Chapter 49 – True Martial Arts Skills

Lu Yuan’s luck wasn’t great today.

He was scheduled for the last match out of ten, and had to wait almost an hour.

Fortunately, the waiting time allowed his mental energy to recover significantly, bringing him close to peak condition.

As he entered the martial arts contest arena, a massive Goat Head statue hung silently.

The four large screens were playing replays of the previous round’s matches.

Lu Yuan spotted Lin Zhiqin sitting in the middle of the southern spectator section, watching him intently.

Step by step, Lu Yuan walked up to the arena, as the large screens around him quieted down.

His opponent today was a tall man wearing a tanuki mask.

The man was well-proportioned, with strong, muscular legs, suggesting he specialized in advanced leg techniques.

Lu Yuan had fought two matches before this one, but he had watched and listened to Lin Zhiqin’s explanations for at least twenty matches.

In these matches, he identified those he thought were strong and would privately spar with them in his mental space.

If practical experience had levels, this might be the skill Lu Yuan leveled up the fastest over this period.

He had learned to judge his opponents’ strengths, skills, and techniques by observing their physical traits.

It was like quickly browsing an exam paper before starting, to gauge its difficulty level.

Or like observing an opponent’s character and equipment at the start of a game to deduce their strategy and approach.

Many principles in this world are actually interconnected.

“Begin the match.”

At the referee’s command, the tanuki-masked man opposite Lu Yuan immediately charged forward, delivering a side kick towards him.

This man wasn’t weak; his thick leg sliced through the air.

It was like a hefty log sweeping swiftly towards Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, and he launched a countering kick with his right foot.

With Level 3 advanced leg techniques, his skill in this leg technique learned in the rainy alley far surpassed his opponent’s.

He had even privately named it “Tomahawk Style,” because when his leg swept horizontally, it was like wielding a tomahawk in a wild chop.

“Bang!”

Lu Yuan’s kick landed on the tanuki man’s thigh.

Though his kick came second, with 12 strength points and 11 agility points, his leg struck faster and hit first.

“Humph!”

The tanuki man grunted, shifting his body slightly.

But just then, Lu Yuan’s next powerful kick was already on its way.

Using the momentum from his turn, this kick was swift and fierce, with a force exceeding 250 kilograms, making it feel like a loaded cannonball.

“Bang!”

The kick landed squarely on the tanuki man’s stomach.

The tanuki man had no time to react; his body bent like a shrimp, and with a loud “boom,” he was sent flying backward.

However, his physique was not weak. Despite being sent flying six or seven meters by Lu Yuan’s powerful kick, he managed to stand up shakily, clutching his stomach.

Lu Yuan’s expression remained unmoved behind his mask. He dashed forward, ready to deliver a finishing kick to the tanuki man’s chest.

But just as he was about to lift his leg and strike, a flood of images suddenly burst into his mind. A wave of inexplicable inspiration stopped him mid-kick.

Instead, he clenched his hand into a fist and threw a powerful punch at the tanuki man, who was about to stand up.

“Screech—”

In a daze, Lu Yuan seemed to hear a sharp sound, like a bird’s cry, echoing in his ears.

Lin Zhiqin’s cold eyes and the movements of the crane stance flashed rapidly before his eyes.

When Lu Yuan came to his senses, he saw—

A tall young man with streaked blonde hair kneeling before him, face pale, stammering in a trembling voice, “I surrender! I surrender!”

Lu Yuan’s fist was suspended just two inches from the blond youth’s nose.

The tanuki mask that had been on the youth’s face was gone, shattered into pieces scattered around the arena.

Lu Yuan looked at his raised fist in a daze, then instinctively turned to look at the audience.

He saw Lin Zhiqin standing up, staring at him with a curious expression.

“Who taught you that punch?”

“I don’t know. I can’t figure out how I did it either. I just suddenly thought of the crane stance’s movements and then impulsively threw the punch.”

At the sink, Lu Yuan ran his freshly wet hands through his hair, making his hair damp.

He shook his head, his face full of confusion and a wry smile.

Lin Zhiqin stared intently into Lu Yuan’s eyes for several long seconds.

But he couldn’t discern anything from Lu Yuan’s clear and honest gaze.

After a while, he finally spoke, “Alright.”

He pulled an envelope from his pocket and slid it across the sink to Lu Yuan.

“This is today’s prize money. You’ll have to go home by yourself tonight. I have something to attend to later and can’t take you.”

“Okay.”

Lu Yuan picked up the envelope and nodded.

He wiped his face haphazardly and took a couple of steps towards the restroom door.

Suddenly, he turned back, hesitant to speak. “Coach…”

“What is it?”

Lu Yuan shook his head dejectedly. “Nothing.”

He quickly walked out of the restroom.

As the sound of footsteps faded outside the restroom, Lin Zhiqin’s previously calm face suddenly showed signs of shock, amazement, and disbelief.

“Is it possible for such a martial arts genius to exist in this world?”

“To deduce the true essence of my crane style martial arts just from stance technique…”

“No, I must inform my teacher about this!”

Lin Zhiqin, whether from excitement or enthusiasm, quickly pulled out his phone and swiped across the screen.

But when he found the contact’s number, his surging emotions gradually subsided.

Lin Zhiqin stared at the phone screen, his eyes flickering.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and put the phone away.

“Never mind.”

His eyes regained their calmness.

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

As soon as Lu Yuan closed the restroom door behind him, the confusion and bewilderment on his face vanished entirely.

They were replaced by a look of firm determination and joy.

“A Moment of Inspiration! I definitely triggered A Moment of Inspiration just now!”

“After being beaten by Lin Zhiqin so many times in the mental space and mimicking him for so long in reality, I didn’t expect that with the help of A Moment of Inspiration, I could truly replicate some of the power of that punch.”

“So, it was related to the crane stance?”

“At least this proves that my efforts are on the right track. This idea, this path, is feasible!”

Lu Yuan walked through the second-floor hall as usual, took the elevator down to the first floor, and exited the Mosa Club.

His face remained calm, but his heart was filled with a sense of elation and joy.

After landing that punch in the arena tonight, he realized that all the times he had activated [Imaginary Enemy] in his mental space, experiencing instant defeat and revival repeatedly, hadn’t been in vain.

He had been mimicking, like fishing for the moon in water, based solely on the fleeting impressions before his “deaths.”

All the sweat and effort he had put in hadn’t been for nothing.

This was his “little trick.”

And it was this “little trick” that had unexpectedly brought him tangible rewards, giving him a psychological sense of achievement that could keep him excited for a long time.

“Let’s see if there’s any change on the professional panel.”

Walking under the streetlight, Lu Yuan reached the roadside. As he waited for a taxi, he brought up his professional panel in front of him.