Martial Arts Worlds

Chapter 689: Cold and Distant



On the ground, Kaia had some trouble standing up, and there were small tears falling from her eyes.

She didn't expect to lose so early on, and since she was, after all, just a child, the loss really stung like a bee.

In that moment, a shadow fell over him, and Kiernan offered her his hand, which she looked at with surprise before grabbing it.

He helped her back to her feet.

"T-Thanks…"

She replied nervously, recognizing him as Kiernan Hunter, and she could remember the day like it was just yesterday when she and her family watched him on the television during the great tournament against Animal Kingdom.

"You made one bad decision during your match, and that was the decision to be careful at the end. You should've pushed onward, and maybe you would've beaten my disciple."

Kiernan said.

"…O-Oh… W-Why are you telling me this?"

She asked curiously.

To her, it didn't make any sense to give tips to rival students of completely different dojos.

"It's just a small tip. Not a biggie."

Kiernan said, and he then let her be to join Jock, but in that moment, her timid voice sounded as she clutched the corners of her jacket.

"W-What else should I have done?"

"To keep up the pressure. You shouldn't have let my disciple make the decision. You should've forced him into a decision.

"If you've put pressure on my disciple, because of his inexperience, you would've completely stunlocked him.

"He wouldn't have been able to think and would've been forced into defending. In the end, you would've probably managed to land one more hit to win."

Kiernan said.

Kaia sponged all of his words, and then she put her arms beside her body before taking a deep bow as thanks for teaching her.

In that moment, Jock left the platform, joined Kiernan, and headed back to their bench, where Cleo waited with a smile on her face.

"Why did you teach her?"

Jock asked curiously.

"I didn't teach her per se. I just gave her a few pointers. You did well, my student."

Kiernan said and patted Jock on the shoulder, which earned a smile from him, happy to not be completely useless.

"My decision at the end was correct?"

Jock asked.

"Yes. Going to absolute attacking mode after seeing her hesitation was the best choice. I would've done exactly the same."

Kiernan said.

"…Good."

Jock replied with a sigh of relief.

Whenever he was in those situations, he always wondered what Kiernan would do in his situation.

After watching hours of footage from Kiernan's fights, he was trying to get an understanding of how his mind worked.

After arriving at the bench, Cleo congratulated Jock, and they sat back down but noticed a difference in the venue.

There were more people looking at their direction now, considering them as a proper threat, as they should.

Low Stage Martial Recruit was able to reach the semifinals, which wasn't unheard of, but very impressive nonetheless.

In the lower ranks, the difference in the ranks didn't matter as much, but of course, it still helped.

The biggest difference maker was, in the end, the skill in martial arts, which Jock had already displayed to everyone in the audience.

The matches of the first block came to a quick end, and the second block started.

Cleo bid her farewells and took her place at her platform. Her opponent was Corn Hood, a young fellow.

She started the fight slow, just parrying and blocking the strikes. Corn Hood wasn't really aggressive, but he was quick and precise with his strikes, making Cleo work harder to defend herself.

While the fight played on, Weathers and Lumian of the Ok Family Dojo quickly took care of their opponents.

Both of them advanced to the semifinals of the second block, but they were in different matches.

A short while later, Cleo used some of her Ok Family Style knowledge to take her opponent to the ground, and in the ground game, she quickly submitted her opponent in an armbar to secure the victory.

Her opponent tapped the ground to forfeit, so it was an automatic victory for her, and she didn't need to bother to get any more points.

Forfeit was an automatic three points.

Her semifinal opponent was decided, and she was going against Weathers, whom she had a pretty poor relationship with.

Across the venue, the three boys of the Ok Family Dojo sat together, looking at the match-ups on the board.

"I am not surprised that Cleo made it to the semifinals of the block because she still has the skill she learned over at Ok Family Dojo, but that trash Jock is a surprise."

Khan said with a scoff.

"Hehe, you are in a little pickle, Khan. If both of you win, you'll meet each other in the finals, and that would be quite the interesting match to see.

"If you lose, Master won't be very happy."

Weathers said with a grin.

"Well, you will be going against that traitor. I am not sure losing to her would make Master very happy."

Khan said with a scoff.

"…"

Weathers cracked his knuckles.

He had a fair share of experience going against Cleo, and if they counted their sparring matches, he had won more than lost.

The score was about thirteen victories and four losses for him, but in the end, they were only sparring matches.

"…Young Master Lumian, any tips if I happen to fight Jock?"

Khan asked.

"…"

With his arms crossed, Lumian stayed silent, looking to be in his own little world, and paid no attention to them.

They scratched their heads, wondering what had happened to him for him to become so cold and distant lately.

They know that he had been doing some private training sessions with her father and several senior instructors.

Weathers, a few days back, could almost swear that he happened to hear Lumian's screams coming from the private training room.

The screams were so loud and painful-sounding that he wasn't sure whether they were training him or torturing him!


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.