In the audience, Yu Miao secretly poked Yan Sea.
"?"
Yan Sea turned to look at Yu Miao, his face full of confusion.
"Are Yu Fei and his opponent just sizing each other up? Or is this some kind of psychological warfare?"
She thought the two on the stage looked strange, not like they were in a normal fight, so she had to ask.
Yan Sea sighed and explained.
"Sigh... Yu Fei hasn't trained in Light Swallow Shadow, so he can't catch his opponent. He can only counterattack. As for his opponent, he's probably got a screw loose!"
"So you're saying Yu Fei is guaranteed to win?"
"We'll see. He has a chance."
Yan Sea's assessment was spot on. The moment Yu Fei assumed his fighting stance, Yan Sea knew the kid had mastered the Straight-Punch Form. 'If he can find an opening to land one good hit up close, the match is his.'
In the end, it was Number 294 who made the first move. Seeing as Yu Fei looked about to fall asleep, he just couldn't hold back any longer.
The main reason was that maintaining such high-speed movement was draining his Qi Blood extremely quickly.
The opponent moved to the most extreme angle, then instantly flared his Qi Blood and shot toward Yu Fei.
"Punching Fist!"
Like a rocket launching off the pad, he threw a punch straight at Yu Fei's chest.
In reality, Number 294's movements never left Yu Fei's sight. With his seven-times-normal reaction speed, the instant his opponent charged, Yu Fei had already anticipated the move and taken action.
By the time Number 294 was halfway there, Yu Fei had twisted his body, drawn back his fist, and, after briefly gathering power, sent his right fist straight for his opponent's neck.
It was too late for Number 294 to pull back. He hadn't expected Yu Fei to react so fast and hurriedly braced himself, throwing his left arm up to block, but it was useless.
Yu Fei dropped his stance slightly. A trace of insidious force flowed through him as he changed his target to his opponent's soft abdomen.
He had only just registered Yu Fei's change in attack when it was already too late to react.
A look of pure terror on his face, he could only take the force of Yu Fei's charged punch with his stomach.
"ARGH... GACK!"
Yu Fei dodged aside just in time. The guy clutched his stomach, knelt on the ground, and threw up everywhere. He couldn't get back up.
The referee grabbed Yu Fei's right hand, raised it high, and shouted,
"Number 147 wins the first match!"
He then motioned for the staff to carry Number 294 off for an examination. If there were any internal injuries, they needed to be treated immediately so it wouldn't affect his later matches.
At the same time, he waved over the cleaning crew, signaling them to clean the ring!
Watching Number 294 being carried off on a stretcher, the referee shook his head.
'All flash and no substance. Is that it?'
He then turned to see Number 147 still standing on the stage, grinning foolishly.
'Seriously, get off the stage when you're done! Ring 11 has thirty matches scheduled for this morning. The schedule is tight and the workload is heavy. It's so annoying when you get these crazy contestants who waste time doing parkour on the stage!'
The furious referee strode forward, placed both hands on Yu Fei's shoulders, and pushed him off the stage.
Yu Fei was fuming. He had just been waving to his big sister when he was shoved off.
So annoying!
Back in the locker room, Yu Fei angrily chugged two energy drinks: one blueberry flavored, and one yogurt flavored!
"Ugh, the yogurt flavor is gross."
Yu Fei gave it a bad review!
After changing his clothes, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked toward Yan Sea.
Reaching Yan Sea's side, Yu Fei raised his hands.
"?"
Yan Sea gave him a look of utter confusion.
"High-five! I won!"
Yan Sea frowned at Yu Fei. 'Did he catch the crazy from his opponent?'
Yu Fei didn't back down, wiggling his eyebrows to signal Yan Sea to high-five him.
They had a standoff for half a minute.
Wang Jiale was trembling off to the side, not even daring to breathe.
Yu Miao put a hand to her forehead and stared at the ground. She decided her shoelaces weren't tied properly today; the bow was a little crooked.
