Chapter 373: All of them are ways! Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“Number 77, Tianjing Academy, Grai!”
During the halfway mark of the competition, Grai’s name was finally being called out.
“Ah, it’s that handsome brother! It’ finally his turn! I’ve waited for a very long time to say it!”
“All the best, Grai! Ha, come back with first place, alright!” Hymin and the others started to cheer, though their words clearly appeared slightly hilarious to the other people present. In the aspect of appeal, Grai definitely was one of the top 3 on the handsome brother rankings. If one’s status was not considered, Grai might even be a slight bit higher than the Ice Prince Vladimir and Gui Hao in terms of aesthetic appeal.
“Have those people from Tianjing gone crazy? Are they really tossing such jokes aloud?”
“Ah, they’re just a bunch of countryside bumpkins. Didn’t that heavy soldier of theirs appear in the TOP5 highlights just because he had a slight talent in offense? Now, they’ve even forgotten who they really are.”
“Let’s not talk about comparing to experts. Take a look at the skinny monkey like pretty body. I’m unsure that he would even last for the first minute.”
“Everyone, don’t blame those countryside bumpkins for being unknowledgeable. Haha!” Casio’s laughter rang out in a rather wanton fashion, purposefully doing so to let even Grai be able to clearly hear his words. “However, it’ll be something if he crossdresses.”
“What a brilliant suggestion, captain Casio! All of a sudden, I really feel those urges! Haha!”
“Please, senior.” standing in the ring, Grai appeared rather courteous, forever giving people the feeling of him moving at just the right pace. From the looks of it, one could seemingly not spot any urgency in his actions, much less any signs of pressure.
Everyone participating in this competition was elites, though there was a possibility for the younger generation from the various aristocratic families to have some contempt for those military soldiers. Regardless of them being in the Heroic Soul Stage, the military soldiers were definitely not on par with them in the future. For the other participants, the invigilators were significant opponents for them, as they hope to be able to have a good performance and result. This was how one should treat one’s opponent, merely that this was how Grai usually treats everyone. The respect and etiquette he had shown to the invigilator was something that came naturally to him.
Truthfully speaking, as shown by the emotionless face of the invigilator, this so-called courtesy wasn’t liked by those from the military. The so-called rules about raised hand greetings were things that only those fellows who had grown up in the federation’s greenhouses would do. To those in the military, combat was about genuine life or death fight, with no use of such stuff. In a battlefield where one could possibly die in any second, who gave a shit about etiquette. However, this wasn’t a battlefield, but the federation’s sports stadium. Being a military soldier, they should be given the respect they deserved.
Yes, this was merely a show of respect.
Despite his ice-cold face, the invigilator felt a slight bit of happiness within his heart. Merely that…his opponent appeared to be somewhat weak. He came from a C rank squadron, which meant that he was from the bottom of this bunch of participants. This would probably explain the use of such methods like etiquette to make the invigilator himself show mercy. However, it was a pity that that would not happen. At the very most, he would be a tad bit more gentle when knocking him unconscious.
“Come.” a cold voice rang out from the invigilator. However, just as his word rang out, the innocent baby looking Grai had already transformed into a ray of white light!
Extreme dash, soul power explosion — Sword Chop!
The eyes of the invigilator contracted furiously while interest erupted in his heart. “He had actually tried to act harmless to catch his opponent off guard!” This caused the impression of Grai in his heart to rise. Nonetheless, it was a pity that it was still something that a weakling had no choice but to do. Towards this seasoned combat veteran, he would not be able to survive till this day if he wasn’t even able to react to such a sneak attack.
The invigilator took action in a split second. The speed of his soul power eruption was no something that people of the Casted Soul Stage could match. By a hair’s breadth away from danger, his palms connected with one another!
A “Ding” rang out, only for everyone to see that the top of the sword had come to a stop less than 5 inches from the invigilator’s eyes. The momentum of the sword was expended by a naked blade catch!
The people observing the fight breathed a sigh of relief. One would draw a level of hatred proportionally to how appealing one looked. This caused a large number of male participants to have conflicting feelings for Grai. If this pretty boy had managed to succeed in his sneak attack, how could they stand it?
