"Young lord, don't go easy on me just because I'm a woman. Bring out your full strength!" said Gong Xiaohua.
Seeing such boldness from the petite woman, the young man couldn't help but admire her a little.
"How about this - I won't use any weapons and will let you have three moves," he said.
Gong Xiaohua was conflicted. What if she accidentally strangles him in those three moves!
"No need, I'm afraid you'll lose too badly," she replied.
The audience below the stage was speechless. Was she crazy?
The two walked to the center of the fighting ring, bowed towards the referee first, then the gong sounded. They stood up, pressed their palms together in greeting, and the match officially began.
Seeing the young man place his whip at the edge of the stage, Gong Xiaohua reluctantly put down her short dagger as well.
The young man was suspicious about her actions. Was she foolhardily fearless or truly skilled?
But thinking of her status, he dismissed his doubts. In this day and age, many resources were passed down family lines and kept private. There was no way a small, female prison guard would have access to good resources from her family.
The young man would soon realize his arrogance and underestimation of Gong Xiaohua would lead to a humiliating defeat under her hands.
No matter what hidden cards the prestigious families had, she had many years of experience as a special agent telling her to never underestimate an opponent, lest she die not knowing how.
She quickly calculated the distance between them and predicted his movements when she would attack.
Suddenly, Gong Xiaohua stepped forward with her right foot, her figure flashing lightning fast to the young man's side. Her left fist sailed towards his face, wind whistling from its speed.
The young man hastily retreated, barely avoiding her punch. Such speed! he thought to himself.
Now he knew he had looked down on her. Her martial arts skill was no weaker than his own, possibly even better.
At least in terms of speed, even at his extreme, he could not catch up to her.
Seeing the young man retreat, things were going just as Gong Xiaohua planned.
In a flash, she took a step to the left, landed on the ball of her foot, spun two steps around behind the young man.
Her right arm wrapped around his shoulder, thumb and index finger formed a pinch around his throat.
The winner was decided.
The entire process from beginning to end took place in just two breaths.
The sound indicating the match end did not come for a long time.
Below the stage, everyone was silent. What had just happened? They just saw a blur of shadows and the match was over?
The young man was also confounded. His opponent had defeated him in just two moves and he hadn't even clearly seen her techniques before it was over.
The gong and drums sounded.
"23rd Match, Gong Xiaohua wins!" announced the referee.
As soon as his voice faded, thunderous applause erupted from below the stage.
"Well done!"
It was the first time in many years a woman had advanced to the next stage in the tournament, moreover with such formidable skill.
"Xiaohua, I didn't expect you to have hidden your skills so deeply. You really make us women proud, well done!" Sister Fang said proudly to Gong Xiaohua as she walked down from the stage.
"Xiaohua, good job, keep up the hard work!" Prison Warden Lin also came over to encourage her.
In the referee stand...
The Chief Officer of the Detention Center was also especially excited to see someone under his charge defeat the Seeking Office's seeded player, and quickly at that.
With such talent, she even had hopes of entering the finals and possibly placing!
"Chief Wu, you've hidden her talents deeply! To have such an outstanding newcomer this year that even defeated the Seeking Office's player," said the Chief Officer of the Punishments Department to Chief Wu of the Detention Center sitting next to him.
"Yes, old Wu, that woman just now, even I can see her skills are truly outstanding!" added the Chief Officer of the Autumn Assizes Department.
"Haha, thank you gentlemen, but the final moment is unpredictable," Wu humbly replied.
"Haha Chief Wu is too modest."
On the other side, the young man who had lost was incredibly vexed. With your skills, why did you pretend to be so weak and catch me off guard?
Though even if he had gone all out, he still may not have been able to defeat her. He felt like she hadn't revealed her full abilities yet.
Who knew what the audience was thinking, as the tournament continued...
From the second round on, no one dared to look down on Gong Xiaohua again.
25 people remained in the second round, paired off into 12 groups with one getting a pass.
There was a half hour break between rounds, for a total of five rounds across two days. Gong Xiaohua got a pass twice, which was pretty lucky.
The last match of the final round was two pairs facing off. Aside from her, the other three were all from the Seeking Office. If not for this dark horse entrant Gong Xiaohua, it was likely the first batch of finalists would have all been from the Seeking Office this year.
For the finals match, Gong Xiaohua chose her specialty weapon short dagger again. Her opponent this time opted for a sword.
He was the Captain of Seeking Office Team 1, surnamed Yang. Tall in stature, around 25 or 26 years old, with a small mustache on his mouth. His bronze skin clearly bore the marks of long days traveling outdoors enforcing the law.
"I watched your previous matches. Frankly, you have my utmost admiration as a woman to make it this far. If you unfortunately lose to me, I will petition my superiors for you to be transferred to the Seeking Office," said Captain Yang.
"Thank you greatly for your regard, please go easy on me," replied Gong Xiaohua.
"Please."
Captain Yang attacked first, his sharp long sword piercing towards Gong Xiaohua like lightning. She blocked horizontally with her short dagger across her chest, directly taking on his full powered strike.
The sword edge carried his whole body strength as it hit the short dagger with a clear ringing "Ding!" resonating across the entire stage. Gong Xiaohua was forced to retreat three steps before she could stabilize herself.
Below the stage, the audience didn't dare to make a sound for fear of disturbing the two fighters.
Captain Yang had not expected his strike with full force would be directly blocked like that. Moreover, his opponent had only been forced to retreat three steps. Her strength must be at a terrifying level already.
He flicked his wrist, sending his sword flashing swift as electricity towards Gong Xiaohua's armpit. She twisted her body, shadows flickering lightly as a fledgling swallow.
"Too slow!" Gong Xiaohua said to Captain Yang as she appeared in front of him in a flash.
Her short dagger spun rapidly under her wrist, then stabbed toward his face.
He leaned back nearly 90 degrees before barely avoiding the attack.
Seizing the chance, Gong Xiaohua retrieved her dagger before kicking out horizontally to knock the long sword from his hand.
The long sword described a parabolic arc through the air before landing with a "Thud!" at the edge of the stage.
Captain Yang had not expected her movements to be so agile and sharp. Moreover, her techniques were ruthless.
True combat experience must have temper such skills. For her, a mere prison guard from the dungeons, it was almost unbelievable.
With his sword disarmed, Captain Yang could only resort to fighting bare-handed.
After a step forward, he spun in midair, bringing both fists down hard towards Gong Xiaohua from overhead.
Gong Xiaohua clenched the short dagger tight between her teeth as both her palms met his descending fists. She swiftly grabbed hold and pulled him in close. Then her right hand exerted force to fiercely smash him into the ground as her right leg arched to nail him down. Her left hand rapidly brought the short dagger to his throat.
The match was over, another top Seeking Office fighter felled by Gong Xiaohua, thrilling the audience.
Gazing at her atop the stage, she was like an otherworldly, glowing goddess descended to the mortal realm.
Her tall, graceful bearing fluttered lightly in the breeze, elegant brows and bright eyes, a heroic spirit.
Though wearing the uniform of a prison guard, plump in figure, it could not obscure her overflowing talents.
Seen from afar, she shone bright as the morning sun on the horizon. Up close, she dazzled brightly as blossoming hibiscus emerging from the water.
