Huo Zhenyu did not let his guard down just because Ling Lan's punch seemed feather-light as he had already suffered a loss from the previous attack, so he was even more cautious this time. In addition, Ling Lan's warning had given him sufficient time for preparation, so instead of considering it as Ling Lan taking the initiative to attack, it would be better called a mutual attack.
Reason being, Huo Zhenyu, who had prepared in advance, had chosen to attack to defend and directly used his strongest attack to confront Ling Lan's punch.
When experts exchanged blows, they did not require hundreds or even over thousands of blows like those in the lower realms — very often, one or two moves could determine the victor. Huo Zhenyu understood this and believed the opponent did too. Therefore, this move of the opponent was definitely not as simple as it seemed and was instead an earth-shaking punch.
Huo Zhenyu naturally would not hold back anymore — letting his Qi sink into his dantian 1 , he shouted: "Ultimate Overlord Punch!"
Following his shout, Huo Zhenyu's right hand clenched into a fist and moved fiercely to clash against Ling Lan's.This move completely reflected Huo Zhenyu's style — vigorous, bold and powerful. Before his fist met with Ling Lan's, the explosive sound of his punch tearing through the air caused the expressions of the many spectators to change. Even though they were not directly facing this attack, they could feel the terrifying power it contained.
Ling Lan's countenance changed faintly and she suddenly increased the strength in her punch from 70 to 90 percent. Only such a terrifying and overbearing punch was befitting of someone who had the identity of the military academy's number one combatant. A hint of seriousness emerged in Ling Lan's thoughts as she did not dare to belittle the opponent.
With a bang, the two powerful fists collided and Ling Lan could sense that the opponent's strength was very solid, and he was absolutely not someone she could defeat by using one or two bands of One-Inch Punch.
The moment Huo Zhenyu came into contact with Ling Lan's fist, he felt a force similar to roaring waves transmitted through his fist. Although it was powerful, it was still within the scope he could withstand. However, before he was able to relax, he sensed another new force overlaying on the original attack surging towards him once again.
Huo Zhenyu's expression subtly changed as he groaned and frantically circulated his inner Qi-Jin to withstand the immense overlaying force once again. The strong point of this Ultimate Overlord Punch was that, before exceeding his limits, he could resist the opponent's attack no matter how powerful it was.
At this moment, Huo Zhenyu rejoiced at his initial decision to use his most powerful move instead of another finishing blow. Otherwise, the sudden addition of this overlaying power would have injured him.
However, Huo Zhenyu was only at ease for a few breaths' time, as very soon, he felt another new force emerging, which was once again overlaid on the original force, nearly overcoming him. Could it be that he was about to lose?"No!" Unwilling to be defeated, Huo Zhenyu looked up to the skies and howled wildly. His eyes were wide open and filled with fury, his face thoroughly red. At the same time, his entire right hand suddenly bulged...
With a tearing sound, Huo Zhenyu's right sleeve became torn as pieces of cloth fell onto the ground one by one, revealing a sturdy arm with bulging muscles and veins that swelled up.
In order to resist Ling Lan's third band of One-Inch Punch, Huo Zhenyu had utilized the extreme limit of his Ultimate Overlord Punch. He sincerely hoped that this was the opponent's last attack, or else he would be meeting his defeat.
A light flickered in Ling Lan's eyes and her originally fair complexion flushed red. She let out a grunt and, using the third band of One-Inch Punch which was about to disappear as a foundation, another, fourth layer of force emerged out of nowhere...
The force behind this attack was too powerful, encompassing the accumulated force of the previous three strikes. When Huo Zhenyu sensed the fourth strike incoming, his complexion suddenly paled because the energy in his body was already being used to the extreme limit and he did not have any excess energy to withstand this fourth strike...
Several squelching pops rang out, and the skin on Huo Zhenyu's arms suddenly split open like a sieve with countless holes, and the sounds of bones cracking could also be heard as blood spurted out from various sections of his arm.
Huo Zhenyu's arm had been crippled because of this fourth strike, but the attack did not stop here; shortly afterwards, Huo Zhenyu was sent flying into the air as a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out from his mouth with a spitting sound.
Seeing this, Ling Lan withdrew her fist and her brows furrowed as the red flush on her face faded and turned pale in an instant. Apparently, she had lacked the capacity for a fourth One-Inch Punch but had forcefully executed it anyway and caused a backlash, thus suffering from a slight internal injury.
This time around, Ling Lan had learnt a lesson, that she should not belittle any opponent when duelling and should go all-out regardless of who the opponent was. Otherwise, it would be very easy for the opponent to overturn the match.
"Since when have I become so conceited and complacent?" Ling Lan could not help but scorn herself. Her originally prudent personality had been progressively disappearing ever since she found out that her father Ling Xiao was not dead — this was not an ideal situation.
Seems like it was not a good thing to have a solid backing! Ling Lan decided to go on as before and act as if Ling Xiao had been "sacrificed" as this would be more beneficial for her growth.
