The Qualifiers

After the qualifying matches in the boys' section, Dash would face Xander Stone as his opponent in the round of sixteen, while Lee would face Krupa.

Looking at the leaderboard, the dojos that had qualified formed, and the tournament presenter stood in the center of the mat with a microphone.

"All right, audience, today we witnessed great fights, but you haven't seen anything yet because we have reached the quarterfinals!" said the presenter, taking a pause.

"That means things are about to get very interesting, as out of the eight boys and eight girls here, one from each division will be named the champion!"

"At this point, everyone must keep their eyes on the mat!"

When the presenter initiated the quarterfinals, the first to fight in the male category were Muller against Silva.

"Aren't you going to watch the fight?" Dash, who was checking his cell phone, looked at Devon, who had approached, and put away what he was doing.

"I've analyzed them enough. As it's now both male and female matches, you should analyze the opponent since you're the next one to fight." Dash looked at Devon, who seemed more excited than he had thought.

"I'm not worried; I got a girl a year older, so she definitely can't be superior to me." Devon said while looking at the qualified women.

"Daniel's daughter's fighting style is defensive, similar to the northern dragon style, but her strikes are slower. If you overwhelm her with kicks and keep your distance, you'll win. I'm sure you'll do it."

Devon looked at Sam and nodded; her goal was to win this title, as she would feel a bit bad considering all the training she had gone through for over half a year.

"Winner, Silva!"

When the winner was announced, the guy with the last name Silva advanced to the semifinal, which excited Dash even more, as his goal was to win this tournament and move on to the Karate competition to prove to his family that he was ready.

"Devon, crush her!" Dash said before his friend stepped into the arena.

"I'll shut that bitch up; she was the one talking about getting you disqualified!" Devon stepped into the arena, and after the salute, the match began.

Dash's eyes didn't stray from Devon's movements; she was magnificent using kicks and, along with the famous feints she had learned, opponents with little experience couldn't predict them.

"Point!"

Within just ten seconds, Devon had earned a point, and shortly after, the match resumed. Devon's opponent wasn't very tall, making it even easier for the kicks raining in all directions.

Pum! Pum! Pum!

As the match unfolded, Devon scored another point, but the next one, the other girl luckily landed a straight punch when Devon wanted to finish the match with the same kick she had been using from the beginning.

This was expected; perhaps Devon didn't want to reveal too much of her cards for the final, so it was understandable that she could score a point after losing twice with the same attacks.

"She must make an obvious feint now to finish the match by connecting a blow..." Dash had realized Devon's plan from the beginning and smiled.

In Devon's match, she had been making the same feint, giving her opponent the impression that that was the only attack she knew. But the real goal of doing this was to prepare the opponent for a feint that isn't really a feint, thus scoring a point with an attack the enemy thinks will never reach her body.

And that's how Devon, who smiled slightly, initiated the match with straight kicks, and just as she was about to do the same kick, she ducked, forcefully hit her opponent's legs, and brought her down.

"Point, winner!" The referee pointed to Devon, who was breathing heavily and smiled as she ran towards Dash.

"Did you see my trap?"

"That was amazing; you totally fooled her." Dash was amazed at Devon's development in the match; with that perception, she was sure to reach the final.

Mr. Kim on the side looked at those lovebirds and said nothing; he would have preferred to be part of the audience since he had students who didn't need him. He only hoped that the new students he would receive at the dojo were not as talented; only then could he be entertained in that place.

After the two initial matches, it was again the boys' turn, and Dash was called along with Xander Stone.

"Look at me, Bow."

"Look at each other, Bow!"

Dash and Xander greeted each other, and then the referee started the match.

"Fight!"