Martial Arts Livestreaming
Chapter 429 - 395: Dare to Fight?

Chapter 429: Chapter 395: Dare to Fight?

Eighteen minutes later, Wu’s face was pale as he opened his eyes.

During these eighteen minutes, Wu and Bai Tao had fought twelve times, losing five and winning five, with the remaining two ending in mutual destruction.

Even in the five victories, Wu was severely injured after each fight, paying a hefty price.

It was unavoidable because his only advantage was in his Fist Intent. In terms of body control and physical quality, he was no match for Bai Tao. He was able to fight to this extent only because he was very familiar with Bai Tao’s fighting techniques and moves.

Despite this, Wu did not feel that he could be more than fifty percent confident of winning against Bai Tao in real life, because the Virtual Battle Card could only simulate Bai Tao’s normal level. Bai Tao’s hidden Killing Moves, his willpower, and his adaptability during the match were not something the simulation could replicate, and nobody knew whether Bai Tao had made any breakthroughs in his Fist Intent.

A Grade S Virtual Battle Card was used up, and without blinking an eye, Wu spent three million Fan Value to exchange for another, as it was incredibly helpful to him and he could never have enough.

He struggled with "Bai Tao" for over an hour, then used two Master-level Experience Cards to enhance his Fist Intent, and finally spent another hour on a Grade A Virtual Battle Card in Bone Marrow training before ending his practice for the night.

That night alone, he had spent 6 million Fan Value, a startling rate of consumption.

With only two days left before the semifinal against the Brazil Team, Wu was training intensely, hoping for a breakthrough before the match, so he had no intention of conserving Fan Value.

...

November 6, Madison Square Garden, tonight the semifinals of the Combat World Cup will take place.

As the matches have progressed to this stage, they have attracted global attention. Just the semifinal entrance ceremony alone, according to backstage statistics, had more than twenty million people worldwide watching the live broadcast, and this number was still increasing. The backend team estimated that at least thirty million people globally would watch the live broadcast tonight!

While these numbers couldn’t compare with the over one billion people watching the FIFA World Cup, for combat sports, this was historic. The inaugural Combat World Cup was undeniably a success.

The host team, the United States Team, and the Canada Team entered the arena first, set to compete tonight.

After submitting the rosters, the coaches of both teams took the stage to decide the order of the matches.

The right to pick first in the semifinals was based on the scores from the previous round; the team with the higher score earned that right.

Both the United States Team and Canada Team had scored 4 points in the last round, so it came down to the total duration of their matches. The United States had a shorter overall match time, hence they earned the right to choose first.

Five minutes later, the order of the matches was set, and the first match soon began.

There wasn’t much hope for the Canada Team, especially since they had three key players injured in the previous round, so the outcome of tonight’s match was almost certain, and indeed it was:

In the first round, Women’s Strawweight, "Mother Lion" Amanda dominated her opponent, throwing her off the platform three times, securing the first point for the United States.

In the second round, 2VS2 Lightweight and Middleweight, "Blood Demon" Flows teamed up with "GSP" George, easily defeating their opponents and scoring two more points for the United States.

In the third round, 2VS2 Middleweight and Light Heavyweight matchups, "War Police" Miouqi secured a TKO against his opponent in just 17 seconds, then took out the other opponent to clinch victory.

In three rounds, the United States Team eliminated the Canada Team with a total score of 5:0, storming into the finals with an almost pulverizing force!

By now, calls for the United States Team to take the championship had grown louder, and with many capable fighters still unscathed, their strength was hardly diminished.

"Darn, with this strength, it’s like the grand finale already."

"Ah, well, the USA has UFC, breeding so many local combat masters."

"The gap between us and the United States Team is pretty obvious, I’ll be satisfied if the Hua Country Team makes it to the finals tonight."

"Exactly, for the first edition, I’d be happy if the Hua Country Team reaches the finals."

...

Many netizens from Hua Country felt it was too difficult to defeat the United States Team; their hope was simply for the Hua Country Team to make it to the finals.

New York time, 8:30 PM, the Hua Country Team and Brazil Team entered the arena.

As the number two seed in this edition of the Combat World Cup, and with Legendary Spider Silva, a legendary player, and the Gracie family’s experts in the team, Brazil indeed hoped to challenge the United States Team; their own goal was to make it at least to the finals!

However, the Hua Country Team had repeatedly surprised everyone, with Wu pulling off successive four-on-one victories, Li San fighting above his class, and with Zhang Weili, the UFC Strawweight Champion, no one dared to underestimate this team. Tonight’s match was anticipated to be a fierce fight among dragons and tigers.

