Xu Wuyi’s consciousness entered the Battle Network, appearing directly inside the exclusive waiting area for the quarterfinalists.

The environment here was much more spacious than the preparation room for the preliminaries, but also more solemn. An invisible tension filled the air.

A massive light screen floated in mid-air, displaying a real-time list of the upcoming matches.

Without much of a wait, a system notification sounded in his ear.

[Quarterfinals, Round 1, Match 37: Xu Wuyi (Star Martial University) vs. Zhang Meng (Lieyang Martial Arts Academy). Please prepare, contestants. Teleporting to the arena in ten seconds.]

The light screen displayed his opponent’s information: Zhang Meng, Lieyang Martial Arts Academy, preliminary rank 341, Life Energy Level 33.8.

The ten-second countdown ended. With a flash, Xu Wuyi appeared on a standard square arena.

His opponent, Zhang Meng, was also in position—a burly youth holding a long staff.

The battle began.

Zhang Meng roared, his long staff sweeping forward, wreathed in fiery Qi and Blood. It spun like a pinwheel of wind and fire, its momentum quite astonishing.

However, after yesterday’s battles against top-tier Martial Artists like Xu Zi’ang, Xu Wuyi felt that while his opponent’s attack was ferocious, its speed and variations seemed somewhat sluggish.

Xu Wuyi didn’t use the [Undying Flame], nor did he even activate [Melting Furnace Boiling Blood].

He relied solely on his Martial Master Level physique. His feet moved with >, easily dodging the wind from the staff. He then thrust his spear, precisely striking at the exact moment his opponent’s old strength was spent and new strength had yet to be generated.

CLANG!

Zhang Meng felt a massive jolt in his wrist. The long staff nearly flew from his grasp, leaving his center wide open.

Xu Wuyi’s second spear thrust followed immediately. The tip struck his opponent’s throat, and Zhang Meng instantly dissipated into a white light.

[Victory! Advanced to the top 256.]

The battle ended quickly, even more easily than Xu Wuyi had anticipated.

An opponent ranked outside the top 300 in the preliminaries truly posed no substantial threat to him anymore.

...

The second round of the quarterfinals began half an hour later.

[Quarterfinals, Round 2, Match 19: Xu Wuyi (Star Martial University) vs. Li Yun (Qingyuan Martial Arts Academy).]

Li Yun, preliminary rank 205, Life Energy Level 30.9, was an agile woman who used dual daggers.

Her Body Technique was nimble, like a butterfly flitting through flowers, as she tried to disrupt Xu Wuyi’s rhythm with her speed.

Her dual daggers attacked from tricky angles, specifically targeting weak points like joints and acupoints.

Xu Wuyi still countered with >. As his Spear Momentum unfolded, it formed a veritable wall of bronze, blocking all of her attacks.

The Soul Suppressing Domain spread silently. Although its effect was greatly diminished against a Martial Artist of the same rank, the formless pressure of his will still caused a slight pause in Li Yun’s movements.

It was this slight pause that Xu Wuyi keenly seized.

His long spear instantly broke through the defense of her dual daggers and pierced Li Yun’s chest.

With a spurt of Qi and Blood, Li Yun let out a muffled grunt and was sent flying backward, her virtual body turning blurry.

[Victory! Advanced to the top 128.]

After two consecutive easy victories, Xu Wuyi’s mindset grew increasingly steady.

He could feel that after being tempered by the string of losses late in the preliminaries, his control over his power and his grasp of the battle’s flow had noticeably improved.

Dealing with these slightly weaker opponents, he seemed more and more at ease.

After a short rest, his information appeared on the light screen again.

[Quarterfinals, Round 3, Match 11: Xu Wuyi (Star Martial University) vs. Wang Xingze (Star Martial University).]

’Huh? A senior from my own university?’ Xu Wuyi was slightly taken aback.

On the arena, a towering and burly young man, built like an iron pagoda, materialized across from him.

He held a pumpkin-sized solid iron hammer in each hand. His muscles were knotted, and his aura was deep and heavy.

