Chapter 454

Lin Qi quickly saw the 16 match pairs—and his opponent.

【Match 3: Lin Qi (Xia Guo) vs Song Song Yanyu (Maple Leaf)】

……

When Lin Qi saw his opponent was Song Song Yanyu.

Information about the man instantly surfaced in his mind.

Song Song Yanyu was ethnically Han Chinese, but held Maple Leaf nationality.

His parents were overseas Chinese who immigrated to Maple Leaf before 1999.

After the Catastrophe Beasts invaded, they wanted to return, but the distance was too great—and Xia Guo's situation had become too dire.

So they stayed in Maple Leaf. Unexpectedly, their entire family had decent talent, all ascending the Martial Path and becoming Mid-Realm martialists.

They had four children, all with strong talent; the youngest, Song Song Yanyu, had the best.

SS-class prodigy, mastered a Minor Divine Art, and was considered a treasure in Maple Leaf—he became a disciple of a Ninth-Realm martialist.

Now he had no intention of returning to Xia Guo, because Xia Guo had too many geniuses and offered vastly superior cultivation resources.

In the Maple Leaf spectator seats, a masculine-looking man with sharp features flinched upon seeing Lin Qi as his opponent.

"How is it Lin Qi?"

"Song, don't feel too much pressure—believe you can win."

Beside him, a beautiful mixed-race girl with golden hair and blue eyes spoke.

Song Song Yanyu squeezed his girlfriend's hand and nodded:

"I understand!"

He gazed toward the Xia Guo section, his feelings toward his homeland complex.

Xia Guo was the world's strongest country, and he himself was ethnically Xia Chinese—he'd once dreamed of returning.

But after discovering his own talent and enjoying abundant cultivation resources, that desire faded.

Yet over the past two years, Catastrophe Beast waves had grown more frequent, and Maple Leaf's situation had grown increasingly dire.

If things continued, his probability of dying on the battlefield was high.

As the strongest nation, even if all others fell, Xia Guo would endure.

His family had begun regretting not returning.

Now, matched against Lin Qi, he wanted to see just how strong Xia Guo's prodigies truly were.

A few minutes later

A message popped up before him:

【Contestant Song Song Yanyu, prepare to enter the arena!】

He exhaled, stood, and descended onto the arena, enveloped in crimson light.

"Boom!!"

He donned a red-and-white combat suit—the same colors as Maple Leaf's flag—and stepped from the light column, wielding a single sharp red spear.

Opposite him, Lin Qi in black combat gear also stepped forward slowly.

Both were similar in height and build.

But Song Song Yanyu's expression grew grim—he sensed a faint yet unmistakable aura of danger radiating from Lin Qi of Xia Guo.

No opponent he'd faced before had possessed such an aura.

This match will be hard.

He silently sighed inwardly.

【Countdown: …3, 2, 1】

【Main Round 8, Match 3—officially begins!】

Above the arena, the AI voice announced—the battle ignited.

"Boom!!"

Fiery flames erupted from Song Song Yanyu's body; exposed skin revealed red patterns, raising the surrounding temperature steadily.

The flickering flames seemed to warp the very air.

Moreover, his aura continued climbing—no sign of stopping.

"Hummm!!"

Lin Qi instantly activated his special ability: 【Jin Feng】.

Brilliant golden patterns surfaced, his entire body radiating golden sharpness.

His eyes blazed with light; golden runes swirled in his pupils—Golden Eyes activated.

Song Song Yanyu's aura continued to strengthen.

Under Lin Qi's observation, energy surged within Song Song Yanyu's body; his physical functions surged dramatically—only possible when activating a Minor Divine Art.

Song Song Yanyu had opened his Minor Divine Art from the start—extremely decisive!

"Shhh!!"

"Swoosh~"

Enveloped in blazing fire, Song Song Yanyu charged forward, spear swinging like a burning meteor streaking across the sky.

The flames were scorching and domineering; his spear technique matched that same style.

Two meters tall, his muscles bulged with power and speed—balanced in every aspect.

"I've activated my Minor Divine Art—I'll catch Lin Qi off guard."

"As long as I win, the method doesn't matter."

Song Song Yanyu thrust his crimson spear; crimson spearlight shot out like a rocket.

Simultaneously, he unleashed full power—flames burned fiercer as he moved at high speed.

Lin Qi saw the spearlight and directed his golden sharpness into countless blades, firing them forth.

"Bang! Bang!!"

Golden sharpness clashed with crimson flame—pure energy colliding, generating gusts of wind.

"Swoosh~"

Lin Qi himself became a black lightning bolt, swinging his spear and unleashing the brutal, forceful Mountain-River Spear Art.

"Bang!!"

In the span of a breath, the two clashed on the arena.

Lin Qi didn't rush to end the fight—he held back.

He wanted to feel how strong a Sixth-Realm peak prodigy became after activating a Minor Divine Art.

To establish a benchmark for Seventh-Realm martialists.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!!"

They traded direct blows; Lin Qi felt the searing heat and repeated impacts against his body.

But that was all—just a tingling numbness, nothing more.

One minute later

"Bang!!"

In the air, fiery force clashed with golden sharpness; Song Song Yanyu felt a terrifying force strike him—he was thrown backward uncontrollably.

So strong!

Song Song Yanyu's eyes widened in shock—he'd activated his Minor Divine Art, yet still couldn't match Lin Qi.