In the United States, there was an online voting event to predict the outcome; up until now, 67% believed that the Brazil Team would win tonight. Tonight’s odds for the Hua Country Team in the external markets stood at 1:1.52, reflecting the majority’s view of the match.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

In the Hua Country Team’s prep area, Li Tongyun asked Wu for one last time.

Wu nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "I’m sure! If we’re going to fight, we need to start strong."

"And I’m ninety percent sure that they will take the bait!"

Li Tongyun responded, "Alright, go ahead."

Wu nodded again and strode directly towards the arena.

His move drew the attention of everyone in the venue, and the members of the Brazil Team also turned their eyes towards him.

At this point, the referee had not yet taken the stage, it was necessary to wait until both teams had submitted their lineup before the referee would appear, and Wu’s sudden appearance on the stage was obviously not following normal procedure.

The audience present didn’t understand what Wu intended to do, but upon seeing him ascend to the stage, they erupted in loud applause and cheers, instantly heating up the atmosphere.

"What are you trying to do?" the referee asked as he jogged onto the stage to question Wu.

Wu smiled at him, exchanged a few words, and gestured for the referee to hand him the microphone.

The referee hesitated for a few seconds, contacted the backstage through his headset, and seemingly received some instructions, then passed the microphone to Wu.

"Hey, Silvar, look over here."

Holding the microphone, Wu faced the direction of the Brazil Team and spoke the prepared English.

Upon hearing his name, Silvar instinctively looked over and made eye contact with Wu.

Wu stared back at him, "Silvar, for tonight’s first match, the Hua Country Team will choose middleweight, and I will compete. I hope to have a one-on-one match with you!"

In the previous round of competition, the Hua Country Team had defeated the Russia Team 5:0, while the Brazil Team had won 4:2 against the United Kingdom Team, so the Hua Country Team had the priority to choose tonight.

Boom!

As Wu’s words fell, the entire venue was in an uproar, followed by a resounding wave of cheers and jeers.

No one expected Wu to publicly challenge Silvar before the match had even begun, and to also reveal the Hua Country Team’s tactics in advance.

As the strongest link of the Hua Country Team, which weight class Wu would register for and when he would appear were top secrets! The Brazil Team must have made many predictions and drawn up several plans accordingly, but now Wu had just straight told the Brazil Team—he would be the first to compete!

Could Wu be lying? Considering the possibilities for a moment made it clear that there was almost none, as Wu represented not just himself but the entire Hua Country Team. Saying such things in front of so many spectators and on live broadcast, how could he possibly lie?

Thus, it was certain that Wu would be the first to compete!

In the overwhelming noise, everyone’s attention focused on Silvar below the stage, and the cameras swept over.

Now everyone wanted to know: would Silvar accept the challenge?

If not, the Brazil Team could completely choose a relatively weaker contender to face Wu, then let Silvar compete in the 2VS2, whereby losing one point but gaining two—it would indeed be a net gain.

This strategy quickly occurred to everyone, but if the Brazil Team really opted for this, it would inevitably make the match less exciting. What the audience wanted to see was a clash between top-tier fighters.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

It wasn’t clear who started it, but the entire audience began shouting loudly, signaling for Silvar to fight Wu.

Silvar furrowed his eyebrows; he had not expected Wu to pull such a stunt. Initially, his plan for tonight was to compete in the 2VS2, which obviously would be better to score two points instead of just one. However, with Wu stirring things up, if he didn’t fight Wu, it would seem as though he was afraid of his opponent. As the leader of the Brazil Team, this might affect the entire team’s morale.

"This is an open conspiracy," Li San from the Hua Country Team remarked.

Wu had himself suggested the challenge to Silvar. Although it wasn’t in accordance with traditional proceedings, Wu felt that given Dana White’s character, such an audience-engaging stunt would definitely not be stopped, and indeed, Dana White did not instruct the referee to stop Wu.

"Rather than guessing back and forth, likely missing each other and each scoring two points, why not knock him out right from the start, decisively claim this point, and impact their morale!" Wu had said before the match.

"Silvar, do you dare to fight?"

On the stage, Wu called out loudly.

Meanwhile, the coach of the Brazil Team was whispering something in Silvar’s ear, but after thinking for a moment, Silvar shook his head and refused.

He lifted his head to look at Wu, then extended his right hand and beckoned Wu with his finger.

"Oooooh!"

This action set the entire audience ablaze with excitement, as it appeared that Silvar had accepted Wu’s challenge.

Wu’s face broke into a smile, a Legendary Star like Silvar, facing such a challenge, the likelihood of refusal was minimal.

After receiving the response from Silvar, Wu nodded, handed the microphone back to the referee, and stepped off the stage.

Combat World Cup semi-finals, Hua Country Team VS Brazil Team.

Before the coaches had even submitted the fight roster or taken the stage to select the order of the matches, the first bout was already set in stone:

Wu VS Silvar!