7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGeHg2oeKULin Hao vs. Hinata
All the lights above the ring pressed down toward the center.
The stands around them were half-lit, half-dark. The noise of the crowd rose from the floor like a layer of heat. The smell of sweat, rubber mats, and the lingering scent of protective gear mixed together, making the entire venue feel as though it were slowly being covered by some invisible pressure.
Lin Hao stood on one side of the ring, his shoes planted on the floor that had just been wiped down, though it still reflected a damp sheen of light. His breathing was heavier than usual.
Hinata stood across from him.
His expression was still calm. There was no provocation in his eyes, no unnecessary movement in his body. Only his gaze was bright and direct, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
The instant the referee’s arm dropped, Hinata moved first.
There was no preparatory motion.
No extra breath.
He simply stepped in, and his front kick drove straight toward Lin Hao’s centerline. The sole of his foot was like a nail, driving directly toward the space between Lin Hao’s chest and abdomen.
Lin Hao sank both arms and forced himself to receive the kick.
But receiving it did not mean stopping it.
That force crashed through his arms and into his shoulders, forcing his feet to slide half a step back. His shoes scraped across the ring with a sharp, piercing sound.
The distance had only just opened.
Hinata’s second strike was already sweeping in.
A side kick cut horizontally toward Lin Hao’s ribs, the wind slicing past the edge of his clothes. Lin Hao turned sideways to avoid it. But the moment his body shifted away, the third strike had already descended from above.
It was an axe kick.
It was not just a simple kick. It used the entire leg to press down on his upper body, sealing his shoulders and forcing his head down. Lin Hao’s hands had only just begun to rise, but his whole body was already being forced to sink.
Someone in the stands subconsciously drew in a breath.
Lin Hao did not take it head-on.
His palm heel touched the outside of Hinata’s lower leg, following the downward force and guiding it to the side, letting that power slide past the outside of his shoulder line.
Hinata’s foot landed on the ring.
The floor trembled lightly.
Lin Hao took one step back and planted his foot firmly again.
His breathing was slightly disturbed.
But his eyes began to change.
He was no longer only responding.
He was beginning to see.
Hinata’s rhythm.
The distance.
The angle of every advance.
In the next instant, Lin Hao sank his foot, stepped back in, and let force rebound up from the ground. His fist drove straight into the centerline.
Qingxuan Baji: Crushing Fist!
The punch was heavy.
And fast.
The pressure of the fist cut through the air and drove straight toward Hinata’s chest.
But in Hinata’s eyes, the punch was still too straight.
The shoulder line had been given away too early.
Hinata turned, his palm hooking onto Lin Hao’s forward momentum. At the instant before Lin Hao’s force had fully returned, Hinata borrowed that momentum and guided it aside.
Lin Hao’s vision flipped.
The floor rushed toward him.
At the moment of impact, he slapped one hand against the ground, twisted his waist and hips violently, and forcibly flipped his body back around.
Hinata was about to follow.
But Lin Hao had already exploded back up.
Qingxuan Baji: Huashan Triple Strike!
The first punch slapped away Hinata’s pursuing hand.
The second elbow seized the inner gate.
The third punch drove out shortly against the abdomen.
The three attacks did not pull away.
All of them detonated at close range.
Punch.
Elbow.
Punch.
Each strike was shorter than the last.
Each strike was heavier than the last.
They forced Hinata back half a step.
A wave of surprise erupted from ringside.
But Lin Hao did not chase too far, because he knew that exchange had only let him regain his breath.
It did not mean he had taken the advantage.
Only one arm’s length remained between them.
Their breathing crossed at the center of the ring. Neither one had truly suppressed the other. That brief silence made the entire venue feel even tighter.
In the next instant, Hinata stepped forward and pressed in.
His front foot first cut off Lin Hao’s retreat. Then an upper-level blade kick slashed diagonally upward. There was no unnecessary warning.
Only the result.
The kick did not strike Lin Hao’s face.
It struck his shoulder-neck line.
Lin Hao’s center of gravity was lifted. His body was forced off the ground, and his vision instantly lost balance.
Hinata continued pressing forward, his pursuit following immediately.
In midair, Lin Hao forcefully tightened his abdomen and turned his hips. His muscles were pulled taut, and his frame twisted with them. He forcibly turned his body back around and counter-kicked.
Two forces collided in midair.
