CHAPTER 123: INTO THE TIGER’S MAW

Chapter 123: Into the Tiger’s Maw

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Time passed and before anyone realized it, 4 hours had gone by, leaving space for only 5 more matches.

Just as Zhu Rong had imagined, all 50 participants had managed to fight at least once during that span of time, and now round 2 was finally beginning.

He stood up, moving toward the exit of the waiting area for students, and looked up where the bracket chart had already changed, with some names turning red to show that they had lost their battle, while others had risen to the top of their slot and remained black.

Red meant the person was still in the game and still had a chance to fight.

Apart from that, unlike before, in this second part of the bracket there was now a new section on the side, indicating that one person among the group of participants would obtain the immunity.

Even though it was clear who each one would be fighting against, that extra variable made it so that all the winners’ names were put in the lottery at random to decide who would get immunity.

This way things would be fair for everyone,

That said, just like him, many others raised their eyes as the judge on the podium gave the signal and, as if by magic, all the names started glowing faintly yellow.

The random selection had begun.

Everyone, upon seeing that, fixed their eyes on the names, as if staring harder would increase their chances of being chosen. Only a few kept their calm and serious demeanor, mainly those confident enough in their own abilities.

They knew that one way or another they would advance.

The worry of not being chosen for immunity could only hit later maybe, because near the last battles that opportunity would be gone, and the extra person left out would have to fight against the winner of the second bracket, the losers bracket.

From now on those who lost would fight each other while more kept joining in until only one was left standing at the end.

It was clearly tougher for them, but since they were fighting for a chance to return into the competition after being already thrown out by defeat, it was an effort nobody refused.

With that in mind, everyone kept waiting anxiously, and even the audience, who had just a moment ago been chatting about the performances of various students during the battles, had fallen silent. Only a few whispered among themselves, trying to guess who the lucky one would be.

The waiting was painted across everyone’s face, but they didn’t have to wait long.

Little by little, the glowing of the names began to slow down until, for a second, everything froze, making everyone hold their breath, before finally the light came back on, this time shining on only one name.

Wang Fuyun.

"Student Wang Fuyun, you skip the second round," said the judge, his voice calm yet clear enough for everyone to hear.

The moment that name came out, a small uproar spread among the audience, some surprised, some thinking they had guessed right, and others clearly dissatisfied. But beyond all that, the lucky student for this round had been chosen, and the rest could only swallow their frustration and move on.

Unlike them, the student who had won immunity for this round was over the moon, thanking his ancestors for blessing him.

Like Zhu Rong, he was also a second year student who had managed to pass into the next round, but unlike Zhu Rong, he had almost lost, and only won because his opponent had grown too tired.

Seeing the opportunity, he didn’t waste time and gave the finishing blow.

Honestly, he thought that just making it to the semifinals was already a big achievement for him, and now, with the third year students performing so well, it would be difficult for him to progress further.

For a middle class citizen with talent only slightly above average, reaching this point was already something huge, enough to brag about for the rest of the year, but fate had decided he would stay in the competition a bit longer.

He was sure he would lose in the next battle though, because according to the bracket order, the student he would be up against was none other than Zhu Rong.

Wang Fuyun was in the 4th section of fighters, so with his name removed from the fighting spots, the names behind him, basically those who were supposed to fight after him, moved up one place, filling all the necessary slots for round two.

Zhu Rong, who was in the 3rd section of fighters, was clearly unaffected, but his opponent was, since it was supposed to be Wang Fuyun.

Although Wang Fuyun had been in his own match while Zhu Rong was defeating his opponent, since their arenas were close by he had managed to catch a glimpse of the body of Zhu Rong’s opponent lying in his own pool of blood.

That sight almost distracted him for a moment, making him take a hit from his own opponent, who obviously didn’t waste the chance.

Later on, when he heard more details about what had happened in Arena No.3, he had already decided to quit the fight, but who could have imagined that he would actually get immunity?

While he, all happy, returned back to the waiting area, Zhu Rong remained there, waiting for the judge to announce the next fights.

The judge didn’t take long to call out the names of those who had to fight now , and since Zhu Rong was one of the early winners as well as one of the first student to fight from round one, his name was also called.

Fate had it that his opponent this time was once again a third year student, but unlike Shi Gang, who hadn’t taken the fight seriously from the start, this one, judging from the serious expression on his face and the combat stance already ready, was not going to make the same mistake.

Zhu Rong, seeing this, nodded and said in a calm voice,

"Not bad, I see you’re taking the fight seriously, young man. I see a bright future for you." He spoke with his hands behind his back, looking toward his opponent.

Hearing those words, his opponent felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively wanted to take a step back.

’What the hell do you mean by young man? You’re the young man, your whole family is!’

Hearing those words the third year student couldn’t help but get a little angry.

When had a younger student ever called him "young man"?

What was this, some old guy disguised as a student?

He quickly recomposed himself, thinking that the other side was only trying to mess with his mind.

He sneered, convinced he wouldn’t fall for that trick.

’Heh, you think you can use the same trick you used against Shi Gang on me? dont even think about it.’

Thinking that, he said nothing more and didn’t take his eyes off his opponent, waiting for the match to begin.

Ding!

The moment the bell rang, everyone across all the arenas lunged forward, some using spiritual Qi charged attacks right away, others choosing to go for direct clashes.

Zhu Rong’s opponent was one of the latter. Confident in his speed, he channeled all his Qi into his legs and dashed like lightning toward the other side, arriving at Zhu Rong in an instant.

’Got you.’

With the force of his dash he launched his fist forward, striking straight at Zhu Rong standing in front of him.

’Hahaha, did you think you could dodge with your footwork again like last time?’

He had always been a body cultivator who focused more on speed than on raw strength.

In his eyes, if someone was strong but slow, they couldn’t stand against someone weaker but faster, who could wear them down little by little.

So even though he trained his body enough to maintain a certain level of strength, his specialty was movement techniques, which he had polished over the past years to a very high level of mastery.

He was very confident in his speed, so much so that even students of his own year would have trouble fighting him.

Normally he wouldn’t have gone for such a direct immediate strike, but since the student he was facing was from the second year and clearly had weaker cultivation, there was no way he could withstand his blows.

Or at least, that was what he thought.

But in the next moment, all that courage, and his dream of getting a quick victory, shattered.

Because the fist that had reached his opponent, aiming to strike full on, was now completely caught in the other’s grip, who seemed totally unfazed by his charge, halting him abruptly.

’What!’

His momentum was stopped so suddenly it took him a moment to even process what had happened. But the instant he did, he tried to pull back,

unfortunately for him, the other side seemed to have other plans.

"Hey, where do you think you’re going? You rushed so happily into my arms, it’s rude to run away like this. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It’ll all be over before you know it."

And with that, the third year student who had rushed in thinking he could deal the finishing blow quickly realized that what he thought was a sheep was actually a tiger.

And right now, he had thrown himself straight into the tiger’s jaws.