Martial Arts Boy - Fourth Match: The Real Beginning

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Martial Youth

Fourth Match · Before the Official Start

The lights inside the arena slowly dimmed.

The once-noisy venue seemed to be covered by an invisible weight. The sound sank little by little.

From the stands came the scraping of plastic chairs against the floor, the crunch of drink cups being squeezed flat, and the low voices of people talking under their breath. All of it mixed together, then was pressed down by the lights above the ring.

The banners at ringside swayed slightly.

The floor still carried sweat marks left behind by the previous matches.

The smell of sweat, rubber mats, and protective gear blended with the stifling heat inside the venue, making every breath feel heavier than usual.

The referee stood at the center and raised his hand.

His voice spread clearly and steadily.

“The next match—competitors, please enter!”

Kuroda Ken stepped onto the ring.

His steps were steady.

Each step was not fast, but it felt as if he were pressing the full weight of his body into the ground.

He made no unnecessary movements.

He did not swing his fists to warm up.

He did not look toward the audience.

His whole body was like a stone pressing down on the ring.

Across from him, Michael lightly raised both hands.

His expression was relaxed.

His shoulders were loose.

His footwork was loose too.

He looked as if he had only come up to stretch his body.

But as Lin Hao watched him, his brows slowly furrowed.

“That guy…”

Gu Chengyuan stood beside him, his eyes also fixed on the ring.

“Yeah.”

Lin Hao looked at him.

“You think he’s strange too?”

Gu Chengyuan kept both hands in his pockets. For once, there was no joke in his voice.

“He’s too loose.”

Yeqing stood on the other side and said quietly:

“It’s not that he isn’t serious.”

Gu Chengyuan nodded.

“He’s too used to this.”

On the ring, Kuroda lowered his head in greeting.

Michael gave a slight nod in return.

The referee confirmed the distance between both sides, then sharply dropped his arm.

“Begin!”

In the next instant, Kuroda Ken moved first.

His front foot stamped forward heavily, and his whole body pressed straight in.

His punch was not fancy.

Not fast.

But heavy.

That punch came forward as if it meant to force Michael all the way back to the edge of the ring.

Michael did not retreat.

He did not take it head-on either.

His shoulder only shifted slightly.

As if his body had known where to move before his mind did.

Tap.

A very light sound rang out on the ring.

Lin Hao had not even seen clearly whether that movement was a punch, a palm, or merely a brushing probe.

Kuroda’s head had already tilted slightly.

“Just now…”

Before Lin Hao could finish speaking, Gu Chengyuan’s eyes sank.

“He hit him.”

Yeqing frowned.

“But Kuroda didn’t step back.”

Gu Chengyuan stared at the ring.

“That’s what makes it strange.”

On the ring, Kuroda seemed to realize he had been touched as well.

His gaze darkened, and his second step immediately followed.

His shoulder lowered.

His right fist pushed toward the centerline again.

This time, he left no gap.

But Michael’s body seemed to slide away, passing outside Kuroda’s punch line.

His feet only changed angle.

No large movement.

No exaggerated dodge.

He was simply no longer where he had been.

Lin Hao’s brows furrowed even tighter.

“How did he do that?”

Before Gu Chengyuan could answer, someone squeezed over from behind and bumped into his shoulder.

“Coming through, coming through!”

Gu Chengyuan was knocked slightly to the side and turned back with a frown.

“Hey, watch where you’re going.”

The person quickly apologized.

“Sorry, sorry. I just bought a drink. There are too many people.”

Lin Hao was also pushed slightly by the crowd beside him.

“Hey, careful.”

Yeqing reached out and steadied Lin Hao by the wrist.

“Watch the front first.”

Lin Hao was just about to look back at the ring, but Gu Chengyuan was still staring at the person who had bumped into him. He clicked his tongue.

“This venue is way too crowded.”

Yeqing said calmly:

“Weren’t you just saying you wanted to watch Michael?”

Gu Chengyuan turned back.

“I am watching. I just—”

Bang!

A dull impact suddenly exploded from the ring.

The sound was not loud.

But it was clean.

Like the sound of a fist passing through a defense and landing directly on the chin.

Lin Hao, Gu Chengyuan, and Yeqing turned their heads almost at the same time.

