The Competition Continues

At this moment, many people could see the ranking board, and seeing the upcoming round of 16 fights filled everyone with excitement.Because the number of matches was high and many ended quickly, the waiting time was reduced by starting the next fight as soon as one finished, leaving the quarterfinals, the tournament's most prominent matches, for the grand finale."Well done, Max, take a break for now!" Terry handed Max a water bottle as he stepped off the combat mat.Following Max's victory, the next fight began, featuring Robby against a rather challenging opponent due to his height. Of course, only a handful of people cared about Daniel's students participating in the tournament.Watching the massive screen displaying the list of qualified fighters, Max noticed something curious: Miguel would fight Robby sooner than he had anticipated."There might not even be a chance for Miguel to face Robby if he keeps advancing the way he is now..." Max murmured as he drank his water. There wasn't much else to think about—the list of qualifiers was fixed, and if Miguel wanted to face Robby, Max would have to lose in the semifinals.Additionally, Max doubted that Ryan would lose. Judging by the current bracket, Ryan would face Miguel if both advanced without issues in the qualifiers."Great fight, Max, you were amazing." Miguel approached to congratulate Max, who had returned to his teammates.Max looked at him and nodded, then noticed how Miguel was carefully watching Robby's movements. He said, "He's not very strong. I can see he has overwhelming talent, but he still lacks a lot of experience. Also, the martial art he's using is incomplete.""Do you know him?""Yeah, my mentor taught me… It's a long story. Let's just say the martial art Daniel teaches was also learned by my mentor from the same source, but Daniel's version is less complete." Max knew Miyagi-Do's martial arts focused on defense, but there was also an offensive component.So far, he hadn't seen any of Daniel's students demonstrate offensive techniques. If Daniel hadn't taught them, even with his desire to take down Cobra Kai, it meant he hadn't fully mastered his sensei's teachings.But Max didn't care about that—he had no issues with those people.Meanwhile, sitting among the audience, Sam clenched her fists nervously as she watched Miguel prepare for his match, having successfully reached the round of 16. In her judgment, Miguel had not yet displayed his full combat potential, which was fine but also risky.In previous fights, Miguel usually didn't take long to eliminate his opponents with brutal strikes. Occasionally, he even gave them hope of landing a point against him before swiftly defeating them with a counterattack."Are you studying your opponents like Max does?" Sam concluded this after seeing Miguel defeat a boy from a Taekwondo-rooted school.It was a smart strategy to learn about an enemy's martial arts, but it also exposed Miguel's peculiar fighting style to his rivals.To Sam's left was her mother, watching the matches. After a while, she asked, "Hey, do you think your ex-boyfriend has a chance to make it to the finals?"Sam didn't pay much attention to the chatter around her, but when she heard that question, she nodded and said, "He'll win his matches easily up until the quarterfinals. From there, he'll have to face that boy named Eion, one of the top contenders alongside Max, so it'll be tough."At the same time, one of the tournament organizers, seated to Sam's right, nodded and added, "Even though Miguel has great battle experience, the boys coming from outside are also very aware of their opponents. Their speed is unmatched in Karate…""Many of them come from other martial arts backgrounds. The most striking are those fused with Kung Fu, which use techniques and innate skills, allowing each fighter to adapt their movements to their style. Miguel relies more on defense to counterattack, but as his fights progress, that's starting to change.""How do you know that?" Sam looked curiously at the man. She hadn't had the chance to learn more about the organizers before, but it seemed they were knowledgeable."My nephew fights—his name is Jack, unaffiliated because he didn't come with a dojo.""Jack...""It's good you're not participating. It would break my heart if you got hurt in this tournament," Amanda interrupted Sam, who wanted to know more about that fighter."I might get hit, but I'd win. Believe it or not, I'm better at kicks than most..." Sam murmured, a little annoyed by her mother's lack of confidence."Look, it seems Robby won his match too."Sam glanced at Robby, who had barely scraped through his fight, and nodded. With his father's training, he should at least reach the quarterfinals....As the matches continued, Johnny approached Miguel, who was up next."Listen, your next opponent has very strong kicks. His Karate style relies on hardening bones through microfractures, so don't clash kicks with him. Focus on defense and finish him off with a feint."Johnny had noticed the opponent's kicks and knew he'd received multiple warnings for using excessive force. This hinted that he used his hardened bones to injure rivals severely."That bone thing sounds cool. Why haven't you taught me that?" Miguel's eyes lit up with excitement."Just focus. Once you're in the quarterfinals, that's when the spotlight matches begin, and that's all that matters in this competition," Johnny said, worried about Miguel running into trouble."I'll win, Sensei."When Miguel stepped onto the mat, the crowd erupted, eager to watch his fight."I'm famous wherever I go…" Miguel grinned slyly and muttered, "I'll end this fight quickly so I can enjoy the quarterfinals..."Looking at his opponent's height, Miguel's smile slowly faded. "Is that guy even old enough to compete?" he wondered.The boy gave Miguel a cold smile, looked him up and down, and walked to his position."Ready?"Miguel's round of 16 had officially begun!"Fight!"