Song Yukui himself was ranked first in lightness skill at this competition, so getting close to Zhang Lei was naturally no problem for him. Even if Zhang Lei didn't want to let him pass, he probably couldn't avoid him, which was Zhang Lei's weakness to begin with.
Everyone has their weaknesses; the key is to use your strengths to cover up your weaknesses while preventing your opponents from exploiting them.
But now Zhang Lei is doing the opposite. He wants Song Yukui to exploit his weaknesses, and then make a mess of things, as if he doesn't know how to deal with his weaknesses at all.
Because your weaknesses are not visible during practice; you only encounter them in real combat.
This is how Zhang Lei set himself up; otherwise, it would be even more absurd for someone who performed poorly in the first round to make it to the finals.
Based on the current point allocation, Zhang Lei is certain that only by winning the close combat championship can he secure a place in the top 63 and become the chief of security. Zhang Lei doesn't want to be under someone else's command anymore.
Of course, as long as he makes it to the finals, or even the semi-finals, Zhang Lei can probably get into the top 63. But if someone who performs well in some of the tests performs poorly in close combat, or if someone who performs well in all of them performs poorly, or if there is no dark horse, Zhang Lei can't guarantee that there won't be any other dark horses besides himself.
Therefore, Zhang Lei, the champion of close combat, has already decided to take the title. As for this kid, let him have his way for now, and we'll deal with him in the finals.
Song Yukui swept his leg under Zhang Lei's armpit, and before Zhang Lei could retaliate, he pulled his leg back. Then, taking advantage of Zhang Lei's excessive force and shift in his center of gravity, he slapped Zhang Lei's back heavily with both hands.
Judging from his speed, at least one of his abilities is related to speed. However, he did not emit any power fluctuations. Over the years, there have been at least seven or eight ways to suppress or eliminate power fluctuations. This is not a very complicated thing.
Song Yukui took this first opening match very seriously. He absolutely could not lose face to Zhang Lei. So, even though he didn't think much of Zhang Lei, he still studied the video of Zhang Lei's qualifying match for a long time, as well as the video of Zhang Lei participating in several other tests.
Therefore, he thought he had grasped Zhang Lei's weakness: a slow-moving guy who relied entirely on brute force. Although his punches were fast, he was definitely not good at agility and movement. He guessed that his superpower might be related to strength. However, his opponent in the qualifying round was too careless and he had caught him off guard. He probably won without using his superpower.
Following his momentum, Zhang Lei staggered forward two steps but did not fall.
This wasn't entirely an act; the kid's strength genuinely had that effect on the unsuspecting Zhang Lei, and Zhang Lei's expression also turned serious.
"We may lose, but we hope this kid doesn't get hurt." Zhang Lei turned around, twitched the muscles in his neck a couple of times, and thought to himself.
"Kid! Come on!" Zhang Lei pounded his chest a few times like a gorilla, the dissipated air spreading around him, causing the dust on the arena to swirl.
Song Yukui's gaze towards Zhang Lei also became wary. What he saw on the video and what he experienced firsthand were definitely not the same.
The video footage reveals that Zhang Lei's strength is extraordinary, but it's impossible to tell from the video that his strength is this terrifying.
Although Song Yukui excels in lightness skills, it doesn't mean he lacks strength. In fact, his strength is top-tier among martial artists. Only by having no weaknesses can he become a favorite to win the championship this time.
But his two consecutive moves, especially the last double-card hand which was a specialty of his school, only made Zhang Lei stagger a couple of steps. How could he not be surprised, how could he not be vigilant!
If he knew that Zhang Lei had focused on keeping his footing, he probably would have swayed slightly at most, and who knows what he would have thought.
It's not that Zhang Lei is much stronger than him, but there are basically no martial arts masters who pay as much attention to their bodies as Zhang Lei. Even masters of pure external martial arts wouldn't have this idea, because even Iron Shirt can't train the internal organs. Without this ability, it's useless for internal martial arts masters who can exert force through physical means.
"Whoosh!" That was the sound of the wind accompanying Zhang Lei's punches; he put all his strength into every punch.
"Whoosh!" That was the sound of Song Yu Kui's kick cutting through the air; his leg was focused on speed at this moment.
However, Song Yukui's legs would mostly kick Zhang Lei, but Zhang Lei's punches would always miss.
However, Song Yukui understood that if Zhang Lei's fist touched him, he would be finished. This punch would be no lighter than a house-stomping sledgehammer. But as long as he was careful, he knew that it would never hit him.
He was now completely convinced that Zhang Lei's previous Void-Breaking Fist was a type of superpower, and the new rules of the tournament had sealed this superpower. Song Yu Kui couldn't help but feel relieved that he had been careful.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 102: The First Match (Part 2)
"Damn it! I'm not fighting anymore!" Zhang Lei stomped his foot hard, and the entire arena shook.
