The afternoon battle was much more crowded than the morning battle had been. After all, it was a battle among the top ten strongest candidates from the capital's martial arts scene.
"Girl, don't push yourself too hard. Just do your best." Huo Changxing looked at Qin Xiaoyou and smiled.
It had already surprised him that she had been able to place among the top ten positions. He understood this girl's thoughts and intentions too well.
In reality, him bringing a normal woman like Wang Huiru home had garnered a lot of doubt from the people of the clan. In fact, some of them had already voiced their opposition.
Now that this girl had achieved such an impressive result, it was enough to make quite a number of those same people shut their mouths. After all, among the youth of the Huo Clan, nobody could compare to this girl anymore. If she could continue to grow and progress, she would definitely have an exceptional future and nobody would dare to look down on them anymore.
"No, my aim is to place among the top three positions. Even if I am unable to achieve this, I still have to work towards that goal," Qin Xiaoyou said with a firm gaze.
After all, only with high goals could one achieve greater heights. As such, she hoped that she would be able to fight her way to one of the top three positions. Only then would she have the confidence to follow in Mo Wen's footsteps.
Although the gap between them was very large, this was just the beginning. However, if she sat back and did nothing, she would surely not improve.
"You, girl, are already more powerful than all of them because you have only trained for such a short period of time. Moreover, you are the youngest! In a couple of years, you will have left them far behind!" Huo Changxing smiled and said.
With Qin Xiaoyou's natural talent, she should not be restricted to this secluded corner of the world, as there was not much value in that. However, Qin Xiaoyou was still relatively young at the moment and she had not trained for long. So, trying to fight for one of the top three positions was not an easy task.
In fact, the chances of her success were very slim. If she was a little lucky and managed to avoid meeting those two youths with the Qi Nucleation realm, there was still a possibility. But, if she was matched against them during the semi-finals, it was very possible that she would be eliminated.
"I just want to do the things well. That way, I will be able to have a better future." Qin Xiaoyou was determined.
She just wanted to give it her all and fight her way forward. No matter how far she went, she would give it her all. Only then would she be able to go the distance and close the gap between her and her opponents!
In reality, Qin Xiaoyou's aim was not just to get into the top three, but rather to win the title! She just did not vocalize it. She knew that the Bi Clan and the Qin Clan had each produced a talented youth with the Qi Nucleation realm, both of whom would be tough to defeat.
However, Mo Wen had previously defeated a master with the Qi Nucleation realm when he was only of the Sea of Qi realm. So, she had to try her best to achieve the things that he had been able to accomplish. Only then could she prove that her dreams could become reality.
"Just remember that your safety comes first. If you can't handle it anymore, please do not push yourself further." Huo Changxing felt helpless.
This girl's personality was just so stubborn! Normally, she did not appear to be such a competitive person. However, when she became serious, her drive was really unstoppable!
Qin Xiaoyou nodded her head vigorously. Her small hands were gripped tightly and her gaze drifted over to Mo Wen, who was seated nearby.
All of her efforts had gone to proving herself to this man. In the past, she had not thought of herself as being inferior to Mo Wen, since her results had always been higher than his.
However, she also now knew that they were from two completely different worlds. Hence, whatever she deemed to be outstanding did not actually mean anything to him.
As such, it was impossible for two people from completely different worlds to end up together. However, she was not one to give up so easily. Even though she was devoid of any merits in the past, she was determined that she would be able to prove herself in the future.
"Give it your best shot! I believe in you." Mo Wen smiled and nodded.
Previously, when he had trained this girl, he did not have many expectations. He had just hoped that she would have some self-defence abilities, so that he could be more at ease about her well-being.
But now, he truly believed that this girl's achievements in the future would be rather exceptional. It was even possible that she might one day surpass him.
The capital's ancient martial arts scene was merely a small stage. In fact, it was just a contest between a few aristocratic families of the martial arts world. Strictly speaking, it only involved about half of the ancient martial arts population.
As such, it should be a piece of cake for Qin Xiaoyou to attain one of the top three positions with her current cultivation and knowledge of the ranked martial arts. Thus, it should not be too difficult for her to defeat those impulsive ancient martial art practitioners with the Qi Nucleation realm.
"Mm!" Qin Xiaoyou nodded her head vigorously and a smile soon spread across her face. After all, nothing was more blissful than hearing the affirmation of someone she liked!
...
Qin Xiaoyou's first match was very successful. She won the first round and successfully made it into the top eight.
In the following round of eight matches, a balloting system was used to decide how to match the opponents. They were split into four pairs, and the winner from each pair would proceed to the top four, with the chance to fight for one of the top three positions.
