Chapter 321: The Main Competition Begins

Chapter 321: Chapter 321: The Main Competition Begins

"Alright, it’s getting late."

"We’ve already compiled and sent you a lot of information."

"I hope that after you all return, you will memorize the details on these geniuses."

"As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles!"

"If you lose because you didn’t understand your opponent, then you deserve it!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

After giving these serious instructions, Teacher Wang announced the end of the meeting.

With that, she was the first to log off, followed by Xu Wenji and Dean Liu.

Only the students remained in the conference room. They weren’t in a hurry to log off and started chatting instead.

"There are so many experts this time. Once the main tournament starts, it’s all random-match battles."

"Win and you advance, lose and you’re eliminated. After several rounds of elimination, we should still be in the running by the top 250."

"Half of the Awakened geniuses will be eliminated by the top 125. By the time it’s down to the top 63, who knows how many from our Xia Country will even be left?" Wan Ming said.

"We’re geniuses from Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy. We should at least make it into the top 63," Xia Lian said.

"Brother Qi, with your strength, you should be able to make it into the top 32, right?"

"You might even have a shot at the top 16!"

Wan Ming said as he sidled up to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi smiled. "I’ll just do my best."

’My goal is to be the champion,’ he thought, ’but it’s better to keep that to myself.’

...

A few minutes later, in the quiet Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi logged off and stepped out of the white Virtual Cabin.

"Little Chan, open the files on all the Awakened geniuses from every country!" Lin Qi ordered.

"Yes, Master!"

The blue-robed Little Chan beside him nodded obediently, raising a hand to project a massive green screen. A large collection of files sent by Teacher Luu Wei appeared.

Lin Qi clicked to open them. There were 230 files in total. He opened them one by one, studying them carefully.

He committed the information on every contestant to memory.

Although his goal was to win the championship, he wouldn’t be careless against any opponent, no matter how weak.

...

「In Japan, inside a luxurious Japanese-style villa.」

In the wooden living room, two figures knelt opposite each other.

"Mr. Genichiro, the main tournament begins tomorrow."

"You are our Japan’s only SS-level genius this year. You are a true Sword Dao prodigy."

"We have high expectations for you!"

The speaker was a lean, middle-aged man dressed in a black and white kimono.

His face was calm and his aura seemed ordinary, but his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Opposite him was a handsome, refined-looking young man in a white kimono embroidered with pink sakura blossoms.

His gaze was resolute as he said, "Teacher, this time I will do everything in my power to win the Global Freshman Tournament."

"I will show everyone the Sword Dao of our Japan!"

The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction.

"We believe in your Ability and your Talent!"

...

At the same time, the SS-level geniuses from every country were doing the same thing.

They were the strongest geniuses among their nations’ freshmen, and they were all extremely confident in their own strength.

And they all had only one goal: to defeat every opponent and seize the championship!

...

「Martial Arts Calendar, April 27th. The weather was clear.」

In the East and the West, two hemispheres with different time zones, freshmen from Martial Arts Universities in various countries successively entered their Virtual Cabins to log into the Red Realm.

The Red Realm was a Virtual World jointly developed by the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo and Xia Country.

Now, countries all over the world used the Red Realm, because Xia Country’s technology in this area was the best, unparalleled by any other nation.

「Azure Sky Sixth Institute, Villa 01, Martial Arts Room」

WHOOSH—

Fierce gales raged within the Martial Arts Room, accompanied by a figure that moved like black lightning.

A moment later, Lin Qi, dressed in a black Martial Arts Uniform, came to a stop.

[You have completed a Body Technique Cultivation session. You have gained a deeper understanding of the Thunder Shadow Instant Kill Step. Body Technique +3%]

[Body Technique: Tier Three 47% → Tier Three 50%]

...

Lin Qi looked at the data on the golden panel and shook his head, not quite satisfied.

’Although I’ve recently intensified my Body Technique Cultivation, and my Body Technique Realm has improved by leaps and bounds... I was hoping to break through to the Tier Three Mid-stage. I can’t have any weaknesses.’

Lin Qi was well aware that some Special Abilities could drastically increase their user’s speed.

When combined with a high-level Body Technique Realm, their combat power would skyrocket.

Fewer openings meant it would be much harder for an opponent to defeat them.

After all, no matter how powerful your Techniques were, they were useless if they couldn’t hit their target.

A few minutes later, having changed into a clean Martial Arts Uniform, Lin Qi entered his Virtual Cabin, logged into the Red Realm, and entered the global competition zone for the Global Freshman Tournament.

VMMMM!!

When he opened his eyes again, he had been teleported to a wide-open space. He felt the sensation beneath his feet.

He was standing on solid ground, quite similar to the previous Floating Island.

A mix of different languages from various countries filled his ears.

"Brother Qi!"

He turned his head and saw the students from the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, as well as Ao Feng, Duan Chuchu, and the other Dean-Level geniuses, along with the Awakened S-class geniuses from the Tenth Institute.

There were fewer people around. To be precise, all the eliminated contestants had disappeared. Only those who had made it into the top 1000 roster were present.

It wasn’t just them from Azure Sky Martial Arts University; everyone standing on the Floating Island was a contestant from the Eastern Region.

Tianzhu, Japan, Silla, Tailande, Thousand Islands...

The Top Level geniuses from every nation were gathered together, and tyrannical auras emanated from their bodies.