"Although your punches and kicks are weak and powerless, it's not fair that you're always hitting me and I can't hit you!" Zhang Lei scratched his head sheepishly. "How about we have a literary contest? You hit me once, I hit you once, or you hit me twice and I hit you once, or three punches? Ten punches?"
Song Yukui wasn't a fool, so naturally he wouldn't agree. He shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated, but he didn't rush to Zhang Lei's side again. Zhang Lei's vulnerability was much smaller if he didn't move, and he couldn't let his guard down. The allotted time was running out, and he didn't want to be caught off guard at the last minute.
Seeing that there seemed to be no more movement on the field, the referee finally made up his mind and rang the final bell.
Based on the points, Zhang Lei was undoubtedly defeated, but the fact that he managed to hold on until the time was up was quite an upset.
However, the others might not take Zhang Lei seriously, because in their eyes, Zhang Lei's weakness was too obvious. Even if they were not as good as Song Yukui, they could still use this weakness to attack Zhang Lei. They didn't know that Zhang Lei had decided to grow rapidly in the arena, and the speed of this growth was definitely beyond their expectations.
"Not bad, your hard skills are quite good. You are stronger than I expected. I am very happy to have the opportunity to spar with you!" Song Yu Kui extended a friendly hand to Zhang Lei.
He needed his own team, and in his opinion, Zhang Lei, a kind-hearted man with a bit of cunning, was definitely useful. Moreover, Zhang Lei's hard skills, combined with his superpowers, made him a formidable opponent in actual combat. Naturally, he wanted to win him over first.
However, he didn't believe Zhang Lei could make it past the group stage, because his weaknesses were too obvious, especially since he had sealed one of his abilities. Most people could defeat him based on points alone. Based on his performance, he probably wouldn't even qualify as a regular sheriff. Making a good impression now, and then extending a hand of friendship later, wouldn't Zhang Lei be all over him, practically kissing his shoes?
"Hehe, you got the better deal this time, but next time we clash, I definitely won't let you win!" Zhang Lei reached out and shook hands with him, constantly restraining the urge to crush his hand.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Let's all do our best!" A hint of disdain flashed in Song Yukui's eyes. According to the schedule, those who advance from this group will have to wait until the round of 16 to meet again. In his opinion, it was a miracle that Zhang Lei even made it out of the group, let alone go that far.
Zhang Lei's eyes caught his expression, and he returned a disdainful look, but perhaps he didn't do it quite right, probably because Song Yu Kui took it as a flirtatious glance, and he quickly shook off Zhang Lei's warm hand.
In the subsequent group stage, Zhang Lei's combat experience seemed to improve rapidly, leaving those fools who tried to imitate him completely exasperated.
Based on their actual speed and agility, it might not be easy for Zhang Lei to catch Song Yukui, but Song Yukui would definitely have no chance of hitting Zhang Lei.
It's not that he couldn't hit Zhang Lei, but when he did, Zhang Lei would never give him a chance to stop. The result of a head-on fight with a fully unleashed Zhang Lei is obvious.
The opponents who come after Song Yukui are quite different from him. After all, there is only one seeded player in a group, and Song Yukui is already considered the strongest seed.
"Bang!" The opponent's fist struck Zhang Lei for the third time, but this time he didn't have time to pull it back. Zhang Lei had set a trap for him. This was Zhang Lei's strategy for the second match, making everything seem both accidental and not accidental.
The red-corner player, whose wrist had been grabbed, desperately pounded on Zhang Lei's arm with his other hand, but to Zhang Lei, it was nothing more than an itch, and he couldn't even scratch a red mark like an itch.
He was spun around twice by Zhang Lei and then thrown out. There was nothing to use for leverage in the air, so he could only make slight adjustments to his direction and posture. By the time he landed, he was already far away from the ring, so he was naturally judged to have lost.
His third opponent was naturally much more cautious; he didn't want to end up like the previous one, capsizing in a ditch. However, he hadn't anticipated that this wasn't a ditch, but a gigantic washing machine capable of whipping up hurricanes. Avoiding capsizing was impossible, and once capsized, he would be pulled out of the gigantic washing machine and shamefully displayed in the ditch.
In the fourth round, their opponents were naturally more cautious against Zhang Lei. Unfortunately, they didn't understand one thing: being cautious was useless. It was like a master debater debating with a child who had just learned to speak. Although the master debater pretended to stutter, his thinking could lead the child to make mistakes. Zhang Lei was like that. He only needed to grab one of them and throw him out.
Zhang Lei felt that this was probably the most enjoyable fight he had ever had in his life. Fights without any grudges, not life-or-death struggles, and without harming the opponent were actually very interesting—far more interesting than killing. Zhang Lei had killed enough people, though he wouldn't hesitate when necessary; it had become an instinct. But that was a means of intimidating opponents, not a source of enjoyment.
Starting from the fifth match, Zhang Lei no longer needed to deliberately set traps for his opponents. According to the timeline, Zhang Lei has now grown to the point where he can basically make up for his weaknesses.