Ma Rue Gang vs. Ma Long Mei.
Two youths stood opposite each other. The first had silver-white long hair reaching his waist and milky-white eyes beaming with intelligence and determination. The other was almost two meters tall, with broad shoulders and an unnatural physical strength. His hair was short and messy, and the fire of triumph burned in his eyes.
"I hope you're better than that last chick." Rue Gang remarked sarcastically. Long Mei was truly beautiful, elegant, and exquisite, you wouldn't believe he was even a man from a single glance. Long Mei didn't bother responding and took the same stance he took when fighting against Rue Bu, his feet firmly positioned on the ground, squatting a little, and putting one hand behind his back while pointing the other at Rue Gang, as if saying. "Show me what you got."
Rue Gang got a little excited, smashing Dong Min's head to the ground, and her refusal to surrender made him very bored, so he watched the fight between Rue Bu and Long Mei. He saw how intensely they fought, and he got excited seeing that Long Mei was taking him seriously from the get-go. His muscles and veins bulged, blood rushing through them. He was planning to have the time of his life in this fight.
Not even two hours had passed since the start, while Healing Gu Masters would come and treat their injuries and fatigue so that they could continue fighting, still, they had been fighting nonstop for almost one to two hours. 'I can't believe we have to do this four days a week and then have an extra fight with our Gu. That's just an absurd amount of fighting in one week. Are they training Gu Masters or war machines? Well, considering the situation of the reg...' Rue Bu's thoughts got cut off by the teacher signaling the start of the fight between the two youths. He was interested in the fight too. He really wanted to know who was going to win out of this muscles-versus-brains fight. These two children were truly talented in close combat, although one of them was just taking advantage of his physique, and you can't really say he's "talented", So what? That was his luck, and he used it to its fullest.
Rue Gang rushed straight ahead as soon as he heard the teacher. He was really terrifying for a 15-year-old. Long Mei was startled by the sight of a 2-meter giant running towards him at full speed, but that was just it—a little startle. He composed himself and calmed his mind, then moved slowly in the opposite direction of Rue Gang, trying to control the distance and look for an opening. The direct fighting style he used against Rue Bu would not work against an opponent of that size. He maintained his fighting stance, and Rue Gang was going to close the gap eventually, but that was what he wanted—to have full control over their distance meant to have control over when to attack and when not to. It was only possible in front of a slow opponent like Rue Gang.
Slowly closing the distance, Rue Gang was getting annoyed. Whenever he was about to reach Long Mei, he would increase his speed of retreating, keeping him just far enough from his attacking range.
"I guess you're really a princess after all, stop running away..." Rue Gang shouted at him when he noticed that Long Mei was suddenly in attacking range.
'Fuck! I got used to him moving in the opposite direction I didn't anticipate him running at m...' he was thinking of that as he took a strike in the throat, almost choking him. He then got hit in the face, the stomach, and even his groin area. Long Mei was truly ruthless, he didn't let any vital areas but hit in his flurry of attacks. Rue Gang was in pain, but gritting his teeth, he withstood the attacks and even managed to throw a punch in Long Mei's direction. Long Mei was prepared, using his forearm to deflect the attack, he noticed another punch coming from the opposite direction, so holding the first hand with just one hand, he managed to redirect the other punch too.
Long Mei was holding firmly onto Rue Gang's hands, but it could be said that Rue Gang was also holding his opponent in place.
'Shi...' he was just deflecting the punches and holding them in place to not allow him to throw anymore punches, but he forgot to take into account one small thing: Rue Gang's head was already on its way, aimed directly at Long Mei's. With him holding his hands, it was really easy to deliver a devastating blow to the head. Long Mei felt a little dizzy, he wanted to let go, but Rue Gang had already made it impossible. He clenched his jaws and prepared himself, he knew it wasn't over, and indeed, he was right. With another headbutt, Rue Gang took full advantage of the situation. One after the other, the flurry of blows didn't stop, and after a while longer, he let his hands go. With a slow and powerful thrust of his hand, Rue Gang delivered a punch straight into the stomach, lifting Long Mei's whole body off the ground and slamming it back down with another punch.
"*Huff*...*huff*...*huff*...*huff*, I guess I expected too much of you, huh?" Rue Gang wasn't that tired because of Long Mei's earlier attacks but as a result of his own. His forehead was bloody, a mix of his blood and Long Mei's. It wasn't that Long Mei was weak, but without any Gu, how could he even hope to damage a body like Rue Gang's? He was really dreaming. Long Mei found himself in a miserable condition: his head was covered in blood, still oozing incessantly, he felt lightheaded and on the brink of unconsciousness. The last two strikes had set every muscle in his stomach and back ablaze with pain. Despite this, he preserved, refusing to let the pain overpower him. He attempted to stand, using his hands for support, reminiscent of a dying old man clawing his way back to life.
