Chapter 369: The Top Sixteen List
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Michaux didn't seem wanting to attack either. There were many ways of fighting a battle with sound waves, and both Michaux and Qin Yue had decided not to go with a physical method.
Qin Yue was a quiet and elegant-looking girl. She slowly plugged the harp and made a few notes. The attack of the soul-devouring harp was pervasive; the victim wouldn't even realize he or she was under attack.
Michaux stood quietly and listened attentively, as if he were enjoying the music. The music was indeed soul touching; slowly, Michaux could feel that he was getting younger, and in a few seconds, he had to become a kid that he used to be. In front of Michaux stood a haughty figure. The man patted Michaux's head and asked, "Child, would you like to be the new divine master?"
Michaux nodded, and then, just like that, he had become the young divine master; it was as simple as that.
Since then, he had learned that this man's name was Divine Path, and he had followed him so closely that Divine Path had become all that he cared for in his life.
"But, who exactly are you?"
"What do I want?"
"Why do I follow you?"
One question bade another, and Michaux could answer none of them. To follow the Divine Path, he had forsaken kinship and friendship, and forgot about love and hate. Even after he had finally grasped the Divine Path, then what? The answer was simple: emptiness…boundless emptiness.
Michaux was not alone in his feeling, as Qin Yue's music had driven the emotions of all audiences up and down.
Qin Yue was not here to fight but to return a favor to the Divine Sect for her master. The former divine master had enlightened Qin Lanyue, and the enlightenment had helped her make the breakthrough in her cultivation. Although Odin was a genius in cultivation, he knew practically nothing about living a normal life. Qin Lanyue reckoned that his nativity in real life would ultimately hinder his cultivation, and therefore she had sent Qin Yue to enlighten him.
Michaux Odin felt lost in his blind pursuit of the Divine Path, and he also felt something more primal pushing him from the inside. Michaux had kept a celibate life voluntarily, since the Sect had never banned the cardinal knowledge. Right then, Michaux felt the burning of an unnamed desire for the first time while looking at the beautiful girl in front of him.
The harp also drew all the audiences deeper into their memories, memories filled with grievance, craze, and bliss.
Unlike the thunder drum, the soul-devouring harp's attack was much more personal, as it was tied directly to one's memories, the building blocks of the soul.
If the instrument practice could be counted as one type of cultivation, the music would be the tactics. When the instrumentalist finally reached the deepest layer of his or her soul using music, it was considered the equivalent of a cultivator having reached the Divine Path.
Michaux's face changed through a series of expressions, and perhaps it was the first time he had ever felt so many feelings and emotions bundled all together, toiling inside him.
After a while, Michaux slowly opened his eyes, and the music stopped as well.
"Much appreciated! " Michaux's voice held the edge of a calm that threatened to explode. No one knew what the music had done to the young master.
Qin Yue put away the harp and bowed. "You are more than welcome. My master wanted me to tell you that be prepared for the path you have embarked, for it is a lonely one. "
Michaux cracked a smile and replied, "At least I have loneliness accompanying me."
Qin Yue was slightly shocked by the answer she got. She hesitated for half a second and then turned to the referee. "I concede my defeat."
If one understood the two's fight, they would perfectly understand the outcome. Otherwise, the fight and the result would be outright preposterous. Although many people came to the tournament to seek glory, not everyone was here with that same goal.
"The winner is —Michaux Odin!"
In the third section, Li Ruoer used "Rosy" and defeated Lei Long, while in the fourth section, Lie Jian sent Mo Xie home with only one single punch.
In the seventh section, Li Xin, the thunder blade, had defeated a strong opponent, Youla.
In the eighth section, Zhang Buyu took the victory with ease.
The outcomes of the fights suggested that the Magnificent Five still dominated the landscape of METAL combat.
There were, however, a few non-great house fighters remaining in the fight. Based on his insane attack power, Ye Kai had defeated a member of the House of Zhang, Zhang Fan. Wang Ben, on the other hand, had also risen to power and finished off many powerful foes, such as Tevez, a mastery cultivator from the Dark Moon.
Turbolix, the heir of the Wind Cloud Kick, had defeated a house member of the Ma. This was not much of surprise, since the Wind Cloud Kick was already a renowned technique in the Confederation.
Gradisca, the heir of the Ninjutsu Mastery, had defeated Victor.
There had been a couple of dark horses this year as well. One of the dark horses was Zader from the Andromeda Galaxy, and the other was Wang Tong, who had defeated the Kaedeian, Athena.
However, everyone was convinced that the two dark horses would soon end their journey in the Tournament, because Zader's next opponent was Patroclus, while Wang tong was going to fight Li Ruoer.
Soon, the top sixteen list was published.
Patroclus vs. Zader
Li Shiming vs. Gradisca
Li Ruoer vs. Wang Tong
Lie Jian vs. Wang Ben
Michaux Odin vs. Ye Kai
Heidi vs. Trubolix
Li Xin vs. Wu Ma
Zhang Buyu vs. Allen
By then, the tournament finally had arrived at the most exciting phase.
Wang Tong's success in making his way into the top sixteen had been a huge accomplishment for Ayrlarng. He had quickly gained a large popularity among the masses, since they felt he was more approachable than members of the great houses. Everyone hoped that Wang tong could continue his winning streak.
Wang Tong's biggest fan was the owner of the Dream Cafe near Ayrlarng's campus. Despite the boom of his business, thanks to his connection with Wang Tong, the owner had always reserved the terminal number five for his lucky charm.
Wang Tong and Zader had become the only two fighters who did not have a prominent background. Compared to Wang Tong, there was even lesser information available about Zader due to his far-away homeland.
After looking at the final sixteen list, Hu Yangxuan lamented about the intensity of competition that was going to be there.
The final sixteen matches started without given the fighters any time for a rest after their recent fights. The first match was between Patroclus and Zader, the perfect human versus the mysterious fighter from the land far away.
The huge arena was already packed with audience, including the rows that were reserved for combatants. It would be a precious opportunity for many fighters to watch a fight between two of the most powerful fighters in the world so closely. The famous audiences included the Li brother-sister pair, Lie Jian, and Michaux. Wang Tong was also sitting among these renowned fighters.
Patroclus walked to the stage. Like all of his previous fights, he didn't bring his lance with him.
Zader looked rather pedestrian; medium height, medium built, prudent and calm. Zader's weapon was a short pike, which was about a meter in length.
The match started with a tsunami of cheers. Zader attacked first, as he lunged the short pike towards Patroclus with an incredible speed. His Zerg-like movement looked very much like that of Cao Yi.
Patroclus waited until the pike was only an inch away from him, then swept his hand and diverted the attack effortlessly. Meanwhile, he took a step closer to his attacker and punched with the other hand.
The punch hit square and forced Zader stumbling meters back until he lost his balance and fell to the ground.