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It is unclear whether it was Liu Guanfeng's strength that intimidated the competitors below or if it was his family background that had the same effect. In any case, during the third match, Liu Guanfeng had no opponents. Thus, there were four First Grade students on the Arena at the same time: Liu Guanfeng, Liu Tongniu, Liu Tieniu, and Bao Rui. This was unprecedented in the history of the Campus Competition preliminaries.
For nearly half a month following that, the four of them faced challenges on stage every day. Liu Guanfeng typically faced one or two challengers daily, and there was never a day when he faced three. Bao Rui, whose performance was less prominent, had to accept three challenges each day, which helped him become more proficient in his Tai Chi practice.
Copper Bull and Iron Bull, due to their strong performances in earlier matches, found themselves with the most leisure time; they often only had one match a day, and sometimes they didn't have anyone to challenge them at all. Even Leihong and the two fourth-grade competitors were constantly accepting challenges. As time went on, the challengers became stronger; the two fourth graders with the surnames Zhang and Wang almost got knocked off the Arena during their third match.
Liu Guanfeng also enjoyed a relaxed experience, going on stage daily to stretch his muscles against one or two challengers. The month-long Campus Competition Preliminary Competition had now concluded.
After the final day's matches were completed, Director Jin arrived at Arena No. 6 to announce to the students below, "The preliminary competition has concluded. Starting tomorrow, we will enter the second round of the Preliminary Competition. The participating competitors are:
In Ring One: Fourth Grade Fire Department Class Two's Zhang Feng; in Second Arena: Fourth Grade Golden Class Fifth Class's Wang Yuqiang; in Arena Three: First Grade Special Class's Liu Guanfeng; in Arena Four: Fourth Grade Earth Department Class One's Wang Jinshi; in Fifth Arena: First Grade Earth Class Three's Liu Tieniu; in Arena Six: Fourth Grade Golden Class Third Class's Gai Jingang; in Seventh Arena: First Grade Fire Class Eight's Bao Rui; in Arena Eight: Third Grade Water Type's Wang Haiyang; in Arena Nine: Second Grade Fire Class Nine's Leihong; and in Arena Ten: First Grade Fire Class Eight's Liu Tongniu.
Today I will work with ten judges to determine the matchups for the second stage of elimination rounds. The second stage will take place the day after tomorrow. I hope all ten participating competitors maintain their stamina. Now everyone can go home."
After the announcement, everyone returned to their dormitories. Since tomorrow was a holiday, students living nearby hurried home while those farther away could only rest in their dorms. Below, Platinum Wen congratulated Liu Guanfeng and his three companions repeatedly, which felt quite awkward to Liu Guanfeng—after all, it wasn't like they were getting married or having children.
Upon returning home, Liu Guanfeng shared everything that had happened with his parents. They were very pleased and rewarded him with two gold coins, while Bao Rui and his companions each received two silver coins.
Later, his father expressed concern to Liu Guanfeng about not practicing too hard for fear of going astray. To ease his father's worries and keep the secret of the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array safe, Liu Guanfeng simply told him that he hadn't practiced any techniques but was just exercising and practicing movements regularly. This reassured his father.
After resting at home for a day, it was time to return to school. Liu Guanfeng and his three friends speculated about who their opponents would be. They concluded that as long as they did not face each other, they would have no issues regardless of whom they encountered.
After lunch, Liu Guanfeng and his group of five headed towards the school's Arena. By the time they arrived at the Arena, it was already crowded with people. When some noticed the five of them approaching, they willingly made way for them.
Among this group of five, four were entering the second stage, which drew curious glances from everyone present. Many pointed at Liu Guanfeng and his companions; although Platinum Wen was not a Seed Champion, his reputation was significant as Rainy Pre-Academy's only small businessman. Now everyone in the academy knew about Platinum Wen's thriving business.
Liu Guanfeng and his friends ignored the crowd pointing at them and walked directly towards the Arena. It wasn't until nearly twelve-thirty that Director Jin led ten judges onto the Arena, with two of them carrying something resembling a small blackboard covered with white cloth.
Director Jin stepped forward, cleared his throat, and addressed the students below: "After a month of preliminary rounds, we have finally determined our ten outstanding competitors who will advance to the second stage of preliminaries. Let us all welcome these ten competitors onto the Arena with warm applause."
With Director Jin's provocative words, thunderous applause erupted from the audience below the Arena. Amidst the applause, ten contestants stepped onto the Arena and lined up in a row behind the ten judges.
Seeing that the participants had taken their positions, Director Jin continued to address the crowd:
"After a month of intense competition, these ten contestants have made it to the final stage. Based on their performance over the past month, five will be selected as Seed Champions, while the other five will serve as challengers."
Director Jin paused for a moment, looking out at the crowd in the Arena. Noticing that the audience was already stirred up, he nodded in satisfaction. At this point, five judges on each side of the ten contestants stepped aside, creating a pathway between the competitors and Director Jin.
"I will now announce the names of the Seed Champions. The first Seed Champion is Liu Tongniu from First Grade Fire Class Eight." Upon hearing his name, Copper Bull took a few steps forward to stand behind Director Jin, eliciting another round of applause from the audience.
"The second Seed Champion is Leihong from Second Grade Fire Class Nine." Leihong also stepped forward to stand in line with Copper Bull, leaving one space between them.
