Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 406 - 373: Competing in the Field, Blossoming Off the Field

Chapter 406: Chapter 373: Competing in the Field, Blossoming Off the Field

"Hello, friends in the audience, I am currently at the Hill Sports Arena in New York, United States. Tonight, the second round of Group C matches for the Combat World Cup will be held here."

A male reporter stood inside the Hill Sports Arena, speaking into the microphone towards the camera.

His name was Bai Feng, a sports reporter sent by CCTV5 from Hua Country, specifically to cover the Hua Country Team’s matches in the Combat World Cup.

The broadcasting rights for this Combat World Cup in Hua Country had previously only been bought by Penguin Sports, but now the national broadcaster had officially joined the fray, purchasing the rights and also sending reporters to the venue.

The UFC had invited well-known combat sports organizations from various countries to compete in the tournament, rather than dealing directly with the sports departments, so the Combat World Cup could only be considered a private event, and had not received official recognition from the governments.

However, the coverage by Hua Country’s national broadcaster signified that, at the very least, the Hua Country Team led by Wu Li had their "legitimate status" affirmed. After all, a self-proclaimed "Hua Country Team" and one acknowledged by the national broadcaster held different meanings.

From this moment on, from the public to the officials, everyone recognized Wu Li and his teammates as representing Hua Country in the competition, fighting for Hua Country’s honor!

"Tonight the Hua Country Team’s opponent will be the Nigeria Team, with both teams set to kick off the night’s matches. The audience is now entering the venue, and we can see that many of the spectators are Chinese, holding the Five-star Red Flag," Bai Feng continued reporting.

About ten minutes later, people began to walk through the athletes’ tunnel.

"Okay, the Hua Country representatives are making their entrance! Leading the way is Wu Li."

The camera panned to focus on the approaching members of the Hua Country Team.

"Wu Li, hello, I’m Bai Feng from CCTV. What are your thoughts on tonight’s match? Can you say a few words?"

Bai Feng passed the microphone over. Being allowed to wait in the athletes’ tunnel in advance was because he had been granted permission by the competition committee; after all, he was an official reporter, and that much face was given. As for other reporters from Hua Country, they could only wait outside, looking for a chance to score an interview after the matches.

Wu Li had already been informed that there would be an interview with a CCTV reporter and paused, looking towards the camera.

"Compared to the Nigeria Team, the Hua Country Team has the advantage, so tonight we’ll do our best in every match and aim to score as many points as possible."

"Zhao Lixin was injured in the last match. Will he be playing this round?"

"No, he will likely need some time to recuperate."

"Alright, thank you, Wu Li, and I wish everyone a victorious start!"

The interview was brief, and the members of the Hua Country Team continued to enter the arena to prepare for their matches.

...

About fifteen minutes later, Yan Xiaonan walked through the athletes’ tunnel, head bowed low in a dejected mood.

The first round was over, and she had lost.

"Xiaonan, how would you evaluate your performance tonight?"

As per prior agreement, each player of the Hua Country Team would come to the athletes’ tunnel for a brief interview after their matches. At that moment, as Yan Xiaonan approached, Bai Feng asked her with a microphone in hand.

Yan Xiaonan’s face still bore bruises from the blows taken during the match. She shook her head, "I don’t think I did well. I actually had chances to win, but failed to capitalize on several key moments."

Bai Feng: "I noticed during the first half of the match while standing, you were consistently forcing your opponent towards the edge of the ring. Was this your tactic for tonight?"

Yan Xiaonan: "Yes, that was the strategy arranged by the coach."

Bai Feng: "The coach you’re referring to, is that Li Tongyun?"

Yan Xiaonan: "Correct."

Bai Feng: "But tonight’s strategy didn’t fully work. What do you think was the reason?"

Yan Xiaonan hesitated a bit before saying, "I think it was my own performance. In fact, I forced my opponent off the platform twice already. One more time and I would have won."

Bai Feng: "Alright, thank you, Xiaonan."

After Yan Xiaonan’s interview ended, the second round had already begun, with Chen Min taking the stage for the Hua Country Team.

Chen Min’s Overall Score was only B- (56%), and her opponent was ranked third in the UFC Flyweight division with an Overall Score of A- (33%). The gap between the two was evident. Even Li Tongyun’s highly targeted strategies couldn’t turn the tides, and in less than five minutes, Chen Min was defeated by TKO.

When Chen Min approached Bai Feng, her facial wounds had been hastily treated, but blood was still seeping through.

Bai Feng: "Chen Min, unfortunately, you lost the match. What is your evaluation of your performance?"

Chen Min: "I think I did the best I could, but my opponent was indeed formidable, and there is a gap between us."

Bai Feng: "I want to ask, in the last match, the second round was played by Wang Kehan, but you were sent out tonight. Why was this change made?"

Chen Min’s expression clearly panicked, and after hesitating, she said, "It... it was the team captain’s decision. I just followed orders."

Bai Feng: "Was it Wu Li’s decision to have you compete tonight?"

Chen Min: "Yes."

Bai Feng: "Alright, thank you, Chen Min."

...

