Chapter 147 Simply Fond of Playing the Teacher

"Who's going first?" Having finished warming up and closing his auxiliary faceplate, Ye Chao finally felt a tinge of excitement.

Ever since upgrading his rank, mastering his abilities, and continuously designing and revising his gear, this was the first time he would actually use mecha-assisted combat in reality.

Such a memorable moment, and yet he only felt a tinge of excitement?

Indeed, a tinge, and not a drop more!

There was no helping it; he was born with low hormone secretion, so even if he wanted to get excited, he simply couldn't. A tinge was his absolute limit.

At this moment, Liu Xiaoyi was still on her way back from leaving and re-entering the arena;

Tang Lin was carefully bandaging her forehead;

Song Baojian was bandaging his entire body...

Exchanging glances, Jiong Xiaoyi bravely stepped forward: "I—"

Before he could finish a single syllable, he was shoved aside by a heavy hand from Song Baojian. "That's not fair, bro. I took all those hits and bled all over. How have you the nerve to steal my spot?"

"Shouldn't you bandage yourself up first?" Jiong Xiaoyi glanced at Song Baojian's battered state.

"We'll patch up together once the fight's done!" Song Baojian clapped his gauntlets together, his fighting spirit soaring.

The warlike Liu Xiaoyi was not present;

And as for Tang Lin... although New Humans possessed super-strong healing abilities, if wounds were not properly bandaged and the flesh smoothed out, the faster they healed, the more troublesome it would become, requiring them to be cut open and regrown later. Especially her forehead, which was so glaringly obvious—it looked just like a torn stocking, a botched haircut, or a protruding chest, impossible to ignore.

And so, it was settled.

Ye Zichao versus Song Baojian.

Round 1!

Assuming their starting stances, without any further idle chatter, Song Baojian's soles stamped against the ground with consecutive pops. He cut a diagonal arc, avoiding Ye Chao's daunting frontal assault, closed in rapidly, and threw a punch.

He belonged to the evolved tall-type humans. Standing at over two meters forty, he was a head taller than Yao Ming, and his arm span was even two heads longer than Yao's. Even though they were still some distance apart, his fist was instantly at Ye Chao's face.

A straight punch like a cannonball!

"Boom!"

It even exploded!

Song Baojian, specialized in chemistry, explosives expert. Seed weapon: Airbag.

The airbag wrapped around his wrist instantly burst into a bulky mass one meter in diameter, completely blocking Ye Chao's line of sight. At the same time, his one-meter-eighty long legs lashed out fiercely in a full-swing roundhouse, executing a powerful low kick aimed at Ye Chao's lower body.

"Clang!" A deafening crash echoed.

Song Baojian clutched his shin guards and hopped up with a howl, as if he had taken a direct hit to the groin during a soccer match or dipped his bare foot into boiling oil.

Fortunately, he was wearing alloy shin guards and had trained his legs to be tough enough; otherwise, he suspected his golden right leg would have bid him farewell right then and there.

"What just happened?" The sudden shift had occurred so rapidly, like a rabbit springing and a swan diving, that out of the two hundred thousand spectators, very few had seen it clearly.

Those who could see it, such as the four-star and five-star experts, were left with their mouths slightly agape...

Is that even allowed?

"Let's take a slow-motion re—" Streamers like Cui Zeqze and the others hadn't caught it either, and just as they were about to deploy their ultimate broadcasting technique, they were left speechless.

Indeed, a slow-motion replay had begun, but it wasn't operated by the broadcasting station's staff, it was... Ye Chao.

With the familiar formula and the familiar flavor, all the streamers developed a creeping sense of foreboding.

Sure enough!

They heard Ye Chao say: "Song Baojian, you have great strength and high speed. In terms of pure physical durability, you're among the very top tier in our grade. But your biggest flaw is that your tactics are far too simple!"

"A punch to cover the face, followed by a sweeping low kick—you use this opening more than half the time. It's far too easy to counter!"

As he spoke, within the holographic slow-motion projection, his countermeasure was displayed with crystal clarity.

Right when Song Baojian lifted his leg for the sweep—no, the moment Song Baojian threw his punch to cover the face and the airbag had just begun to inflate—a metal post over a meter tall shifted from illusory to solid right from beneath Ye Chao's feet, planted firmly at his front-left.

