Martial Arts Worlds

The day of the All-Mixed Beginner Tournament had arrived, and people flocked into the tournament venue.

It was a nice sunny day with a slight breeze in the air.

"I am so nervous!"

Cleo said with a big smile on her face.

Even though she said that, she also looked quite excited. She was wearing a black Qi uniform, resembling that of Kiernan's Martial Ability.

Jock was wearing the same thing with a white headband around his forehead, and he was walking silently behind the excited girl.

Kiernan was walking alongside them, going through the rule book, and when they entered the venue, they saw several raised platforms with red mats spread on top.

There were already many participants at the venue, wearing their respective clothing of their dojos, and most of them were accompanied by their family members.

The masters of the dojo rarely came to watch personally these beginner tournaments, unless they had a rare kind of talent participating in their first-ever tournament.

Thus, the sight of Kiernan was quite unexpected.

"I've been reading some of these rules, and it is pretty simple. You win your match if you accumulate three points.

"You get one point for each successful hit. You lose a point if you get hit. If you manage to knock your opponent off the platform, you get two points."

Kiernan said.

"You lose a point if you get hit? That makes things difficult."

Jock said.

'…It is a beginner tournament, so the rules are more enforced. It's not like you can have children beating each other up out there.'

Kiernan thought to himself and found him and his two students a bench to sit down.

They had already registered for the tournament, and Jock and Cleo were luckily part of different Block.

If they somehow met each other in the tournament, it would have to be in the finals.

In that moment, three people familiar to Cleo arrived at the venue, dressed in the bright red uniforms of their dojo.

"Lumian… Khan… Weathers…"

Cleo whispered as she saw the three boys, who were her "rivals" over in the Ok Family Dojo.

Seeing them here wasn't really that big of a surprise, as they were eligible to join this tournament, and she expected Sozen to send them for experience as well.

Khan and Weathers looked at Cleo. They looked down at her. They were never friendly with her either way, and after she abandoned their dojo, their opinion about her was even lower.

Lumian, on the other hand, had a cold look on his face with his black gaze fixed on the tournament board.

He didn't seem to acknowledge Cleo's presence or anyone else for that matter. It was like he was a completely different person.

"…"

Kiernan looked silently at Lumian and didn't say a word.

The trophy of the winner of the All-Mixed Beginner Tournament shone brightly in the middle of the biggest platform.

The smaller platforms were just surrounding that platform like a circle of stars. The big platform was only going to be used for finals of each block and for the grand finals.

A short while later, the tournament organizer came and announced the start of the tournament, starting from the First Block.

"Good luck, Jock!"

Cleo said excitedly.

"…Do your best out there."

Kiernan said.

With a smile, Jock headed to his platform with his heart beating against his chest hard and loud.

This was his first-ever solo tournament, and it was so nerve-racking that he could hardly breathe.

"Hmph!"

Khan crossed his arms at the sight of Jock. He was also part of the first Block. Lumian and Weathers were part of Cleo's block.

With slow steps, Jock climbed to his platform, and his opponent, a short-haired boy, was already waiting for him.

He had a green uniform and three dots on his forehead, which was the symbol of the Marrakesh War Dojo.

"At the green corner, we have Hush from the Marrakesh War Dojo. This is his second tournament appearance, and he is currently fourteen years old and a Middle Stage Martial Recruit!"

The referee said, and then pointed his hand to the other corner.

"At the black corner, we have Jock from the Martial Redemption Dojo. This is his first tournament appearance, and he is currently fifteen years old and a Low Stage Martial Recruit!"

'I am older, yet I am the one with lower Martial Rank. How embarrassing…'

Jock thought with heated cheeks.

"Take your stance!"

The referee ordered.

With a clap, Hush took a low horse stance. His upper body was weaving side-to-side like the hypnotizing dance of a snake.

Jock took his stance—Iron Style's defensive stance—and all weaknesses and openings disappeared like a flick of a switch.

"I am so nervous for him!"

Cleo interlocked her hands and pressed them against her lips, praying for whatever God there was in existence to give good fortune to Jock.

"…He knows what he has to do. He is a smart boy, and I am sure he has already learned tricks to use with rock-solid defense."

Kiernan said.

For the past week, he had been putting Cleo and Jock under harsh training to learn the rock-solid defense but also to build up their endurance and agility.

While Kiernan would've wished to have more time to train them, he did his best for the time that they had.

"Fight!"

In that moment, the referee swung his hand down, and at the same time, all the matches in the first block started.

Hush made the first move. He closed the distance with several rapid lunges. In that moment, he started clapping his hands.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

It looked like Hush started flickering in and out of existence as he approached Jock. He had a hard time seeing him.

'With his claps, he is creating a sharp ringing noise that is disorienting me!'

Jock immediately thought, and he dropped his stance.

A perfect opening appeared before Hush, and he immediately took advantage of it. He lunged forward like a bullet released from a gun.

He punched, but in that moment, Jock put back up his defenses and grabbed the wrist of the fist with a masterful grab.

"?!"

Hush's expression fell.

'A trap.'

Kiernan thought with a smile.

"Haah!"

Jock pushed his fist against Hush's chest. At the same time, he let go of the wrist. The punch sent him flying.

Hush flew out of the platform, and the referee blew the whistle.

"One point for a hit, and two points for knocking Hush out of the platform. With three points, Jock is the winner!"