Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"Far from it!" With their fists clashing, Nephalem naturally gained the advantage. He only took a half step back, while Chu Kuangren took three steps back in succession. Nephalem would not give up such an opportunity. He formed his right hand into a claw, stepped forward, and swept it fiercely, leaving five blue claw marks in mid-air!

The Nephalem's martial arts style is called The Flow, which includes eighteen different techniques, none of which can be mastered. However, the Nephalem have learned three of them: fist, palm, and finger techniques, and now, when they make a move, they reveal their extraordinary claw skills.

Chu Kuangren's fighting style was very similar to that of the brothers Ji Qiuming and Ji Fenming. However, he was ultimately not one of them. If he were, he would have undoubtedly retaliated with a punch that would have smashed Nephalem's head. As for getting injured, he would have accepted it, but Chu Kuangren was far from that reckless. He retreated, dodging Nephalem's astonishing claw attack.

Nefertari, not one to back down, pressed his advantage, launching a series of attacks and quickly suppressing Chu Kuangren.

Chu Kuangren might be aware of it, or he might not. But when the Nephalem unleashed its claws just now, it was his only chance of winning.

Both were close-quarters fighters, and Nephalem's strength completely overwhelmed Chu Kuangren. However, Chu Kuangren lacked the courage to fight to the death, so when the momentum shifted to Nephalem, the battle ended.

"I won the first match!"

The two exchanged more than ten blows. Although Chu Kuangren lasted much longer than last time, it was all meaningless; it was nothing more than a slow death.

In the first match, Nephalem could have fought faster and won more impressively, but to avoid being the first to stand out, he decided to hold back for now. Currently, the hatred between Kai and Hisumura Tanzaku is the greatest. He is the third, so he should behave himself and not attract too much attention.

Chu Kuangren was defeated, and the first battle came to an end.

Nephalem returned to the audience seats with a natural expression.

Jiu Yi said sourly, "You won pretty easily, didn't you? You're such a coward."

"How could we possibly be defeated?" Nefertari chuckled. Although it sounded a bit pretentious, it was the truth. If they could even lose to Chu Kuangren, there was no point in continuing the battle.

After a short rest, the second battle began, and the two sides were—

Ed, a descendant of the Alchemist Emperor, a former alchemist and now a martial artist, a wild genius.

He's an unlucky guy.

Why do you say that.

Because his opponent was none other than the most invincible and powerful alien race in the entire competition... Kui.

Clearly, everyone was hoping to take advantage of the situation after the others had injured Kei. But someone had to be the first to step up, and that person was Ed. He was the unlucky guy, and it's no exaggeration to say that once he was the first to encounter Kei, he almost completely lost any chance of winning the championship—although there wasn't much of a chance to begin with.

Nephalem appeared calm as he watched the arena, but he was actually very nervous. He was truly aiming for the championship and was terrified that Ed would surrender to conserve his strength and condition. If that happened, Ed's final ranking might be higher. But if everyone fought like that, then no one could defeat Quillie, who would always be at full strength. But who would be willing to sacrifice themselves, to give away their trump cards and peak condition just to injure Quillie and let someone else benefit from it?

Once Ed starts this, there's no way Kai can be defeated. All the participants, except for Himura Tan's Sakura, understand this.

So... should Ed fight?

"You're unlucky."

Ed grinned and used both hands to smooth his wild blond hair back.

"If it were anyone else, they might have just voted. Unfortunately for you, you ran into me."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: It Won't Be You

You won't fight Kui, I won't fight Kui, nobody will fight Kui. As a result, Kui won the championship without injury, and all the martial artists became a laughing stock.

But if I go to fight Kui, I'll use all my cards and go all out, only to be beaten half to death and still be destined to lose to Kui. All my efforts will be in vain. I'll have used all my cards and still be injured. What's the point of me if I end up losing ten in a row?

It sounds simple, but it's actually quite difficult to do. Who would be willing to make such a selfless sacrifice?

Is there anyone who can do this?

—Of course.

That's Ed.

Besides Ed, perhaps someone else would go and fight the reigning champion, such as Himura Tan's stubborn refusal to back down until the very end, or the Nephalem's lifelong competitive spirit that refuses to admit defeat without a fight, or someone else who, representing the honor of their country or martial artist, would reluctantly step in and give it a shot.

But none of them are as good as Ed.

Wild, fearless, crazy, genius, and unconventional—these are all labels attached to him, but they don't entirely define him.

