The contestants below the stage were all older than Zhang Yuan. Among them, only one elderly man in his fifties with gray hair was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. Most of the others were between thirty and four years old and should be contestants who had practiced martial arts for many years.
Seeing that the person standing on the stage was young, seemingly only in his early twenties, no one thought Zhang Yuan had a good chance.
In the eyes of these people, contestant number 36 is so young, he must not have been practicing martial arts for long, so his strength should not be very strong!
Many contestants even felt that this young man was a bit arrogant and didn't know how to be patient and observant.
If you're not strong enough, rushing into the game at the beginning can easily lead to being eliminated by stronger opponents, resulting in a loss in the first round, affecting your score, and also impacting your mindset later on.
At this point, the best strategy is to wait and observe the strength of others.
Perhaps because they all thought contestant number 36 was young and not very strong, several contestants below the stage were eager to try and go up on stage.
Pick on the weakest opponent first. If there's a weaker player, go for it quickly. Otherwise, someone else will beat you to it, and you'll lose such a good opportunity to score points.
Therefore, as soon as the referee finished speaking, two or three contestants stood up at the same time, wanting to go up and fight.
Among them, the tall man closest to the ring, with his back to a number 7, jumped onto the ring first and seized this rare opportunity.
After contestant number 7 stepped onto the ring, he clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to the other two contestants who also wanted to come up and said: "Excuse me, gentlemen, I'll go up first!"
The other two had no choice but to return to their seats.
"My name is Dongfang Shuo, a black belt in Taekwondo. I have been practicing Taekwondo for ten years. Please enlighten me."
The man, who identified himself as Dongfang Shuo, introduced himself and then clenched his fist in a salute to Zhang Yuan.
Zhang Yuan, mimicking Dongfang Shuo, returned the greeting with clasped hands and said, "I am Zhang Yuan, a freshman at Tongcheng University, and I have been practicing Yiquan for one year!"
Zhang Yuan originally wanted to say he would practice Yiquan for 3 months, but then changed his mind and said 1 year.
In reality, he was a cultivator and hadn't practiced Yiquan much.
This was all to conceal his identity as a cultivator and to give himself a plausible identity for participating in the competition.
After Zhang Yuan finished speaking, a commotion and discussion arose from the audience below the stage.
"No wonder he looks so young, he's a college student!"
"To dare to participate in a competition after only one year of practicing Yiquan is truly commendable!"
"A young man with no experience is unreliable. He'll be knocked off the stage soon, yet he dares to be the first to go up. This young man is truly ignorant of his own limitations."
...
"Tongcheng City Martial Arts Competition, Group 1, Round 1: Yiquan prodigy Zhang Yuan VS Taekwondo black belt master Dongfang Shuo!"
The referee read it aloud and then blew his whistle.
The competition has officially begun.
Taekwondo is known for its use of the legs. Dongfang Shuo is over 1.9 meters tall, a tall and strong man, more than ten centimeters taller than Zhang Yuan. His long legs look full and strong, full of explosive power.
It seems that a single kick can decide the outcome.
At this moment, Dongfang Shuo clenched his fists and placed them in front of his chest, while his feet rhythmically bounced on the ring, assuming the standard fighting stance of a Taekwondo athlete.
He was looking for an opportunity to make a move.
Zhang Yuan spread his arms out, one in front of the other, with his legs slightly apart—a move that allowed him to both attack and defend.
Dongfang Shuo danced on the stage for a while. Seeing that Zhang Yuan did not take the initiative to attack, he seized an opportunity to take the lead and probe with his leg.
Although his opponent was young, he did not let his guard down.
Her long, muscular legs shot straight at Zhang Yuan's chest like the wind.
The speed and power drew cheers from the audience.
"As expected of a ten-year black belt in Taekwondo, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to withstand that kick unscathed!"
Offstage, some of the weaker contestants were already secretly relieved that they hadn't encountered Dongfang Shuo, otherwise they would probably have been doomed.
Just as everyone was marveling at the speed and power of Dongfang Shuo's kick, a black shadow suddenly flashed past at an extremely fast speed.
Many people didn't even see how Zhang Yuan kicked, but they saw Dongfang Shuo, the Taekwondo black belt expert number 7, fall to the ground with a thud!
A commotion erupted below the arena.
The one who was knocked down was none other than Dongfang Shuo, a black belt master who had practiced Taekwondo for ten years and whom everyone had high hopes for.
call!
This was completely unexpected.
A ten-year Taekwondo black belt master couldn't even withstand a single blow from a college student. It's hard to tell whether the Taekwondo black belt master was weak or the college student was incredibly strong!
Dongfang Shuo collapsed to the ground, feeling a sharp pain in his chest, and was somewhat dazed!
How did he just kick?
I didn't see it clearly!
Dongfang Shuo only felt a flash of leg before his eyes, then a sharp pain in his chest, and he was sent flying backward!
He didn't even have time to react during the whole process!
Such powerful legs, such fast speed!
impossible!
He's so young and has only been practicing Yiquan for a year. He couldn't possibly have that kind of skill. I must have been careless just now!
Despite the excruciating pain, Dongfang Shuo got up from the ground.
He continued the match by rhythmically bouncing his feet on the ring.
Zhang Yuan's kick just now had already revealed his opponent's strength; it was nothing special.
After getting up, Dongfang Shuo did not hold back this time. He found what he thought was a good opportunity to strike and kicked out with a whistling sound.
Strike straight at Zhang Yuan's vital point!
This kick was even more powerful and faster than the last one!
Dongfang Shuo was probably eager to save face, after all, he was a black belt in Taekwondo and was more than ten years older than the contestant in front of him!
It would be too humiliating to be defeated in one kick.
Bang!
Unsurprisingly, the familiar scene unfolded once again.
Dongfang Shuo, a ten-year black belt in Taekwondo, was lying on the ground again, his mouth twitching, clutching his abdomen in pain...
Everyone fell silent.
By this time, most people had already noticed some clues.
This young man doesn't seem as weak as I thought.
But it's also possible that Dongfang Shuotai is really bad at it!
After all, these days, there are plenty of people who have only learned a little bit and call themselves masters.
Dongfang Shuo struggled a few times and barely managed to stand up. His face was ashen, and he was no longer able to continue the match.
The referee glanced at the timer in his hand. The match lasted only 3 minutes from start to finish. That was way too fast.
Finally, he announced: "In this round, number 36, Zhang Yuan, wins!"
The medical staff from the competition team helped Dongfang Shuo off the ring to rest and get checked out.
Before the competition, each participant signed a commitment agreement stating that reasonable physical harm caused by such sparring is permissible, as long as it is not done intentionally with excessive force.
After Dongfang Shuo stepped down from the stage, the referee asked Zhang Yuan, who was still on the stage, if he wanted to rest and let the others fight first.
According to the competition rules, the winning side can choose to continue to the second game, or choose to rest first and let the others play first.
The referee thought Zhang Yuan would choose to rest and recharge before finding a suitable opponent for the second match, but Zhang Yuan refused.
Let's move on to the next match!
Zhang Yuan said.
Many of the contestants in the audience were slightly taken aback when they heard Zhang Yuan say this.
Young people are prone to acting impulsively!
Having already secured 2 points, shouldn't we take a break before finding a second opponent to compete against?
As Zhang Yuan finished speaking, a boxer with muscular arms, clearly a boxer, stood up from his seat and walked towards the ring from the right side of the contestants' seats.
"I'll take the second round!"
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