When Lu Zheng changed into the fish scale chainmail and executed a mid-air double kick, Duan Xiaolong fell silent.
Even Zhang Tiexia was stunned. Although he could perform it too, Lu Zheng’s movements were simply too effortless and fluid.
“Brother Lu, you’re a true master!” Zhang Tiexia praised.
At this point, he had also donned a Song dynasty step armour weighing twenty kilograms and held a nearly two-metre-long spear, looking even more like an iron tower.
“Bajiquan! Zhang Tiexia!”
“Baiyun Temple! Lu Zheng!”
“Little brother, do you practise Taoist martial arts?” Zhang Tiexia could not help asking.
“Which Baiyun Temple?” Zhao Wenyu was hearing Lu Zheng declare his background for the first time and thought to himself that Lu Zheng really did have a lineage.
Lu Zheng waved his hand dismissively. “Not one of the famous Baiyun Temples anywhere. Don’t guess wildly.”
“Oh, oh.” Zhao Wenyu nodded and asked no more.
Duan Xiaolong could not resist again. “Don’t Taoists practise swordsmanship? How do they also train with long weapons?”
At this moment, Lu Zheng was holding the bright silver coiling dragon spear that Zhao Wenyu had kept as an extra collectible.
“Er Lang Shen is also Taoist, and he uses a three-pronged double-edged blade.” Zhao Wenyu said.
“That’s mythology!” Duan Xiaolong argued.
“Where do you get so many questions? As long as he can fight, isn’t that enough?” Zhao Wenyu said helplessly. He could not understand why Duan Xiaolong just did not get along with Lu Zheng.
Duan Xiaolong curled his lip. He was actually just annoyed that Lu Zheng did not seem to care about him.
“You’re both preparing for the long weapon competition, right? Why not test it out here first? I’ll count for you.” Du Lin stepped forward.
He briefly explained the rules to the pair.
Only long weapons are allowed. Hitting the opponent’s body scores a point, hitting limbs scores one point, hitting the torso scores two points, hitting the head scores five points.
Knocking the opponent’s weapon away scores ten points, knocking the opponent to the ground scores ten points, forcing the opponent out of the area scores ten points.
Ten minutes per round, three rounds total, the one with the higher score wins.
“The weapons have blunt tips, but they’re all solid and real. The actual competition is in ten days, so everyone, go easy!” Du Lin added.
…
The sparring ground was naturally not in the collection room. What if something got damaged?
On the open ground outside the factory, they marked out an area. Lu Zheng and Zhang Tiexia stood facing each other, ready.
“Are you prepared?” Du Lin asked each of them. “Match begins!”
“Swish!”
Zhang Tiexia advanced with a large step, swinging his spear to thrust straight at Lu Zheng’s chest.
Bajiquan spear technique: Thrust!
Lu Zheng did not move his body. He lightly deflected with his spear, pushing Zhang Tiexia’s spear aside, then flowed forward to point at his right shoulder.
Zhang Tiexia retreated swiftly, sweeping his spear horizontally to block Lu Zheng’s strike.
But his spear shaft bent, while Lu Zheng’s spear showed no change.
Zhang Tiexia’s pupils contracted sharply. “Is your spear pure iron?”
Lu Zheng smiled faintly. “Bright silver coiling dragon spear, one metre eighty shaft, one foot two blade, all-steel solid forged, weighs twenty-eight kilograms.”
“Hiss…”
Zhang Tiexia drew in a sharp breath.
“Hiss…”
Duan Xiaolong drew in a sharp breath too.
This guy was Guan Yu reborn, right? But even Guan Yu’s famous weapon was a broadsword known for power, not a spear known for finesse!
Normally, even iron spears have hollow shafts, don’t they?
All-steel solid forged. Even if you can lift it, can you wield it?
Lu Zheng showed them that he could.
And with a pure steel forged iron spear, he could even flourish it with flower patterns.
Zhang Tiexia hurriedly retreated another step, then lifted both hands. His spear rose like a venomous dragon, stabbing at Lu Zheng’s ribs.
Lu Zheng paid it no mind. He precisely struck the weak point on the opponent’s spear shaft again, then swept his spear to point once more at Zhang Tiexia’s right shoulder.
