Chapter 254: I'm Proud of You!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
The sudden shift in Li Yingjie's aura startled Song Lianlu. His attacking speed slowed reflexively, giving Li Yingjie time to swiftly pull away to face Song Lianlu from a distance once more.
Seeing this, a slight smile appeared on Colonel Tang Yu's face. This representative of the New Cadet Regiment was still not too bad. Although he did not perform well at the start, he had still adapted in the end — only a child like this was worthy of being Luo Lang's teammate ... Colonel Tang Yu's heart had unknowingly begun to lean towards the New Cadet Regiment.
Li Yingjie glared at Song Lianlu. At this moment, he only wanted to rip off a chunk of flesh from the opponent's body somehow, exactly like a savage wolf cub, prepared for its final struggle.
Li Yingjie's fierce gaze made Song Lianlu's heart clench. His expression became grim — even if he was confident in his victory, he did not dare to move recklessly right then.
Seeing the opponent suddenly become hesitant and cautious, Li Yingjie's lips curled into a self-mocking smirk. It turned out that when he himself was resolute, the opponent's aura would also shift in response. Many of his previous inexplicable defeats had truly been his own fault.
Li Yingjie self-mocking smile lasted only for a brief moment before he once again reverted to his typical arrogant and haughty demeanour. The appearance of this expression actually made his initially handsome face rather irritating to look at — apparently changes in mental state would affect one's external appearance. This was also why Li Yingjie had not been very popular in the Central Scout Academy despite being a handsome little fellow.
Still, the attention of the spectating students was not on Li Yingjie's annoying face. Instead, their gazes were drawn to an extremely unique motion he made.
Li Yingjie's remaining mobile right hand was raised slightly forwards, his fingers molded into a strange form ... like a hook but not a hook, like a fist but not a fist. But for some reason, the moment this form appeared, everyone found their attention involuntarily drawn to it.
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"Ah, what move is this?" Seeing this atypical stance, inside the box, Yun Xiu could not help but turn to ask his good friend Li Shiyu in surprise.
"This brat is actually using this move now." Li Shiyu's expression instantly gentled. Earlier, when Li Yingjie was being beaten like a stray dog, his face had been thunderous and unsightly.
"You know?" Yun Xiu stared with starry eyes at Li Shiyu, his face filled with anticipation to hear his best friend's explanation.
This cute moe puppy-dog look made a small smile appear on Li Shiyu's lips, his mood turning for the better instantly. He said, "This is my family's exclusive killing art. Choosing to use it here, it looks like this fellow is prepared for a final plunge."
At this explanation, Yun Xiu turned to look wide-eyed at the screen, excited to see what would happen next.
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Seeing the opponent's strange actions, without even thinking about it, Song Lianlu knew the other was about to do something major. However, he was not like that moron Qi Ya, only wanting to save face and reacting with brute force. As long as the final victory was his, he did not mind if the process was unsightly, or if it was dull and uninteresting.
Thus, Song Lianlu was extremely patient. He chose to continue waiting, waiting for this surging aura of Li Yingjie's to pass. He believed that, having been heavily injured, Li Yingjie would not be able to hold out for too long. This rallied strength of his would certainly pass, and that moment would be Song Lianlu's time to attack.
The scene once more descended into the ennui of the start. On the stage, the two fighters each staked out a separate corner, where they stood unmoving. Time passed bit by bit — one minute, three minutes, five minutes ... the two fighters who seemed content to face off like this forever made the spectating students restless and they began to chat among themselves. The initially quiet and austere combat hall began to rustle with the noise of discussion ...
"How long are they planning to face off like that? This is too boring."
"Isn't that freshman already half-crippled? Why does that Leiting person have to be so careful? Is it necessary?" All these were complaints by the bored people.
"That new cadet's stance is a little cryptic. It's necessary for the Leiting candidate to be cautious."
"Looks like, Leiting's representative can't figure out the depth of the other's move either. But waiting is more advantageous for the Leiting candidate. Even though the fight is more boring this way, this is undeniably the correct way ..." These were the viewpoints of those who supported the prolonged impasse.
The views of the people below the stage were varied. Some scorned Leiting, some supported them, but no one believed that the New Cadet Regiment had any chance of making a comeback in this match. This was because Li Yingjie was already heavily injured, while Song Lianlu of Leiting was completely unharmed. Furthermore, Song Lianlu was obviously the stronger of the two fighters, so unless there was a major accident, the outcome would not change anymore. Right now, all the audience was waiting for was when Song Lianlu would officially defeat Li Yingjie and clinch the victory.
Just when everyone thought that this impasse would continue, Li Yingjie seemed to have run out of stamina and could not hold on any longer. His body swayed slightly ...
Song Lianlu's gaze brightened, and long prepared, he dashed in, leaping at Li Yingjie.
At the moment Li Yingjie had swayed, that immense pressure from that move pressing down on Song Lianlu had collapsed, the threatening sense of danger hanging over his head disappearing completely. Song Lianlu believed that Li Yingjie's broken body could not support the move any longer, so this was definitely the best opportunity for him to attack.
