si-mexico Chapter 58 Final 2
Chapter 58 Final 2
The applause and cheers from the audience continued unabated. Li Chenglong had no choice but to pick up the microphone and say, "Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement. We'll wait for our staff to finish restoring the venue before the quarterfinals begin." Yun Lan returned to the podium, dusted herself off, and said with a feigned fierceness, "Was that your new level 6 skill? It's amazing! And your Dragon-Phoenix Slash has become so much more powerful." Li Xue was a little tired; she had almost exhausted all her strength. Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Yes, that is indeed a new skill, and my Dragon-Phoenix Slash seems to have evolved as well." Yun Lan pouted, "I'm never fighting you again. You're bullying me." Li Xue also smiled and said, "Judging by my brother's strength, even if all the level 4 and 5 players in Dawn City attacked together, they wouldn't be a match for him."
Li Chenglong waved his hand: "Don't be blindly arrogant. There's always someone stronger, and there's always someone better. We're currently only operating in this area. We don't know what other powerful zombies or monsters might appear elsewhere, or what other powerful superhumans might emerge." Chen Xiaoke, Han Xiaoling, and Cao Yuechan, the little girls, also ran over, all saying that Li Chenglong was so cool just now. Cao Yuechan even said that she wanted to marry Li Chenglong when she grew up, which made Li Chenglong speechless. Shen Menghua then pinched her little ear and pulled her aside.
After the intensive repairs by over a dozen Level 3 Earth-type Ability Users, the competition venue was finally ready for use. There were only four matches left, and they would be played one at a time. The first match was between Wu Gang, a Level 5 Fire and Wind-type Ability User, and Song Tie, a Water-type Ability User. This match was fairly predictable, but it still garnered a lot of attention. The referee for the quarterfinals was still Zheng Yong, a Level 3 Metal-type Ability User. Speaking of Metal-type Awakened, Zheng Yong was currently the only one in Dawn City. With Zheng Yong's command, the first match began immediately. To conserve energy for the later battles, Wu Gang went all out from the start.
He immediately unleashed his superpower: "Super Flame, Gale Technique!" The wind fueled the fire, and the fireball, enhanced by the Gale Technique, flew incredibly fast towards Song Tie. Song Tie didn't dare to be careless and also activated his full power: "Roaring Waves!" A massive torrent of water flew directly towards the fireball, but in terms of sheer power, Song Tie was no match for Wu Gang. While the water weakened the flames somewhat, they still hurtled towards him. Left with no other choice, Song Tie leaped into the air to dodge the fireball. Wu Gang, however, secretly smiled. Yun Lan also remarked, "Going into the air to deal with pure fire-type ability users is fine, but against someone like Wu Gang with dual fire-type abilities, it's a disadvantage."
Just as Yunlan had said, Wu Gang pointed both hands into the air and shouted, "Wind Arrows!" Two wind arrows shot directly at Song Tie. Song Tie, unable to exert any force in mid-air, desperately tried to disperse the arrows with a high-pressure water jet, but they were too fast and still struck his shoulder. However, Wu Gang certainly wouldn't use his full strength in a match, and Song Tie only felt excruciating pain before falling to the ground. Before Song Tie could land, Wu Gang used his wind-based ability to rush forward and knock Song Tie out of the arena with a single blow. The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Shen Menghua said at this moment, "I feel like it's become a clash of various skills now, and individual combat ability isn't that important anymore." Li Chenglong shook his head: "That's because the two of them are not only one level apart, but Wu Gang is also a dual-elemental ability user, so it seems like it's just a clash of skills. If the abilities of people at the same level are very similar, then individual combat ability becomes particularly important." The second match was between Zheng Aiguo, a level 5 earth-type and strength-type dual-elemental awakener, and Hao Dahai, a level 4 fire-type ability user. The course of this match was exactly the same as Wu Gang's match, and Zheng Aiguo also won easily, advancing to the semi-finals to meet Wu Gang.
The two battles in the lower bracket were Qi Guoan, a level 5 earth-type ability user, versus Liu Jianye, a level 4 strength-type ability user, and Zhao Rui, a level 5 strength-type ability user, versus Wan Dahai, a level 4 water-type ability user. These two matches were actually less exciting than the previous one, both decided within five minutes. Qi Guoan and Zhao Rui both advanced. Li Chenglong glanced at the opponents the advancing contestants had faced on their path to the next round and couldn't help but admire Liu Jianye's luck; he hadn't encountered any particularly strong opponents along the way, the strongest being Wang Shuang, a level 4 dark-type ability user from the previous round.
