Chapter 288: Li Hao vs. Cheng Konghai

Zhou Naiyi, Wuzang, and the others were all intrigued. Honestly, ever since watching the battle between Li Hao and Chao Qinglong, Wuzang would dream of encountering such a scene. However, the disparity in strength was too vast, and he couldn't pull it off. But Ant was different; he was a top-tier expert among Hunters.

Everyone very consciously retreated to the side. Tan Ziyuan and Lu Lingxiao wanted to come in to watch but were also persuaded otherwise. Having had the experience of the Mid-Season Tournament, they truly knew that this level of combat was sometimes not aimed at anyone in particular, but was indiscriminate destruction.

Inside the arena, Li Hao was still the same, and one couldn't tell what he was looking up and down at. Cheng Konghai, however, revealed an excitement completely different from his usual self; his lean body slowly tensed, and a brilliant light erupted from his eyes.

Boom, boom, boom...

Three thunderclaps sounded out of thin air, delivering three heavy blows of Mental Blast at Li Hao. Simultaneously with the Mental Blast, with a "bang," he charged toward Li Hao like a lightning bolt.

Wuzang and the others watched, dumbfounded. The three consecutive Mental Blasts were visibly slamming toward Li Hao's head, and while completing the blasts, a fist had already slammed toward Li Hao's abdomen.

Li Hao's body jolted slightly, his right hand blocking it—*whoosh*.

As his body retreated a step, Cheng Konghai had already cut in. "One inch shorter, one inch more dangerous"—in close-quarters entanglement, Cheng Konghai could be called the number one Hunter. He slammed his fists toward Li Hao one after another; the frequency wasn't high, but the speed of every punch thrown was terrifyingly abnormal, carrying the sound of tearing air like a pile driver, each strike bearing the momentum to smash through everything.

Wuzang watched with wide, unblinking eyes, seeing yet another way of using power. Cheng Konghai's attacks didn't prioritize the frequency of strikes, but rather the rhythm of the strikes and the speed and power of each attack. With this kind of terrifying power, what kind of bones and muscles could withstand it?

Cheng Konghai was gradually entering the zone, his body temperature rising. The scorching sensation caused his eyes to naturally enter the Red Pupil State. The next moment, the strikes turned into a combination of hands and feet—this was Cheng Konghai's unique attack style. Li Hao's defense couldn't keep up, and he was kicked by Cheng Konghai, his body stalling. Cheng Konghai followed with a side kick, then a punch, then flipped over for a top kick. Li Hao was kicked into the air as expected. Before he could land, Cheng Konghai went *tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap*... like a monster, he climbed directly onto the ceiling, kicked off fiercely with a "bang," and the ceiling cracked as he charged toward his prey like a giant ant.

Li Hao knew the danger and dropped his form early, but Cheng Konghai had predicted it and captured him directly; a Mental Blast followed like a shadow, instantly hammering Li Hao into the ground.

Not to mention Tan Ziyuan and Lu Lingxiao, who were watching with pale faces in the observation room, Ma Long and the others were also stunned. These people... do they all fight like this?

Having landed the heavy blow, Cheng Konghai was even more excited. He had completely changed from the usual Cheng Konghai; at this moment, he was the true Ant.

Li Hao flipped away, but Cheng Konghai pressed on step by step, kicking continuously toward Li Hao's head. The ground was kicked through repeatedly. After eight consecutive attacks, Li Hao was forced into a corner, and Cheng Konghai suddenly exerted force—*hummmmmmm*...

Indiscriminate attack—Ant Deep Space Intimidation!

A terrifying infrasonic wave swept out, and the entire training ground was shrouded in absolute terror. All the glass shattered instantly. At this moment, the Ant had already shed gravity, his terrifying waist and abdominal strength propelling him; his body tilted upside down, and his fists hammered toward Li Hao with the momentum to destroy the world.

—Ant Heavy Gunner!

Simple and unadorned, yet exceptionally lethal. This was a set of mature, seamless, consecutive strikes.

Li Hao was suppressed by the Deep Space Intimidation for a second and was struck directly.

Boom...

The wall behind him collapsed directly—*snap*.

Li Hao's body stiffened, and with a flash, he broke free from Cheng Konghai, but Cheng Konghai's limbs flashed as he lunged toward Li Hao's head.

The second Deep Space Intimidation was about to be unleashed.

Li Hao glanced at the already crumbling training ground and whipped his right hand out like lightning.

Boom...

Cheng Konghai was sent flying like a spinning top, crashing directly through the roof of the training ground. Immediately following, the ceiling shattered, and Cheng Konghai broke through another hole, lunging toward Li Hao.

Looking at the dilapidated roof with a string of "￥￥￥" flashing over his head, Li Hao's expression finally changed. He appeared in the air in an instant, grabbed Cheng

Konghai's head, and pressed it directly toward the ground.

Rumbling...

Accompanied by a violent shaking and a clattering fall of rubble, Cheng Konghai was pressed directly into the floor. A loud explosion erupted from within the rubble, and a red light soared into the sky, as if something even more terrifying was about to burst out.

Following that, Li Hao snapped his fingers, and a blast occurred on the spot; the area within a two-meter radius around Cheng Konghai collapsed by more than half a meter.

Li Hao looked at the completely ruined training ground and, feeling that his expectations for Cheng Konghai had been met with disappointment, hauled him out of the hole. Looking at the upside-down, miserable-looking Cheng Konghai, who still had a cheeky grin on his face, he gritted his teeth, "I told you to spar, not to demolish the house!"

"Second Brother, Second Brother, don't be angry, don't be angry. I just didn't hold back, I won't do it next time. I didn't expect this place to be so fragile."

