Chapter 77: Single Elimination Bracket

Chapter 77: Single Elimination Bracket

Mo Nianzu against Su Xialu. The air parted as the two sped towards each other. Su Xialu was the first to breach that momentum as he executed a beautiful rotation and tens of cuts simultaneously targeted his opponent from different angles. Mo Nianzu eyes widened at those qi projections approaching from all sides.

In his mind, was seeing a different scene; the image of a gentle tree swaying in the wind but bringing a profound sense of death. Mo Nianzus mind was shaken but his movements didnt show hesitation as he used an ability to dash to the side while launching qi in a defensive style. He complemented that quick response with a Wave of light blue qi, his main attack.

This attack managed to sweep all the cuts on its way but they kept arriving from every direction as Su Xianlu weaved around with shocking fluidity.

Mo Nianzu felt that he was getting ever more overwhelmed, as if the branches of that tree were reaching out and entangling him further. Soon, cuts and scary gashes began appearing on his body. The more he tried to struggle and the more he felt as if he was sinking under those branches and getting trapped. His movement became more and more restricted and his qi was expanding at a terrifying speed Until he gave up resisting.

Sensing he had won, Su Xialu stopped attacking and Mo Nianzu was left standing groggily and completely stunned.

I- I give up. He whispered wide eyed. Was this young man in afront of him 12 years old and at the same cultivation level? How was the difference so vast? His only relief was that he would get another chance for a better ranking at the next phase, in the losers bracket.

Most disciples in the audience hadnt felt the terror that Mo Nianzu went through but still witnessed a magnificent display of sword play and movements at the qi cultivation level. More accurately, the Elders could see through all those moves and made mental notes on that incredible disciple.

This remarkable showcase came as a small shock for Han Lingyun. In his usual style, he immediately focused on analyzed the events he had just witnessed.

What did Su Xialu did differently to dominate Mo Nianzu? His qi appeared to be slightly less dense and even by looking at their respective skills, this outcome just shouldnt have happened in theory. Yet, it never looked like Mo Nianzu had a chance in that confrontation.

However, I definitely sensed something more with Su Xialu: an unyielding, somewhat undying and tentacular nature. If I sensed something like that, it should come from the nature of his qi and perhaps his own comprehension and dao. There is a sort of unwavering confidence in his fighting style, to advance relentlessly, like if he already found his path.

I hadnt realized that the gap could be that important! So, how could I adapt my fighting style to fit my own path? I think that I have already made several steps in that direction, by attuning myself to the black bird art, and with my use of arrays. I can still imagine ways to progress further though. Imagining the extreme, I think that one of my ideals would be to defeat or kill without taking any risks myself. I should be able to increase my comprehension by using my own formation arrays in combat, being able to install those while fighting and disappearing completely from by opponents senses. Following that reasoning of killing undetected, I could also look more into long range weapons.

At some point when the ranks became closer, disciples stopped giving up and duels where more and more intense and close. The difference of ranks between the 200th and the 300th werent significant.

The duels of the losers bracket were also far more disputed as all cherished this chance to display their prowess, especially the numerous disciples that had given up without a fight.

After a hard combat in the final of the losers bracket, it was Mo Nianzu who managed to emerge as the winner. He wasnt the only one that deserved a higher ranking but the cultivation world was always unjust. There was no use of complaining for those that lost anyway, the consensus was that they only had their own weakness to blame. The first day of duels ended on that note.

The next morning was a repetition of the first day of duels, with the same crowd and setup. The only difference was that only 257 special seats remained for the qualified disciples: the 256 qualified plus Mo Nianzu.

The 17 old mens arrival marked the beginning of the duels on the second day. They hadnt shown any reactions or made any comments the previous day and had just been silently watching. The one wearing a black robe was the exception as he kept his eyes closed in a seemingly silent meditation all day.

Han Lingyun was lucky as his second opponent once again admitted defeat before the fight, even though he was a decent 4th grade talent from the Black Dragon Sect. Han Lingyun now had to wait again for a fight in the afternoon. He was even starting to get impatient due to the atmosphere, which was highly uncharacteristic of his temperament.

Wang Yimo on the other hand had to reveal a powerful attack to throw her opponent of stage.

Once again, the most entertaining duels where in the later stages of the 128 losers bracket. Mo Nianzu had entered that phase without any difficulties just by challenging a disciple that had been escorted shortly earlier from the stage in hurry as his state was uncertain. However, he failed to win all the matches to the first rank again.

Mo Nianzu, the one that had obtained the 14th rank during the first phase was eliminated outside the top 128 and his impossible climb back up ended.

Finally in the early afternoon came Han Lingyuns turn to duel. He only had to win one duel to reach the top 64 and be in the ranks for a reward. However, his opponent had the same idea in mind. He was Zheng Shun of the Northern Wudang Sect, ranked 105th in the first phase and a grade 4 talent at the early qi condensation stage. He had a bulky and muscular physique for his age and he attacked with his fists, just like Shen Lin. His main strength was his defensive art and he could endure attacks for some time before counterattacking his opponents that have less qi in their reserves. Zheng Shuns weaknesses was his speed and his attack somewhat lacking sharpness.

When he read about Zheng Shun, Han Lingyun immediately thought of the tank role in the RPG games he played.

Han Lingyuns plan was ready, the two faced off on the arena and the match began.