Written by Reddit User u/alee51104
Match 7 Qi Ling vs Jack-Guo Qiang
Jack-Guo Qiang
"You ready?"
Jackie stared at her fighter, who was busy at work battering a Muk Yan Jong/Mu Ren Zhuang, or the Wing Chun dummy. Only his was made of a Tungsten alloy, and he wasn't exactly training with it, more so destroying it. His punches, thrusts, pams strikes, and kicks were actually leaving dents in the metal. She sighed, wondering how much money the company spent on these custom dummies, only for him to continuously go overboard and destroy them.
The pegs were slowly wearing down, but suddenly, they sped up.
"Be care-"
POWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOWPOW
In a fraction of a second, he had snapped each peg, and they clattered to the ground. She sighed, wondering why she had ever thought the pegs would be too fast for him. "You didn't tire yourself out before the match, did you?"
He turned to look at her, his grin giant and beaming. She rolled her eyes, noticing how excited his eyes were.
"Of course not. I'm not gonna let one of the best matches in my entire life be ruined by impatience!"
He began doing splits and stretches, his mobility continually impressing Jackie. "Besides, stuff like that is child's play considering what I did in China. You would not believe the torture that was iron plam training." He suddenly jumped straight up from the ground, landing on his feet. She could tell that he was slowing his breathing to the absolute lowest it could get.
"I'm not a fighter, Jack". Jackie snorted. "I probably wouldn't have joined the Kengan Association without your help."
"I think my match is about to start, best not to keep them waiting!" He hadn't heard her.
He turned towards the door. His smile grew slightly more menacing. "I'm going to see what sort of Kung-fu I've yet to learn."
Jackie began to reach out to him, but decided against it. "Just...just don't go overboard, ok? If you can't win-forfeit. There's always next time, and Xespr has already made a profit through betting. And you know, your safety-"
Jack cut her off, turning back to her with a beaming smile.
"What kinda fighter thinks about losing before they've lost? I'm going to show the world how strong Kung-fu is. You can count on me!". He turned around, grabbing the handle of the door. " I promised to help you in any way I can. And a promise is a promise." He opened the door. "And now it's time to keep it."
Qi Ling
"Man, this stuff is great!" Qi Ling downed another glug of what was now his new favorite drink. "This stuff is pretty strong!" He had found a small bar and taken a couple different types of booze. "Man, if I weren't fighting, I'd just spend my time at that bar. Too bad I have to fight, otherwise Crazy Ishia will flay me alive." Something kicked him hard in the calf, and he jumped up with a yelp.
"Who are you calling crazy, you drunken fool?!" His boss was right behind him, and he gulped.
"I didn't mean it, I swear!"
"I should've fired you already." She shook her head, the anger slightly subsiding. "Shouldn't you stay sober for your match?"
Qi Ling shook his head. "I'm good. No point in practicing when all I need is some good booze! I promise I'll win this match. The amount of bets I've placed on myself should cover at least half of the cost of the damages."
"Only half? Why so low? I heard some bets nearly at least 10 times that amount on the opposing fighter."
Qi Ling's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "Damn it! Aw man, it would've been so much easier if I had just placed an absurd amount on this match!"
Ishia nodded, before anger contorted her face.
"Wait a minute, isn't your fight the next one? What the hell are you still doing here?!"
Qi ling's face reflected his panic. "Oh god, you're right! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Before he ran out of the room he took a quick peck to the side of his boss' cheek. "Thanks for reminding me!" He shouted as he hightailed it out of there, time to win this thing for his boss.
Miss Ishia sighed, cradling her arms. "Don't hurt yourself idiot and no more swearing!" As her thoughts went back to Ling, she realized just what he did to her. "You son of-"
Tournament Arena
"Introducing-THE LONELY BRAWLER!"
Qi Ling slowly paced his breathing, and jogged out onto the arena. He spotted his opponent, and walked over to him. The referee started speaking, but Qi Ling couldn't help it. The alcohol was starting to clear from his head, and he had noticed the fighter. He already understood the rules, and while the man was distracted by the referee's talking, he quickly analyzed him. "Whewwwww" he whistled. "Nice threads." The man turned to face him, and Qi Ling could tell his smile was genuine. "Thanks!" He bowed, before reaching out with his right hand. "It's an honor to fight you."
"Uh...thanks?" Qi Ling was a bit put off by his carefreeness, but something made him feel alright. "I've heard about you. You're that one guy that was on TV the other day. I don't think you were right in-"
"Alright, alright, save the chit chat for later." The referee split them apart, and they assumed their stances.
"I've been looking forward to this fight!" Qi Ling wanted to say something, but the referee swung his hand down before he could open his mouth. "BEGIN!"
Before he knew it, Jack had disappeared. "Oh." Qi Ling said softly. "So it's going to be like that, isn't it?"