Only then did Li Hao put Cheng Konghai down. Looking at the miserable training ground, he had originally just wanted to redecorate and do some repairs; he hadn't intended to rebuild it.

Zhou Naiyi and the others were already a bit numb. Watching Cheng Konghai, who was still trying to coax Li Hao, they felt... like they were redundant.

When had Tan Ziyuan and Lu Lingxiao ever seen such a spectacle? This time they understood why they weren't allowed to go in and watch.

"Alright, stop talking about the Ant. Now the training grounds of other academies have all been replaced with new materials; this stone-style one is no longer up to the task. The principal also said to find a time to replace it all together, which is just as well," Zhou Naiyi said.

Li Hao, whose expression had been a bit tight, suddenly cheered up, "Oh my, Class Monitor, why didn't you say so earlier? Haha, otherwise I would have definitely given this brat a good lecture; damaging public property requires compensation."

Zhou Naiyi rolled her eyes in speechlessness, "Ant, are you okay? Are you injured?" After saying that, she glared at Li Hao again, "You knew his injuries hadn't healed yet, you didn't know how to go easy on him!"

"Sister Naiyi, I'm fine." Cheng Konghai was both moved and embarrassed. Only when his mind cleared did he see the tragic state of his surroundings.

"Class Monitor, hey, that's not right of you. I was hit too, why is no one concerned about me???"

Team Leader Li was jealous, but no one paid him any mind. Ma Long and Zhou Naiyi were treating Cheng Konghai and found that his condition was actually fine, so they set their minds at ease.

Everyone was showing great concern for the new team member, while Old Li stood alone to the side, rubbing his nose. Was this a clique isolating the Team Leader?

Watching everyone fussing over Cheng Konghai—Tan Ziyuan with a towel, Lu Lingxiao with a functional drink—Old Li felt a bit thirsty, and his heart felt a bit cold too.

Outside, Sheng Man pushed through the crowd excitedly and was also stunned when she saw the dilapidated training ground.

"Li Hao, are you causing destruction again?"

Li Hao's little heart was hammered again, his face full of unwillingness. Just as he was about to explain, Sheng Man waved her hand indifferently, "It's fine, it doesn't matter."

Li Hao opened his mouth but didn't speak, his smile gradually becoming awkward.

Sheng Man, however, gave Li Hao a meaningful look and said excitedly, "Everyone, hurry and check the Skynet, big news!"

"Honey, what big news?" Ma Long came over, wrapped his arms around Sheng Man, and rubbed his head affectionately against hers.

"Arths liked and even followed someone!" Sheng Man pressed down on Ma Laoshi's restless, hidden hand that was wandering around.

Instantly, everyone abandoned Little Hai and opened their own Skynets one after another. The loyal fans of the Puppet God discovered a special liker in their popular comments—Arths!

Could the Puppet God's Fries Brothers defeat a Transcendental Mecha?

Arths also wanted to know if the Puppet could surpass the Transcendental.

Li Hao felt that the way everyone was looking at him was a bit strange, "Um, what's the big deal about this?"

"What do you mean what's the big deal? Arths rarely follows others; only family and mentors and such. There isn't a single peer of the opposite sex, and you are the first!" Sheng Man said with envy. When she found out that Li Hao was the Puppet, she was also shocked for a long time, but perhaps because they were too familiar, it was hard to equate the usually rather chuunibyou Li Hao with the mysterious and powerful Puppet. Moreover, Li Hao didn't care about this, and everyone gradually stopped paying attention to it. After all... it was really hard to find any star quality in the everyday Li Hao.

Who could have imagined that Arths would actually follow him? Although the Puppet was very popular, there was still a difference in magnitude compared to Arths.

Zuo Xiaotang hugged Li Hao, "Hao Ge, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Li Hao pushed him away in disgust, but he couldn't actually shake him off, "What are you doing? Get off, it's so embarrassing!"

"Hao Ge, follow back! Mom, this is my goddess, this might be the closest I'll ever be to my goddess in my life. Why don't you hurry up and log on to play a few matches? Whatever Arths wants to see, just play it. You're idle anyway..."

Li Hao looked completely bewildered; what kind of brothers were these, was he just a prop to them?

"Li Hao, you should consider it. Getting Arths' attention is a big deal; you'd really hit the jackpot. If you follow her back, she might actually contact you," Sheng Man laughed, "This is every man's dream."

Beside them, Zuo Xiaotang nodded frantically, his head nearly shaking off.

"Damn, if I could take a photo with Arths and post it on my Moments, my life would be complete. Ah, Manman, I mean just a simple photo."

"Pfft, if Arths could actually fancy you, I'd be overjoyed. It would just prove how good my taste is. If you can do it, go for it," Sheng Man laughed.

"This is a good opportunity. Should we just make it public? Our Tianjing Martial Arts could get a boost in popularity too!" Lu Lingxiao also said, "Maybe we could even get Arths' autograph."

"I think we should forget it. It's better if we focus on preparing for the battle," Li Hao waved his hands hurriedly, then looked at Zhou Naiyi with pleading eyes, feeling that everyone's enthusiasm was getting a bit out of control.

Zhou Naiyi glanced at Li Hao, "Let's calm down first. I think Li Hao makes sense. How he contacts Arths is his own business. It's better for us in Tianjing to keep a low profile. Currently, our strength doesn't match that level of attention."

Once exposed, Tianjing's subsequent battle preparations would be ruined. With their minds unfocused and entirely on entertainment, Li Hao and Cheng Konghai might not care, but what about the others?

Being subjected to attention magnified dozens of times while one's strength cannot keep up—not everyone can withstand such interference; it would make all their hard work seem so worthless.

If it doesn't belong to you, don't touch it.

(South Korea and Japan made it to the round of 16, sigh...)

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