The Way of Restraint

Chapter 164: The Competition Begins – Dragons or Worms

Although Su Jie had never met Liu Long face to face, he had watched many videos of him and simulated battles using smart modules, so he knew both himself and his opponent well. 

Now that the person himself was present on the competition stage, he appeared quite ordinary—not too tall or short, not too fat or thin, balanced and steady. 

If one word could describe Liu Long, it would be “steady.” 

Terrifyingly steady. Steady enough that the eight winds could not move him.

Liu Long answered a few interviews and then sat down in his designated competition position, waiting for his turn. He seemed relaxed, without any pressure, and it was clear he frequently participated in competitions; this kind of occasion was as casual for him as eating a meal. 

After he sat down, reporters surrounded him for interviews and took photos. It wasn’t until the staff on-site intervened that the reporters reluctantly left. However, no reporters came to interview Su Jie about his martial arts club.

To the external news media, they simply did not understand martial arts or the fighting community, and thus could not tell who was skilled or unskilled; they didn’t even know who was who.

“Almost ninety percent of the people are very nervous,” Su Jie observed as he looked around, quickly grasping the mindset of many competitors. 

If he wanted to win the championship this time, there were two major obstacles: Feng Hengyi and Liu Long. 

He might also encounter Zhang Jinchuan, but deep down, he already understood Zhang Jinchuan’s abilities well enough to feel about seventy to eighty percent confident in defeating him. After all, he had returned from the war-torn lands and had undergone numerous insights and improvements; he was no longer that young lad from before.

“I have a significant disadvantage against Liu Long. The first disadvantage is experience—his ring experience is much richer than mine. The second disadvantage is time; no matter what, I’ve only been learning martial arts for a little over a year, while he has been training for twenty years. Some things can only be achieved through time; there are no shortcuts. But I also have advantages: first, I am ten years younger than him; the young bull is not afraid of tigers. Second, he is in the light while I am in the dark. He doesn’t know who I am, but I have often observed his battles and fully understand his style. Third, he bears the halo of being first; he cannot afford to lose, while I have no fame to protect—losing to him wouldn’t be embarrassing, allowing me to unleash my full strength without reservation; he carries some psychological burden. Fourth, although he has trained longer, the quality of his training does not match mine. His early coaches were national-level but cannot be compared to Odell of the God Makers; this is also where my advantage lies.”

In Su Jie’s mind, he immediately began to compare strengths and weaknesses.

“As for Feng Hengyi, there is very little information on him. So far, I’ve only fought against him once and was knocked out by two punches; I couldn’t discern much.” Su Jie analyzed Feng Hengyi further: “He has essentially been training since he was in the womb; in terms of time, I can’t compare with him at all, and my experience is far less than his. I was trained by Odell, but he has spent much longer in the Typhoon Training Camp than I have; I don’t have an advantage in coaching either. As for mindset… this person appears no different from an ordinary person on the surface, but deep down, he seems like a wild beast—a ferocious beast devoid of humanity. Therefore, human psychological states cannot be applied to him; thoughts like coarse thinking, fine thinking, non-thinking, or living dead states cannot be measured with him.”

In the few seconds of analysis, Su Jie realized that he might have a thirty to forty percent chance of defeating Liu Long but felt hopeless against Feng Hengyi.

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

As all the contestants took their seats, the staff on-site ushered the reporters to the media area, separating them from the contestants to prevent any interference. In the massive sports venue, nine rings were set up for simultaneous matches.

In this kind of competition, the efficiency is high, and the audience enjoys it immensely. On online streaming platforms, the viewership far exceeds that of ordinary boxing matches. To the audience, regular boxing matches can be quite dull; it seems like two chickens fighting, exchanging blows back and forth, and after ten minutes, there’s still no winner. What the audience seeks now is something quick and decisive, ideally resolving the battle within a few seconds—clean and neat, aligning with the true style of ancient battlefield combat. This is also why the small-scale arena matches at Minglun Martial Arts Academy have become so popular online. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” At this moment, a bald foreigner stepped onto the stage, acting as the host for this Haoyu Cup, roaring loudly in English. Just then, a lot of data appeared on the big screen. 

“Haoyu is impressive; even ‘Big Mouth’ can be invited to host, instantly elevating the status of this event by a lot,” Zhang Jinchuan exclaimed in admiration. The bald foreigner on stage is known as “Big Mouth,” a famous host and manager in the combat sports world. He holds immense fame among investors and operators of various events, especially in international circles. He is known for his loud mouth and has many fans abroad; he often commentates on international boxing championships.

“Big Mouth” passionately hyped up the crowd with rich body language; even those who couldn’t understand him felt the atmosphere getting intense. This host indeed had a great talent for energizing the crowd. Beep beep beep beep beep…..

After he finished boasting, the names of the competitors participating in the match appeared on the big screen. 

On the ring, the judges had already taken their positions; they were all top international judges, the standards so high that they surpassed all domestic events. 

It must have cost a lot of money to hire these judges. 

