Ten seconds later, on the steel ring, Li Yuan and Cao Zhijing looked at each other.

The other fighter squads around the steel ring gathered in front of the railing to watch, and even Yagami-an, who had been silent until now, now stood up and opened his eyes to observe under Athena Asamiya's big move, and Kagura Chizuru and the fighters of other countries also paid their full attention to the steel ring.

Because, the strength of the two fighters in the ring can be called the strongest sequence in the final stage of the entire King of Fighters competition!

Needless to say, Lee Won's strength has been easily won by seeing his one-on-three against the Korean team, as well as Ken (the standard of most martial artists in the final stage) who is good in the face of the extreme flow karate team (the standard of most fighters in the final stage) and Killing Yi Long, whose strength is completely a bug, and now all the fighters in the final stage basically label Lee Yuan as a target to focus on and an invincible target.

Although he himself is not exactly the protagonist of the previous King of Fighters tournaments as in the "King of Fighters" game (of course, after "The King of Fighters 97", the protagonist Kusa Zhijing seems to have been captured by the Sound Nest Organization as a guinea pig experiment, and created the Kusa Zhijing clone army), but after he broke through to the second stage of "Qi" in the two battles in the final stage, his own strength also made others increase his danger level, and became the strongest sequence of the finalists.

Now the battle between Li Yuan and Cao Zhijing, the two strong men, immediately attracted everyone's attention to watch, to see whether Li Yuan, the strong man of Peach Blossom Luck, is still strong, or Cao Zhijing, who broke through in battle, continues his journey as a dark horse......

……

"Game on!"

With the words of the white ghost who jumped out of the ring, Cao Zhijing, who was looking at Li Yuan, took the lead in attacking.

It's not that Cao Zhijing can't hold his breath, but in the face of Li Yuan, who has an indifferent expression, Cao Zhijing himself has an inexplicable feeling of depression and danger. And Cao Zhijing, who had seen Li Yuan's previous battles, did not have the certainty of defeating Li Yuan, a strong enemy, in his heart. Now, after hearing the White Ghost announce the start of the game, he immediately took the initiative to attack.

"Hahh!!"

After rushing to a short distance in front of Li Yuan in a few steps, Cao Zhijing, who had accelerated instantly, shouted angrily, and his whole body erupted with a golden-red aura that was almost substantial, and he swung his right fist at Li Yuan.

On Kusa Zhijing's right fist, the almost pure golden flame almost gave the illusion of seeing the sun. The golden flame that seemed to be able to burn all the objects in contact had directly emptied all the air around the fist, and rushed straight towards Li Yuan like a golden comet falling, and its domineering momentum and terrifying power made the onlookers change color!

Explosion + special skill 124 style * desolate bite !!

After seeing the battle between Li Yuan and Killing Intent Long three days ago, and feeling that Killing Inyi Long was strong and Li Yuan, who easily defeated Killing Inyi Long, it was even more terrifying, and Cao Zhijing had no actions to underestimate the enemy or try to do so, and he was in an all-out posture as soon as he came up.

In particular, Cao Zhijing's one hundred and twenty-four barren bite has brought into full play the imprint of Cao Zhijing's more than ten years of hard cultivation and tens of thousands of fists. When this trick was swung out, Cao Zhijing, who had broken through the second stage of "Qi", was a little surprised to find that the power of his desolate bite was beyond his expectations.

"I can win!"

Feel the power of your own move. This thought came to his heart, and Cao Zhijing immediately strengthened this belief, and then the momentum and the golden-red flames on his body skyrocketed by three points, and he was ready to take the next step at any time.

――In the "The King of Fighters" series of games, Kusa Zhijing's 124-style desolate bite is equivalent to a double move of starting hand and must-kill. Not only does it have a powerful attack ability and the ability to adapt at any time, but once you hit an enemy or are blocked, you can connect with a variety of other changes behind it!

However, Cao Zhijing, who had just reached the second stage of "qi", was certainly quite terrifying in his move. But for Li Yuan, this kind of trick is also a situation that can make him take it seriously. Want to beat him in one fell swoop? It is estimated that even Cao Zhijing himself does not have such unrealistic thoughts.

