Cornered, Ming rattled his brain for a way out. He had already exhausted a fourth of his Qi to swiftly take out the wiry man, he needed to make his attacks count
Just before they close in completely Ming made up his mind and opened his dantian, the Qi flowing out ruptured his meridians but he couldn't afford to care now
//Flowing Reed Steps, Mid Bronze, Familiar//
The wind blow beads of sweat from Ming's face as he filled his legs with Qi, propelling himself forward with fluid steps
Ming tried to break away from the deadlock but found his body jerked back violently, he couldn't move his left leg, Ming was completely stuck in place
//Mountain Monkey's Grip, Low Bronze, Mastered//
It was the stocky man, he had reached out in time with his martial art and firmly grabbed De Ming's ankle. His hand flashing with Qi as he gripped Ming's ankle tighter and tighter, the slow fracturing of his bones made Ming scream out in pain
"Your movement art's fancy kid, don't get me wrong" The man smirks and continued
"But using an art you're only at a familiar level against me, Gang the Grappler? Big mistake"
Gang swung his arm upwards with surprising strength considering his small build, sending Ming flailing 4 feet above him
//Carp Ascension Punch, Mid Bronze, Mastered//
The man gathered Qi with his fist, the Qi leaking out swims around his knuckles like small catfishes as he readied his stance to deliver a devastating punch up directly to Ming's unguarded abdomen
As he fell, Ming realised that Gang was going for the killing blow. Even so, Ming can't help but admire the carefully crafted combo of attacks Gang sent his way
Compared to the soul numbing endless monotonous work back at Crimson Cloud Manor, moments like these truly makes his life worth living
Ming could not contain his grin as his black pupil dilates, expanded and completely consumed his eyes, leaving behind two sockets of manic void
The veiled girl took a step back on instinct as she watched Ming's face, for the briefest of moments she saw on his face the truest and most sadistic expression of joy. This man wasn't as simple as she thought, he was mad
Gang's fist's rose up, on course to strike's Ming's stomach
Mid air, Ming twisted his body to resemble a horizontal horse stance, staring straight into Gang's eyes as he pulled back his right palm and collected Qi, overcharging it with two times the usual amount of Qi; such a feat would be impossible for martial artist in early Third rate, but Ming pulled it off with sheer desperation for survival and martial insight. The air crackles around his palm as the skin cracked open, leaking out blood and Chaotic Qi alike
//Crimson Flame Palm X2 Overdrive, Low Silver, Familiar//
Boom!!
Gang's fist and Ming's palm collided, sending ripples through the air as dark crackling flames assaulted towards the ground
The crowd went silent, expecting Gang to step out of the smoke victorious like previous years, he's been the reigning champion of Gu fighting for three years after all
But as the smoke clears, onlooker witness in shock as Ming stood above the Gang the grappler's unconscious body and laying sprawled on the ground with his skin and cloths burn and his right hand grostestly twisted and charred
Ming's stance rested on his right leg, as his left was partially crushed by Gang earlier, the skin of his right palm burned off, breathing heavily
Yet to the silver haired girl's and the audience's surprise, Ming's eyes were as blank as an endless void and his maniacal grin still present
"One… more to go…" Ming muttered as the crowd exploded in cheer
"Go get'em benefactor! Beat the shit outta that girl!"
Bu Li yelled out from a distance before getting the back of his head smacked by Lao Jiu
"Be quiet, you runt! Don't distract him with your nonsense!"
Ming steadied his steps and he walked towards the girl, eyes wide and manic, ready to do anything to secure the victory. Right now, within his mind, nothing else exists, only the battle and the thrill of it
The girl sweats nervously as she leaped forward, gathering Qi at her feet
//Diancang Misty Waltz, Mid Silver, Mastered//
As she moved forward at breakneck speeds, the girl's silhouette blurs and becomes unreadable to De Ming, as if veil of mist was covering her every move
Ming instinctively jumped back to dodge whatever she prepared to hit him with but the attack never came as the girl stumbled and fell in front of him
"Ow" she yelped and she hurriedly stood back up "I'm still not used to this, huh" She mutters ominously to herself and Ming kept his guard up
This could be a trap, Ming believes that she's leaving herself open on purpose to bait him in, 'these people from the slums are not to be trifled with' he thought
"I'm not falling for that!" Ming spoke with a proud grinned
The girl looked at him in bewilderment as she fixed her stance 'he gave up his chance to strike just like that? What an odd fellow'
She darted in one more time, this time her movements were definitely smoother according to what Ming could tell
As the blur came near, Ming attempted to catch her off guard
//Underhanded Thug Sweep, Low Bronze, Familiar//
Ming anchored his left leg as he gathered Qi in his right and swept toward the blur that is the silver haired girl
Strangely enough, Ming's leg felt nothing as he swiped it sharply through the area; he had expected at least a firm block, but no. When he looked ahead, the girl was gone
Hearing the rustling of clothes, Ming looked up
The girl was now directly above him, and Ming realized couldn't possibly react in time to dodge
//Wind Needle Strikes, Low Silver, Mastered//
The girl jumped above his sweep and cupped her hands into pointed speaks as she dexterously darts them at Ming left shoulder, the wind spun around her fingers like mini drills as they dug into Ming's flesh and pressure points, rendering his left arm useless
"Arghhhh!" Ming clenches his teeth
He endured the pain, focused his vision and torque his body to grab her left leg mid air with his still usable right hand
//Mountain Monkey's Grip, Low Bronze, Novice//
Qi gathered in Ming's right hand as he grabs her leg tighter
The girl yelps in pain, but it was to no avail, Ming wasn't in a position to give into sympathy, this was a dirty ruleless fighter after all. Had he been the one trapped, would she have spared him? Probably not
//Staggering Tiger's Claw, Low Bronze, Perfected//
With a practiced motion, still holding the girl's leg, Ming swung down, planning to smash her into the cold hard ground
But before he could
"Arghh, so frustrating!!"
