Straight to the Quarterfinals?

As the saying went, a person's name cast a shadow, just as a tree did.

Though they hadn't even started fighting, Shen Zhou merely had to stand there to make the people from Splendid Martial Hall feel an indescribable pressure.

Du Shuisheng said nothing. She simply nodded, then motioned for her junior brothers to move aside and clear a space for the battle.

Once they were in position, she clasped her hands in a fist-and-palm salute and said earnestly, "Please give me your guidance!"

Shen Zhou reached behind himself and drew his greatsword, then strode toward the arena.

At that moment, Dongfang Pangpang stepped forward and whispered, "Hey, Shen Zhou, she's a girl. You don't need to use your sword, right? At least don't draw it so quickly."

Dongfang Pangpang raised his eyebrows at Shen Zhou, wearing an expression that said, "You know what I mean."

"Who knew this fatty had a tender side?"

Shen Zhou looked at him in surprise, then thought for a moment before replying, "Then I'll... give her three moves?"

Who would have thought Du Shuisheng heard him? Unwilling to be outdone by any man, she said, "There's no need. Give it everything you've got. I want to see just how big the gap is between me, Du Shuisheng, and the 'Invincible Below the Transformation Yuan Realm.'"

"Invincible Below the Transformation Yuan Realm"?

Shen Zhou disdained the title.

I was obviously invincible under heaven, okay?

Seeing that his opponent was a martial arts fanatic, Shen Zhou decided not to hold back. He carried his sword onto the arena and said, "Fine. To show you my respect, I won't hold back. Be careful."

Du Shuisheng nodded, her expression solemn.

She still hadn't realized how serious things were about to get.

The match began!

The instant they moved, Du Shuisheng's eyes narrowed. Her twin blades leapt from their sheaths, like a tiger baring its fangs, revealing their sharpness in an instant.

She then gripped her blades in reverse. Her figure darted forward like a swallow's shadow, her feet moving in the sinuous steps of a snake as she launched a swift assault.

As the saying went, the one who struck first gained the advantage; the one who struck last suffered.

Du Shuisheng wanted to catch her opponent off guard and seize the initiative.

Had any other martial artist been there, they would surely have applauded Du Shuisheng's sequence of moves. It was a textbook example of a weaker fighter facing a stronger one, flawless in every way.

But she had barely taken two steps in her charge, and hadn't even swung her twin blades, when she looked up and saw a greatsword crashing down toward her like a mountain.

Du Shuisheng's expression tightened. "What? My opponent's even faster than me?"

With no time to think, Du Shuisheng crossed her twin blades above her head. She wanted to withstand the blow, then look for a chance to strike back.

But the next moment...

With a loud bang, Du Shuisheng's mind went blank. She flew backward like a kite with its strings cut.

In an instant, everyone from Splendid Martial Hall froze.

W-what? That's it? It's over already?

Only then did everyone come to their senses. They hurriedly rushed forward and caught Du Shuisheng.

Fortunately, Shen Zhou had held back a little at the last moment, so Du Shuisheng wasn't too badly hurt. Her qi and blood were merely in some disarray, and her face had gone pale from the shock.

As for Shen Zhou, he had already sheathed his sword and stepped back to his original spot. His movements were carefree and crisp, as though nothing had happened.

Dongfang Pangpang saw this and covered his forehead with a hand, sighing. "There's no saving this guy..."

San Mazi clenched his back teeth and sucked in one breath after another, lamenting that Boss Zhou was far too "dense."

Even if he wasn't going to hold back, there was no need to hit her that hard.

Wasn't he afraid he'd traumatize the girl?

Everyone in the martial hall looked at Shen Zhou as if he were a monster.

Du Shuisheng had come to her senses too. She bit her lip, unable to believe what had happened.

Defeated in one sword strike!

Was this the meaning of "Invincible Below the Transformation Yuan Realm"?

"I'll concede the match!"

Shen Zhou finally spoke. After saying this, he turned around, took down the other martial hall's signboard, and left without another word, leading San Mazi and Dongfang Pangpang away.

His whole series of actions left Du Shuisheng, who had wanted to thank him, unable even to open her mouth in time.

In the end, watching the three of them walk away, Du Shuisheng felt conflicted. She could only sigh. "With his strength, I'm afraid this year's champion is all but certain to be his!"

The people from Splendid Martial Hall fell silent.

So what if he was champion?

He'd still never find himself a wife!

After leaving Splendid Martial Hall, Shen Zhou immediately hurried off to challenge the next martial hall.

The process was the same every time: they arrived, signed up, listened to the other side ramble on about how they "wouldn't let him get away with this," and then the fight began.

Shen Zhou treated everyone equally. He beat each opponent away with a single sword strike, sent them off, then continued to the next martial hall.

But when they reached one of the martial halls along the way, they were surprised to find its hall master there as well.

The man claimed he simply wanted to witness "Dugu Qiubai" for himself and wouldn't interfere with the match. But when Shen Zhou fought one of his disciples, the man glared at Shen Zhou with all his might, trying to put him under mental pressure.

Shen Zhou wasn't about to indulge him. Once the fight began, he didn't hold back at all. One sword strike sent the disciple coughing up blood, and he was carried away.

The hall master was so furious that he nearly went down there himself to fight Shen Zhou.

Shen Zhou did as he pleased. He took down the sign and turned to leave.

The hall master even shouted after him, "Kid, just you wait! Once the Grand Tournament is over, I'll personally pay your Hall Master a visit and 'seek his guidance'!"