This time the distance was closer, and because his spear thrust was interrupted, Zhang Tiexia did not retreat in time. So he was finally struck on the right shoulder.
But Lu Zheng struck and withdrew immediately, using no real force. “One point.”
Seeing Lu Zheng control his power so precisely even with a sixty-jin iron spear, Zhang Tiexia suddenly felt like crying.
“Right shoulder, one point.”
“Left leg, one point.”
“Right leg, one point.”
“Ribs, two points.”
“Abdomen, two points.”
“Chest, two points.”
“Face, five points.”
There was no need for ten minutes at all. After just ten exchanges, Lu Zheng was already ahead by fifteen points.
As for Zhang Tiexia’s score, it was zero.
Even so, Lu Zheng reckoned he had suppressed most of his power, performing like a normal person.
What?
Suppress it to match Zhang Tiexia’s level and win with technique?
Then what was the point of showing off!
“I’m done, I’m done. Can’t beat you!” Zhang Tiexia stepped back, waving his hands repeatedly.
He had just unleashed all his best spear techniques from the bottom of his arsenal, to no avail.
“How about a mixed martial arts bout?” Duan Xiaolong asked immediately.
He still held out hope. Pure spear fighting and mixed martial arts were different after all. Remember, Zhang Tiexia was in the army’s top ten.
Zhang Tiexia blinked, then said to Lu Zheng, “I know I’m definitely not your match, but I want to see just how big the gap is between us in mixed martial arts.”
“Sure.” Lu Zheng had no objection. He had not had his fill yet.
“I’ll use knife and shield.” Zhang Tiexia said.
In his mind, having a shield would at least block some of Lu Zheng’s attacks.
“I’ll just use a knife, the xiu chun dao.” Lu Zheng said calmly.
Du Lin, on the side, had a sudden illusion of watching a film. At the same time, he remembered that the first weapon Lu Zheng bought at his Wanren Ancient Sword Hall was a knife, the xiu chun dao!
…
“Begin!”
With Du Lin’s command, Zhang Tiexia held his shield across his chest, knife hidden behind his waist, fully prepared.
Lu Zheng stamped his foot and charged straight forward.
“What?”
Zhang Tiexia thrust out his shield, but Lu Zheng twisted and sidestepped, slipping past him. His long knife slashed, hitting Zhang Tiexia’s ribs.
Zhang Tiexia turned, but Lu Zheng had already circled to his other side. Zhang Tiexia hastily swung back with an upward slash, but hit empty air. At the same time, he felt pain in his right ribs and was struck again.
Then…
“Two points!”
“Two points!”
“Five points!”
“Five points!”
This time, there was not even the sound of weapons clashing. It was purely Lu Zheng circling and striking Zhang Tiexia.
If not for Zhang Tiexia’s armour protection and Lu Zheng’s blade being unsharpened, Zhang Tiexia would probably have been hacked to pieces.
Zhang Tiexia could not even land a hit on Lu Zheng. Can you believe it?
“I’m done, I’m done. The gap between us is too big!” Zhang Tiexia stepped back, waving his hands repeatedly.
…
“Little brother, how exactly did you train? How are you so formidable?” Zhang Tiexia was deeply shocked.
“Just messing around.” Lu Zheng waved his hand.
Zhang Tiexia, “…”
Duan Xiaolong, “…”
Big brother, that’s too perfunctory!
“Old Zhang is already pretty strong. No one should be able to get past you.” Lu Zheng said.
Du Lin could not help but smile bitterly. “Unless someone can crush Old Zhang completely, no one can take your competition spot.”
As for crushing Zhang Tiexia?
That would be far too difficult…
Zhang Tiexia was not a professional athlete and had not undergone any specialist training. If he tried boxing or UFC or the like, he would definitely lose to a pro in his weight class.
But full armour fighting was a new activity with few experts, no weight classes even, and with armour for protection, one could even just attack without defending. Zhang Tiexia had a robust build, inherited traditional martial arts, and army training. He was absolutely an expert in this field.
For such a person to be crushed by Lu Zheng, Du Lin could hardly imagine anyone who could crush Zhang Tiexia and then take Lu Zheng’s spot.