On the ring, Kuroda Ken was already down on one knee.

One hand braced against the mat, his shoulders rising and falling violently.

A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were still clear.

But his body no longer obeyed him.

Michael stood in front of him, his fist only just lowering.

His breathing was steady.

His shoulders did not even visibly rise or fall.

As if that strike had not ended a match.

As if it had merely been a very ordinary warm-up movement.

The entire venue fell silent for an instant.

An unnatural silence.

The audience seemed not to have reacted yet.

The referee reacted first. He immediately stepped forward and crouched to check Kuroda’s condition.

Kuroda tried to stand.

But the moment his knee lifted slightly, it dropped heavily back onto the ring.

The referee raised his hand.

“Stop!”

The next second, the announcement sounded.

“Match over—!”

“Winner—mixed martial arts, Michael!”

Only then did the whole arena erupt, as if everyone was reacting half a beat late.

“Huh?”

“It’s over?”

“What just happened?”

“Didn’t Kuroda only just press in?”

“How did he go down?”

The stands were in an uproar.

Lin Hao stood at ringside, completely stunned.

“…It’s over?”

Gu Chengyuan’s expression also froze in a rare moment.

“No.”

He slowly turned back toward the ring.

“We only said a few words, right?”

Yeqing did not speak.

She looked at Michael, her gaze becoming very heavy.

Kuroda Ken was helped to the side ropes by the referee.

He did not look unconvinced.

He was not angry either.

He only sat at the edge of the ring, breathing heavily.

As if only now did he truly understand what had knocked him down.

Lin Hao stared at Michael on the ring.

“How exactly did he hit him?”

Gu Chengyuan was silent for a moment.

This time, he did not immediately make a sarcastic comment.

Nor did he pretend to be relaxed.

“When Kuroda went in, his path was already wrong.”

Lin Hao looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

Gu Chengyuan stared at Michael.

“He thought he was chasing.”

He paused.

“But every step he took was a step Michael allowed him to take.”

Yeqing said quietly:

“So that strike just now didn’t land suddenly.”

Gu Chengyuan nodded.

“It was already waiting there.”

Lin Hao looked back at the ring.

Michael was walking down beside the referee.

There was no excitement of victory on his face.

No pride either.

He only shook out his wrist, as if this match had really only warmed up his body.

Lin Hao suddenly felt a chill down his back.

That match just now was not the kind of match he had understood before.

It was not about whose fist was heavier.

It was not about who could endure longer.

It was not about who was faster.

From the very first step Kuroda took, he had already walked into the place Michael had prepared for him.

He had not been defeated by the final punch.

He had walked in front of that punch.

And then he had been taken.

Gu Chengyuan said quietly:

“This guy…”

He paused, which was rare for him.

“He’s troublesome.”

Yeqing glanced at him.

“If you call someone troublesome, then he really is troublesome.”

Gu Chengyuan did not argue.

Because he knew that, this time, Yeqing was right.

The lights inside the arena brightened slightly again.

Staff members stepped forward to organize the ring.

Someone wiped away the sweat on the floor.

Someone straightened the ropes again.

But the pressure left behind by that match had not yet dispersed.

Lin Hao lowered his head and looked at his own hand.

In the past, when he watched matches, he watched fists.

Who hit whom.

Who retreated half a step.

Who fell down.

But Michael had just shown him something else.

Some people did not defeat their opponent with one punch.

They made their opponent walk into that punch themselves.

Just then, Michael stepped down from the ring.

The crowd naturally parted for him.

His gaze swept across ringside before finally stopping on Lin Jing.

It stayed there for too long.

Gu Chengyuan’s brows immediately furrowed.

The corner of Michael’s mouth lifted slightly, and he was just about to speak—

Gu Chengyuan stepped in front of him and directly blocked his path.

“Hey.”

Michael stopped and looked at him.

Gu Chengyuan lifted his chin slightly, his tone faint.

“Keep your eyes down here.”

He paused.

“What’s above isn’t your business.”

The air instantly cooled.

Even a few people who had been making noise nearby unconsciously fell silent.

Michael looked at Gu Chengyuan.

A little interest appeared in his eyes.

“So there’s a dog here that knows how to bite.”

Gu Chengyuan smiled.