The sound of bone striking bone was both crisp and heavy.
Both of them were shaken apart.
Their feet landed almost at the same time.
The arena went briefly silent.
Like the eye of a storm suddenly stopping.
Both of them brushed the dust from their bodies, as if that entire exchange had only been a test.
Hinata spoke calmly:
“That should be enough. Let’s end the warm-up here.”
The entire venue fell quiet for an instant.
Then the stands exploded.
“That level was a warm-up?!”
“You’re telling me those moves just now were a warm-up?!”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
At ringside, Gu Chengyuan stared at the ring with tightly furrowed brows and cursed under his breath:
“Are they filming a movie or something…”
Yeqing’s voice was very light, but tighter than before:
“He’s getting serious.”
Lin Jing stood beside them, her gaze never leaving the ring, and said calmly:
“This still isn’t true pressure.”
The air inside the venue tightened once more.
Hinata’s eyes sharpened faintly.
And in that same instant, Lin Hao moved.
This time, his center of gravity suddenly lowered, and his steps cut diagonally. Just as Hinata’s gaze locked onto his shoulder line, Lin Hao had already slid to the side.
Hinata almost reflexively swept out with a horizontal strike.
Lin Hao sank low and slid close to the surface of the ring.
But Hinata’s reaction was faster than he had imagined.
A knife-hand chopped down from above.
Tsukiumi Style: Mountain Breaker.
That strike sealed Lin Hao’s path to rise.
Lin Hao flipped backward to avoid it. When his foot landed, the downward pressure still forced him back half a step. His breathing grew heavier, but his eyes shone brighter.
Because immediately after Tsukiumi Style: Mountain Breaker fell, there was an extremely brief instant when Hinata’s center of gravity shifted half a beat off.
Too short for the audience to see.
But Lin Hao saw it.
He caught it.
Lin Hao burst forward.
His steps traced an irregular path.
Not straight.
Not circular.
But flowing somewhere between the two.
Qingxuan Footwork: Wandering Cloud Step.
The angle was tricky.
The path was elusive.
Hinata’s eyes changed.
He forcibly steadied his body and turned into a counterattack.
Tsukiumi Style: Divine Moon!
Their legs collided head-on in midair.
Lin Hao’s knee shook.
Hinata also retreated half a step when he landed, but he quickly regained balance. With his hand, he caught Lin Hao’s leg and threw him backward along the force he had not yet fully withdrawn.
Lin Hao turned sideways in the air, borrowed the force, released the impact, and landed smoothly.
Ringside was already boiling.
But the exchange on the ring had not stopped.
Lin Hao stepped again.
His side kick drove straight in.
Hinata did not dodge.
His palm directly locked onto Lin Hao’s ankle, his five fingers clamping around the outside of the ankle bone and stopping Lin Hao’s leg in midair.
Most people, when their foot was caught, would instinctively pull back.
But Lin Hao did not.
His waist and hips turned.
The caught leg changed direction with the motion, and he used that locked point as an axis, swinging his whole body horizontally into a spinning kick.
Hinata turned sideways and avoided it, then said coldly:
“Too straight.”
At the same time those words fell, his knee was already driving in from the front.
The distance was too short.
Lin Hao’s foot was still being held. His retreat had also been sealed. There was almost no room for a complete evasion.
Lin Hao did not pull back.
Nor did he clash with force.
Instead, he let the caught leg withdraw along the motion, while his other foot stomped hard onto the ring. His waist and hips turned with it, and his entire body suddenly sprang up from a low position.
It was not an ordinary counter-kick.
His body forcibly rotated one hundred and eighty degrees in midair.
At first, it looked as if he was about to throw out a spinning kick.
But at the instant Hinata read the leg line and prepared to turn aside, Lin Hao suddenly tucked his knee in.
The path of the entire leg changed from a sweeping arc into a short-range impact.
The angle changed.
The distance changed too.
The leg that should have kicked outward became a short line between the knee and shinbone. It rose diagonally from Hinata’s blind spot, scraped past his defense, and smashed directly toward his temple.
Cloud Mountain Shiranui!
This was not a long-range kick.
It was a close-range intercepting strike after changing lines in midair.
Hinata had already read Lin Hao’s spinning trajectory.
But in the final instant, that leg changed course.
Like fire suddenly bursting from behind clouds.
Short.
