Blue Card Starry Sky

Chapter 18 Citywide Martial Arts Tournament (Part 1)

In the ancient city of Penglai, no one knows what is about to happen. The entire Endless Sea is stirring, and a chaotic battle is imminent. The days of tranquility are numbered!
Currently, the four major families in the city are all in motion, gathering information everywhere. They are checking and questioning every passing ship and pedestrian to find out what's happening in the outside world. To the outside world, Penglai Ancient City remains a poor, isolated, and barren place, with little access to information. The people here continue their carefree lives, going about their daily routines without any conflict with the outside world. However, the four major families have already heard some news and have begun stockpiling food and supplies, training their servants, winning over hearts and minds, and recruiting talented individuals. Meanwhile, the city-wide martial arts competition, held every five years, is about to begin. The young people are eager to try, hoping to win this year's championship. They hope to be recruited by the four major families, becoming servants and bringing glory to their families; young people consider it an honor to join one of the four major families.

This year's citywide martial arts competition is being held in the city's grand arena. This is the largest and most magnificent building in Penglai Ancient City, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people to watch the competition simultaneously. Each competition is a major event for the entire city, with people turning out to cheer on their favorite teams. It is also a time for people to gamble heavily, with some becoming famous overnight and entering wealthy families, while others suffer devastating losses, losing their families and lives in misery.

In this martial arts competition, the four major clans, as seeded players, directly advance to the finals without participating in the preliminary rounds. Other smaller clans, groups, and individuals, however, must participate in the preliminary rounds, undergoing elimination at each stage to reach the finals. Therefore, the younger generation of the four major clans will all appear in the finals, a highlight of the competition showcasing their strength. The competition will be held over five days: the first three days for the preliminary rounds, and the last two days for the finals. There will be a two-day break after the preliminary rounds before the finals, making the entire competition seven days long. The competition is divided into a youth group (under 15 years old) and an adult group. The adult group primarily involves each clan recruiting capable members and selecting talent. The winners of the individual group competitions will join the four major clans. The youth group primarily selects promising young people to study at the Penglai Academy, aiming to cultivate them into valuable assets and future leaders for each clan. The youth group is divided into individual and team competitions, with five people per group.

To give the young masters and ladies more experience, Qin Lei signed them up for this year's youth competition, both individual and team events. He wanted these little ones to witness the strength of other families' youths, hone their willpower, increase their fighting ability, and cultivate their teamwork. For safety reasons, Qin Lei gave them false names so they couldn't use their real names in the competition. They were named Qin Yu, Qin Chen, Qin Xin, Qin Tian, ​​and Qin Ting, with their surnames changed from Lan to Qin for easier participation. Xiao Siqi specially went back to pick up the other three and brought them back to the old mansion in the city. The mansion immediately became lively, the two sisters chattering excitedly, unaware of the hardships and dangers of the competition.

……

The citywide martial arts competition is in full swing, with the streets and alleys bustling with activity and the arena overflowing with people. The grand spectacle for the entire city has finally begun!

Qin Lei and his group had arrived at the arena and specifically requested a larger rest room. The room was quite rudimentary, containing only a few stools and a large square table. The entire room was constructed of stone, and was cold and damp. Qin Lei gave them instructions: today's competition was an individual event; just do your best, and if you can't win, just admit defeat. The five agreed and went to prepare. Qin Lei left Liu Weifeng and Xiao Siqi to look after them while he went to the stands to watch the matches.

The group draw went smoothly, with everyone assigned to different groups, and the preliminary rounds began. The five participants went to their respective groups, encouraging and cheering each other on! Each group used a two-elimination format, with the loser eliminated immediately. The winner advanced to the next round, where they competed against the winners of other groups in a two-elimination tournament. The top three from each of the five remaining groups advanced to the finals, where they would face three members from each of the four major families for the championship. The twenty-seven finalists were divided into three groups for a decisive battle, with the top player from each group advancing to compete against the other group leaders for the championship. The competition was extremely brutal, requiring everyone to take each match seriously.

Lan Tian arrived at his competition group and found over twenty people of varying heights and builds, all displaying excellent spirits and a strong desire to win. One person caught his attention: taller and more robust than himself, this young man, around fifteen years old, possessed an imposing presence and a calm demeanor, clearly a martial arts prodigy. His imposing attire further confirmed his status as a skilled fighter. Lan Tian paid special attention to this man, recognizing him as a formidable opponent and strong competitor. Thankfully, the draw didn't place him in the same group, and he learned the man's name was Xiao Weiqing.

The match began with intense fighting in Lan Tian's group, the outcome of which was difficult to predict. The winners were smug, while the losers were dejected. Xiao Weiqing's group fought particularly fiercely, the two evenly matched, and it took several rounds to determine a victor. Xiao Weiqing clearly won with difficulty, but he didn't use any elemental attributes, relying solely on brute force; his strength was being conserved. Lan Tian's opponent, a level three, second-tier wind attribute user, was a piece of cake for Lan Tian, ​​winning easily without any real intensity. Lan Tian, ​​a level five, fourth-tier user, directly knocked out his opponent, but he also didn't use any elemental attributes, holding back some of his strength.

After a day of competition, all five members of the Lan family successfully advanced to tomorrow's matches. Back in the rest room, Qin Lei summarized the day's competition, emphasizing that tomorrow's matches would be even more important and difficult, requiring them to give their all to reach the finals. He explained that today was just the beginning, and the competition would become increasingly challenging and dangerous. Since they had a bye in the evening's five-person team competition, they all went to watch. Qin Lei named their team "Swift Wind Team." That night, Lan Tian discovered that Xiao Weiqing was also in a team called "Fierce Dragon Team." Their five members performed flawlessly, knocking out their opponents in just a few rounds, making them the easiest team to advance that night. Qin Lei returned to the rest room early to let everyone rest and recharge for tomorrow's matches.

(End of this chapter)