489 Vacuum Takedown

As the signature ability of Xinzhai Sect, Flying Dragon Takedown's trademark wasn't its speed, but rather the lack of signs it gave away when activated. Against it, one could only rely on absolute reaction. By the time one senses the threat, they would already be in a situation where they can neither dodge nor parry it.

With this sword move, the Xinzhai Sect guarded the unshakable rank one throne in Japanese Kendo. It was one of the force measures that dominated Japan, comparable even to "Amaterasu Heavenly Palace" and "Apothecary Temple". It was way beyond the reach of "Extreme Hadou Sect" that rose in the recent ten or so years. Of course, in terms of combat power, the steadily advancing "Extreme Hadou Sect" had its own aces in its upper echelons.

Looking at it, it would make sense if Flying Dragon Takedown had lost its former glory in modern society. You don't give away any signs? Sure, just let me get ten to hundreds of footages of fights where you used Flying Dragon Takedown, and rewind them frame by frame. There has to be things to be discovered, right?

However, not everything in this world made sense. From the birth of the recording feature till then, no one had discovered any signs before the activation of Flying Dragon Takedown. Perhaps someone did, but kept their silence to reserve it as a trump card against the Xinzhai Sect. Lou Cheng had only come into contact with the related videos after attending the Four Nation Competition, a span of ten or so days, so how could he discover the secret to it?

There were two reasons as to why he did not keep a distance to defend against Flying Dragon Takedown, like what Veigar did. Firstly, he was weaker in strength, and his movements were less than incredible. If he fought while moving around, Kaori Karasawa would soon assume the tempo of the battle. Secondly, relying on his incredible survival senses, he felt that he could surely sense it ahead of time and dodge accordingly.

Who would have expected it to be such a close save when it actually happened!? Though he did sense it before time, the extreme speed of Flying Dragon Takedown exceeded his imagination by far. So much so that it gave him the illusion that the sound barrier had been breached!

By the time Kaori Karasawa reaches a stage similar to the physical invulnerability stage, with a mystical weapon painstakingly forged by special materials in her hand, who knows if she might really be able to do that!

Boom!

The air currents from the Flying Dragon Takedown expanded outwards on both sides, sweeping up a raging hurricane that nearly knocked down Lou Cheng, who avoided the direct impact and was in his Iron Bridge Stance. The Ice Mirror that formed in his mind naturally reflected Kaori Karasawa, a few inches away from his body. As she withdrew her quivering right arm, scraps of her sleeves fluttered into the air like dancing butterflies, exposing a part of her ivory skin. It was clear to see that the move was taxing on her body, and she needed a moment to recover before she could use it again.

But Kaori Karasawa's left leg had tensed up by then. Bending her knees, she poised to kick at Lou Cheng's legs that held the entirety of his weight.

She had learnt her lesson from before. She can't give Lou Cheng the chance to kick upwards, and to do so she had to keep his legs below his waist!

Pam!

Straightening her knees, Kaori Karasawa kicked out with her left foot. At the same time, Lou Cheng maintained his balance, leaned further back with the movement of his waist, and directed his tensed up left leg to whip upwards, while standing stably on one leg!

Bang! Toes collided into heel, bursting into sparks as what remained of the martial arts shoes turned to shreds. It disrupted Lou Cheng's upwards momentum.

Reaching below with his left leg, Lou Cheng tried to regain his footing by channeling borrowed strength to his waist. But Kaori Karasawa had other plans in mind. Before her recoiled left foot touched the ground, she tensed up, lifted herself into the air with a push on her spine. Kicking out her right foot, she aimed at her opponent's only supporting point.

In such circumstances, had Lou Cheng tried to stand up, his right leg would take the full blow. Without any strength channeled into it, injuries would be sustained even with the Ice Armor around it. Then he'll have to limp throughout the rest of the fight, losing whatever chances he had against the overpowering enemy. But if he lifted his other leg to parry the attack, he'll lose his last point of support and consequently, his stance.

At that critical moment, Lou Cheng's mind was like an ice lake and round mirror. Thoughts raced. Forgoing the plan to straighten himself, he jerked back harder.

Then, with his hands against the floor, he raised his waist, whipping out his right leg at the same time. With a thunk, it landed on Kaori Karasawa's foot, forcefully changing its trajectory and causing it to land beside him.

With a one-handed backflip, Lou Cheng was on his feet again, just in time to deal with his opponent who was closing in.

By then, Kaori Karasawa's arm had recovered. Her twin "blades" skirled through the air, rising and falling and slicing towards five different areas on the enemy's body. From the audience's view, the white glow seemed to connect into a horoscope.

Pulling his joints and stretching his fascias, with bursts of strength in between, Lou Cheng put up a solid defense. They moved as they battled, coming close to circling the arena amidst the resounding thumps from contact, a sound that lit up enthusiasm and lifted spirits.