Yan Sea blinked. Just as he was about to speak, Yu Fei cut in, "You blinked, you lose! Now high-five me!"
"Huh? Heh heh..." He laughed, exasperated.
'This kid, Yu Fei, isn't like other kids. He's especially good at getting under people's skin.'
Looking at Yu Fei's triumphant expression, Yan Sea suddenly realized something: he had been too hasty lately.
Yu Fei was a genius, but he shouldn't have been exposed to real combat tournaments this early! It was risky. Even with referees watching, accidents could still happen.
At this thought, Yan Sea stood up.
Wang Jiale buried his head between his knees, pretending he wasn't there.
Yu Miao stood up too, though she didn't actually know what was happening.
Yan Sea abruptly slapped his hand against Yu Fei's.
"Good fight! Keep it up!"
"Yes, sir!"
The word "sir" made Yan Sea freeze on the spot. It was as if he was back on that bloody battlefield, surrounded by the fallen youths, by his own powerlessness and pain!
Yu Fei paid Yan Sea no mind and walked over to his big sister. Since Yu Miao was already standing, he high-fived her to celebrate too.
"I won!"
"I saw! You're amazing, you beat him with a single punch!"
Yu Miao was overjoyed. Her little brother's level was so low; it was incredible that he could beat his opponent.
By now, Wang Jiale had straightened up and was sitting bolt upright. Seeing Yu Fei approach, he quickly stood up, ready to high-five him. But Yu Fei executed a magnificent turn, sat down next to him, and pulled out his phone to play.
An awkward Wang Jiale scratched his head. "I'm a little nervous. I'm going to the restroom!"
Wang Jiale had only taken two steps when Yan Sea's deep voice called out, "You're going the wrong way. It's over there. Go on, and be quick about it!"
"Oh, is it? Ahahaha... I must have looked at the wrong thing."
He grew even more nervous, feeling like he'd forgotten how to walk.
Yan Sea hadn't seen what had just happened behind him. He just thought Wang Jiale was acting strangely today. 'An unstable mentality will affect his performance in the match. When Wang Jiale gets back, I'll need to have a word with him.'
After a short while, Yu Fei, still in his seat, turned bright red and started squirming.
A worried look appeared on Yu Miao's face. She asked softly,
"Are you hurt?"
Hearing this, Yan Sea immediately turned around. He saw Yu Fei's face was as red as a boiled shrimp. He instantly went over, placed his fingers on Yu Fei's pulse, and after a moment of thought, asked grimly,
"Did you just take something?"
"Not drugs or anything, but I drank some energy drinks!"
An idea flashed through Yan Sea's mind. He then asked, "How many?"
Yu Fei looked innocent. "Those energy drinks are fruit-flavored. I had one before the match, thought it tasted good, so I went back and drank two more after the fight!"
"You're messing around!" Yan Sea was about to die from anger!
The dojo's energy drinks were an upgraded formula. It wouldn't be a problem for a mere Flesh-Refining Martial Artist to drink three on a normal day, but he had another match this afternoon! 'What was this kid thinking?'
"Go back and practice a round of your stance training. Stop when the burning sensation subsides, then practice your fist techniques for a bit.
Yu Miao, you go with him. Call me if anything happens."
Yu Miao quickly led Yu Fei back. The hotel had a fitness center, and Yu Fei found a quiet room.
Time to train!
After one round of stance training, the burning sensation had subsided a little, but Yu Fei didn't dare practice more. In the long run, stance training improved one's physical constitution, but each session actually consumed the body's current vital energy. That's why one needed medicine or energy drinks to replenish it after every practice.
Yu Fei switched to practicing the Straight-Punch Form. About half an hour later, the burning feeling in his body finally faded.
However, Yu Fei was now quite exhausted. The afternoon match started at two o'clock.
Yu Fei checked the time. He planned to grab a small bite to eat and then go back for a two-hour nap.
He'd have his sister wake him up.