Chapter 351: Wrong way of posturing
The Braveheart Martial Arts Tournament officially began at nine in the morning. There were about five hundred Bravehearts from various races participating in the tournament. The Braveheart Martial Arts Tournament lasted for two days; therefore the system could not be one that had continuous stops in between, or else it would take too long.
The highlights of the tournament were the qualifying match in the afternoon and the challenge against the defending champion the next day.
Therefore, the morning competition could be said to be unusually cruel. About five hundred people were split into thirty-two groups, with each ground having approximately ten people. They fought in a free-for-all, with two people from each group qualifying, resulting in sixty-four people.
As for the sixty-four people that qualified, they would duel each other in pairs, with the final victor being able to obtain the eligibility to challenge the defending champion, King Leonis.
Hence, it was a long day for the participating Bravehearts. To be able to win the right to challenge the champion, they needed to win the ten-person battle royale, as well as the 64 to 32, 32 to 16, 16 to 8, 8 to 4, 4 to 2, 2 to 1, a total of seven matches.
With the battles in the tournament so packed, the outcomes of the matches were decided rather simply. It was made in order to prevent the participants from expending too much of their stamina due to anxiety, which would affect their next match.
Other than the final battle between two Bravehearts to determine the final challenger, with rules requiring the opponent to lose all ability to carry on fighting, the other matches had a rule that deemed having all four limbs touch the ground or falling out of the arena as defeat.
The host of the tournament fluently described the rules once before announcing the beginning of the tournament.
The participants had already drawn lots and split into groups. The first group with nine participants was first to take the stage.
The arena for the free-for-all was very expansive, about the size of ten soccer fields. The nine participants were dispersed on each corner of the arena.
The free-for-all could only have two contestants left standing; therefore, other than using overwhelming strength to crush the other contestants, playing safe was another method to persist on till they were one of the remaining two.
If one did not have the absolute confidence, no one wanted to be the focus of a free-for-all.
…
When Shi Xiaobai left the Transcendence Holy Tree, the fragrance that permeated the air had nearly dissipated.
As for the power that the fruit had given him, it was constantly being converted by him, like a steady stream of spring water.
Shi Xiaobai felt his body turn warm, as though he had drunk a mouthful of hard liquor. His muscles were filled with energy and his blood was boiling, but not burning. It was as though his blood vessels were undergoing a transformation.
Shi Xiaobai was overjoyed that his body was evolving and transforming.
After he left the holy tree, he quickly headed to the tournament’s venue.
At this moment, the seats were packed with people, but thankfully there were a few empty spots. Shi Xiaobai randomly found a spot to sit down, but his surroundings were all green-skinned dwarves or strange people from other races.
Of course, in the eyes of the other races, Shi Xiaobai as a human was the true freak of nature. This was because they had never seen or even heard of such a race in their impressions or memory.
Shi Xiaobai ignored the probing eyes of the others. He watched the intense battle in the arena while he experienced his body’s absorption of the energy.
When Shi Xiaobai came to the arena, the tightly-packed free-for-all battles had already begun. It was unknown which group it was, but Shi Xiaobai immediately lost interest in it when he noticed that Pulp Farmer and company or the eight Transcendent Bravehearts were not participating in this round. He focused on experiencing the growth of his strength.
This form of focus could also speed up the absorption to a certain extent.
Time quickly passed as there was no stalemate that lasted very long in the free-for-all. After all, having four limbs touch the ground or falling out of the arena resulted in elimination. Therefore, there were only two participants left after about five minutes.
After this free-for-all ended, the next round of contestants was already ready along the sidelines. Thirty-six free-for-all rounds had to be completed in the morning, therefore time was rather tight.
Shi Xiaobai found it rather boring, but the audience was enthusiastic. Although the scrimmage was not gory or even considered violent, as long as the confrontation during a scrimmage was complicated enough, be it the overwhelming might or psychological intrigue, the brainless spectators would find it awesome despite not understanding a thing.
At this moment, Shi Xiaobai’s eyes lit up slightly. He noticed that Pulp Farmer and Liu Yu were in the next group of participants!
The two human trial-takers had been chosen to be in the same group!
Thankfully, there were two spots for each group, preventing the need for the two to engage in an internecine struggle. They could even cooperate.
Before the battle began, Shi Xiaobai heard an unbridled discussion.
“Look, what race is that? They look so weird. Have you seen it before?”
“I’ve never seen it before, but I heard that they are called ‘humans’. Previously, there was some conflict with the gate watcher gargantuan when they entered the city. Apparently the gargantuan felt that humans were a race even lowlier than ants, so they were barred from entry.”
“So that’s the case. No wonder they look so frail and weak. How were they chosen to be Bravehearts?”
“Who knows, but it doesn’t matter. Such weaklings would not even last a single round, so they are nothing of concern. Sigh, this group doesn’t have any of the eight Transcendent Bravehearts. I’m so looking forward to Lord Moya’s appearance!”
“…”
Two green-skinned dwarves behind Shi Xiaobai discussed without considering their words. The contempt in their words caused Shi Xiaobai to frown slightly.
Shi Xiaobai was somewhat angry, but he did not speak, nor did he turn his head.
Engaging in a war of words did not lend credence to the matter. Using facts to smack someone in the face was most practical. Shi Xiaobai believed in Pulp Farmer and Liu Yu’s strength. None of the eight Transcendent Bravehearts were in this group, so they were likely able to quickly end the match. When that happened, the two green-skinned dwarves would know to shut their mouths.
…
The free-for-all began.
Just as Shi Xiaobai expected, without the eight Transcendent Bravehearts in the group, the Bravehearts from other races did not apply any pressure on Pulp Farmer and Liu Yu.
However, the quick end to the battle rendered Shi Xiaobai speechless, because it ended too quickly.
At the instant the free-for-all began, Pulp Farmer thrust out his spear, and with his domineering strength, he pushed down five participants in front of him. With a wave of Liu Yu’s whisk, the remaining three participants were pushed out of the arena by an unknown force.
Immediately, only Pulp Farmer and Liu Yu were left standing in the arena. Pent-up anger had welled in the two of them; therefore, they used a domineering strength immediately.
The free-for-all lasted only a few seconds before it ended.
The scene should have been shocking, but the ordinary Transcendent civilians did not understand what had happened.
“What happened?”
“Why did all the participants except the humans fall down by themselves or fly out of the arena? Was this match fixed?”
“Despicable. They probably bribed the participants. It seems that the humans are very rich.”
“…”
Shi Xiaobai felt somewhat helpless hearing these ignorant conversations. Sometimes, posturing too much would end up being overdone. It required the audience to understand what sort of posturing you were doing.
Shi Xiaobai sighed, but he was not too anxious either. The tournament still had a long way ahead. With the opponents overly weak, there was no way to reflect the might of Pulp Farmer and Liu Yu.
When they battled with the eight Transcendent Bravehearts, these snobbish idiots who looked down on humans would realize how ignorant they were.
Maybe the heavens had heard the inner voice in Shi Xiaobai’s heart.
In the next free-for-all, Shi Xiaobai was surprised to see Feng Yuanlin as well as the second strongest Transcendent, Moya!