Chapter 126: Fanboy Gu Thirteen
The finals of the rookie group at the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference had been underway for some time, and the overall trajectory was largely in line with pre-event predictions from major data analysis platforms.
EternalMoon and Gu Thirteen, the most popular contenders in Division A, unsurprisingly emerged as the final winners of their respective groups.
However, compared to Gu Thirteen's unbroken streak of victories, EternalMoon performed as Martial Arts enthusiasts had analyzed. When facing opponents of comparable strength, he lacked the unstoppable momentum he displayed during hunts, appearing somewhat constrained.
Although he eventually managed to defeat his opponents, the matches lacked the seamless, exhilarating flow seen in his hunting videos.
Some netizens bad-mouthed EternalMoon, calling him a one-trick pony who excelled only at hunting mutated creatures.
In underground gambling circles, the odds for EternalMoon advancing to the finals kept rising, and had now reached a payout ratio of 1:6.
Lu Heng was aware of his shortcomings. Indeed, he felt somewhat constrained when sparring with other Martial Artists. This was tied to his experiences—most of the previous worlds he had been in followed power systems quite different from this world, offering little applicable reference.
The one world that bore some similarity to Martial Arts was likely the post-apocalyptic world where he practiced swordsmanship. However, even in that world, his opponents were mostly humanoid creatures.
However, although the Lu Heng of that world had exceptional skills, his combat style was always direct and lethal—either aiming for the heart or going straight for the head. Afterward, Lu Heng rarely had opportunities for direct sparring with others. As a result, the blade technique he developed was actually derived from his understanding of swordsmanship in the post-apocalyptic world. It was simple and efficient, with no superfluous moves—each strike aimed directly at a vital point.
Thus, Lu Heng's biggest challenge was actually suppressing his long-established fighting instinct and not killing his opponents. Holding back this way inevitably made him feel a little helpless.
While referees on field and judges were present to monitor the matches and prevent fatalities, accidents weren't unheard of. Lu Heng couldn't afford to put all his trust in external safeguards.
The winners of the two groups in Division B were Zhou Yishu and Gu Fourteen. Next, the winners of the groups in Divisions A and B would compete for a spot in the final match.
Both semi-finals were scheduled for the same day. According to the draw results, Lu Heng's match against Gu Thirteen would take place first.
Lu Heng sat in the competitors' lounge, waiting. With some time left before his match, he took out his phone and started watching a video of Gu Thirteen's previous match.
Lu Heng had carefully studied Gu Thirteen's various videos in detail and concluded that this match would be extremely challenging. Gu Thirteen was an intuitive fighter, rigorously trained by a prestigious Martial Arts family with deep foundations. His basics were solid, and he had no apparent weaknesses.
Such opponents were truly terrible. Once Gu Thirteen detected a flaw, he would unleash a relentless storm of attacks on Lu Heng. Given Gu Thirteen's sharp intuition, Lu Heng was certain he wouldn't miss the slight hesitation in his moves.
"Do I really have to play the injury-for-injury game? I don't want to end up killing Gu Lingjun's little grandnephew," Lu Heng muttered, tossing his phone aside and leaning back. His mind was already working on how to let himself be injured in a way that would reduce both his physical attack power and reaction speed.
In this world's cultivation system, if a Martial Artist was seriously injured, most of their thought energy would be redirected to healing their body.
For example, Lu Heng's current body and combat awareness were like a powerful weapon, but his control over them was lacking. One careless move, and he would hurt his opponent too badly. Since improving his control in a short time wasn't an option, reducing the "weapon's" power was naturally the best solution.
"Won't happen."
Just from the voice, Lu Heng knew it was Gu Lingjun. Sure enough, the familiar figure sat down beside him.
Lu Heng asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm the chief referee for the semifinals."
"As a referee, you coming to meet a contestant in private isn't an issue? Besides, a referee of your level shouldn't be assigned to the rookie group." Lu Heng hadn't expected Gu Lingjun to be today's referee.
"The referee is just to ensure safety; it's not a problem," Gu Lingjun replied. "With me here, you don't need to worry about losing control."
So, Gu Lingjun had long since noticed Lu Heng's problem. His previous absence was likely intentional, allowing Lu Heng to hone his control. But now that Gu Lingjun was present, Lu Heng could fight without holding back. Still, to let Zhou Yishu feel more pleased with himself, he couldn't win too easily.