On her end, Ling Lan was self-analysing her own mentality, deciding to rely on herself to continue growing in the future. Meanwhile, Huo Zhenyu had spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, allowing him to breathe easier. He then flipped over and landed on the ground, but as his inner Qi-Jin had been depleted completely, he did not manage stand firm after landing and retreated three to four steps in succession before stabilizing himself.
All the cadets watching the match surged to their feet in a stupefied uproar. They had not expected that the powerful Boss Huo could not even withstand a punch from the opponent. Everyone felt that their worldview had been overturned, thinking, who the hell was this mysterious young man? To actually be able to defeat the number one combatant of the military academy when he had just entered the academy?
Huo Zhenyu raised his head with great difficulty and looked at the slender young man who had a calm expression as before. If not for his firm will, he most likely would not have been able to remain standing.
Seeing Ling Lan retract his right hand, Huo Zhenyu noticed that the opponent's arms appeared to be trembling uncontrollably. It could be seen that the opponent using such a powerful finishing blow was not without any repercussions, and this comforted him a little. At the very least, the opponent was not completely invulnerable.
If the opponent had not been injured in the slightest … Huo Zhenyu could not help but smile bitterly on the inside. He believed that his confidence would have been directly shattered by the opponent, and then he would have become doubtful of himself, wondering whether the five years of bitter training he had spent had been a mere joke...
Even so, his confidence had still suffered a blow and was on the verge of crumbling apart. Huo Zhenyu was aware that in order to build up his confidence once again and forget the traumatic experience the opponent had brought him, he would perhaps have to spend a very long period of time recuperating.
At this moment, Colonel Tang Yu looked towards Huo Zhenyu and asked loudly, "Huo Zhenyu, can you continue fighting?" Perhaps the spectators were unable to clearly tell Huo Zhenyu's condition, but as the closest observer, Colonel Tang Yu was clear that Huo Zhenyu was already reaching his limits and would not be able to continue battling for long.
Having heard what was said, Huo Zhenyu smiled bitterly. He straightforwardly raised his hands and said, "Referee, I admit my loss for this match." His strongest move had been defeated and his body was near to falling apart, so he did not know what he could use to continue fighting.
In a serious tone, Ling Lan said, "Many thanks!"
What Ling Lan said was not a conventional greeting or words just for show. She was genuinely thankful that Huo Zhenyu's full-strength attack had allowed her to realize the problem with her mentality, and this was more important than winning the match. If she had not discovered this and waited until the day she arrived on the battlefield, this sort of mentality could have caused her death no matter how strong she was.
Huo Zhenyu's reply did not go against Colonel Tang Yu's expectations. He looked at Ling Lan as if thinking of something, and announced loudly, "New Cadet Regiment vs Leiting Mecha Clan, the fifth match, New Cadet Regiment 1st-year Ling Lan wins. The match score is 3-2. The New Cadet Regiment are the final victors of this fight!"
Following this announcement, all the members of the New Cadet Regiment leapt up and cheered enthusiastically. Evidently, everyone was cheering for Boss Lan as Ling Lan had used this match's victory to establish the New Cadet Regiment's unparalleled position so that no one could contend against them.
Wu Jiong, who was seated below, did not feel regret upon hearing the cheers, but instead waved his arms and shouted for joy along with the other members. Multiple past experiences had made him understand that though he might be able to lead an extremely powerful team, he was incapable of making them into a winning team that would triumph in every battle. Reason being, he lacked Ling Lan's boldness and aggressiveness, and even in terms of mentality, he was unable to be like Ling Lan who could always remain unperturbed regardless of any difficulty he encountered.
"Haha, we've truly won…" Several of the team leaders beside Gao Jinyun revealed dazed, silly smiles after witnessing the result. Even though they had been convinced by Gao Jinyun to continue following Boss Lan, they were nevertheless stunned after witnessing Boss Lan defeat the military academy's number one combatant and emerge victorious in this wagered fight; the shock of this outcome was too huge.
Gao Jinyun laughed proudly to his heart's content. "Hahaha, I'm sure you're all aware now of Boss Lan's prowess … Leiting wanting to absorb the New Cadet Regiment is a dream as long as Boss Lan is here!"
One of the leaders took a deep breath and finally calmed down. Then, in admiration, he said, "Leader Gao, you're right. We shall follow you unquestioningly in the future."
Currently, these leaders were secretly rejoicing that they had been convinced by Gao Jinyun because of their close relationship with him and had patiently waited for the result. This moment proved they had made the right move; they could not help but feel sorry for those few leaders who had not had the resolve to stay and had sought out alternative options. As Gao Jinyun mentioned, there was only one opportunity — grabbing it meant grabbing it, while missing it meant that you had truly missed the opportunity.
"Let's go, we shall go and welcome Boss Lan!" Gao Jinyun looked at the members of the New Cadet Regiment rushing forth to the stage and suggested excitedly.
"Alright!" The several leaders answered loudly one by one. At this moment, they indeed wanted to enjoy this hard-earned joyous occasion with everyone in the New Cadet Regiment. This was a victory belonging to them, and represented that the New Cadet Regiment had truly established themselves in the military academy.
