Chapter 78 Oda's Love

In that flash of lightning, Oda Ai used a move called [Kūchū Shōgetsu: Kanshō], her katana aimed at Tianma Xingkong's right abdomen with ethereal speed.

Oda had identified a flaw in Little Ma's stance before making her move. Unless the latter used a skill or item effect, it would be impossible to dodge or block this attack... but everyone knew that Tianma Xingkong had no such defensive means... Therefore, this move could be said to be a sure kill.

However, in this situation, Little Ma managed to fight his opponent to a mutually destructive outcome.

His method wasn't complicated either—ukemi, rotation, counterattack.

When damage was unavoidable, he would try to minimize it and use the gap after the opponent's slash to strike back.

A very simple approach, but... correct and effective.

After the exchange, although Oda Ai cut a bloody gash on Tianma Xingkong's abdomen, a piece of flesh was also grazed off her own right shoulder by a fist.

Both sides splattered blood on the arena, but... in terms of injuries, Oda had a slight advantage.

"This guy... here he comes again..." This round of offense and defense made Oda Ai even more annoyed; because in S2, she was defeated by Little Ma in a similar situation—she had clearly used a sure-kill move that was 100% guaranteed to succeed, but the opponent was able to launch a counterattack in a desperate situation.

If she were facing anyone other than Tianma Xingkong, she wouldn't be so angry... but the problem was that she was fighting Little Ma.

To make an analogy, Tianma Xingkong was like someone who only knew how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes in a cooking competition, while the vast majority of his competitors had mastered dozens of dishes spanning two cuisines—it's one thing to lose to someone else, but losing to him was naturally infuriating.

...

"She's lost her cool so quickly, it seems like Little Ma and his team have a chance." At this time, Feng Bujue, who was watching the live broadcast of the match in the conference room, revealed a smile and commented with a tilt of his head, "Speaking of... Oda Ai, that little brat, is really lacking in common sense... She's already fought Little Ma once, and she still hasn't realized the other side's brilliance."

"Uh..." The next second, Snow replied with a doubtful expression, "To be honest... I can't see where Tianma Xingkong is so brilliant. I've watched a lot of his match recordings... Apart from basic physical skills, he usually uses no more than two active skills, and I've never seen him use any schemes or tactics..."

"Ha!" Upon hearing this, Brother Jue gave a dry laugh and asked in return, "Then let me ask you... If you only used two or three skills and didn't use any tricks, could you achieve his winning percentage in the first two seasons?"

"That's absolutely impossible..." Snow replied without even thinking, but after saying this, his expression changed, "Huh? That's right... Why can he still win against so many experts under such conditions?"

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You know the term 'artisan spirit', right?"

"Of course, I know it," Snow replied.

Feng Bujue nodded and continued, "Tianma Xingkong is the kind of person who is born with this kind of potential..." He paused, "The way these people's brains work is different. They can be immersed in 'exploring infinity and limits in a limited field'; while most of us... don't confine ourselves to a specific field. Our nature makes us more inclined to explore our self-worth in a diversified way, and in the end, it also makes us waste our years and lose ourselves in that infinite world..."

"Actually, you can just say..." Snow followed Brother Jue's train of thought and continued, "Tianma Xingkong has already practiced his physical skills and his few Pegasus Fist moves to the limit... I get it."

"That's not something that can be described by the mere word 'limit'," Feng Bujue said, "What he does is something that people like you and me... even if we can understand it, it's difficult to do." He raised his chin, signaling Snow to continue watching the live broadcast, "For example, Oda Ai... she can't understand what it's like to fight with only one or two active skills. Because she has never fought under that kind of 'almost no room for choice' condition. Even in those failed situations, until the moment she was killed, she still had more than one choice to respond... But Little Ma has long been accustomed to fighting under the premise that there is no other choice in the eyes of ordinary people... He can already create 'infinity' in 'limited', that is—relying on instinct to make 'extra choices beyond common sense'."

...

At the same moment, on the battlefield.

The offensive and defensive between the two had escalated again. Oda Ai's fighting spirit rose with the raging fire, and Tianma Xingkong's Little Universe also burned accordingly.

At this time, the duration of [Three Steps of Cooperation] was already over, and Imagawa Yoshimoto could not intervene in this level of offensive and defensive in any other form... because the speed of the two had exceeded his dynamic vision. If he forcibly intervened, he would only interfere with his teammates or be "accidentally" hit by the enemy.

But the embarrassing thing was... Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't dare to challenge Bi Laoshi alone. For him, that was more stupid than intervening in the battle, it was simply sending himself to death in vain.

Therefore, Imagawa Yoshimoto could only wander around the vicinity of Oda and Little Ma's battle formation, on the one hand, helping his teammates guard against Bi Laoshi's movements, and on the other hand, waiting for an opportunity to provide support.

