Chapter 166: 16 to 8

Translator: CKtalon

At 9 p.m. on June 4, Beijing time, the World Martial Arts Tournament’s round of sixteen began. There were a total of eight matches.

“Today’s first match is Tu Ling from China versus Mickey from the EU. Tu Ling is the youngest contestant in the World Martial Arts Tournament, and Mickey has much more actual combat experience, but the three guests beside me are all optimistic about Tu Ling,” the female host said.

The competition had already begun with Tu Ling and Mickey having entered the combat map. It was the modern city map.

Tu Ling leaped down from a tall building and landed on the street, waiting for Mickey’s arrival.

Mickey wore armor and held two sabers.

“Mickey’s dual sabersmanship is very brilliant, but he ultimately didn’t break through to Lv. 5. The gap between him and China’s Tu Ling is still too great,” the male guest, Owen, said.

The two fought.

Mickey turned into an afterimage and charged to Tu Ling’s side. Saber beams flashed as he constantly attacked.

Tu Ling stood still and simply blocked with the shield in her left hand! She blocked all the saber beams and blocked more than ten consecutive strikes before she swung her saber. Her strike… alarmed Mickey, but he didn’t have the time to block before the saber beam swept past his throat.

Lv. 5. Mickey’s body turned ethereal as he sighed inwardly. The gap between Lv. 4 and Lv. 5 is too great.

“Tu Ling finally struck; she defeated Mickey with one strike,” Jin Fan said excitedly. “Tu Ling only defended and didn’t attack after more than ten moves! The gap between the two parties is too great!”

…

“The second match is Tejano Xire from Botswana versus Riven Gullit from the EU. Both parties have reached Lv. 5, so the battle will definitely be more exciting,” the female host said as she watched the livestream.

It was the forest map.

In the forest, Tejano Xire wore black light armor and faced Riven Gullit empty-handed.

Empty-handed? Xu Jingming, Liu Hai, Tiger Fussen, Madeleine Logan, Ysarova, Halu Singh, and the other experts turned solemn.

“Madeleine Logan at least wore boxing gloves in her battle. Tejano Xire plans to rely on his bare palms?” Li Miaomiao was puzzled.

“He’s clearly confident.” Xu Jingming watched seriously.

“Not using any weapon? Not even a glove?” Riven Gullit wore heavy armor and held a pair of sledgehammers as he stared at Tejano.

Tejano chuckled and said, “Big guy, let’s talk if you have the ability to touch me.”

“Hmph.” With a cold grunt, Riven Gullit instantly charged out, his speed rising to about 290 meters per second, and his entire body turned into a blur. With his terrifying weight, every move he made carried immense kinetic energy. His two sledgehammers swung as if they could crush everything.

Whoosh.

The sledgehammer came crashing down at Tejano.

Tejano’s figure strangely dissipated, but he suddenly appeared beside Riven Gullit. His right hand was like a phantom as he gently tapped the latter’s face with the tip of his finger.

Riven Gullit stopped and looked at Tejano in disbelief. How is this possible?

His dual hammers’ defense was very impressive, but Tejano tapped his face with his fingers the moment they met.

“If I had exerted a little force just now, your head would’ve gone… boom.” Tejano smiled at Riven Gullit. “However, it’s rare to have a Lv. 5 opponent. I’ll give you three chances.”

Riven Gullit became even more serious and careful. He suddenly charged over and swung his hammer horizontally, defending carefully.

Tejano’s body strangely dissipated again.

Boop.

The back of his head was tapped gently.

Riven Gullit turned his head in disbelief and looked behind him.

“You’re really too slow.” Tejano Xire was standing behind him. “Your weapon techniques and defense are lacking, and your speed is slow. How are you going to fight someone?”

Roar!

Riven Gullit suddenly roared and spun around, brandishing the two sledgehammers in his hands.

Tejano’s figure flashed again.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In his rage, Riven Gullit threw out the dual hammers in his hand and tried his best to smash at the blur.

“Pfft.”

Tejano was already standing in front of Riven Gullit, and his finger tapped the spot between the latter’s brows.

“I’ve given you three chances.” Tejano smiled.

Boom!

Riven Gullit didn’t say a word. He suddenly lunged forward like a huge bear.

Tejano’s figure flashed and had already picked up the sledgehammer in the distance.

Boom!

