Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"Miss Cao, is that right?"

A flat game means both sides are on the court at the same time, so the 40-second halftime break can be used for some discussion.

"Just call me Xueqing, Miss Mannong."

Xueqing thought so too, so when she heard Mannong speak, she readily agreed.

"Xueqing, you are outstanding, whether as a dancer or a martial artist. So clear, so profound, like the heart of Lake Baikal... I haven't seen a dancer like you in a long time."

"You flatter me."

Xueqing glanced at him somewhat shyly.

"I've always been honest about beauty, but unfortunately..."

Manon gently shook her head.

"Being too composed and unwilling to show excitement can sometimes be your downfall. It seems like you'll be eliminated in the first round this year."

Upon hearing this, Xueqing chuckled softly.

Seeing Manong looking at her with some confusion, she said, "I'm sorry, I just remembered that my master once said that my temperament is too calm and steady, which may hinder me in the future."

"I'm actually aware of this, but how can one change their nature so easily?"

She shook her head: "Perhaps what you and Master predicted will come true in the future..."

"But at least not today."

Xueqing bowed to Mannong with clasped hands and then turned and left the stage.

Looking at her light, bouncy steps, as if she were about to jump, anyone who didn't know better would think that Xueqing had won this round.

"So handsome, Lao Qing!"

As soon as Xue Qing stepped off the stage, Zheng Jing, who had been eagerly waiting, raised his hands and came over: "Yay!"

Xue Qing slapped Zheng Jing's palms twice and pointed to the ring with her thumbs.

"Don't embarrass our family."

Zheng Jing grinned.

"Then you'd better watch carefully!"

The 40-second halftime break passed in the blink of an eye. When the bell rang again, the two teams' captains stepped onto the ring at the call of the big-nosed referee.

"Bring it on!"

"Pointing at Zheng Jing, Zangief shouted."

"Wonderful, Old Sang—"

Zheng Jing grabbed his collar with one hand, and with a ripping sound, tore open his shirt with a confident smile, revealing his muscular physique that looked like a divine sculpture.

"I'm fed up with all the red tape!"

Chapter 224: Guess who's at the kill line now (

"Oh!"

After carefully examining Zheng Jing's upper body muscles, Zangief's sharply defined facial muscles pressed together, revealing his heartfelt admiration.

"Come!"

Zheng Jing patted his chest and shouted at Zangief.

Seeing that both sides were in position, the big-nosed referee wiped the sweat from his forehead, as if he wanted to escape this battlefield of muscles as soon as possible, and swung his raised right hand forcefully.

"start!"

"Drink!"

Zangief darted to Zheng Jing's side, his right palm, fingers together, delivered a powerful, flat-palm slash to Zheng Jing's chest.

"Snapped!"

The terrifying noise made even Xiao Xiaolin in the preparation area below the stage cover her ears.

It didn't sound like the sound of flesh colliding at all; it sounded more like the sound of gunfire from some kind of anti-materiel weapon.

Seeing Zheng Jing get hit by that chop, and hearing the loud noise that came from Zheng Jing's body, Xue Qing subconsciously tightened her grip on the sword in her hand.

On the ring, Zangief, who had landed a solid blow on Zheng Jing's chest, narrowed his eyes and raised his hand again at Zheng Jing, who refused to back down.

"Snapped!!"

The second time!

"Snapped!!!"

—The third time!

Three swift, flat-palm cuts landed precisely on Zheng Jing's well-developed pectoral muscles.

However, after the three loud noises, Zheng Jing still stood firmly in front of Zangief, unmoved.

"call out!"

Seeing this, Kyoko, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but whistle.

While still on the ship, she had a friendly sparring session with Zheng Jing.

At that time, her offensive efforts barely caught Zheng Jing.

That elusive movement instantly reminded Kyoko of the ultimate fist fighter who had barged into the arena and caused trouble for Ryu during the previous tournament.

Therefore, at the end of that competition, she, who had been unable to touch Zheng Jing, finally got serious.

Although it was only one move, it was this one move that made Kyoko realize something.

In other words, in this exchange, Zheng Jing was probably more likely to hold back than she was.

And the scene before her eyes perfectly confirmed her guess at the time!

"How...!"

With his opponent right in front of him, Zangief closed his eyes, his eyes moist, as if he were about to cry at any moment.