"The flame attached to the blood of the grass? Let me see how strong the protagonist is......"

Looking at Cao Zhijing's powerful and powerful moves, Li Yuan, whose face became serious, muttered in his heart. Without hesitation, he clenched his right fist and threw a punch.

With Li Yuan's punch, it was like a fierce beast that began to wake up and stretched out its minions!

Compared to Cao Zhijing's terrifying punch hundred and twenty-four barren bites, Li Yuan's clenched fist and the skin on his arm showed a texture similar to translucent jade or crystal, and then this obscure punch compared to Cao Zhijing's powerful punch suddenly collided head-on with Cao Zhijing's right fist.

"Boom ――――――――!!!!!"

After Cao Zhijing's golden flame right fist and Li Yuan's punch collided, a roar like thunder instantly erupted where the fists of both sides intersected. And the violent air currents generated were like a typhoon that swept towards the surroundings in an instant.

Not to mention the roaring noise and violent air currents that were nothing to a martial artist, the golden flame on the right fist swung by Cao Zhijing himself failed to burn Li Yuan's seemingly insipid right fist and qi as expected, on the contrary, the golden flame on Cao Zhijing's fist was directly destroyed, and the golden sparks that burst from the flame scattered on the alloy ring, after burning on the special alloy steel plate, the landing steel plate became extremely red. Told everyone that the pure golden flame was not a parallel import, but a scorching flame that could melt ordinary steel into molten steel.

However, this obviously powerful golden flame was directly broken by Li Yuan's punch, and a trace of pain also appeared on Cao Zhijing's face, who did not retreat - he felt that Li Yuan's fist was extremely strong, and his punch was like an ordinary person smashing a steel plate with a fist, and only Cao Zhijing himself was in pain!

Fortunately, as a martial artist, injuries and pain have long been a habitual thing, even the sharp pain in his right hand only made Cao Zhijing himself show a trace of pain, and then the whole person did not scream in pain or retreat, but reflexively raised his bent left hand. Directly raised his fist and swung it at Li Yuan's chin.

One hundred and twenty-eight * nine wounds!

Cao Zhijing is connected to the one hundred and twenty-four style * barren bite that has been cracked head-on, and it is this trick one hundred and twenty-eight style * nine injuries!

Compared with the amazing 124-style * wild bite, Cao Zhijing's 128-style * 9 wound punch is similar to the bottom-up attack method of the uppercut. In terms of attack power, it is not as good as the 124-style * barren bite, but the speed and stealth are more powerful, and the goal is to attack directly at the enemy's chin position, which is a cohesive move.

But the next second. Cao Zhijing saw that a hand suddenly appeared on the route of his left fist that he swung at Li Yuanyuan, and then fiercely grabbed his left fist that was burning with golden-red flames.

"Bang !!"

Before Cao Zhijing could react from his left fist, which was unable to move at all, a dull sound and severe pain suddenly came directly from his abdomen, and then the whole person flew out upside down.

Fortunately, as a martial artist, Cao Zhijing not only has the second stage of "qi", but his own tempered body is also extremely durable, and after just turning over slightly in mid-air, he landed firmly on the steel ring.

"Kid from the grass family, come up with some real skills......"

looked at Kusa Zhijing, who stood up after coughing a few times. Li Yuan's eyes revealed a hint of boredom, and then slowly raised his right hand into a fist, and then his voice was as cold as the scythe of death slashing across the ground: "Otherwise, you are ready to die!!

As Li Yuan's words fell, his right hand suddenly clenched into a fist and swung out of thin air at Cao Zhijing.

"Whew――――――――――"

Like the sharp whistle of a missile launch, a semi-illusory and half-substantial transparent true yuan fist power that was magnified ten times directly appeared in front of Cao Zhijing more than twenty meters away, and then it was imprinted on the arm of Cao Zhijing, who had just reacted and tried to parry with both hands.

"Bang ―――――― boom ――――――"

As if he had been slapped by a giant, Kusa Zhijing, who was shrouded in golden-red flames, was instantly knocked away. Then the whole person smashed like a meteorite on the glass wall at the edge of the ring.

