Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 254 - 241: I’ll Be the Judge

Chapter 254: Chapter 241: I’ll Be the Judge

Gao Yi returned with Emily.

Carrying the pride and confidence of an expert, and brimming with an aura of mystery.

Emily’s face radiated confidence, eager to get started.

Marina glanced at her watch and said, "Not half an hour, just twenty-seven minutes."

Gao Yi waved his hand and said, "Give three minutes to Sowa, we don’t mind those extra two or three minutes. Under my guidance, Emily defeating Sowa is no challenge at all."

To infuriate Sowa, regardless of whether Marina used provocation or not, Gao Yi took the lead in doing so.

As expected, Sowa was enraged.

To become an expert, no, to be an expert, one must possess some pride.

Sowa stood at least 185 cm tall, while Emily, after taking off her shoes, was probably around 155 cm, so the physical difference between the two was tremendous, making them look like an adult and a child standing together.

Marina looked at Sowa, then at Emily, took a deep breath, and said, "Sowa, be careful not to hurt Emily, let’s begin."

Sowa raised his hand and said, "Can I refuse? There’s no joy in winning, and losing would be utterly humiliating. This is unfair to me."

Gao Yi immediately retorted, "Who talks about fairness on the battlefield!"

Sowa shot back, "Don’t spout sophistry. First of all, this isn’t a battlefield, and secondly, we’re not going to a battlefield."

Gao Yi had nothing to say, but Marina solemnly said, "No, didn’t you hear? I made a bet with Mr. Busan. Now, win this information for me. Begin."

Sowa grimaced, but he immediately stepped back, adopting a cautious stance.

Good, that’s the mental caliber an expert should have. Although completely disbelieving that Emily could beat him, Sowa also understood the principle that even a lion must use all its strength to fight a rabbit.

Emily also assumed the same starting position.

Gao Yi stepped forward, stood in front of them, raised his right hand, and then swung it down, shouting loudly, "Go... start!"

The word stretched.

Sowa was about to make his move, planning to take down Emily with one blow, but Gao Yi suddenly ran out acting as a referee and shouted the start, so neither could move before the shout.

Sowa almost struck out, a probing kind of reach, all he needed was to grab Emily, even if it were just the edge of her clothes, this unfair match could be ended.

But Gao Yi’s slight elongation of the word instantly disrupted Sowa’s rhythm.

This tactic was a bit shameless, but it was within the rules, or rather, as soon as Gao Yi said begin, they entered his system of rules.

Although Sowa hadn’t reached out, he had already gone through the whole process of tensing and then immediately relaxing his muscles.

That slight hesitation to stretch his hand, plus the abrupt end of Gao Yi’s elongation, was the moment Sowa was about to exert his power again, Emily suddenly darted forward, lowering her head and lunging forward as if planning to crash into Sowa’s chest, but then she abruptly rolled forward.

Sowa reached out and caught nothing, then he immediately kicked up, but by the time his foot reached Emily, she was already behind him.

Emily pressed her hands to the ground, bent her left leg, heedless of anything else, and thrust her right foot backward, hitting right at Sowa’s left knee.

This move had a crude name, "male dog peeing."

It mimicked the action of a dog lifting its leg to pee, raising one leg and suddenly kicking backward—quite an image.

This should have been done lying on the side, but to achieve ultimate speed, Gao Yi slightly modified the move.

Positioning didn’t matter because as long as the kick was made, it was sure to hit the knee, not even slightly off.

Any delay was unacceptable, not even by 0.0001 seconds.

Gao Yi was a Kung Fu Master, and he knew Sowa always trained on how to deal with frontal attacks. This tricky and unsightly move, not to mention its use, would be disdained by someone else.

And as a result, Sowa’s left knee bent immediately, seemingly about to kneel on one knee, but Sowa, being an expert, tensed his left leg, his body did not lose balance, nor did he kneel on one knee, but he immediately stood back up.

After the kick, Emily immediately turned around and lay down on the ground, sweeping along the ground, not with great force, but Sowa still toppled rightward.

A dash, a kick, a sweep, those three moves—one technique—were all that Gao Yi had Emily practice a hundred times over, nothing else.

Emily wouldn’t think about using the same move on Sowa again in her life; she could train for a lifetime, and she’d have no chance to use this technique on Sowa again.

But then, did she need more training? Gao Yi only needed that one move from Emily after all.

This wasn’t a quick way to mastery for an expert; this was a shortcut model to quickly handle Sowa, understanding this distinction is crucial. In another place, against another opponent, the same technique would be utterly useless.

Sowa fell.

"Stop!"

Gao Yi shouted again, spun around towards Marina, and said, "You say if Emily won or not."

Marina was dumbstruck.

Then someone insightful started clapping, followed by everyone joining in. Emily got up from the ground, jumped up high several times, and a young man excitedly went up and gave Emily a high five.

Although Emily had not followed up with a lethal blow, many people noticed that she could not deliver another strike because Sowa reacted extremely quickly, rolling away as soon as he hit the ground, making it very difficult to land a lethal blow on him.

If this had been a real battle, Emily would have surely died, and Sowa would have easily won.

But still, let’s just say Emily won.

"You won."

