90: Auditions

“You fought someone?” Zhu Yulin quickly stepped forward and asked.

“Yes. As soon as I entered, I appeared on a disc. The System scanned my human body information and completely simulated an identical me.

On the disc, I could choose a weapon.

Then it prompted me whether to proceed with the preliminary challenge, which I chose to do.

After that, I was teleported to an arena, and my opponent was right across from me.”

“Randomly selected opponent?”

“Not really. That person’s Realm was similar to mine. Although his Martial Skill Cultivation was not up to par, he was clearly not my opponent.

Stabbing him a few times was my benevolence towards him, ahem. Of course, it was also to experience the realism of this System.

Facts prove, it’s basically 100%!”

Li Qingshan nodded: “From what you’re saying, this System is practically custom-made for this Martial Dao Ranking Tournament!”

“Yes, at least for now, it only has this function; other features are not yet open.”

The few of them chatted briefly, and Li Qingshan and Zhu Yulin also tried to enter. However, they found that after entering their information, the option to fight did not appear.

Li Qingshan was a bit confused: “Why can’t we fight?”

“Nonsense. Did you attend the special training class for nothing? Those of us who entered the special training class directly skip the preliminary stage, so naturally, we won’t be allowed to participate in preliminary battles.” Zhu Yulin was speechless. This guy had been in the special training class for several days, yet it felt like he knew nothing.

Li Qingshan suddenly understood. He really hadn’t known; during special training, he had only been thinking about how to avoid Yang Chen. He waved his hand, somewhat bored, and said:

“It’s boring, let’s go!

Oh, right, Lao Fu, if Chen Qing comes out, remember to inform him that his teacher is looking for him about something.”

...Half a month passed in a flash, nearing the end of October.

The preliminaries of the Martial Dao Ranking Tournament were in full swing, and the rules for the preliminaries were very simple.

The number of registered participants in the Chinese Region finally settled at around 3.2 million people.

To quickly filter out truly strong opponents in the preliminary stage, the competition adopted a Swiss System, with each participant able to compete in a maximum of 37 rounds.

In each round, players with similar win-loss records would be matched. For example, if a player wins the first round, their record would be updated to 1 win and 0 losses. The System would automatically match them with an opponent also at 1 win and 0 losses. After several rounds, if a player’s record is 4 wins and 5 losses, they would also be matched with an opponent at 4 wins and 5 losses.

Of course, you couldn’t challenge indefinitely; there was a maximum of 37 rounds. Those who first achieved 30 wins and fewer than 10 losses would advance. If a player reached 10 losses before achieving 30 wins, they would be eliminated.

The competition would last for one month, with the preliminary stage ending on November 10th.

Ultimately, about 250 people out of 3.2 million would be selected to join those who skipped the preliminaries, entering the final round...

With two-thirds of the preliminary time already passed, the list of qualifiers was gradually being announced on the official website. The publication of this list caused quite a stir in the outside world.

“As of now, 170 people have qualified for the Youth Martial Dao Ranking Tournament preliminaries. Among them, a full 25 people are from Kyoto Martial Arts University! Moneng Martial Arts University and Shenlin Martial Arts University both have 19 qualifiers, while Jinling Martial Arts University only has 13! Are the four famous universities truly living up to their names?”

“The preliminaries have reached a fever pitch, becoming a game of chess and struggle between the renowned universities. Out of the 170 qualifiers, more than half are from various prestigious universities.

Fewer than 30 Martial Artists are from military regions, and even fewer than 10 are civilian Martial Artists!

Does this indicate that Martial Arts Universities are the fundamental place for nurturing talent?”

...“Kyoto Martial Arts University truly lives up to its reputation as the top of the four famous universities, with a number of qualifiers far exceeding the other three. Additionally, Jinling Martial Arts University, known for its combat prowess, seems to have performed poorly in this Martial Dao preliminary round, with only half the number of qualifiers as Kyoto Martial Arts University. Is its reputation overrated?”

“Kyoto Martial Arts University’s reputation as number one seems to be solidified. I eagerly anticipate Kyoto Martial Arts University representing the Chinese Region in this competition, to uphold the prestige of our Chinese people!”

...Jinling Martial Arts University special training class.

There weren’t many students in the special training class at the moment, only a handful.

The Person in charge Yan Tianhao and Mu Linxi were both present, and they were also looking at the various online reports, feeling a bit of a headache.

Yan Tianhao pointed to one of the news articles and couldn’t help but curse: “What do they mean Jinling Martial Arts University isn’t worthy of being ranked alongside the other three famous universities? I think this media outlet doesn’t want to stay in business!”

“Their name is Kyoto Media. Kyoto Martial Arts University is currently on the rise, so do you expect them to be kind to you?” Mu Linxi looked at the news articles, almost all of which singled out Jinling Martial Arts University for comparison with other schools, with harsh language.

“Damn it, our school’s students have always been belligerent, and injuries and deaths are inevitable. They get all fired up for these internal competitions!” Yan Tianhao was a bit annoyed: “Two days ago, the principal reprimanded me severely, saying my teaching was ineffective, and that as a department head, my Fire Department only had 5 qualifiers this time.

Linxi, tell me, even if my Fire Department has many people, it still has the most qualifiers among all departments, so it’s not embarrassing, right?”

Out of the total 13 qualifiers, 5 were from the Fire Department. This proportion was indeed not low, but the Martial Artist base of the Fire Department was also large, making it difficult to truly measure its significance.

Mu Linxi found it difficult to answer, because her Wood Department had no qualifiers in this preliminary round, sharing the “top spot” with the Ice Department.

Of course, the Space Department and Special Department also had no qualifiers, but those two departments had too few people and were generally not used for reference.

“Why doesn’t the principal scold Yang Chen? The Ice Department didn’t have a single qualifier this time!

Your Wood Department is understandable, as it’s not good at combat, but their Ice Department is different. I wonder where Yang Chen will put his old face this time!”

“Also, this guy has thrown in the towel again. How long has it been since he came to the special training class? All he knows is research; what have his students become?”

Not far away, Tong Zhe hadn’t actually left. He was one of the strongest people in this special training class. Since his teacher Yang Chen and Yan Tianhao didn’t get along well, he was naturally pulled in to handle the miscellaneous affairs of the special training class.

Hearing that Yan Tianhao had been scolded by the principal and was now complaining about his teacher, he felt a bit helpless and pretended not to hear. He just wanted to be a small transparent now.

However, Yan Tianhao noticed him and his face stiffened: “Tong Zhe, as your teacher’s proud student, you should also advise your teacher more often, telling him to properly manage the teaching affairs of the Ice Department and not to constantly bury himself in research!

Look at your Ice Department, it’s almost ruined by him!

It’s shameful that only you from one department participated in this Martial Dao Ranking Tournament!”

Tong Zhe listened to his scolding without saying a word.

Well, you’re telling me to educate my teacher, what else can I say?