色爱A∨综合区

November 1st.

The “Stellar Cup” Freshmen Partner Tournament held by colleges and universities at Azure Bay officially kicked off its first round.

The first round used a point-based grouping system, with a total of 8 groups. The top 4 from each group advanced.

The second round was an elimination round, cutting from 32 to 16 competitors, and so on until a champion was determined.

The most-watched participant was undoubtedly Zhao Baiyu from Azure Bay University.

On her first day in the martial arts club, she had laid the club president flat on the ground, and he had been spreading her fame ever since.

In fact, her performance did not disappoint anyone. In the first round of the group stage, she remained undefeated and didn’t even need to use more than three moves against any opponent, defeating them all within three moves.

A campus journalist asked her why she was defeating each opponent in just three moves.

She responded, “Because it’s a partner tournament, they need to at least survive two moves.”

The implication was that most opponents didn’t even merit three moves.

She let them get in two moves for the sake of the tournament and to assess their resilience to make sure she wouldn’t seriously injure them.

This comment caused quite a stir among other schools.

Some felt such a girl was too arrogant, while others thought that in the world of martial arts, it was all about settling scores. If you disagree, go and challenge her.

However, those in the know realized that this was uncharacteristic of Zhao Baiyu.

She had recently become somewhat obsessed with her training, making her interactions with the outside world increasingly blunt.

In the first round, Zhao Baiyu advanced as the best player in her group.

In addition to Zhao Baiyu, another standout was a male student from Jiaotong University. Specializing in both Yanqing Palm and Karate, he was remarkably forceful in his attacks. Even with protective measures in place, he had managed to knock out two opponents.

Both had fallen flat on the ground, requiring immediate first aid on-site.

Consequently, his subsequent two opponents chose to forfeit outright.

Someone thought, “Seriously? We joined this competition to earn extracurricular activity points. Competing against him would leave us incapacitated for half a month, what’s the point then?”

As for Xun Liangping, the junior disciple of Chang Huan, who was considered the top Wing Chun practitioner in South China, he stuck to his conservative style during the points-based competition. He ended up with neither outstanding nor poor second-place finish.

It was a well-known fact that, during their student years, the real genius could not only score high but had the terrifying ability to control their scores.

In contrast, Qian Quan was much more by the book.

He had a winning streak and easily secured first place in his group.

However, each of his matches was closely contested.

No matter the level or skill of the opponent, he allowed them to perform at their best, showcasing all they had practiced. In the end, they only lost due to minor tactical disadvantages.

Throughout the first round, Qian Quan didn’t directly knock anyone down; he won all his matches by simply dominating the flow and being declared the winner.

Those who could vaguely perceive Qian Quan’s true strength were naturally grateful, thanking him for a fair and enjoyable match.

But for those who were unaware of this may inevitably feel regretful. They might think that they performed so well, so freely and vigorously, only to end up slightly behind and lose the match. They may even suspect that the issue lies with the referees.

A certain participant from a particular school even confronted the referee. The referee then showed him the match video and provided a play-by-play:

“Look here, he could have directly punched you in the face, but he chose to pressure your shoulder, giving you a hint to defend.”

“See this, would you have been able to land that beautiful sidekick if he hadn’t intentionally given you the chance?”

“And again here…”

The referee, hailing from Azure Bay Martial Arts Association, pointed out a dozen instances and finally concluded:

“Don’t you get it? He was practically giving you a tutorial match. It was his constant provision of opportunities that allowed you to perform at your best.”

The student who had gone to argue left, drenched in sweat and red-faced with shame.

Some things are clearer to observers.

Even without the commentary, he noticed Qian Quan’s skillful control and guidance during the replay.

As a result, he specifically sought out Qian Quan to express his gratitude.

And so, the first round of the competition came to an end.

The four best players naturally became the hot topics across all schools.

Among these discussions, Qian Quan, who was already a notable figure, inevitably garnered even more attention.

Many speculations were confirmed.

Not only was Qian Quan skilled in martial arts, but he was also exceptionally talented.

Zhao Chunjia and Li Zihe, who had been following the competition because of Zhao Baiyu, found it both surprising and logical that Qian Quan also topped his group.

Subsequently, in the following rounds, Zhao Chunjia sent Lu Ao to observe Qian Quan’s matches and gauge his abilities.

Lu Ao watched Qian Quan’s quarterfinal match.

Upon returning, he reported, “Confirmed to have real skills, stronger than most peers, but not as good as Baiyu.”

Zhao Chunjia became increasingly intrigued, silently hoping for a showdown between Qian Quan and Baiyu in the finals.

On November 5th, the fierce semi-finals began.

The four contestants were Zhao Baiyu from Azure Bay University, Xun Liangping from Maritime University, Liu Yunbo from Jiaotong University, and Qian Quan from Seacoast Normal University.

The most unexpected among them was Xun Liangping from Maritime University.

He was the only non-top player in the first round of group matches.

Moreover, his path to the semi-finals was anything but smooth; both his top 16 and top 8 matches were nail-bitingly close.

Particularly in the top 8, by the rules of the competition, he had fallen behind in multiple rounds and was on the brink of elimination..