Fist of Fate vs Fist of Fate

"Lerato, don't interfere. It's a duel; if you do, Tristin will lose," Max said as he held Lerato, who was about to jump onto the stage.

"Let go of me, Max! If I don't stop Thomas, Tristin will be seriously wounded," Lerato said, trying to break free.

"Damn, this girl is too strong. It's taking everything I have to stop her," Max thought, then said, "Lerato, just wait a minute. Tristin might have a plan to win, but if you interfere, it's all over for him."

Lerato eased a bit. "Okay, but if he gets hurt, it's all on you. Now let go of me." She broke off from Max's grip. "Damn these boys, trying to take advantage of me every chance they get," she thought as she rubbed her wrist.

Back on stage, Thomas was about to land a vicious punch right in Tristin's face, but before it could land, Tristin quickly dodged by taking a quick sidestep, causing Thomas to pass at an incredible speed.

"Oh my god, he dodged it! Did you see that?" one guy from the crowd said, hands on his head, eyes wide open.

"He might be more skilled than we thought. This might get interesting," another martial artist in the crowd thought, narrowing his eyes.

The entire scene became silent, eyes and mouths wide open.

"Did you see that, Lerato? He dodged it," Max said, throwing himself at Lerato.

Caught off guard by Max's hug, Lerato threw Max about two meters with one hand and looked at him, eyes narrowed. "Do that again, and I'll send you to the eighteenth level of hell without a second thought."

"Yes, ma'am," Max said, standing up and thinking, "I was just happy to see Tristin dodge that punch. Why is she mad all of a sudden?"

"How did he dodge that? I didn't even feel him use qi energy, but he managed to dodge with ease," Lerato asked herself, folding her arms and looking at the stage with narrowed eyes.

"You're quick on your feet, but then again, cockroaches can be a bit fast when they sense danger," Thomas said, coming to a halt in his punching stance. "I used half of my speed, but he managed to evade me. I guess I'll have to go full strength if I want to win quickly," he thought.

Standing back-to-back, Tristin picked his ear with his finger, then blew the bogey off. "You're just too slow. How do you expect to drive a Ferrari with that speed?" he asked.

"He really doesn't see Thomas as a threat," the students whispered.

"Sipho, do you think Thomas will win?" Mbali asked, looking at Tristin, who was picking his ear.

"Of course he will win. Thomas hasn't used his full strength yet," Sipho said without looking at Mbali.

Mbali bit her nails, her eyebrows twitching. "I hope you're right," she said.

As they began to speculate, Thomas went for another punch, his speed twice as fast as before. Gusts of wind followed, small pebbles scattering across the stage. "Fate Acceleration Fist!" he screamed as he approached Tristin, who wasn't even looking at him.

"Oh my god, such speed and force from just one person," a girl said.

Tristin dodged the Fate Acceleration Fist without looking, but Thomas didn't let up. He threw consecutive punches without taking a break, and Tristin kept dodging, with his left hand in his pocket.

"Thomas can't seem to land a blow, even moving at such speed. It's like I'm seeing afterimages," students murmured.

"Don't worry. Fate Acceleration Fist gets faster and more powerful as time goes on," Sipho said, folding his arms without worry.

"That's true, but it also uses too much qi energy. If Thomas doesn't get a hit soon, he'll lose," a guy next to Sipho, also a martial artist, said.

"Who has ever won a duel by dodging?" Sipho asked.

The guy said nothing but looked at the fight on stage. Thomas kept throwing punches and kicks but still couldn't land a hit. Gusts of wind started to form a small vortex as Thomas moved at incredible speed.

"How can he dodge all that without using qi energy?" Lerato kept asking herself, unable to find the answer.

She wasn't the only one asking this question; most martial artists at the scene began to wonder, too.

Back in the security guard room, Mr. Masombuka watched with a smile. "The young master's qi energy control is something even I can't reach. He's truly gifted at manipulating qi energy," he said to himself.

