"Boom!" Another powerful slash from Raschel struck Nan Bo. Nan Bo failed to get back up for several minutes, completely unable to fight, and the first match in the first arena officially ended.
Unfortunately, Raschel had ultimately taken a shortcut in this match. Although building up momentum for his counterattack had brought him some improvement, he had still failed to break through to the Admiral Candidate level.
Breaking through to a higher level still required sufficiently intense combat. It was hard to say whether Raschel's strategy had been worthwhile.
Although his gains might not compare to those who won through direct combat, Raschel had at least advanced smoothly, becoming the first person to finish his fight across all eight arenas.
Fierce battles were still raging in the other seven arenas. After all, aside from a few individuals, the contestants were not far apart in strength, and deciding a winner within just three hours was rather difficult.
Of course, with the rules Lind had established beforehand, the remaining seven matches would not take much longer to finish. Under the restrictions of the competition rules, the contestants had no intention of taking their time.
As the matches passed the halfway mark, the intensity of the fighting in the seven arenas visibly rose again, and none of the contestants continued holding back.
They pushed their speed, strength, and Haki to the limit, no longer keeping any moves in reserve as they unleashed them one after another.
Explosions rang out constantly across the arenas, and the smoke grew thicker, considerably affecting the spectators' viewing experience.
"Gurararara! Lind, these elites of your Oran Empire are quite impressive. They're practically flawless in every respect," Whitebeard could not help saying as he watched the fierce fighting below.
Unlike the youth division's contestants, whose levels were high but