"Whoa... What's going on?" A chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.
The commentator, as if seeing a ghost, muttered, "No way? Real Madrid's Messi has inexplicably fallen to the ground too! Is God playing a joke on us today?"
Real Madrid's team doctor rushed onto the field and carried Messi off. Xiao Dao and Senior Brother Situ also arrived. They looked at each other, then both stared at Gao Jianfei with horrified eyes, the unspoken message in their eyes being... "Could it be that you can also perform acupressure from a distance?"
In the VIP room of the Holy Land's disciples, everyone had already stood up.
"I really underestimated Gao Jianfei! He can use acupressure from a distance! And his skill is no less than Junior Brother Situ's!" Senior Brother Gou's eye muscles twitched. "Junior Brother Haoyu, this time you've just asked for a beating!"
Chapter 448 Next Match... Swimming!
Chapter 448 Next Match... Swimming!
The scene took another unexpected turn, catching the Holy Land disciples completely off guard! Originally, 'Senior Brother Gou' had fully assumed that by sending Situ and Xiaodao, they could use their exceptional martial arts skills to secretly harm the German players, causing them to lose the match due to player shortages. While their methods were despicable and shameless, they were still expected to be effective. However, they overlooked one crucial point… Gao Jianfei's mastery of ancient martial arts!
Although they knew Gao Jianfei also knew ancient martial arts, they underestimated him. They didn't believe Gao Jianfei could strike from a distance!
Now, Gao Jianfei has turned the tables on Messi, defeating him directly. This is undoubtedly a heavy loss for Real Madrid... because Real Madrid has already used up three substitutions. Now, if Messi leaves the field again, they will really only be able to play with 10 men!
The team doctor confirmed that Messi could no longer continue the game. Xiao Dao and Situ rushed over to check Messi's injury and found that Messi's acupoints had been sealed. For the time being, they were also helpless!
Xiao Dao and Situ exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes! A few seconds later, Situ's lips twitched, and he whispered, "At this point, we have no choice but to mess around!"
Messi was carried off the field.
The commentator was utterly speechless... "An unbelievable turn of events has occurred in the match: Messi has been injured and forced to leave the field! Now, having used all three substitutions, Real Madrid can only play with 10 men! The score was already unfavorable for Real Madrid, and this is adding insult to injury. How will Coach Mourinho respond?"
In fact, Mourinho had completely given up. He was no longer standing on the sidelines directing the game. From the second half onwards, after Stuart and Xiaodao came on, Mourinho didn't want to get involved in the match anymore. Because, to Mourinho, those two inexplicable substitutions were a sign of disrespect. He simply didn't care about that... do whatever you want!
After Messi was carried off the court, Mourinho made no comment and sat silently.
The match continued.
Now, Gao Jianfei no longer took the match seriously. Seeing the fear and panic on the faces of the German players, Gao Jianfei knew that he shouldn't let these Germans live in fear until the end of the match; that would be too cruel for them... Well, even if it meant forfeiting the match, he couldn't let the German team, who had come to help for free, suffer any personnel losses.
Having made up his mind, Gao Jianfei stopped trying to get the ball and instead rushed directly towards Xiao Dao and Situ!
Xiao Dao and Situ didn't give Gao Jianfei a chance to confront him directly. Although their mission was twofold: to help Feng Haoyu win the genius challenge and to capture Gao Jianfei, they avoided direct conflict with him until the competition was over. After all, they were all practitioners of ancient martial arts; to fight in such a public setting, broadcast live to the world, would be too shocking!
Xiao Dao and Situ quickly used their lightness skills to circle around and dodge Gao Jianfei. At the same time, when Situ brushed past German player Schweinsteiger, he released his finger force from a distance, directly injuring Schweinsteiger!
The moment Schweinsteiger fell to the ground, Gao Jianfei also went all out, using his fingers to knock down Real Madrid players Ronaldo and Pique, who were a few meters away!
The bald referee, Collina, immediately stopped the match. His face was filled with horror; in his over ten years of professional football officiating, he had never encountered anything so bizarre! Adding to the injuries already sustained by Messi, Mertesacker, and Gomez, six players had now been inexplicably injured in this match!
The match was interrupted!
After carrying Pique, Schweinsteiger, and Ronaldo out, Collina, looking terrified, called Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu over. "Gentlemen," he said, "it looks like this match is going to be forced to end. It's simply unplayable. Both teams only have eight players left! Today is truly bizarre; could it be that God is preventing this match?"
Not only Collina, but even the commentators, the spectators, and all the football legends in the VIP boxes were completely dumbfounded. They had no idea how to handle the aftermath of this match!