The smile was not deep.

Nor was it warm.

“You can try.”

He stepped forward half a pace.

“See whether you get bitten badly enough to bleed.”

Michael did not retreat.

Gu Chengyuan did not retreat either.

The two stared at each other.

The air felt as if it had been pulled tight by an invisible wire.

Lin Jing stood behind them and did not speak.

But as she looked at Gu Chengyuan’s back, something shifted faintly in her eyes.

Yeqing lightly touched Lin Hao’s wrist.

Lin Hao looked at her.

Yeqing did not speak. She only gestured with her eyes toward the other side.

Hinata had already walked over.

He stood in front of Lin Hao, still wearing that faint smile.

“Hey.”

Lin Hao turned back.

Hinata raised his hand and rolled his shoulder.

“The next match is you and me.”

He looked at Lin Hao, his eyes bright and direct.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Lin Hao was silent for a moment.

The venue was clearly noisy.

But in that instant, he felt as if he could hear his own heartbeat.

One beat.

Then another.

Falling into his feet.

Falling into his fists.

Michael’s match was still lingering in his mind.

Rhythm.

Position.

Choice.

The path someone was forced into.

And the instant before that punch landed, when the opponent had already been led off course.

Lin Hao slowly clenched his fist.

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

Hinata smiled.

“Good.”

He turned and walked toward the preparation area on the other side.

Lin Hao watched his back and slowly let his breathing sink.

On Gu Chengyuan’s side, the confrontation with Michael had not fully dispersed.

On this side, the fighting spirit between Lin Hao and Hinata had already begun to heat up.

The arena announcement sounded again.

“The next match will begin shortly.”

The lights gathered toward the ring once more.

The noise from the stands rose little by little.

Some people shouted Hinata’s name.

Others began asking who Lin Hao was.

The ring floor had just been wiped down, leaving a faint wet shine.

Lin Hao stood at ringside and looked at that patch of light.

He knew the next match would not be simple.

Hinata was not Li Hongyang.

Not Zhou Liehuo.

Not Shen Luo.

The way that person looked at him did not seem like looking at an enemy.

It was more like looking at an opponent he had waited a long time to finally face properly.

Lin Hao said quietly:

“I’ll answer you.”

He clenched his fist.

“With my fist.”

He lifted his foot and walked toward the ring.

On the other side, Hinata was already standing beneath the lights, quietly waiting for him.

The announcement sounded again.

“For the next match, competitors, please enter.”

The sound from the stands rose bit by bit.

The lights fell on the center of the ring, illuminating the sweat marks that had just been wiped clean.

Lin Hao stepped onto the ring.

Hinata looked at him and smiled.

“You’re finally here.”

Lin Hao raised his eyes and looked at him.

“Yeah.”

At ringside, the referee raised his hand.

The sounds of the venue seemed to pull far away in that instant.

Lin Hao could only hear his own heartbeat.

One beat.

Then another.

Falling into his feet.

Falling into his fists.

And while everyone’s attention was focused on the ring, near the darkest exit at the back of the venue, a figure had appeared without anyone noticing.

That person stood where the light could not reach.

His build was not especially tall.

His coat was half-covered by shadow.

His silhouette looked very much like Lin Yunlong.

No one turned back.

Lin Hao did not notice.

Gu Chengyuan did not notice.

Yeqing did not notice either.

That person only stood in the shadows, calmly watching Lin Hao on the ring.

He made no sound.

He did not approach.

Nor did he make any unnecessary movement.

His gaze slowly moved away.

Sweeping over Michael.

Sweeping over the stands.

Sweeping over the noisy, excited, completely unaware crowd.

That gaze did not look like it belonged to someone watching a match.

It looked more like he was confirming—

Whether something that should not have appeared here had already mixed in.

And yet, that figure seemed to lack something.

Something that, if Lin Hao turned back, he might have noticed immediately.

In the next instant, the referee’s hand sharply fell.

“Begin!”

Lin Hao and Hinata moved at the same time.

And in the shadows behind the audience, that figure resembling Lin Yunlong did not speak.

Did not approach.

He only stood there quietly.

Like an omen that no one had discovered yet.

Lin Hao and Hinata—

The fourth match had officially begun.116Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIujg5vNlo

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