The audience seats erupted in boos. A martial arts performance meant to showcase dazzling, spectacular combat skills had degenerated into a one-sided slaughter, completely robbing the match of its entertainment value.
"Damn, has Taekwondo gotten this dirty now? If you want to defeat someone, do it decisively. They want to cripple his limbs – they're worse than beasts!"
"Exactly, why isn't the referee intervening?"
The spectators were highly displeased. In their minds, Taekwondo was supposed to be a competition of graceful movements and elegant, agile leg techniques, a contest of seventy percent performance and thirty percent combat. But now, it was going in the complete opposite direction.
Zou Long took a step forward, his expression a little ferocious. If Shen Lan Ni hadn't held him back, who knew what trouble he might have caused.
"What are you doing?"
"Stopping the match, of course! Do you think I'll just let that bastard beat him up?"
"There are thirty seconds left until the next round. Let's wait a moment." Shen Lan Ni's face was grave, but stopping the match now was definitely not a good idea. She knew very well what kind of shadow it would cast on a professional Taekwondo athlete.
"If we wait any longer, that kid might be crippled!"
Shen Lan Ni said nothing, only silently counting down in her heart, her eyes moving with Peng Lin's evasive maneuvers without blinking.
Finally, the thirty seconds, which felt like an eternity to Shen Lan Ni, passed. Peng Lin, gritting his teeth, managed to make it to the ringside rest area. Everyone crowded around him, Shen Lan Ni being the first to rush onto the ring to support him.
"Kid, your hand~"
Only then did Shen Lan Ni get a clear look at his hand under the bright lights. It was covered in a mixture of blue and red bruises, swollen and tender. The moment she touched it, she heard him gasp in pain, his face contorted in agony.
"Coach, I'm fine." Peng Lin slumped onto the stool, even deliberately flexing his wrists to reassure Shen Lan Ni. The movement caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
"Still trying to tough it out? This is only the first round."
Shen Lan Ni retrieved some iodine and mixed it with ice water, constantly dabbing his hand. She then sprayed it with Yunnan Baiyao aerosol, her face filled with concern.
"I didn't expect the coach to care about us so much. Look, I'm so touched I could cry."
"Don't. You're crying from pain. How are you holding up? Can you continue?" Shen Lan Ni's tone immediately became serious.
"Yes, I'm okay. If I quit now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Peng Lin looked up at the dense crowd and the atmosphere under the spotlights. He felt that all his efforts were worth it. Even if he were to be beaten miserably, at least in the future, when he looked back, he could remember his stubborn and resilient self today.
"But aren't you afraid of ruining your career?"
Just as Peng Lin was about to brush it off, he met Shen Lan Ni's eyes. He felt a stern and serious light flashing in them, which made him hesitate for a moment.
After a brief pause, he suddenly grinned like a skinny monkey. "Scared? Of course, I'm scared. But my soul won't allow me to bend the knee."
"That's too chuunibyo. Since you've chosen this path, I must remind you of something. I've been observing Pang Qiang. I noticed his stance is a bit strange whenever he uses his flying kicks. Perhaps you can use that opportunity to counter-attack. I believe with your insight, you've already seen some flaws."
Shen Lan Ni wanted to say more, but unfortunately, the bell for the second round had already rung, and all non-participants quickly cleared the ring.
Pang Qiang twisted his fist and walked to the center of the ring. Seeing Peng Lin performing a basic bow, he lowered his body and muttered, "Useless. I bet you guys stay with that seductive woman because you're lusting after her beauty. Tsk tsk, look at that figure, those prominent curves. You've been taking advantage of her, haven't you? Tell me, is she your usual fantasy object too?"
"Trash doesn't spit out anything but foul words. Your foul mouth is probably learned from your slut of a coach, isn't it?"
The moment Peng Lin uttered these words, he was immediately punched in the face!
"Warning, Pang Qiang is disqualified for a foul. One point deducted."
Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into laughter. Under the spotlight, Pang Qiang felt the surrounding guffaws stimulating his increasingly fiery temper like a swarm of bees.
"Hey, you little punk, I'm ahead now."
Peng Lin touched his nose and deliberately made a provocative gesture, drawing another wave of cheers from the audience.
"Useless. Taking points from you is as easy as picking something up from a bag. But that's not fun, don't you think 'killing with a thousand cuts' is the most interesting way to compete in the world?"
Pang Qiang suppressed his anger, only to see the other party sizing him up with a look of utter disdain, his eyes filled with a thirst for victory. That feeling made his inner turmoil even more indescribable.
—This kind of trash actually wants to defeat me! Unforgivable!
The angrier Pang Qiang became, the more menacing his smile grew. His series of fatal kicks were like the whistling wind blowing from an alley on a winter morning. Peng Lin fought and retreated, using his agile footwork to keep Pang Qiang at bay for the moment.
As Peng Lin's footwork was a true testament to Shen Lan Ni's teachings, his dodges were like butterflies weaving through flowers, and at crucial moments, he resembled a dragon diving into water. The audience was enthralled, and because he was Shen Lan Ni's disciple, thunderous cheers erupted.
"Useless! Is that all you can do, just dodge?"
"Yeah, you can't even catch a loser. Who's the real loser here?"
Peng Lin continuously provoked him with words, but the gap in their strength was too significant. After only about a minute, his opponent found his rhythm, and his punches and kicks began to rain down.
He was forced to retreat repeatedly, but he didn't back down verbally. Pang Qiang, unable to bear it any longer, completely disregarding the distance between them, raised one leg and unleashed a furious barrage of kicks.
"Not good!" Leng Zi Yu inwardly exclaimed, striking her fist against her palm, her face instantly turning pale.
Peng Lin had been provoking Pang Qiang's anger, waiting for this very opportunity. He immediately lowered his stance and, with lightning speed, executed his first ground sweep counter-attack!
Pang Qiang, who had expected no resistance from Peng Lin, who had been completely suppressed, was shocked by such a tricky counter-attack that countered his leg techniques. In his panic, his pivot foot was swept out by his opponent. He instantly leaned to the right and crashed to the ground!
"Pang Qiang is down! Peng Lin gains two more points! The score is now three to zero!"