Marina conceded straightforwardly without hesitation, "Though there were some tricks involved, a win is a win. Without you, Emily could never bring down Sowa in her lifetime, so you did win. Do you want me to compile the information about you into a written document, or should I just explain it to you verbally?"

"Written document, please. It seems more formal."

Gao Yi sometimes was cunning but not sleazy. After speaking, he immediately looked at Sowa, who had just gotten up from the ground, and said, "I’ve found your lethal weak point, which is why I could help Emily defeat you this once—just this once. But tell me, do you want to improve further? Fight with me, let’s spar several times, and I guarantee you’ll become stronger."

Gao Yi began to tempt Sowa.

Although Sowa hated losing and was quite upset, he found it difficult to resist the temptation coming from a Kung Fu Master.

Marina certainly didn’t forget Gao Yi’s promise, and she addressed him: "Wait, did you just say you could teach all of them?"

"Not teach, but give tips. Well, about that, I can instruct Sowa, and Sowa can teach them."

"No, teach them all together, or individually if you must, but you are responsible for teaching them. I want to see obvious improvement in everyone."

After saying that, Marina promptly added, "Don’t rush to refuse. I will give you a generous reward!"

"Let me think about it."

Gao Yi was a bit indecisive and hesitated, "But with so many people, how should I instruct them, or rather guide them."

"That’s your problem."

Gao Yi suddenly had an idea, excitedly voicing, "Got it, I’ll be the referee!"

"I’ll be the referee. You guys fight, and that way, I can identify each person’s strengths and weaknesses. You don’t need to learn my Kung Fu; I want you to stick to the Fighting Skills you’re most comfortable with, yet perform stronger than before. From now on, you can call me ’Referee.’"

Calling him Busan was no permanent solution since it was meant to be a secret.

Gao Yi was very pleased to have found both a suitable role and a method.

Marina pondered for a moment, then declared, "Anyone who wants to enhance their Fighting Ability can stay and receive guidance from Busan the Referee. Clerical staff need not stay, but field agents must receive the instruction. Alright, begin, and I’ll handle the betting matters first."

Gao Yi had never seen anyone as straightforward as Marina, regardless of their gender.

Most people stayed while a few left, likely those clerical workers who didn’t need to practice Fighting Skills or those special agents who either didn’t want to or didn’t have time to train.

Sowa definitely stayed, and so did Emily. Gao Yi carefully counted: twenty-one people remained.

"Master, master, it’s an odd number, am I grouped with you?"

Gao Yi looked at the excited Emily and then loudly commanded, "Pair up for sparring, use any Fighting Skill you’re comfortable with, don’t focus on winning, just perform at your strongest level. Also, fight in the most comfortable, least strenuous way you can. Begin."

Two people were left without partners because no one wanted to spar with Sowa. Emily was looking forward to sparring with Gao Yi, which left an additional person without a partner. So, three people did not have sparring partners.

Gao Yi started observing their Fighting Skills.

Truly, it was just a matter of giving them a quick look.

With just one glance, Gao Yi could instantly discern each person’s strengths and weaknesses, their unique traits.

He spent no more than ten seconds observing each individual, some even less. In just three minutes, Gao Yi had grasped the general level of abilities of these people.

Then came the one-on-one coaching. This broad-brush approach was neither detailed nor particularly focused on any individual.

Yet, even casual tips from Gao Yi were immediately effective. If not transformative, they were certainly impactful.

For a Kung Fu Master like Gao Yi, anything less would be disappointing—he wouldn’t deserve to be considered a true master of his time otherwise.

"Stop, all of you stop."

Considering it was a collective training session, it didn’t matter if it was half-cooked. Gao Yi didn’t plan to take on dozens of disciples. He just needed to meet his obligations. Therefore, he would give a bit of advice to each, without teaching them anything substantive, and call it done.

Gao Yi pointed to a tall man and said, "You, use Long Fist, just keep your distance and aim for your opponent’s face."

He pointed to another man, shorter but much stockier, "You, as his opponent, don’t use any tech you’ve learned before—just charge at him. If you can grab him and hold onto him, you win; otherwise, you lose. Begin."

Without waiting to see if the two had started, Gao Yi turned to Sowa, "Watch how I guide them. You could learn something too. After they’re all done, we’ll go another round. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t let you get hurt! Plus, I guarantee you’ll be stronger than before!"

Sowa sighed deeply, "Not getting hurt but still in pain. Plus, I’m a special agent, I can’t compete with outsiders, nor can I fight in tournaments. So what’s the point of me getting stronger? But out of love for martial arts, I’ll grudgingly accept your conditions with one amendment—no hitting the face, and don’t make it painful!"

Emily eagerly interjected from the side, "Master..."

Gao Yi’s expression turned stern, "Don’t call me Master, call me Big Brother."

"I don’t like calling you Big Brother. How about I call you Busan? No, since you don’t want me to call you Master, may I call you Busan? Busan, can you demonstrate with me like before? I really liked it. I want to learn from you. I want to get stronger! I’m not afraid of pain, and it’s okay if you hit my face!"

Gao Yi looked at Emily, then at Sowa, and after a long sigh, he said, "Wouldn’t it be nice if you could switch... Alright, let’s go with that."