The Round of 16

By the time Dash finished the match with his overwhelming attack, he had advanced directly to the round of 16, and his opponent would be a boy with the surname Dong, who excelled in close-quarters combat.

At this moment, many people could see the leaderboard, and upon seeing the upcoming round of 16, everyone filled with excitement.

Because the matches were numerous and many of them ended quickly, the decision was made to conduct two matches at a time from the round of 16 onwards, reserving the quarterfinals for the most highlighted fights of the tournament.

"Well done, Dash, take a rest for now!" Mr. Kim handed Dash a water bottle as he stepped off the combat mat.

At this moment, after Dash's victory, two other matchups were unfolding, and this wouldn't stop until the quarterfinals. Glancing at the large screen displaying the list of qualifiers, Dash realized something curious: Dre would fight Cheng sooner than he had anticipated.

"Maybe my performance changed things..." Dash murmured while drinking water. He couldn't think of anything else; he was in the real world, and the mere coincidence of something he knew could change because he was here, he knew things could happen this way, and he didn't really care.

Sitting among the audience, Devon clenched her fists nervously as she saw Dash successfully advance to the round of 16. In her own judgment, this wasn't his peak combat performance, so she believed he was still holding back for the quarterfinals, which was fine but very risky.

In previous matchups, Dash usually didn't take long to eliminate his opponents with brutal strikes. Even on rare occasions, he would give them hope that they could score a point before swiftly eliminating them with a counterattack.

"Are you learning about his Kung Fu?" Devon came to this conclusion after seeing that the guy he defeated belonged to a Kung Fu school with many students still in the tournament.

It was a good idea to control the fights by knowing about the enemy's Kung Fu, but this also opened doors for opponents to learn about Dash's unique Kung Fu.

On Devon's left side was her mother, who was watching the matchups, and after a while, she asked, "Hey, daughter, do you think Dash has a chance to make it to the final?"

Devon didn't pay much attention to many things around her, but when she heard that question, she nodded and said, "He will easily win the matches until the quarterfinals; from there, he will have to fight with that guy named Wu Ping, who is one of the top contenders along with Cheng, so he will face difficulties from there."

Mr. Zac, who was on her right side, nodded and said, "Although Dash has good battle experience, these guys are also very aware of their surroundings, and the speed at which they move is incomparable to Karate..."

"Kung Fu makes use of techniques, so their movements are more fluid, allowing each fighter to move according to their fighting style. Dash plays more defensively to counterattack, but lately, we've been practicing close-range attacks."

"So, you also fight that way. My heart would ache if you were hit in a similar tournament."

"I may get hit, but I would win. Believe it or not, I'm better at kicks than Dash..." Devon murmured a bit annoyed by her mother's lack of confidence in her.

"Look, it seems that guy named Dre has also won the match."

Devon looked at Dre Parker, who had won by a narrow margin, and nodded. She didn't have the pleasure of getting to know him much, but she knew a few things about him from Dash, who told her about his problem and why he initially fights in a Kung Fu tournament.

...

"Listen, Dong has very strong kicks because his Kung Fu requires the fighter to harden their bones with micro-fractures, so you shouldn't clash kicks with someone like him. Focus on defense and close the fight with a feint."

Mr. Kim had seen Dong's kicks and had received many warnings about the improper use of his strength, which gave him enough hints to know that he used the power of his bones to seriously injure his opponents.

"Bone hardening is something new; why hasn't he taught me something so cool?" Dash's eyes sparkled with excitement upon learning that there was a way to harden his bones.

"Just focus; once you advance to the quarterfinals, that's when the main matches will begin, and that's all that matters in this competition." Mr. Kim pointed Dash in the direction he needed to go for his next matchup.

By the time Dash entered the mat, the audience that had paid attention to him began to cheer, hoping to witness his match.

"I'm famous wherever I go..." Dash smiled cunningly and muttered, "I'll finish this match quickly so I can enjoy the quarterfinals..."

Looking at his opponent's height, the smile on Dash's face slowly faded, and he wondered, "Is that kid old enough to compete?"

The boy who had seen Dash smiled coldly, looked him up and down, and walked to his position to begin the fight.

"Ready?"

The round of 16 had officially begun!

"Fight!"