Players from Real Madrid and the German national team have both stated that they do not want to continue playing!
"The match is over? How is the score calculated?" Feng Haoyu asked, frowning.
Collina turned to Gao Jianfei and asked in a questioning tone, "Mr. Gao, what do you think?"
Gao Jianfei pondered to himself that Feng Haoyu was currently blinded by defeat. If he insisted on judging the match according to the current score of 2-1, Feng Haoyu would definitely object. And if the match were forced to continue, these German players couldn't withstand the strain!
Currently, the injured German players all seem to have minor injuries and will be fine after some rest. However, if the team is truly driven to the brink of collapse by the torrential rain, could it actually harm the German players?
That's hard to say!
Gao Jianfei turned his head and looked at the German players again. Seeing their blank and fearful eyes, he really couldn't bear it!
"I have a suggestion, Feng Haoyu, you should think it over," Gao Jianfei shrugged. "This match really can't continue. It's not that I'm afraid of you, it's just... okay, I'm not one to show off. This match is canceled! It's like we've drawn, neither of us has won. The overall score of this talent challenge remains 2-0. After a few days of rest, we'll continue with the next event, swimming. What do you think? This is my bottom line, and I hope you'll know when to quit!"
Hearing Gao Jianfei's suggestion, Feng Haoyu felt a sense of relief. He could accept this situation. After all, up to this point, Gao Jianfei's German team was leading 2-1, and the initiative was in Gao Jianfei's hands. Now that Gao Jianfei was willing to let the match be counted as a draw, it was truly a great thing for Feng Haoyu.
"Alright, let's do it this way!" Before Feng Haoyu could answer, Xiao Dao and Situ also came over. Situ made the decision for Feng Haoyu.
Gao Jianfei stared coldly at Xiao Dao and Situ.
"Hmph!" Situ gave a cold snort and turned to leave.
Therefore, Collina reported the decision made by Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu to the organizing committee. The organizing committee apologized to the fans at the scene and announced that the match was canceled. The overall score of the talent challenge between Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu remained 2-0.
Three days later, on the 19th, Gao Jianfei will compete in a swimming competition amidst wind and heavy rain, which will be the fourth event of this talent challenge.
After the announcement, the audience gradually left the stadium. Although they were still somewhat disappointed that the match hadn't resulted in a winner, the organizing committee had made its decision, and the audience's jeers were useless. Thinking about it, the first half was so exciting, and seeing so many football stars compete on the same field made it all worthwhile.
After Gao Jianfei returned to the locker room, he immediately helped the injured German players, including Gomez, by channeling his internal energy into them, massaging them, and releasing the blocked acupoints.
"Gao, what exactly happened?" Head coach Löw asked Gao Jianfei with lingering fear. "You know how Gomez and Schweinsteiger got injured, right?"
Gao Jianfei patted Schweinsteiger, Mertesacker, Gomez, and the others on the shoulder and laughed, "It's all right! They might have just had food poisoning or a sudden neuromuscular problem. However, after I treated them with a special massage method, they have fully recovered and will not have any aftereffects."
Gao Jianfei naturally dared not mention anything about remote acupoint striking.
Afterwards, Gao Jianfei personally escorted the German players back to their hotel, repeatedly saying, "If anyone needs any help in the future, just let me know, and I will definitely help if I can. I consider everyone a friend!"
These Germans, who were also quite straightforward, warmly embraced Gao Jianfei one by one and expressed their willingness to watch the rest of the match between Gao Jianfei and Feng Haoyu before leaving China.
After leaving the hotel, Gao Jianfei called Liu Liping and asked her to drive him back to the resort.
After the football match, there was a three-day rest period until the swimming competition on the 19th. Therefore, Gao Jianfei was quite relaxed and prepared to rest well for three days. Today's football match had so many events and unexpected incidents that ultimately forced its cancellation, which left Gao Jianfei feeling somewhat tired.
"Fortunately, the competition is over, and there were no casualties. Okay, let's not think about it for now! Let's prepare for the next competition! Swimming? Heh, after I learned Zhang Shun's specialty, 'White Streak in the Waves,' my swimming skills have reached world-class. Why should I be afraid of wind and rain in this swimming competition?" Gao Jianfei sat in the passenger seat, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples.
"Mr. Gao, I watched your football match against Feng Haoyu from the very first minute to the very end. You should have won this match, but I feel that Feng Haoyu used some underhanded tactics. Because in the second half, their team substituted two players, which caused chaos and several German players were injured... I thought you were going to lose, but then several Real Madrid players also went down injured..." Liu Liping paused, gritted her teeth, and her eyes flashed. "Mr. Gao, if the injuries to the German players were a despicable trick by Feng Haoyu and his team, then the injuries to the Real Madrid players... were they your doing? How did you manage to do that?"
