Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 481: First Battle Test

The moment the double hooks attacked, in Kuang Sheng's sight, Dugu Yong's figure seemed to suddenly freeze, becoming still yet blurred.

Kuang Sheng immediately realized that this was abnormal, because people are not stone statues. No matter how hard a person tries to keep himself still, it is impossible to truly achieve the stillness of being frozen, not to mention this strange "blurred" phenomenon.

But before Kuang Sheng could figure out the truth behind this anomaly, a low sword chant came from the side, interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh?" Kuang Sheng had rich combat experience. When he heard the noise, he instinctively stopped his advance and raised his weapon toward the source of the sound.

It was at this moment that he was surprised to find that Dugu Yong had come to his side without him knowing when, and the "still and blurry" figure in his sight just now suddenly disappeared.

when--

The next second, the double hooks met Dugu Yong's sword, making a loud noise.

Kuang Sheng, who had originally wanted to win by speed and surprise, now became the one who responded hastily. He was so frightened by the power of Dugu Yong's counterattack sword that his arms went numb and he staggered back three or four steps.

Moreover, this was the result of Dugu Yong showing mercy - if Dugu Yong's sword did not attack the area within the reach of the opponent's sideways weapon, but instead swung it diagonally towards the opponent's lower body, then Kuang Sheng's right tibia would probably have been severed on the spot.

"Oh my god~ Dugu Yong's side-spin and counterattack move is quite good."

"That's right! The main thing is speed... You know, this move can only be seen clearly when we are far away. I can't react when it's close to me."

"So, this Kuang Sheng is quite capable. He was able to react in time and block this move."

"Of course not. Do you think that White Whirlwind's shouting was for nothing?"

Sun and Huang's commentary sounded along with the battle situation on the field. Of course, what they said was definitely not as fast as the other team's fight.

However, their commentary did have a subtle impact on the battle situation, because Kuang Sheng noticed one thing from their words...

"It seems that I am the only one who can see Dugu Yong's 'afterimage'? Others can't see it?" This inference flashed through Kuang Sheng's mind, making him vaguely understand something.

On the other side, Dugu Yong did not chase after Kuang Sheng who was staggering, but just waited quietly for him to adjust his posture and attack again.

"Is he testing me?" Upon seeing this, Kuang Sheng immediately made another guess.

I have to say that Sect Leader Kuang is quite smart. Although he is ranked in his current position in the battle list due to his weak sect and low cultural level, his wisdom in reading the battle situation in actual combat is not bad.

Kuang Sheng’s guess was correct - after Dugu Yong discovered that there was a huge gap between him and his opponent, he began to experiment with his newly learned body skills on his opponent.

Some people may think that just by looking at the descriptions in the above paragraphs, Dugu Yong's set is very similar to the "After-Image Fist" in the comics, but in fact the two are not the same.

"Afterimage Fist" is a technique that allows everyone to see their own afterimage, and can even produce multiple afterimages at the same time. It requires a person to move continuously at a speed far beyond the human limit, and repeatedly stop and accelerate in the process... in order to produce a visual afterimage like a clone.

To put it simply, in our book, even the most skilled masters cannot do this without the help of external objects or magic.

If someone could really do it, then Shuang Xie on the commentary desk and the audience below the stage would naturally see the afterimage just like Kuang Sheng, instead of just Kuang Sheng being able to see it and the commentator only saying "turn around and dodge to the side".

What Dugu Yong is doing now is actually a unique technique that is only effective against a single enemy and must be used at a very close distance and within a very extreme time limit.

In essence, he did not produce a real "afterimage", he just deceived Kuang Sheng's brain.

As we all know, when a first-class fighter is dealing with an opponent's attack, leaving aside the element of prediction, just talking about reaction, from the visual signal being transmitted to the brain, the brain reacting, then giving commands to the body, to the body moving... this process takes about 0.5 seconds.

If you are mentally prepared for a certain attack in advance and concentrate your attention, this time can be shortened a little.

So...what if you take the initiative to attack?

From the time you use your sight to confirm the opponent's position, to the time your brain issues commands to your body, to the time when the explosive power of your muscles propels you to make an attacking move, and finally to the time when the move is completed, there is actually a short "vacuum period" in this process that is similar to "reaction delay".

During this extremely short "vacuum period", your brain almost stops thinking, and the processing of visual information is also in a semi-empty state.

However, if the target you attack, in this critical moment, cooperates with your burst and makes a large displacement at the same speed as you or even faster, and the distance between you two is also close enough that his entire body can completely disappear from your sight after moving, then your brain will see something like an afterimage because of the momentary "hysteresis" and the misalignment between reality.

Speaking of which, Dugu Yong was able to figure out this move thanks to Xiao Zhun. If it weren't for the experience of escaping from the sword of Master Xiao, Dugu Yong would never have thought of this kind of defensive counterattack with his usual sword skills.

