binnovel Chapter 248 Strong
Chapter 248 Strong
While Han Xiaoling was still locked in a fierce battle with You Hao, the first match of Group D had already concluded, with Ye Xuan unsurprisingly losing. However, he wasn't too disappointed. Reaching the semi-finals meant he was already stronger than many others, and having proven himself, there was nothing to regret.
Han Xiaoling suddenly had a good idea. She immediately struck out with both palms: "Flying Sand and Stones!" Several whirlwinds flew out from her palms, filling the arena with dust and smoke, just like a sandstorm, making it impossible to see anything. The audience couldn't see what was happening in the arena either, and could only occasionally hear the sounds of battle.
You Hao was indeed getting anxious. The whirlwinds were constantly spinning and stirring up dust, and Han Xiaoling had infused her spiritual energy into them, causing him to sense energy fluctuations all around him, making it impossible to pinpoint her exact location. However, he still used his earth-elemental ability to encase his entire body in a stone shell to defend against Han Xiaoling's sneak attacks.
Both of their supernatural and psychic powers were rapidly depleting during the battle, as recovery methods were not permitted during the competition unless one possessed inherent regenerative abilities. After 10 minutes of fighting, You Hao reverted to his original form to conserve his power, while Han Xiaoling canceled her whirlwind attack.
Han Xiaoling used her spiritual energy to condense an arrow, held it in her hand, and threw it at You Hao. You Hao looked at the referee and said, "Isn't it against the rules that we can't use weapons?" The referee shook his head and said, "Weapons condensed with spiritual energy are not considered weapons; they are only considered personal skills. Therefore, Han Xiaoling has not committed a foul."
You Hao concentrated his supernatural power into his right hand, making his fist twice as large and turning the color of mud, and attacked Han Xiaoling. The two fought for a while longer, and then, taking advantage of a gap in You Hao's all-out punch, Han Xiaoling nimbly tilted to the side, and her energy arrow struck You Hao's left calf with all its might. The skin and flesh on a human calf are very thin, and being hit by it is still very painful. In addition, this was Han Xiaoling's full-force attack, and You Hao immediately felt as if his calf was broken. He suddenly lost all strength and fell to the ground.
You Hao tried to stand up, but Han Xiaoling unleashed three more wind blades, striking him. However, this time she didn't use much force, and You Hao's defense was already high, so he wasn't seriously injured. This was only the first match, and You Hao didn't want to expend too much energy, especially since he had to play in the second match in Group C. He immediately conceded defeat.
Seeing You Hao concede defeat, the referee immediately announced, "The battle is over, Han Xiaoling wins." The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers. Han Xiaoling, far from being arrogant, walked up to You Hao, took a Flame Fruit from her storage space, and handed it to him: "This is very effective for recovery; please have one." Seeing Han Xiaoling help her opponent after such a grueling battle, the audience cheered, and even the leaders on the platform nodded in approval.
The first matches of all four groups have now concluded, and the second matches for the four groups will begin this morning. Yunlan and Han Xiaoling will only play in their group's third match, so they now have ample time to rest and adjust, and can also enjoy watching the other teams' matches.
At 11:8 AM, all 12 matches across the four groups concluded, with Yun Lan, Ding Hai, Shangguan Jingyun, Shi Feihong, Ye Kai, Han Xiaoling, You Hao, and Nie Xiaoqian advancing to the round of 16. The afternoon matches were relatively uneventful, with Xu Chu, Li Xue, Shangguan Feng, Yang Liu, Wang Haiyang, Yan Song, Jiang Xiaohui, and Fang Hua also advancing to the round of 16.
Pang Zihan was eliminated due to a poor group assignment. Despite his decent strength among level 9, he was eliminated because Ding Hai and Yun Lan were in his group. Currently, among the top 16, there are 5 from the Northern Theater, 5 from the Central Theater, and 6 from the Eastern Theater. Notably, all four participants from Dawn City have advanced to the top 16. The others are Fang Hua from Qingshui Base and Shi Feihong from Feiyun Base. Of these 16, 2 are level 10 ability users, 11 are level 9 ability users or awakened users, and the remaining 3 are level 8 awakened users or ability users.
The afternoon matches ended quickly, around 4 PM. Li Chenglong and Feng Tian led the Shuguang City team back to their courtyard, where Chen Guoqiang's secretary, Han Fei, was already waiting. Li Chenglong smiled, went over, shook his hand, and asked, "Secretary Han, is there something you need?"
Han Fei smiled and handed Li Chenglong a document, then said, "The excitement of this competition has completely exceeded the expectations of the headquarters' senior leaders. They have taken into account the suggestions of some base leaders and decided to change the rules for advancing to the top 16 to make the battles even more exciting. The document was just drafted when General Chen asked me to deliver a copy to you."
Li Chenglong smiled and said, "You've really worked hard. We're going to have dinner together later. Secretary Han, would you like to stay for a bite?" Han Fei politely declined, saying, "I still need to help distribute this document to other people, so I won't have dinner. But your Shuguang City team performed exceptionally well today. Congratulations! General Chen Guoqiang also asked me to pass on a message: he hopes you can achieve good results in the upcoming elimination rounds." After saying that, Han Fei walked out of the courtyard, and Li Chenglong personally saw him out of the gate.
Feng Tian and Yun Lan had already started reading the documents; the rules had indeed undergone significant changes. The original rules for the round of 16 to the round of 8 were that the first-place team in Group A would play the second-place team in Group B, and vice versa. However, the rules had changed. The participants from each base would be randomly drawn, publicly on-site, and the matches would begin immediately after the draw, increasing the difficulty and uncertainty of the competition.
Once the elimination rounds begin, all participants can use their own weapons to better showcase their skills. If they don't have a weapon, they can use the provided crystal battle sword. However, while weapons are allowed, the rules remain unchanged: no serious injury or death, and no striking specific body parts.
Li Chenglong took the document from Yunlan and glanced at it briefly, then smiled and said, "Now our Yunlan and Li Xue are even stronger. With the Dragon and Phoenix Spear, Yunlan and Li Xue with the Azure Staff, their strength has increased by at least half." Feng Tian added, "There are no rest days this time; the competition starts tomorrow. There are eight matches in the round of 16 to 8. Each match lasts 20 minutes, and all the matches will be finished in one morning. I won't go into detail about Deputy Commander Yunlan and Li Xue, but Han Xiaoling and Yang Liu must be careful. After all, swords have no eyes. Although the rules don't allow serious injury resulting in death, we still need to be cautious."
All four nodded, filled with renewed anticipation for tomorrow's battle. Li Chenglong then instructed the special forces soldiers to prepare food; he planned to personally cook a good meal to reward everyone. However, at that moment, General Sun Tianlong sent someone to say that he needed to gather the high-ranking officers of the Eastern Theater Command for a small meeting. Li Chenglong had no choice but to go ahead, telling them to prepare the food first, and that he would cook when he returned. He and Feng Tian then went to see Sun Tianlong.
The meeting lasted only about forty minutes, mainly discussing issues between the three war zones. Sun Tianlong's main point was that each base should learn from the strengths and advantages of the other war zones, complementing each other's weaknesses, and thus better develop their own bases upon returning. He also offered his outlook for the upcoming competition, hoping that the teams from Shuguang City, Feiyun Base, and Qingshui Base would achieve good results.