Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 1687 - 1684: The Indomitable Xiao Qiang

"I don’t care what you’re trying to do. Everything will end when I say so. You have no hope of victory. If you’re smart, back down now; otherwise, you’ll end up like Mu Binglan. On the stage, I will show no mercy." Cui Yingzhe stared at Qiao Xiaoyi, a cruel smile on his face.

Bringing up Mu Binglan was a mistake; remembering the harm she suffered earlier, Qiao Xiaoyi frowned. Usually the mild-mannered type who avoids harsh words, he angrily retorted, "You resort to dirty tricks yet act so righteous about it. I won’t let you succeed!"

"Pfft, crazy idiot. I’m too lazy to argue with you." Cui Yingzhe sneered dismissively. He suddenly shook his feet and charged at Qiao Xiaoyi. In just a few steps, he closed the distance of several meters and threw a punch at Qiao Xiaoyi’s chest.

Qiao Xiaoyi, knowing Cui Yingzhe was more powerful and had attacked suddenly, reacted quickly by retreating, barely avoiding getting hit as the punch grazed his clothes.

The martial arts club members watching breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he wasn’t taken down in one hit. Cui Yingzhe’s face, however, still wore a smile despite missing, and with no change in stance, he suddenly lunged forward, extending his entire arm by half a meter.

"Bang!" The punch landed on Qiao Xiaoyi, causing him to stagger backward. He felt winded, nearly unable to breathe.

Cui Yingzhe, having changed his move midway, had reduced his force; otherwise, it wouldn’t be just a breathless feeling. Despite getting hit so early on, causing many to shake their heads—this was not a fair battle, but completely one-sided.

"Your Karate Club loves sneak attacks, aren’t you ashamed?" Xiao Yu couldn’t restrain himself from speaking up, as Kunno Saburo had also attacked suddenly in the same manner earlier.

Originally about to continue his attack, Cui Yingzhe halted upon hearing Xiao Yu’s remark and turned to sneer, "You martial arts practitioners must be out of your mind. A real fight is about beating your opponent with lightning speed, not waiting until you’re ready with a set stance or move before I can attack, right?"

"You..." Xiao Yu was at a loss for words, unable to argue back.

"Hmph..." Cui Yingzhe snorted coldly, then turned back to face Qiao Xiaoyi. "Kid, I gave you a chance to step down earlier. You refused, and now even if you want to leave, it won’t be easy."

With that, he suddenly charged forward again, this time aiming a kick at Qiao Xiaoyi. But Qiao Xiaoyi was prepared this time and raised his arms to block.

Another "bang" sounded; naturally, Qiao Xiaoyi was knocked back, falling to the ground and rolling a few times before stopping. However, once still, he immediately rose, eyes fixated ahead.

His reaction was swift, but the spot on his arm where he was kicked turned a bright red. Someone like him, without physical conditioning for strikes, would easily be injured by hits.

Qiao Xiaoyi felt the burning pain in his arm, as if he had been whacked with a club, an iron one at that. The impact from landing, however, was negligible in comparison.

Mu Binglan watched, raising a hand to her forehead as if she couldn’t bear it. "Lin Tian, let him concede. If this goes on, he’ll get hurt."

"It’s no use for me to say anything; you could try persuading him," Lin Tian shrugged helplessly.

But Lin Tian knew his advice might not work either. Despite Qiao Xiaoyi’s generally good-natured demeanor, once he decided to do something, he wouldn’t give up easily. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have learned acupoint techniques from Lin Tian.

Mu Binglan opened her mouth but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to tell him to give up.

"Oh, you’ve got some fight in you." Cui Yingzhe exaggeratedly laughed upon seeing Qiao Xiaoyi’s determined gaze, though mostly as mockery.

Despite the laughter, Cui Yingzhe’s attacks didn’t pause. He suddenly lunged forward again, delivering a chopping hand blow—swift and fierce, much more so than Kunno Saburo’s.

The chopping hand attack demonstrated tenacity similar to a drawn blade, so fierce that Qiao Xiaoyi, familiar with Kunno Saburo’s technique, dared not block but instead attempted to dodge.

However, as soon as he sidestepped, Cui Yingzhe suddenly altered his move, shifting from hand chop to claw, sweeping his arm in an arc to grab Qiao Xiaoyi’s shoulder.

It was a classic Judo throw from Korea. Both Karate and Taekwondo incorporate throwing techniques. It’s said that Huaxia boasts superior throwing techniques like the Cloth Touch Eighteen Falls and Tai Chi Eighteen Falls. Whether these truly exist is a mystery to anyone outside the lineage.

This reflects a lament within the martial arts world, as certain special techniques vanish without a trace, and the painstaking efforts of forebearers become lost treasures in the annals of history.

With a rumbling sound, Qiao Xiaoyi was flung sideways with force, heavier than before. Any ordinary person would remain down after such a throw.

Yet, Qiao Xiaoyi got up nimbly, surprising Cui Yingzhe and halting his momentum.

"What the hell, he can still get up!" an expletive-filled exclamation arose from the audience, not out of anger but in shock. Members of the Karate club wore incredulous expressions, wondering why the kid wasn’t breaking down.

"This..." Mu Binglan was dumbfounded, unable to find any reason to explain it. She had thought Qiao Xiaoyi would be defeated thoroughly by this move, yet he still managed to rise and continue fighting.

The martial arts club members felt embarrassed; despite lacking martial arts foundational skills, Qiao Xiaoyi demonstrated resilience, whereas they would likely fall in the first round.

"Lin Tian, could he be a hidden master like you?" Xiao Manxuan was also puzzled, even suspecting that Qiao Xiaoyi, like Lin Tian, was a master in disguise.

Lin Tian slightly shook his head, pondered, then said, "He’s no master, nor does he have exceptional resilience... his reaction speed is what’s remarkable. In the moment of being thrown down, he instinctively protected himself, minimizing harm from the fall."

"For instance, many people naturally reach an arm out to break their fall, preventing harm to vulnerable areas like the head. Whereas Qiao Xiaoyi has transformed these subconscious actions into deliberate defensive maneuvers, necessitating strong reactive awareness." Lin Tian was surprised even as he explained.

Qiao Xiaoyi’s reactive performance in battle appeared far superior compared to before, as though the more perilous the environment, the more it heightened his reactive awareness, which in turn safeguarded him from injury.

He hadn’t undergone any formal training to develop this reactive awareness, suggesting this remarkable self-protective response was innate, a natural talent!

"So, does he stand a chance to win? What have you been teaching him these past few days?" Xiao Manxuan knew Lin Tian had been training with Qiao Xiaoyi but was unaware of the details.

Up to now, only Lin Tian and Qiao Xiaoyi knew, not even the lads who fought in the grove that day were aware.

"Whether he has a shot depends on his fortune, given the vast skill disparity. If he’s hit hard just once, he might lose," Lin Tian remarked calmly.