Chapter 207 - Qualifying Rounds

Only ten martial artists were left in the square. The rest had already been eliminated.

Out of the tens of thousands of participating martial artists, only these ten outstanding people were determined in the end. Although some martial artists might feel that they were unlucky, most of them were convinced.

All ten of these martial artists had won 60 or 70 battles consecutively. The strongest of them had even won more than 90 battles consecutively without a single defeat. Although on the surface, only Lin Feng and Griman had won the most consecutive battles, without actually fighting each other, how would anyone think that they were inferior to others?

Hence, Fu Lin glared at Lin Feng and Griman like a tiger eyeing its prey. She was third place, below Lin Feng and Griman. However, she was prideful. How could she really be convinced?

It wasn’t just Fu Lin. The other martial artists were the same. The battle intention in their eyes was very strong as they stared at each other.

An hour passed quickly. Lin Feng and the others entered the Virtual Combat System again.

“The rules of the qualifying rounds are divided into five groups based on the rankings of the elimination rounds. The winner will draw lots to determine the final ranking.”

In fact, this method was not even as “fair” as the previous elimination method. What if the two strongest experts met in advance? Wouldn’t someone who was originally able to get second place wind up in the sixth place?

However, in reality, the martial artists did not mind. This was because according to the reward rules of the Global Martial Arts Competition, only the first place could obtain 10,000 merit value. As for the second, third, and up to the tenth place after that, the rewards were exactly the same.

What did this mean?

This actually meant that the winner would take all. Honor was only granted to the first place. If one could not get first place, even if they obtained second place, it was actually a failure and meaningless.

Hence, although this method of drawing lots seemed unfair, it was actually very fair. This was because if one wanted to obtain first place, they had to keep winning!

“Martial artists matched in qualifying rounds: Griman versus Wang Yiming.”

“Lin Feng versus Liu Chengfeng.”

“Fu Lin versus Andor.”

“Dardan versus Sialis.”

“Lin Xu versus Ouyang Jing.”

Many martial artists in the square fell silent. Countless projection images dimmed slightly, and then five scenes appeared. They were scenes of the five pairs of martial artists fighting.

These five battles were held simultaneously, but the one who received the most attention was not Griman, or even Lin Feng, but the last three pairs.

After all, in everyone’s opinion, Griman and Lin Feng were stronger than the other eight by a stretch. Perhaps the other eight martial artists would not think so, but most people did.

There seemed to be no suspense in Griman and Lin Feng’s battles. The remaining three pairs of martial artists were similar in strength, so there was more suspense.

In the Virtual Combat System, Griman and Lin Feng did not pay attention to the other three matches. They only had eyes for their opponents.

Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly. At this moment, their surroundings had already turned into an environment of heavy downpour. They were surrounded by ruins that appeared as if they had been abandoned for a long time. It looked like an apocalypse.

Liu Chengfeng took a deep breath and suddenly said in a low voice, “Can we expand the battlefield?”

“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, the Virtual Combat System actually responded.

“I’d like to request not setting battlefield barriers. I need an open battlefield.”

Liu Chengfeng’s eyes flickered with excitement.

“Battlefield barriers cleared. The battlefield is currently open.”

As soon as the virtual system finished speaking, the surrounding ruins disappeared. There was only the pitter-patter of heavy rain. They were in a huge square that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Originally, many people did not pay much attention to Lin Feng’s battlefield. Hearing Liu Chengfeng’s request, they were also slightly stunned and somewhat confused.

“What is Liu Chengfeng doing?”

“The battlefield environment seems to have changed. What’s the use?”

“Without absolute strength, what’s the use of changing battlefield environments?”

“Eh? Liu Chengfeng’s motive for doing this doesn’t seem simple. Could it be…”

“You’ve thought of it too? It seems like Liu Chengfeng has been studying Lin Feng for a long time. Not bad, this might be the only way. This battle is interesting. There might even be a dramatic turn of events.”

Many martial artists started discussing spiritedly. Some martial artists seemed to have guessed something and looked unfathomable. Meanwhile, some martial artists did not understand and did not know what Liu Chengfeng meant.

Hao Shiyi’s eyes lit up as well. He suddenly said, “Liu Chengfeng? He’s rather smart. Not bad. He’s able to grasp Lin Feng’s only weakness.”

Even Xia Laogui had no choice but to nod and say, “That’s right. This may be Lin Feng’s only weakness. This Liu Chengfeng is quite good and has a quick mind.”

But were they worried?

In truth, Hao Shiyi and Xia Laogui were not worried at all. They knew Lin Feng’s strength very well, especially Hao Shiyi, who knew how formidable Lin Feng’s innate talents were. From the beginning to end, Lin Feng did not seem to have used any other methods yet.

Even the Sages nodded slightly, feeling that Liu Chengfeng was indeed quite good to be able to come up with such a method. Hence, the Sages’ gazes were all focused on Lin Feng’s battle. They also wanted to see how Lin Feng would counter it.

…

“Interesting. How did you think of this method?”

Lin Feng looked at Liu Chengfeng opposite him and immediately understood his goal.

Liu Chengfeng smiled and said, “Actually, I’ve noticed you for a long time. I’ve practiced this Astral martial art called the Void Bubble before, but it was too difficult. In the end, I gave up. Although I didn’t succeed in mastering it, I have some understanding of the Void Bubble. The Void Bubble can’t be infinitely large. Moreover, if you condense the Void Bubble at an especially large size, its power would decrease drastically. The 9,999 strands of Astral Power in my body will definitely be able to withstand it!”

“If you control the size of the Astral Bubble, and I’m a martial artist known for my speed, you won’t have a chance to use the Void Bubble on me at all. When the time comes, it’ll be a battle of attrition. The final victor isn’t certain.”

Liu Chengfeng’s words enlightened those martial artists who did not understand. Why hadn’t they thought of this before?

Previously, the battlefield environment in the Virtual Combat System seemed to be ever-changing, but in reality, it was set up in the standard of a “arena”. Combatants could move around however they wanted.

Hence, Lin Feng’s Void Bubble was very advantageous. All his opponents had no choice but to resist it head-on. However, if they resisted it head-on, Lin Feng’s Void Bubble had a small diameter. How terrifying was its power?

Even Third Level Metamorphic Realm experts with 9,999 strands of Astral Power in their bodies could not resist the collapsing force of Lin Feng’s Astral Bubble, so they were defeated one after another.

But what if it was an open battlefield environment?

If he used the infinite space to avoid Lin Feng’s Void Bubble and not allow Lin Feng’s Void Bubble to trap him, no matter how powerful Lin Feng’s Void Bubble was, it would be useless.

For a moment, those martial artists who had fought with Lin Feng all shook their heads, looking vexed. Lin Feng had such an obvious fatal weakness. How could they not have discovered it?

If they had thought of it earlier, they might have been able to defeat Lin Feng. They might be the ones in the top ten, unlike now, when Liu Chengfeng was the one taking advantage.