"Dre, get up!"
Dre, who grunted in pain, stood up after recovering a bit and frowned as he looked at Liu on the other side of the platform. Until he fully recovered, the referee did not start the match again. Only after ensuring Dre was okay did he restart the fight.
"Ready? Fight!"
In an instant, Liu rushed forward again, but at that very moment, he was assaulted by Dre, who initiated aggressive attacks at close range. This put Liu at a disadvantage, and he tried to retreat as the fight became more dangerous.
Knowing he couldn't risk getting more injured than he already was, Dre opted for a closer fight, which proved effective in the next few minutes. His punches were forceful, but he knew that with simple defenses and quick attacks, he couldn't win this fight. That's why at some point, he tried to target his opponent's upper body, preparing for the next step in the battle.
At one point, Dre frowned, aligned the fingers of his hands, and like a spear, pierced through Liu's defenses and forcefully struck his body, causing him to lower his hands to defend himself. But at that very moment, Dre followed up with an upper kick, hitting Liu's face, who hadn't expected such agility from his opponent.
"Point, winner!"
Many celebrated when they saw Dre as the winner, but others noticed the abnormality in Dre's walk as he descended the platform stairs.
"Will he be able to recover?" Dash, who was relieved that it didn't turn out like the story he knew, couldn't help but worry now that his friend had been injured in the leg. He didn't know how this had happened, but it was concerning to know that he would have to face Cheng in that condition, who was brutal in combat.
"The kid previously received continuous blows in that area of his leg, and now with these new hits, the pain has started to seep into his muscles." Mr. Kim observed as Dre was taken off the platform alongside Mr. Han.
It's true that the injuries on his body were nothing to worry about, but it felt a bit strange that he was injured in the same way Dash remembered. Now he didn't know whether to think that this was due to the changes in the tournament with Dash's presence and that somehow they aligned so that Dre would face Cheng earlier than planned.
If this is the case, it means that as long as he manages to defeat Wu Ping in the semifinal, what would follow is to find out whether Dre wins and continues fighting or if he is defeated by Cheng.
There were very few possibilities for change in the future, which made Dash think about things that could happen at some point. Now that the quarterfinals were about to start with Dash's match against Wu Ping, he had to focus on this and couldn't approach his friend to provide any emotional support.
"He'll probably be fine for the next match..." Dash didn't believe Dre would give up after this. He was sure he would fight, and the chances of winning were as high as in the original story.
"It's your turn, time to approach!" A worker approached Mr. Kim, and both, along with Dash, approached the platform.
Dash turned his head and gave a glance at Wu Ping's position, who looked at him with confidence.
Seeing his rival in his distinctive blue and brown uniform, with his most striking feature being his crest-shaped hairstyle, making him look cool.
As for Dash, he was thinking about how to defeat this powerful opponent. He knew that Wu Ping had a very tactical and fast-paced fighting style. His fights stood out in this regard, managing to bring down his opponents with ease, even defeating a Fighting Dragon student with a strong kick to the face, indicating that his combat skills were something to consider.
The way he lost to Cheng in the original story demonstrated what a good fighter he really was. Although he lost the match, he threw numerous punches and never retreated, showing that he couldn't be easily defeated.
Looking at his opponent, Dash shifted his gaze and found Devon in the crowd, who raised her fist, showing him her unconditional support.
"I'll win!" Dash nodded and positioned himself in the designated spot.
Watching the two competitors ready for the fight, the referee initiated the semifinal, which was just one step before the expected final.
"Ready? Fight!"