No one could guess what he was thinking, because even he himself didn't know what he was thinking or what he would do. Mu Nandong once said he was half a madman, which was certainly partly due to the madness of the other party's actions at the time. But more so because Ed was indeed somewhat insane.

Just like now, he is going to fight Kui. This battle will do him no good. Just like when he attacked Ying Qin Pass without any warning outside Bird City and in the military camp, he is going to do the same stupid thing again.

But... so what if it's stupid? It doesn't matter.

A martial artist's life is a life of struggle, and even the most foolish struggle is better than no struggle at all. Because compared to fighting, not fighting itself implies an answer.

“You are very brave,” Kui said calmly.

Shenxin held up a small blackboard in the stands.

"To be honest, yes, I approve."

“I’m not brave.” Ed put his hands on his hips, twisting his neck to loosen his muscles. “I’m just not afraid.”

There's a difference between being brave and not being afraid. Even the invincible Shen Xin, when she walks into the dental department of a hospital to have a tooth extracted, will unconsciously feel afraid when she smells the disinfectant. But is she not brave? You're kidding. When she was arguing with Ying Qin Guan, she wanted nothing more than to rush up and smash a blackboard to his head. Look at Jiu Yinai, Fei Tian, ​​and Yu Xietian—after being slain by Ying Qin Guan's consciousness, which one of them didn't swallow their anger and silently recite "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river" before indulging in some kind of Ah Q mentality?

Even brave people have things they are afraid of, but being afraid of something does not mean you are not brave.

Kui remained calm and asked, "Then what are you afraid of?"

Ed struck a pose and laughed arrogantly, "Anyway, it won't be you."

It definitely won't be you!

This answer was enough; everything else was nonsense. Ed didn't continue the conversation with Que. He stomped hard on the ground and flew out in an instant, adding another wound to the already riddled arena floor.

In mid-air, with one foot on the ground, he spun 360 degrees, gathering immense power, and then kicked straight at Kui's forehead with his right foot, accompanied by a fierce wind and violent internal energy.

Ed's fighting style is filled with moves that are more like those of a martial artist than a fighter.

The gap between a martial artist and a fighter is enormous. This gap does not refer to strength, but rather to their core objectives.

Martial arts, or rather most martial arts, are about using techniques to compensate for a lack of offensive power. Therefore, they utilize various forms of leverage to attack the opponent's weaknesses; joint locks, for example, are a typical skill of martial artists.

So what are martial arts skills?

Most martial artists don't lack offensive power; they simply aim for faster and better hits. Therefore, martial artists often don't need many fighting techniques. This is the core difference between martial artists and mixed martial arts fighters, and it has nothing to do with who is stronger or weaker, or whether to praise or criticize them; it's an objective difference.

So, Ed is like a self-taught fighter; he's clearly a top-tier expert. But when he fights, he doesn't act like a martial artist, but rather like a mixed martial artist—which isn't a good habit. However, when facing Kui... it becomes the right choice.

Because when facing the Kai, all martial artists are forced to confront a problem they haven't faced in a long time.

"Insufficient attack power"

boom!

A fierce wind blew in, his inner energy exploded, and Ed's all-out kick landed squarely on Kui's face, however...

【"..?"】

"I kicked...what?"

An unprecedented sense of unease arose in Ed's mind, even though the scene before him was so clear. Yet, Ed felt as if he had been struck by a mental attack, or trapped in some kind of illusion, as if even his body had been deceived.

He felt as if he had kicked a mountain; an immense sense of powerlessness surged over him like a collapsing tsunami, engulfing him in an instant. How could he possibly describe this feeling?

It was like a school sports meet. A bespectacled boy who usually only knew how to study and read was forced to run 3,000 meters. Everyone else finished the task in just over ten minutes. But he was still running for eighteen minutes. In the last hundred meters, his chest felt like it was being burned through. He couldn't breathe at all. His calves felt like they weren't even part of his body. Just as he was about to persevere to the end, he heard a whistle. It turned out that no one had noticed him at all. The next race had already started.

That's the powerlessness, that's the suffocation!

Que did not retaliate. Ed jumped back and landed on the ground, his right leg trembling slightly.

"A powerful blow, but not enough."

Kui stood still, and anyone with a discerning eye could see that he had been slightly pushed back. But it was only a little; besides that, he had also suffered a nosebleed, which was perfectly understandable, given how delicate the nose is.

"As expected... seeing is believing." Ed, having failed in his attack, sensed the difference in their basic attributes. Instead of getting angry, he laughed and clapped his hands, saying, "You are really as strong as a monster."

