Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 390 - 357: 20-Person Roster, Confirmed!

Chapter 390: Chapter 357: 20-Person Roster, Confirmed!

[Boxing (Master Level), Muay Thai (Master Level), Sandboxing (Master Level)]

[Overall Score: A— (75%)]

This is Wang Kehan’s data. The score isn’t low, but she lacks ground skills, clearly not having reached the master level yet.

Her score is considerably lower than Zhang Weili’s, though her weight is above Zhang Weili’s, which compensates for some of the differences. Moreover, combat isn’t just a game of numbers, as it also depends on performance on the spot, strategies, tactics, and willpower, so actually, the two are quite equally matched.

Wang Kehan and Zhang Weili changed into their outfits, put on their gloves, and began to warm up in the ring.

Their competition quickly caught the attention of the rest of the people in the Martial Arts Hall, all of whom came over to watch.

Someone recognized Wang Kehan on stage and briefed the surrounding crowd, so everyone quickly learned that this was a battle between the two successive top female fighters.

"Are you ready?"

Wu was also on the stage, serving as the referee.

"Yes!" Zhang Weili said with a smile, looking very relaxed.

"Ready!" Wang Kehan appeared a bit more cautious, her eyes filled with a fighting spirit as she looked at Zhang Weili.

"Begin!"

Wu waved his hand and stepped back a few paces to give them space.

Wang Kehan continually changed her footwork, using the boxing butterfly step to close in on Zhang Weili.

Her foot rhythm changed rapidly, and her body suddenly lunged forward, apparently to attack, but then she abruptly pulled back, making it very deceptive.

This step technique must be something Wang Kehan figured out herself; to Wu, it resembled having a mercury-like center of gravity. Such a control isn’t exclusive to Traditional Martial Arts—many top modern combat masters also reach this realm of absolute control over their center of gravity.

Like Habu, whom Wu had fought before, was just a hair’s breadth from achieving a mercury-like center of gravity, which is why he could trick Wu with counter-moves. And now, Wang Kehan wasn’t far from it either, which somewhat surprised Wu.

After several changes, Wang Kehan suddenly unleashed a high whip kick towards Zhang Weili’s head.

The move was unexpected, and Zhang Weili couldn’t react in time, only able to raise her left arm to block.

Bang!

After blocking the kick, Zhang Weili quickly moved back to increase distance, slightly shaking her left arm, and looked at Wang Kehan with some surprise.

This kick’s power was no less than that of some male fighters!

Normally, when Zhang Weili practiced defense, she would let some featherweight male fighters attack, so she was used to the power of male fighters two classes above her. Now, the power in Wang Kehan’s kick was also at this level.

Wu, seeing Wang Kehan’s kick, was also impressed—such explosive power!

After the kick, Wang Kehan immediately launched an assault, kicking continuously.

Front kick, hook kick, side kick, back kick, spinning kick! Various kicking techniques were deployed textbook-style and at a high speed, at least two kicks per second.

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

With each kick, Wang Kehan shouted loudly, her aura mighty!

The spectators watching below exchanged glances, astonished at her fierce fighting style. And the power of those kicks, just the sound made them feel heavy.

Online data showed that Wang Kehan’s fighting style was more masculine; at this moment, the spectators realized what that meant. Many of the students from Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall even felt a bit ashamed, thinking they probably couldn’t muster such an offensive...

Zhang Weili raised her guard, continuously stepping back to dissipate the force.

She defended very solidly; after all, she was used to blocking kicks from male fighters during her regular training—it was just another practice session for her.

Wang Kehan’s offense lasted a whole minute, her rhythm never disrupted, without a single mistake.

Wu nodded to himself, seeing that she indeed had been preparing for a comeback for a while now, with good recovery of her physical fitness to execute continuous high-intensity kicks without mistake.

At this moment, Zhang Weili had retreated to the edge of the ring, and one more step back would have her falling off.

Bang!

After blocking another high whip kick from Wang Kehan, Zhang Weili fiercely lunged forward.

Wang Kehan was prepared, retracting her left leg and lifting her right for a front kick towards Zhang Weili’s chest.

Zhang Weili seemed to have anticipated this; she suddenly curled up, avoiding Wang Kehan’s front kick, then bent forward and sprang up, swiftly turning to arrive behind Wang Kehan, pushing her on the back with both hands.

Wang Kehan missed her kick, her body followed the inertia forward, and before she could adjust her posture, Zhang Weili pushed her from behind, causing her to involuntarily lunge forward, then fall off the ring.

"Good!"

The surrounding spectators clapped their hands. Zhang Weili then smiled at Wu.

Wu nodded to her, that move was one he had taught to the students of Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall: when pushed to the edge of the ring by an opponent, one could dodge using the Monkey Squat movement technique, then move behind the opponent and push them off the ring.

Ideally, after the Monkey Squat one should follow with the Tuo Form, using the Divine Turtle Floating Water movement technique to circle behind, which would be more fluid and quicker, then one could use either a back strike or hip strike, shoving and leaning, to force the opponent out.

This series of techniques was specially designed by Wu for the new ring, taught to students during training for the Yanhuang Technique. The fighting ring of the Combat World Cup was similar to that for the Yanhuang Technique, so Wu had the students practice repeatedly in recent training.

Zhang Weili had joined the training the day before yesterday and had seen the move. Wu hadn’t expected her to learn it so quickly and be able to use it directly in the ring.

Although the maneuvers Zhang Weili performed after the Monkey Squat weren’t Tuo Form Fist techniques but rather her ad-hoc actions, the timing and fluidity of her movement were well executed, or else she wouldn’t have managed to push Wang Kehan off so easily.

