Precursor to the Quarterfinals

"Shi Quanzhou cannot fight any further! Shi Li wins this duel and can proceed to the quarterfinals!"

After hearing this announcement from Shi Xingtai, a loud and melodious round of applauses, cheers, and screams could be heard throughout the center arena as the fight was definitely heart pumping. Not only was it heart pumping due to the fact that Shi Li turned the tides and won with a secret move, their fight was basically cutthroat as if they were rivals for multiple years, aiming to debilitate at the earliest chance.

Shi Li passively listened to Shi Xingtai's announcement as a light smile appeared on his face while a strip of fabric was tied under and above Shi Quanzhou's wounds, acting as a tourniquet that would not allow blood to flow any further.

Seeing that he did a decent job on tying the two strips on Shi Quanzhou's shin, Shi Li then stood up and extended his arm as he asked, "Can you stand?"

With the tears still welling up his eyes, Shi Quanzhou wiped them off as he knew that a single setback would allow him to go farther. Letting out a sigh of disappointment as he grabbed onto Shi Li's extended arm, he pulled his body up as he said, "Y-Yeah, I can manage."

After standing up on both of his legs, he noticed that rather than feeling a stinging pain on his left leg, he instead felt his left leg become numb, as if the wound was not there at all.

Of course, being only 14 years old, Shi Quanzhou knew that the only way to heal wounds and injuries like these were through healing medicines and pills. He could not help but look at Shi Li and point at the two strips of fabric on his left shin before muttering, "H-How..."

"To be honest, one strip of fabric is enough for your wound to stop bleeding," Shi Li replied to Shi Quanzhou's mutter. "I just tied another strip of fabric below your wound as a precaution."

Shi Quanzhou was at a loss for words as he did not know what Shi Li was talking about. Shi Li noticed his gaze and explained, "This is just a skill I picked up when I was traversing the Forest of Ruin a week ago. It helps stop wounds from hurting that much."

Of course, Shi Li could not say that he picked this skill up from his past life. Who knew what people would say if he said that.

Shi Quanzhou did not pursue the matter any further. With the help of Shi Li acting as a human crutch, Shi Quanzhou was brought to the healers of the clan before moving to the seats where the spectators sat.

After this duel, the last two duels of the fourth elimination round passed by without anything peculiar happening, thus ending the fourth elimination round in a time of over 25 minutes.

...

After the fourth elimination round, the participants were given 10 minutes of rest, whether it was allotted in order for them to eat, to rest, or to consolidate their experiences from the duels they fought.

As for Shi Li, he used this 10 minutes of time to meditate and absorb the experiences he gained from the duels, using it as a reference to gradually remove his weaknesses in terms of techniques or movement, and turn it into strength.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew through the center stage of the clan arena, signalling to the 9 remaining participants that the 10 minutes of rest were now over. Shi Li opened his eyes from his meditation and stood up after feeling this gust of wind. He then walked closer to the other remaining participants, waiting for Shi Xingtai's words on the next round.

Of course, Shi Xingtai did not disappoint the participants as he started to talk after seeing that they were gathered. "Now that the fourth elimination round is now over, we are now moving on to the quarterfinals!"

"In order to make the numbers even once and for all, I shall now choose two participants that will duel against each other before we officially start the quarterfinals!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, two strands of qi were released from Shi Xingtai's fingers and circled around the participants' bodies before settling for two participants.

Not long after, two exclaims of shock could be heard coming from two female participants. Surprisingly, both of these participants were part of the 10 chosen clan members of the first test, specifically the carefree and palm expert Shi Huaqiang, and the future unprecedented beauty Shi Qincheng.

Shi Huaqiang and Shi Qincheng could not help but let out a sigh as they entered the dueling platform, asking the heavens in their minds as to how they were unlucky.

As they positioned themselves at both ends of the platform, an idea sparked through Huaqiang's eyes and asked Shi Qincheng, "Hey, Qincheng. Let's make this duel quick. We both get 1 move, the one who falls under the other's move or whoever becomes more injured will be the one that loses. Is that good with you?"

Unexpectedly, Shi Qincheng let out a smile that made multiple male spectators feel their hearts skip a beat as she replied, "That's fine with me! Let's go and bond together after the tournament, okay?"

"Un!" Shi Huaqiang nodded her head with a smile as she bent her knees, extending her palm outward, ready to fight.

On the other side, Shi Qincheng unsheathed a sword that she kept on her back and revealed it to Shi Huaqiang. It was a purple sword that had a thin blade in terms of width. If it were any thinner, then it would be similar to Shi Shisi's sword.

Seeing that both participants were ready, rather than announcing the duel's start, Shi Xingtai waved his hand downwards as the two looked at him, signalling the start of the duel!

"I'll be going first!" Shi Qincheng did not hesitate to unleash her full strength as she dashed towards Shi Huaqiang with her blade facing front.

Within seconds, the gap between the two was shortened to only a few meters as Shi Qincheng let out a shout while stabbing her sword towards Shi Huaqiang's abdomen. Not long after, a pair of incorporeal wings that were purple in color appeared on the sword as the blade's tip got closer and closer.

"Haah! Four Seasons Sword: Spring!"

Shi Huaqiang looked at Shi Qincheng's stab and smiled as she placed both of her palms in front of her abdomen as she made a pushing motion.

Boom!

With her full strength exerted through those palms, a barrier made out of the force from the palms deflected Shi Qincheng's sword as the force continued onwards, colliding with Qincheng's body.

"Hehe! Palm Blast!"

Whoosh!

Like a kite with a broken string, Shi Qincheng flew for a few meters through the air as she spat a small mouthful of blood, before controlling her fall by turning her body around and landing on her two legs.

Shi Qincheng looked at Shi Huaqiang for a bit before laughing as blood trickled down from her mouth. "Thanks for widening my horizons. I concede!"

"Shi Qincheng has given up from the duel, allowing Shi Huaqiang to continue to the quarterfinals!" Of course, seeing that the duel was over, Shi Xingtai announced the results without missing a heartbeat.

He had a feeling that the fights from the quarterfinals onwards would be at the level beyond what a Martial Novice could show.