Fast.
Ruthless.
It directly disrupted Hinata’s judgment.
Bang!
Hinata’s head was shaken to the side.
For the first time, his footwork truly fell apart.
He gave a muffled grunt and stepped back half a pace.
Almost at the same time, Lin Hao used the rebound to land and recover his stance. His fist brushed across the side of Hinata’s face.
The referee’s voice rang out:
“One point!”
The entire arena exploded.
“He scored!”
“Lin Hao took the first point!”
“Was that a spinning kick?!”
“No! He changed the angle in midair!”
After regaining his stance, Hinata looked at Lin Hao, his tone still calm:
“You’ve done well.”
He paused for one beat.
“With the next strike, I’ll smash you down.”
Lin Hao did not answer.
His gaze only grew deeper.
In the next instant, Hinata was already in front of him.
This time, he no longer used wide kicks.
He did not pull away either.
He stepped directly into Lin Hao’s centerline.
His lead hand first stabbed toward Lin Hao’s brow, forcing him to raise his guard to protect his head.
The moment Lin Hao raised his hands, Hinata had already cut half a step to the side, avoiding Lin Hao’s frontal defense.
That step was small.
But it landed exactly where Lin Hao’s shoulder line could not turn back in time.
Lin Hao immediately tried to withdraw his elbow to protect the inner gate.
Too slow.
Hinata’s straight punch landed first on his chin.
Lin Hao’s head snapped to the side. His vision blacked out for an instant.
His feet were not blasted away.
It felt more like his entire stance had been pulled out from beneath him, leaving his center of gravity empty for one beat.
Hinata did not stop.
Following that punch, he pressed in. His front foot blocked Lin Hao’s retreat. His shoulders, waist, and hips sank at the same time, pressing his entire body weight into the next strike.
It was not simply a punch.
Nor simply an elbow.
It was a short-range heavy strike delivered after entering close, smashing down with the arm, shoulder line, and center of gravity all together.
Hinata’s voice was light.
“Watch closely.”
His arm pressed down diagonally, like a storm sweeping in from the side toward Lin Hao’s chest.
Tsukiumi Style: Storm.
The dull impact landed between Lin Hao’s chest and abdomen.
Lin Hao’s breath broke on the spot.
His knee slammed heavily onto the ring.
The entire venue went dead silent.
Even the noise from the stands seemed to have been cut off by that strike.
The referee immediately rushed forward.
“One!”
At ringside, Gu Chengyuan’s voice exploded:
“Lin Hao!! Stand up!! You haven’t lost yet!!”
Yeqing’s fingers tightened sharply.
Her face turned pale for an instant.
She opened her mouth, but did not immediately shout, because she saw Lin Hao’s fingers were still moving.
The referee continued counting.
“Three!”
Lin Hao lowered his head.
His breathing was chaotic.
His consciousness began to drift.
That strike had not been unbearable because of raw power.
Hinata had first used a straight punch to disrupt his vision.
Then used footwork to seal his retreat.
Finally, he pressed his entire center of gravity into the strike.
He had not simply been knocked down.
His stance, breathing, vision, and center of gravity had all been dismantled at once.
So fast.
Too fast.
The sounds from the mountain that morning surfaced one after another.
If you can’t hold on, then hold on with everything you have.
Do not underestimate your own potential.
You were always going to lose.
But don’t give up this easily.
Those voices overlapped, as if crossing from somewhere very far away, pulling his consciousness back to the ring bit by bit.
“Five!”
Reality returned.
Lin Hao’s fingers slowly clenched.
He had not fallen yet.
His feet braced against the ground.
His body began to move.
“Six!”
The entire arena held its breath.
“Seven—”
Lin Hao stood up.
His body swayed.
His legs trembled.
But he did not retreat.
He stood firm.
At that moment, the stands seemed to forget how to breathe.
Then sound gradually returned.
It was not merely cheering.
It was an uncontrollable vibration, as if everyone was waiting to see whether this boy could still take one more step forward.
Hinata looked at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
“Now that’s more like it.”
Lin Hao did not reply.
His breathing was still unstable, but his thoughts were clear.
He knew he could not be read again.
So he began adjusting his footwork, slowly letting the heaviness of Baji and the motion of Wandering Cloud intertwine.
This time—
It’s my turn.
This time, he would hide his rhythm.