Bai Feng’s interviews were live, and as his interview with Chen Min concluded, online discussions had already begun.

"Why didn’t they let Wang Kehan play?"

"Yeah, I’ve never heard of this Chen Min before, and clearly her skills aren’t as good as Wang Kehan’s."

"Wu Li arranged it? What was he thinking?"

"Could it be that Wang Kehan is having health issues?"

"She wasn’t injured in the last match, was she?"

"Is it because she’s having her period like Zhang Weili?"

"This, that’s just really bad luck..."

...

Netizens were all baffled by Wu Li’s decision to put Chen Min in the game, with most guessing that perhaps Wang Kehan was having some health issues.

Before the discussions could go on for too long, a Weibo post suddenly spread online, attracting massive attention.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Wang Kehan’s body."

The poster of this Weibo message was none other than Wang Kehan’s agent!

Within just ten minutes of being posted, it hit the hot search list, and the number of comments quickly exceeded ten thousand:

"Wow, what does that mean?"

"This looks like there’s something going on."

"So why isn’t Wang Kehan playing?"

"Does it mean Wang Kehan is physically fine, but Wu Li won’t let her play?"

"Conflict within the team?"

"Is Wu Li deliberately suppressing Wang Kehan?"

"What a joke. Why would Wu Li suppress her?"

"I don’t believe it. I don’t think Wu Li is that type of person."

"What makes Wang Kehan think she’s worthy of being singled out by Wu Li?"

...

The news of "Wang Kehan not playing" and "Wang Kehan having no health problems" quickly rose to the top ten hot searches.

Meanwhile, Hua Country Team finished their third match, and this time they finally won.

In the third match of the lightweight category, Hua Country Team sent Xu Chuan to the field. His opponent wasn’t very strong, and he quickly secured the victory.

However, the focus of the netizens had already shifted from the match to the online discussions.

Someone quickly dug up Chen Min’s information again, with emphasis on the fact that Chen Min and Zhang Weili were from the same club.

Then, certain individuals underlined the point that Li Tongyun used to be Zhang Weili’s coach, and the two had a good relationship.

Wu Li had gone out of his way to bring Li Tongyun from abroad, and considering the good relationship between Li Tongyun and Zhang Weili, with Chen Min belonging to the same club as Zhang Weili, a simple logic seemed to form: Zhang Weili, in order to help Chen Min get a chance to play, influenced Wu Li through Li Tongyun...

Suddenly, rumors went rampant online with all sorts of speculations. Some questioned Wu Li’s decisions, others attacked Zhang Weili, but conspiracy theories prevailed the most. Even some of Wu Li’s fans became doubtful; after all, Wang Kehan was evidently stronger, so if nothing special was going on, why not play Wang Kehan instead of Chen Min?

Could it really be that Wu Li was influenced and that Chen Min played to gain more exposure?

As the netizens hotly debated, Hua Country Team finished their fourth match. This time it was Wu Li who took the field and won effortlessly.

Even the quarreling netizens paused for a moment, as everyone turned their focus to CCTVs or computers to watch Wu Li’s personal interview.

"Congratulations on your victory, Wu Li. I see you won quite easily today, and quite quickly too, unlike the last time. Why is that?"

In the athletes’ corridor, Bai Feng began his interview with Wu Li.

Wu Li, "Well, my fighting style last time was kind of an experiment. The Thailand Team’s morale was high, so I fought that way to take them down a peg. Today, our morale wasn’t bad, so I just played normally."

Bai Feng, "Alright. I want to ask, why did you arrange for Chen Min to play in the second match today instead of Wang Kehan?"

Wu Li’s expression remained unchanged, "I thought that Wang Kehan’s condition still needed some adjustment, so I arranged for Chen Min to play tonight."

Bai Feng, "Was there a problem with her health?"

Wu Li shook his head, "No, her health is fine."

Bai Feng, "Then, now that Chen Min has lost the match, do you regret your decision?"

Wu Li, "No."

Bai Feng waited for a moment, seeing that Wu Li seemed reluctant to explain further, he retracted the microphone, "Alright, thank you, Wu Li."

...

After watching Wu Li’s personal interview, the internet exploded.

"Holy shit, Wang Kehan really doesn’t have any health problems!"

"This really does seem like a conspiracy!"

"Could it be Wu Li wanting to train new people?"

"What a joke. Do you know that Hua Country Team is falling behind in points? If we were leading, then fine, train new people. But we’re behind, and this match is crucial!"

"Island Country Team previously defeated Nigeria with a 6:1 score, and now what, we start by losing two points. How are we supposed to catch up?"

"Even if Chen Min lost, it’s just one point, is it that serious?"

"It’s not about the point; what’s chilling is Wu Li’s choice. To sacrifice the team’s interest and Hua Country’s honor for personal gain, does he have the right to be the captain of Hua Country Team?"

"If Hua Country Team doesn’t qualify because of this one point difference, Wu Li has to take responsibility for tonight’s decision!"

...

As the match between Hua Country Team and Nigeria Team was in full swing, so was the online buzz, with many comments unfavorable to Wu Li. The netizens watching the match also had a hard time keeping up with both the game and the latest online updates.

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