Chapter 823: Chapter 823: Trying to Cover Up?
"Why is he pretending?"
Hua Wushuang frowned and looked at Li Bielang.
"I can’t say for sure, it’s just a gut feeling."
Li Bielang also had no evidence; it was purely intuition, because he sensed that Li Feng was like him.
He was not the type to be ostentatious.
If Li Feng saw Li Bielang, he might feel a sense of camaraderie. Li Feng had missed two consecutive battles, not intending to stand out and become the focus.
Don’t forget, Li Feng also had a nickname, Hidden Dragon.
When the blade is drawn, it shines brilliantly.
But once it’s sheathed, it naturally becomes low-key and restrained.
Li Feng never wanted to be at the center of attention.
"Who’s there?"
The moment a sea breeze blew in through the glass door of the Know-It-All’s room, he looked up.
"No need to be nervous, it’s me."
"Li Feng!"
The Know-It-All looked in surprise at the "seriously injured" Li Feng: "Weren’t you severely injured by Hua Wushuang? How are you in my room?"
"I did suffer some internal injuries, but it’s not a big deal."
The Know-It-All scrutinized Li Feng and found his face rosy, as if he hadn’t been injured at all.
"Then why are you in my room?"
"Know-It-All, you used me as part of your betting scheme and kept me in the dark. That’s not very ethical, is it? I’ve bought materials worth tens of thousands from you; I’m your VIP client, and this is how you treat me."
Li Feng looked at the Know-It-All.
Hearing this, the Know-It-All smiled awkwardly: "Li Feng, you didn’t come here just to hold me accountable, right? I admit this time I was out of line. Whatever you need, just say it."
The Know-It-All, being perceptive, naturally knew that Li Feng’s appearance in the middle of the night wasn’t just to settle an old score—it would be meaningless.
"Help me spread a message and we’ll be even."
Upon hearing this, the Know-It-All looked at Li Feng, knowing his guess was correct.
"What is it?"
"The message is that my injuries are not serious, and I’ve fully recovered."
"Hmm...!"
The Know-It-All lifted his eyes to look at Li Feng: "Are you really okay now?"
Li Feng chuckled.
"Do I look like there’s something wrong? It’s late, I’ll be leaving." Li Feng said, turning to the balcony facing the sea. When the Know-It-All looked, Li Feng had disappeared into the night.
"Is he really okay, or is he just putting on a brave face?"
The Know-It-All murmured and suddenly smirked: "Interesting."
The third day of the Martial Arts Tournament.
The wind over the sea was somewhat strong, at the A group arena.
Xiao Xi was the first to fight again, securing three consecutive victories, becoming first in group A with twelve points.
"Next is number two to take the stage. Is contestant number two, Li Feng, present today?"
"Will Li Feng also be absent today?"
"Being absent means giving up the right to actively challenge, benefiting the next in line."
As people speculated, suddenly Li Feng emerged from a door on the deck.
"Li Feng is here."
The crowd turned their heads to look at Li Feng coming from behind.
"Please let me through."
Li Feng confidently walked through the parted crowd and onto the arena.
"Li Feng looks normal, walks powerfully, not like someone with internal injuries."
"That’s strange, he missed two fights yesterday. If his injuries weren’t serious, why concede? Is he just putting on a front?"
"Very likely."
Li Feng went on stage and without a word challenged someone ranked ahead of him.
"Li Feng actually challenged number 120, Jiang Tao, who currently has two losses, four wins, and five points, ranking ninth."
"Li Feng challenging the ninth-placed Jiang Tao! Jiang Tao is by no means weak, coming from a National Martial Arts Family, with ancestry tracing back to Late Ming; his family heritage includes the formidable Eight Diagrams Continuous Palm."
"Though he lost two matches before, one was against Tie Xuan, the other against Hua Wushuang."
"Heh, Li Feng drew with Hua Wushuang and even defeated Tie Xuan."
The arena rules stipulate you cannot challenge the same person twice to prevent point-farming, thus avoiding consecutive challenges against previous defeated opponents to gain points.
"Li Feng missed two consecutive fights yesterday, and one was a draw; now with only four points, to advance in the top eight of the group stage, he must defeat those ranked ahead to ascend."
"Number 120, Jiang Tao, please."
"Number two, Li Feng."
Clang.
With the sound of a gong.
The match begins.
Has Li Feng really recovered?
He was hit by Hua Wushuang’s Half-step Breaking Fist and missed two matches. Although he looks fine, is that really the case?
Jiang Tao was suspicious, but disregarded it.
Clearing his mind of distractions, Jiang Tao raised his palm. This family-inherited palm technique originated from the Eight Diagrams Sect but was refined by the Jiang Family.
The refined Eight Diagrams Continuous Palm is also known as Jiang’s Mian Palm.
Jiang’s Mian Palm consists of four folds, eight hands, and thirty-six moves, composed according to grappling and fighting essentials; each move flows continuously.
Jiang Tao lightly tapped with his toes, moving like a fierce tiger down a mountain, directly pouncing toward Li Feng.
The host on the sidelines quickly narrated.
"Here we see, Jiang’s Mian Palm, which left a deep impression in previous matches, moves like a tiger catching its prey, each move follows another, aggressive and relentless."
"Can contestant Li Feng withstand this?"
Beside the arena, Ling Shuang also watched.
"In yesterday’s pinnacle match, Li Feng and Hua Wushuang drew, but he subsequently missed two matches. It’s said number two, Li Feng, was internally injured; just now, his complexion seemed improved."
"If so, then contestant Jiang Tao is in danger."
"Li Feng opted to dodge backward, not engaging the attack."
"Could it be that Li Feng’s internal injury hasn’t healed?"
"Facing Jiang Tao’s Continuous Palm, the best strategy is to disrupt his rhythm immediately, or you’ll face an overwhelming continuous offense akin to a tidal wave."
"Indeed, in previous matches, Jiang Tao’s opponents retreated step by step, eventually being pushed off the arena. Could number two, Li Feng, also end up like this?"
"Li Feng might have severe internal injuries and is just holding on."
"I think so too. Hua Wushuang’s full-force Half-step Burst, a move with immense explosive power—it’s fortunate he didn’t collapse outright."
"Is Li Feng going to be knocked out of the arena?"
With Ling Xue’s exclamation, all eyes turned to the arena. Li Feng had retreated several steps to the edge, with room for only two more steps before being off the platform.
"You’re strong on the outside, but weak inside, just holding on."
Jiang Tao coldly sneered at Li Feng, facing him directly: "In that case, I’ll gladly take this point."
Jiang Tao raised his palm, launching another wind-sweeping strike towards Li Feng’s chest.