KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

At this moment, in the competition venue, Shenwu and Jin Jiafan had already stepped onto the stage, and the audience gave the two contestants a warm round of applause.

Meanwhile, the referee gave both sides three minutes to prepare.

So, both sides began a simple warm-up. Meanwhile, the other fighters watched with some curiosity as Shenwu, with his roguish manner and arrogant demeanor, became the center of attention.

Only Iori Yagami sat alone in a dimly lit corner. He kept his eyes closed, completely indifferent to the ongoing match.

Just then, unable to contain his curiosity, Kensou asked Chin Gentsai beside him, "Master, is that blond-haired, roguish man over there Engetsu's teammate?"

Looking in the direction that Kensou was pointing, one could see a man with a lithe figure and a somewhat unruly air standing on the sidelines.

Chin Gentsai slowly spoke: "You mean... Shenwu."

Athena, who was standing nearby, also cast a curious glance at Chin Gentsai and asked softly, "Master, how do you know him?"

Zhen Yuanzhai narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at Shenwu above the arena, his thoughts seemingly drawn back to a day many years ago. He said, "Hmm... Speaking of Shenwu, it all goes back to when your teacher, Teacher Tang, and Yan Yue returned to Mount Lu together."

At that time, we were passing through Shanghai, and Yan Yue met this young man by chance. He made a very good impression on me; he was a well-behaved and sensible young man.

At this point, Zhen Yuanzhai stroked his beard lightly, muttering to himself in confusion, "But I don't know why, when I see him again now, his appearance has changed quite a bit..."

……

Kim Kap-fan stared sternly at the swaggering Shenwu in front of him and earnestly admonished him: "Young man, look at your tone of voice and your behavior. It's far too vulgar and rude, not elegant or dignified at all. You should really learn from your two teammates. They are much more elegant and refined than you."

Shenwu had only intended to spar with Jin Guanzhang, but upon meeting him, he was met with Jin's blunt criticism in front of so many people, instantly igniting his anger. He frowned, glared, and retorted without hesitation:

"Hey! What kind of joke are you talking about? Do I need you to teach me how to do things? Let me tell you, stop being so arrogant! Who do you think you are? What right do you have to lecture me!"

Seeing that Jinwu not only failed to recognize his mistake but also displayed such a rude attitude, Jin Jiafan sneered and said, "I was only advising you with good intentions, but I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful. You are really too impolite!"

However, Shenwu was completely deaf to anything else at this point. He crossed his arms, a disdainful smile playing on his lips, and shouted arrogantly:

"Haha! Forget your manners! I can easily take on the entire Shanghai by myself, why would I be afraid of a nobody like you? Don't be delusional!"

After saying that, Shenwu immediately swore, causing an uproar among the surrounding audience.

Jin Jiafan was so enraged by Shenwu's arrogant words that he trembled all over, his face turned red, and veins bulged on his forehead. He shouted, "You! You're a complete thug! Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson in the name of justice and show you what it means to respect others!"

"Come on! Come on! Let's see what you're made of, you piece of trash..." Shenwu started mocking him directly, spewing out all sorts of trash talk.

The two men on stage started hurling insults at each other, their tempers flaring and the atmosphere tense. The referee didn't dare intervene.

Meanwhile, Cai Baojian and Chen Guohan in the audience were grinning from ear to ear, secretly delighted: Hehe, finally someone has managed to make this usually rigid Master Jin so angry, this is going to be a good show!

Yan Yue listened to the conversation between Shenwu and Jin Guanzhang, thinking to herself, "Shenwu is indeed a bit vulgar, but isn't Jin Guanzhang being a bit too nosy... I'll just watch the show..."

Alba, on the other hand, calmly looked around the audience, somewhat wary, as if deep in thought.

Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye. The referee announced loudly, "According to the rules of the game, you are now given six minutes of playing time..."

"Now then—the match begins!"

As the referee announced the start of the match, the two, whether they had heard the time rules or not, suddenly sprang into action and launched into a fierce fight.

Kim Kaphwan seized the opportunity, dodged the attack by sidestepping, and quickly counterattacked, kicking Shinmu in the waist.

Shenwu forcefully twisted his body in mid-air to avoid the kick, and then threw a backhand punch at Jin Jiapan's face.

However, Kim Kaphwan saw through Shinmu's move at a glance, ducked to dodge, twisted his waist, did a somersault, and kicked down with a downward strike.

Ultimate move: Crescent Slash!

Kim Kaphwan's move was so fast that Shinmu didn't have time to dodge and was hit directly in the head.

"Drink!" Shenwu howled. The crowd below gasped in amazement.

Then, taking advantage of the momentary lapse in Shinmu's defenses, Kim Kaphwan braced himself with both hands on the ground and suddenly kicked upwards with both feet side by side.

【Flying Swallow Slash】!

With a muffled thud, Shenwu was struck again by Jin Jiapan's upper kick and lost his balance for a moment.

Kim Kaphwan leaped into the air with his move and unleashed a powerful low kick, the "Overbearing Kick"!

Shenwu still didn't intend to dodge this time, crossing his arms to withstand the attack head-on.

