Chapter : 10 : Xiao Ming Vs Xiao Zhan ( Part : 3 ) :
At this moment after an announcing the rules and the start of the battle the referee quickly left the arena leaving both the participants to face each other .
However much to everyone's surprise both Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan did not move from their position and they only staring at each other as if waiting for the other side to make the first move .
While this can be expected from Xiao Ming who has shown to have a cautious and adaptable fighting style .
However this was highly unusual and almost impossible to see Xiao Zhan not attacking first like his usual aggressive style .
Was he being cautious or was he afraid to attack ? What's going on ?
He did not even think like this when he faced Xiao Yun before so what's different with Xiao Ming .
But if the audience were confused then in the arena even Xiao Ming was even more puzzled by this development.
He also thought that the moment the battle will start Xiao Zhan will rush forward to attack him so he had already taken his Evading Fist technique stance ready to dodge and counter attack at any moment .
But nothing like that happened as Xiao Zhan quietly looked at him from the opposite side not rushing to fight or anything .
Even so he did not let his guard down for single moment and he would not make the same mistake as he did during his encounter with that mysterious lady that day .
" You must be puzzled as to why I didn't strike aren't you Xiao Ming . " - suddenly Xiao Zhan spoke up surprising Xiao Ming .
" No need to be surprised " - Xiao Zhan continued to speak .
" Yes it is out of character for me to talk like this especially in middle of a battle but I just wanted to see who this new opponent of mine was . Especially after you withstood the Dou Qi pressure from the second elder . " - he said as he started slowly moving around .
' So he was noticing . ' - Xiao Ming thought himself why continuously changing his position as well to face Xiao Zhan directly and not allow him to get behind his blind spot .
" At first I did not expect anything from you but after watching your battles so far I understood that you had something worth noticing . "
Xiao Zhan said as he came to a stop now closer to Xiao Ming .
" I am honoured that you think so highly of me Xiao Zhan and I hope in this battle I can prove to you that I am far more than you realised . " - Xiao Ming finally spoke his words respectful but his body language showed his alertness to the situation .
" Good ! If that's what you think then don't hold back like in your previous matches I would be disappointed if you lost too quickly . " - with that suddenly out of nowhere Xiao Zhan moved with extraordinary speed towards Xiao Ming .
This speed was faster than he had used in his previous matches .
And it was even faster than he was during his last battle with Xiao Yun a few months ago .
Many in the audiences watching the scene were caught off guard as they did not expect Xiao Zhan to strike so suddenly and with such speed .
Even Xiao Ming who was on alert had not expected such speed from Xiao Zhan but had little time to think as Xiao Zhan's first punch was about to reach him .
Just as Xiao Ming quickly dodged the first attack a second punch came aiming right for his abdomen however Xiao Ming used his momentum just in time to do a back flip to create distance between them .
However Xiao Zhan was hot on his heels and quickly covered the distance throwing punches after punches and forcing Xiao Ming to keep dodging the attacks .
And while Xiao Ming successfully dodged all the attacks this however left him with no opening for a counter attack .
The audience who were watching the battle were on uproar .
" Oh my God ! Look at how fast Xiao Zhan is . "
" Yeah ! He is even faster then he was when fighting Xiao Yun a few months ago . "
" But look at Xiao Ming . He is dodging all of Xiao Zhan's attacks so expertly . "
" Scoff ! And what will dodging do ? it's not like he can win unless he can counter attack himself . "
" Yeah ! But still it's too early to say anything . "
" Siss ! Stop talking and focus on the match . "
Such discussions where happening between the younger cultivator of the same generation as Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan .
Most of them were shocked at the speed and the offensive capability shown by Xiao Zhan .
While some were also impressed by Xiao Ming's ability to dodge Xiao Zhan's attacks not many thought that he had any chance of winning .
Because to them Xiao Ming was already on the backfoot as he was barely able to dodge Xiao Zhan's furious attacks .
To many of them the fight's result was already decided .
However the seniors who were evaluating the match had other things to say .
Senior Brother ( 1 ) : Xiao Zhan's speed is extraordinary for his age . He must have reached the complete Qi sensing stage .
Senior Brother ( 2 ) : However Xiao Ming's is not bad either .
Senior Sister ( 1 ) : Yes ! at a first glance to many inexperienced cultivators it may seam like that Xiao Ming is only barely dodging Xiao Zhan's attack but in reality he is using the evading fist technique .
Senior Brother ( 2 ) : Yes ! while Xiao Ming is only using the basic movements of the evading fist technique he is doing so in such a fabulous manner that I can't spot a single mistake in his basics .
Senior Brother ( 1 ) : Yes ! moreover Xiao Ming's reaction speed was also impressive . While it seemed that he was indeed a little caught off guard by the sudden attack he still managed to properly move in time and not only dodged the first attack but the second as well .
Senior Sister ( 2 ) : But he still needs to find a way to counter attack because it's only a matter of time before he is hit by Xiao Zhan as he can't avoid all the strikes .
The senior's evaluation were far more detailed and understanding then the younger generation as they properly understood both Xiao Ming's and Xiao Zhan's techniques .
