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Chapter 422 - 388: The Top Eight Opponents, New Elimination Rules

Chapter 422: Chapter 388: The Top Eight Opponents, New Elimination Rules

October 27, the morning after the group matches had ended.

Wu arrived at the Martial Arts Hall as usual for his morning practice, accompanied by Li San and Zhao Lixin.

"Is it okay now?"

After Wu stood in stance for half an hour and finished warming up his body, Li San couldn’t wait any longer and asked if he could personally experience the "Heavenly Punishment" move that Wu had executed the night before.

Although Zhao Lixin was injured and couldn’t participate physically, he was keen to not miss this exchange.

Wu stood casually five meters in front of Li San without assuming any fighting stance and without emitting any aura, he asked in a relaxed tone, "Ready?"

Li San nodded, "Come!"

Boom!

The Martial Arts Hall had a wooden floor, and at that moment, it was as if the ground had exploded—thunder from a clear sky!

Amidst the tremendous noise, Wu’s body covered the five-meter distance in an instant, charging towards Li San.

Li San had a solemn expression. The Wu in front of him raised his arms high like a giant holding up the sky. In the next instant, a punch descended, the air popping as if thunder was striking down from the heavens, sending tremors through the mortal realm!

Even though Li San had been well-prepared and his Fist Intent and spirit were strong, he was still ’shaken’ by Wu’s Fist Intent. He was a beat slow in both mind and movement; his momentum was weaker, his power somewhat diminished. He raised his arms in an attempt to use the Tai Chi Cloud Hand to parry Wu’s punch, but ultimately, he failed to fully deflect it and took the brunt of the blow.

Bang!

Another loud noise echoed through the Martial Arts Hall as their arms collided and they separated immediately. Wu took half a step back without striking again.

Li San stood in his original spot, slowly lowering his hands, still contemplating the punch he had just received.

Although he had caught the punch, Wu’s Fist Power had affected him. If Wu were to attack again immediately, he would fall into a disadvantage, so he wondered what technique could break Wu’s move. But after much thought, the only conclusion he could reach was that with Wu’s move, one couldn’t block it head-on or diffuse its power—one could only dodge and avoid its sharp edge.

Li San was a Tai Chi master, expert at Borrowing Force to Strike, but when it came to aggressive attacks, he didn’t feel inferior to anyone. Yet now, faced with Wu’s "Heavenly Punishment," he had concluded that avoidance was the only option, suggesting just how domineering Wu’s Fist Intent was.

"Indeed powerful, but it feels like it’s missing something compared to last night," Li San said slowly.

Wu nodded, "Last night was a battle-forged momentum, completely unleashed. Naturally, it can’t compare under normal circumstances."

When Wu had used Heavenly Punishment against Uehashi Yoichi the night before, it was a sudden eruption, while this time against Li San, it was premeditated with accumulated power. Thus, though the move’s Explosive Power and speed were stronger than the night before, the Fist Intent was slightly lacking, as Wu had been riding on the high of defeating two experts in succession.

"You’ve got the Fist Intent down, but is the actual power lacking because it’s not yet perfected?" Zhao Lixin suddenly interjected.

Wu responded, "That’s correct, it’s not yet fully perfected."

This exchange revealed the nature of Wu and Zhao Lixin’s relationship. Normally, one wouldn’t openly share the flaws in a technique they’d painstakingly developed, as it might offend others, but Zhao Lixin spoke directly, and Wu didn’t mind at all.

"In my vision, this move should be driven by Dragon and Tiger Power, and ultimately release Innate Gang Qi to achieve Perfection," Wu explained.

"Innate Gang Qi!" Li San’s eyes brightened.

Zhao Lixin appeared contemplative; he had previously discussed this issue with Wu and felt that in this era, Innate Gang Qi was probably extinct. But now, it seemed Wu had found a way.

"Do you have a direction?" Li San asked eagerly, "Did Bai Tao give you any insights?"

When the two had visited the Hongmen headquarters, Bai Tao had demonstrated Innate Gang Qi to Wu in private, which Wu had later mentioned to Li San.

After pondering, Wu nodded, "Yes, Bai Tao did inspire me, and I’m fairly confident about cultivating Innate Gang Qi now."

In reality, once the system values for ’God’, ’Power’, and ’Body’ were checked, Wu had a clear understanding of the path forward, though he couldn’t explain this to others. So when Li San misunderstood that Wu’s inspiration came from Bai Tao, Wu just went along with it.

"Come on, share some insights," Li San insisted without hesitation.

He and Wu had a bond formed through life-and-death experiences, and Li San knew that Wu was never stingy with his knowledge and was very generous.

Wu explained, "For Innate Gang Qi, a key aspect is Dragon and Tiger Power: ’Dragon wrapping tail’, ’Tiger’s hip’. The strength of the muscles and bones in the waist and spine need to be harnessed. If it can be unified with the muscle bone power of the limbs and torso, achieving a fully coordinated full-body power without leakage, that should meet the threshold for Innate Gang Qi."