A few strong girls in the audience hoped for Grai to possess a bit of strength, and not be an example of being worthless despite his attractive exterior. That would be a real waste of his appearance. Although his move of playing weak to fool his opponent was pretty good, it was a pity that the invigilator was much stronger than that!
Nonetheless, the blade catch with his bare hands had caused cold sweat to erupt from the invigilator. That’s because the runic sword that he had caught did not possess even an ounce of strength,…that was a feint! He had made a completely wrong judgment. As this was happening, Grai had already rushed in, his left land slicing towards the invigilator’s throat like a blade, causing the latter to retreat subconsciously. However, it was at this instant when Grai’s true killing move had arrived, in the form of a just and honorable straight punch.
Bang…
The force behind the first struck true and true on the chest of the invigilator.
There wasn’t too heavy or explosive of a force behind it. Instead, it rippled out in pulses, sending in oscillations right into the body of the invigilator. The latter’s soul power defense was unexpectedly shaken apart by this pulsing oscillations. A gigantic force struck his chest, causing his heart to turn numb as he flew back 5 to 6 meters before finally coming to a stop. Not pursuing the former, Grai stood his ground, while a faint smile appeared on his face.
The 2 had only crossed hands for a split second. After stabilizing himself, slight paleness could be seen on the invigilator’s face as he was stunned for a brief moment.
“You’ve won.” said the invigilator, exhaling deeply before casually tossing the long sword in his hand aside.
Hearing that, a faint smile appeared on Grai’s face as he gave a respectful bow. “It was just luck. Thank you for your guidance!”
The invigilator gave a bitter smile as he shook his head while replying. “A loss is a loss. A win is a win.” before walking off the ring.
His opponent had actually shown mercy. After making 2 successive wrong judgment, he had already lost this duel. What’s more, the most critical point was that his opponent had actually restrained his strength in his final blow, the Oscillating Fist. Frankly speaking, although he might not faint even if his opponent had used his full strength, this was a competition, and Grai had shown mercy. Regardless of how thick his face was, there was no way for the invigilator to continue fighting on. What’s more, the latter’s performance was indeed remarkable and worthy of praise. Although his strength could still not be judged to be of the apex, his skills and techniques were absolutely top class, ingeniously utilizing his C rank evaluation, modesty and attitude to his benefit. The most crucial point was that Grai’s face was such a confounding trait, as who would have expected for such a radiant male to be that sharp and incisive.
Grai had obtained victory.
Clamoring voices rang out across the entire stadium, with differing reactions appearing from everyone. There were those that felt extremely excited and surprised, with some feeling that the invigilator was cutting Grai some slack. There were even those that felt some hidden dark hands were the cause of this. What the hell was this about, for the invigilator to lose before the 10-second mark???
Previously, the expert on the Mo’s List, Mo Ling had fought for so long before obtaining his victory. How long had this Grai fought for? Was it 10 seconds, or even 5 seconds?
A stretch of blank expressions filled the observatory deck.
What the hell was this!
Seemingly everyone present in the stadium could be considered as experts, with all of them possessing the basic level of judgment and acuteness in their vision. These people weren’t the same as those onlookers spouting nonsense in the OP. However, only an extremely small handful of people were able to clearly see what had happening during that instant in the duel.
Only after a long while did people finally react and hastily opening up their Skylink to see the playback of that instant on the official broadcast.
The process of the fight was apparent under the slow-motion playback. During that split second, 2 exchanges had happened. The first was the astonishing sword chopping forwards that was caught via a naked blade catch. However, that was just a feint from Grai. Although it sounds easy to display a feint, one had to know that it was able to confuse a Heroic Soul Soldier. That sword chop appeared not one bit different from a full all-out attack, brimming with power and might. This meant that Grai’s stand of control over his soul power was absolutely extraordinary. The nail in the coffin that followed suit was also extremely natural and smooth in its execution. A horizontal hand blade to let his opponent fall into his trap once again. That’s because this hand blade was yet another feint, with the killing blow being the strike coming from his right hand.
As for this killing blow, from the soul power fluctuations present on his fist, it was precisely an Oscillating Fist!
This was a soul power boxing technique that only those aristocratic families with ancient martial arts inheritances and top class soldiers were able to comprehend!
However….Oscillating Fist?