The preliminaries had just wrapped up, and the air still smelled of stone dust and sweat.
The staff busied themselves clearing the small mountain of rubble in the middle of the arena. The competitors who had passed the preliminaries were led to one side to rest while they waited for the next round's draw.
"Wow! Lin Fan, you're amazing!"
Krillin moved up beside Lin Fan. Beads of sweat still glistened on his bald head, and his eyes were wide with amazement. "You barely even touched it, and the stone slab ended up like that! How'd you do it?"
Son Goku nodded eagerly beside them, his tail curling with curiosity. "Mm-hmm! I couldn't feel any strong ki at all! But the stone still broke! What a strange technique!"
Lin Fan saw the two of them looking at him with pure curiosity and no jealousy. He merely smiled and said, "Just a little trick for focusing your strength. It's nothing special."
Naturally, he wasn't about to explain the principles of channeling True Qi into a single point to break something apart from within.
Bulma didn't care about any of that. She proudly slapped Lin Fan on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance. "See? This is who I brought along! Impressive, huh? Much more graceful than certain people who can only smash things with brute force!"
As she spoke, she shot a pointed glance at Puff, who was being massaged by an attendant nearby and looked thoroughly displeased.
Puff snorted and turned away, muttering under his breath, "Hmph. Cheap tricks. He just got lucky..."
The competitors who had passed the preliminaries stood in small groups around the rest area, the atmosphere subtly tense.
They sized one another up, assessing their potential opponents.
Lin Fan could clearly feel several gazes falling on him, seemingly casual but carrying curiosity, wariness, and even a trace of barely concealed contempt.
After all, there had been a lot of trickery involved in his little feat. He certainly hadn't looked as if he had much "ki."
Lin Fan paid no mind to those looks. He was quietly observing the others, too.
Besides the familiar Goku, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and that annoying Puff, a few other fighters with strong auras caught his attention.
One was a tall, dark-skinned monk who said little. Another was a sharp-eyed woman dressed in an unusual ethnic outfit. The last was a white-haired young man leaning against a wall with his arms folded, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.
The "ki" of these people was clearly more concentrated than that of the competitors who had been eliminated.
"All competitors, please pay attention! The draw for the top eight matchups is about to begin! All those who passed the preliminaries, please come forward!"
The referee called out through a megaphone.
The crowd stirred, and the sixteen competitors who had passed the preliminaries—including Lin Fan, Goku, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and Chiaotzu—gathered around a transparent lottery box.
A staff member shook the box a few times. Inside were ping-pong balls marked with each competitor's number.
"First, we'll draw the first matchup in the upper bracket!"
The referee reached into the box, rummaged around, then pulled out two balls and read the numbers aloud. "Number 98! Against—number 157!"
Lin Fan paused. Number 98 was his.
He looked up and spotted a burly man in a gaudy fighting outfit, sporting a mohawk, raising his hand triumphantly from the crowd. He was number 157.
When the man saw that Lin Fan was his opponent, he froze for a moment. Then undisguised glee and contempt spread across his face, and he even made a taunting throat-slitting gesture.
"It's Giran!"
Krillin whispered to Goku. "I heard he's pretty famous in the northern region. He's strong, but he fights dirty..."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Goku scratched his head, seeming not to remember him.
Lin Fan ignored Giran's taunts and silently took note of his opponent.
He'd certainly gotten lucky. His first opponent wasn't Goku, Tien Shinhan, or any of the other tough fighters, and he hadn't drawn one of those people with the strange auras, either.
Giran's ki seemed plentiful to Lin Fan, but it was scattered and restless. His stance was unsteady, and he had plenty of openings.
The draw continued.
"Next, the second matchup in the upper bracket! Number 12! Against—number 38!"
"That's me!"
Son Goku jumped up happily and raised his hand.
A cold voice answered from across from him. "Tien Shinhan."
Tien Shinhan, the man with three eyes, folded his arms and coolly gave his name.
Their gazes met, as if sparks had flown between them. A wave of fighting spirit instantly filled the air.
Everyone knew this would be a clash between two formidable fighters.
"Now for the first matchup in the lower bracket! Number 18! Against—number 56!"
"My turn!"
Krillin nervously raised his hand.
Across from him, the short, expressionless boy floating in midair—Chiaotzu—gave a soft "Mm."
Krillin's face fell. "Aw... Chiaotzu..." He knew how difficult Chiaotzu's psychic powers could be to deal with.
"Next, the second matchup in the lower bracket!..."
The matchups were announced one by one. Some competitors were delighted, while others looked worried. Puff drew an opponent who didn't look easy to beat, and his expression darkened.
The tall monk was matched against the woman in the unusual ethnic outfit.
The indifferent white-haired young man was matched against another martial artist with a strong aura.
At last, the complete top eight bracket appeared on the big screen:
Upper bracket: Lin Fan (98) vs. Giran (157) Son Goku (12) vs. Tien Shinhan (38)
Lower bracket: Krillin (18) vs. Chiaotzu (56) Nam (102) vs. Launch (77) (the other four matchups omitted)
"Great! We didn't draw each other in the first round!"
Son Goku hadn't even considered whether he could win his own match. Instead, he was happy for his friends. He vigorously patted Lin Fan and Krillin on the back, nearly driving them into the ground. "Lin Fan, Krillin, let's do our best! We'll all make it to the finals together!"
Krillin rubbed his sore shoulder and smiled wryly. "Goku, don't get too excited yet. Tien Shinhan is really strong... and Chiaotzu's tough to deal with, too..."
Lin Fan studied the bracket, his heart calm.
He was at least ninety percent certain he could beat his first opponent, Giran.
The real challenge lay ahead.
His gaze swept over Tien Shinhan and Son Goku. Whoever won between those two would most likely be his opponent in the next round.
He also took note of the monk named Nam and the woman named Launch. Their auras were quite distinctive.
"Come on!"
Bulma called out excitedly. "The matches don't start until this afternoon. Let's grab something to eat and discuss some strategies while we're at it!"
The group headed toward a restaurant on the island.
Son Goku was still excitedly discussing Tien Shinhan's techniques with Krillin, while Bulma was figuring out how to use scientific analysis to help Lin Fan.
Lin Fan walked at the back of the group and glanced over his shoulder at the enormous bracket.
The top eight... This would be his first real public fight in the Dragon Ball World as a cultivator.
Giran, huh...
The corner of his mouth lifted in a barely perceptible smile.
Let's see how the "Dao" of the middle stage of Qi Refining compares to this world's "ki."
The martial arts arena would certainly be lively that afternoon.
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