"Not bad, just brush up on your Tuo Form Fist techniques a bit more, and it’ll be your killer move during the competition," Wu advised Zhang Weili with a smile.

After all, Zhang Weili had only practiced for two days. Tuo Form Fist was difficult, and for those unfamiliar with Xingyi, it was hard to master quickly, which is why Zhang Weili hadn’t used it in the latter part of the session.

"Again!"

Wang Kehan had already returned to the ring, shouting with an unconvinced expression on her face.

After all, it was her first time on such a platform, she was completely unfamiliar with the rules, and hadn’t anticipated such techniques, which is why she felt so indignant.

Zhang Weili’s eyebrows raised, about to speak, but Wu stepped forward and waved his hand, "All right, no need to fight anymore, Kehan. I’ve seen your capability, and I now formally invite you to join the Hua Country Team."

Wu approached Wang Kehan and extended his hand to her.

Wang Kehan paused for a moment, then her face became difficult to hide an expression of surprised delight.

The grand scale of this Combat World Cup, her first comeback match was to be such a competition—what a perfect start!

"Thank you!"

Wang Kehan grasped Wu’s hand, "I will definitely fight my hardest!"

...

On October 3, 2021, the Hua Country Team’s twenty-person roster was officially set!

Wu, Li San, Zhao Lixin.

They were the first tier members, all with an Overall Score above S-grade, three people in total.

Gao Jianping, Guo Dongyang, Dong Yunfei, Song Yidong, Xu Zijia, Zhang Weili, Wang Kehan.

These were the second tier members, with Overall Scores all above A-grade, seven people in total.

Wang Xing, Xu Chuan, Wang Ruojun, Liu Zonghui, Yan Xiaonan.

These made up the third tier members, all with Overall Scores at B+ (80%) and above, all having the potential to break into A-grade.

Particularly, Xu Chuan, Wang Ruojun, and Liu Zonghui were Wu’s personal bodyguards. Xu Chuan aside, Wang Ruojun and Liu Zonghui stood out among a large group of professional students from Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, chosen by Wu themselves, both for their talent and capability. Having spent time learning directly from Wu lately, they had improved rapidly.

Previously, in the Yanhuang Technique, Xu Chuan, Wang Ruojun, and Liu Zonghui had all made it to the semi-finals in their respective weight classes, their strength was evident.

The fourth tier, also considered as reserve members, consisted of five people, one woman and four men. The woman, from Zhang Weili’s club, was named Chen Min, with an Overall Score of B- (56%), which was quite impressive among female contenders.

Among the four others, one was the heavyweight Boxing Champion from Jianghu Wind, Chen Quan. He had previously cut weight to enter the lighter Yanhuang Technique category, but lost during the quarterfinals to Dong Yunfei. Afterwards, when he heard about the Combat World Cup, he approached Wu himself, having already terminated his contract with Jianghu Wind, seeking to join the Yanhuang Technique.

In terms of heavyweight contenders, Hua Country had always lacked strong professional players, and Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall didn’t have many either. Chen Quan’s Overall Score was B+ (53%), considered top level domestically, thus Wu had accepted his request and signed him up for the Yanhuang Technique, subsequently adding Chen Quan to the twenty-person roster.

The final three were all students from Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, with the lowest Overall Scores also above B+ (30%), all having reached the quarter-finals in the Yanhuang Technique, meaning, domestically, they were at least within the top ten in their respective weight classes.

It could be said that the roster Wu had put together contained almost all of the top fighters in Hua Country’s Mixed Martial Arts field, presenting the strongest lineup for the Combat World Cup!

This roster was quickly posted online by Wu, shared on Weibo and Mo Yin, causing an immediate sensation.

"Who’s this Li San? Never heard of him before."

"Look at the latest roster from Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, Li San—National Martial Arts Eighth Rank!"

"Wow, another National Martial Arts Eighth Rank, Bo Yuan is truly profound."

"Zhang Weili made the selection as expected, Hua Country Team now has two UFC champions!"

"I knew Yan Xiaonan would make it, she just moved into the top five in UFC Strawweight, she’s really on a roll, might challenge Zhang Weili!"

"Wow, I see Wang Kehan! Kehan’s making a comeback!"

"Amazing, Wang Kehan returning to fight in Mixed Martial Arts, and starting with the Combat World Cup, she truly was once the top fighter!"

"Chen Quan joined Yanhuang Technique, Jianghu Wind really lost out big time in both money and manpower."

"Ah, can’t wait for this World Cup!"

...

Each person on the roster was thoroughly discussed by netizens; Zhang Weili’s Weibo follower count skyrocketed by five million overnight! Guo Dongyang, Gao Jianping, Wang Xing, Xu Zijia, Xu Chuan, Wang Kehan also saw their followers increase by millions—such was the popularity of this competition!

Before the competition had even started, just the announcement of the roster had already boosted these players’ popularity.

On October 15, 2021, Hua Country Team members gathered at the Imperial City International Airport, ready to fly to the United States.

Imperial City International Airport was swarming with journalists, camera flashes twinkling.

That day, all the journalists present spontaneously captured a similar photo to use for the front page of the next day’s news:

Hua Country Team members walking through the hallway, all dressed in neat sportswear, predominantly white with red cloud patterns, with a bright five-star red flag on their left chests.

The group stood tall, exuding powerful momentum.

One person was leading at the front, while Hua Country’s top-tier fighters followed willingly behind him.

This man was Wu.

"Hua Country Team Captain Wu, leading the team to battle!"

This headline became the top trending search of the day.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.