Once the teams were created, the employee asked us all to gather around our teams, giving us ten minutes before she made the announcement at the start of the event.
Some teams looked grim, no wonder, there were teams with at least one participant from the fifth or fourth stage of Body Refinement and there were some that didn't even have anyone from the third stage, these teams would undoubtedly be the first to be eliminated.
But as they say in the world of immortal arts, luck is also an important factor.
Talia and I were lucky, apart from us, team seven consisted of one stage three and two stage fours.
Looking at the third stage man, it was the man with the mace, called the great bull, the one who lost to the illusory spear.
Speaking of which, all the participants were practitioners of the body path, at least at the first rank, the practitioners had few ways to defend themselves as their spiritual energy was depleted too quickly, it would be a miracle if they could fight in the last or even the second round of the event.
"You must be White Fist and Scarlet Meteor, right?" asked one of the men in the fourth stage of Body Refinement.
Talia answered enthusiastically, lightening the slightly tense atmosphere. "Of course, it is an honor that a superior knows about the great scarlet meteor."
The man laughed and said, "Of course, the fight you two had earlier was quite exciting, but idle chatter aside, why don't we introduce ourselves and tell each other what our strong suits are? That way we can get an understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses."
Everyone nodded, the first to speak was Big Bull —Like Scarlet Meteor, I like to use maces, I can face someone with a higher stage than me for a short time—
Everyone nodded, giving him the thumbs up. Someone who could engage in combat with someone superior was respected and awed. It's not a very common merit, especially in the early stages of immortal practice.
Talia also mentioned the same thing—I am equal to a great bull, I am also capable of fighting against someone of a higher level—
The man of the fourth stage couldn't help but praise, I also silently praised her, Talia was already incredibly strong at just the first stage of body refinement so it's no wonder she can match up to someone of a higher level, I wondered how far she could go on the immortal path with her talent.
As I was lost in my thoughts, everyone's attention was drawn to me. "I'm skilled at dodging." That was all I could say. Actually, with my current strength and acquired skills, I wasn't sure how far I could go, not to mention that I had the transparent window and several skill points at hand.
The man nodded without saying much, then it was his turn to introduce himself and his partner. "You can call me Lightning Slash, I'm skilled with axes and my partner is Lucius, the Whistling Tip, he's good with the bow so he can cover us from the rear."
Once the introductions were made, it was time for the plan, it wasn't really a far-fetched one, Lightning Slash and Big Bull would cover the front, meanwhile, Talia and I would make sure no one got close to Lucius while I helped get rid of the opponents from afar.
Anyway, the teams would be eliminated little by little by someone else, so the plan was more to survive long enough until the first round ended, with all the commotion that would be created, it was hard to say if a plan could be effective since the difference in strength between the practitioners was quite noticeable.
"Okay, please give me your attention for a moment!" the employee shouted, drawing everyone's attention in the arena.
—As some of you may have noticed, although the rings have disappeared, you can still see a platform where the rings once stood. Please have each team stand on the platform with their team number.
Following his instructions, each team looked for the platform with their team number; ours was near the entrance to the hall where the practitioners usually gathered to wait for their turn to enter the fight.
Now that I thought about it, the place was huge, if all the people watching the event went down to the circus arena, there would still be enough space for everyone to move freely.
Once we were all ready, the platforms we were standing on began to rise, reshaping the rings that rose to the top.
The employee who was now in the largest ring of all, began to speak again —Alright, when I give the signal, you can start fighting, just remember, the first part of the event won't end until half of the teams have been eliminated! —
The employee raised her hand and we all got into position.
I was actually hoping for some words from Baron Andrés or something similar regarding the possible impending war, but it seems not to be the case. Perhaps it was a sort of strategy to keep the participants' morale low, at least not so soon.
Turning my attention back to the employee's voice, she lowered her hand, then shouted, "Begin!"