Of course, if this tactic fails, the cost will be very high; it is a method with very strict execution conditions and both risks and benefits.

In the past few months, Dugu Yong also asked his father to practice this move with him, but the chance of success was only one in ten.

There is no way around it, because both Dugu and his son are too strong, and they know each other too well. Practicing a "father-son game" like this is actually very torturous, and no one can perform to their full potential.

The man in front of him almost perfectly met the conditions for practicing this move, that is, his strength was not very strong, but his offensive was characterized by rapid bursts... So Dugu Yong took the opportunity to ask the other party to "help".

After all, if Dugu Yong really used all his strength, Kuang Sheng would not be able to last more than three rounds under him - I spent so much effort writing a bunch of nonsense during the "exam" to get here, but in the end, it took only three moves to finish the fight? Then I'm not just pretending to be stupid, I'm really stupid.

Chi chi——

It happened in a flash. Kuang Sheng, who had seen through Dugu Yong's intention, did not show any mercy to the other party. He rushed forward again and attacked continuously.

A pair of bright silver hooks turned into two white arcs of light in the sun. The dazzling attack made the two commentators in the commentary booth unable to keep up with the "picture and picture".

"Want to test your skills on me? Then try it to your heart's content!" Although Kuang Sheng knew that he was no match for Dugu Yong, most people who practiced martial arts had a sense of pride in their hearts, and they would be resentful if looked down upon. Unconsciously, he integrated this anger into his moves, and his men no longer "showed mercy".

Dugu Yong was not panicked. He countered the opponent's moves and used his "afterimage body technique" when the opportunity was right. If not, he would just dodge and avoid.

But this reaction made Kuang Sheng even more angry, and he intensified his offensive unscrupulously.

The referee Wen Taiqi standing by felt something was wrong at this time: if the fight continued like this, no matter whether Kuang Sheng or Dugu Yong won, it would end up "harming the relationship".

Wen Taiqi immediately wanted to stop the game.

Fortunately, Dugu Yong soon realized this, and he also realized that if he continued to do this, whether it would backfire or not was another matter, but it would offend some people...

So he quickly changed his tactics and no longer used the "afterimage body technique". Instead, he held his sword horizontally and blocked the opponent's move from the front.

The intention of this sword blocking is endurance, retreat, and respect.

It was also the first time in this battle that Kuang Sheng truly experienced the feeling of his attack hitting something but not being able to shake it in the slightest.

Then, Dugu Yong held the sword blade that had been "locked" by the double hooks with one hand. In an absolutely disadvantageous posture from the perspective of weapon wrestling, he did not even consider flipping and withdrawing the weapon, and directly counterattacked with a "push and cut" move that was so powerful that it could move mountains and rivers.

A moment later, amid the exclamations of the commentator and the audience, the double hooks in Kuang Sheng's hands were knocked out, and he flipped backwards, and fell down in a very graceful movement, but with a high probability of being chopped when he landed.

Boom!
There was another sound, and Kuang Sheng's feet landed just on the edge of the ring. Dugu Yong's figure also rushed over at the same moment.

But Dugu Yong did not extend his sword, but stretched out his hand.

The next second, Kuang Sheng subconsciously grabbed the opponent's outstretched forearm, and then was pulled back to the ring.

"I just got carried away for a moment, please don't blame me, Brother Kuang." Dugu Yong knew that he was a little too arrogant in this fight, so he quickly greeted the other party.
"No problem. Brother Dugu's skills are amazing and I admire you." Kuang Sheng was not a stingy person. Since the other party had said so much and his tone was quite sincere, he might as well back down.

The two were so polite to each other, and Dugu Yong even helped Kuang Sheng pick up the weapon that fell on the stage. This battle finally had a result.

"In the first match, 'Defeating Dragon Sword' Dugu Yong versus 'White Tornado' Kuang Sheng. Dugu Yong wins! The Sword King Mansion advances to the next round." Wen Taiqi then announced loudly.

The audience heard the sound and cheered.

At this point, Sun and Huang in the commentary booth finally breathed a sigh of relief...

On the one hand, they were happy that their friend Dugu Yong had successfully advanced, but this was secondary. After all, it didn't matter even if Dugu Yong was eliminated.

On the other hand, what really worries Sun and Huang is whether this first match can be "landed safely"; because this is the first time they have organized a match of this scale, and compared with the previous "Longtou Cup", the plate this time is a bit too big... What if someone uses shady tactics, makes a scene, or plays very ugly in the first game, or one side gets angry after the game, etc., it will definitely affect the overall image of the event.

Fortunately, Dugu Yong and Kuang Sheng put on a pretty decent opening match, setting an example and tone for the following players.

However, compared to the harmonious atmosphere on the stage, the rest area behind the stage was already filled with undercurrents...