Chapter Sixty-Six: Wakatsuki’s Strangling Technique

Almost at the very instant Bai Tangjing was sent flying, Takeshi Wakatsuki charged forward without hesitation, gathering another blast of Core Burst. As the sound of the boy landing echoed through the smoke, he followed like a predator leaping from the woods, punching fiercely! With a surging, downward strike, his heavy fist rippled through the air, parting the curtain of dust and smoke, smashing toward the boy’s upper body.

The impact exploded on contact, scattering the dust from the crumbling cement wall with a shockwave. But—

A dull thud. "He—he caught it!" Chikako Katagiri's voice rang out as if she'd only just realized what was happening, then quickly spilled a torrent of words. "Takeshi Wakatsuki seized the first opportunity in a fierce exchange, unleashing an unprecedented, super-heavy punch! He sent Bai Tangjing flying to the edge of the arena, unable to react—that’s a true 87 kilograms! Then without mercy, he pursued again, taking up that heavy punch stance, wanting to end the match in one go!"

"But!" Jerry Tyson's excited voice chimed in, "But that punch was caught!"

"Caught by Bai Tangjing, with his uninjured left hand!"

On the battlefield, the youth’s left hand formed a palm, smoking faintly as it pressed against that terrifyingly powerful punch. Judging from how the blow was stopped just before reaching his chest, there was no doubt—at this moment, the advantage lay with his opponent.

"Uncle, in terms of pure strength, Julius is still stronger," Bai Tangjing said, his arms trembling in the contest of force. Even pressed against the wall, his chest nearly struck, he still wore a smile of enjoyment. "You only surpass him in instantaneous force after using that technique."

"Combat..." The deep, steady voice sounded beneath calm eyes. "It only takes a moment."

A rushing wind screamed from the right. Wakatsuki twisted his waist, sending a crisp mid-level whip kick toward Bai Tangjing's injured right wrist! Though it seemed his opponent could only use the super-heavy technique with a counter punch, the strength of the leg was double that of the arm. With fifty-two times muscle density, even a basic kick was far more powerful than most fighters’ finishing moves.

Yet the boy, his wrist dangling, showed no intention to dodge. He simply raised his right arm slightly, preparing to meet the blow with a bent elbow.

But at the instant the whistling kick neared his right arm, Bai Tangjing sensed something was amiss.

"Close to contact, the whip kick slows... No! This isn't a strike!" Misled by habitual thinking, he lost the initiative in that split second. Wakatsuki’s powerful thigh locked Bai Tangjing’s right arm, and in a blur, his 193-kilogram body wrapped around the youth’s right side like a python!

"It’s a grappling move—armbar!" Chikako Katagiri cried out from the commentary booth, as if discovering a new continent. "The Tiger, after displaying his terrifying super-heavy technique, now reveals a brand-new skill never before seen in his three hundred-plus matches—grappling!"

"Not only Bai Tangjing, but even those long familiar with Wakatsuki never suspected he’d mastered such techniques!"

"Is this the trump card the veteran fighter prepared for the grand Kengan deathmatch?"

"Are these the claws Wakatsuki honed to become king of beasts?"

Her voice grew louder and more passionate with each sentence, until finally, her face flushed, she unconsciously rubbed her thighs together. Without question, this fight fanatic was at her peak.

Below the commentary booth, Izumi Hatsumi stroked his beard in surprise. "Well, thank goodness this kid forced Wakatsuki to reveal that move. If it’d happened to me unexpectedly... yikes—"

He uttered a sound of reluctance, evidently unable to imagine being misled by instinct in a match with Wakatsuki, then crushed and twisted by that monstrous 193-kilogram body.

"Yeah," Jun Kanno swallowed hard, "I’m afraid ordinary bodies like ours, under that kind of grappling force, would be no tougher than brittle biscuits."

"That kid is done for."

Wakatsuki’s match order was close to Jun Kanno’s; if he defeated Muteba, he’d face Wakatsuki's group next. Perhaps for that reason, the wrestler Jun Kanno showed a friendlier attitude toward the youth who exposed Wakatsuki’s arsenal, at least refraining from calling him “arrogant brat.”

On the battlefield, Wakatsuki’s heavy body hung from the youth. Bai Tangjing’s right arm was locked in his embrace, two sinewy legs wrapped around his neck. Bones creaked, the tightening legs compressed his carotid and trachea...

Even the dragon’s blood inner force and will, which could enhance defense, could not prevent the effectiveness of joint locks. As Wakatsuki prepared to break the youth’s right arm in one go, or choke him unconscious with his legs—

Bai Tangjing’s voice sounded, calm as ever despite having 193 kilograms hanging from his right side, locked in a hold. "Super-heavy strikes are one thing; using force techniques is still a kind of 'head-on collision.'"

After all, he’d used his own inner force as well.

"But grappling... that’s really cheating."

A sudden uneasy feeling flashed through Wakatsuki’s mind. It was as if, inside the body he’d supposedly subdued, something terrifying was about to break free with those words.

"Ugh!"

No longer daring to delay, Wakatsuki gritted his teeth and poured every ounce of his ultra-dense muscle into motion, intent on twisting Bai Tangjing apart.

But—it wouldn’t budge?!

What kind of joke was this?!

The blond giant’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Abandoning the duel in your strongest domain," Bai Tangjing’s voice remained cheerful, with a hint of delight if one listened closely, "means I can bring out my own comprehensive abilities to play with you, right?"

As his last word fell, a powerful sense of danger made Wakatsuki’s pupils contract. He instinctively tried to release the armbar and retreat.

But—it was too late.

Inner force surged through his meridians. Under hard training and natural talent, his extraordinary power responded as if part of his body, gathering in his right hand in less than half a second.

A sharp crack.

No medical equipment, no leverage, not even any visible movement!

In Wakatsuki’s stunned gaze, Bai Tangjing’s dislocated right wrist, with a soft pop, seemed to reconnect itself as if it had a will of its own.

Then—he twisted around and gripped Wakatsuki’s arm!

"Was it you who locked me? No..."

With the youth’s delighted voice, the crushing force in his right hand was nearly enough to tear Wakatsuki’s skin apart.

"It’s me who’s got you!"