Those below the fourth stage needed to get off the ring in order to fight other teams; the rings were very high and the distance between each one was too great, so unless you had a jump strength comparable to someone above the fourth stage, it was still best to meet up with the other teams on the ground.
—Wow, Team 8 has already completely eliminated Team 2 , it's fascinating how quickly they did it, it's only been two minutes, gentlemen! —
Looking towards the ring that belonged to team 2, a single man was standing on the ring while the others lay unconscious on the spot, I couldn't help but shake my head at the luck of that team, but it was to be expected, their maximum strength was only a stage three.
—The tyrant, stage five of body refinement, it would be best to stay away from him, even among stage five practitioners he is someone outstanding — Slash commented witheringly, he along with Great Bull led the way down.
Although the platform didn't look so incredible from above, once we were on the ground, it felt like we had entered some kind of strange labyrinth.
—Team 8 has eliminated Team 5! The tyrant is living up to his name, destroying anyone who crosses him like a true tyrant! Anyone who enters his territory suffers the consequences! —
—Shit, unless someone else from Stage Five gets in his way, I don't think we'll have any luck facing him! — The big bull couldn't help but nod at Talia's comment, however, he also shook his head at her comment.
—In the first round, those in stage five won't fight each other; it's not worth wearing yourself out to help others. —
Lightning Slash nodded. "You can say it's like a kind of tacit agreement between the strong, in the end we're all here for the reward the event offers."
Stopping abruptly, he slashed out a withering cry, "Get ready, enemy in sight!"
Taking their positions, the battle began without saying a single word.
The enemy was composed of one fourth stage, three third stage, and one first stage body refinement.
The first to rush into the fray was Slash, going straight for the enemy leader.
Big Bull followed closely behind, however, because the other team had several third-stage practitioners, he was overwhelmed by the combined attack of several.
Lucius fired several arrows in quick succession, managing to knock someone away from the third stage of Great Bull, however, he still had to deal with two opponents.
"Scarlet Meteor, assist Great Bull!" Thalia nodded, as if she had been expecting this, and charged at one of Great Bull's opponents, lightening his load.
While watching everything from the side, I noticed someone approaching my side, I didn't act immediately, I waited until the other party was next to me.
The other party, believing I had my guard down, launched a sneak attack at me, redirecting his attack with my gloves, counterattacking with a blow to his jaw, knocking him out with the first blow.
The other part being only a practitioner of the first stage of body refinement, I need nothing more than the movements of the boxing methods.
"Well done!" shouted Lucius, who was holding off the third stage practitioner.
—Major Lucius, leave it to me, assist Lightning Slash! — Lucius nodded and began supporting his companion from a distance.
The other enemy practitioner gave me a disdainful look —This is not a game, child, you should have stayed aside—
The enemy launched several attacks at me with his spear, this time I had to use the flowing river rock technique, each of his attacks I managed to redirect and counterattack.
practically on equal terms, although the other party seemed older, he didn't seem to have much experience in the spear technique he was using because his movements were clumsy and predictable.
However, if it were a battle of endurance, he would inevitably end up losing due to the difference in level.
You have spent two skill points on the Flowing River Rock technique!
Flowing River Rock (Advanced 11/100) (mortal)
Skill Points: 4
The feeling of being like the flow of water invaded my body.
My hands flowed calmly to stop and redirect the spear blows elsewhere, and my blows struck in rapid succession with the flow of a raging river, wearing away even the largest rocks.
One of my blows managed to infiltrate the enemy's defense and hit his right torso, sending him flying several meters. Waiting for his counterattack, the enemy did not react and had fallen unconscious.
I couldn't help but stare at my hands in astonishment; the difference between a technique without range and a technique with range was abysmal. If I had tried to confront the man using boxing methods without range, I would have lost in the first fight alone.
—White Fist, support your comrades! — The shout came from Lucius, snapping out of my stupor, I dashed towards Talia to help her.