“What?!” All the elder council members widened their eyes at the chairman, wondering if they’d heard him correctly.
“But Chairman, Wade Knox is a key national talent we have been training with immense resources. He’s won the national championship three years in a row and is set to compete in the international martial arts tournament next year. That is to say, if he loses here, it will shatter the invincible image we’ve so carefully built for Seclela’s martial arts. Worse, it would seriously damage our country’s reputation! People will say we’ve been bluffing all along.”
“Yes, Chairman! Wade Knox is not a proper choice! He shouldn’t go up against that…that killing machine! Wade’s a professional fighter, trained to only overcome opponents. He fights to win, but look at that man, he fights to kill!”
The chairman’s brow furrowed deeper, and his face was etched with growing tension and unease!
Meanwhile, the foreign delegation’s patience was wearing thin as Seclela’s challenger was still nowhere to be seen on the stage after all this time. A white-bearded elder from their side cast a look toward Seclela’s officials and shook his head in disappointment. He leaned into the microphone and mocked, “What’s going on? Why is no one stepping up? Chairman Eduardo, don’t tell us you’re out of fighters?”
“If that’s the case, then save yourselves the trouble and surrender! We’ll accept it if you concede defeat!”
As he spoke, the white-bearded guy had a smirk on his face, a smirk dripping with scorn and derision! He wasn’t just making fun of the council members from Seclela; he was belittling Seclela’s martial arts!
Colson Eduardo’s jaw clenched as he glared at the white-bearded guy, fury sparking in his eyes.
However, it didn’t make the man show any restraint. He took advantage and went further. “This trip has been nothing but a disappointment. You all bragged about Seclela’s martial arts-talking about its deep, profound history; claiming it’s the strongest in the world and the origin of all martial arts. We trained hard just to meet you. And this? This is it? This is what you called ‘the origin of all martial arts?’ It turned out you were lying! And the truth is, your martial arts are just flashy moves, with no real combat value at all! If anything, our boxing proves to be the toughest!”
With that, the foreign delegates burst into mocking laughter.
It provoked an uproar from the audience!
A wave of hissing and whispers rippled through the audience!
Humiliation! This was blatant, bare-faced humiliation! For any Seclela native with even a shred of pride, this was beyond intolerable!
They had come to Seclela and issued a challenge in a disrespectful way. It’s already a blatant insult to Seclela’s honor! This could entirely be seen as an act of provocation. And now, adding insult to injury, they dared to mock Seclela’s martial arts right in front of everyone. The elders of Seclela Martial Arts Council had finally reached their limit!
“This is outrageous!” One of the deputy chairmen on Seclela’s council couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed a microphone and shouted, “This isn’t a competition-it’s outright murder! You brought a killer to the stage to kill, and now you dare to insult our martial arts? How arrogant you bastards are!”
The white-bearded elder on the opposing side broke out in a riot of laughter. But the next moment, his expression turned deadly serious. “Look at you all! Losers always come up with excuses instead of admitting they simply can’t measure up. And what do you mean ‘it’s outright murder’? You can’t be hinting that we should pull our punches and let your people get a few good hits in, can you? That’s just too funny! If that’s what you want, why are we even here? Might as well stage a rehearsed show instead, or maybe a circus show suits you guys better! In our country, martial arts are about reality-real strength, real skill. We let our fists speak for us.”
“You’re talking about nonsense! That’s absurd and completely unfair!”
“Oh yeah, isn’t there a saying here that goes, ‘Fists show no mercy’? We should reach an agreement before the fight that fatalities are no one’s responsibility. Hey, come on, don’t give me that look. The match has barely begun, and you’re already thinking about backing out. Fine, a wise choice, I would say. If you can’t take it, then surrender now. If no one else is willing to step up, then admit your defeat! Carrying on any further will only mean more needless deaths.”
The deputy chairman parted his lips, about to respond, but Colson swiftly took the microphone. He said in a voice that sounded deep yet laced with restrained excitement, “That was just a warm-up. We haven’t even started getting serious. Don’t think you’ve already won.”
“Oh, really? Then hurry up and bring someone in. Our fighter’s hungry for more!”
Upon hearing this, the tattooed brute in the ring grew even more agitated. He started pounding his chest and shouting words that few could understand in a tone of swagger and intimidation.
The white-bearded man chuckled before translating and relating what the tattooed brute said, “Our fighter says you’re welcome to send five challengers because one alone is far too weak. He’s thrilled to be facing such easy opponents. And if there’s no one left to fight, the audience down the stage is more than welcome to challenge him!”
What the hell!
The crowd burst into an uproar again. Everyone’s murmuring in shock. Just moments ago, they had been cheering. Now, they felt thoroughly insulted. This was Seclela’s home turf, after all. How could these foreigners tread on their dignity here? A bit of respect was the least they should show!
The tattooed man’s words had thoroughly irritated the spectators!
“Who does he think he is? If I had ever learned martial arts, I’d go up there and take him down myself!” said one of the spectators.
“Same here! Too bad I know nothing about Seclela’s martial arts!”
“Seclela martial arts, huh? Do you still believe in such stuff? You can’t be serious. It’s all just a publicity stunt by those old men. Day after day, they’re on TV boasting about how powerful it is. Well, here we are! Everyone can finally see what so-called Seclela’s martial arts really are! To me, it’s just a bunch of useless theatrics. I must tell my son to learn boxing. That’s real strength!”
“Exactly! I’ve always said our martial arts aren’t as impressive as they claim. All that talk about the Chi cultivation, the hidden masters who can project streams of energy from their fingers-those are just tall tales spun by ancient folks for amusement.”
“Don’t jump to that conclusion so easily. The ancients couldn’t have just made all that up out of thin air. I think it’s more likely that many martial arts skills have been lost to time. But there was a martial artist in our town who could pierce a tree with just one finger. He was incredible!”
“Bullshit! If that’s the case, then let him come to challenge this giant and find out who’s really the tough one. Just stop bragging!”
“…”
Just then, the announcer’s voice thundered, “Who’s that? My gosh, it’s our undefeated champion, Wade Knox. He is stepping into the ring!”
At the mention of this name, the atmosphere erupted with excitement. The entire gym was shaking with people’s deafening cheers.
Wade Knox is a figure of immense fame in Seclela who had won the national martial arts championship three years in a row.
Under the watchful gaze of everyone, Wade strode into the ring. He was dressed in bright red shorts, and his hair was cropped short. He got a tan due to daily grueling training. His bulging muscles radiated raw power, making him look utterly formidable. Anyway, his appearance filled the spectators with confidence.
The crowd chanted his name excitedly together, “Wade! Wade! Wade!”