The first semi-final of the rookie group of the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference officially began.
After the customary introductions, as the camera shifted to the referee's seat, the live-stream platform's comment section was instantly flooded, because the person sitting in the main referee's seat was wearing a silver-black mask, exuding an imposing aura. Who else could it be but Junlin?
Junlin rarely made public appearances. While viewers had noticed his name on the panel of judges for this event, he hadn't appeared on screen since the tournament began. Many speculated that they'd have to wait for the finals of the Earth-tier group to catch a glimpse of the legendary Lord Junlin.
To everyone's surprise, he appeared in the semifinals of the rookie group! Junlin's fans felt like they had hit the jackpot.
Even Gu Thirteen, who was sitting on the contestants' bench, was a little excited. He thought, Is Little Great Uncle here to watch my match? Despite his cold attitude, Little Great Uncle does care about me after all.
Gu Thirteen thought today was truly his lucky day. It was so wonderful that he could not only compete with his goddess, but also won the attention of Little Great Uncle. Yes, Gu Thirteen was a fanboy of EternalMoon, or more precisely, a fanboy of Idol.
After the group lists were announced, he had been secretly praying for a chance to face EternalMoon in the semifinals, and now his wish had come true. However, adhering to the spirit of Martial Arts, Gu Thirteen would not throw the match even if she were his goddess.
And maybe, goddess will be more impressed by the man who beats her, Gu Thirteen thought gleefully.
The match began. Both competitors walked to the center of the arena and exchanged Martial Artists' salutes.
Goddess looks beautiful even in men's clothing, Gu Shisan thought dazedly as he stared at EternalMoon, who was wearing a half-mask, her true face still hidden. Watching EternalMoon salute, and then scimitars appear into her hands, Gu Thirteen snapped back to reality and hurriedly returned the salute, condensing his own psychic weapon.
He deserves to be called an intuitive fighter, Lu Heng thought as he studied Gu Thirteen who was standing opposite him. He looked silly a second ago, but his aura changed dramatically the moment his psychic weapon materialized.
Gu Thirteen's psychic weapon seemed at odds with his personality: in his left hand, he held a shield, while his right wielded a poleaxe.
The most scary thing about Gu Thirteen was his predictive ability. His intuition allowed him to almost always guess the trajectory of his opponent's next attack, making his defense impenetrable. He would bide his time, waiting for his opponent's attacks to weaken, and then seize the opportunity to exploit a single moment of vulnerability, unleashing a relentless offensive to secure victory.
Such a defensive counterattack-type Martial Artist happened to be the bane of pure attack-type Martial Artists like EternalMoon.
The commentator on the official livestream platform said: "EternalMoon seems to be stuck in a quagmire. His renowned speed appears ineffective against Gu Thirteen's solid defense. Once EternalMoon's offense slows, it will be Gu Thirteen's turn to counterattack..."
Lu Heng continued to strike relentlessly, yet every slash met the ubiquitous shield that seemed to block every possible angle. However, this situation did not frustrate him—in fact, it was all part of his deliberate strategy.
With Gu Lingjun overseeing the match, Lu Heng felt no concern about accidentally injuring Gu Thirteen. This relaxed mindset allowed his control to reach new heights. Though his speed could have easily bypassed the shield and directly attacked the man behind it, he intentionally slowed down.
To make the match appear a hard win, Lu Heng decided to use the stupidest method to break Gu Thirteen's defense.
"Eh? What's going on with EternalMoon? He's actually increasing his thought power output and directly targeting the shield as his attack focus. Could he be trying to directly break Gu Thirteen's psychic weapon? That's simply the most foolish approach! For Martial Artists of similar strength, attempting to destroy the opponent's psychic weapon will only result in both weapons being destroyed. EternalMoon is indeed a half-baked[1] Martial Artist. Anyone who has received systematic training will never adopt..."
The commentator was talking non-stop, while in the contestants' lounge, the Zhous who were watching the match were in quite a cheerful mood.
"Xiao Shu, this EternalMoon is really nothing to fear. Since he's using this mutually destructive tactic, it'll take an enormous amount of thought energy to re-condense the psychic weapon once it's broken," Father Zhou said with a smile. "No matter who wins, it won't pose any threat to you."