If someone else had said those words, it might have been a subtle allusion to Kui's alien identity. But Ed said it simply because that's what he thought, and it didn't matter to Kui.

"As expected." Nephalem frowned in the audience. His strength was higher than Ed's, but not by much. Now that Ed was giving Kui a gua sha treatment, he probably wasn't much better off. "Without using weapons, it would be too difficult to injure or even defeat Kui by relying solely on internal energy."

Unfortunately, Nephalem are martial artists who specialize in hand-to-hand combat. Although they can use weapons, everyone knows they fight with their fists. Bringing a weapon into the arena would be incredibly unseemly. If they win, all is well; but if they lose, it's a fateful descent into hell from which there is no return.

"However, if they want to win the championship, both Kai and Himura Tanzaku will have to defeat at least one of them..."

Nephalem scanned the area, trying to find Himura Tanzaku, whose next match was also his. Logically, he should be in the preparation room, but Nephalem figured he might still be with Kamiku.

However, when he glanced around, he didn't see Hiyomura Tan's sword, but instead saw the sword box that Ying Qin Guan had placed to the side.

"Huh...?"

Chapter Thirty: Encountering the Wind and Cloud Guest Again

Although the two sides only exchanged one move, the Nephalem was certain that Edd would lose. The Nephalem didn't care about what the Quill had thrown at him, but as for what the Quill had thrown, was that even possible?

Therefore, Nephalem didn't pay much attention to the battle in the arena. Instead, he searched for Himura Tan's sword. However, he didn't see Himura Tan's sword. Instead, he saw the sword box that Ying Qin had placed to the side. He had heard Yorozuya mention this thing twice, but this was the only time he had actually seen it.

Although he had never seen it before, Nephalem quickly ruled out other options after going through the list in his mind; it could only be Ying Qin Guan.

"Why did you bring this?" the Nephalem asked. "Did you think you'd need it?"

Ying Qin Guan said, "Perhaps it will come in handy."

"That's a disturbing answer..." Nephalem shrugged, saying nothing more, and continued searching for Himura Tanzaku in the arena. However, he still couldn't find her even after Ed's defeat.

Ed's defeat was expected by everyone; no one thought he could win. Kui had withstood all of Ed's attacks head-on, essentially giving him only minor scratches. But Kui's first attack struck, almost knocking Ed unconscious—essentially an instant kill. However, Ed was swept up by a frenzied will and stood up... taking the second blow, which sealed his defeat.

After the battle, Kui remained calm and chose to leave.

Nefertari thought for a moment. At this moment, there were still gray-haired men, Ji Fa, and a series of people who did not know Ying Qin Guan's identity in the room, so he spoke in a rather ambiguous manner.

"Looks like we won't need it."

"Hmm...it seems so. I guess I won't bring it tomorrow."

"What are you talking about? So mysteriously." The gray-haired man came closer. He and Nephalem were in the same year, but he wasn't as familiar with them as the other two. The Martial Arts Department was only so big, so they naturally knew each other.

The Nephalem used a joke to get away with it, saying, "All I can say is that those who know, know..."

As soon as the riddle-like opening line was uttered, the gray-haired man knew that what followed would be nothing but nonsense, and wisely withdrew his head.

"Shiba! It's him again!"

Suddenly, Shinshin raised the small blackboard. The battle between Kai and Ed was over, so naturally the next battle would begin. The two sides fighting were Himura Tansaku and Akira.

Himura Tansaku needs no introduction, he's an old acquaintance. As for Akira, Ying Qin Guan met him once during the Bird City incident. He heard that Akira had been ridiculed for his feminine appearance and had put on a mask. Even now, with no one daring to mock him anymore, he has never taken it off. Perhaps the mask has become a part of him.

Speaking of masks... Ying Qin Guan thought of Wang Qiu Shui again. They had met once before. Ying Qin Guan never expected that this person was still alive and influencing the world in her own way. So what was she doing now? Ming wore a mask because of the unbearable memories of her childhood. So why did Wang Qiu Shui, the freest person in the world, wear a mask?

Ying Qin Guan was pondering things he was destined never to understand, while Nefertari was observing the arena intently. If the goal was to win the championship, he had to defeat either Himura Tan's Sakura or Kai no matter what.

To his disappointment, Hiramura Danzai still hadn't brought a weapon today, meaning he was still hiding his strength... So, when he met him, did he hope he would bring a weapon or not?