Amidst the flames, ice mists and white glow, Lou Cheng sought for the opportunity to activate Severe Warning and Internal Explosion Punch, or the chance to use Army Formula and Fighting Formula. But with her powerful Mind Reader, she sensed every change in her opponent's movements. At times she leapt back, buying herself enough time to avoid the blow. At times, she attacked from his side and back, not giving him any opportunities.

Compared to the likes of Veigar and Mouko Yamashita, the "beautiful girl genius that appears once every three thousand years" had a stronger cultivation base, and her style of fighting was more flexible— advancing, retreating, attacking, dodging. Her presence was domineering.

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This gave Lou Cheng a deeper and clearer understanding of the details in the fight between Peng Leyun and Ren Li. They seldom used simplified moves of physical invulnerability state or secret moves and stuck to ordinary moves, individual forces or Dan stage bursts most of the time. Not that they didn't want to use it, but rather because they didn't have the chance to. Forcefully executing them could give away an opening which the opponent could leverage on.

With that understanding, he completely suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and his moves grew increasing steady. He found the chances to execute his moves—Snow Cover, Ice Burning,Cold Swallow and Aurora—one at a time, sometimes along with Force Concentration. After a while, he felt his moves more spontaneous, as if his body was moving by itself.

Fine, let's make this a slugfest!

The sharp Kaori Karasawa caught on quickly and planned to put an end to his opponent's on the fly "morphing".

After exchanging two more moves, Lou Cheng felt a ripple in his inner world. He sensed danger. Serious danger.

At the same time, he vaguely heard an indistinct "snap".

Shit!

Retracting his Qi and blood, he lowered himself and huddled into a ball.

Just as he was squatting, Kaori Karasawa's left arm stabbed out from her waist, splitting the air while leaving visible afterimages.

A beam of light flashed by, a white air current following it, almost palpable, sweeping up violent gusts and setting off booming roars.

"Flying Dragon Takedown" again!

His scalp was numb and the insides of his ears trembled. Activating his Dan Force in a quick burst like a volcano erupting, it filled him up, swelling his muscles that were packed with strength.

The vessels outlined his twitching muscles distinctly. With his right fist clenched tight, he sprang up in a half-smashing, half-ramming motion.

In that moment, the audience seemingly saw a trapped dragon taking to the skies, or a rocket blasting off!

Kaori Karasawa formed a knife palm with her right, its reflections glimmering, and chopped right down at the veiny fist.

Bang!

A tremor went down her left arm. Lou Cheng's all out attack was not something that she can defend with a hurried block. She jerked back, then took the chance to dodge backwards with deft footwork and swift movements— redolent of the Shukuchi technique.

As if Lou Cheng would let the opportunity slip by! As the collateral damage from Flying Dragon Takedown cracked through an empty row of audience seats, he lifted his hands to form a seal, visualizing the ancient character.

"Attainment!"

His body shot out, leaving two distinct footprints where he was standing, rapidly narrowing the gap between him and Kaori Karasawa.

The opponent's features grew vivid in her eyes, the smell of his sweat wafted into her nose, and his ragged breathing drifted to her ears. Without panicking, Kaori Karasawa lifted her right arm once more, tensing and chopping forward.

In a loud screech of friction, Lou Cheng stopped on a dime. The ground below his feet cracked into webs, his body stopping an arms-length away from his opponent.

At that distance, Kaori Karasawa's palm knife was bound to miss, after which she would have to withstand a flurry of attacks from Lou Cheng.

That's when her eyes gleamed. Her right palm, sweeping through the air currents, emanated a bright white light.

Bam!

With a slash, she completely cut through the air currents between her and Lou Cheng. As the air instantaneously gushed to the side, a low air pressure zone was produced!

Xinzhai Sect— Vacuum Takedown!

Lou Cheng felt the area ahead of him pulling him in. He involuntarily toppled forward, staggering. The rushing wind filled his ears.

The continuation of her moves followed. Tensing her left leg, she lashed it horizontally at her toppling enemy, leaving a trail of a razor-like light.

Lou Cheng adjusted his muscle in time, channeling the accumulated "muscle memory" into his leg. The same leg whip with a different glow.

Snap!

The layer of ice shattered. His hurried block resulted in a draw.

But a draw meant that he didn't manage to leverage on the opponent's opening. The battle was reverted to its original state. With her fists and kicks as her knifes, she danced her Kendo to the fullest, forcing Lou Cheng to go on the defensive, without a sliver of chance to use the Nine Words Formula or simplified moves of Physical Invulnerability State.

Meanwhile, vaguely sensing that her opponent can predict her Flying Dragon Takedown, she stopped using it freely and patiently waited for the chance— the time when her opponent can only block it and not dodge it.

Lou Cheng waited too. He figured that the indistinct snap was the sound of force, bones, fascias and muscles being compressed. It was the sign that Flying Dragon Takedown gave away.

With that, and his sharp survival instinct, it seemed as if he can attempt forcefully blocking Flying Dragon Takedown with simplified moves of physical invulnerability. The intense clash could create another opportunity!

Amidst the ceaseless dull thuds, both sides calmed down and fought patiently.

They were both waiting.