Just when Song Lianlu was about to hit the other's body, he saw the pale-faced Li Yingjie suddenly smile at him. This unexpected smile made Song Lianlu's heart clench, but victory was right in front of him — his fist would strike the opponent in the very next second. Based on his strength, he believed that Li Yingjie was no longer able to muster the energy to fight on ...
Watching from below the stage, when Ling Lan saw this scene, her expression changed abruptly and she stood up quickly. The corners of her lips twitched, but in the end, she only pressed her lips tight in a thin line, expression cold as she waited for the final outcome.
Unwilling to give up on this opportunity, despite the unease in his heart, Song Lianlu clenched his teeth and punched his fist forwards tenaciously. He could not simply give up on this chance just because he could not figure out Li Yingjie's strange smile. Instantly, he felt his fist strike a soft fleshy body.
Bullseye! Song Lianlu was overjoyed — this meant he had won this match.
But before he could even smile in relief and joy, he felt his abdomen hit by a large force. It instantly broke through his defensive layer of internal energy, penetrating into his body.
"Pffft!" A mouthful of blood sprayed out from Song Lianlu's mouth. The powerful force had directly injured his internal organs — his entire body was sent stumbling back seven to eight steps before he managed to stop. However, right after that, he felt his knees fold and he slumped to sit on the ground.
The cause of this phenomenon was the strange and erratic internal energy running amok in his body. It was brutalizing his innards, nerves, and muscles, leaving Song Lianlu with no more strength to remain standing.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Yingjie had similarly been sent stumbling back several steps by Song Lianlu's attack. He retreated even further than Song Lianlu, only stopping when he reached the edges of the stage. Compared to Song Lianlu's injuries, Li Yingjie was undoubtedly hurt even worse. Mouthfuls of blood were being heaved out uncontrollably from his mouth, but even so, he still smiled as he stared at Song Lianlu, smugly and arrogantly.
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"This brat, actually choosing a mutually destructive outcome!" In the second-floor box, Li Shiyu smacked a palm into the wall in a fit of anger, leaving a palm print in it. At one side, Yun Xiu's heart ached once more — it looked like the fewer than few credits he had could not be saved anymore.
Still, heartache aside, he was even more worried about the condition of Li Yingjie. "Shiyu, will your cousin be fine after taking that blow?"
"As long as he still breathes, he won't die," said Li Shiyu flatly.
Li Shiyu may have sounded indifferent, but he was still worried for that disappointing cousin of his deep inside. After all, that brat had clearly been injured severely and was likely unable to move anymore. It was very probable that he would faint dead away on the stage in the very next second. Li Yingjie had not chosen to dodge that heavy blow by Song Lianlu, using his body to take it forcefully instead ... this was full on direct internal damage.
Of course, Li Shiyu also knew well that it was not that Li Yingjie could not dodge — that swaying motion from before, Li Shiyu knew that it had been a lure because the Li family had that particular combination move. However, he had not thought that Li Yingjie would use the method of exchanging injury for injury to counterattack. Although Li Shiyu felt that this was somewhat not worth it, he had to admit that for Li Yingjie to inflict heavy damage on his opponent, this was the only option which had any chance of succeeding. It should be known that if Li Yingjie had chosen to dodge, the opponent would also have had a similar chance of evading Li Yingjie's killer move ...
"This brat has become much more ruthless than before." 'Not only towards others, but also towards himself. Being able to take such ruthless action, this brat has grown up a little more ... it is just unclear whether this growth is good or bad,' thought Li Shiyu somewhat dispiritedly.
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On the stage, Li Yingjie knew he was smiling because he had gravely injured the opponent. The aftereffects of the Li family killing move would be more than enough to trouble the other considerably. He had avenged himself — even if he did not win the match, he did not feel disheartened. He believed that his companions would definitely recover this loss.
Li Yingjie was in fact already at his limit. He felt his head spinning and his vision blur — these were the symptoms of massive blood loss. He knew he should lie down and receive first aid, but for some reason, he did not want to just lie down like this. He wanted to see Boss Lan's face and observe his expression, but he just did not have the strength left to even turn his head around ...
'What a pity, not being able to see Boss Lan's expression at this time ... I wonder if he would be satisfied with my performance today?' Li Yingjie thought somewhat bitterly. So he had yearned so much for Boss Lan's acknowledgement ...
"Li Yingjie, today, I'm proud of you!" The distinctly cold voice belonging to Ling Lan rang out by Li Yingjie's ears. This voice made Li Yingjie's spirits perk up; he actually managed to turn his head and saw that icy yet domineering face of Boss Lan.
Currently, Ling Lan had once again walked over to stand by the edge of the stage. Even though his face was as cold and flat as usual, Li Yingjie could clearly feel the sincerity of his words ...
That will do! Li Yingjie closed his eyes in satisfaction, a smile on his lips as he toppled backwards. However, someone very quickly caught him — it was the referee of the fights, Colonel Tang Yu.
The moment Colonel Tang Yu saw Li Yingjie's condition, he knew the other was already completely unconscious, unable to continue fighting. His condition was dangerous as well — even without using internal energy to probe the other's body, he could tell the other had received extensive internal damage, because blood was still flowing unstoppably from Li Yingjie's mouth even now.