The Preliminaries Begin

Murong Qing's decision to enter the tournament did not surprise Si Ming in the least. She had the strength for it and aspired to become a great hero; it would have been strange if she had not come to join the fun. But the appearance of another acquaintance genuinely caught him off guard.

"Zhong Lingxiu? Why did she sign up too? Won't she be seventeen after the New Year?"

Si Ming pondered it for a while and realized he had miscalculated. The official age limit of sixteen referred to completed years, and as long as Zhong Lingxiu had not been born in January, she would not exceed it.

Just as Si Ming was wondering whether to go over and say hello, a flash of reflected light struck him. He hurriedly raised a hand to his forehead and squinted, spotting a great bald head emerging from the crowd.

"That's strange. Does Su State have a Buddhist School too?"

"Not a Buddhist School. Buddhism," Yao Bilian corrected him from beside him.

Si Ming froze for a moment, then understood. There was indeed no Buddhist School among the Hundred Schools of Thought.

In his previous life, only three traditions remained in Huaxia: Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. There was both a Daoist School and Daoism, Buddhism but no Buddhist School, and a Confucian School but no Confucian religion.

Buddhism was a religious faith, not the same sort of thing as the teachings and ideas of the Hundred Schools.

"I didn't expect the Baldhead Religion to join the fun too. They're just like locusts—you see them everywhere. They roam the whole world with their thick skins, making a show of their presence without a shred of shame."

Yao Bilian's tone was less than friendly toward Buddhism.

In fact, she was not alone. The Hundred Schools of Thought generally looked down on Buddhism—or rather, on religion.

In the eyes of the Hundred Schools, religions were tricks for deceiving foolish men and women. Only people without convictions and with weak wills would think to lean on gods for spiritual support. Those with true convictions made the practice of their own ideals their life's work and strove without rest. Where would they find the time to worship demons, gods, or ghosts?

Although the Daoist School had produced Daoism and the Mohist School had produced the Mohist Religion, neither had any intention of putting effort into expanding its following. Both essentially took the attitude, "Believe it or don't, as you please."

In their view, the essence of religion could be summed up in two sentences: first, "I'm fucking amazing, so come believe in me"; second, "Bless those who believe in me, and curse those who don't."

Compared with other religions, Buddhism had no "curse" in that second sentence and took a relatively open-minded attitude. Thus, in the eyes of the Hundred Schools, it was just a tiny bit more advanced.

If religions were all beggars, then Buddhism was the clean-clothes faction among them. It was still a beggar, but at least it looked clean.

In Western countries on Earth, people without religious beliefs faced discrimination because the public equated having no religion with having no convictions and believed such people had no sense of reverence.

In the Sea Continent World, people who believed in no school of thought faced discrimination because everyone considered them aimless and mediocre, ignorant of what they ought to do and lacking even basic convictions. Their lives were no different from not living at all. Toward religion, by contrast, people were indifferent.

If a true communist came to the Sea Continent, he would presumably be like a fish in water and could establish a Marxist or Engelsian school of thought. After all, the public did not insist that a person choose one of the existing Hundred Schools as their creed. If you had a coherent program that could be used to govern a country, it could likewise gain recognition.

The teachings of the Hundred Schools gave people clear goals, showing them what they should do and how to realize their value in life. They imparted knowledge and ideas, and each was itself a path that could be tested through practice.

Religion was different. It used threats to force others into obedience, such as talk of going to hell after death or being reincarnated as a pig or dog in the next life. In any case, it was all impossible to verify.

Consequently, the followers of the Hundred Schools felt a natural superiority over religious believers. Their general attitude was, "You say the world was created by your god? Then have your god come out and create a world for me to see. If he can do it, I'll admit you've got real ability. If he can't, stop spouting bullshit."

In short, on the Sea Continent, believing in no school of thought and choosing to follow a religion instead was a thoroughly low-class thing to do, putting one on the same level as the savages of the wildlands.

Moreover, Buddhism in this world had developed only a little beyond its original teachings and was still at the stage of absorbing the essence of various schools for its own use. Chan Buddhism, which advocated illuminating the mind and seeing one's true nature while reviling the Buddha and denouncing the patriarchs, might have earned a little more respect from the Hundred Schools, since it at least offered a path for self-improvement. Buddhism as it stood, however, was truly not fit to be brought to the table.

Even so, Si Ming would not underestimate them on that account. At the very least, one look at that bald man showed that his vigor and vitality were abundant. Though not tall, he was compact and formidable. His skin in particular shone with an oily, metallic luster, clearly showing that he had trained his hard Qi techniques to a certain level.