He sniffed sharply and roared, "It's so great to have met you, comrade!"

Then, Zangief put his hands back to his waist and puffed out his chest in front of Zheng Jingyi.

"Come! Let me see your steel-like body!"

"What else is there to say! You've already called me comrade!"

With a loud laugh, Zheng Jing raised his right hand.

"Slap! Slap!! Slap!!!"

Despite the obvious difference in physique between the two, Zheng Jing's three consecutive palm strikes displayed a power no less than—no! It seemed to surpass even Zangief's!

With the first strike, Zangief also refused to back down an inch.

With the second blow, Zangief's body slid backward several steps uncontrollably, but he remained standing.

Finally, this third strike caused Zangief's stance to falter.

He took a half step back with his right foot, quickly regained his balance, and Zangief's gaze towards Zheng Jing became even more ardent.

"Is this enough of a test?"

Zheng Jing looked at Zangief and pounded his chest.

"Indeed, that's enough."

Zangief responded with the same action.

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

Immediately afterwards, their bodies, tempered by countless trials, collided with a deafening roar!

In an instant, one saw—

The red bear, with its iron body, is truly ferocious; the golden monkey, with its strong physique, is even more powerful.

One punch strikes the Southern Mountain, another palm cleaves the Northern Sea.

A punch to the South Mountain will cause it to collapse; a palm strike to the North Sea will cleave it in two.

But then we see the golden monkey conquering the southern mountains, and the red bear guarding the northern sea.

The Golden Monkey Fist and the Red Bear Paw—these two heroes deserve praise.

One is a young saint making his debut on the stage, and the other is a general defending his title.

With a flick of the arms, heaven and earth are turned; with a single thrust of the palms, the universe is settled.

This is exactly it: grappling and striking demonstrate strength and courage; face-to-face sumo wrestling never ends!

Unlike the previous two matches where they seized every opportunity to attack and defend, there was no element of counter-attacking between Zheng Jing and Zangief.

When the two sides clash, you throw a punch, I catch it; I strike with a palm, you parry; or even worse, they unleash grappling techniques, you use me to smash the arena, and I use you to shatter the ring.

If the arena hadn't been made of special materials, which were not only tough but also capable of self-repairing in a short time, the match would likely have had to be suspended due to the complete collapse of the arena before the two players could truly determine a winner.

"call......"

After parting ways with Zheng Jing once again, Zangief took a deep breath.

He hadn't enjoyed wrestling like this in a long time.

It's not that sparring with Marissa and the others was boring, it's just that in this world, wrestlers who can accompany him to his full potential are truly...

"Thank you, comrade."

A hint of gentleness appeared on Zangief's battle-ready face.

"That's enough."

"There's still time."

Zheng Jing responded.

Zangief shook his head.

"it is good."

Zheng Jing nodded.

—Suddenly, his body burst forth with dazzling golden light!

The golden light, flickering like a raging flame, seemed to eclipse the sunlight in the sky for a fleeting moment.

"Hmm...how dazzling..."

Zangief narrowed his eyes slightly.

He looked at Zheng Jing as if he were admiring a rare work of art.

"Old Sang."

Zheng Jing lowered his body slightly: "I'll go."

Upon hearing this, Zangief blinked, as if he had come to his senses.

He laughed loudly, raised his head, and pointed both fingers to the sky!

"MUSCLE!"

Zheng Jing grinned, his figure blurred, and he instantly closed in on Zangief, leaving a trail of afterimages.

With his eyes wide open and focused intently, Zangief suddenly grabbed Zheng Jingtian's head with his left hand, then swept his right arm across Zheng Jingtian's face—

"Oh!"

A muffled thud exploded between the muscles of the two men.

Despite enduring Old Sang's grab, Zheng Jing broke through the Vajra Arm with a headbutt, immediately took a step forward, and grabbed Old Sang's face with his backhand as Old Sang's body swayed slightly!

"Bang!!"

It was the same Vajra Arm aimed straight at the face, but Zheng Jing used a striking, head-on blow technique. His right arm was like a shocking club, shaking Old Sang's mind into disarray.

"Let your muscles shine!"

With a tug on Old Sang's arm, Zheng Jing easily hoisted the muscular fortress onto his shoulder, his voice, comparable to a Buddhist lion's roar, instantly echoing throughout the arena.