Whoosh! Li Yuan returned to the waiting area below the ring, but what about Garava?
He had been eliminated, so naturally, he couldn't wait in the preparation zone.
"Li Yuan, impressive!"
"To think he defeated Garava with just one strike." Yang Hong and Wu Luo, sitting on both sides, were genuinely moved and full of admiration.
They had always known the gap between themselves and Li Yuan was wide, which was evident during the entrance competition.
But it wasn't until today, when they witnessed the fight between Li Yuan and Garava, that they realized just how colossal the gap had become.
"Thank you." Li Yuan smiled lightly, his heart not filled with too much joy.
It was just a victory over Garava, after all.
Having had an epiphany from his battle with Kimura Tatsuo, and after concentrating on his training for two more days, Li Yuan hadn't considered anyone besides Dantai Feng as his opponent.
As Li Yuan had expected, Garava's strength was formidable, but still unable to pose a real threat to him.
"Li Yuan, Dantai Feng is watching you," Wu Luo suddenly said.
"Oh?" Li Yuan couldn't help but turn his head to look at Dantai Feng, sitting far away.
Dantai Feng was wearing a self-perceived handsome smile.
"He suddenly exploded with power, defeating Garava with a single strike; Li Yuan is too monstrous."
"How fierce." Li Yuan was indifferent to the result of the match, but the entire Spectator Platform was thoroughly ablaze with excitement, especially the several hundred thousand spectators from Xia Country, all brimming with immense pride.
The first match was won by Dantai Feng, and the second by Li Yuan.
In their eyes, both were victories for Xia Country.
"Garava actually lost."
"Despite having a great advantage, he carelessly lost. Garava is really useless."
"Poor mentality." Over two hundred thousand student spectators from Tianzhu Country felt extremely uncomfortable.
"The people of Tianzhu are idiots."
"I always said that Lord Li Yuan is the strongest."
"The champion will definitely be between Lord Li Yuan and Dantai Feng, and my money's on Lord Li Yuan." Many spectators from Sakura Country were ironically singing praises of Li Yuan.
In the midst of intense discussion and cheering, the matches for the top sixteen continued one after another.
There was a constant emergence of victors.
However, none of the matches were as fiercely intense as the fight between Li Yuan and Garava.
After six more battles, the top eight were decided for the freshman competition of the ten schools—Dantai Feng, Li Yuan, Yu Ming, Guan Ying, Wu Luo, Vikram, Li Mingyue... and Kimura Tatsuo!
The last of the top eight was Kimura Tatsuo.
After a fierce struggle against He Liancheng from Polestar Martial Arts University, he finally triumphed, albeit with difficulty.
"He Liancheng also possessed intermediate level Fourth Rank skills, and his strength was extremely formidable."
"If he had won, then Xia Country could have occupied seven spots in the top eight." The several hundred thousand Xia Country spectators all felt somewhat regretful and displeased.
But in reality, this was already highly remarkable, because, even with Kimura Tatsuo struggling into the top eight, six spots were occupied by martial arts geniuses from Xia Country.
"Haha, in the top eight, our Kunlun Martial University has two spots."
"Kyoto Martial University doesn't have a single one." The freshmen from Kunlun Martial University were somewhat excited and crazy with joy.
At this moment, under the atmosphere fostered by the competition space, the sense of belonging towards the school and the country for the vast majority was far higher than usual.
All spectators hoped that the martial arts prodigies from their own schools and countries would perform even better.
The quarterfinals will continue.
"Li Yuan, go for it! I have to stop at the top eight," Wu Luo said casually in the preparation area, "But, making it into the top eight and Yang Hong not making it at all."
"It proves that I'm indeed the real Number Two among the freshmen at Kunlun Martial University," Wu Luo said seriously, hoping for Li Yuan's acknowledgment.
"Lack some confidence?" Li Yuan smiled, "Go all out, and who knows, maybe you'll even flip Dantai Feng."
According to the schedule, the first match of the quarterfinals was Wu Luo against Dantai Feng.
"Bro, stop making fun of me," Wu Luo shook his head, "I know I'm not strong enough, but I have good judgment. Apart from you, none of us stands a chance against Dantai Feng. There's only one possibility if we want to win."
"What possibility?" Li Yuan was curious.
"That he tries to act too cocky and lets us use both hands, both feet, plus a head," Wu Luo replied matter-of-factly.
Ten minutes later, the four matches of the quarterfinals officially began.
In the first match, Dantai Feng, still using his dual blades, faced Wu Luo. In terms of strength, Wu Luo was on par with 'Ohno Satoshi', who Dantai Feng had defeated in the first round.
But perhaps out of respect for his compatriot,
Dantai Feng gave Wu Luo considerable face, clashing with him for dozens of moves before finally killing him.
...In the second match, Yu Ming faced Li Mingyue in an internal battle for Xia Country, and Yu Ming ultimately secured the victory, claiming a spot in the top four.
...The third match was Li Yuan against Kimura Tatsuo.
That's right, in the crucial match of the quarterfinals, Kimura Tatsuo was up against Li Yuan once more.
"Your strength is formidable and I respect it," Kimura Tatsuo was much calmer and more humble than during their previous encounter: "But please allow me to defend the dignity of a warrior, I will never surrender."
"I also hope that you will go all out," Kimura Tatsuo said earnestly.
He had no illusions of winning, and he was well aware that, whether facing Yu Ming or Guan Ying, his chances of victory were slim.
"Alright," Li Yuan said succinctly.
Li Yuan, who had launched a series of six rapid and ferocious strikes, pierced Kimura Tatsuo's throat with his spear tip.
Kimura Tatsuo's eyes were wide as his figure vanished in an instant, as if he wanted to say something.
"You're the one who asked me to go all out," Li Yuan shrugged.