The girl complains as the Qi of a Mid Second-rate warrior suddenly burst forth from her body, pressuring Ming, weakening his grip
"I can't believe some no name pushed me this far! Urghhh!"
She said as she wiggled her leg out of Ming's grip with overwhelming force compared to an early Third-rate warrior and stood upright, dusting off her shoulders in a nonchalant manner before rushing in at a still disoriented Ming
//Diancang Tiger Palm, High Bronze, Familiar//
She made a claw gesture as she struct it towards Ming's chest, Qi fortified around her finger tips as claws as they whistled towards Ming, her form graceful yet destructive, slamming squarely into his chest, the claws digging in viciously, breaking some of his ribs and launching him backward
Ming barely managed to hold his footing, he was barely conscious at this point, broken ribs, his left shoulders stabbed, his left arm disabled, his left ankle fractured, his right palm burnt all while his own destructive Qi was rampaging his meridians. It's frankly a miracle that he's even standing
"What kind of endurance monster are you…" The girl gasped at Ming's tenacity
"You should've just let go and rest, urghh, I'll knock you out properly this time" She stretched her fingers, pulled back her left palm and moved in, preparing another strike
The crowd was cheering harder then ever when
"STOP!!"
Suddenly, the Branch's regional manager yelled out, the abrupt command halting the girl's steps
"You are not an early Third Rate warrior but in fact a Mid Second rate! Therefore, you are DISQUALIFIED!"
A wave of boos ran out, none of them were about the girl cheating but about the regional kill-joying the fight. They wanted to see more
"Huh? What- Oh yeah-" The girl muttered him surprised, realizing that her heat of moment decision costed her the whole competition
She hung her head low, seemingly bummed out
Though she recovered from it pretty quick as she picked her head up and stared daggers at Ming, as if telling him "You ruined this for me"
Ming paid no mind to it
"Heh… So I guess I won huh" Ming muttered between ragged breath as he locked eyes with the girl to rub salt in her defeat by disqualification
"You- Hmph!" She pouted, flicking her head away, her twintails followed suit
"To think that you'll push me this far" She muttered dejectedly and then add
"that flame palm technique you used was definitely a silver grade martial art, you're not from around here are you?"
"Same goes for you" Ming answered cheekily
"Hmph! You do have some brains, I'll give you that"
"I'm Zhou Xuelan, disciple of Diancang Sect" She said as she held out her hand for a handshake
"You?"
"I'm De Ming, from Crimson Cloud Manor… I was a servant there…" Ming answered bashfully as he left her hanging, ashamed of his position, he could not bring himself to shake her hand
"... Servant? You're not even a disciple?" She froze, retracted her hand and lightly slapped her own face
"Calm down Xuelan, it's fine, It's fine, servants are strong nowadays, right? You're doing fine, everything's fine-." She muttered dejectedly under her breath, as if consoling herself for losing to a "mere servant"
Xuelan's eyes became blank as her mind spirals while she walked out of the ring
Ming chuckled through the pain, finding Xuelan's reaction amusing
"I'll see you around miss Xuelan!"
Ming waved
Xuelan turned her head and pouted
"As if I ever wanna see you again! Bleeee" Xuelan stuck out her tongue at De Ming like a salty little kid before turning away and leaving
Meanwhile, the crowd was going ham, the fight was incredible and they're all looking at and chanting for one man
"SOFTY! SOFTY! SOFTY!"
Ming twitched his brows in annoyance. Ming found the nickname odd but he couldn't care less right now
Everything hurts, if only he could just… lay down
Ming's legs finally gave away and his body was on course for the ground
But before his clothes get covered in dirt, Ming felt a pair of firm and steady hands catching him
"You did well Kidddo, be proud, you're a true warrior" Lao Jiu's reassuring words were the last thing Ming heard before blacking out completely