Era of Mist

Chapter 161: Chapter 160: Another Tumble Takes Down He Chong

CREAK— ’To the right!’ Shi Tiexin glanced right. A familiar figure with an unbridled smile flashed past him, grinning as if releasing all his pent-up frustration at once.

’Again!’

CREAK— ’To the left!’ Shi Tiexin glanced left. He Chong’s stupid face was stretched into an even more ridiculous grin, his cheeks jiggling as he zipped around.

’I can’t be wrong. This is definitely it!’

’This kind of unpredictable footwork requires constant application of force in various directions through the soles of the feet. He’s using sudden changes in direction to become erratic and elusive. The first volume of basic physics explained this perfectly in the Chapter on force and motion.’

Shi Tiexin’s mind raced as an idea began to stir.

’To generate acceleration, you need force...’

’Right now, He Chong is mainly relying on the friction between the soles of his shoes and the floor...’

’Friction is determined by the pressure on the contact surface and the coefficient of friction. The pressure is hard to change, but the coefficient of friction...’

Shi Tiexin’s gaze swept downward, and his pupils contracted, locking onto something. ’Yes, that’s it! Even though I can pinpoint He Chong’s position now, I can’t just squander this chance. I have to make the most of it, maximize its effect. Ideally, I’ll eliminate He Chong’s greatest advantage in one fell swoop!’

CREAK— ’Behind me!’

A piercing pain shot through his back. He Chong’s attacks had grown fiercer and bolder.

”Hahaha!” He Chong, his cheeks jiggling, finally burst out laughing. ”See? You’re no match for me at all! I can make you stand there and take a beating whenever I want, and you won’t even be able to touch a hair on my head!”

The man, fast as the wind, laughed with glee as he darted about like a whirlwind. He channeled his essence energy, tensed his legs, and twisted his ankle. Just as the sole of his foot was about to hit the floor with explosive force for another graceful pivot—SWISH! Something suddenly shot into the gap between his shoe and the floorboard.

With a sudden *ZIIIIP*, the unexpected happened! He Chong felt the world spin. The foot that should have been planted firmly was now impossibly slick.

It was a floorboard!

A piece of a broken floorboard!

Earlier, Shi Tiexin had shattered a floorboard with a single stomp, creating numerous fragments. These fragments had been carried over with him into the semi-final arena. Just now, Shi Tiexin had kicked three of these fragments, smooth-side-up, toward He Chong’s feet. Under Shi Tiexin’s eager gaze, the largest piece slid perfectly under He Chong’s sole.

Thus, the sole of He Chong’s shoe gripped the rough, unfinished side of the wood fragment securely. But the waxed side of the fragment and the waxed surface of the main floor immediately began to grind against one another. Grind, grind, grind... on this smoooooth floor!

*ZIIIP!* The smile had yet to fade from He Chong’s face. With that same unbridled grin, he spun around like a ballerina and went sliding across the floor.

SMACK!

He landed flat on his face!

He Chong was down!

”How is that possible!”

The spectators outside the Wenxin Secret Realm were in an uproar. The dignitaries on the main platform were also astonished. But the most dumbfounded of all was He Chong himself, who had no idea what had just happened as his face slammed hard onto the floor.

’I... I... Fuck!’

’What’s going on?!’

’How did I just slip and fall?!’

’I was just getting into my groove, and then I eat floor? How damn embarrassing!’

’No, no, no, this isn’t the time to be embarrassed, I’m still in the test!’ He Chong snapped his head up, his eyes wide with alarm, only to see a massive figure pouncing toward him like a soaring dragon. The man was already horizontal in mid-air, his elbow cocked, pouring all his strength and body weight into a single strike. Like Mount Tai crashing down, the elbow plummeted toward He Chong’s knee.

”HRAAAGH—!”

SNAP! With a sound like the flick of a finger, Shi Tiexin also channeled the force of a chamber explosion into the strike.

’This is the perfect chance, I won’t get a second one!’

’If I miss this shot, my chances of winning are practically zero!’

With a loud CRACK, under the nervous gaze of the crowd, He Chong flipped over with a leg-kicking Thomas flare. Shi Tiexin’s heavy elbow smashed into the ground, shattering a large section of the floorboards. It was easy to imagine that if the blow had landed, He Chong’s knee would have been completely ruined.

Unfortunately, He Chong had dodged it with a kick of his legs.

He planted his hands on the ground, vaulted up into a handstand, and pushed off repeatedly to propel himself far away from Shi Tiexin before finally landing, gasping for breath.

”Hah... hah... heh, heheh, HAHAHAHA!” Beads of sweat as large as peas rolled down He Chong’s forehead, splattering onto the floor. But he began to laugh hysterically.

It was a panicked laugh.

A relieved laugh.

The laugh of a man who had nearly been undone by a simple trick, only to escape by the skin of his teeth at the last moment.

”HAHAHAHAHA!” He Chong landed on both feet and flipped up to a standing position. ”Shi Tiexin, you’ve missed your last chance! I—”

His hysterical laughter died in his throat. He Chong froze, staring blankly at Shi Tiexin nearby. Shi Tiexin was also panting, sweat dripping from his forehead, but he showed no sign of dejection at his near miss. In fact, he almost looked pleased.

”These shoes of yours,” Shi Tiexin said, dangling a pair of Martial Arts Shoes from his hand. ”Pretty expensive, huh? Must be worth a few hundred points.”

He Chong wanted to retort, ’You country bumpkin, you have no idea. How could Martial Arts Shoes like mine possibly cost a mere few hundred points?’ But he held his tongue. He just stared blankly at Shi Tiexin and asked in a daze, ”You took my shoes?”

That’s right. In Shi Tiexin’s hand were, unmistakably, He Chong’s shoes!

Just now, as He Chong kicked his legs wildly like a rabbit to dodge the elbow strike, Shi Tiexin had reached out in that split second and snatched the shoes right off his feet.

He Chong was dumbfounded. ”What did you take my shoes for?”

’What for?’

Shi Tiexin glanced at the socks on He Chong’s feet. ’Hm, they look expensive. Silky smooth... And ”smooth” is good enough for me!’

And so, Shi Tiexin hurled the shoes to the far edge of the realm. He then started toward He Chong. His walk became a jog, then an all-out sprint. Like a heavy-duty truck at full throttle, he charged straight at He Chong, his expression ferocious and his presence overwhelming.

He Chong panicked. He tried to push off with his feet to dodge, but with a *ZIIIIP* he staggered, nearly falling over. He had generated no lateral movement whatsoever.

”Heheh!” The ’warm-hearted’ youth grinned. ”Interesting!”

”Sigh...” someone on the main platform lamented. ”I didn’t expect that. I really didn’t.” ”That poor kid actually has some brains.” ”It’s nothing special. Just a petty trick!”

But no matter how ”petty” the trick, it couldn’t change He Chong’s fate.

With a thunderous BOOM, He Chong was sent flying by Shi Tiexin’s charge, looking like a pedestrian run over by a truck. ”PUH!” His face was flushed red, his eyes bulged, and he coughed up a spray of blood as the protective layer of light over his chest almost completely shattered.