The Arena Battles: Eight Advance to Four

The third day of the Grand Tournament.

Early that morning, Flying Bird First Martial Hall received a notice from the City Lord's Mansion.

After getting the letter, San Mazi gathered everyone and read it aloud. "Due to unavoidable circumstances, the preliminary rounds of this tournament have ended early. Tomorrow, the eight-to-four arena battles will be held before the East Gate. We hope your martial hall will arrive on time to participate..."

The notice was brief, only a few lines, but its contents left everyone puzzled.

Tang Shan and the others were there, too.

Yesterday, after hearing from Tan Tong that Shen Zhou had nearly tried to take on every martial hall in a single day, then planned to collect his prize tomorrow, they could no longer sit still. They hurried over to keep watch at the martial hall.

They were afraid he might cause trouble, and had just been about to go find him when they saw him return with San Mazi and Dongfang Pangpang.

Everyone at the martial hall was stunned. For a moment, Tang Shan thought Shen Zhou had moved so fast that he'd already kicked down every martial hall in a single morning.

Then Shen Zhou explained that they'd been stopped partway through their challenges and had advanced straight to the quarterfinals. Only then did Tang Shan and the others breathe a sigh of relief.

But now, the tournament had taken another unexpected turn.

Instead of a round to determine the top sixteen, it was a contest to determine the top four.

"What... does 'unavoidable circumstances' mean?"

Tang Shan, Meng Gang, and the others were at a loss.

Shen Zhou thought it over. "Maybe something went wrong with the tournament format."

San Mazi said, "Could it be that they were all afraid of us, so a lot of them forfeited in advance?"

A Dai spoke up. "Could it be that we eliminated too many martial halls, and the others knocked each other out, so... they couldn't make up a top sixteen? That left them no choice but to change it to an eight-to-four contest?"

"..."

Everyone stared at him, stunned.

Well, now.

He really might be right...

That was extremely likely!

Everyone looked at Shen Zhou, speechless.

This guy had nearly wiped out the entire citywide martial hall tournament in two days.

If he'd actually pulled it off, how awkward would that have been for the City Lord's Mansion and Flying Bird Academy?

Well, it was already pretty awkward.

Pei Dahai clasped his hands and looked at Shen Zhou with a pleading expression. "Junior Brother, can we please not cause trouble at tomorrow's tournament? Let's just compete properly. If you cause any more trouble, your senior brothers really won't be able to take it!"

Chen Xu and the others nodded in unison.

They were already beginning to regret inviting Shen Zhou to compete.

After the tournament, Shen Zhou could dust off his hands and go back to being the Qin Family head, but their martial hall still had to make a living in the city.

Seeing how they were all incapable of handling anything big, Shen Zhou could only say helplessly, "You're the ones who asked me. If we end up losing first place, don't blame me!"

Pei Dahai hurriedly replied, "We won't, we won't... We absolutely won't!"

While the sudden early end to the tournament had surprised everyone at Flying Bird Martial Hall, the people of Flying Bird City were also astonished and began guessing at the reason.

When they learned it was all because "Dugu Qiubai" had "slaughtered" his way through too many martial halls, leaving them unable to fill out a top sixteen, the whole city was stunned.

The explanation was utterly unprecedented and unheard of.

As a result, "Dugu Qiubai" became even more famous, and this year's Citywide Martial Hall Tournament caught fire.

The sky was clear that day, with gentle winds and bright sunshine.

A massive arena had been erected before the East Gate the day before.

It was paved with bluestone, its surface hard enough to withstand battles between martial artists below the Transformation Yuan Realm.

Early that morning, crowds had already packed the area in front of the East Gate. People filled the streets, shoulder to shoulder.

"It's only an eight-to-four contest. Why are so many people here? Do this many people come in past years, too?" Shen Zhou asked, surprised by the crowd.

The people of Flying Bird First Martial Hall had been keeping an eye on the news since yesterday. Tang Shan smiled wryly. "Most of the reason this eight-to-four contest is so lively is you."

Shen Zhou looked surprised. "Me?"

Pei Dahai chimed in to explain. "There weren't this many people at the eight-to-four contest in previous years. Everyone knew the champion would go to one of the five great families. But this year's different. The martial halls of the five great families were eliminated early, and then you came out of nowhere as a dark horse. Now everyone wants to see what kind of person could pull off something like this—and even make the tournament change its rules for you."

"..."

Why did he suddenly feel like a celebrity?

Then Shen Zhou remembered something and asked, "Did Qin Family's Martial Hall advance?"

San Mazi answered, "They did. That kid Qin Mingshu competed. He challenged three families and won, so they made it to the quarterfinals. Wasn't he lucky?"

"..."

Everyone was speechless again.

Three points were enough to advance to the quarterfinals. That showed just how ruthless the eliminations had been.

While they were talking, the other seven martial halls arrived, along with people from the City Lord's Mansion and Flying Bird Academy.

Once everyone had gathered, the city lord went up to the stage, gave a brief speech, then announced the rules for the eight-to-four arena battles.

The rules were simple.

The eight martial halls would draw lots and face off in pairs.

The martial hall drawn would compete by defending the arena.