“It’s my turn.” Su Jie saw his name on the big screen and nodded at Zhang Jinchuan and Zhang Manman before walking straight onto the stage. 

He was wearing traditional martial arts attire and had put on fingerless gloves, competing according to mixed martial arts rules. 

The rules for this match weren’t free fighting but mixed martial arts, as this type of combat is quicker without the restrictions of boxing gloves, making it suitable for grappling and throwing techniques, ideal for resolving fights swiftly. 

The competitor who stepped onto the stage at the same time as Su Jie was wearing the uniform of the Fire Tiger Fighting Club, a professional fighter from a place called Fire Tiger Fighting Club. 

This competitor was relatively young, around twenty-three or twenty-four, but his demeanor was quite seasoned; after stepping up, his breathing and heartbeat were completely steady, showing no signs of nervousness. 

Generally speaking, even national-level professional fighters experience some tension or excitement during matches, leading to irregular heartbeat and breathing, with adrenaline spiking abnormally. 

Yet this fighter could maintain control, indicating he was quite a formidable character; it’s also possible he didn’t recognize Su Jie and viewed him as just an unknown minor player, which contributed to his relaxed mentality. 

Due to Hua Xing’s operations, Su Jie had a decent reputation within the circle, even Tan Dashi knew him. However, there were still many in the martial arts and fighting circles who did not know him; the circle wasn’t large but very deep. Su Jie roughly estimated that only a small portion of the fighting community had seen his video defeating Zhou Chun.

This competitor before him definitely hadn’t seen it. 

“Being distracted isn’t a good sign.” The Fire Tiger Fighting competitor noticed Su Jie lost in thought and smiled, as if he had already secured victory in the first round. 

“Begin!” 

The foreign referee maintained a poker face and didn’t pay attention to the mindset or expressions of Su Jie and his opponent; he simply issued the command according to the rules. 

Whoosh! 

Su Jie moved. 

He spun around and slipped behind the Fire Tiger Fighting Club fighter, wrapping his arms around his waist and lifting him before slamming him down. 

The competitor didn’t even get a chance to fight back; he lost his breath and after ten calls from the referee without getting up, was declared defeated. 

Su Jie massaged him a couple of times before the Fire Tiger fighter came to his senses, his first question being, “What just happened? Where am I?” 

When a person suffers a significant impact leading to unconsciousness, they may experience a brief state of amnesia. 

A few seconds later, upon seeing his surroundings clearly, he understood what had happened—he had been taken down by Su Jie’s back throw in an instant. 

“Nice one.” After Su Jie stepped down from the stage, Zhang Jinchuan gave him a thumbs up: “Your throwing technique is so superb; it seems you’ve gained new insights recently. If I were to face you, I might need to struggle to determine a winner.” 

“I hope we don’t meet; otherwise, our team would be at a disadvantage.” The reason Su Jie used throwing techniques was that he didn’t want others to realize that his trump card was “Hoe Strike,” and he also wanted to validate his theory of “root,” achieving what’s known in judo as an “air throw,” which is considered a trick in traditional martial arts called “Eighteen Falls of Clothing.” Furthermore, mastering throwing techniques would also significantly enhance his skills in “Hoe Strike.” 

The “Hoe Strike” involves seizing the enemy, engaging in close combat, tearing and throwing in one fluid motion. 

“I’m going for a urine test.” After chatting with Zhang Jinchuan for a bit, Su Jie went for his urine test. 

The tournament had strict regulations—completely transparent—prohibiting the use of performance-enhancing drugs; thus every match required a urine test afterward. Su Jie wasn’t worried about Haoyu pulling any tricks. 

He was on guard and even somewhat hoped Haoyu would try something; if caught red-handed with evidence, he could pursue him relentlessly. 

After completing the urine test and everything came back normal, Su Jie frowned, realizing Feng Hengyi hadn’t taken him seriously. 

Winning the first match didn’t mean much; this tournament was elimination-based with no loser brackets—losing just one match meant losing all opportunity. The first day was an intense elimination round; the real highlights would come in the following days. 

Although this kind of competition was fierce, it still didn’t compare to smaller ring matches. 

That kind of event was somewhat similar to ancient arena challenges, allowing consecutive challenges that were more enticing. 

However, if aiming for an international tournament, such old-fashioned methods wouldn’t be feasible. 

Zhang Jinchuan quickly had his turn as well; he went up and performed a simple yet beautiful grappling technique, flipping his opponent’s arm to make them surrender completely while conserving energy for the upcoming tough battles. 

He looked forward to facing Liu Long; if he could defeat him, he would gain fame overnight. 

Zhang Manman had an easy time in the women’s division, quickly defeating her opponent. However, it seemed there were some skilled players emerging in the women’s group as well. 

After all, both male and female champions received equal prize money. 

After Su Jie finished his first match, he continued to watch closely as Liu Long also took to the stage against a national-level club competitor who clearly felt intimidated by Liu Long; after two feints, he was swept off his feet by Liu Long’s leg sweep and lost his fighting capability.