On stage, Thomas began to slow down, his breath uneven. He stopped his attack and asked, looking at Tristin, who still had his left hand in his pocket, "Are you going to fight like a man or keep dancing like a cockroach?"

"What's the point of fighting like a man against a pompous child like you?" Tristin asked, picking his ear again.

"You only say that because you haven't tasted one of my strongest punches yet. If you could take my punch head-on, that arrogance would be replaced with fear," Thomas said loudly. "If I can't hit him, my qi energy will run out, and I'll lose the fight," he thought.

"Oh, is that so? Tell you what, come at me with your strongest move. I promise I won't dodge. If I do, you'll be declared the winner," Tristin said with a smile.

"Tristin, don't fall for his scheme! His qi energy is running out; he's trying to bait you," Max screamed after hearing Tristin's words.

"Everyone heard him, right? Brenda, you heard him too?" Thomas asked Brenda, who was overseeing the duel.

"Don't worry, Thomas. I won't go back on my word," Tristin said, looking at Brenda to confirm his words. "Don't worry, Max. I know what he is trying to do," he said afterward.

Brenda announced to the public that if Tristin dodged Thomas's next attack, Thomas would be the winner.

"What is he thinking? Does he really think he can take Thomas's punch?" people began to ask.

"He might be quick, but he still doesn't have qi energy. A direct attack will destroy him without it."

"He's truly an idiot. He's fallen for it. I'll use my strongest punch," Thomas thought, looking at Tristin with a smug smile.

"I've never used this move outside training before. If you get hurt, blame your stupidity for that," Thomas said, preparing a horse stance.

"Come at me with everything you have. If you don't, you'll regret it," Tristin said, hand on his back and the other gesturing for Thomas to come.

"You asked for it," Thomas said.

He took a deep breath in his horse stance, gusts of wind rotating around his legs in a vortex. "Twist of Fate," he said, posing like a baseball pitcher. "Spiral Fist of Fate," he said again, as the gust of wind began to rotate in his right arm.

The qi energy in Thomas's arm rotated at an unbelievable speed.

The students marveled at Thomas looking like a god of wind, engulfed in a vortex of qi energy.

"Is Tristin going to take that punch? Even I can't take a direct hit from that punch. The force in that punch is even greater than a Dan-level martial artist's strongest ordinary punch," Lerato asked herself, looking at Thomas.

"I'm a Dan-level martial artist, far stronger than Thomas, who is a Du-level martial artist. But the Twist of Fate, Spiral Fist of Fate is the Ngobeni ultimate technique that can increase the strength of a Du master to a Dan master. Will Tristin be alright?" she wondered.

"Now this is almost impressive. I'll rate your Twist of Fate, Spiral Fist seven out of ten," Tristin approved with a smile.

"You cocky bastard," Thomas screamed, jumping towards Tristin, leaving cracks in the concrete stage floor. His speed was so fast it left an afterimage behind.

Seeing Thomas coming fast and hard, Tristin began to move his qi energy and condense it into a single point at the tip of his fist.

"Oh no, not now," Tristin said as he began to feel lightheaded again. He fell to his knee, clutching his chest.

"Has he run out of gas?" Thomas asked himself, preparing to land a huge punch on Tristin's face. "No matter, I'm going to end this right now," he thought.

"Young master, what are you doing? Is something wrong?" Mr. Masombuka asked himself, looking at Tristin on his knee, sweating.

Tristin gritted his teeth, trying to stand up but failing. "I can't lose my Ferrari. It's the first and only car my mom gave me on my 16th birthday," he said to himself, trying to stand up.

Seeing this, Max and Lerato were confused about what Tristin was doing.

"Go to hell," Thomas said, seeing Tristin struggling to get up, his punch about to hit Tristin's face.

"Tristin, look out!" Lerato screamed, clutching her backpack tightly.

"Calm your mind, Tristin. This gift is your ally; don't fight against it," a familiar voice said in Tristin's mind and all of the sudden everything became quiet.

"Is that you, Oldman?" Tristin asked himself, trying to relax.

Bang… a loud explosion sounded as Thomas's fist connected.