WHOOSH—

The Floating Island beneath their feet began to move.

A black dot on the horizon grew steadily closer until they could make out that it was another massive Floating Island.

On that Floating Island, countless flags of different colors fluttered in the wind.

Beneath the flags stood rows of young figures.

"It’s the contestants from the Western Region!" someone shouted.

Everyone looked across at them. They saw imposing figures, some with blonde hair and blue eyes, others with dark skin and brawny builds.

They were a mixed group, but every one of them exuded a formidable aura, like savage beasts.

They looked at the Eastern contestants as if they were prey!

"Brother Qi, the people from the Western Region are so tall and built!" Jiangtao said, his expression grave.

Lin Qi nodded. In the Martial Arts Era, due to physical transformation, those who practiced Martial Arts were far taller and more muscular than ordinary people.

The average height was 1.9 meters, and the taller, stronger ones like Huo Wanyang, Wei Peng, and Li Lei were over 2.1 meters tall.

But now, compared to the Western Region contestants, the Westerners were a size larger in terms of overall build.

There were quite a few who were over two meters tall. Not only that, but each of them had a larger frame, with extremely burly and exaggerated musculature.

For the same height, they seemed to possess a greater muscle mass.

They looked as if they were carved from giant stones, radiating a terrifying sense of pressure.

"So those are the contestants from the Eastern Region?"

On the Western Region’s Floating Island, someone looked across and spoke slowly.

"Looks like what they show on TV is all lies!"

"They look even smaller and weaker than they do on TV. They’re not even as strong as our high school students."

"I’m actually worried I might accidentally crush one of them!" someone said with a disdainful smirk.

"Haha!"

After he spoke, the people around him broke into smiles.

"Don’t be careless!" a beautiful, blonde-haired girl reminded them.

But the people around her didn’t seem to care.

Many people in the Eastern Region frowned. It seemed they were being underestimated.

"Brother Qi, they’re looking down on us!" Jiangtao let out a cold laugh.

"Don’t pay any mind to the posturing of clowns," Lin Qi said, his expression calm.

"Contestants!"

In the air, particles of light and shadow began to reconverge.

They coalesced into the giant figure of Xu Wenji, only this time he was wearing a red robe.

"Welcome, contestants and audience members, to the main tournament of the Global Freshman Tournament."

ROAR!!

CLAP! CLAP!!!

The moment Xu Wenji finished speaking, thunderous applause and a tsunami of cheers erupted in everyone’s ears.

Everyone looked down. Unbeknownst to them, the space below the Floating Islands had transformed into a vast and magnificent arena.

It seemed to stretch endlessly. The spectator stands were divided into sections by country.

There were 76 countries. Lin Qi had no idea how many spectators there were in total, but he could see that the section for Xia Country was a sea of red, with over a million viewers logged in.

"Brother Qi, unlike our country, not every student in other nations can get access to a Virtual Cabin."

"A lot of people couldn’t log on. Otherwise, there’d be even more, maybe over ten million viewers," Jiangtao said from the side.

Lin Qi also saw the giant screens floating in the arena, displaying comments like a scrolling bullet curtain.

Everything was translated into the Xia Country Language.

"Tianzhu will be victorious!"

"Our White Eagle Federation will definitely secure enough victories!"

"..."

"Contestants, this year’s Global Freshman Tournament will be hosted by me!"

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Xu Wenji..."

"And now, audience members, you will see the two thousand contestants on the Floating Islands!"

"They will be the protagonists of this competition. They are all the most elite geniuses among the freshmen of their respective countries’ Martial Arts Universities."

"Over the next few days, they will compete for the final championship!"

"Who will take home the final crown? Let’s wait and see."

"Next, please allow me to introduce the rules of the competition."

Xu Wenji paused for a moment before continuing:

"In the first round of the main tournament, the two thousand contestants will be randomly matched to determine the one thousand who will advance to the second round."

"Furthermore, there are no revival matches. If you lose, you are completely eliminated."

As soon as he said this, the expressions of many spectators turned grim. All the contestants now had their backs against the wall.

They would have to go all out in every match to ensure they could achieve final victory.

"At the same time, every contestant who has entered the main tournament will receive ten million Xia Country Coins!"

At this, the audience erupted completely.

"Ten million Xia Country Coins! Isn’t that a bit too much?"

"And this is just the first round of the main tournament!!!" someone exclaimed in shock.

"Damn it, I was so close to making it into the main tournament!" someone lamented.

On the Floating Island, Lin Qi and Jiangtao exchanged a look, both seeing the delight in each other’s eyes.

"Holy crap, ten million Xia Country Coins for the first round alone!"

"Win a few more rounds, and we’ll have earned tens of millions of Xia Country Coins!" Jiangtao said in amazement.

’My goal is the championship. With this many elimination rounds... there will be at least ten rounds. It’s hard to imagine how much the total prize money will be. No wonder Dean Liu said that as long as I win the championship, I’d be able to buy the Water of Rebirth without it affecting my Cultivation.’

"Let the matching begin!"

Xu Wenji announced, and at the same time, a massive Yin Yang Tai Chi Diagram appeared in his hand.

The Tai Chi Diagram spun rapidly, and upon reaching its limit, it shattered into countless black and white dots.

They combined to form a huge red scroll, on which a list of 1,000 matchups was displayed.

...