fast, by the time Qi Mu reached the center he was already waiting for him there. The Monarch was wreathed in crackling purple lightning that hugged close. This was his armor, protecting him from harm.
Qi Mu sprang forward and wickedly swiped at Zeus. His claws ripped through the air so quickly that shuddering air rippled visibly from their path. His tactics were straight domination, made possible by a superior Discipline.
But Qi Mu didnât understand why he didnât use his powers to block the attack? He just stepped to the side, lazily sidestepping the blow. The mercenaryâs right hand swung around for a strike.
Qi Mu still looked down upon his opponent. Nothing heâd seen in any of the previous fights had convinced him that this upstart could prove to be a challenge.
âBang!â Lan Jueâs fist found its target, and Qi Mu was viciously blasted to the ground. Thousands of volts raced throughout the wolfâs body.
ThisâŠ
The audience saw it plain as day and it nearly sent their eyes rolling out of their heads. Was this for real? He was supposed to be the weakest one of the group.
The classroom tucked away in the NEU shook with cheers. Watching their teacher put the dog down was like doing it themselves.
Mo Xiao was likewise shocked, and gasped from the viewing platform. âIs that martial arts?â
The Terminatorâs eyebrows had risen a few degrees, but he said nothing. It was Metatron, seated behind him, that really felt the shock of what they saw. He knew that move.
One of the Nine Strikes of Taiji⊠Warding Fist Strike!
That was indeed Lan Jueâs first move. His intent was to knock his opponent off course â he hadnât anticipated it would fire him in to the ground.
But this was a fight, he wasnât going to waste the opportunity. He shot a foot out to tangle the wolf up. He remain flat on the floor ungracefully, tangled up in his own limbs. Though the wolf king had managed to shrug off the damage from the strike, but his body felt numb. He couldnât dodge.
Lan Jue clapped both hands together and raised them overhead. The lightning energy from all around him condensed to a point between his clenched fists. He brought them down to the sound of crackling electricity and purple flashes, right on his enemyâs spine.
Qi Mu was a young darling of the Dark Citadel. He wouldnât take this lying down, and so he quickly broke in to his second transformation.
The second shift increased his defenses, with a red-gold glow that hung over him. Qi Mu couldnât dodge, so he flexed the muscles of his back to ward off the strike.
âBoomâ!â The thunderous explosion shook the arena. Qi Mu thought his second transformation would be enough, but he felt the weight of a mountain come crashing down on his back.
When he felt the energy first slip passed his defenses and in to him, it felt almost gentle. However, he could sense the strange sensation within this energy, where it gathered up and set his own energies in disarray. His second transformation had saved him from a painful injury. This time he avoided damage, but was thrown to the ground again.
Two strikes, and twice his enemy hit the ground! You could have asked anyone and they would have scoffed at the prospect, but now they werenât sure. Did Qi Mu get weaker, or was Zeus stronger than they thought?
Downward Punch! A powerful Taiji strike.
Lan Jue had to acknowledge his opponentâs defense. He was a second rank, but his strikes were hard enough to shatter a third rank opponent. His attacks were empowered by the principles of Taiji which made them even stronger. But even with this he couldnât surpass Qi Muâs guard.
Qi Mu was on the ground, but not as helpless as before. He shuddered with a deep growl and the golden light surrounding him swelled to force the insidious lightning out. This was the advantage of his superior Discipline. The wolf urged himself in to an ungraceful roll out of the way.
Lan Jue, though, had a wealth of combat experience to draw from. He wouldnât give up his advantage so easily. As Qi Mu tried to roll away, Zeus released the lightning coiling around him. It became a brilliant gold and fired off in all directions. In the same instant, he forced his palms toward his foe, and a column of golden lightning consumed Qi Mu.
âB-boom-boom b-b-boomâŠ.â A series of fierce attacks laid in to Qi Mu. The Wolf King was stronger than Lan Jue, but couldnât match his speed. This put him in a very unenviable position. Under the onslaught he had to use his Force abilities to protect himself. The last two strikes had also affected his meridians. He fell to the floor for a third time.
Lan Jue flashed around Qi Mu, peppering him with attacks. He was too fast, almost faster than the audience could follow. At second rank he could no longer reach light speed, but lightning was still plenty fast. His yang-nature Discipline and the nine strikes of Taiji had Qi Mu on the ropes.
Qi Mu waited for the cooldown. Lan Jueâs rank was lower, so he had to come out for air eventually. Of course, he didnât know of the phylactery stone nestled in the flesh of Zeusâ left hand. He could keep this up as long as he needed. He was like a relentless battering ram, and thatâs what made him a competitor.
The audience watched in abject shock as the bearer of their hopes, Qi Mu, was brutally beat down. Qi Mu could only try to protect himself from the thunderstorm.
Lan Jue was too fast, and only a few of the onlookers were able to pick out the specifics of his strikes. Again and again the wolf was hit, and fell. Each time a peal of thunder followed.
In the VIP box.
Chu Cheng watched with mouth agape. âGoddamn! Iâm gunna wet my pants here in a second.â
Lina Lee looked just as confused. âWhat the hell is he?!â
Only Hua Li watched with a knowing smile. He jabbed his fists as though he were in the ring himself.
Lan Jue had taken the advantage of underestimation and turned it in to a crushing assault. In the last minute, heâd laid Qi Mu out with over a hundred blows. Qi Mu could only manage half-hearted reposts, but was unable to land any. Crafty! Zeusâ attacks had a numbing effect that made the whole ordeal harder. Qi Mu was strong, but not at the same level as Titan. He couldnât stop it. His lightning played directly against the wolfâs speed, and under the incessant assault he was losing strength.
âBastard!â Qi Mu roared. He reared up, and a blood-red light sprang out from around him. He met Lan Jueâs next strike, the Fist of the Seven Stars, without hesitation.
The seven-star strike laid in to the wolf, and he was swallowed in to a sea of lightning. This time, he didnât fall.