Chapter 347: Chapter 347: First in the Preliminaries

Furthermore, Tana’s fighting style was too reliant on instinct and explosive power, lacking tactical variation.

After twenty moves, Xu Wuyi suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Tana’s eyes flashed. She raised her Heavy Hammer high overhead as her Qi and Blood erupted, and the weapon’s body began to glow with an earthy-yellow halo. She was clearly about to use an ultimate move.

"Mountain Crusher!"

The Heavy Hammer came crashing down with the force of a collapsing mountain, its momentum several times stronger than any of her previous attacks. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

This time, Xu Wuyi didn’t dodge.

He gripped his spear with both hands. The shaft spun slightly, and a dark golden flame flickered at the tip before he thrust it upward at an angle.

CLANG—!!!

A deafening crash resounded as a shockwave exploded outward from the two of them.

Tana felt a searing, piercing power travel up from the body of her hammer. It not only numbed her arms but also sent a wisp of scorching energy into her meridians, causing her Qi and Blood to stagnate for a moment.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the tip of Xu Wuyi’s spear tapped her wrist.

The force wasn’t great, but the angle was wickedly precise.

Tana grunted, and her Heavy Hammer slipped from her grasp, crashing to the ground with a CLANK.

She retreated several steps, shaking her numb arm as she stared at Xu Wuyi. "What was that move? It didn’t feel that strong, but it made me drop my hammer."

"Just a bit of technique," Xu Wuyi said, retracting his spear. "Your strength is immense, but pure force isn’t sustainable. Against an opponent whose strength rivals yours and whose technique surpasses it, you’ll be easily exploited. Try to incorporate some Soft Force into your brute strength and control how you release and retract your power."

Tana blinked, looking as if she only half-understood, but she conceded readily. "Got it! I’ll come find you for another fight once I’ve practiced!"

[Victory! Points +1.]

The rest of the matches held no suspense.

Xu Wuyi went on to defeat several more Martial Artists, and his points skyrocketed.

When the preliminaries ended at three in the afternoon, his record was locked in at ninety-two wins and zero losses, placing him first in the overall point rankings.

On the massive ranking board, the name "Xu Wuyi" hung at the very top, shining with a brilliant golden light.

The spectator channels were already in an uproar.

"First in the preliminaries! Undefeated!"

"Ninety-two straight wins, with sixty-one opponents forfeiting outright. His other matches took less than ten seconds on average..."

"Is he even human?"

"Star Martial University really hit the jackpot this time!"

"My God, is this even more absurd than Hong Nianyi last year?"

"Hong Nianyi also went undefeated in the preliminaries back then, but I don’t think it was this much of a steamroll..."

"Could he be another monster on Hong Nianyi’s level?"

"Looks like there’s no suspense left for who’s going to be this year’s youth champion."

When the list for the knockout stage was announced, Xu Wuyi was, unsurprisingly, the number one seed.

On the internal forums of Star Martial University, related threads were flooding the screen.

"God Xu is incredible!"

"A sophomore dominating the entire Federation! Who else can compare?!"

"I heard the folks over at Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy and Black Stone Academy are losing their minds..."

"Of course they are. I’d be losing my mind too. Can you imagine your own school’s painstakingly nurtured genius getting completely crushed by a student of the same year from Star Martial University? How could their morale not collapse?"

"Yeah, and normally, Star Martial’s students are weaker than the other two during their university years!"

"The gap between people can be bigger than the gap between a person and a dog."

「Hidden Dragon Garden, Villa #7.」

Xu Wuyi rose from the Virtual Cabin and stretched his limbs.

The preliminaries had been no pressure for him; they didn’t even count as a warm-up.

Anna’s virtual avatar materialized. "Congratulations on advancing to the knockout stage as first in the preliminaries. The knockout stage will begin the day after tomorrow. It will be a single-elimination format with random system matchmaking."

"Mm," Xu Wuyi nodded and walked toward the Cultivation Room.

"Shall I retrieve the public data on your potential opponents for the knockout stage?" Anna asked.

"Not for now." Xu Wuyi pushed open the door. "It won’t be too late to look them up when I face them in the knockout stage. For now, I’ll continue my cultivation."