He then swung the sledgehammer and instantly arrived beside Riven Gullit. The sledgehammer smashed into the latter’s waist; the heavy armor Riven Gullit wore weighed 9.6 tons—it was astonishingly dense and had extremely high defense. Logically speaking, even a Lv. 5 expert could only injure him with a heavy weapon. However, the impact of the strike left Riven Gullit in disbelief.

He was sent flying, and the trees he crashed into exploded. Meanwhile, he began to turn ethereal.

A single smash at his heavy armor crushed him to death!

Urgh.

Tejano held the sledgehammer in one hand and swung it twice. “How clumsy.”

With a casual swing, the sledgehammer flew into the distance.

The match ended.

Xu Jingming, Liu Hai, and the others wore solemn expressions.

“This…” The host and the three guests were dumbfounded.

“His speed—his maximum movement speed just now reached 387 meters per second,” Annie said in disbelief. “He’s nearly 100 meters faster than Riven. Moreover, he’s too agile. Riven is practically moving in slow motion in front of him.”

In the slow-motion replay, Tejano’s speed and agility far exceeded his opponent’s, allowing him to toy with him as he wished.

“He crushed Riven to death with a single strike?”

“This strength is too terrifying. Riven Gullit has also reached Lv. 5 in every aspect.” The host and guests were even more dumbfounded as they watched the slow-motion replay.

“Jingming.” Li Miaomiao looked at the post-match commentary and couldn’t help but look at her husband. “Tejano, isn’t he a little too strong?”

“As the competition progresses, everyone begins to show their true strength.” Xu Jingming’s eyes lit up. Such an opponent is rare. I’m really looking forward to fighting him.

There were too few people in the world who deserved his full efforts. Tejano made Xu Jingming feel threatened, but it also made him excited and expectant.

…

“The third match is Liu Hai from China and Japlov from the EU.”

“Oh…”

“Liu Hai used his shield and struck out six times. The first three strikes were defensive, and the last three shields were offensive. Each strike was stronger than the one before, and the last shield killed Japlov.” The host and guests watched the replay.

It was because the battle was too fast for people to see clearly. They just heard six consecutive strikes, and the battle ended!

“Thank you.” When Japlov’s figure turned ethereal, he bowed slightly in gratitude. Liu Hai could’ve killed him in one strike or teased him, but he struck six times normally, giving him the necessary respect and pressure.

For the elimination match of the top 16 to the last 8, three experts from the EU appeared in the first three matches. It was obvious how the EU’s martial arts atmosphere was. Of course, the elimination of these three experts also exposed a problem: the EU was lacking when it came to the top experts.

…

“The fourth match is between Madeleine Logan from the United States of America and Alex from the Amazon Federal Republic. It’s very rare; this is a battle between two female experts,” the female host said happily.

Alex had long, brownish-black hair and a face that appeared to be carved from stone. She was extremely valiant, and she was also a beautiful female war goddess.

She held a shield in one hand and a dagger in the other.

“Pfft.”

In the ancient battlefield map, the dagger and shield that Alex stabbed or struck out were easily grabbed by Madeleine Logan’s two hands.

After being grabbed, Alex couldn’t even budge.

Bang!

The corners of Madeleine Logan’s mouth curled up slightly, and with a hint of coldness, she suddenly pushed the shield and dagger with both hands, smashing them into Alex’s body.

Alex was sent flying, and she turned ethereal and dissipated in midair.

“Alex!” The citizens of the Amazon Federal Republic were extremely sad. The pride of their country—the only contestant to enter the main competition—only reached the top 16.

…

In the fifth match, Ysarova versus Miyagawa Meishin.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The angel-like Ysarova was loved by countless viewers. She shot out arrows, and the might of each arrow was more terrifying than the last. She had already shown mercy and gradually increased the might of every arrow.

Miyagawa Meishin—who had just broken through to Lv. 5—had yet to break through in his evolutionary method. No matter how agile his movement technique was, it was extremely strenuous for him to block the arrows that were akin to being shot out by a deity.

This arrow is terrifying. Miyagawa Meishin felt stifled. He barely made it to the sixth arrow before it penetrated his body.

“Miyagawa!” Countless citizens of Japan were unwilling to believe that the only contestant from Japan to enter the main competition would be eliminated.

…

It was finally Xu Jingming’s turn for the sixth match.

In the snow map.

Xu Jingming stood in the snow and looked at the handsome youth, Merritt, who had appeared in the distance.

Merritt’s expression was solemn, and he felt immense pressure. The fame preceded the person—the name ‘Xu Jingming’ … was too intimidating!