Formidable Foes in the Preliminary Round

Nie Wanzhi immediately replied, "I know, it's about defeating the opponent."

"Wrong, it was a crushing victory!"

Ignoring the hostile stares from passing contestants, Si Ming said in an emotionally charged tone, "If we have to struggle to win even the qualifying rounds, what's the point of talking about revenge? We can go home now! Remember, even if it's just to verify the results of your special training, you must crush these rotten tomatoes and eggs."

Nie Wanzhi straightened her posture, raised her head and said, "I understand, Master!"

Ke Chajing couldn't help but say, "You two are classmates, right? How did you become master and disciple? Speaking of which, I've been wondering about this for a long time. Junior Sister Nie, aren't you being a little too reserved with Si Ming? You've never been so respectful to me, your senior sister."

Recalling what she had witnessed that night, Nie Wanzhi said with deep emotion, "You'll soon find out why."

Chapter 448 Strong Opponents in the Preliminary Round

Su State does not have a university Martial Dao League, only a youth league. The requirements for participation are a team of at least seven and a maximum of ten people, and the members must be no older than 24 years old. In other words, the system of repeating grades is not allowed, and it does not care whether you are a university student or not.

The competition is divided into three stages. The first stage is the qualifying round, which has almost no entry requirements. Anyone who meets the criteria can register. In addition to college students, local martial arts schools often organize their students to participate. If they can achieve a good result, they can enhance the reputation of the martial arts school and attract more people to train there. The qualifying round uses an elimination system throughout, and the last eight teams advance. Therefore, luck is also very important.

The second stage is the selection competition, in which sixteen teams from the city compete in an elimination tournament. The eight teams that advance from the first round will be guaranteed a spot in the next round, meaning they will start directly from the selection competition next year without having to participate in the qualifying rounds. The eight eliminated teams will have to start all over again. The teams that successfully advance to the final four will compete in a points-based tournament, and the two teams with the highest points will qualify for the final (different cities have different quotas, most only one, but Linked Mountains City has many universities and strong teams, so it has two).

The third stage is the national competition, where strong teams from all over the country will battle it out until a champion is determined. However, considering the course schedules of university students, the national competition will be held in the first half of next year, that is, the next semester.

Si Ming and his group hadn't considered such distant goals yet. After all, their team didn't have a single gorilla constantly shouting about dominating the nation. Their goals were varied and hardly anything particularly passionate: "Make that bastard Chu suffer," "I'm a cheat code, I don't need to say a word," "Increase my fame, earn more money to pay off my debts," "Win the championship and show off in front of the whole city," "Friends invited me to help," "Steal the spotlight and attract girls' attention," and "I can't control my right hand, ahhh!"

In comparison, Si Ming's goal is much more ambitious. Although it is only for showing off, he at least intends to win the championship. Next is Ke Chajing. Considering that Linked Mountains University Martial Arts Club has been the city's champion for many years, it means that if he wants to embarrass Chu Gengyin, he must defeat the Martial Arts Club and take the top spot.

After a long wait, Ke Chajing, as the team representative, went to draw lots, and returned looking rather grim.

Who are your opponents in the first round? Did you receive a bye?

Hu Jixian seemed completely oblivious to Ke Chajing's expression and asked a very silly question.

Ke Chajing glared at him and replied, "It's Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School."

Hao Shuai exclaimed in surprise, "It's them! We're doomed, it looks like we're going to be eliminated in the first round... Since we're going to lose anyway, I might as well get a chance to play, at least I'll have made a splash."

"Judging from your tone, is this martial arts school very strong?"

"They're not just strong, they're off the charts!" Hao Shuai exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "They've always been strong contenders for a spot in the national competition, at least a top-four contender. They're practically our school's old rivals."

Si Ming glanced at the tournament introduction and asked in confusion, "That's not right. Since they are a top-four team, they should be seeded and participate directly in the qualifiers. Why do they have to compete in the qualifying rounds?"

Hao Shuai said, "That's because in the first round of last year's selection competition, they encountered a dark horse, Glacier Martial Arts School. Glacier Martial Arts School was originally a team that was eliminated in the first round of the selection competition, considered a weak team. Unexpectedly, three experts suddenly joined last year, greatly increasing their strength. Moreover, they outmaneuvered Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School in their team formation, using their weakest player against Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School's strongest disciple, and ultimately won 3 to 2, eliminating Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School."

Hu Jixian added, "By the way, Glacier Martial Arts School qualified for the national competition last year, so it's not that Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School is weak, but rather that they had terrible luck."

Si Ming nodded and agreed, "Then they really had bad luck."

Hao Shuai was stunned and said, "Is that all you can do?"