Zhou Yishu smiled disdainfully: "I wanted to deal with him properly in the finals. The spear techniques Teacher taught me are perfect for restraining EternalMoon. But since he's helping to weaken Gu Thirteen for me and practically handing over the championship, I'll have to find a chance to properly thank him later."
As the Zhou father and son chatted, hundreds of moves were exchanged in the arena.
EternalMoon took half a step back, his gaze sharp as a blade. Veins faintly bulged on his arms, which gripped his dual blades tightly. Everyone held their breath—this was clearly his final, all-out strike, condensing every bit of his thought energy.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, EternalMoon moved. His speed was so fast that it seemed as if he had vanished from the spot. By the time his figure reappeared, he was already in front of Gu Thirteen.
However, Gu Thirteen's shield once again accurately blocked the trajectory of EternalMoon's scimitar.
The spectators supporting EternalMoon let out collective sighs of disappointment. This strike, which condensed all of EternalMoon's thought energy, appeared to be yet another futile effort.
Lu Heng remained unfazed. Using the momentum of his charge, he swung both scimitars ferociously at the shield before him. The shield, having endured countless attacks, could no longer bear the strain. Cracks spread across its surface until it finally shattered. Yet, the explosion of the psychic shield inflicted severe damage on EternalMoon's psychic scimitars as well.
Both the scimitars and the shield disintegrated into scattered motes of stardust, vanishing into the air.
This was the moment Gu Thirteen had been waiting for. Exploiting EternalMoon's moment of exhaustion, he lunged forward with his right-hand poleaxe, aiming directly at his opponent's face. EternalMoon, now weaponless, had no means of defending himself.
It seemed the outcome was about to be decided.
In a flash, EternalMoon demonstrated he still had strength left. He leaned sharply backward, bending his body almost to a 90-degree angle. With both hands on the ground for support, he kicked upward with his left leg, hitting Gu Thirteen's wrist.
Caught off guard, Gu Thirteen's wrist was hit with tremendous power. A sharp pain shot through him, and he lost his grip on the poleaxe, which flew out of his hand.
In the instant Gu Thirteen was disarmed, EternalMoon sprang up, his right hand forming a claw as it shot toward Gu Thirteen's throat.
"The match is decided." The chief referee, Junlin, appeared on the field in an instant. He seemed very worried about the competitors' safety and quickly separated the two fighters.
The audience, still processing the sequence of events, looked bewildered.
Wait, what just happened? How was the match decided? What was the decisive moment? We didn't catch it!
At this moment, the big screen timely displayed a slow-motion replay of the instant that decided the winner. It showed EternalMoon partially pressing down on Gu Thirteen's body, his right hand gripping Gu Thirteen's throat at a vital point.
With both sides having lost their weapons and Gu Thirteen's vital point controlled by EternalMoon, the outcome was clear: EternalMoon was the winner.
"Lord Junlin is so swift and decisive, even the speed at which he declares the winner is lightning fast! Mad cheers for Lord Junlin!"
"Ahhhhhhh! My male god EternalMoon won! Ahhhhhhh!"
"I was so tense just now I didn't even have time to send a comment. Let me make up for it now…"
"Waahhhhh, my Gu Thirteen~ But wow, that was such an exciting match!"
The nearly static barrage on the livestream platform exploded, comments scrolling rapidly again.
Lu Heng and Gu Thirteen stood on either side of Junlin, who raised Lu Heng's hand to signify the victor. Following that, the customary handshake between the competitors took place to promote sportsmanship.
Lu Heng felt like Gu Thirteen was trying to crush his hand in a death grip. He wondered, Is he holding a grudge over losing and taking it out on me? But Gu Thirteen didn't seem like that kind of person. He cleared his throat lightly to hint that they were still live on camera.
The sound of Lu Heng coughing lightly seemed to snap Gu Thirteen back to reality. His face turned suspiciously red, and as if mustering up all his courage, he blurted out: "Idol, you're my goddess! Could I have a hug?"
"……" Lu Heng never imagined that Gu Thirteen, of all people, turned out to be his fanboy.
Lu Heng glanced at Gu Lingjun. Even through the mask, he seemed to see Gu Lingjun's face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.