"The third Seed Champion is Liu Tieniu from First Grade Earth Class Three; the fourth Seed Champion is Wang Yuqiang from Fourth Grade Golden Class Fifth Class; and the fifth Seed Champion is Liu Guanfeng from First Grade Special Class." When Liu Guanfeng heard his name, he was momentarily stunned, as he was well aware that he had not performed exceptionally and should have ranked around sixth or seventh based on evaluations.
However, after a moment of reflection, he realized it was likely due to his father's influence. Thus, Liu Guanfeng stepped forward to stand alongside the other four Seed Champions.
At this moment, a white cloth behind them shifted to reveal a blackboard on which were written the names of Liu Guanfeng and the other four champions.
Director Jin cleared his throat again: "The five challengers who will face off against the Seed Champions are Zhang Feng challenging Liu Guanfeng; Bao Rui challenging Wang Yuqiang; Gai Jingang challenging Liu Tieniu; Wang Jinshi challenging Leihong; and Wang Haiyang challenging Liu Tongniu."
After hearing the matchups, Liu Guanfeng understood that the academy had arranged them similarly to an NBA playoff format: strongest against weakest, and so forth until two closely matched competitors faced off.
Once the matchups and venue were arranged, other groups began to descend to their respective Arenas. Since Liu Guanfeng was in Fifth Arena, he had to wait until everyone else had settled before starting his match. After all judges and competitors reached their Arenas, they stood facing each other.
At this point, Director Jin stood below Arena Three and addressed everyone present: "The competition is about to begin."
With Director Jin's command, the contestants on stage immediately began their matches. Only Liu Guanfeng and Zhang Feng remained still. From the first round of matches, it was clear that they were evenly matched; either could win without surprise. However, Liu Guanfeng knew very well that they were not on the same level as competitors.
Liu Guanfeng believed that if he struck first, it would seem like bullying. Meanwhile, Zhang Feng stared intently at Liu Guanfeng, searching for any weaknesses. Neither moved as they faced each other when suddenly a distant shout of "Ah!" indicated that a winner had already been determined in another Arena.
The sound indicates that it should be either Ring One's Copper Bull or Leihong from the Second Arena. If nothing unexpected happens, one of them must have won.
Hearing the sound, Zhang Feng realized that someone had determined the outcome, so he could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, fists clenched, and aimed a double punch at Liu Guanfeng's temples. Liu Guanfeng used his arms to deflect Zhang Feng's punches.
When their arms collided, Liu Guanfeng nodded slightly to himself, thinking: Zhang Feng's strength is quite commendable. Although he can't compare to the Copper Bull Brothers, he is not far behind Leihong. The only pity is that he ran into me.
Seeing that Liu Guanfeng had blocked his punches, Zhang Feng immediately aimed a kick at Liu Guanfeng's abdomen. Liu Guanfeng released Zhang Feng's fists and grabbed the kicking leg instead. Then, as he pulled back his abdomen in response to the kick, Zhang Feng was yanked forward. Liu Guanfeng then thrust his abdomen forward while pushing Zhang Feng away with both hands.
Zhang Feng stumbled back two steps. Liu Guanfeng charged forward again and executed a downward kick from Taekwondo, raising his foot over his head and striking towards Zhang Feng's head with his heel. Zhang Feng jumped to the left to evade Liu Guanfeng's downward kick. After landing on his right foot, Liu Guanfeng immediately pivoted counterclockwise on that foot, swinging his left heel towards Zhang Feng's waist.
At this moment, Zhang Feng realized he could not defend against it anymore. As he saw the kick coming towards him, he rolled sideways to his left to minimize the impact of Liu Guanfeng's kick. Holding his waist with one hand, he stood up and immediately launched another attack on Liu Guanfeng, throwing a flurry of punches from all directions, which were all skillfully neutralized by Liu Guanfeng.
Zhang Feng's final punch aimed for Liu Guanfeng's chest. Liu Guanfeng clamped down on Zhang Feng's fist with both hands and pushed it outward, redirecting Zhang Feng’s punch in front of himself. Then, stepping forward with his right foot behind Zhang Feng, he exerted force to push Zhang Feng away. As Zhang Feng retreated, Liu Guanfeng advanced.
Liu Guanfeng began his assault with a series of combination punches that forced Zhang Feng to retreat continuously. Noticing that Zhang Feng was backing away too quickly and losing balance, Liu Guanfeng stepped forward and executed a side kick that landed squarely on Zhang Feng’s arms crossed in front of his chest.
At that moment, Zhang Feng felt as if he had left the ground entirely. He realized he had been knocked out of the Arena and fell onto the grass mat below. Fortunately, he did not sustain any serious injuries. He stood up and cupped his fists towards Liu Guanfeng in the Arena, who returned the gesture respectfully.
At this point in the Arena, only the fourth match between Bao Rui and Wang Yuqiang remained undecided. Wang Yuqiang's attacks were still quite effective, making him an excellent opponent for Bao Rui’s Tai Chi practice. Bao Rui showcased various Tai Chi techniques and principles by dodging left and right and using leverage against Wang Yuqiang.
Wang Yuqiang felt increasingly frustrated as every heavy punch he threw felt like hitting cotton; not only did it shake him physically but also created a significant psychological gap that left him feeling quite uncomfortable.
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