Chapter 25: One Punch Is All It Takes
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Although Chen Fan had defeated Ji Xingyu with a single strike, everyone still had their money on Si Yinxia, after all, Si Yinxia had cultivated quite an influence among students.
Even Chang Wen was no longer nervous about the fight.
“I should have faith in Si Yinxia. He had defeated another challenger years ago who had won a medal in the National Martial Arts Academy Tournament. If he could defeat a medalist, he should be able to handle this no account.”
With this in mind, she gave Chen Fan a look of disdain.
“Defeating Ji Xingyu means nothing. Si Yinxia is much more skilled than Ji Xingyu.”
Of all the people inside the gym, only Si Yinxia and Coach Wu knew how powerful Chen Fan really was.
Coach Wu regarded Si Yinxia with a solemn face. Seeing the resolution in the boy’s eyes, he heaved a sigh and then announced, “Fine, there is no rule that forbids the students from challenging each other. Just be careful while you’re at it” Couch Wu gave Chen Fan a chilling glance as he spoke. It was evident that Chen Fan previous remark about Taekwondo had rubbed Coach Wu the wrong way.
Therefore, not only did he not stop the fight, but he also wished that his favorite student would teach the arrogant new-boy a lesson.
“Come on.”
Si Yinxia shouted to Chen Fan as he sauntered to the middle of the stage, and he was greeted by a wave of cheers. While wearing a set of clean and unwrinkled Taekwondo uniform, Si Yixia looked tall and handsome like a main actor from the “Young and Restless.”
Standing before Si Yinxia, Chen Fan measured only one meter and seventy centimeters and was of ordinary appearance. If he were in the “Young and Restless,” Chen Fan wouldn’t last two episodes.
Those who were not convinced that Si Yinxia was going to be the winner, they wished so. They wanted Si Yinxia to reinstill some perspective into the boy’s mind by kicking his ass.
“Let’s do it now!”
Chen Fan kept his back straight as he linked his arms behind him, looking as haughty as a martial arts master in the Wuxia movies.
Si Ying snorted out his disdain for Chen Fan’s arrogance.
Although Si Yinxia was not as outspoken as Ji Xingyu, he was as proud of his prowess as the latter, if not more so. He mostly kept things to himself, not because he was a quiet person, but because of his deep narcissism.
Chen Fan’s haughty posture was a blatant taunt, and it spurred Si Yinxia’s anger.
Si Yinxia snarled at Chen Fan and charged out. When he closed in, he suddenly spun his body and delivered a roundhouse kick.
Si Yinxia’s right feet traced a two hundred and seventy-degree arc in the air. Carried by momentum, his waist carried on the motion and drove the kick forward like a whiplash of a dragon’s tail. Even before the kick landed on its target, Chen Fan felt a stinging sensation on his face from the charged air.
“Interesting, Si Yinxia is much more powerful than I thought.” Chen Fan was slightly surprised by the display of power.
Si Yinxia was not only a powerful taekwondo fighter, but he was a player on the school basketball team and had good looks. No wonder, so many girls hearts skipped a beat at the sight of him.
After the girls saw Si Yinxia’s perfect execution of a difficult move, they couldn’t help but scream in excitement.
Even Coach Wu applauded for Si Yinxia in his mind as he reckoned that even he would not be able to deliver the attack to such a degree of perfection.
“I am afraid Si Yinxia is already at Fourth-Dan of the Black-belt “Coach Wu marveled in his mind.
There were less than five people in Chu Zhou’s Taekwondo community that had reached the Fourth-Dan. According to Si Yinxia’s current level of skill, he should be able to get into the quarter-final matches at the National Youth Taekwondo Competition.
“How I counter this attack?” Coach Wu calculated his moves vicariously through Chen Fan’s body. He wagered that his best option would be to step back to cushion the brunt of the attack. However, he also realized that his defensive strategy was flawed. Once he gave in before Si Yinxia’s initial aggression, he would have to deal with insistent follow-up attacks. It would only be a matter of time before he slipped up and let Si Yinxia land a solid blow.
However, to Coach Wu’s surprise, Chen Fan didn’t back down. Instead, he simply raised an arm and blocked Si Yinxia’s kick with ease. All the while, Chen Fan’s face held a faint and relaxed smile.
“How is this possible?” Si Yinxia furrowed his brows and was disheveled by the development.
“Again!” Si Yinxia growled under his breath. He jerked his leg back and spun his body to shoot another roundhouse kick at Chen Fan with the other leg. After his second kick was blocked as easily as the first one, Si Yinxia didn’t give up. Instead, he kept on kicking and delivering six roundhouse kicks in a row.
These stationary kicks required skills that only a few black-belt fighters possessed.
“Bam! Bam! Bam!”
After the wave of continuous attacks, Si Yinxia was finally exhausted, and he paused to take a breath.
While panting heavily, he saw Chen Fan’s stance didn’t change at all. He had blocked all the attacks with only one arm.
“Shit!”
Coach Wu’s heart sank as he realized that he had underestimated Chen Fan’s strength.
The voices of Si Yinxia’s supporters were diminishing slowly. Even the onlookers had realized who had gotten the upper hand in the last exchange of attacks.