In a fraction of a second, he dropped and rolled to the side in a chaotic manner, landing on his bum. Just in time too, as Jack's foot slammed down on where he had just been, leaving a small crater in the ground. "Jack looked at Qi ling, and smiled. "Why are you smiling so much?" Qi Ling got back to his feet, and sluggishly resumed position. "Because you're awesome!" Jack resumed his stance as well. "I've never heard of somebody that could use drunken boxing practically on your level!"
"Yeah, but you're MMA." QI Ling bit back his reply. "I'm also MMA.", he thought. He suddenly dashed towards Jack, his forward assault causing Jack to unleash a quick flurry of punches at him. "They're fast!" Qi ling could barely see them. POW!
Qi Ling had gone into a roll, and then quickly redirected his momentum into an upward kick. The impact was heard everywhere, only-
"Damn, you've got some nice reflexes!" Qi Ling was astonished. Jack had parried the kick with a quick elbow. Muay Thai?
"Thanks!" Jack's grin hardened however, as Qi Ling had closed the distance, and threw an incredibly telegraphed punch. "His type is the hardest for me." Jack thought to himself, as the punch quickly turned into a tackle. Jack narrowly dodged it, only for a kick thrown by the off balance Qi ling to tag him in the side. "OOF"
Jack grunted. While the strike was too shallow to have done much damage, Jack was on the backseat now.
"Darn it." Qi Ling audibly said. "You're fast." Jack smiled, the compliment having helped steady his heart rate. "You're good! I can see why people drink alcohol. If it's allowed you to become this strong, then it must be special!"
"What do you mean? You've drunk before, haven't you?" QI Ling got up, the fight having been forgotten. "Don't tell me you've never had a drink before?!"
Jack nodded. "Nope. I've never had one before. Never wanted to."
Boos were starting to sound.
"Get back to fighting!"
"Stop talking like babies and pummel him!"
"If I win," Qi Ling turned towards Jack, "You gotta drink with me."
Jack's face contorted a bit, before he resumed smiling. "Sure."
Suddenly, he dashed towards Qi Ling with a forward right fist, the speed of which was nearly unparalleled. Qi Ling ducked down, grabbing his leg and yanking it-
Jack quickly knee'd him, but Qi Ling quickly dropped to the floor, causing him to lose his balance. "SHAHH!" Jack quickly tried to recover with a downward punch, but he hadn't recovered fast enough. "HUP!"
Qi ling quickly redirected jack's momentum, and slammed him into the ground. CRACK! He looked around Jack's body, only to realize that Jack had managed to stop his fall with his arms. "Tch. this guy's pretty fast! No matter." Qi Ling moved to grab him by the leg, only to his back, narrowly dodging an upward kick, before quickly punching up right behind him. "KACK!" The punch landed squarely on Jack's face, as he had dashed right back at him in order to keep up the pressure, and forced him to reverse momentum and leap back.
There was a small cut on Jack's face now, right next to the scar on his eye. "Dang it. I can't predict his movements! I can't use foresight here either. I think that throw might've cracked my ulna."
"You're really strong, Qi ling." Jack's smile became more menacing. He wiped the blood from the cut. Qi Ling sensed it before he felt it. He quickly brought his arms up, as Jack's straight punch landed before he had time to dodge. "ARGHH!" Qi Ling grunted, the pain from that single punch astonishing him. He dodged the followup, and tried backing up. Jack didn't let him. He began delivering a furious assault of kicks,knees, punches, elbows, and palm thrusts. Qi ling's arm still in pain, he was forced to rely on his dodging. Jack continued to throw out his strikes, but Qi Ling narrowly avoided them with his drunken movements throwing him off. "I knew he did Iron palm training and Muay thai, but this is ridiculous! I have to get this back under my own pace!". Jack's kick sliced through the air, smashing down onto his right arm. "NGHHH!". Jack followed it up with an incredibly fast punch to the face, one with enough power to knock out heavyweights.
The sound of air moving snapped Jack to the fact that Qi ling had jumped at the last second, and quickly latched onto his arm.
"This is it!"
In one drunken but fluid motion, he quickly transferred to a flying arm bar, bringing Jack nearly to the ground.
But he didn't fall. Qi Ling continued to apply more pressure, but Jack slowly struggled to his feat, before rapidly rolling to the floor, which managed to jostle Qi Ling long enough to loosen his grip. Jack quickly threw a punch at him, and he responded by headbutting Jack, before dismounting with a leap.
"Ow! That smarts.'' Jack wiped some of the blood from the new cut on his forehead. "I thought headbutts weren't allowed in MMA?"
"Oh shoot! You're right!" Qi Ling was cautious. He could tell the final exchange was about to begin. Neither fighter was particularly injured, but that's what made the next part all the more dangerous. Neither one would want a long drawn out battle. Once Qi ling's movements eventually got analyzed by him, Jack would be able to use his foresight. Meanwhile, Jack was far from winning. Qi ling's sudden attacks, slippery moves, and antithetical fighting style had led to him slowing down. He needed a solid blow to turn the tide to his favor, but he might not get the chance if he kept taking hits.
"Looks like you owe me that drink." Jack tensed his muscles, ready for the moment both would strike. Then, he sensed it. NOW!
