Ding!
Wang Bingbing swung her sword at Hong Xiuquan, but Hong Xiuquan used his gauntlets to protect himself, using it as a shield.
After defending the attack, Hong Xiuquan used his other hand to throw a powerful punch at Wang Bingbing, who elegantly twisted her body to dodge it.
"Wow, it's like wielding two weapons at once," Yuan mumbled.
"Although he's at a disadvantage due to his very limited range, he more than makes up for it since that allows him to defend and attack at the same time." Wang Ming said.
"Doesn't it still hurt when he defends? Even though he has steel gloves, the impact should still hurt him quite a bit." Yuan asked.
"Yes, but the gauntlets aren't something you just put on and use like a sword or other weapons. It requires the wielder to train their body if they want to use it efficiently. Hong Xiuquan had to temper his body, mostly his arms, to extreme lengths, so that he wouldn't have a broken arm every time he defends."
"He has bathed in treasures since he was young, not to mention the strenuous physical training he does almost every day, allowing his arms and bones to become as durable as steel."
'Body tempering, huh? I wonder how they temper their body… Is it any different from what I did in Cultivation Online? However, this would mean that treasures with spiritual energy really exist in this world… I should ask them later.'
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Wang Bingbing and Hong Xiuquan fought fiercely for many minutes with Wang Bingbing trying to break Hong Xiuquan's defenses, while Hong Xiuquan tries to catch Wang Bingbing off-guard with a counterattack, but neither of them was successful after many minutes of going back and forth.
"Compared to Player Yuan and Wang Ming's battle, this is kind of boring, right?"
The spectators expressed their boredom 15 minutes into the round since the fight was neither as fierce nor exciting as Yuan's fight with Wang Ming.
Ding!
Eventually, Hong Xiuquan managed to knock Wang Bingbing's sword out of her grasp and outside the stage using his gauntlets.
When this happened, Wang Bingbing surrendered, as there was simply no way that she could defeat Hong Xiuquan without her weapon.
"Good fight." Wang Bingbing bowed to him afterward.
"Good fight, Senior Sister Wang." Hong Xiuquan returned her bow.
However, even though he won the fight, it was actually a very close fight.
If Wang Bingbing had lasted a little longer without losing her sword, Hong Xiuquan would have been the one to surrender since his arms were reaching their limit from defending too many of Wang Bingbing's sword strikes.
Even with his intensive training, it was simply impossible to endure so many powerful strikes from someone of similar talent and strength.
After the match ended, Hong Xiuquan removed his gauntlets, and to everyone's surprise, his arms were swollen and black.
The spectators shuddered at the horrifying sight of Hong Xiuquan's arms, but Hong Xiuquan himself acted like it was ordinary.
"Young Master Hong, do you need treatment?" The announcer asked him.
Hong Xiuquan looked at his arms for a moment before shaking his head, "Nah, I'll be fine. They will recover after some rest, and this is how they usually look after training."
"I-If you say so…" The announcer said in a somewhat baffled voice.
"Heavens… I cannot imagine the kind of training he must endure if his arms look like that at the end of every session." Yuan mumbled in a low voice.
"His training includes smashing large boulders with his bare hands and punching thick steel plates. Bleeding and bruising is a normal routine for him, but the most surprising is his recovery rate. Despite the stress and torture that his body endures every day, he returns a few days later with all of his bruises and injuries gone, almost like they never existed in the first place." Wang Ming explained.
A few minutes later, Shi Lang entered the stage with another young man that appeared to be around the same age.
Shi Lang was handed a spear as Yuan had expected, but the young man named Wu Zao was given a fan.
"Eh? He's a fan user?" Yuan was surprised to see Wu Zao using a fan, as he only knows one other person who uses the fan— his sister, Yu Rou.
"It's a weird choice, right? The fan is one of the least popular weapons due to its extremely short range and small size, so nobody really uses it. Even if somebody decides to pick it up, they are usually women, so it's really rare for a man to pick up the fan as their weapon." Wang Ming said.
And he continued, "If you ask me, the fan has more disadvantages than advantages, and even if someone masters the fan, they will not be on par with someone who masters the sword or any other more efficient weapon."
"With that being said, Wu Zao has managed to climb to the top ranks with a fan, so he's not someone you can underestimate solely because of his weapon."
Yuan then said, "I know someone that uses the fan in Cultivation Online, but I don't think I have seen her use the fan as a blunt weapon. Instead, she waves it around, sending these destructive and long-ranged attacks at her foes."
"Yes, that is what the fan specializes in— spiritual techniques that require qi. However, that isn't something you can rely on in this world due to our limited techniques since spiritual techniques like that are really rare. In fact, he only knows one spiritual technique."
Once Shi Lang and Wu Zao were ready, the announcer began the fight.
Immediately, Shi Lang used his spear to attack Wu Zao from a distance since it was the obvious thing to do with his huge advantage in range.
Wu Zao didn't panic and used his metal fan to deflect the spear by hitting it at the right spot at the perfect moment, sending the spear to the side.
Once that happened, Wu Zao actually advanced forward and closed their distance.
However, before Wu Zao could get too close, Shi Lang retrieved his spear and swung it sideways, sweeping it at Wu Zao.
Seeing this, Wu Zao held the fan with both his hands to block the strike.
Although he'd successfully blocked the strike, Wu Zao was still sent a couple of steps backward from the impact.
The spectators cheered at their exciting fight even though it had only been a couple of seconds since the match started.
'Wow, I kind of want to fight that Wu Zao…' Yuan thought to himself after he witnessed Wu Zao using the fan with such skills.
"Who do you think will win? Shi Lang or Wu Zao?" Yuan asked Wang Ming.
Although he knew Shi Lang's strength very well after sparring with him many times, he knew nothing about Wu Zao.
"Hmmm…" Wang Ming pondered for a moment before speaking, "Honestly, I have no idea. One might favor Shi Lang due to his immense advantage as a spear user, but Wu Zao is actually more talented and powerful than Shi Lang, so it kind of balances things out.. I guess whoever makes a mistake first will lose the entire battle, just like Wang Bingbing and Hong Xiuquan's fight."