His unleashed power vanished like a stone sinking into the ocean, utterly swallowed.

The force he unleashed sank like a stone into the ocean, completely swallowed.

"Shhh!"

In the instant he hesitated, a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes—No!

By the time he raised his spear to block, it was too late to unleash full power.

When he tried to raise his gun to block, it was already too late to unleash his full power.

Their spears collided instantly; the air exploded—Lin Qi's spear remained perfectly straight.

Song Song Yanyu's crimson spear flew from his grip.

Song Song Yanyu's red spear had already flown from his hand.

Lin Qi exerted force; his spear pierced through Song Song Yanyu's protective crimson flame, combat suit, skin, and shattered his heart.

Watching the opponent dissolve into nothingness.

【Match 3: Lin Qi (Xia Guo) Wins!】

Above the arena, as the AI voice announced, Lin Qi advanced to the Top 16.

Above the arena, as the voice system announced, Lin Qi had successfully advanced to the top 16.

In the stands, many spectators turned more attention toward him.

"This Lin Qi is strong!"

"He advanced to Top 16 so easily."

"I recall last year's strongest competitor, aside from the senior freshmen, barely made Top 16."

"If Lin Qi reaches Top 8, won't he break the record?"

On the Xia Guo spectator seats, Lei Shuang exhaled:

On the Xia Guo spectator seats, Lei Shuang exhaled a breath:

It seems we all underestimated Lin Qi's talent.

I remember in the last edition, Xu Qin reached the top 16, which was the best record ever.

Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals, but still set a record.

Now it looks like Lin Qi might break that record.

Next to him, Zhang Zhang Tianyang shook his head and said:

"I think it's unlikely. After all, Xu Qin was a top-tier genius who awakened two special abilities."

"Even with combat power boosted over two times, she couldn't do it."

"How much less likely is it for Lin Qi, a junior who only awakened one special ability?"

He had very little faith in Lin Qi.

But Shen Heng held a different view—Lin Qi's battles had been effortlessly smooth.

He never faced an opponent of equal strength; it felt as if a single burst of power could end every fight.

He won too easily.

He now found it hard to gauge his opponent's true strength.

Yet he soon wore a confident smile: no matter how strong Lin Qi was, he couldn't beat him.

Because he had already broken through to the seventh realm.

…

Lin Qi's repeated victories made all remaining competitors remember him.

If he kept fighting like this, they couldn't be sure of winning anymore.

Lin Qi returned to the spectator seats and continued watching the next matches.

The eighth round had become brutally harsh; some nations now had only one contestant left, bearing the entire country's hopes.

The atmosphere in the spectator seats grew even more intense, with thunderous applause and roaring shouts echoing constantly.

…

Half an hour later, the sixteen matches ended.

The final sixteen competitors were revealed; two more from Xia Guo were eliminated.

Five contestants advanced to the top 16, making Xia Guo the nation with the most qualifiers.

…

The towering, muscular figure of Shanhe Wang reappeared in projection and spoke:

"No more Feihua —congratulations to the sixteen contestants who have advanced to the ninth round…"

Shanhe Wang announced further rewards: 170 million Xia Guo currency, 7,000 kilograms of level-seven disaster beast flesh, and 1,000 kilograms of level-eight disaster beast flesh.

Then the eighth round officially began.

Lin Qi saw his opponent.

【Match 8: Lin Qi (Xia Guo) vs. Winnie David (Sunset Country)】

Lin Qi's mind also surfaced details about this contestant from Sunset Country.

Winnie David, Sunset Country's SS-class genius and their final remaining contestant.

If she is eliminated, Sunset Country will be completely wiped out.

Recalling her previous matches, her strength was greater than Song Song Yanyu's from the last round—but only slightly.

As he pondered, the eighth round officially began.

Match one: Ivan from Mao Xiong Country versus Lei Shuang.

Lei Shuang was eliminated.

Match two: Silver Federation's SSS-class genius Genos successfully eliminated Meng Meng Yuxuan.

But in match three, Shen Heng eliminated another SS-class genius from the Silver Federation.

Match four: Zhang Zhang Tianyang barely defeated a contestant from Mao Xiong Country and advanced to the top eight.

Match five: Tianzhu Country eliminated the strongest genius from Silla Country.

Match six: A contestant from Germany advanced successfully.

Match seven: Sakura Country's strongest contestant, Araki, advanced successfully.

…

Before anyone realized it, the final match of the eighth round arrived.

Lin Qi was enveloped in crimson light and descended onto the arena.

Opposite him, a tall, blonde, blue-eyed beauty stepped forward—her features noble, lips full and red.

She radiated a dazzling beauty—she was Winnie David, Sunset Country's strongest genius.

Winnie faced Lin Qi and felt pressure within.

She had no guarantee of victory, but she had confidence in her own strength.

On the spectator seats, many contestants took renewed interest.

"Whether Lin Qi can break the record depends on this match."

"Winnie's strength isn't weak; advancing will be difficult."

In the upper-tier spectator seats, high-rank warriors from Sunset Country grew tense.

If Winnie lost again, they would be completely eliminated.

Failing to reach the top eight would be a devastating blow.

"Winnie, you must win!"

A burly, blonde man muttered anxiously—he was Winnie's father, an eighth-realm warrior.

His eyes were sharp; he could see Lin Qi's strength. Winning would not be easy for Winnie.

…

(End of Chapter)