Liu Liping's curiosity about Gao Jianfei had reached an extreme level! From the moving rocking horse to the 'clear stream and spring' full of Dongting Lake's artistic conception, and then to the various supernatural events in this football match, this ability to hurt people silently, all of these things had a fatal allure for Liu Liping!
"Haha, Miss Liping, you're overthinking it. Those players, whether they're from the German team or Real Madrid, all suddenly developed a symptom similar to food poisoning. It couldn't be caused by someone, could it? You don't believe in that kind of magic trick of injuring people from a distance, do you? Don't read so many fantasy novels." Gao Jianfei laughed casually.
The more Gao Jianfei refused to tell the truth, the more curious Liu Liping became, but now she dared not ask any more questions.
Back at the villa, Gao Jianfei took a relaxing hot bath. Then came three days of carefree leisure. During these three days, Qin Leshi called Gao Jianfei several times, subtly expressing her longing for him and offering to come and keep him company. Qin Leshi was caught in a whirlpool of misunderstanding; she believed Gao Jianfei already considered her his girlfriend, therefore, she felt it was only natural for her to go and spend time with him.
Gao Jianfei hesitated for a moment. However, he ultimately rejected Qin Leshi. Later, when Song Ying called, Gao Jianfei couldn't refuse her; after all, she was his girlfriend.
So Gao Jianfei had Liu Liping secretly drive over and pick up Song Ying to take her to the resort.
When Liu Liping discovered that Gao Jianfei was actually in a relationship with the female host of this talent challenge, she was quite surprised.
For the next three days, Gao Jianfei spent his time playing with Song Ying, then saw her off and stayed at the villa to relax and have fun.
…… …… ……
In the hotel where the wind and rain were blowing.
The disciples of the holy land gathered together.
Now, the arrogance, conceit, and confidence that once graced Feng Haoyu's face have completely vanished.
That's right, what else does he have to be confident, arrogant, or proud of?
In his own area of expertise, winemaking, he lost to Gao Jianfei; in that rather poor football match, he was also completely outmatched in terms of performance!
Before the football match began, Feng Haoyu still harbored some fantasies, dreaming of defeating Gao Jianfei in the sport. However, he discovered that Gao Jianfei, who had absolutely no professional football experience, played with far more ferocity than him!
"Fellow... fellow senior brothers... this... this football match, it's just... just a draw... a draw... I don't count as losing..." Feng Haoyu stammered.
"Alright, Junior Brother Haoyu," Senior Brother Gou waved his hand impatiently, "Stop with the unnecessary words. There are still 7 matches left, and I assert that you have no chance of winning any of them. When you first proposed this World Genius Challenge, the Venerable One, the deacons, and all of us fellow disciples had high hopes for you, believing that you could bring glory to our Holy Land! But... we are very disappointed! Truly disappointed! From now on, Junior Brother Haoyu, you must abide by our rules in this Genius Challenge!"
"Yes! I... I'll listen to my fellow senior brothers!" Feng Haoyu said, his voice lacking any confidence.
"The next competition is swimming, right?" Senior Brother Gou said slowly. After a pause, he added, "Junior Brother Haoyu, don't make any empty promises. If it's a normal swimming competition, you'll probably lose. Look at this!"
Senior Brother Gou flipped his right hand, and there rolled a vermilion pill in his palm. It was about the size of a thumb, perfectly round and shiny, and emitted a rich, herbal fragrance.
“If it were a swimming competition in the swimming pool, you would most likely lose to Gao Jianfei,” Senior Brother Gou handed the vermilion pill to Feng Haoyu.
Feng Haoyu was taken aback for a moment, then took the pill. He asked, "Senior Brother Gou, what is this?"
Chapter 449 A Special Swimming Competition
Chapter 449 A Special Swimming Competition
Feng Haoyu took the vermilion pill from Senior Brother Gou's hand. Immediately, a rich medicinal fragrance filled his nostrils, lingering and unforgettable. Although Feng Haoyu didn't yet know the exact effects of this fragrance, one thing was certain... this was a high-grade pill exclusively formulated by the Holy Land! It was made from special herbs that had absorbed the essence of heaven and earth's spiritual energy! This kind of pill couldn't be measured by worldly money!
"What is this?" Feng Haoyu looked at Senior Brother Gou with suspicion.
Senior Brother Gou snorted coldly, then took out three more of these vermilion pills and handed them to three disciples of the Holy Land: Senior Brother Situ, Senior Brother Ma (who was of the same generation as Feng Haoyu), and Senior Brother Huang.
