Chapter 4

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Oscar immediately went on the offensive, aiming at the upper torso portion, to cause a shock to the old man and to render him paralyzed.

However, he was shocked to see that not only was his attack avoided, but a counter attack was executed in a split second, giving a point away to the old man.

The old man lightly chuckled, retreating and beginning his analysis again.

Visibly frustrated, Oscar again charged forward, this time attempting a fake, however, even before he could make his move, he found a strong force attacking his right shoulder, and lost his balance immediately. Hitting the back of his head on the floor, he lost consciousness and the old man Lee was declared the victor.

[The winner of the first match is Lee Hae-il!]

The audience erupted in roars and cheers for the seemingly feeble old man, packing enough moves to stand tall at his age.

Among the thunderous applause, old man Lee slightly bowed and returned to the locker room.

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[Time for match no. 2]

A man clad in black entirely, with only his eyes visible entered the arena, and folded his arms, waiting for his opponent.

[Introducing first, from the ancient lands of China, Li Kang!]

Among the moderately loud applause, Li Fang just nodded slightly.

On the other side of the arena, a slender and fit man with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail entered, carrying the USA flag and a wide grin on his face.

The female audience, immediately captivated by this handsome man, cheered the loudest, causing the man to wave at them slightly, drawing even more screams.

The male audience didn't seem to be very happy with the handsome guy and immediately turned on him.

[Li Kang! Kick this guy's sorry bu*t back to his nation!]

[Yeah, show him what you got!]

[You are a beast f*cker if you can't beat him!]

Even the host was stunned by these developments and quickly finished the announcements.

[And his opponent, from the super-powerful nation USA, Lucas!]

Again, the female audience's cheers drowned the death threats from the male audience. The entire arena was resounding with their chants.

[Lucas!!] [Lucas, I love you] [Bear me a child!!]

[Let the second match begin!]

Unlike the first round, both opponents seemed to be measuring each other.

Deciding on his strategy, Lucas moved deftly and aimed a strike at the forehead of Li Kang, which he dodged, and Lucas swiftly retreated, avoiding the counter blow.

This time Li Kang took the offensive, seemingly slashing down, which Lucas tried to dodge, but Li Kang moved to Lucas's back swiftly and attacked his elbow joint.

Immediately Lucas lost the feeling in his right hand and his face twisted in horror.

[Please wait! I give up! Please spare me!]

Li Kang, looked visibly disappointed and spitted on Lucas's face and backed off as he muttered,

[Coward.]

[The winner of this round is Li Kang!]

The men immediately cheered loudly, but when looked upon coldly by their female counterparts, quickly shut back up again.

Such is the sad fate of the creature known as male human.

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Backstage

Lee Hae-il observed the match and was astonished by the level of skill displayed by Li Kang.

[This fellow is no ordinary practitioner. He may be a result of countless bloodshed. His coming here must not be for a simple reason. But what could possibly interest him?]

Lee Hae-il tried his best to understand Li Kang's motive, but was unable to decipher it.

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Backstage Area - CONTESTANT LOCKER ROOM 04

Returning to his room for rest, Li Kang quickly dialed a number and spoke,

[Boss, don't worry, the mission is too easy. I will get the job done quickly. Yes, I won't fail.]

Afterwards, Kang dialed another number and talked in a slightly altered voice,

[You are in the position I presume. Good, take the shot well, got it? You have one shot, if you fail, i will personally come for your head. OK. I will get the position you want, just focus on the target.]

Putting the phone down, Li Kang lay down for a quick nap, just a regular day of work for him.

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[It's time for the third round.]

Walking up the ring, was a very beautiful looking lady. Her grace was so captivating, that the male audience were instantly enamored by her.

She quietly took her position & waiting for the match to start.

[Introducing first, from the cultural hub of Italy, Lady Ginevra!]

From the other side a rough looking man climbed up. He sported a dirty shirt, patched up at many places, with a long beard and eyes deeply staring at his opponent, as if wishing to devour her quite literally.

[And her opponent, from the savage wilderness of Iran, Arash 'The Killer'!]

Smirking at the stupid accent of the announcer, he quietly readied himself for his next hunt.

[The third round begins!]

Lady Ginevra rapidly approached Arash, and aimed at his disgusting eyes.

However, her blow is parried and is overpowered by the brutal strength of her opponent.

While Arash quickly took the advantage and stole a kiss from Ginevra, leaving her horrified and extremely disgusted.

Under the effect of rage, she lost her awareness and tried to kill him with lethal attacks.

[Stop! Lethal moves are prohibited! Ginevra, you are disqualified!]

The host quickly interfered in fear of a mis-happening.

[Why are you siding with him! He kissed me!]

[Believe me Lady, if you had attacked him, he could have killed you in the use of justified self defense. Please calm down.]

After breathing heavily for a few moments, she calmed down and left the arena.

[Due to disqualification, the winner is Arash!]