It was nearly 6 PM, and Li Chenglong decided to let everyone go back for dinner first. The semi-finals and finals would start promptly at 7 PM. Li Chenglong and Yun Lan were eating in the government canteen when a graceful and beautiful girl entered. She glanced around the canteen before fixing her gaze on Li Chenglong. Because Li Chenglong was eating facing north, and the canteen entrance was on the south side, he didn't see the girl. Li Xue, Yang Liu, and Zhao Liying, however, all saw her. Under their gaze, the girl slowly walked up to Li Chenglong, extended a delicate hand, and said, "Hello, Brother Li, I'm Ma Yuanyuan. Your amazing performance today completely captivated me. I wonder if you have a girlfriend? If not, would you like to date me?"
Li Chenglong was eating intently when he heard this and almost spat out his food. He looked Ma Yuanyuan up and down and exclaimed in surprise, "Aren't you Uncle Ma Tiancheng's daughter? Uncle Ma said you were sick, so I haven't seen you since." Ma Yuanyuan then hugged Li Chenglong from behind. This bold move left Li Xue and the others speechless, and Yun Lan even frowned, on the verge of exploding. Li Chenglong broke free from the girl's embrace, saying, "I'm sorry, I already have a girlfriend." Seeing Ma Yuanyuan about to rush over again, Li Xue stopped her. A moment later, Ma Tiancheng returned with two people, apologized to Li Chenglong, and then took Ma Yuanyuan away.
Shen Menghua sighed, "Yuanyuan has had a tough time. She was about to marry her boyfriend of eight years when a zombie outbreak occurred. Her boyfriend was swallowed by a horde of zombies while trying to save her, and afterwards, she developed some mental issues. Now, she wants anyone who looks like her boyfriend to be her boyfriend." Yunlan finally understood the whole story after hearing this and asked Li Chenglong, "I wonder if our healing-type ability users have any solutions for this?" Li Xue shook her head, "Our medical department can treat external injuries and diseases, but we don't have any good solutions for mental health issues." Li Chenglong then stared at Zhao Liying, "I think Zhao Liying could try for mental illnesses." Zhao Liying was somewhat surprised, "Captain Li, I don't know how to treat illnesses." Li Chenglong slowly said, "It's not that I want you to treat her, but I feel that we can use your strong mental control abilities to give her some suggestions, which can also have a therapeutic effect. I'll talk to Uncle Ma when I see him later. If he agrees, you can try it tomorrow."
Shen Menghua then said, "I'll talk to Lao Ma. He's been worrying a lot about his daughter lately, so he'll definitely agree. I'll bring Zhao Liying over to see her tomorrow morning." Li Chenglong nodded, "That's good too." The group ate and chatted, and before long, it was almost time for the competition to start.
Both semi-final matches featured level-five ability users. For safety reasons, Li Chenglong personally served as the referee. As his watch struck seven, Li Chenglong announced, "The first semi-final match: Wu Gang vs. Zheng Aiguo, begin!" He then slipped to one side, letting the two perform to their hearts' content, while he intently watched them. In the stands, Li Xue asked, "Sister-in-law, who do you think will win between Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo?" Yun Lan observed carefully for twenty seconds before replying, "It's really hard to say right now. They became ability users almost simultaneously, both are dual-element ability users, and they both advanced to level five around the same time. Their abilities are probably evenly matched. Plus, we were in the same special forces team before, so we know each other very well. This match is going to be quite a battle."
Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo both knew their opponents were very knowledgeable about them, and a normal fight would be a tough battle. They were both thinking of ways to win by surprise. Seeing their hesitation, Li Chenglong said, "Let's start the match quickly. Don't forget you only have 20 minutes. Too much worry during the fight will only cause problems." The two immediately realized this; they would only know the answer after actually fighting. To prevent energy waves from the battle between level five beings from accidentally injuring the spectators, Li Chenglong had dozens of level three ability users set up ability barriers, preventing too much energy from being released outside the arena.
With a shout, the two drew their military daggers, channeling their supernatural abilities into them, and began to attack. Wu Gang currently had 100 Constitution, 90 Strength, 113 Agility, and 119 Spirit, while Zheng Aiguo had 110 Constitution, 115 Strength, 92 Agility, and 109 Spirit. Their attributes were slightly lower than Li Xue's, but quite good compared to Zhao Rui and Qi Guoan, two level-five single-elemental ability users. Li Chenglong estimated that once they reached level six, their attributes would be similar to Lei Bao, the dual-elemental ability user of both Strength and Wind. Wu Gang used his high Agility to relentlessly attack Zheng Aiguo with his dagger, while Zheng Aiguo relied on his high Constitution and strength, each strike carrying significantly more power than Wu Gang's. Neither had yet unleashed their special abilities, but the clash of red and yellow supernatural powers caused sparks to fly from their daggers.