Each martial hall would send three people. One side would defend the arena, the other would challenge. The matches could be fought in succession, with a winner staying on the platform to face the next challenger until all three opponents had been defeated. Whoever remained standing on the platform at the end would win.

After the rules were announced, the eight martial halls drew lots to decide their opponents.

Flying Bird First Martial Hall drew Wind Thunder Martial Hall.

When they heard the name, Tang Shan and the others said they'd never heard of it. It seemed the martial hall hadn't been well-known before, and its place in the quarterfinals was probably thanks to Shen Zhou.

After all, he'd eliminated so many martial halls.

"Since our opponents aren't that strong, let Hongyu go first. Tan Tong will be our main fighter. If someone Tan Tong can't handle shows up, then Junior Brother Shen Zhou can step in!" Tang Shan quickly settled on a strategy.

Shen Zhou didn't mind. He thought it would be best if he didn't have to fight.

Otherwise, even if he stepped onto the platform, it would all be over with one sword strike. That would be a bit boring.

Tan Tong and the others had no objections.

Soon, the matches began.

The first match was between Qin's Martial Hall and Overlord Martial Hall.

Qin Mingyue was seated below the platform to oversee Qin's Martial Hall. To be safe, they sent one of their disciples out first to test their opponent's strength.

Overlord Martial Hall wasn't well-known either. They'd made it this far thanks to Shen Zhou, so Qin's Martial Hall had the greater advantage in their contest.

Soon, the three matches were over.

Qin's Martial Hall finished with Qin Mingshu and won all three matches without suspense.

After Qin's Martial Hall finished, it was Flying Bird First Martial Hall's turn.

Dongfang Pangpang stepped forward without a hint of suspense.

Aside from Shen Zhou and Tan Tong, he was the strongest of the academy disciples.

"Pangpang, you've got this!"

"Don't put pressure on yourself. Just do your best."

"'Dongfang Wudi,' go get them!"

Everyone from the martial hall cheered him on.

Dongfang Hongyu puffed out his chest. "Just watch."

Soon, the fighters from both sides took their places.

Pangpang's opponent was a Coagulation Ninth Realm martial artist in his thirties. His aura was steady; he was clearly no pushover.

Fortunately, no one at the martial hall expected Pangpang to achieve anything. The point was to gain experience and take part.

The fight soon began.

Pangpang didn't disappoint. Three minutes after stepping onto the platform, he attacked first. He unleashed a flurry of wild punches, realized they weren't even tickling his opponent, and promptly conceded.

A burst of jeers rose from the crowd below.

The people of Flying Bird First Martial Hall gave Pangpang a thumbs-up and even praised him. "Well done!"

Dongfang Pangpang explained haughtily, "What do they know? I'm conserving my strength so I can challenge those guys from Flying Bird Academy."

Everyone saw through his bluster but said nothing.

After that, Tan Tong rose and headed for the arena.

There was no unnecessary talk. As soon as the gong rang, both sides moved.

Tan Tong's punches were plain and direct, fierce and unstoppable.

His opponent happened to be the same kind of martial artist, following the body-tempering path as well.

The two fought with fists pounding flesh and every strike ringing out, instantly setting the whole arena alight.

"That guy from Wind Thunder Martial Hall is pretty strong. Did they send out their strongest disciple first?"

Seeing Tan Tong fight for a while without gaining the slightest advantage, Shen Zhou muttered under his breath.

Everyone knew Tan Tong's strength: the peak of the Coagulation Eighth Realm, along with great mastery of the Stone Skin Realm, the second level of the Golden Body Art. By rights, he should have easily handled an ordinary Coagulation Ninth Realm disciple from a regular martial hall. Yet his opponent was holding his own, neither one gaining the upper hand. Such strength was rare among disciples from martial halls unaffiliated with the great families.

Tang Shan nodded. "His foundation is solid. If he's one of their martial hall's key disciples, that strength isn't surprising."

Everyone continued watching.

Thud, thud, thud...

In the blink of an eye, Tan Tong and his opponent had exchanged more than a hundred punches. By the end, both were wounded, but neither had given up.

At this point, it was no longer a contest of strength. It was a contest of who could take more punishment.

Fortunately, Tan Tong was better at body tempering than his opponent. Relying on the toughness of his Stone Skin Realm body, he eventually wore the other man down and brought him crashing to the platform.

"After you!"

After catching his breath, Tan Tong clasped his fists toward his opponent to show his respect.

There was some resentment in the other man's eyes, but he admired Tan Tong's strength. He returned the salute and stepped down.

While the next fighter came up, Tan Tong hurriedly regulated his breathing. The fight had taken a lot out of him.

Before long, Wind Thunder Martial Hall's second disciple stepped onto the platform.

He looked ordinary in every way—average features, average build, the kind of man who would disappear into a crowd in the blink of an eye.

But once he reached the platform, he said to Tan Tong, "You're no match for me. Give up. My opponent is him... Dugu Qiubai!"

As he spoke, the man suddenly pointed toward Shen Zhou below the platform.

Shen Zhou stared in surprise and looked up, meeting the man's gaze.

In that instant, Shen Zhou saw blazing fighting spirit in the man's eyes—and, if he hadn't imagined it, a trace of killing intent?