Therefore, he hadn't done anything at all; it was as if he possessed foresight and simply pulled out a metal post, causing Song Baojian to literally run right into it.

He could summon an eight-hundred-kilogram transformable mecha on a whim, let alone a simple metal post with such a basic and singular function.

Even though the metal post had no foundation and was merely resting on the ground, taking a kick from Song Baojian like that while caught off guard was more than enough for him to handle.

There was a distinctly deep dent on the metal post, while the alloy shin guard had snapped clean in half.

Is that even allowed?

Two hundred thousand people fell silent in unison.

Furthermore, they had clearly agreed to an intense brawl, so how did it suddenly turn into a coaching session...

Giving everyone a lecture during the field exam was one thing, but to pull this kind of stunt right here in the mixed martial arts arena?

Yes, absolutely!

He was just that meticulous and serious, just that fond of playing the teacher!

In the past, constrained by his talent and abilities, he could only flex his muscles in the realm of academic subjects; now that he finally had the strength to fight, he simply had to claim dominance in the martial arts domain as well.

Just as Mr. Lu Xun once said: If you do not occupy the ideological high ground, someone else will!

And so, the two hundred thousand spectators could only watch helplessly as Song Baojian rubbed his leg, replaced his broken guard, wiped away his tears, and stubbornly, relentlessly launched into a second round with Ye Chao.

Round 2!

Song Baojian once again opened with a punch to the face, a strikingly similar starting move.

This time, however, he didn't follow up with a sweeping low kick. Instead, he launched his entire body airborne, hurtling toward Ye Chao like a cannonball right through the safety airbag with immense, crushing momentum!

If that connected, and he triggered his ability at the right moment, it would definitely...

Then, he went flying off at an angle, resembling an angry bird, soaring straight up to crash against the cave ceiling with a chaotic "bang," before dropping heavily down to the floor, rolling and tumbling until he was covered in dust.

The slow-motion replay showed that the instant Song Baojian hurled himself forward, Ye Chao had already squatted down to evade. The moment Song Baojian reached the space above his head, Ye Chao abruptly stood up, using his body to launch him flying...

Their movements were so smooth and fluid, resembling the acrobatics of a traditional Peking opera martial arts sequence, or perhaps a pre-catastrophe gymnastics apparatus known as the pommel horse.

This time, even more people saw it clearly!

They didn't just see the movements clearly; they also caught sight of something unusual!

Ye Chao's movements looked unhurried and leisurely. Compared to Song Baojian's ferocious kicks and lunges, it was like a family sedan racing a sports car at the start line, like Teemo comparing height with a Nautilus, or a pellet gun comparing firepower with an AK... They were simply not in the same league!

Yet the results were remarkably effective, effortless and breezy.

Why?

Because while he appeared to be on the defensive, he actually moved before Song Baojian did.

The moment Song Baojian threw his punch, Ye Chao was already preparing for the low kick; the instant Song Baojian's center of gravity leaned forward, Ye Chao was already bending his knees to dodge...

In truth, Song Baojian's combat capability was far beyond what he had displayed.

He was far from someone who could only detonate airbags and floor cushions. Touching any surface with his hands, feet, or even his body could trigger an explosion; the longer the contact time, the greater the explosive power.

However, Ye Chao completely denied him any opportunity to utilize it.

That pitiful sliver of contact time was barely enough to set off a string of firecrackers.

"Is this... the legendary Tai Chi?"

"No, no, no! This is clearly the Nine-Sword of Dugu! Exploiting vulnerabilities, anticipating the enemy's moves, and striking first by launching second!"

"But the movements are so slow and graceful; it really looks more like Tai Chi."

A wave of intense debate instantly erupted in the audience stands.

Just as mentioned before, even after the catastrophe and chaotic era, many things had vanished into history, but the classics never easily faded away.

"Sigh, Song Baojian, the hints from the last round were so obvious. Did you really not notice anything at all?" After batting Song Baojian away once more, Ye Chao sighed.

"I was able to provide a holographic projection on the spot, replaying the combat situation frame by frame. That means the entire arena is under my surveillance. All those little tricks you tried to pull behind your airbag are completely meaningless!"