Li Xingkong has also been paying attention to this match these past few days. After all, it's the most important event in Divine Land recently, and he naturally couldn't help but want to watch the excitement.
This competition has venues in various cities across the country. Preliminary rounds are held in various locations first, and the top three in the preliminary rounds will qualify to advance to the final competition in the Imperial Capital.
Since everyone cultivates in the Earthly Capital, the closest place is naturally the Imperial Capital, so Li Xingkong's focus is naturally on the preliminary rounds in the Imperial Capital.
The preliminary rounds in the Imperial Capital are the largest in the entire Divine Land. The Imperial Capital's huge population and status as the capital of the country attract many people to participate in Imperial Capital competition. Moreover, there are many dignitaries in the Imperial Capital, and many people come just to show off, hoping to be noticed and rise to prominence.
Similarly, as the region with the most participants, countless internet celebrities and stars also chose Imperial Capital as the first stop of their competition.
The most famous of them all has to be Teacher Ma Baoguo has the Lightning Five Consecutive Whips".
Although he became a viral sensation online for over a year after being turned into a meme, Teacher Ma and his school of thought are now household names, but not for good reasons. In this competition, Old Ma personally led the team, hoping to redeem his school of thought.
The number of people who have signed up in the Imperial Capital is too high. The number of people who have signed up for the preliminary rounds has already exceeded 10,000, which far exceeds the number of people who have signed up for any other martial arts sport. Of course, the preliminary rounds cannot be a best-of-five series, otherwise the preliminary rounds will have to go on until next year.
It's still the traditional single-match elimination game. There are too many people, and there's simply no time to give anyone a second chance. Even if it's a single-match elimination game, each person would still have to play at least 12 matches to be selected for the next round.
If you lose even one match, you won't have a chance to go to the next round.
Although the competition is for entertainment purposes, upon closer examination, its core is quite brutal, after all, the one thing that is never lacking in Divine Land is people.
The venue in Imperial Capital was originally used for the Olympics. Nearly 1,000 smaller competition areas were set up within the stadium to support the large number of participants. Each area was equipped with specialized equipment to broadcast the games live.
Time flew by, the venue was quickly prepared, and this grand event for the entire nation began.
Li Xingkong had secured a spot with an excellent view early on, where he could see the entire match. He was surrounded by staff from the Earthly Capital, and the stands around the arena were packed with spectators.
The first round of the preliminary competition was relatively hasty. Most of the participants had no formal training experience, and some had never even been in a fight. Moreover, many people had only registered, and even after the referees had been calling for them for a long time, they still didn't go on stage, or they might not have even come to the venue.
This is all quite normal. After all, so many people register for the civil service exam every year, and when you get to the exam hall, you'll find that a third of the seats are empty.
Some just signed up for fun, some got in early, and some simply didn't read the announcement and forgot the time.
Li Xingkong still remembers that when he was in college, several of his roommates missed their English Level 4 exam because they were playing Ultra Rapid Fire' URF mode together.
In short, the number of registered participants and the actual number of attendees are definitely different. Many of those who register are just trying to get a competition registration certificate to show off online.
Aside from the roughly one-third who didn't attend, the remaining matches weren't very entertaining to watch, as many participants lacked match experience.
In most of the venue, it was just two people throwing punches at each other, and some with ulterior motives would cover their heads with their shirts, close their eyes and start ramming, trying to push their opponents off the platform.
It's unbearable to watch, truly unbearable to watch. This competition doesn't feel like a competitive event at all; it's more like old men and women fighting in front of a gate.
Amidst this large pool of participants, a few stand out, clearly skilled fighters who can easily defeat their opponents in just a few moves. Given the sheer number of applicants, the chances of two trained fighters meeting in the very first round of the preliminaries are simply too low.
While such matches may lack visual appeal and be disorganized, the sheer number of people engaged in chaotic battles is inherently captivating. The realistic gameplay actually draws a large audience.
In fact, most people find this fascinating. After all, when professionals compete, their moves are fast and powerful, and everyone can only focus on winning or losing. But this kind of competition is different.
They all throw wild punches; if you can do it, so can I. Anyone can come up and throw a few punches. Faced with this situation, those who have no chance to fight will naturally develop a urge to give pointers.
"Look at how slowly and weakly he's throwing punches, what's the point of competing? I could do it too."
"Kick him! Are your hooves just for show? Jump up and kick him!"
"Holy crap, this is really headbutting him! I can't do that... Hit him, hit him!"
It can only be said that watching the excitement is in the nature of Divine Land People, and no one is an exception.
After the first round of preliminary matches, the winners automatically advanced, while the losers had to say goodbye to the competition. This eliminated half of the participants, leaving the venue much emptier.
Adding to the fact that those who didn't forfeit were also present, after one round of competition, only about 2,000 people remained. Even so, the large venue was packed to capacity.
The second round of the competition was much more entertaining than the first, since there were no absentees this time, and every arena was full.
Although they had just finished the first round of competition and hadn't had much rest, there were too many participants, so the competition had to be arranged more tightly. After only a short rest, everyone started the second round of competition.
This resulted in many competitors coming onto the field with bruises and swelling on their faces, which looked quite comical.
As seen in the second round of the competition, several outstanding individuals garnered significant attention.
This is only the second round, and some people have already gained more fans and attention than they did in a whole year.
Li Xingkong was in a good position, so he naturally noticed several of the people there.
First, there's the pure physical domination type, about 3-4 people of this style. As soon as they stand on the field, it's like they're standing on a pillar over two meters tall. The opposing players have to look up at them, and most of them start trembling in their legs before the match even begins. A few who dare to throw a punch will just swing wildly forward, only to have their heads gently pressed down by a hand. No matter how much they punch and kick, they can't touch them and eventually have to admit defeat.
Then there are some people whose moves are particularly disciplined. There are quite a few of them. Just by looking at their starting moves and how crisp and clean their movements are, you can tell that they are all trained fighters. It would be very easy for them to beat an ordinary person.
At least breaking a turtle-like fist shouldn't be a problem. The biggest difference between a trained fighter and an ordinary person is whether they can break a turtle-like fist. If they can't, then they haven't mastered the technique.