Shen Zhou gave him a disdainful smile. "There's no need for our Hall Master to come out. I'll be waiting for you!"

On the way to the next martial hall, the three of them stopped at a street-food stall, ordered some food, and took a short break.

While they rested, San Mazi and Dongfang Pangpang took out their point tokens and counted their points. Only an hour had passed, and Shen Zhou had already challenged eleven martial halls. If they kept going until the morning was over, he might well break twenty.

Just as Shen Zhou was brimming with confidence and preparing to press on in one burst, people from Flying Bird Academy suddenly found him.

And it wasn't just anyone who had come. It was the very steward who had been in charge of recruiting disciples at the academy.

After finding them, the steward introduced himself. "My surname is Mo. I'm an elder in charge of affairs at Flying Bird Academy, and I'm also the person responsible for this Citywide Martial Hall Tournament."

Seeing him, Shen Zhou and the others exchanged glances, their eyes full of confusion.

When they had applied to Flying Bird Academy, this was the person who had rejected all three of them. He had even said that anyone rejected by Flying Bird Academy would never be as outstanding as its disciples, even if they studied martial arts elsewhere.

Dongfang Pangpang had entered this Grand Tournament because he wanted to wait for Flying Bird Academy's disciples to compete, challenge them, and prove himself.

So none of the three had a good impression of Manager Mo.

In the end, Shen Zhou looked up and greeted him. "May I ask what Manager Mo wants with us?"

Manager Mo was rather displeased by their attitude. But he figured that these three had made names for themselves at a young age and were bound to be somewhat arrogant, so he kept it off his face and replied coolly, "I've come on behalf of the City Lord's Mansion and the tournament organizers to inform you that, because of your outstanding strength and astonishing performance, you may skip the preliminary and second rounds and advance straight to the quarterfinals. Congratulations!"

If this had happened to anyone else, they might have taken a direct advancement as recognition of their strength and accepted with delight.

But Shen Zhou and the others had planned to defeat all their competitors in a single day and collect their prize tomorrow.

So when the three of them heard the news, they didn't rejoice. They frowned instead.

After thinking it over, Shen Zhou said, "Can we give up our advancement?"

"..."

Hearing that response, Manager Mo was stunned.

They were actually refusing?

Manager Mo frowned. "Why?"

Shen Zhou and the other two exchanged glances.

They obviously couldn't say it was because they wanted to finish fighting everyone in one day and collect the prize tomorrow. The other side would surely refuse.

Shen Zhou considered it for a moment, then replied, "We still want to follow the tournament rules and advance one step at a time, on the strength of our own abilities. We don't want to take shortcuts."

Manager Mo's expression eased a little. He explained, "Advancing you directly isn't taking a shortcut. Our investigation showed that your strength is outstanding, so there's no point in making you compete in the preliminary rounds. Once you reach the quarterfinals, you'll not only compete with the other seven martial halls for the championship, but also get to spar and exchange pointers with disciples from Flying Bird Martial Hall. That will benefit your martial arts as well."

As he said the last sentence, an air of arrogance spilled from Manager Mo.

Perhaps, in his eyes, Flying Bird Academy stood head and shoulders above the rest, and allowing disciples from an ordinary martial hall to fight its students was already a great honor.

Shen Zhou and the other two all gave a quiet scoff, their eyes full of disdain.

But since the organizers insisted on advancing them, it seemed difficult to refuse outright.

Shen Zhou could only give a perfunctory salute. "All right, then. Thank you. If there's nothing else, Manager Mo, we'll be on our way."

After saying that, Shen Zhou and the others paid for their food and actually got up and left.

Seeing this, Manager Mo was stunned for a long while.

For some reason, the whole conversation had felt strange to him.

It was as though he'd been met with cold indifference after offering a warm welcome.

Only after Shen Zhou and the others had walked some distance away did Manager Mo suddenly remember something. "Oh, right. I still don't know what their martial hall is called!"

In the end, Manager Mo found out the name of Flying Bird First Martial Hall. Along with the name "Dugu Qiubai," it spread throughout the city in a very short time.

Inside Wu Clan Martial Hall.

Upon learning that Dugu Qiubai came from "Flying Bird First Martial Hall" and had advanced straight to the quarterfinals, the killing intent in Wu Chen's eyes blazed like a wildfire, impossible to suppress.

"So that's why he dared to come challenge the Wu Clan on the very first day. He's in cahoots with that Shen guy!"

"Looks like those people from White Deer Academy are determined to oppose the Wu Clan!"

"Flying Bird First Martial Hall, is it? Dugu Qiubai, is it? Very well, very well. When the quarterfinals come, I'll see for myself whether you, Dugu Qiubai, really are 'Invincible Below the Transformation Yuan Realm'!"

Wu Chen smashed the tea table with one punch.

Beside him, Wu Xu's face was pale, and his serious injuries had yet to heal. After hearing this, he asked cautiously, "Young Master Chen, Flying Bird First Martial Hall has already advanced straight to the quarterfinals. No matter how angry you are, our martial hall has already been eliminated. How will you teach that Dugu Qiubai a lesson during the quarterfinals?"

Wu Chen replied coldly, "It's the quarterfinals, so other martial halls must have advanced too. Send people to keep an eye on them and see who makes it through in the end. Then I'll personally talk to those hall masters."

Wu Xu's expression shifted as he immediately understood. He answered, "Yes!"