As he gazed at Rue Gang, Long Mei raised his hands to shield his face. Rue Gang merely laughed aloud. "Hahahahaha! Alright, I'll demonstrate how ineffective your fancy techniques are against raw strength—my strength." Rue Gang advanced slowly and steadily, knowing Long Mei wouldn't run any longer. When he drew near, positioning one leg behind the other and standing sideways with a determined stance, he retracted his hand, pulling it back with precision and force, building momentum before unleashing a swift, powerful punch of undeniable intensity.
Long Mei's gaze remained fixed on the approaching punch, tracking its trajectory and timing its impact meticulously. With a calculated move, he raised both hands to his face. As the strike made contact with his skin, he swiftly and elegantly brought his hands down, redirecting the force of the blow toward the ground.
With strategic precision, Long Mei adjusted his stance, preparing to capitalize on Rue Gang's slowing movements. He thrust his hand toward Rue Gang's throat with full speed. However, as Rue Gang defended his vulnerable point, Long Mei executed a sudden twist, delivering a kick aimed at his feet, causing Rue Gang to collapse to his knees, completely caught off guard. Without allowing him a moment to adapt, Long Mei continued with a flurry of kicks—a round kick to his side followed by another to his face. Relying on his size, he withstood the barrage of devastating kicks and punches until fatigue began to weigh on Long Mei. With his kicks losing their speed, Rue Gang started to discern a pattern, seizing the right moment to finally catch Long Mei's leg.
Standing up, Rue Gang smiled at Long Mei before swinging him by the leg, crashing his whole body onto the ground repeatedly, the sounds echoing in the ears of the rest of the students. Finally, the teacher intervened, saving Long Mei from the clutches of this monstrous figure.
"The winner of today's fights is Rue Gang, and the rankings for the other matches will be posted on the daily board. If you wish to understand your weaknesses and how to improve, I suggest rewatching your fights, analyzing why you lost, and how you can fix your flaws. Remember, you can also study any other fight for insights." Elder Ru Da announced loudly, encouraging students to self-assess and learn from each other to enhance their skills and potentially achieve higher rankings.
As Rue Bu observed Long Mei being escorted to the infirmary with a dislocated shoulder, blood still oozing from his head, and unconsciousness. 'It's strange.' Rue Bu wondered to himself, reflecting on Long Mei's determination. 'I expected Long Mei to put in a lot of effort in this fight, but why would he stand back up again like that, even though I'm sure he knew he had already lost? His attacks were barely effective against Rue Gang after all.' Puzzled by the intensity of the fight and its seemingly meaningless outcome, Rue Bu pondered the reason behind Long Mei's excessive efforts. With the crucial fight yet to come in four days, he didn't really get it, so he asked his old friend friend for help. 'What are your thoughts on this?' he inquired.
'Considering the possibilities and circumstances surrounding Long Mei, two scenarios come to mind.' the voice analyzed, expressing its thoughts. 'Firstly, it could be a personal aspiration or goal of his to attain first place in all fights, even seemingly irrelevant ones, human emotions and desires are intricate and can lead individuals to engage in illogical actions. However, upon observing the behavior of other students in their fights, it's evident that this desire for dominance isn't exclusive to Long Mei but shared by many others. This leads us to the second possibility, which we are inclined to believe in more.'
'What's the second possibility?' Rue Bu inquired.
'The second possibility is that it's not solely a personal desire but also a political one.' the voice explained. 'Meaning that the students don't just view the rankings as a means to acquire primeval essence stones, but as a way to gain power or influence to some extent. In this tribe, and perhaps this entire world, the weak follow the strong. Thus, consistently achieving a higher ranking on the board each week could lead others to perceive you as superior, prompting them to follow your lead. Considering Long Mei's grandmother and her potential influence, it's plausible to assume that he aimed for first place to gain power and influence, thereby solidifying his position as he embarks on his journey until eventually becoming an elder.'
Rue Bu nodded in contemplation, acknowledging the reasoning presented. While there was a possibility of them overthinking the motivations and emotions of a 15-year-old, the explanation did provide a logical framework for understanding why Long Mei fought as if his life depended on it.
"Alright, for those of you who don't require treatment, stay here, train, or take the opportunity to review some fights. We'll have a 30-minute break until the healing gu masters finish treating those who were severely injured. Once everyone returns, we'll head to the tribe's storage area for you to choose your first gu." Elder Ru Da announced, igniting excitement among the students.
"Finally, we get to choose our first gu." they all thought eagerly as Elder Ru Da departed to make arrangements for the 312 students to access the tribe's storage. While not a large building, it was comparable in size to one of the academy's facilities, as the most valuable tribe resources were kept underground, out of reach.
'Finally, I'll have my hands on my first gu!' he exclaimed internally, bubbling with excitement. Though he had seen his parents' gu before, he had never held one in his own hand, let alone owned or used one. For 15 long years since arriving in this world, he had been waiting for this moment, and the anticipation was justified.