Gu Thirteen suddenly felt a murderous aura coming at him. He shivered and told himself that it was just a hallucination, likely the lingering adrenaline rush from the match. He continued staring eagerly at EternalMoon.
Lu Heng shook his head and said, "Sorry."
"Oh…" Gu Thirteen was utterly dejected. "Is it because I destroyed your psychic weapon? Do you hate me now? I didn't mean to…"
Seeing the pitiful look on Gu Thirteen's face, Lu Heng explained, "No, it's for the sake of your own safety."
Huh? What did that mean? Gu Thirteen watched his goddess' back as she disappeared into the passage and fell into deep thought.
After finishing his own match, Lu Heng returned to the contestants' lounge to watch Zhou Yishu's upcoming match. Gu Lingjun was still on the field serving as the chief referee. Although he wasn't particularly willing, it would really be unreasonable for the chief referee to disappear after just one match.
After a half-hour break, the next semifinal match began.
Lu Heng stared at the battlefield on the screen, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
Zhou Yishu's strength had indeed greatly improved. During times without competitions, Lu Heng naturally studied Zhou Yishu's match videos. Perhaps due to the setback of the sudden decline in popularity, Zhou Yishu's spear fighting had increasingly aligned with his momentum. The discordant feeling that often appeared before had completely vanished.
But his spear fighting today seemed poles apart from the previous style. Lu Heng wondered if Zhou Yishu had comprehended his own Martial Arts during the Resurrection Challenge.
[Something's wrong with Zhou Yishu.] Little Assistant suddenly appeared.
[What's wrong?]
[The spear technique he's using now is the one he comprehended after advancing to the Earth-tier in the original world line. Based on my calculations, after you altered the course of the world line, this spear technique should never have appeared again.]
Hearing this, Lu Heng was shocked and thought of a situation mentioned in the training course.
[Are there outsiders in this world?]
[It's highly likely. I'll report this to the Plane Maintenance Department immediately and alert them to monitor anomalies in this plane.] Little Assistant replied.
[This person is audacious. Knowing this is a parallel plane, they aren't afraid of running into someone from the Underworld.] Lu Heng dissed.
[Well, there are too many reasons for the emergence of parallel planes. The execution of missions by the Underworld Department is just one of them. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's normal to take a gamble for fortune.] Little Assistant replied.
The so-called outsiders are actually defectors from the Underworld Department. These are highly skilled employees who, after mastering the rules governing plane operations, become dissatisfied with continuing to work in the Underworld Department. Desiring a free and unrestrained life yet unwilling to give up the immense power they wield to reincarnate.
Some seize opportunities during missions, finding gaps to escape, and thereafter roam endlessly across different planes. However, these solitary souls required enormous energy to travel between planes. To prevent their existence from dissipating into the void, they set their sights on the luck of the plane.
This is fundamentally different from the missions of the Soul Purification Department. The mission executed by the Soul Purification Department is in a parallel plane, so it doesn't affect the original plane. In contrast, these fortune thieves directly disrupt the world lines of the planes they invade. They kill the original child of destiny to absorb their fortune and replenish their own energy.
Such disruptions are difficult for the Plane Maintenance Department to detect unless specifically monitored. After the original chosen one dies, the Way of Heaven selects a new individual to inherit the luck. To the Way of Heaven, the loss is merely a sliver of fortune, insignificant and negligible.
However, the Underworld Department strictly cracks down on such activities. If this kind of behavior is allowed to spread, it would lead to chaos. Everyone desires immortality but would avoid earning it through work in the Underworld Department. If they all resort to stealing luck from planes, it will eventually cause the collapse of the planes.
The fortune thief in this world likely discovered the existence of parallel planes and aimed to replicate their success by disrupting this plane as they did in the original one. After all, finding a child of destiny is challenging. Since they are parallel planes, the chosen ones are the same individuals, making it effortless to steal their luck.
Things were getting complicated. This Zhou Yiheng was actually the original child of destiny.
To accidentally stumble upon a fortune thief during a special commission… Lu Heng wailed inwardly, Could someone please tell me why I can never carry out a mission smoothly? Not even once?
[1] 半道出家: to switch to a job one was not trained for.
Translator:
He leaned sharply backward, bending his body almost to a 90-degree angle… How many new positions can be unlocked with such flexibility (,,>﹏<,,)
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