"Fellow disciples, listen up! This is a high-grade elixir from our Holy Land, called... 'Water-Avoiding Pill.' It's made from Cooling Grass, Prunella Vine, and Hydrogen Fruit, brewed through nine rounds of sun-drying and nine rounds of steaming! It has only one function: it allows the user to breathe underwater through their pores for several hours after ingesting the pill! It's one of the supreme elixirs of our Holy Land!" Senior Brother Gou's face shone brightly. "You're not as senior as me, so you don't know about these high-grade pills with special functions from our Holy Land. Hahaha, everyone listen up! Our Holy Land not only has pills that help with cultivating ancient martial arts, but also some unique pills. Hmm, now, listen to my instructions!"
All the disciples of the Holy Land held their breath and looked at Senior Brother Gou.
"Junior Brother Haoyu, I don't recommend holding the swimming competition in a swimming pool. What I mean is... set the competition venue outdoors! I know there's a vast and deep lake in the capital. If you and Gao Jianfei compete in Taimi Lake, then... yes, I have an idea! Have the organizing committee throw some small objects into the lake, and then you and Gao Jianfei can go in and retrieve them! I've checked, Taimi Lake is over ten meters deep. Diving into the lake to retrieve items is extremely difficult. You two can decide the winner by who retrieves the most items! Of course, without any external assistance, even though Junior Brother Haoyu is a good swimmer and has learned ancient martial arts, he still can't retrieve items underwater for long. However, with the 'Water-Avoiding Pill,' everything will be solved! After taking the 'Water-Avoiding Pill,' you can stay underwater for several hours, making you completely invincible!"
Senior Brother Gou also revealed his meticulously planned scheme.
The match is currently underway. Although Feng Haoyu is at a significant disadvantage, it's absolutely impossible for him to stop and retreat now; doing so would leave the Holy Land utterly disgraced. The match must continue, even if it's tough. However, how the match will proceed is no longer up to Feng Haoyu; it's entirely up to Senior Brother Gou to meticulously plan.
Feng Haoyu tightened his grip on the 'Water-Repelling Pill' and nodded firmly, saying, "Alright, Senior Brother Gou, with this 'Water-Repelling Pill,' the competition will be foolproof if we follow your method!"
However, Senior Brothers Situ, Ma, and Huang, who had also received the 'Water-Avoiding Pill' from Senior Brother Gou, became increasingly suspicious. Senior Brother Situ said, "Senior Brother Gou, then why did you give Senior Brother Ma, Senior Brother Huang, and me each a pill? Are we going to go into the water with Junior Brother Haoyu too?"
Senior Brother Gou's eye muscles twitched a few times. "To ensure absolute success, Junior Brother Situ, Junior Brother Ma, Junior Brother Huang, you three go into the water first! While in the water, you'll distract and deal with Gao Jianfei!"
"Hmm?" The eyes of all the disciples of the Holy Land lit up!
Not only did they make Feng Haoyu take a 'water-avoiding pill' to cheat, but they also arranged for three 'water ghosts' to deal with Gao Jianfei in the water!
This... is quite safe!
"Um... Senior Brother Gou, should we capture Gao Jianfei directly in the water?" Senior Brother Situ asked respectfully. He was now quite impressed with Senior Brother Gou's wisdom and strategy.
"Capturing Gao Jianfei is a certainty, but we'll have to wait until after this genius challenge is over. Therefore, during the swimming competition, your only responsibility is to interfere with and restrain Gao Jianfei in the water," Senior Brother Gou ordered.
"Yes, Senior Brother Gou!"
So Feng Haoyu immediately called the organizing committee and made his request... Holding the competition in the swimming pool was too easy and not entertaining enough. He suggested that they simply throw 50 small toys into Taimi Lake, and then he and Gao Jianfei would dive down and try to find them, seeing who could find the most toys and then swim to the other side.
The organizing committee, of course, wholeheartedly agreed to the request regarding the heavy rain and strong winds.
Originally, the most important aspects of this kind of live broadcast are its entertainment value, its watchability, and the difficulty of the competition.
Come to think of it, if it were just a swimming pool with events like breaststroke and freestyle, what would be the point? How many people in the world actually enjoy watching swimming competitions?
Isn't this kind of adventure gameplay more exciting?
Moreover, retrieving 50 small items from the lake is dozens of times more difficult than swimming! And now, the lake water is so cold; although it's not frozen, an ordinary person who falls in would freeze solid in minutes, let alone be able to dive down and search for anything!
That was amazing!
That's such a gimmick!