Core Ranked Martial Arts Skill

The voice sounded the official start of the contest. The field went quiet.

"The first round, group elimination! The contestants will be split into ten groups, spread over the ten stages. Now we will start splitting the groups…"

Under guidance, the town recruits were split into ten different groups.

"Number 188, seventh stage!" Bobby dutifully headed towards the seventh stage.

The rule was that, out of every stage's contestants, ten people would be chosen out of the fifty-ish people to proceed to the next round. For example, Bobby's group had fifty-two people, and only ten of them would proceed to the next round.

Using his left eye, Bobby scanned across the ten groups and realized that the group splitting was rigged. The most obvious result was that the top ten students were all in different groups.

For example, Calvin, who was first, had been sent to the first group. Peter and Sarah were sent into the second and third groups, respectively. This meant that the top disciples would not meet too early on.

"Every group has an even spread of strong and weak disciples. This means that there will not be many students that could have an advantage through luck," Bobby thought as he nodded his head in agreement.

Next, Bobby started to survey the ones that threatened him most.

The strongest was Axel Powers, who was ranked seventh amongst the town recruits. Axel stood tall as his strong aura spread out.

To be able to rank in the top ten amongst the town recruits meant that they had their own forte. Bobby was taken aback when he felt a familiar person in group seven. It was a beautiful figure clothed in white.

"Bobby," Jessica said as she looked at Bobby. Bobby nodded in response.

"Jessica, it is alright. Peter told me to beat up Bobby and make it impossible for him to get a good result," Axel, who was ranked first out of the group, said as he walked towards Jessica.

"You…" Jessica was going to say something but stopped herself from doing so, as she did not know why she did not want Bobby to have a good preliminary round.

The tournament started.

"Thirteen vs sixty-five!"

"Forty-eight vs three hundred and fifty-five!"

"One hundred and seventy-nine vs twenty-four!"

The judges' voices sounded in each group.

The first few rounds ended quickly. The judges were all from the facility and had rich experience. For those matches that were one-sided, they could always quickly make the correct decision.

For example, Axel defeated his opponent in one hit.

"One hundred and eighty-eight vs twenty-four!" It was finally Bobby's turn.

His body swiftly landed on stage.

Twenty-four was a boy of the yellow belt level. His eyes showed fear when he realized that Bobby was an orange belt.

"Final Wind Hand!" The slightly fat boy grit his teeth, shouted, and attacked with all his might. The skill he used was at the middle rank and used speed to try and win.

"Flaming Metal Fist!" Bobby casually said as he waved his fist.

The moment he used his fist skill, the expression on the judge on the seventh stage changed. This was because Bobby was using a core rank martial arts skill!

As they exchanged blows, number twenty-four was sent flying.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight wins!" the judge said. But because Bobby's opponent was not strong, he did not receive much attention.

"Huh! This kid is so arrogant, using a core rank martial art!" the students below murmured and discussed.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight vs number sixty-six!" Soon, it was Bobby's time to go up again.

There was a rule in each group: once one lost a total of ten matches, one was eliminated. The matches would not stop until there were only ten people left.

But, if one could win twenty matches in a row, one would automatically be promoted to the second round.

Bobby's second match was against a horse-faced boy who had a yellow belt.

"Flaming Metal Fist!" Bobby did not even think as he hit the vital parts of the opponent.

The horse-faced boy cringed as he fell head over heels to the ground.

"He used a core rank martial art again!" the other students said as they looked on disdainfully.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight wins!"

This was already Bobby's second victory. However, for the next two matches, Bobby still used the core rank martial art.

Four wins in a row!

"This brat's way too arrogant! Does he think he's unbeatable by using a core rank martial art?"

"Hmph! His opponents aren't even strong! Once he faces someone of the same rank, it won't be that easy!" the students below snickered.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight vs number forty-seven!" Finally, in the fifth round, Bobby's opponent was someone of the third rank, who was also ranked in the top five of his group.

"Tyrone! Beat that kid!" someone shouted while many were already dissatisfied with Bobby.

"Kid, this is as far as you go." Tyrone's muscular body stood in front. His immense strength was all compacted in his muscles. He normally just had to stand there and the second rankers would admit defeat due to the pressure.

There was a total of around sixty people who had reached the third rank amongst the town recruits. Therefore, a third rank was considered to be powerful in these groups.

"Use all of your skills," Bobby said and faintly smiled.

"Hahaha…if you've got guts, keep on using that core rank martial art!" Tyrone laughed and, like a lion, pounced towards Bobby.

"Brave Lion's Anger!" Tyrone shouted as he compacted all of his strength into his body. Most peak third rankers would not even face off against him.

"Hehe, not bad! Let's see if you can block my move, Flaming Metal Fist!" Bobby actually still used core level martial arts!

Flaming Metal Fist again? The students watching almost fainted.

A loud thump sounded from the seventh stage and a scream soon followed.

_Boom!_

Tyrone's massive body lay on the ground, with a few of his teeth broken.

_What!?_ The crowd below stared at this scene in utter disbelief.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight wins!" Even the judge felt that it was unbelievable. He again won with a core rank martial art!