[Wang Xingze, Star Martial University, preliminary rank 101, Life Energy Level: 34.3]

"Junior Brother Xu, I’ve heard your name for a while now." Wang Xingze’s voice was like a great bell, a hearty smile on his face. "I didn’t expect to run into you on the arena so soon. Don’t blame your senior for not holding back!"

"Senior Brother Wang, please guide me." Xu Wuyi nodded in response, his expression turning grave.

’Rank 101 in the preliminaries, a Life Energy Level of 34.3... this is definitely a powerful opponent. Especially with those dual hammers, which clearly follow a ferocious path. His strength must be terrifying.’

"Haha, good! Take this!"

Wang Xingze laughed loudly and didn’t stand on ceremony. He strode forward, and the arena itself seemed to tremble.

He raised the Heavy Hammer in his right hand high, bringing it crashing down toward Xu Wuyi like Mount Tai itself, accompanied by a vicious gust of wind!

Before the hammer even arrived, the ferocious air pressure was enough to make one’s breath catch.

Xu Wuyi chose not to meet it head-on.

Yesterday’s battle with Zhou Kai had made it clear to him that clashing head-on against an absolute gap in strength was not a wise move.

He executed > to its limit. His figure, like a wisp of green smoke, slid back and to the side in the nick of time.

BOOM!

The Heavy Hammer slammed into the spot where Xu Wuyi had just been standing, letting out a deep, thunderous sound. Ripples spread across the arena’s smooth surface.

With one strike missing, Wang Xingze’s left hammer immediately followed, sweeping across like a torrential storm, ready to mow down an army!

His Hammer Technique was wide and powerful, mighty and heavy, seeking to crush his opponent with absolute strength.

Xu Wuyi remained calm and deployed the defensive moves of >. His long spear would parry, guide, deflect, or block, but he never clashed directly with the dual hammers.

He was like a small boat in a tempestuous sea. He seemed to be in constant peril, yet he always managed to evade the fatal hammer strikes at the critical moment.

Spear and hammer clashed, creating a continuous series of loud CLANG CLANG sounds as sparks flew everywhere.

The impacts sent a slight numbness through Xu Wuyi’s arms, and his Qi and Blood roiled, but his eyes remained calm.

He was observing, searching for his opponent’s rhythm and weaknesses.

A few dozen moves passed. Wang Xingze’s assault was as fierce as ever, but Xu Wuyi keenly sensed a trace of disorder beginning to appear in his opponent’s breathing.

This kind of ferocious and explosive fighting style consumed a massive amount of Qi and Blood.

’Now!’

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Wuyi’s eyes. After skillfully deflecting the force of a Heavy Hammer, he finally launched his first offensive attack.

His Meteor Iron Long Spear shot out like a flood dragon emerging from its cave, thrusting straight for the opening under Wang Xingze’s ribs.

Wang Xingze reacted extremely quickly, bringing a hammer back to block.

But on the tip of Xu Wuyi’s spear, a wisp of dark golden flame silently flared to life—the [Undying Flame]!

PFFT!

Although the spear tip was blocked by the hammer’s handle, that wisp of [Undying Flame] was like a gangrenous sore clinging to the bone. It instantly spread over Wang Xingze’s Protective Qi and Blood and onto the hammer’s handle.

"Hmph?" Wang Xingze’s brow furrowed. He could feel his own Qi and Blood being continuously burned away and depleted by a bizarre power.

He tried to circulate his Qi and Blood to disperse it, but the flame was extremely stubborn, as if it had taken root. The speed at which it was extinguished was far slower than the rate at which his Qi and Blood were being consumed.

He roared and swung his dual hammers even more frantically, trying to end the battle quickly before his Qi and Blood were depleted.

However, Xu Wuyi had completely changed his strategy.

He no longer attempted head-on attacks. He relied entirely on his Body Technique and Spear Technique to move around, repeatedly dodging Wang Xingze’s fierce assault while occasionally harassing him with the [Undying Flame].

The dark golden flame was like a maggot feeding on bone; even the slightest touch would cause it to burn continuously.