Si Ming turned to his teammates and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Nie Wanzhi clenched her fist and palm, her fighting spirit high, and said, "Only an opponent like this is qualified to verify the results of my special training these past few days."

Murong Qing said, "Regardless of whether our opponents are strong or weak, we must treat them all equally. Since we've come to participate in the competition, we must give it our all. That's the spirit a martial artist should have."

Chen Shimi snorted and said, "A foolish question. Only a powerful enemy deserves to be a medal on my chest. Their defeat was destined the moment the draw ended, like a stone thrown into the river of fate. Their fate is not up to them!"

Liu Qingqing said, "Since we're already here, let's give it our all, even if it's just a regular effort."

Ke Chajing laughed heartily upon hearing this, exclaiming with great pride, "Well said! So what if it's Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School? Our goal is to crush the school's martial arts team! If we can't even beat the top four, how can we challenge for the championship? Our first battle will be our claim to fame!"

"Ta-da! Hello everyone, welcome to 'Explosive Little Fists,' I'm your host Lulu."

A petite woman with short hair tied in a bow made a playful pose, holding a peace sign across her forehead and facing the camera.

"Hello everyone, I'm your new partner, Mantou."

Standing next to the petite woman was a slightly overweight, tall, and kind-looking young man. Compared to the female host, who was wearing a casual pink dress, he was wearing a very formal stand-up collar shirt.

"Is this Mantou's first time on a TV show? She seems a little nervous." Lulu tilted her head, showing a concerned expression.

"Uh, yes, it was probably influenced by the atmosphere at the scene, that feeling of impending doom." Mantou's expression was still very stiff.

"Hehe, relax, our program isn't that serious."

Lulu tiptoed and patted Mantou's shoulder, a cute gesture that brought smiles to the faces of passersby and viewers watching the live broadcast on television.

"Alright, let's get down to business. As everyone watching on TV probably knows, today is the first day of the Linked Mountains Qualifying Tournament of the National Youth Martial Dao League. As you can see, there are so many people here, it's just legs everywhere, and I almost got lost Lulu the crowd."

Lulu stuck out her tongue and continued, "Some people might say, 'What's so interesting about the qualifying rounds? It's all just fancy footwork. Some teams are just a bunch of martial arts enthusiasts put together as a ragtag group. Watching them fight is less appealing than me fighting myself.' But Lulu wants to say that martial arts isn't Spring Snow; it's for Songs of the Rustic Folk. There's no such thing as being qualified. What matters isn't winning or losing, but the spirit of striving for improvement. As long as you participate, you're contributing to the promotion of martial arts."

Mantou nodded solemnly and said, "Sister Lulu is absolutely right. The important thing is to participate. Don't worry too much about winning or losing. This is an era where everyone practices martial arts. The era when Aristocratic Clan and sects monopolized martial arts manuals is gone forever!"

"Mantou, your tone is too serious! What if people misunderstand and think we're doing a legal program?" Lulu patted Mantou's lower back to smooth things over, then smiled at the camera and said, "Actually, today's competition isn't without its highlights! I just got the draw results, and guess what? Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School is in the first round!"

Mantou chimed in, "That's right, it's Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School, which has repeatedly won second place in Linked Mountains City. They're practically a regular in the national competition. Last year, they suffered an unexpected upset, losing to the dark Glacier Martial Arts School in the first round of the qualifiers. As a result, they have to start from the qualifying rounds this year. I believe that after experiencing a setback, they will definitely become stronger than last year. What kind of results will they achieve? Let's wait and see."

Lulu immediately waved at the camera, excitedly saying, "Ta-da! I have some great news for everyone! Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School has agreed to be interviewed by our program team. Let's guess what their goals are this year? And what changes will there be in the members compared to last year? Come on, let's follow the camera to the next scene!"

The director immediately switched the camera, turning the television screen onto the members of Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School.

Just as Mantou was about to go over for the interview according to the script, someone grabbed his collar and forced him to lower his head. What came into view was the female host's face full of disgust.

"What's wrong with you? Ugh! You're always dragging me down. Do you even know how to host a show? Your expression is as stiff as a dead person's, you stutter, and you even mispronounced a word! It's 'The storm is brewing, the wind fills the tower'! Not 'The wind fills the house'! Did your Chinese teacher teach you martial arts? Introducing Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School is fine, but why bring up their loss to Glacier Martial Arts School? You're just asking for trouble! Do you believe that the day after the show airs, Rivers and Mountains Martial Arts School disciples will come and block our TV station? You'll have to deal with them then!"

Mantou never expected that the host, who had previously smiled sweetly like a girl next door, would turn into a ferocious and Vicious Qi figure, looking like a mafia boss. She was so scared that she trembled with fear.