Neo, Son Goku, and Krillin walked through the corridor and arrived at the contestants' competition venue. The scene before them caused both Son Goku and Krillin to wear looks of astonishment.
"Wow~ There are so many people here!"
"Are they all contestants?"
Inside the hall, figure after figure—some relatively small, others as burly and imposing as iron towers—were warming up.
A glance across the room revealed that the majority were normal humans; a small portion, though short, all possessed knotted muscles, and their eyes gleamed with a beast-like ferocity.
However, the most eye-catching ones were those animal-type Earthlings—warriors with lizard heads and tiger-headed men with full-body tiger stripes.
Especially upon seeing that gorilla several meters tall, Krillin became exceptionally nervous. "Wow! He, he looks so strong! How is it possible to win against that! I'm doomed!"
That gorilla was over three meters tall, its entire body dense with dark gray fur and muscles bulging in lumps. Sitting there, it possessed a sense of oppression akin to a small mountain.
Son Goku said with an innocent expression, "Krillin, haven't you always been saying you're going to win the championship? Although those people look formidable, I think as long as we fight seriously, it should be fine."
Hearing this, Neo curved the corner of his mouth into a smile. After learning the Kamehameha, Son Goku apparently could already judge a person's strength based on their ki.
He immediately reached out and slapped Krillin's bald head with a pa sound, cheering him on. "Be more confident, Krillin." His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly entered everyone's ears. "These are all just flashy and useless fellows; you are much stronger than them."
As soon as these words were uttered, the previously noisy hall instantly quieted down by a fraction. Everyone looked toward Neo, their eyes flashing with ferocity.
"Uh~" Neo was awkward now. He had merely wanted to comfort Krillin, not expecting them to overhear. Now he had offended all the contestants, but it didn't matter. In Neo's eyes, these were all trash.
"Kid, who are you calling flashy and useless?"
A low, husky voice came from the corner.
That gorilla standing over three meters tall abruptly stood up. It had already been astonishing when sitting, and now standing, its massive shadow directly enveloped the three of Neo.
Its crimson eyes stared fixedly at Neo, and two streams of white airflow spewed from its nostrils. The marble tiles on the ground actually developed microscopic cracks due to its weight.
The surrounding contestants stopped their movements one after another, some wearing gloating expressions while others quietly retreated, fearing they would be implicated.
"Who is this kid? He's really arrogant! How dare he say we're flashy and useless?"
"Loss has made a move, he's finished! That's fine too, being too arrogant and despising everyone serves him right!"
Amidst the others' discussions, that gorilla had already swung its palm, which was as huge as a cattail fan, carrying whistling wind, and slapped it directly down toward Neo.
If this slap landed solidly, even an armored vehicle would probably be flattened.
"Careful!" Krillin was so scared he hurriedly retreated, while Son Goku made preparations to counterattack.
However, Neo stood motionless in place.
Just as the gorilla's palm was half a meter away from the top of Neo's head, Neo's eyes suddenly narrowed, instantly bursting forth with an aura so terrifying it was suffocating. This aura was released and retracted in an instant, leaving people completely unable to react in time.
It was like an invisible heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing into the depths of the gorilla's soul.
"Ugh—"
The gorilla let out a muffled grunt, its massive body instantly freezing in place. Its originally fierce expression solidified on its face, its pupils violently contracted, and the whites of its eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins.
It didn't even have time to let out a scream. That huge palm trembled in mid-air, and then its entire body collapsed with a crash as if all its strength had been sucked out.
With a bang, the heavy body crashed onto the ground, kicking up a burst of dust.
The gorilla's eyes rolled back and it foamed at the mouth, passing out cold on the spot. The weak rise and fall of its chest showed it was still alive, but it had clearly lost its combat capability.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Why did Loss suddenly fall down?"
The surrounding contestants wore expressions of shock one by one; some even rubbed their eyes, thinking they had seen wrong.
"Was it that person who made a move? We didn't see him move at all! What on Earth is going on here?" Everyone at this moment was filled with doubt, not knowing what happened, but their gazes were all concentrated on Neo, feeling that he did it, but having no evidence.
Feeling the surrounding gazes, Neo was utterly calm. He spread his hands, a look of innocence appearing on his face. "Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything. Maybe his old illness suddenly relapsed, or maybe he had low blood sugar? These days, if your physical fitness isn't up to par, you shouldn't come participate in the martial arts tournament. How dangerous!"
Naturally, Neo would not admit that he was the one who made a move. After all, starting a fight privately at the venue would result in disqualification. Being disqualified for such a minor character would simply not be worth it.
Son Goku blinked his innocent, large eyes at the side and didn't say anything, but looked at Neo with a face full of excitement. "Big Brother Neo, you've become so much stronger!"
As for Krillin, his mouth widened and couldn't close for a long time, and his awe towards Neo increased by a few more points in his heart. Clearly, he also felt that instantaneous ki; as expected of a character from the main protagonist group, he indeed had some skills.
Right at this moment, an old man with a long beard arrived at the venue's hosting stage, walked up to the microphone, and said, "Today, the World Martial Arts Tournament is convened. Thank you for your hard work coming here from afar. This tournament will select eight contestants from one hundred and thirty-eight experts coming from all over the country to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, so the competition is extremely fierce."
Upon hearing this, Krillin was startled once more. "Ah? One hundred and thirty-eight people? Wanting to stand out from so many people, this is simply too difficult!"
The host continued, "Now let me explain the competition rules: the two sides fight on the combat stage; falling off, fainting, conceding defeat, or crying all count as a loss. You cannot kill your opponent, nor can you use weapons. The preliminary matches are only one minute long; if a winner cannot be decided, the referee will decide."
"Due to the excessive number of contestants, the preliminary matches are divided into four groups. The final two winning contestants in each group are qualified to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament! Now, draw lots to form groups. Please gather in front of the combat stage according to your respective numbers."
Seeing this, Neo immediately led Son Goku and Krillin to start lining up, drawing their respective numbers.
When Neo opened his paper ball, it impressively bore a large number: 1.
Krillin leaned over at this time and said, "Mine is number 93, what numbers are you guys?"
Son Goku looked at his slip of paper and said, "Um... I am number 70."
plz support me if you can
readfictional.com
patreon.com/AZFANFICTION
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
All the novel and fanfiction are 30 chapter ahead there.