The two moved at the same time.
Neither attacked immediately.
Only the distance between them kept pulling and stretching at the center of the ring.
Step by step, the floor beneath them seemed to tighten under the pressure of their centers of gravity. The stands also quieted. Every eye locked tightly onto them.
Then Hinata moved first.
The first strike came high.
His lead hand stabbed straight toward Lin Hao’s brow. The path was not large, but it forced Lin Hao to raise his hand and protect the head line.
The moment Lin Hao’s hand rose, Hinata’s second strike drilled in from below, his fist cutting toward the ribs and forcing Lin Hao’s arm to drop.
After pulling Lin Hao’s defense up and down twice, Hinata’s low sweep had already kicked toward his lead ankle.
That kick was not meant to knock him down.
It was meant to destroy his stance.
The instant Lin Hao withdrew his foot, Hinata’s body pressed forward with the momentum. His arm came down from above, directly pressing toward Lin Hao’s shoulder-neck line.
Lin Hao was forced to sink and release the force.
And in that exact instant, Hinata’s final punch drilled upward from below.
An uppercut.
The target was not the chest.
It was the chin.
Tsukiumi Style: Five-Hit Combo!
The five strikes linked together like a single line, pulling Lin Hao’s defense from high to low, then forcing it back up again.
Head line.
Rib line.
Footwork.
Shoulder and neck.
Chin.
Everything was pressed layer by layer into the same rhythm by Hinata, leaving no complete time to stabilize.
But this time, Lin Hao did not take it head-on.
When the first punch stabbed toward his brow, he slipped his head aside and only lightly brushed the punch line away with his lead hand, not clashing with that force.
When the second punch cut toward his ribs, he turned his waist and drew in his elbow, using the elbow point and forearm to keep the strike outside his body, letting it slide past his clothes.
When the low sweep came, his lead foot did not stand dead. His sole lifted and dropped, just enough for the sweeping leg to scrape beneath his shoe.
When his shoulder-neck line was pressed down, he followed that downward pressure and turned, sliding his shoulder line out from under Hinata’s arm.
The final uppercut rose from below.
Lin Hao did not lean back.
Leaning back would break his footwork.
He cut half a step sideways, letting the punch pass empty in front of his chin.
But this time, he was not only dodging.
The instant Hinata’s fist rushed upward, Lin Hao’s forearm had already pressed onto his wrist line. His other hand followed and locked beside the elbow.
It was not merely grabbing the arm.
It was dragging Hinata’s striking direction back at the exact instant when his force had gone empty and his shoulder line was still moving upward.
Hinata’s eyes changed.
Too fast.
He tried to withdraw the punch.
But Lin Hao had already entered.
His shoulder crashed into Hinata’s chest.
His footwork locked the outside of Hinata’s lead foot.
His waist and hips sank.
His entire body rooted into the ground like a nail.
The next instant, Lin Hao gave a low shout.
Qingxuan Baji: Outer Gate Break.
He did not simply throw Hinata away with force.
He first dragged Hinata’s shoulder line crooked, then used his footwork to cut off the root.
Hinata’s uppercut had not fully withdrawn.
His lead foot was already sealed by Lin Hao.
His whole center of gravity was pulled up as if uprooted from beneath the ground.
Bang!
Hinata’s back struck the ring.
The sound was not loud, but it was heavy enough to make the stands fall silent for one beat.
Lin Hao did not follow with a smash.
He knew that strike was still not enough.
The instant Hinata landed, his palm slapped the ring. His waist twisted, forcibly releasing half of the fall’s force, and he rolled away.
But his breathing was disrupted for half a beat.
His footwork also slowed for an instant.
Too short for the audience to see clearly.
But Lin Hao saw it.
At ringside, Gu Chengyuan’s pupils contracted slightly.
“He’s watching—”
Yeqing continued in a low voice:
“Everything.”
After regaining his stance, Hinata did not immediately press in for the first time.
Lin Hao did not rush to pursue either.
The two locked eyes again across half a step of distance.
Hinata’s gaze changed.
He’s caught up.
Lin Hao stepped back in.
He began with Crushing Fist and turned into close range.
Qingxuan Baji: Huashan Triple Strike!
The first punch slapped away Hinata’s lead hand.
The second elbow seized the inner gate.
The third punch drove out shortly along the abdominal line.
Hinata’s eyes sank.
