Martial Arts Worlds - Chapter 440

Chapter 440: Freckled Young Man
“Brother, if we’re caught, we’re in big trouble!”

A pigtail girl with freckles around her nose ran after her twin brother through the darkening forest.

She saw the lantern light of the martial arts temple getting very near them and felt her heart beat in response.

“It’s fine, sis! Aren’t you also curious about what’s happening inside the temple?”

The brother said with a cheeky smile and saw the walls of the temple loom over them like a giant shadow.

He heard the sound of his sister’s hesitant footsteps behind him, and then she accidentally stepped on a twig, causing a loud crack.

They both flinched at the sudden sound and quickly hid behind a tree, but after a moment of waiting, no one came to check out the sound.

“We should leave. Dad and Mom will tear our ears off if we go home late!”

She said, trying to tug her brother’s sleeve to force him to leave with her, but his gaze was so firmly fixed on the walls of the martial temple that he couldn’t hear her.

With the help of the tree branches, he climbed to the top of the tree, and while wrapping his legs around the trunk, he gazed over the wall into the temple grounds.

“Ah! The score is showing one-one. It looks like two matches have been concluded, and the third match will start soon!”

“Really? Do you know who won?”

She asked as her interest also took over her worries.

“No… Ah, I see the dojo masters walking over to the temple priest. They might be having the coin flip now!”

He shouted excitedly.

“Shh, be quiet!”

His sister shouted, and she then also climbed on top of the tree, taking the seat at the other branch that was thick enough to hold her weight.

She looked over with sparkling eyes.

…

The gold coin shone in the temple priest’s hand, and he looked directly into Master Arakawa’s dark eyes as it was his turn to choose.

“Heads.”

Master Arakawa said.

After the coin toss, it landed perfectly on the temple priest’s palm, and everyone looked over to see which side it landed on.

“It is heads.”

The temple priest said and pocketed the gold coin.

“Master Raju—you’ll choose your fighter first.”

“Very well.”

Master Raju walked back to his students and saw them sitting still while waiting for the decision.

Most of them wanted to be the next one going, as they wanted to be the “hero” that put Wraith Dojo into a leading position.

None of them thought that there was any possibility that they might lose the next match—after all, Yokai Dojo had to use tricks to beat them.

In a proper fistfight, they didn’t stand a chance!

“I guess it is my turn?”

Li Wei said with a cheek-growing smile and was already ready to take off his yukata as he was the third fighter against Kitsune Dojo.

He also defeated his opponent fairly easily and didn’t need to use all of his strength.

“No. Sit.”

At that moment, Master Raju said with a cold tone, and when Li Wei heard it, he sat straight back down with a look of fear in his eyes.

It was a tone he had grown used to hear past year, and whenever he used that tone, it was better to stay quiet.

“I don’t think this match will go all the way to the seventh round. We won’t lose another round, do you understand me?”

“Yes, we understand you, master.”

They echoed the words like a choir.

“To show that we are in completely another league, we need dominance, and therefore, I choose you to fight for us.”

Master Raju said and stared straight at the curly red-haired young man with freckles dotted across his face.

He looked very spirited.

“Oh~”

Cian smiled, and when he stood up from his seat, the temple grew silent from surprise, and when his yukata dropped down to the ground, they finally started whispering among themselves.

“They are sending Cian O’Donnell? Isn’t he, like, crazy strong? I heard he destroyed Genevieve Laurent in his last match, and she is apparently Kitsune Dojo’s greatest prospect of the past five years!”

“This is Wraith Dojo’s way of showing their dominance. They want to crush Yokai Dojo’s morale once and for all!”

“It isn’t looking good!”

A silent wave washed over Yokai Dojo’s bench, and they looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

Who would they send to face Cian?

‘This is a bad situation. Master Arakawa could choose Jun to fight him, as he is the weakest one left among us, but if Cian completely destroys him in a fight, which he probably will, it would lower our morale.

‘If he sends me or Aoi to fight him for a chance at victory, and we lose, the situation is even worse.’

Kiernan thought to himself with a frown.

He wasn’t quite sure what choice Master Arakawa was going to make.

“Dante. You’re up.”

Master Arakawa said.

“Ah?”

Dante blinked in surprise but then quickly stood up and let the yukata fall down to the ground before hopping over to the sand.

This choice surprised many.

‘Dante? What’s the reasoning behind this choice? I don’t quite understand.’

Kiernan frowned and tried to think of a reason but couldn’t quite find the reason for this one.

After arriving at the center of the battle sand, Dante rubbed his knuckles and stared straight into Cian’s arrogant eyes.

He wasn’t treating Dante as any kind of threat to him, and no wonder—he expected to fight the only person that was of equal rank to him, and that was Aoi.

“Intriguing choice by your master. What tricks are you perhaps using for him to choose you to go against me?”

Cian said out loud with a smile.

“No tricks. Just my fists hitting your face.”

Dante said and moved into a striking stance of Yokai Style that was taught to him from a very young age.

In the long history of Yokai Dojo, there weren’t many students that ever had the talent like Dante’s when it came to striking.

His fists were ready.