To him, the youth tournament was merely a stage to test the results of his training.

His true opponents were never among his peers.

Only first and second-year students from the Three Greats participated in the youth tournament. As for the first-years... the best-performing freshman this year was Qiao Zhiyao, ranked 446th, the highest among non-Martial Artists.

When Xu Wuyi learned of this result, he couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. ’Even with Qiao Zhiyao’s talent, she’s still stuck at the Martial Artist threshold.’

’My own smooth promotion back then was largely due to my earlier accumulation.’

In the Cultivation Room, the Earth Fire Marrow Lamp burned with a gentle glow.

Xu Wuyi sat down cross-legged, took out the Jade Scroll for the *Golden Crow Sky Splitting Slash* gifted to him by the Flame Venerable, and continued his comprehension.

The knockout stage was where he would truly begin to display his strength.

...

「On the eve of the knockout stage, in the Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy’s exclusive lounge.」

The brothers Song Xingxian and Song Xing’an sat facing each other, the atmosphere heavy.

"Brother, have you seen the recordings of Xu Wuyi’s matches?" Song Xing’an asked in a low voice.

"I have," Song Xingxian nodded, his expression grave. "He’s even stronger than we anticipated. I wouldn’t last a single move against him. It’s not just a difference in Level, but a complete domination on a spiritual level."

"A Heart Image Prototype... has he really reached that threshold?" Song Xing’an’s tone was complex.

"It’s very likely." Song Xingxian took a deep breath. "And it’s no ordinary Heart Image Prototype. His Flame Realm is unique, quite different from common Fire Element Realms."

The two brothers fell silent for a moment.

"Then what should we..." Song Xing’an started, but trailed off.

"We do our best," Song Xingxian said in a heavy tone. "The path of Martial Arts is long; a single victory or defeat means little. Let’s just treat this youth tournament as a chance to see what a true genius looks like. For us, it might not be a bad thing."

"Right." Song Xing’an nodded firmly, the fighting spirit rekindling in his eyes.

「Meanwhile, in the Black Stone Academy lounge.」

Zhai Zidu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, a cold aura swirling around him.

On the screen in front of him, a recording of the match between Xu Wuyi and Song Xingxian played on a loop—the instant his spear broke through the sword’s momentum.

"’Spiritual domination...’" he muttered to himself, a cold glint in his eyes. "’It seems I’ll have to use that move ahead of schedule.’"

「Star Martial University, East Courtyard Sword Dao Hall.」

Qin Rui swung his sword over and over, his clothes soaked with sweat. In his mind, every single one of Xu Wuyi’s movements on the platform replayed endlessly.

"’Still not fast enough... not strong enough...’"

He gritted his teeth, his Sword Momentum growing sharper and more ferocious.

Competition, pursuit, transcendence.

This was the eternal theme for geniuses.

And now, a monster had appeared out of nowhere, leaving everyone else in the dust.

But no one was ready to give up just yet.

The path of Martial Arts was like rowing a boat upstream; the sight of a taller peak ahead only provided a greater motivation to climb.

...

「Day one of the knockout stage, on the Star Martial Battle Network’s exclusive youth tournament channel.」

The massive Circular Plaza was much less crowded than during the preliminaries, but the atmosphere was far more tense.

The five hundred contestants who had made it to the knockout stage were all elites from their respective academies. The weakest among them were peak Martial Artists at Life Energy Level 29 or higher, and the proportion of Martial Artists exceeded ninety percent.

On the giant board in the center of the plaza, five hundred names were listed in order, each followed by their preliminary stage points.

At the top of the list, the name "Xu Wuyi" glowed with a brilliant golden light. His record of ninety-two wins and zero losses weighed on the hearts of all the contestants like a towering mountain.

Xu Wuyi’s figure materialized in the preparation area.

He was still dressed in the same dark gray training uniform, his aura withdrawn. He didn’t stand out in the crowd.

But the gazes of the surrounding contestants were filled with an unconcealable mix of fear and complexity.

The knockout stage was a single-elimination tournament; winners advanced, and losers were out. For the vast majority of contestants, every match was a life-or-death battle.