The audience applauded and cheered at the exciting scene. Zhao Gang and his companions, seemingly from nowhere, found several large drums and began to beat them rhythmically. Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, and the two men's daggers snapped in two during the clash. This was only because they had infused their supernatural abilities; otherwise, the military daggers would have broken long ago. Li Chenglong, wanting to see their true limits, said directly, "Wu Gang, I allow you to use the tiger-shaped knife I gave you." Wu Gang was overjoyed, as using the tiger-shaped knife would increase his fighting ability by at least 30%. Zheng Aiguo, however, said, "That's unfair! He has a treasured knife, but I don't!"
At this moment, Yang Liu walked onto the stage, drew a battle sword made from the teeth of a level 6 zombie beast giant snake from its scabbard, and handed it to Zheng Aiguo: "This is my sword. Captain Li said to give it to you, but you'd better cherish it." Zheng Aiguo took the sword and examined it carefully. The blade was made from the teeth of the level 6 zombie beast giant snake that Li Chenglong had killed. It was about 3 feet long, dark green, and gleamed with a metallic sheen under the stadium lights. He had long heard that the special forces team had four such treasured swords, and had previously offered Yang Liu 2000 points to exchange for one, but Yang Liu had flatly refused. Now he could finally use it.
Wu Gang was initially happy to be able to use his own weapon, but now that he saw Zheng Aiguo had a more powerful one, he said with some dissatisfaction, "My knife is quite different from a human's." Li Chenglong then said, "You level five ability users cannot fully utilize the power of this knife modified from the venomous fang. In addition, you have been using the tiger-shaped knife for so long and are more skilled at it, so you are still on the same starting line."
After a brief pause, Li Chenglong announced the resumption of the match. The two men resorted to their old tricks, channeling their supernatural abilities into their weapons and engaging in combat. The battle lasted for seventy or eighty rounds, with neither gaining the upper hand. Li Chenglong glanced at his watch: "Five minutes left in the match." Hearing this, Wu Gang knew time was running out. He forcefully shoved Zheng Aiguo aside with his knife and retreated. Seeing Wu Gang retreat, Zheng Aiguo accelerated to pursue. Suddenly, Wu Gang's left hand emitted a red light, and a beam of flame shot directly at Zheng Aiguo. Surprisingly, Zheng Aiguo neither dodged nor evaded, continuing to charge forward, sword in hand, braving the flames. Wu Gang was startled by Zheng Aiguo's ferocity, momentarily losing his composure.
The latter also lowered his knife and activated his strength-based ability. Zheng Aiguo's right hand and arm grew to three times their normal size, and he punched Wu Gang in the chest. Wu Gang hastily raised his knife to block, but Zheng Aiguo's attack was full of force. Wu Gang felt as if he had been hit by a train and was sent flying backward. Zheng Aiguo, however, was relentless, charging at Wu Gang at full speed, determined to end the fight immediately. But Wu Gang spun around in the air a dozen times, then unleashed a powerful gust of wind from his hands to maintain his balance, before hurling several wind blades at Zheng Aiguo. Zheng Aiguo immediately summoned an earthen wall to block the wind blades.
The two exchanged blows again, their skills flying back and forth. The audience was so captivated by the spectacle that they forgot to applaud. As time ticked by, Li Chenglong announced, "Two minutes remain until the allotted time for the battle." Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo knew time was running out. Wu Gang shouted, "One move to decide the winner, how about it?" Zheng Aiguo nodded, "Alright! Just one move."
Both men then began to gather their supernatural abilities. As time passed, their auras reached their peak. Wu Gang emitted fiery red and cyan energy waves, while Zheng Aiguo released waves of gray and red energy. Wu Gang then shouted, "Raging Wind and Blazing Fire Palm!" and charged towards Zheng Aiguo. Zheng Aiguo, in turn, shouted, "Super Power Earth-Shattering Fist!" and charged towards Wu Gang. The two massive energies collided as they leaped and bounded, causing a huge impact on the supernatural barrier. A massive shockwave and dust erupted at the point of their collision.
Everyone present held their breath, carefully observing the situation on the competition field. Three minutes later, as the energy waves gradually disappeared and the dust settled, Zheng Aiguo slowly crawled out of the giant pit under the watchful eyes of ten thousand spectators. Wu Gang followed forty seconds later. Li Chenglong nodded and then announced, "I declare Zheng Aiguo to have advanced to the finals. Earth-type ability users, please repair the field again. We will begin the other semi-final in ten minutes."
Wu Gang walked up to Zheng Aiguo and said, "You're not being fair, kid. You even used your earth-elemental power to bind my hands and feet at the end. Otherwise, I would have been the first one to crawl out. But congratulations anyway, that was a great fight." Zheng Aiguo laughed heartily, "Let's find a secluded place sometime and have another match, okay?" The two smiled at each other and helped each other off the arena. The audience applauded and cheered for their actions.