Five wins in a row!

This was slapping the students' faces on purpose.

"Core ranked martial art…how is this possible…?" Tyrone wondered as he walked off the stage, his face green.

After beating him, Bobby's matches became easier.

Five wins…six wins…seven wins in a row! All those under the third rank admitted defeat when they saw him. The only other person with the same record as him in group seven was Axel.

"It looks like this kid has trained the core rank martial arts to the peak level, no wonder why it is so powerful. Hehe, wait until you meet me, then I'll let you have a taste of high level martial arts skills…" Axel laughed coldly.

Bobby and Axel had become known as the 'Duo Eagles' of the seventh stage, as they both had not lost one match yet.

Seven wins…eight wins…nine wins…ten wins in a row!

"Who do you think is stronger? Bobby or Axel?"

"I think Axel is a bit stronger, but Bobby is not weak either, he is the dark horse in this."

They had two people with the same streak, unlike the other groups where there was just a single dominant figure. For example, all the opponents Calvin and Peter faced all conceded.

Peter was too powerful. Every move he took could kill his opponent. Only group seven had the 'Duo Eagles'. Many were excited and looked forward to the clash between Bobby and Axel.

In Bobby's twelfth match, he met a familiar person. It was Jessica!

This was an awkward opponent for him. "Jessica, please concede," Bobby said calmly.

Jessica had barely managed to reach the peak of the second rank, she obviously wasn't his match. Even Peter, who was in group two, looked over to see what was going on.

"Admit defeat? Never!" Jessica bit her lip as her expression turned stubborn. She would never allow herself to admit defeat in front of Bobby.

When they were at Greenleaf Village, she loved Bobby, thinking he was the most talented kid there was. However, after coming to San Francisco, she realized that Belmont was so tiny in comparison…

Being a weak young woman, she could not adapt to the cruel new environment, so she made a hard decision – to climb onto Peter, who was ranked third. She would never allow herself to admit defeat to her first love that she had thrown away.

"Fine!" Bobby said as he shook his head helplessly.

"Floating Hand Strike!" Jessica was like a wind that merged into that palm and came straight towards Bobby's head. Floating Hand Strike was a martial arts skill at the peak of the middle rank and was suitable for women as it used softness to break hardness.

In terms of martial arts skill rank, Floating Hand Strike was the same as Angry Dragon Fist, but it could restrain the latter from using its fullest potential, and even restrain Flaming Metal Fist, as well.

"Flaming Metal Fist!" Bobby did not move and simply threw out a punch.

_Pah!_

The fist and palm intertwined together.

Suddenly Jessica groaned and started to fall.

_Ai!_

Bobby gently sighed and tried to help Jessica stabilize. After all…they had grown up together and he could not bear to see her being injured.

"Pointed Wind Thrust!" The moment Bobby held Jessica, the latter's eyes flashed coldly and her jade-like fingers sliced at Bobby's chest.

This scene caused many students to scream in fear. At such a close distance, Bobby could not dodge at all.

"Hmph!" Bobby's expression turned angry and his body suddenly burst with power, sending Jessica flying.

_Plop!_

Jessica screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood as she landed on the ground.

"Number one hundred and eighty-eight wins," the judge said while looking disdainfully at Jessica. It was obvious that her actions did not please him.

"Jessica!" Peter shouted and immediately came running over.

Bobby coldly walked down the stage. He had never thought that Jessica would attack him under those conditions.

"Kid…we'll meet later on! I'll give you a personal experience of shame!" Peter said coldly.

"I'll be waiting." Bobby turned and left without bothering to look at Jessica.

He then heard Jessica say in the background, "Peter, you've got to take revenge for me…"

After beating Jessica, Bobby had won twelve matches.

Twelve wins…thirteen wins…fourteen wins in a row! Bobby's record steadily increased.

His core ranked fist skill wiped out everyone opposite him on the seventh stage. Only Axel in the seventh stage still had the same record as him.

"There are still six matches left until I can enter the next round."

At the fifteenth round, Bobby met Axel, who was ranked first in the group. The Duo Eagles were now facing each other! The atmosphere on the seventh stage had reached a climax!

"They are finally meeting each other!" The students of the seventh stage let out deep breaths as they grew more excited. Even some of the contestants from the other stages looked over at the seventh stage in anticipation of the fight.

The judge of the seventh stage let out a smile.

"Kid, I've finally met you. If you've got skill, then keep using your core rank fist skill," Axel said as he licked his lips with his eyes showing a tinge of playfulness.

In terms of strength, Axel was ranked in the top ten amongst the outer disciples and had learned high ranked martial arts, three ranks higher than core rank martial arts.

"Why not? I will keep using my core rank fist skill," Bobby agreed calmly.

What! He was still going to use the core rank fist skill? The crowd all inhaled cold breaths.

"Did this kid eat the wrong medicine?"

"Way too arrogant! Does he think that, just by using a core rank fist skill alone, he can beat the whole group?"

"Still…still using a core rank fist skill?" The judge's face twitched. Even from the judge's point of view, he thought that Bobby was being way too arrogant!

His opponent Axel's smile froze, it was like he had been slapped…