Both fighters dashed at each other. Jack led with a flying knee aimed directly at Qi ling's chin, but Qi ling responded with a low shot, and grasped his arm when he missed. Jack quickly responded with an incredibly fast elbow that Qi ling only just barely dodged, and began unleashing a violent, 8 limbed flash of attacks. QI ling blocked, dodged, and parried, but realized that his movements were slowing down. Jack saw this, and dropped to the ground, sweeping his leg at Qi Ling. "I can dodge-" CRACK!
"NGHHH!" Jack's kick smashed his knees in a single sweeping motion. He backed up, wincing from the pain. "I thought I had enough time to dodge him! Darn." Qi ling smiled, even as the pain in his legs reminded him of the corner he was backed into no. "He nearly took out my legs! What is up with his attacks?!"
Qi ling hunched over, managing to dodge cycling fists aimed right for his head, and charged, reaching out to grab Jack's body. 'If I can grapple with him, he can't escape!"
FWOOSH "I missed?!"
Jack had rapidly dropped to the ground and rolled, narrowly missing Qi ling's hand. He rebounded almost immediately, jumping towards Qi ling with a kick.
He ducked low, as the flying crescent kick soared and nearly collided with his head, and grabbed a hold of Jack's wrist. "I've got-"
Except he didn't. Jack quickly twisted his arm, bringing Qi ling ever closer, and slammed his legs around Qi ling's body, constricting the movement of his arms. Jack smirked, quickly locking his own arms around Qi Ling's. "Grappling Mantis!" Jack pulled down with his weight, and the 2 tumbled onto the ground, the impact jarring Jack but leaving him in a safe position. Qi ling writhed, attempting to escape, and began pushing them across the ground.
"I knew you'd try to go for another grapple. It's not a Kung fu specialty." He squeezed his limbs closer together. The sound of bones straining and grunting was music to his ears. "There's no way to escape from this, Qi Ling. I've won."
CRACK
"I never thought I'd use this in an actual match, but god damn it worked!" Qi Ling had dislocated his arm and delivered a deceptively flimsy-looking punch to Jack's jaw. But his style's focus on off guard attacks worked to his advantage-Jack lost consciousness for a few moments.
Jack's body went limp, and his grip on Qi Ling loosened. Qi Ling wasted no time, realizing this was his only chance. Breaking free of Jack's double arm lock, he quickly transferred into choke hold, and squeezed. Luckily for him though, the fight was already over.
"AND THE WINNER IS QI LING, THE DRUNKEN BRAWLER!
Qi ling got to his feet, his body sore and battered, but he was victorious. He'd won. "I need a drink."
He glanced back at Jack, who was slowly stirring on the ground. "I wonder how strong you'd have been if you drank."
He observed the roaring arena, the crowd seemed to have loved the fight. As he continued to look around, his eyes finally met with his boss Ishia. "Ishia I f#cking did it~!" he shouted. But for some reason the arena screen was blurring out what he was saying. "What the f#*king hell?" he was really confused.
His boss was giggling a little bit in the stands. "I knew it was a smart move to ask for a censor in advance. You may win a lot of fights Ling, but you'll never beat me."
Epilogue:
Jackie stood in front of Jack in the infirmary. He had taken minimal damage throughout the fight, but he had seemed despondent ever since he had recovered consciousness. She sighed, not sure what to say. He had done well, and the fight could've gone either way, but would he be able to recover from this defeat?
"You know, ever since we started this company, I worried what would happen to you. You always push yourself to win, and I can't help but feel responsible for this. You should be proud of how well you did-this is the top stage of the Kengan association." Jackie was about to keep talking, but then she noticed the grin beginning to grow on Jack's face.
"He was strong."
Jackie's eyebrows mirrored her confusion.
"I promised, every time I've ever lost. From that bully from over 2 decades ago, and my first public outing, that I would not stop in my quest. Kung Fu has been treated as a joke for so long, and I couldn't let it be dragged through the mud forever." He looked up. "This loss only opened my eyes to how strong Kung-fu really can be! Despite my speed, despite my reflexes, despite my striking power and mastery of multiple styles-I still lost. Qi ling's Kung Fu is amazing! And while it does sting, having lost, thinking about the fight only makes me want to get stronger!"
He glanced at his clenched fist, before standing up.
"Wow." Jackie was quite stunned. She had seen him beaten before. His face had been exactly the same as when he had been crushed all those years ago. She couldn't believe how well he was handling it. "I thought you would've been crushed like the last time you lost. You had me worried."
Jack cringed. "I was just thinking about having to try alcohol now. I promised Qi Ling that I would try a drink with him after the match." He got up, and began walking towards the door. "A promise is a promise!" He gestured to her. "You wanna come too?"
Jackie's heart skipped a beat. "I would but-" She scowled at him. "Thanks to the amount of training dummies you've broken, we now have to design a new prototype. Stop breaking them!"
"Hahaha sorry-"He dashed out the room before she could chew him out anymore. She sighed, picking up her phone. "Still cheeky as ever."