The sheer force made the aircraft carrier "Black Noah" shake slightly—albeit a slight shaking, but for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier weighing 60,000 tons (this is the weight of the modification). The power of this blow is already a terrifying situation!

Anyway, the other fighters in the ring, including Kagura Chizuru, Yagami-an, and another "Qi" second-stage martial artist powerhouse, all looked at the situation of Kusa Zhijing himself, who slid down from the glass wall and directly spewed out a mouthful of blood, and the other "Qi" first-stage fighters basically felt that they could go directly to the morgue after receiving this punch.

Of course, if it is just this blow, it will not be possible to kill Cao Zhijing, a strong man in the second stage of "qi". But it also made him feel a feeling of being hit hard.

"Ahem...... Ahem......"

Cao Zhijing, who barely stood up from the ground, couldn't help coughing a few times and spit out a mouthful of blood directly.

However, the current Cao Zhijing didn't care much about the injuries and pain on his body, but looked at Li Yuan standing in the ring in a daze.

――On the steel ring, Li Yuan's eyes were full of disdain and disappointment when he looked at him. It's like the eyes of a strong man looking at someone who can't challenge him. And for the heir of the grass family, who has titles such as "the noble son of fire", when has this kind of contemptuous look at him like this by his opponent!

What made it even more difficult for Kusa to accept was that in the whispering discussions of the martial artists around him, most of them thought that he was about to fail, and some people had even discussed the topic of the grass team's loss to the superpower team.

"Whew...... Whew......"

With heavy breathing, Cao Zhijing's face became extremely firm, and at the same time, his eyes when he looked at Li Yuan in the steel ring also became sharp.

It's not like Kusaka hasn't experienced failure!

However, Kusa did not allow himself to admit defeat without going all out to fight his opponent!

For the proud, Grass Zhijing, Li Yuan's dismissive behavior certainly made him angry, but the discussion among other martial artists added fuel to the fire, which made Cao Zhijing resolutely determined.

"Oh, have you made up your mind? Use that ......"

Looking at Cao Zhijing's eyes and feeling the slightest hint of danger on his body, Li Yuan showed a smile on his face.

One of the protagonists of the dignified "The King of Fighters" series, one of the heirs of the grass family, how could Cao Zhijing choose to admit defeat so easily? And Li Yuan, who has read the settings of "The King of Fighters" games, comics, etc., and knows what Cao Zhijing has on him, will not believe that Cao Zhijing will choose to admit defeat so easily.

Sure enough, according to Li Yuan's expectations, under the overwhelming superiority shown by Li Yuan and the words of the martial artists around him, Cao Zhijing decided to use the hole cards that he was barely able to control.

"Hula ――――――――"

With a sound like a violent wind, a dazzling flame suddenly burned on Kusa Zhijing's body.

Different from the golden-red flame that burned on Cao Zhijing's body just now (generally red, with a faint golden color), the color of the flame burning on Cao Zhijing's body now showed the color of pure gold, as if the real gold was smelted and covered on Cao Zhijing's body, giving Li Yuan the illusion that he almost thought he had seen the Golden Saint Seiya.

However, Cao Zhijing did not become this kind of golden glittering appearance for the sake of showmanship, and after the golden flame itself burned, the momentum on Cao Zhijing, who had a trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, suddenly skyrocketed. And in the shroud of golden flames, a semi-illusory sword shadow appeared directly behind Cao Zhijing!

The semi-illusory sword shadow shone with an inexplicable luster, its grip resembled the shape of a fish's vertebrae, and the quaint blade looked like a double-edged blade like an ancient Chinese sword......

Even a half-illusory, half-substance sword shadow, when it appeared behind Kusa Zhijing, it gave all the martial artists a feeling of depression and extreme danger. And in the contestants' seats, the piece of Goqiongyu worn around the neck of Yagami-an, who was standing and watching, and the Yaga mirror worn by Kagura Chizuru, who was sitting on the seat, both emitted a faint light and a slight resonance when this semi-illusory sword shadow appeared.

Grass Childish Sword Sword Soul! Or the official name in Japan, that is, the sword soul of Japan's chief artifact, the Heavenly Cloud Sword!! (To be continued.) )