“Is Si Yinxia going to lose the battle?” The unspoken question was loud and clear in the air.
“You have kicked me so many times, Now it’s my turn!”
Chen Fan moved his left hand from behind his back in front of him as he slowly closed his fingers to form a fist.
His body was bent backward, making him look like a powerful bow that was about to release an arrow.
“Be careful.”
Coach Wu’s face paled, he could sense that the threat in Chen Fan’s attack was far more serious than that of Si Yinxia.
Before Si Yinxia could hear Coach Wu’s cautions, Chen Fan dashed out and pounded his fist at Si Yinxia at lightning speed.
Like a cannonball being shot out of its chamber, the punch tore apart the very fabric of space from its seams. The attack charged the air with energy until sparks erupted out of thin air, filled the gym with crackling noises. The Punch carried on and threatened to smash anything in its way into smithereens.
Si Yinxia knew the attack was coming and was prepared; at least he thought he was. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched his attacker’s move cautiously.
However, Chen Fan’s punch came so fast and so powerful that Si Yinxia didn’t even have the chance to react. The energy in the fist simply went through his defense and slammed into his chest.
Chen Fan didn’t want to hurt Si Yinxia, and therefore, he only used one percent of his true strength. However, even at one percent, his power was already too much for a mortal such as Si Yinxia to bear.
Si Yinxia’s body was sent flying backward for half a dozen meters before it thudded back onto the ground.
“Arhh!” Si Yinxia fell flat on his butt and was winded. He was suddenly overtaken by a fit of violent coughing, making it even harder to breath. His arms felt heavy, and his chest was so numb that he couldn’t even feel the pain.
The gym suddenly fell silent that you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone was dumbfounded, and the only thing they could do was stare.
No one had thought that Chen Fan could have defeated Si Yinxia much less defeating him with such ease. His last attack was plain and simple, but it had overcome the previously invincible Si Yinxia.
“If he had defeated Si Yinxia, does it mean that Chen Fan is the number-one fighter in our school?” Everyone’s asked the same question in their mind.
Those who had openly sneered at Chen Fan instantly regretted their actions, while the rest scraped their mind to find out if they had ever offended the new champion. Meanwhile, some girls started to see Chen Fan under a very different light.
Although Chen Fan’s overall score was not as high as Si Yinxia, his exceptional talent in a few particular areas had made him at least somewhat palatable for girls’ infatuated minds.
Chang Wen’s face hardened, and she rushed to help Si Yinxia to his feet. Seeing Si Yinxia’s wounded body, a pained look flashed across her face.
“Don’t worry; he is just winded; that’s all.” Suddenly, Chen Fan’s voice drifted into her ears.
Chang Wen did not appreciate Chen Fan’s reassurance; she snorted and then shot Chen Fan an icy glance.
Chen Fan shook his head and realized that he would be hated by this girl for the rest of his life. However, he didn’t feel the slightest guilt. He had decided to hold back the brunt of the attack right before the moment he was about to deliver the punch. Otherwise, Si Yinxia would be seriously injured.
After all, Chen Fan could have punched through a steel plate if he wanted to, much less human flesh.
Chen Fan looked around and shouted, “Who else wants to challenge me?”
No one spoke a word.
Not only the students of the 12th grade were stunned by Chen Fan’s display of power, but also those from junior years; they were also enthralled by Chen Fan’s incredible ability. Chen Fan had taught everyone a valuable lesson: there would always be someone more powerful than you.
“Fine. ” Chen Fan shook his head as no one had risen to his challenge. He then looked to Si Yinxia and said:
“I have told you, Taekwondo moves are fancy but useless. Unless you find a real master and learn from him, you won’t stand a chance against me even if you trained ten more years in Taekwondo.”
Si Yinxia didn’t reply, but Chen Fan’s words had taken the wind out of his sail. He had high self-esteem and had never taken Chen Fan seriously. Therefore, being defeated so easily by a no-account had dealt a devastating blow to his confidence.
“Hey, Asshole! Your time will come when the founder of our club is back.” Coach Wu growled at Chen Fan. “The founder of the club was at the National Taekwondo Competition, and he will teach you a lesson when he is back.”
“Ah-right! How could we forget our club’s founder!” The faces of the diehard Taekwondo fans lit up with hope.
“Oh?” Chen Fan said casually.” Sure, tell him that I will be here waiting for him.”
After that, he linked his arms behind his back and started down the stage. He walked to Jiang Tanqiu and then patted him on the shoulder:
“Do you want to go eat something?”
“Of course.” Jiang Tanqiu was startled. He looked at the new-boy whom he had been hanging out with for a month as if he was a stranger.
Never had he thought that his quiet desk-mate was so bad-ass.
“It’s no wonder that he didn’t take Si Yinxia seriously. Whatever he lacked in academic achievement, he makes it up with his fighting skills.”
With that in mind, Jiang Tanqiu reminded himself to take their friendship more seriously. Maybe they could be best friends after all.
The two walked out of the gym under many pairs of watchful eyes. The other students were still trying to come to terms with what had just happened. As everyone had thought that the new-boy was an ordinary no-account, he had pulled the rug from under everyone and defeated the most popular student at the school.
Many students believed that from now one, Chen Fan would finally join the ranks of popular kids.