My Auto Cloning System-Chapter 105: Bored Winner

Li Kuan gritted his teeth, panic starting to set in. "Die! Die! Die!" He unleashed a flurry of strikes, moving faster than the eye could follow. (Ding! Ding! Clang! Ding!) He slashed at Ren Tie's arms, chest, and legs. He was landing ten hits for every breath Ren Tie took. The grey robe was shredded to ribbons, fluttering in the wind, but the skin beneath was barely scratched.

Ren Tie just stood there. He didn't flinch. He let the attacks land, studying the rhythm of the wind. "Are you done scratching?" Ren Tie asked calmly.

Li Kuan's face went pale. He tried to backflip away to create distance. But Ren Tie moved. For a big man, his explosive speed over a short distance was terrifying. He stepped forward, cracking the solid stone tile under his boot into powder. (CRACK!)

"Mountain Fist: Crashing Rock."

He didn't even punch. He just twisted his waist, generating massive torque, and swung his right forearm like a massive iron club. (WHOOSH!) The air pressure alone distorted the mist.

Li Kuan tried to dodge, twisting his body in mid-air, but the vacuum from Ren Tie's arm sucked him back in. (THWACK!)

Ren Tie's forearm smashed into Li Kuan's chest. The lanky fighter folded in half like a wet book. You could hear the ribs snapping. (CRUNCH!)

Li Kuan flew backward, his feet leaving the ground entirely. He skipped across the stone floor like a flat stone thrown across a lake. (Skid... skid... thud!) He hit the edge of the ring, groaned once, vomited a mouthful of bile, and passed out.

"Winner: Ren Tie!"

The crowd watching Platform 1 went silent. {It had taken less than ten seconds.} Ren Tie stood there, dusting off his shoulder where the daggers had hit. He looked bored. "Next."

Platform 2: Bao Zi vs. Chen Bo

While Ren Tie was cleaning house with brute force, Bao Zi was facing his own nightmare on the adjacent platform. His opponent, Chen Bo, was a Stage 8 disciple with a massive wooden club reinforced with rusted iron bands. Chen Bo looked like a butcher who enjoyed his job way too much, with a belly that hung over his belt and arms as thick as tree trunks.

"Come here, little rabbit!" Chen Bo roared, swinging the club down with enough force to crush a watermelon. (SMASH!)

The stone floor exploded where Bao Zi had been standing a millisecond ago. Stone chips flew everywhere like shrapnel. (Scatter!)

Bao Zi wasn't there. He was five feet to the left, his body moving in a strange, wavering pattern. He was using the [Cloud-Misting Breath]. He looked like a ghost made of white fog, his feet barely touching the ground. Sweat was already pouring down his face.

"Eep! That was close! You could kill someone with that! Watch where you swing!" Bao Zi squeaked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Stand still so I can squash you!" Chen Bo yelled, his face turning red with effort. He swung again. A horizontal swipe that covered the whole width of the ring. (SWOOOOOSH!) The club hummed as it cut the air.

Bao Zi didn't duck. He couldn't—the swing was too low. Instead, he fell backward, his spine bending like a willow branch in a storm. He bridged his body, letting the spiked club pass inches above his nose. He could smell the rust on the iron. As he bent backward, his hands touched the ground, and he kicked out with both feet, aiming upward. (Thump-thump!)

He hit Chen Bo right in the knee caps.

"ARGH!" Chen Bo buckled, dropping to one knee with a heavy thud. The club hit the ground.

Bao Zi used the momentum to flip back onto his feet. He took a deep breath, and faint white mist seemed to leak from his nose. His eyes narrowed. "Sorry about this! But I really, really need to win!"

He darted forward. He wasn't strong like Ren Tie, but he was precise. He unleashed a flurry of open-palm strikes, targeting soft spots.

He struck Chen Bo's solar plexus. (Pap!)

He struck the throat. (Pap!)

Then, for good measure, he slapped both of Chen Bo's ears at the same time with cupped hands. (CLAP!)

The air pressure ruptured Chen Bo's equilibrium. He dropped his club and stumbled back, blind, deaf, and choking. "I... can't... hear... the buzzing..."

He tripped over his own club, flailed his arms, and fell backward out of the ring. (THUD!)

"Winner: Bao Zi!"

Bao Zi raised his hands, looking surprised at his own win. He looked at his palms. "I... I did it? I actually beat a muscle-head? Take that! Who's the rabbit now?!"

Round 2: Ren Tie vs. Chen Bo

After a short break for healing, the matches rotated. Chen Bo, recovering from his loss to Bao Zi, was angry. He rubbed his ringing ears and climbed back onto the platform. He saw Ren Tie and thought, Another big guy. This one doesn't move like smoke. This one I can hit.

He was wrong.

"I'll crush you!" Chen Bo screamed, swinging his club with all his remaining strength at Ren Tie's head.

Ren Tie didn't dodge. He raised his left hand. (THUNK!)

He caught the iron-banded club. With one hand. The impact shook the dust off his robes, but his arm didn't buckle an inch.

Chen Bo blinked. He pulled. The club didn't move. He pulled harder, planting his feet. Ren Tie yawned, looking at the sun.

"You lack leverage," Ren Tie stated simply. "And your form is sloppy."

He punched the club with his free hand. (SNAP!) The reinforced wood shattered into splinters, sending pieces of iron flying. Chen Bo stared at the broken handle in his hand.

Then Ren Tie kicked him. A simple front kick to the stomach. (OOF!)

Chen Bo flew out of the ring for the second time today, landing in the exact same spot in the dirt.

Ren Tie: 2 Wins. 6 Points.

Round 2: Bao Zi vs. Li Kuan

This was the problem match. Li Kuan had woken up after being crushed by Ren Tie, and he was humiliated. He was seething with rage. He looked at Bao Zi—small, nervous, twitchy Bao Zi—and saw an easy target to regain his lost honor.

"I'm going to skin you alive, kid," Li Kuan hissed, his wind-daggers spinning faster than before. "I'm going to take out all my anger on your face."