As for the people who got eliminated, they would only be able to fight for the fourth, fifth, sixth and other remaining positions. Among the top eight, the competition could be said to be dominated by two people ultimately. These two people, of course, hailed from the top aristocratic family.
However, the Qin Clan was not too bad, as they had two contestants who were able to maintain their positions in the top eight and were comparable to the Bi Clan. As for the other four contestants, there was one from the Wang Clan, who was a youth called Wang Jingxian. His cultivation was at least of the peak of the Sea of Qi realm. He appeared to be the elder brother of Wang Xiaofei and Wang Jingmin.
Other than that, there were another two, who were not from the top aristocratic families. Their abilities were rather good, and they were known as being outstanding people of the capital ancient martial art scene's younger generation.
In the middle of the square, there were four fighting rings that had been combined into one huge fighting ring. Thus, it was clear how much importance was placed upon the round of eight battles.
The first to appear was the Wang Clan's Wang Jingxian and his opponent, a youth from the Lu Clan. The two of them had been matched as opponents during the drawing of lots.
"Your luck is rather good, as you didn't get chosen to battle with any of the stronger opponents. Although that Qin Kui is someone from the Qin Clan, there is a big gap between him and Qin Qiao. So, he should not be able to beat you." Huo Changxing looked at Qin Xiaoyou, who was just coming back down from the fighting ring.
Drawing of lots to decide on one's opponent depended on one's luck entirely. If one had bad luck and drew a strong opponent, they could be immediately eliminated.
Qin Xiaoyou's first match was set to be against the Qin Clan's Qin Kui, not Qin Qiao. That was a very fortunate outcome. If it had been Qin Qiao, she would very likely have been defeated right away, not even having the chance to proceed to the top four.
"That's right! But, against the people of the Qin Caln, Xiaoyou will definitely not hold back." Qin Xiaoyou said with a smile.
In truth, she had hoped to be pitted against the people of the Qin Clan, so that she could defeat them one by one. The people of the Qin Clan were cold and ruthless, after all.
Wang Jingxian did not fall short of his reputation as the Wang Clan's top talent. Not only did he have the peak of the Sea of Qi realm, he also had an exceptional aura when he attacked. That youth from the Lu Clan had only persevered for half a minute in the fighting ring before he was defeated.
Wang Jingxian and Meng Guo were the top candidates who were vying for the third position. However, now that Meng Guo had been eliminated in the round of ten, it was very possible that Wang Jingxian would easily attain the third position.
The second match was a little funny, as it was the Bi Clan against the Bi Clan! The two youths from the Bi Clan had been matched during the drawing of lots. It had thus become an internal competition for the Bi Clan, which had caused a lot of amazement and amusement.
Hence, the second battle was naturally very simple. One of the youths of the Bi Clan simply admitted defeat. The other one won without their even having the battle!
The one who won was naturally the top talent of the Bi Clan, Bi Fengdi. At a young age, he had already achieved the Qi Nucleation realm. He was then deemed the top talent of the entire capital.
However, he now had a competitor, the Qin Clan's talent, Qin Qiao, who had also broken through into the Qi Nucleation realm. The two of them were the ones who had been identified as the favorites in the fight for the title in this competition.
The third round was finally Qin Xiaoyou's turn to battle. Her opponent was Qin Kui from the Qin Clan.
Qin Xiaoyou walked into the ring. Her body was as light as a feather and she flew up in a moment, then landed gently in the fighting ring. On the other side, a youth whose face had knife scars had also taken huge strides into the fighting ring.
"My name is Qin Kui. You are very pretty. However, I will still have to kill you." That youth planted himself 50 meters away from Qin Xiaoyou. In his hand was a Tang Dagger.
This youth was rather young, but he had a cold and lifeless aura about him. That Tang Dagger still had blood stains on it, as if he had killed quite a number of people recently!
His aura alone was enough to scare a lot of people till their legs turned to jelly. It was no wonder that he could make it into the top eight, as he was really extraordinary!
Qin Kui was a renowned talent of the Qin Clan, so many people knew of him. He was known to ruthless and to not hold back. Hence, he had offended quite a number of people.
However, there was no doubt that he was very powerful. Although he was only of the later stage of the Sea of Qi realm, he was like a fierce tiger during battles. He was brutal and very skilful, such that some ancient martial art practitioners with the peak of the Sea of Qi realm may not even be matches for him!
His current intention was to kill that beauty in the fighting ring. Normally, he could not bear to kill such a beautiful being. However, the Qin Clan wanted to kill this woman, so he had no choice.
This was because he wanted to prove himself. Whatever that Qin Qiao could do, he was determined to be able to as well. In fact, he would even execute it better!
Moreover, if he was given sufficient time, he would even be able to break through into the Qi Nucleation realm. He, Qin Kui, would not be inferior to that Qin Qiao!