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Laughing loudly, Arash walked down the arena. The audience, as if furious at the results, booed him heavily. Quickly, the host announced the next match.

[It's time for the next match.]

From one side of the arena, a tough looking woman climbed up, coldly gazing at the leaving Arash.

[Vermin.]

Muttering under her breath, she prepared herself for the upcoming match.

[Introducing first, from the hardy lands of Russia, Master Irina!]

A young woman quickly sprinted up the other side, rearing to go.

[And her opponent, from the vast nation of Brazil, Miss Fernanda!]

[The match begins!]

Fernanda quickly attacked Irina, executing 3 moves in succession, utilizing her natural agility, however her attacks were all dodged instinctively by Irina, who in response executed a side upward slash, bagging 2 points in her favor.

Fernanda backed away quickly, and attempted to get back in control, but instead was attacked by Irina, losing 3 more points to Irina.

Growing frustrated, Fernanda attempted a tricky move, however her ankle suddenly got sprained, causing her to fall.

The host ran up, and upon checking her condition, declared her unfit to continue the match.

[The winner of this round is Master Irina!]

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[Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our semi-finals to begin.]

From the left corner, old man Lee climbed up, looking very serious.

[Introducing first, Lee Hae-il!]

From the other side, dressed in all black, his opponent entered the arena.

[And his opponent, Li Kang.]

[Let the match begin!]

Wasting no time, Kang rushed first to incapacitate old man Lee. Anticipating his attempt to dodge, he changed his attack pattern and landed a hit straight on old man Lee's head.

Although he dodged slightly, Lee was still hit on his temples, causing him to become stunned for a while, earning a point for Kang.

Not the one to miss this chance, Kang immediately followed up with his next move.

Old man Lee, regaining his senses, quickly turned the situation around by jabbing straight at Kang's abdomen, earning a point back.

Shocked by the comeback from Lee, Kang's eyes turned cold, as he activated a signal in hindsight.

Suddenly a bullet sound resounded throughout the arena, causing mass panic in the audience as they all rushed towards the exit.

Kang smiled sinisterly, and escaped the arena, while old man Lee fell down coughing blood, a hole visible near his heart location as the bullet pierced through him & his wounds were bleeding profusely.

[NOO!! GRANDFATHER!!]

Lee Ae-cha quickly ran towards her grandfather. Holding him in her arms, she screamed loudly,

[MEDICS!! COME QUICKLY!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!]

What she didn't know is that the stand by team of medical staff had been replaced and no one except the police may arrive in nearly an hour or so.

Carrying her grand father to safety, Lee Ae-cha called loudly for help,

[HELPPP!! ANYONE!! PLEASE!! HE'S MY ONLY FAMILY!!!]

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Getting out of his shock, Dan looked around him. In this virtually empty arena, there was no possibility of anybody helping her.

Suddenly, yesterday's scene flashed in his mind, and he wondered if such a bad wound could be healed at all.

Clenching his jaw, Dan leaped over and ran after the retreating figure of the girl.

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Backstage Area - CONTESTANT LOCKER ROOM 08

Ae-cha placed her dying grand father on the bed. His face was fast turning pale and his breathing slowing down.

Fearing the inevitable, Ae-cha hugged her grand father while weeping silently, losing all hope.

Upon entering the room, Dan quickly rushed to the old man while talking to the girl.

[Listen, don't ask any questions. Quickly shut the door and block t. Don't open it no matter who it is.]

[Who are you?...]

[I may be able to save him. Don't worry i don't need anything afterwards. I want to stay away from this mess too. Just don't disturb me no matter what you want, got that?]

After glaring once at the crying girl, Dan shifted his attention towards the old man, and started to remember his feelings of wanting to pray to god for safe departure of the deceased.

Suddenly, his hands started to glow & the glow started spreading all over the old man's body.

[Huh?!...]

Ae-cha was surprised at the development but kept herself quiet, afraid of causing her grand father's death.

After a few hours of such tension, color started to return to the previously pale face of the old man.

[Grand father...]

Ae-cha was delighted and hoped her relative recovered quickly, while also wondering how this man was able to do so.

After some more time, the wound on his chest started healing, while the old man's breathing started becoming steady.

However Dan's condition deteriorated, sweating profusely, his hands starting to shake and head felt like it’s about to be split apart.

[Must...endure...]

Unable to tolerate anymore, Dan lost consciousness and collapsed.

Ae-cha was shocked, and got nervous on discovering Dan's bad state.

[Hey! What happened! You are not dead, are you?!]

She quickly checked her grand father. His wound was mostly healed & the hole pierced through him no longer visible. The bleeding stopped, while he slept peacefully.

[Thank Heavens...you are alive, grand father...]

Dressing his remaining superficial wounds, Ae-cha focused next towards the stranger next to her.

A myriad of thoughts circled around in her head, before she lay him down on her bed and started to feed him sports drink mouth to mouth.

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Chapter 4 End