The Favored Heiress
Chapter 656: More than Admiration, Less than Love

Chapter 656: Chapter 656: More than Admiration, Less than Love

It turned out that Zuo Tang was the opponent for the second assessment.

Hand-to-hand combat, in other words, close-quarters fighting.

Li Qiao calmly watched the arena in the center of the training gym, rapidly considering various combat techniques in her mind.

Before her injury, Zuo Tang was the Hall Master of Third Halls, so her fighting abilities were probably not weak.

At that moment, Zuo Tang slowly approached, bowed slightly toward Shang Yu and Li Qiao, and asked with a faint smile, "Miss Li, you’ve just completed an assessment, do you want to rest for a while before continuing?"

Li Qiao passed the cup she was holding to Shang Yu, curved her lips, shook her head, and said, "No need, I can start at any time."

A hint of appreciation flashed in Zuo Tang’s eyes, "Then I’ll go get ready first."

"Sure," agreed Li Qiao cheerfully.

...

Time passed and at half-past nine in the morning, Li Qiao and Zuo Tang stood on opposite sides of the arena.

Members from various Halls gathered below the stage in countless numbers, silent as if all focusing intently on every move they made.

On the arena, Zuo Tang wore her training clothes, her slim figure similar to Li Qiao’s.

She flexed the prosthetic on her left leg and looked forward calmly, "Miss Li, grappling, counter-attack, wrestling, boxing... out of twelve combat techniques, as long as you can throw me out of the arena eight times or more, you will have passed."

Li Qiao nodded in understanding, "Are there any other rules I should be aware of?"

Zuo Tang’s eyes twinkled, recalling how she caught the members of First and Second Hall off guard with her unexpected moves.

She smiled lightly and explained softly, "That’s it. Hand-to-hand combat doesn’t have many restrictions to begin with, and besides, our enemies won’t be telling us the rules in a real fight."

That was indeed the truth.

Li Qiao glanced at the single rope around the arena and slowly relaxed her furrowed brow, "Makes sense."

The moment her words ended, she pounced on Zuo Tang like a cheetah.

In usual combat, Li Qiao rarely took the initiative to strike.

But today, she diverged from her usual tactics, lunging at Zuo Tang with extreme speed, one hand in defense, the other throwing punches, appearing to catch her off guard.

Zuo Tang’s reaction was equally swift, seeing Li Qiao’s move, she immediately spun and dodged to block.

Li Qiao carefully observed Zuo Tang’s movements and tactics, ensuring that her prosthetic limb wasn’t too limiting, and fully unleashed her attacks with growing severity and ferocity.

After seven or eight exchanges, Zuo Tang’s expression was calm and solemn.

Her combat techniques seemed rather soft, as if without much effort, she could dismantle her opponent’s moves. She was even adept at using minimal strength to counter heavier force.

Li Qiao, on the other hand, was the exact opposite, every punch and kick was a solid assault.

The two fought inextricably. At that moment, Zuo Tang used her forearm to deflect Li Qiao’s punch, narrowed her eyes, and then immediately gripped her wrist to twist it, "Miss Li, please forgive me."

She spoke evenly, and the next second turned her back to Li Qiao, used strength from her waist and abdomen, and prepared to throw her opponent out of the arena.

Zuo Tang was very strong and showed no mercy.

Li Qiao’s wrist hurt, her brow furrowed slightly, but her eyes shone brightly, "So it’s... jujitsu."

Zuo Tang’s eyes brightened, "Miss Li knows... hmm."

As she spoke, she got distracted, and Li Qiao promptly attacked the crook of her right leg.

Zuo Tang staggered, and Li Qiao, gripping her waist, forcefully flung her out of the arena.

The action was seamless, and Zuo Tang didn’t even have time to react.

Down on the mat, Zuo Tang was thrown, looking up at Li Qiao, annoyance flickering in her eyes.