Some young cultivators who were sitting near the senior's seats overheard the conversation and quickly passed it around the crowd .
" Haa ! Haa ! I knew it Xiao Ming wasn't losing , see I told you so . "
" Yeah ! me too I knew he was using the evading fist technique and just look at how good he is at it . "
" When ? I don't remember you saying anything like that just ? "
" I ... I said that you just didn't listen . Pay more attention man . "
" Whatever ! I still an strong on my point Xiao Ming can't win without counter attacking and even the senior sister said that . "
" Well ! I feel like from now on we should listen to the seniors evaluation first before making our own assumptions . "
As the discussion among the everyone in the crowd continued the scene was totally different in the arena where both of the participants where currently locked in middle of a heated battle .
' Just as I thought Xiao Zhan has already reached the complete Qi sensing stage . ' - Xiao Ming thought to himself as you once again dodged another kick from Xiao Zhan .
From the start of the battle he has been expertly moving his way through the arena constantly dodging Xiao Zhan's attacks one after another .
While to many it may seem a boring and even cowardly to only dodge and not to strike back , it was the very essence of the evading fist technique .
The technique emphasizes on high mobility and agility to constantly dodge thier enemie's attack one after another while using as little stamina as possible .
Afterwards they either would have to find an opportunity are create an opportunity to strike back .
It was a slow technique not something flashy but undoubtedly effective in a long and exhausting combat scenario .
But the problem was that Xiao Ming knew very well that he couldn't avoid all the strikes like this .
And it's only a matter of time before he gets hit by Xiao Zhan .
And the opposite side was not showing any loss of momentum or energy and continued to strike him one after another relentlessly .
' There it is . ' - it was then that finally after dodging a kick from Xiao Zhan that he noticed a opening as Xiao Zhan has left his left side wide open for a few seconds .
And he used that opportunity moving fast he struck with a powerful punch which struck Xiao Zhan .
" Ahhh ! " - Xiao Zhan groaned in pain
But much to Xiao Ming's surprise Xiao Zhan quickly stabilized his footing and looked at Xiao Ming with anger .
" Take this . " - Xiao Zhan then retaliated with a powerful back kick aiming for Xiao Ming's face .
Xiao Ming who was now too close to Xiao Zhan and had no way to dodge the attack quickly brought his hands forward to block the attack .
When the kick connected with his hands he was thrown several metres away before he could stabilize his footing again .
Fortunately Xiao Zhan also needed sometime to adjust so he couldn't chase Xiao Ming right after he was pushed back .
Now once again both Xiao Ming and Xiao Zhan were separated from each other by a distance .
' He's strong and I mean really very strong . ' - Xiao Ming thought to himself as looked at his slightly trembling hands .
At this moment he was truly grateful for the body refinement pill that he got from the system because if not for that his body would not have been able to take such strikes from Xiao Zhan .
But at the same time he also realised just how much he has underestimated Xiao Zhan's power .
The punch he used just now contained 50% of his power but didn't even make Xiao Zhan loose his footing .
But when Xiao Zhan's kick connected with him his hands felt a sharp pain and were even now slightly trembling from that impact .
This just goes to show how different their body conditioning is .
Xiao Zhan who has used various kinds of techniques and resources including powerful medical baths and alchemist pills from early days of his cultivation now has a body conditioning far superior to Xiao Ming .
And even after eating a 1st tier Body Refinement pill his body refinement was no where near Xiao Zhan's level .
To be honest at this moment he truly felt that it was his good luck that he got the evading fist technique as a technique instead of a aggressive fighting technique like Xiao Zhan .
By saying this he did not mean that Xiao Zhan's technique was weak but it simply meant it was not for him .
In order to practice an aggressive fighting style which focused more on power and offence then on defence , a person would need a strong physical body and great body refinement .
One can actually have such a strong body by birth or can use external resources like Alchemist pill and medical bath to compensate for it .
And the second is something Xiao Zhan had .
But unfortunately Xiao Ming didn't have any of those .
So to him the evading fist technique which required less body conditioning and power and required more stamina instead was a far better option .
" Well ! well ! well ! I must admit you are far better than I thought you to be . " - Xiao Zhan said from the distance .
" Even if I don't like the cowardly way you are fighting you still managed to hit me something no one has able to do in this competition so far . " - he said taking his battle stand once again .
" Thank you for your praise and youn your self are worthy to be called a genius of our clan . " - Xiao Ming replied back .
Hearing this Xiao Zhan's eyes became sharp as he said .
" But if you keep dodging like this then there is no hope for you to defeat me so I advise you to give up because from now on because I won't be holding back anymore . " - he said clenching his fist in a strong punching style .
" You are strong Xiao Ming . You are far stronger than all this weaklings present here watching us right now . " - he said his eyes sharp .
" But you are not my opponent because only Xiao Yun is capable to be called my opponent . "
" And you are just standing in my way . " - Xiao Zhan declared loudly .
With that a heavy silence fell over area as the crowed of both young and senior cultivators fell silent .
Now everyone's attention shifted to Xiao Ming , waiting for his answer .
To Be Continued .