In the ordinary life of Crayon Shin-chan

Chapter 1307: Calling the Wind and Rain, Journey to the Continent 9

Mingxu looked around and, wow, he was the only child in the group this time. It felt a bit strange. The youngest person in the other groups seemed to be around ten years old.

"Stop looking, you're the youngest." Chen Feng's voice came from above. Mingxu's lips twitched. Fine, fine, trying to fool others with your age, huh?

In the center of the venue, an elderly man dressed in traditional martial arts attire stood on a high platform. His gaze swept across the entire venue, and his voice was loud and clear: "Today is a grand gathering of martial arts circles in our city. Young talents from various schools have gathered together not only to exchange martial arts skills, but also to inherit and promote the essence of Chinese martial arts."

The old man paused for a moment, then continued, "The rules of the competition are very simple. It is a single-elimination tournament. In each match, both sides must go all out, but remember, stop when you've made a point and don't kill anyone. The final winner will receive an honorary certificate and a generous reward from our city's martial arts association. At the same time, they will also have the opportunity to represent our city in a higher-level martial arts exchange competition."

As the old man finished speaking, a round of enthusiastic applause rang out in the hall.

"Xiao Xu, don't be nervous." Chen Feng patted Ming Xu's shoulder and encouraged him, "Remember, Bajiquan emphasizes fierceness and dominance, but you also need to know how to control it. Just do your best and don't worry too much about the result."

Mingxu nodded, silently adjusting his mindset. He wasn't just there to compete; he also wanted to see if he could integrate the knowledge from various schools of thought.

Soon, the list of participants for the first round of competition was announced. Mingxu was scheduled for the third match, where five groups would compete simultaneously. It seemed the elimination rounds could be completed in one day.

Mingxu glanced at his opponent, a young fighter from the Xingyi Quan school. He observed that his opponent was burly and possessed an indomitable spirit in his eyes.

“Xingyiquan emphasizes using intention to guide qi and using qi to generate power,” Chen Feng said in a low voice. “When you spar with him, pay attention to his footwork and punching trajectory, and don’t let him lead you astray.”

Mingxu silently memorized Chen Feng's instructions, already having a plan in mind. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the flow of qi and blood within his body, attempting to condense a trace of internal energy.

As time passed, the first two matches quickly came to an end. When the host announced the start of the third match, Mingxu and the Xingyiquan fighter walked onto the stage together. His opponent didn't underestimate him because of his young age; most of those who came here were the pride of their respective factions, so how could they be so dismissive? After exchanging greetings, the two took their stances and began to fight.

The Xingyiquan practitioner launched a fierce attack from the outset, his footwork agile and varied, his punches swift and powerful. Mingxu, however, relied on the fierce and domineering style of Bajiquan to neutralize each of his opponent's attacks and look for opportunities to counterattack.

Misae and the others were cheering for Mingxu from the audience, and Shin-chan and the others were shouting excitedly. Hiroshi was filming Mingxu's match with a video camera.

During the exchange, Mingxu gradually sensed the presence of internal energy. He tried to integrate this internal energy into his moves and discovered that his strength and speed had greatly improved. Overjoyed, he became even more focused on the match. However, he only used this technique against older opponents; for younger opponents, even with internal energy, his brute force was simply too much for them to handle.

After a fierce exchange, Mingxu finally found an opening. He unleashed a powerful "Crushing Mountain Fist" from Bajiquan, striking the Xingyiquan fighter squarely in the chest. The opponent staggered back several steps, eventually falling off the edge of the ring.

"The winner is Mingxu of Bajiquan," the referee announced immediately.

"Yay~ Xiaoxu won!" Misae and the others shouted excitedly upon seeing this.

Mingxu stood on the stage, looked at his opponent, and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your concession."

The opponent also bowed, but his expression was rather unpleasant. Being defeated by a child younger than himself was something he couldn't bring himself to say.

Mingxu ignored him, cupped his hands in greeting, and walked off the stage; there were other people waiting to go up.

As soon as Mingxu stepped off the stage, Chen Feng came up to him with an approving smile: "Not bad, Xiaoxu. You've only been learning about internal energy for a short time, and you've already been able to use it in actual combat. It seems you really have a lot of talent."

Mingxu scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Uncle Chen taught me well, and I was just lucky to find his weakness just now."

At this moment, Hiroshi and Misae also came over with Shin-chan and Himawari. Hiroshi patted Akira on the shoulder: "Akira, you made your dad so proud. That punch you threw was really beautiful." Hiroshi smiled with great pride. Such a young child was able to defeat his opponent. It has to be said that the Nohara family genes are strong.