"Boom!" With an even louder impact, the arena beneath their feet trembled slightly. The audience gasped in surprise once more.

"Ada ada ada...!"

Kim Kaphwan was incredibly fast and far more agile than Shinmu. He could freely unleash unique Taekwondo combos, while also shifting his stance in mid-air and using light-footed techniques, his speed dazzling to the eye. This put Shinmu in a difficult position for a time.

Shenwu was sweating profusely, but he realized that the rigid person in front of him was indeed quite skilled, worthy of being a master of Taekwondo.

Therefore, Shenwu dared not underestimate the enemy again, and stubbornly resisted while looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Yan Yue, watching from below the stage, sensed the battle between the two. Although Jin Jiapan attacked fiercely, Shenwu did not suffer any serious damage, and it was impossible to tell who was stronger or weaker at the moment.

As time slowly slips away like sand in an hourglass, every minute and every second seems so long.

Finally, a deep, resounding bell rang out, as if an insurmountable barrier had been erected, instantly freezing the intense competition in time.

Shenwu stared blankly at Kim Kaphwan, who had suddenly stopped his fierce offensive. His eyes widened, and he shouted in confusion, "Hey! What's going on? Why did you stop fighting? Hurry up, I haven't even started warming up yet!"

As he spoke, he stretched his shoulders, seemingly still savoring the abruptly ended battle.

Kim Kaphwan and the referee exchanged a glance, then simultaneously cast a look at Shinmu as if he were an idiot. Their eyes were filled with disdain and helplessness, as if the guy in front of them had no idea where he was.

Shenwu, still puzzled, turned to look at Yan Yue and Alba below the stage. Yan Yue and Alba were also speechless and shook their heads helplessly.

Immediately afterwards, the referee announced loudly, with a blank expression, "Time's up!"

Upon hearing this, Shenwu was first stunned, then opened his mouth wide as if waking from a dream, and let out a surprised "Huh?"

This drew laughter from the audience.

Only now did he realize that this was not the kind of gang fights he usually participated in in Shanghai. This was the highly anticipated King of Fighters tournament, with strict and complex rules.

The referee shook his head helplessly, inwardly sighing at this clueless young man who hadn't heard him explain the rules. But out of a sense of duty, he patiently explained the rules to Shenwu again.

If the two fighters are still unable to determine a winner after a fierce battle lasting up to 6 minutes, the final result will be determined by the judges based on the performance of both fighters.

After hearing the referee's explanation, Shenwu immediately stopped thinking.

The referee quickly explained that Shinmu had been hit too many times by Kim Kaphwan, and Shinmu lost.

Upon hearing this, Shenwu's face turned red with anger, and he felt extremely aggrieved. He kept muttering words of resentment as he walked off the stage, cursing and swearing.

Standing on the arena, Kim Kap-fan watched Shenwu's departing figure and couldn't help but frown slightly. He could sense that Shenwu hadn't been injured in the previous exchange, nor had he used his full strength; such an outcome was truly regrettable.

But then, a faint smile quietly appeared on Kim Jong-un's face. This smile was not the kind of smug, arrogant, or boastful smile, but rather a smile full of justice and satisfaction.

His lips curved slightly upwards, forming a beautiful crescent moon shape, and his snow-white teeth flashed a silver light in the sunlight.

Immediately afterwards, Kim Kaphwan turned around, preparing to make a substitution, because the head of the school wanted to take advantage of the King of Fighters tournament to thoroughly test the training results of his two disciples.

Soon, the short but exceptionally agile Choi Bao-jian took his place in the ring, replacing Kim Ka-pan. He leaped onto the stage, confidently brandishing his steel claws, licking them with his tongue, ready to face a new challenge.

Yan Yue sensed someone leaping onto the stage, and instantly recognized the familiar figure as Choi Po-kin.

Yan Yue's lips curled up slightly, revealing an innocent smile.

Then, he turned to Alba beside him and said, "Alba! I'll take care of this little guy, and you can take care of the big fat one."

Alba nodded silently.

After receiving Alba's affirmation, Yan Yue walked over to Shen Wu, gently patted his shoulder, and said calmly, "Don't worry, Shen Wu, watch me."

Then, Yan Yue took a deep breath, exerted force with her legs, leaped up, and landed smoothly and lightly on the arena.

At this moment, Cai Baojian, standing opposite, was curiously sizing up the newcomer.

Yan Yue was dressed in a pure white Chinese-style single-layer shirt, paired with blue trousers and a bright red belt around her waist. At over 1.7 meters tall, she appeared much smaller than the many burly male fighters.

Seeing Yan Yue like this, Cai Baojian couldn't help but feel secretly delighted and couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

"Haha, that Shenwu guy wasn't very strong, was he? This Chinese brat looks weak, he should be easy to deal with too, hehehehe..."

Cai Baojian recalled how he suffered greatly during last year's competition because he was not good at dealing with the blade's "wave rise flow" tactic. He was forced by Kim Kaphwan to undergo various high-intensity inhuman training, but now his strength has improved by leaps and bounds.

Cai Baojian felt incredibly strong at that moment, confident that he could easily defeat the frail, blind boy in front of him.

Thinking of this, Cai Baojian's confidence swelled even more.