All six of them had matches in the morning. Wang Jiale ended up losing, but on the other hand, Jian Dalong and the two female students were victorious. Their overall record was four wins and two losses.
This made Wang Jiale one of only two to lose their opening match. Yan Sea stood to the side, lecturing him with disappointment. He believed Wang Jiale's mentality had been compromised. The skill gap between him and his opponent wasn't large; he'd had opportunities to win during the match but let them slip by.
At noon, Yu Miao brought lunch for Yu Fei. He slept until one-thirty and woke up still feeling a bit weak.
The afternoon matches began at two o'clock. Yan Sea and the others were still waiting in the rest area. Seeing the listless Yu Fei, Yan Sea sneered,
"Serves you right! You're arrogant, conceited, and you never listen to anyone's advice. You want to make it to the main tournament in this condition? In your dreams!"
Yu Fei, slouched in his chair, replied absently.
"So what? I'm only a sophomore. It'd be normal if I *didn't* make it to the main tournament, right?"
Yan Sea was instantly furious. He truly regretted letting Yu Fei come to this competition, for all sorts of reasons.
In reality, Yu Fei's condition wasn't that terrible. Every other competitor here had more raw power than him. If he wanted to win, there was only one way.
He had to play defensively and aim for a quick victory.
In other words, his health and stamina were low—he was a glass cannon who'd be finished in one hit. But his critical hit rate was sky-high. If he seized an opportunity, he could end the match. Of course, the reverse was also true.
Under these circumstances, his slightly weakened state didn't make much of a difference.
Wang Jiale was the first to compete in the afternoon matches.
The guy wasn't actually weak, but he seemed to have a mental block. He fought timidly, always defending and dodging. His opponent picked up on this, pressed the attack relentlessly, traded blows, and quickly defeated him.
Yan Sea was so furious watching from below the stage that he was practically hopping mad. When Wang Jiale returned, he looked like he wanted to beat the kid up.
Terrified, Wang Jiale trembled, completely at a loss.
Yan Sea said nothing, just stared daggers at him.
How could a first-realm rookie possibly withstand the aura a Third-Realm Martial Artist was unconsciously emitting?
Wang Jiale looked like he was about to cry.
Yu Fei walked over, casually slinging an arm over Yan Sea's shoulder. "Don't scare the kid," he said flippantly. "It'll be a huge embarrassment if he wets his pants."
Yan Sea whipped his head around and glared viciously at Yu Fei.
'Hey, watch yourself! You're a student! What's with this attitude and tone? Anyone who didn't know better would think we were colleagues.'
Yan Sea circulated a hint of his Qi Blood, intending to teach Yu Fei a little lesson.
Seeing the bloody mist of Qi beginning to rise from Yan Sea, Yu Fei bypassed him and walked directly up to Wang Jiale. He spoke, enunciating every word.
"You're eliminated."
"Huh...?" Wang Jiale was confused.
"I'm saying that, for all intents and purposes, you've been eliminated from this Martial Arts Exchange Tournament.
I did the math. Out of more than three hundred contestants, they need to pick the top twenty-seven. If you lose even one match, your chances of making it to the finals are already slim. You've lost twice. In other words, even if you win your next three matches, this tournament is over for you."
Wang Jiale's face instantly went pale. He lowered his head in silence. He hadn't actually realized it. Thinking of all his hard work, of the Vitality Elixir that had just slipped through his fingers, he felt awful.
"So, what are you afraid of? The worst has already happened!"
'That's right, what am I afraid of? I just wanted to win, and I was afraid of getting injured and messing up my next match. But if I lose this one, does the next one even matter?'
Wang Jiale thought to himself. When he looked up again, his expression was solemn and resolute, as if he had made a decision.
Behind them, Yan Sea retracted his Qi Blood. He saw the change in Wang Jiale's demeanor. Yu Fei's taunt had worked.
Seeing Wang Jiale's change in mindset, Yu Fei crossed his arms, nudged Yan Sea, and said,
"See? Young people need a little shock treatment. Just scaring them is useless."
'What is with this guy? Does he have no shame?' Yan Sea was incredibly annoyed.
He spun around, and with the power of a Third-Realm Martial Artist, moving faster than the eye could follow, he rapped Yu Fei on the head.
"Young people need a shock, was that shocking enough? I can give you more!"
'He knew the kid had fast reflexes, but how could a little bit of talent overcome the vast chasm between Martial Arts realms?'
Yu Fei yelped and scurried away, clutching his head. Yan Sea chased after him and rapped him twice more.
Seeing Yu Fei crouched on the ground, rubbing his head, Yan Sea's mood instantly improved.
Yu Miao stood to the side, quietly sipping her milk tea. 'This milk tea is really good today,' she thought. 'I'll get another cup tonight.'
"Contestant 147, please report to the preparation room..."
Yu Fei's afternoon match was scheduled for 4:20 PM. By then, the crowd in the venue had thinned out.
He enjoyed a moment on a massage chair before being directed to Ring 8 for his match.
His opponent for the afternoon was a short-haired girl with a green-level talent.
On the martial path, female Martial Artists below the Third Realm are physically weaker than males, but they tend to have greater flexibility and faster reflexes.
All things considered, this gives males a higher win rate in unarmed combat.
The two exchanged no words. After the referee signaled the start, the short-haired girl advanced cautiously in small steps, her body crouched like a leopardess.
Seeing Yu Fei standing there blankly, she leaped forward, aiming a side kick at his kidneys.
Yu Fei stepped back and to the side, raising his leg to block the kick.
But the move gave him away. The short-haired girl instantly realized that Yu Fei's physical conditioning was weaker than hers—he probably hadn't even passed the Flesh Tempering stage.
The discovery thrilled her. Two-thirds of the competitors were male, meaning she was likely to be the weaker party in most of her matches. Her last fight had been a difficult struggle. She never imagined she'd run into such a pushover this time.
She'd heard there was a junior in the tournament who had only passed the Skin Tempering stage, and now, by some incredible stroke of luck, she'd run into him.
When people get excited, they can get reckless and lose their cool.
The short-haired girl closed the distance on Yu Fei, and the two entered close-quarters combat. For some reason, she was suddenly reminded of a popular clip she'd once seen from a match video.
It was from an online video of a challenge match between two martial arts dojos. During a fight between two apprentices, a cold-faced, long-haired youth had gotten in close and executed a spinning elbow strike, channeling his Qi Blood into a perfect Linear Thrust.
The power of that elbow was immense, and it KO'd his opponent instantly.
In this very situation, the short-haired girl felt she could replicate that move.
'Worst case, I miss and take a few hits. No big deal. What's a measly first-stage Martial Artist going to do, flip the heavens? But if it lands... it'll be epic!'
She decided to go for it.
The short-haired girl paused for a fraction of a second, secretly gathering her Qi Blood for a burst of power. She raised her elbow, ready to show off.
Yu Fei had been observing her the whole time. The moment she paused, he knew she was up to something.
With his seven-fold reaction speed, a moment's thought was all it took for Yu Fei to figure out her plan.
Everything before Yu Fei's eyes slowed to a crawl. A faint smirk touched the girl's lips. The toes of her right foot lifted, her left leg tensed to push off, and her right elbow began to rise.
'Trying to hit me with an elbow strike?'
Yu Fei ran a quick simulation in his mind. 'Okay then! You want to spin? I'll spin too!'