"Why? Why can't I win? Why can't I win against this guy whose fighting methods are so poor it's pitiful!" As time went on, Oda Ai became more and more anxious. She clearly had an advantage in hard power, but now she was being countered by a "self-restrained" opponent in the area of "close-quarters combat," which she was most confident in. The mental blow was self-evident.

"Calm down!" Finally, Imagawa Yoshimoto on the side couldn't help it. He shouted loudly at his teammate, "As long as the two of you cooperate, that kind of guy can be easily taken care of!"

Oda Ai, who had gradually lost the first wave of momentum, did regain some sanity after being shouted at by him.

"That's right... Why do I have to use this method to decide the winner with him? A player like Tianma Xingkong... can be taken care of even by two second-team members as long as they cooperate a little." Oda thought to herself, "But... I'm really unwilling... I've fought to this point, if I were to make a detour and pull in my teammates to fight again, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting that I lost to him in a head-on duel?"

"You seem to be worried about something?" Just as Oda Ai was hesitating, suddenly, Tianma Xingkong actually asked her a question.

"Huh?" Oda naturally couldn't show Little Ma any good attitude, she immediately replied in that delinquent girl's tone, "What are you talking about?"

When the two of them were talking, the clash of fists and katana never stopped, and the sound of fighting spirits colliding continued incessantly.

"Mental hesitation will be reflected in action..." After throwing a few more punches, Little Ma continued, "Because your katana has slowed down, that's why I'm asking you."

"Enough nonsense!" These words made Oda Ai even more unhappy, "If you're afraid of dying too slowly, I can speed it up and fulfill you!"

Who knew, just as Oda Ai said these words...

"No, you no longer have that chance..." Tianma Xingkong's left hand firmly grabbed Oda Ai's wrist holding the katana.

"What!" This grab shocked Oda Ai; for a master of her level, this kind of situation where someone grabs her vitals only occurs when she reveals a huge flaw or her speed is crushed by her opponent.

"You are very strong..." Tianma Xingkong said seriously in his heroic tone, "From the beginning, I was pushed to the limit by you, I didn't even think I could last until now..." As he spoke, he had twisted Oda Ai's wrist, causing her body to turn around. Then, he moved half a step and went behind Oda Ai, changing his posture to pass his hands through the other party's armpits and clamp down on her shoulders from above, "If it weren't for your brief distraction this time... I wouldn't have had the slightest chance..."

"What are you going to do!" Oda Ai was so angry that she was about to bite her teeth to pieces, but she could only be fierce at this moment, and had no way to break free from the restraint.

Fortunately... she still had teammates.

Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was more than ten meters away from the two, immediately flashed behind Tianma Xingkong when he saw that they had stopped their ultra-high-speed offensive and defensive and entered a stalemate, and threw out two shuriken.

With two "poof" sounds, the two flying objects successfully penetrated the Saint Cloth's defense and pierced into Little Ma's back, creating two bloody flowers.

However... this was not enough to kill Tianma Xingkong.

"Hah—" Not only did it not kill him, but it also stimulated him to let out a chuuni roar, "I'll leave the rest to you! Bi Laoshi!"

Before the roar ended, a piece of music actually sounded on the battlefield... This melody was also well-known, it was a famous anime song from the last century—the instrumental version of "Pegasus Fantasy".

...

"What the hell?"

"Hey, hey... the BGM is out..."

"Is there even this kind of operation?"

"Could it be added by the broadcaster?"

"Doesn't look like it, I think it's... built into the skill?"

"The last skill with the 'lights off' effect was already so strong, isn't this one with its own burning song going to destroy the heavens and earth?"

The audience's reactions and speculations were generally correct...

At this moment, Tianma Xingkong had indeed activated his ultimate move; what he used was not [Pegasus Meteor Fist], nor was it [Pegasus Comet Fist], but the second-stage soul intent born on the basis of his soul intent "Little Universe"...

...

It was too late, but soon!

Before Imagawa Yoshimoto's follow-up attack arrived, Little Ma had already raised his legs and clamped Oda Ai's legs, and the two of them immediately fell to the ground... Seen from the side, their bodies formed a tire-like ring.

"Take this!" Then, Little Ma reported the name of this move he created and named himself in a straightforward manner, "Pegasus Revolving Crush Invincible Wind Fire Wheel!"

What was different from the general "Invincible Wind Fire Wheel" was that this move did not need to be launched on the steps, it could take effect on flat ground...

Integrating the high-speed rotation power of the [Pegasus Revolving Crush Fist], attaching the huge energy generated by burning out the Little Universe, and combining the ridiculously embarrassing action of the [Invincible Wind Fire Wheel]... its destructive power was even greater than [Useless Strong Hit], and it was really not something that manpower could stop.

It can be said... when Little Ma began to "roll" with Oda Ai, the ending of the two perishing together was a foregone conclusion.