"But to use the muscle bone power of the entire body places a tremendous strain on it, so Bone Marrow Perfection is a must, reaching a state where internal and external aspects are interconnected. Whether it’s muscles and bones or internal organs, all must be able to withstand the burden of Innate Gang Qi. Only then can one truly cultivate Innate Gang Qi."

Wu shared his knowledge bit by bit, as he certainly wouldn’t withhold information from Li San and Zhao Lixin.

Thus, the three of them delved into a discussion on this topic, followed by a discussion on the "Heavenly Punishment" move Wu had created.

By eight o’clock in the morning, the members of the Hua Country Team had all arrived at the Martial Arts Hall and practiced for over an hour before Wu Li signaled everyone to stop and enter a room to watch the live broadcast.

The group matches had all concluded last night, and the eight strongest teams were born. This morning, the organizing committee was set to host the quarterfinals drawing ceremony to determine the matchup list.

In the room, a group of people sat on chairs, while a projector cast the live stream onto a canvas.

For this drawing ceremony, Dana White didn’t make it too complicated; he was alone in a room, live streaming the drawing process.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I declare the first Combat World Cup quarterfinals drawing ceremony to officially begin. Please welcome the chairman of the organizing committee, Mr. Dana White!"

As the host finished speaking, Dana White appeared on the big screen.

Two boxes were placed on the table in front of him, one see-through on the side facing the camera and black on the top and other sides. Each box contained four yellow balls.

"Let’s start with the upper bracket’s drawing. Four teams have entered the quarterfinals: Russian Team, Brazil Team, Hua Country Team, and British Team."

After the host’s introduction, the bottom of the box on the left began to spin, and the four balls inside started to tumble. After about a dozen rotations, the machine stopped, and Dana White reached into the box and casually picked up a ball.

"...Hua Country Team."

Dana White unscrewed the ball, read the name on the paper inside, and then a staff member attached a nameplate representing the Hua Country Team on the whiteboard behind Dana White.

Dana White continued reaching into the box to draw another lot.

"British Team, British Team, British Team..."

In the room, Wang Ruojun murmured softly, while Xu Chuan and others nearby watched the big screen with equal tension.

At this moment, countless Hua Country viewers watching the live stream were praying, hoping that the Hua Country Team would draw the British Team.

Among the four teams qualifying from the upper bracket, Brazil Team and Russian Team respectively ranked second and third in the championship rankings, both very strong. Compared to them, the British Team was relatively an ’easy target.’ If the Hua Country Team could draw the British Team, letting Brazil and Russia battle it out, then they could conserve strength and advance smoothly.

Moreover, if Brazil and Russia clashed, it would inevitably be a fierce battle, potentially leading to injuries among key players. Therefore, facing the winner in the semifinals would greatly increase the Hua Country Team’s chances. Drawing the British Team in the quarterfinals would definitely be the best outcome for them!

Online, many netizens had already conducted strategic analyses: if the Hua Country Team draws the British Team in the quarterfinals, it’s a stable path to the finals!

Under these circumstances, of course, thousands wished for the Hua Country Team to draw the British Team, even Wu Li himself. Although he yearned to face strong opponents, he was keener on leading the Hua Country Team to go further.

A moment later, Dana White pulled out another ball, opened it, and displayed the paper inside to the camera.

"Russian Team."

"Ah..."

This result elicited a collective sigh of disappointment in the room; everyone from the Hua Country Team felt regretful.

"It’s okay, it’s not the worst outcome; we didn’t draw Brazil Team."

"Man, Brazil Team has all the luck."

"Who cares, let’s just fight!"

...

The discussions continued among the crowd as the drawing on the big screen went on.

Although the outcomes for the remaining two teams were clear, formalities still had to be followed. Dana White drew the last two balls from the left box, showing the paper slips for Brazil Team and British Team to everyone.

Next was the drawing for the lower bracket, where the four teams were: American Team, Netherlands Team, Canada Team, and Germany Team.

The results were quickly determined: American Team vs. Netherlands Team, Canada Team vs. Germany Team.

The American Team’s draw wasn’t great either, having drawn the strongest of the remaining three teams, the Netherlands. However, it was clear to everyone that the American Team was decidedly better than the Netherlands Team, and the outcome was hardly in doubt. It was just a matter of how much trouble the Netherlands Team could give the American Team.

"Next, Chairman Dana White will announce the competition rules for the knockout stage," a staff member suddenly said.

Taking the microphone, Dana White looked into the camera: "The knockout stage will adopt a brand-new competition format, seven rounds of matches, including two rounds of 2VS2 duels and three rounds of individual confrontations. The order of the matches will be decided by the teams alternately."

"The team with a higher score from the group stage, or if the scores are the same, the team with a shorter total match duration, will have the priority to choose. They can select the weight class for the first round of individual matches, followed by the opposing team choosing the weight class for the second round of 2VS2. Then the priority team selects the weight class for the third round of 2VS2, and so on, alternating until the order for all seven weight classes is set."

"In the knockout stage, each individual match is worth one point, and each 2VS2 match is worth two points. The first team to acquire four points wins."

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