Li Qiao had her left hand behind her back, peering down at her with a faint smirk, "In war, there is no such thing as too much deception."

Being distracted during a fight is highly taboo.

Zuo Tang was taken by surprise when Li Qiao recognized her jujitsu, and she missed her chance to strike at the best moment.

Next, Zuo Tang cleared her mind of distractions and silently leaped back onto the stage to continue sparring with Li Qiao.

Perhaps as a lesson from before, she fought with more earnest than earlier, meeting each attack head-on without backing down.

After grappling for seven or eight minutes, a gleam flashed in Zuo Tang’s eyes, and while Li Qiao was in close range, she whispered softly, "I have feelings for the association leader."

Li Qiao’s blocking motion paused in front of her, and a tumultuous undercurrent stirred in her dark, profound eyes.

She didn’t speak, looking directly at Zuo Tang, and in the blink of an eye, Zuo Tang unleashed a combo, spinning her body and trying to throw Li Qiao over her shoulder with a single leg hooked behind.

But as Zuo Tang made her move, Li Qiao had already twisted and pressed down on her motion with her knee, her shoulder slamming hard against Zuo Tang’s, her palm pushing at her chin, accompanied by an elbow strike that sent her reeling back.

There was only a single rope at the edge of the stage, which couldn’t stop Zuo Tang’s retreating form, and she fell once again onto the soft mat outside the stage.

This time, Zuo Tang sat up after a few seconds of daze, locking eyes with Li Qiao just as she was about to speak, only to hear a voice from above, "That move won’t work on me."

In war, there is no such thing as too much deception, but it depends on the person.

If it hadn’t been for understanding Zuo Tang’s intention, Li Qiao wouldn’t have shown any mercy just now.

The last time Dan Min coveted Shang Yu in front of her, who knows which street she is begging on now.

Zuo Tang being thrown off the stage twice in succession caused the watching members to start whispering among themselves.

"The prosthetic limb must be affecting the Third Hall Master’s performance."

"For sure it has an impact, but Miss Li isn’t half bad, even dodging the jujitsu techniques of the Hall Master, as if she had learned them."

"Hey, even if the Third Hall Master loses, it doesn’t matter, to be able to spar with the Lady of the Hall Master is an honor despite the defeat."

Zuo Tang looked down at her leg with a light chuckle and leaped back onto the stage once more.

Indeed, when it came to scheming, Zuo Tang was no match for Li Qiao.

But the essence of jujitsu is to use softness to overcome hardness.

When Li Qiao was about to use grappling to throw Zuo Tang off the stage for the third time, she saw her bend back extremely flexibly, supporting herself with one hand on the ground, suddenly kicking her prosthetic left leg towards Li Qiao’s face.

With such an attack, Li Qiao had to block with both hands crossed in front of her face, and in an instant, her waist was swept by Zuo Tang’s low sweeping kick at the site of her old injury.

It didn’t really hurt, but Li Qiao instinctively backed off in defense, and just like that, she found herself falling off the stage.

Zuo Tang showed no joy in her face; she felt Li Qiao might be deliberately going easy, "Miss Li, you..."

Li Qiao lifted one side of her lips, propped herself up with one hand on the stage, and leaped back up with no desire to speak; she just continued the competition.

As time ticked away, their movements also gradually slowed down.

Li Qiao braced her elbow against Zuo Tang’s shoulder, her eyebrows wickedly raised as she resumed their earlier conversation, "How much do you like him?"

Zuo Tang was on guard, wary of another of her usual tricks, and she lifted her arm to deflect Li Qiao’s attack, creating a half-meter gap between them, crouching and raising her knee while lowering her voice to respond, "More than admiration, less than love."

Li Qiao looked straight into her eyes, her hands continuing their motion, "Why tell me?"

Zuo Tang parried each move and with a smile on her face, she said, "Nothing is too private for words. I thought it might make you lose your cool and retreat in defeat..."