95 Round of sixteen (1/2)

The next two rounds of the youngster's tournament happened similar to the previous one. They were held in two parts, though the people participating in the two parts were mixed. Thus Bai Yun had a chance to see both Zhang Zi and Bai Qing in action. Both of them were pretty good. There were also a few others who got passing marks from Bai Yun.

And Bai Yun's two fights were also nothing much. He had to fight a bit, but both of them went down without giving him much trouble.

The next day Bai Yun arrived at the tournament site on time. Today both the round of sixteen and the quarterfinals would be held. The semifinals and the finals would be tomorrow.

Unlike the previous rounds, the round of sixteen was conducted in a single go of eight matches side by side. But the format would change from the quarterfinals onwards. From then on it would be one match at a time. After all, there would only be eight matches left, four quarterfinals, one semi final, one final and one third place fight.

When Bai Yun lazily walked into the arena, he saw that he was the last to arrive. The other fifteen fighters were already there. They were waiting near the main arena, inside the stadium. Everyone else had to wait in the stands. Looking around, Bai Yun was quite impressed by the wide variety of people here.

Zhang Zi was sitting in a corner, napping. Bai Qing was chatting with a few of his friends, and also making new friends, widening his circle. The idiot that shouted at him after the first match was also there. He was standing in the middle with a proud expression. There were some of them standing alone, and some of them standing together and chatting. There was even one guy who was sitting there slowly sharpening a large axe.

As he looked around he realized that he only knew four people here. Once was Bai Qing, then Zhang Zi, Meng Qi, the archer he saw during the gold test and finally Gong Ming, the flashy guy he met during the gold test. Based on the strength they had shown then, Bai Yun was a little surprised that the latter two could make it here. And true to his nickname given by Zhang Zi, reptile, Gong Ming was showing a completely different look right now. He was casually chatting with Bai Qing and a few other young men. Meng Qi was standing near Zhang Zi silently. Bai Yun had heard from Song Hui during the auction that Zhang Zi had persuaded Meng Qi to join his Little Merchant Association.

Bai Yun looked around once again. He suddenly saw the dark horse he had seen standing off in a corner, in the shadows. Bai Yun once again felt that he was familiar, but just couldn't place him.

There were a lot of cheers coming from the stands, though most of it was not legible in the noise.

The organizers suddenly appeared in front of them. \”Good you are all here. We can finally begin.\” The head referee said while staring at Bai Yun. Bai Yun simply shrugged in response. He got here one minute before the scheduled time. He wasn't late. There was no need to stare at him.

Once the referee declared the start of the round of sixteen, the group started to move toward their respective arenas. The cheers from the crowd rose. Zhang Zi finally woke up and walked towards his arena.

\”Big brother Zhang, big brother Long. Good luck out there.\” Suddenly Bai Yun heard a loud shout from the stands. Song Hui was standing there waving a huge banner with the word fight written upon it. He could see her maid standing next to her, covering her face with her hands.

Bai Yun awkwardly waved to Song Hui with a chuckle. The strange creature was adorable in her own way. She reminded him of a bunny.

\”Big brother Zhang, beat that baddy for me.\” Song Hui shouted.

Song Hui was defeated in the previous round. The person who defeated her was facing off against Zhang Zi. That was why she asked him to defeat him.

Bai Yun walked up to his arena. His arena was right next to Zhang Zi's so he had a good view of that fight.

Bai Yun glanced at his opponent. It was the same guy who had come up to him after the first round. It seemed that he had survived until now.

\”Not bad, you survived until now.\” The young man said in a condescending tone. \”But your luck ends here. Get ready to go home crying.\”

Bai Yun simply shook his head. He was far more interested in Zhang Zi's match than this one. Zhang Zi was very calm even after meeting him. Bai Yun had a feeling that Zhang Zi had a trick up his sleeve to deal with him.

The young man took out a saber and stood there glaring at Bai Yun. He took off his huge coat and put it into his storage ring. He seemed to be incensed by Bai Yun's total disregard of him.

Bai Yun stared at the young man from the corner of his eyes. Even though it looked as if he was not paying attention, Bai Yun would never make such a basic mistake. He had three soul tendrils. Other than splitting up to act, they could also be used to split his focus and think multiple thoughts at the same time. Having three soul tendrils means that he can split his consciousness into three. He was using two of his soul tendrils on his opponent, and only one on Zhang Zi.

Then the referees declared the start of the matches.