Misae nodded in agreement, "Yes, Xiaoxu, I was so nervous watching you compete, but you did a fantastic job."

Shin-chan and Kui-kun excitedly surrounded Ming-xu, their faces full of excitement. Shin-chan didn't run around because the older girls around him were too far away and he didn't notice them.

Mingxu smiled and patted Shin-chan and Aoi on the head, then said to Hiroshi and Misae, "Mom and Dad, don't praise me too much. There are still competitions to come, so I can't be arrogant."

Chen Feng chimed in, "Yes, Xiao Xu is right. There are even stronger opponents to come, so we can't let our guard down. However, through this match, you've gained some experience in using internal energy, which will allow you to perform even better in the future."

As they were talking, the next group of contestants stepped onto the stage. Mingxu and his friends then turned their attention to the stage, watching the other contestants' matches and learning some techniques and experience. Watching the exciting exchanges between the contestants on the stage, Mingxu was also constantly thinking about how he would deal with such opponents if he encountered them.

The competitions proceeded smoothly, and the atmosphere in the venue grew increasingly enthusiastic. Cheers and shouts of encouragement from the audience filled the air, greatly motivating the contestants. Mingxu watched the competitions while exchanging his thoughts and opinions with Chen Feng, who patiently analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of each contestant.

Before they knew it, it was lunchtime. Mingxu and his group went to the restaurant in the venue for lunch. During lunch, they continued to discuss the morning's matches.

Hiroshi laughed and said, "This martial arts competition is quite interesting. There are all kinds of boxing styles, it's dazzling." Misae nodded and said, "Yes, every contestant seems very strong. Xiaoxu, you'd better work harder in the future."

While eating, Mingxu said firmly, "Mom and Dad, don't worry, I will definitely do my best. Moreover, I have learned a lot from the competition this morning, and I am more confident in the upcoming competitions."

Chen Feng also encouraged him, "Yes, Xiao Xu, keep this up and do your best in the afternoon's match. Anyway, with your strength, the more you experience the application of internal energy, the easier it will be to unleash in actual combat. You can practice more during your rest time."

After lunch, they rested for a while before returning to the competition venue.

The afternoon matches were even more intense, with varying levels of skill among the competitors.

Mingxu watched each match intently, seizing every opportunity to learn. Chen Feng analyzed each move for him, which helped him learn even more quickly.

While he was studying, he didn't notice that a group of people had sneaked in under the pretense of watching the game.

"We've heard that kid is competing here today. Everyone scatter and find where he and his family are. Don't get spotted; the people around here are not to be trifled with." A female voice came again, with a somewhat weak-looking person standing beside her. It seemed that these two were Banxia and Duqin. Having been released from the water dungeon, they still carried some signs of weakness.

After watching her subordinates disperse, Banxia looked at Duqin with some uncertainty: "You, you should be alright, right?"

"No, no problem." Hemlock was slightly out of breath; he didn't want to experience that time in the water dungeon again.

"Then go over there and look for him. Don't get caught. Once you find him, tell everyone immediately. As long as we catch that child, the item should be easy to get. Then, head straight to that place. The leader is waiting for us there." After saying this, Banxia turned and left.

"Hmph." Poison hemlock snorted coldly as he watched the other person's retreating figure, then turned and walked in another direction.

Hemlock weaved through the crowd, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, trying to find Mingxu and his group. He tried his best to appear natural and avoid attracting attention. After all, this was the venue for a martial arts competition, filled with experts; being discovered would be troublesome.

He walked along, listening to the chatter around him. Everyone was discussing the morning's matches, which fighter was the strongest, and which boxing technique was the most exquisite. Poison Hemlock wasn't interested in any of this; he was only concerned with his mission.

Suddenly, his gaze froze. In a corner not far away, he saw Mingxu's family and Chen Feng sitting together, watching the game. They all had focused expressions on their faces, seemingly unaware of the strangeness around them.

A surge of joy welled up in his heart. He quickly lowered his head, pretending to be nonchalant, and walked towards that corner. He tried his best to maintain a natural gait so that others wouldn't notice anything unusual about him.

Just as he was about to reach that corner, a child suddenly ran past him and bumped into him. He stumbled and almost fell. He knew he was in trouble, quickly regained his balance, and looked up.

Shin-chan was looking at him innocently, muttering, "I'm sorry, uncle, I didn't mean to."

He was furious. How could this child be so reckless? But he couldn't show it, so he could only suppress his anger and force a smile, saying, "It's alright, little friend, be more careful next time."