"They're disliked, but they can still keep going and haven't been wiped out. That proves they have genuine abilities. They can't be underestimated."

Chapter 52: The Preliminaries Begin

Although Si Ming had signed up on the seventh day of the New Year, he waited until the second week after school started before receiving notice of the first knockout round.

There were simply too many entrants. The ability test could perhaps be used to make a rough initial cut, but the qualifiers had to be fought one match at a time. Even with the most efficient arena-match format, it took a long time.

Moreover, unless there was a huge disparity between two martial artists, even the winner of a fight could not avoid injury. Although preserving oneself was also a test of a person's martial wisdom, the organizers naturally hoped to present the most exciting matches possible, rather than sending a crowd of injured fighters onstage unable to display their true strength. Therefore, each contestant's matches in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament were not scheduled back-to-back, with a day often left between them.

That stretched the schedule out even further. According to the organizers' plan, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament would run for a month. The first half was meant to select the contestants with genuine strength, while the truly exciting battles would come in the second half.

Martial arts competitions were generally like this. Early matches often drew no spectators: either two weaklings pecked at each other, or a huge disparity brought the fight to an instant end. Only in the later stages did the matches become worth watching, and the stands gradually filled to overflowing.

After school, Si Ming took the bus to the venue with Murong Qing. Since most participants in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament were students, the organizers had deliberately scheduled the matches for weekends and weekday evenings.

"I wonder what sort of opponent I'll meet tonight?"

On the bus, Murong Qing no longer suppressed her excitement and spoke full of anticipation.

"We'll know after the draw. Besides, it might not be our turn to fight tonight. A hundred and twenty people made it into the knockout stage, which means there are sixty matches in the first round. There's no way they can finish them all in one evening." Si Ming, on the other hand, took a relatively relaxed attitude. "Really, no matter what kind of opponent you meet, just do your best."

Murong Qing glanced at him and said thoughtfully, "That's not the mindset a martial artist should have. If you go into the arena thinking like that, you'll suffer for it."

"Oh? How so?"

"Fighting in an arena isn't the same as everyday sparring. When I took part in the Tange City Martial Arts League, my school coach told me that at our age, the gaps in strength between us wouldn't be too great. So the will to win becomes the most important factor in deciding victory or defeat. In particular, as the competition goes on, mental and physical fatigue keep building under the pressure. If you don't have a desire for victory, you'll lose the drive to compete. When the time comes, you won't be able to display even half your strength on the battlefield."

"Desire for victory..." Si Ming remembered the note his master had left him and smiled. "Of course I want to win the championship too. Otherwise, I'll be punished. As for the pressure of a match, have you forgotten? I've fought a monster like that. Even the fear of death couldn't frighten me, let alone a mere arena match."

Murong Qing shook her head. "Saying that proves you still don't understand. When you fight a demonic beast, if you don't kill it, it'll kill you, so you have to fight for your life. But in the arena, nobody is trying to kill you. Even if you lose, your life won't be in danger. Under those circumstances, will you really have the drive to risk your life for victory?"

Hearing this, Si Ming put away his careless expression and began to consider the question seriously.

But before he could arrive at an answer, the bus reached their destination. Murong Qing gave him one final reminder. "In any case, don't be careless. I took first place in the city's junior high martial arts league, but there are seven or eight cities in a commandery. That means there are at least seven or eight contestants on my level, and that's not counting experts from outside Binhai Commandery. If you're too careless, you might not even make it through the first round."

"I'll remember that."

Si Ming was not one to be ungrateful. Hearing that she was concerned for him, he took a deep breath and got off the bus with a serious attitude.

After their identities were verified, the two went to the contestants' waiting room, where they met Zhong Lingxiu and Ying Zhou, who had arrived earlier. Both had made it through the qualifiers.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the organizer of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament appeared. He was an elder of the Yuezheng Lineage. Following a very short opening speech, he began explaining the rules of the knockout stage—the audience consisted entirely of hot-blooded martial artists, and no one dared test their patience with a long-winded address.

Each knockout round was decided in a single match, with no repechage. Losers were eliminated immediately. Lots would be drawn once per round, and there would be seven rounds in total. Since there were 120 contestants, some would receive byes; it was all down to luck.

For the sake of efficiency, the qualifiers had used traditional arenas, which had no obstacles and were very small. Thus, once two martial artists entered the arena, they had to clash head-on, at most using movement techniques to change position. Lightness techniques, for example, had no room to be used.