He immediately cut in again.
The same timing.
The same angle.
What he was waiting for was the beat after Lin Hao’s finishing motion.
Gu Chengyuan said quietly:
“It’s over—”
But Yeqing spoke immediately:
“No.”
In the next instant, Lin Hao did not retreat.
Nor did he withdraw.
Instead, he moved forward.
He actively met him.
Hinata’s pupils tightened.
Because the moment Lin Hao entered, the beat Hinata had been waiting for disappeared.
Lin Jing said softly:
“Good catch.”
Lin Hao’s footwork slid.
Wandering Cloud Step cut into the blind spot.
His shoulder sank.
Short force exploded up from beneath his feet.
Qingxuan Baji: Wandering Cloud Crushing Strike!
The first strike crashed into Hinata’s chest.
Hinata’s body shook.
But Lin Hao did not stop.
His footwork shifted position.
The angle changed.
The second strike drove in along the side line, directly disrupting Hinata’s steps.
Lin Hao paused for an instant.
Then he stepped in for the final step, both palms driving straight into the abdomen.
Qingxuan Baji: Fierce Tiger Break!
A heavy impact exploded at the center of the ring.
Hinata was shaken backward.
His feet retreated again and again.
At last, he slid out of bounds.
The entire venue went silent.
For that instant, it was as if everyone was still trapped inside the previous strike.
Then the referee’s voice rang out:
“Winner—Lin Hao!”
The next second, the arena exploded.
Sound surged from every direction like a tide and crashed toward the ring.
Lin Hao stood beneath the lights, his chest rising and falling violently. His fist was still clenched. His legs were still trembling slightly.
But he was standing.
Hinata knelt on the ground, breathing hard, but his eyes were clear.
He looked up at Lin Hao.
There was no resentment.
Only respect.
After a moment, he pushed himself up and walked step by step to Lin Hao. Then he lowered his head and bowed.
“You are strong.”
He paused.
“Thank you for showing me a higher place.”
Lin Hao froze for a moment, then returned the bow.
“You too.”
The two looked at each other.
At this moment, it was not only victory and defeat.
It was respect between martial artists.
At ringside, Gu Chengyuan walked over directly, still wearing that unconvinced smile.
“You fought okay.”
Lin Hao smiled.
“Obviously.”
Gu Chengyuan looked at him.
“See you in the finals.”
Lin Hao raised an eyebrow.
“Make it there first.”
The corner of Gu Chengyuan’s mouth lifted.
“This time, I won’t let you last too long.”
Lin Jing walked over and glanced at Lin Hao. Her voice was calm.
“Barely passing. But you already lost once.”
Lin Hao froze.
Lin Jing looked at him and added calmly:
“You just didn’t notice.”
The atmosphere sank for an instant.
Yeqing spoke then, her voice not loud, but steady:
“It was not luck. He endured the rhythm.”
She looked at Lin Hao and paused.
“But he is still unstable.”
Lin Jing glanced at her and did not argue. She only said calmly:
“The finals will be interesting.”
Gu Chengyuan looked at Lin Hao and said it again:
“See you in the finals.”
Lin Hao nodded.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Yeqing said nothing more.
She only looked at Lin Hao and nodded lightly.
Lin Hao understood.
The announcement sounded again.
“Next match—semifinal match, Gu Chengyuan versus Michael!”
“Competitors, please prepare—”
The cheers from moments ago seemed to be suddenly pressed down by something.
Lin Hao’s smile slowly faded.
Yeqing also raised her head and looked toward the preparation area on the other side.
There, Michael had already stood up.
He rolled his wrist once, his expression still relaxed.
As if the intense battle between Lin Hao and Hinata, which had nearly suffocated the entire arena, was nothing more than a decent warm-up show to him.
Gu Chengyuan turned toward Michael.
Michael happened to look over as well.
Their gazes collided in midair.
The air instantly cooled.
Gu Chengyuan stood up.
Lin Hao patted his shoulder.
“Good luck.”
Gu Chengyuan glanced at him.
“Wait for me.”
He turned and walked toward the ring.
Lin Hao stood where he was.
Yeqing stood behind him without speaking.
But he knew she was there.
The lights above the ring slowly gathered once more.
The suspense of the finals had not yet landed.
But the smell of gunpowder for the next match had already begun to burn.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBF92v6sng
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