THE HAPPY DOJO - PART 7 (Patreon)

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Part 7: School Boy 10 Years Ago?

“I've been to this Mighty Stadium six times but still can't get used to this noisy atmosphere...” - I thought to myself. As every year, the CSW Championship always attracts a large spectator. As soon as I entered the stadium, I was warmly welcomed. It's an honor for any champion, but for me it's just a joke, because I know, I've never been a real “champion”.

As a habit, I always look around the player row once before walking to my seat. I'm looking for “that person.” You know who I'm referring to? Yes, it was the middle school student who haunted me until now. Every time I think about that all-out defeat, I shiver a little. However, I had no intention of escaping, on the contrary, I always wanted to see him again.

I don't think my current level can beat him, but I still want to face him again, so he knows that I didn't give up on martial arts after that defeat. And… I want to say a big thank you as well as a sincere apology to him! I want to thank him because he helped me understand the true meaning of martial arts, thereby contributing to changing myself. And the apology… was because that year, I hit him. Whether he pretended or not, it was true that I hit him hard.

I also want to apologize for calling him weak when he stood up for the girls. By now, I have understood one thing: women are wonderful creatures that God has sent down to Earth. Therefore, protecting women is a proud thing of the strongest men! I myself have experienced the feeling of being a girl and being cared for and protected, so the more I understand the worthiness of a woman.

But, again, I shook my head in disappointment. In addition to the new players joining the first year at the age of 17, the rest are all old faces. Glancing at the spectator seats, I saw that the members of the Golden Dojo had arrived. They're waving at me. Out of habit, I was about to raise my hand to greet them when I suddenly caught a sharp look in my direction. Uyen Dawson is also present among them. Her hostile gaze made me heartbroken and forgot what I was going to do, which was to greet them. Why is there such a difference? When I was Layla Terry, she was always happy, even pampered me. And when I returned to my true self, she hated me so much!

After the preparation, Uyen Dawson also advanced to the competition area for female fighters. On the way, she never once took her eyes off me. After her shadow faded into the distance, I sighed loudly. What could be worse than having someone you love be hostile to you? I crept back to the male fighter's seats, my head still down. Not concentrating, I bumped into a certain male fighter.

The bump wasn't too strong, my head just barely touched his chest. However, by nature, I still apologize to him. He replied in a disrespectful tone: “It turns out that this is the five year champion, Lian Terry? That's disappointing! Is it possible for you to be a champion with such a small body? The CSW Championship is seriously degraded!”

I didn't care what he said, what I should have done, I've already done. I just walked silently past him. Unexpectedly, this guy had no intention of letting me go: “Oh! I remember ten years ago, you looked so majestic! Has your martial arts spirit disappeared?” Startled, I turned to look at him. This young man is someone I don't know. I've been competing in this tournament for years, so I can assure you he's a newcomer this year.

How did he know about me 10 years ago? (Actually, last year Uyen once told me a similar sentence, but at that time, I don't know why, I didn't pay much attention). I had an answer in mind that I couldn't believe. This young man was the one who knocked me down at that time! But in my memory, the student that year did not have this kind of overbearing personality. After a few moments of reflection, I accepted the reason “people will change”. Aren't I like that too? I didn't recognize his face either, and while he knew me, it showed that even his appearance had changed.

I calmly replied: “The CSW Championship is the ring of the best martial arts champions. I never thought I was the best. If one day, someone better than me shows up to reclaim my championship, I'm willing to give it to him. I don't know if you're the one I'm thinking of, but if that's the case, then use your own strength to defeat me again!” After saying that, I walked straight to my seat. This is probably the first time I've said so much since my personality changed.

The CSW Championship matches went on as usual. I was constantly winning against other fighters. I'm not going to go into that because this is not a martial arts story, and I don't think you want to hear it. I took a breath and stepped into the ring to prepare for the semi-final. When my opponent entered the ring, my face was clearly surprised. My semi-final opponent is Tristan, who is also a member of the Golden Dojo. For readers who don't remember, he was the one who was pushed to the hospital bed by Uyen a few months ago.

Tristan is a very good fighter in the Golden Dojo, but in my impression, he is not strong enough to advance to the semi-finals. Not to mention, he was seriously injured not long ago. The salutation between the two fighters takes place. After greeting, Tristan did not rush to take a stance, but came and whispered in my ear: “Since the day Uyen joined the Golden Dojo, I can't even get close to you. She's not here at the moment. I need you to promise me something. If I'm lucky enough to beat you, go on a date with me, just one day is fine. I worked so hard to make it to the semi-finals just to tell you this!”

I blushed after hearing Tristan say. Confused, I raised my hand and punched Tristan in the stomach but forgot to control the force. Tristan took the full punch because he didn't take a stance. Immediately, the referee announced the victory for me because Tristan had lost the ability to continue fighting. I bowed my head and repeatedly apologized to him: “I’m sorry! I was so surprised that I forgot to control the punching force!” The spectators cheered loudly as I once again entered the final. Some of my female fans even shouted: “Lian's expression is so cute!”

I quickly ran down to the ring to avoid the embarrassing situation from happening again. At this time, the second semi-final match in the next ring also had a result. (Mighty stadium is very big so to save time, they will hold many matches at the same time). The young man from earlier stepped down from the ring and stared at me. Because of an unexpected situation, I won so quickly. And this young man also walked down to the ring just a few seconds after me. However, I am not surprised by this result. If he really was that student, then this result was completely understandable.

The young man walked up to me and challenged me: “Looks like you won too fast, huh? To save time, why don't we fight right now? That weak guy lying over there doesn't even make me sweat.” As he spoke, he pointed at the young man lying on the second ring. Yeah. I recognize him. That was my opponent in the final last year. We had a tough match last year but now he's been knocked out in minutes.

I closed my eyes for a moment and nodded in agreement. I'm not doing it out of hesitation, I'm feeling disappointed. Of course, there was no way I would be disappointed by his strength. I'm just disappointed that he has changed so much. I wonder if the thanks and sorry sentence that I prepared in advance need to be said anymore. He no longer looks like the guy who showed me the way. He looked exactly like me before, just a guy who looked down on the weak. I certainly wouldn't lose to someone like that!

PART 8 >>