Chapter 16 Onstage and Offstage

"Hello, everyone, welcome to my live stream."

"Look, the match is about to begin, and the opponent is already on the stage getting ready."

Ren Donglai turned the camera toward the arena, where a man in his thirties was warming up.

"This guy practices Yong Chun and claims to have been practicing for over a decade. He insists on challenging me, so today I will prove once again to everyone that Traditional Martial Arts is no longer suited for modern combat."

After saying this, Ren Donglai handed his phone to someone else, took off his jacket, and stepped into the arena.

"Welcome our very own, Ren——Dong——lai!!!"

The announcer's voice filled the entire venue, and cheers erupted from the crowd.

This venue was Ren Donglai's Martial Arts Hall, and the majority of those present were his students and team members—a true home field advantage. In contrast, his opponent stood forlornly alone on stage, with not a single person cheering for him from below.

"Ladies and gentlemen present here, and those watching the live stream, this match is about to begin."

"On my left, we have today's challenger, Li Mao, standing at 1.72 meters tall, weighing 72 KG, and has practiced Yong Chun Fist for twelve years."

"On my right, we have Ren Donglai, standing at 1.81 meters tall, weighing 75 KG, the 2017 Free Fighting National Champion winner!"

"This match will be a no-holds-barred free fighting contest, three rounds in total, each lasting two minutes with a 30-second rest in between."

"I declare, the match begins!!"

Li Mao and Ren Donglai approached each other and took up their fighting stances.

Wu Li was watching the match through the live stream from his dorm room and noticed that Li Mao's Asking Hand was positioned around his chest, clearly an adaptation to the rules of modern combat.

Li Mao edged closer to Ren Donglai in the posture of the Asking Hand, but Ren Donglai didn't hold back and swiftly swung a leg kick toward Li Mao's thigh.

Bang! Li Mao stepped back slightly, but his expression didn't change.

Ren Donglai kicked repeatedly, forcing Li Mao to retreat continuously as cheers rose from the crowd.

Snap! Another kick from Ren Donglai landed on Li Mao. This time he didn't use much force; it was a Light Leg, meant to distract his opponent. He then followed up with a powerful right Straight Punch aimed at Li Mao's face.

Li Mao spread open his left hand, slightly deflecting Ren Donglai's heavy punch, and then struck out toward Ren Donglai with a Hiragana Punch.

Ren Donglai leaned back to dodge the punch. Li Mao advanced, throwing out his left fist, about to unleash a series of Hiragana Punches, but Ren Donglai quickly retreated, widening the distance between them.

Li Mao didn't give up the chance and continued to press forward with punches. Ren Donglai bent slightly, tilting his head to the right, avoiding Li Mao's fists. In the same instant, he seized the opportunity during his opponent's attack to land a solid right hook on Li Mao's face.

Bang! Li Mao staggered backward a couple of steps.

"Wow!"

The crowd instantly became electrified, all ready to witness Ren Donglai's KO.

A glint of pride flashed in Ren Donglai's eyes as he seized the moment and stepped forward, ready to finish off his opponent with a combination of punches.

But Li Mao, though slightly off-balance, kept his guard disciplined. He instinctively placed his hands in front of him and used the Flat Hand to deflect Ren Donglai's heavy punches again, then stepped back twice to firmly regain his stance.

A sigh of disappointment rose from the crowd, and even Ren Donglai was surprised by his opponent's solid foundation. It appeared that this was not an opponent to be taken down easily.

Ren Donglai launched a couple of probing attacks, but didn't find a good opening.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the first round. This was the first time Ren Donglai had reached the second round in all his fights against Traditional Martial Arts fighters.

Below the stage, Jia Li looked nervously at Manager Zhang beside her, hesitating to speak.

"Don't worry, everything is fine; Dong Lai has a clear advantage," Manager Zhang patted Jia Li's arm, reassuring her.

On the stage, Ren Donglai, panting for breath, sat down to rest in the corner. He watched Li Mao across the way, who was breathing rapidly but had a determined look in his eyes, staring intently over here.

"Later on, don't just trade punches with him, use more kicks to wear him out," Ren Donglai's coach advised from below.

Ren Donglai nodded, understanding that his opponent didn't have much match experience, seemed nervous, and was expending energy quickly. If he could just wear down his opponent in the second round, he would have a chance to KO him in the third.

Ding! The bell rang, and the second round began!

Under the referee's signal, both combatants slowly moved closer, and Ren Donglai launched another leg sweep.

Light legs, heavy legs, front kicks, side kicks... Ren Donglai maintained the rhythm well, not giving Li Mao a chance to get in close for boxing.

Bang! Ren Donglai's leg hit Li Mao's thigh again, but this time Li Mao unexpectedly counterattacked with a leg sweep of his own, striking Ren Donglai in the shin.

Ren Donglai was taken aback, as Li Mao had not used his legs until that point. Ren, having assumed his opponent wouldn't use kicks, was unprepared, leading to an unsteady stance.

Li Mao didn't miss the opportunity, quickly closed in, and threw a right punch toward his opponent's face, which was blocked by the latter's arm, followed briskly by a left punch, and then right again. The classic Yong Chun Hiragana Punch was on display.

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Ren Donglai protected his head with his arms, blocking Li Mao's punches. But the punches were heavy and fast, forcing him to retreat to absorb the power. Then suddenly feeling a pain in his shin, Ren Donglai was kicked once more by Li Mao, and he lost his balance, tumbling heavily to the ground.

Free Fighting has no groundwork, so the referee quickly intervened to separate Li Mao, who turned to scream to the sky, furiously thumping his chest as if to release all his pressure and frustration.

There was a moment of silence in the venue, then Jia Li suddenly clutched Manager Zhang's arm, anxiously asking, "What do we do? What do we do?"

Manager Zhang was also somewhat panicked but tried to remain calm, "Don't worry, there's a break coming up, and I'll speak to him."

On the stage, Ren Donglai, in fact, wasn't badly hurt and quickly got back on his feet, but his confidence had been shaken.

Being accustomed to online celebrity life, he had lost the habit of competitive sports. All previous matches had gone smoothly, and suddenly being put in a tight spot by his opponent, Ren Donglai was struggling to adapt.

Throughout the next bout, Ren Donglai fought conservatively, wary of launching attacks, and the fight was at a stalemate for the moment.

Ding! The second round ended.

Ren Donglai returned to his corner with a heavy heart, inexplicably feeling nervous.

"You have to initiate the attack, he's nearly out of stamina, seize the opportunity..."

The coach shouted beside him, but Ren Donglai was scarcely listening. His gaze wandered around the spectators below until it settled on Jia Li.

Jia Li made an OK sign at him, smiling and signaling that he needn't worry, and Ren Donglai finally relaxed a little.

Meanwhile, someone approached Li Mao at the edge of the stage.

(Signing is complete, all the big shots can start tipping, and those with recommendation tickets, please cast them too, it's very important for a new book. I'm on a business trip these days, so updates might not be very stable, but I'll try my best for a double release.)