Then, the two elders looked at each other and smiled. Hearing their words, I was a little confused. But thinking about it carefully, the fact that Chief Commander Shangguan didn't directly reject me meant that he still acknowledged me. In other words, the current me was overestimating myself, and I didn't have the qualifications to recommend myself.
That was why he asked Senior Sun. On one hand, he wanted to see what position I had in Senior Sun's heart. On the other hand, he wanted to keep his thoughts to himself. As expected of a big shot, he didn't reveal anything when he spoke.
Indeed, the current me hadn't reached his expectations. At least, I was already engaged to the Ouyang family. If I wanted to break the engagement, the consequences would be huge.
Hearing the conversation between the two elders, Little Cherry was a little depressed. But she also understood that one shouldn't push one's luck. Back then, she still held a trace of hope, but she didn't dare to mention it to her grandfather. Later, the commander-in-chief took the initiative to talk about it and told her to let go of me as much as possible. This was a form of denial.
Little Cherry's hope was shattered. Today, Little Cherry grasped onto hope again. Although it was very weak, she was quite satisfied.
In fact, the commander-in-chief had weighed the pros and cons. Although Senior Sun was just a wild crane with no fixed abode, his influence couldn't be ignored. Even if he didn't have the backing of a huge family like the Ouyang family, he was still indebted to him. The commander-in-chief was a person who cared about relationships.
If Senior Sun recognized me, it meant that I had some other shining points. It wasn't as simple as inner strength. The commander-in-chief was far-sighted and considered everything.
While we were talking, the competition in the arena was in full swing. As Ouyang Jun and I were the two most anticipated contestants, after the first round of the competition ended, the judges unanimously decided that the remaining twelve contestants would go up the arena together. In other words, they would be divided into six groups to compete in the arena.
Among the four groups, the disparity in strength was relatively large. Soon, the winner was decided. Zhao Wente of the Zhao family also successfully advanced. Originally, he was only a warrior at the early stage of Covert Power, but he had the intermediate martial art of Zhao's Iron Palm. In addition, his opponent was a pillow with embroidery, so he easily entered the top eight.
Zhao Leiting sat beside him. The father and son had accompanied Zhao Wente here. Seeing this scene, I was slightly relieved. It seemed that before I was defeated, they wouldn't dare to make any moves. That would be a huge risk. Moreover, Old Zhao knew that I was a participant recommended by Senior Sun, so he wouldn't dare to act blindly without thinking.
If they angered Senior Sun, it would be tantamount to asking for trouble. In addition, Old Man Zhao's second son had been in a terrible state recently, so they had been very careful and behaved with their tails between their legs.
As for the remaining two groups, they were basically evenly matched. I took a quick look. One of them was a warrior at the middle stage of Covert Power. According to the host's introduction, he seemed to be called Wang Jing. He was a contestant from Qu City. Since Yun City and Qu City were close to each other, he could be considered to be from my hometown. His opponent was a genius at the late stage of Covert Power.
There was a small gap between them, so it was really difficult to fight. However, Wang Jing was quite courageous. He clenched his teeth and persisted. Even if his body was full of scars and his opponent was mocking him, he still looked for an opportunity. I admired this kind of person with a temper and tenacity, so I took a few more glances at him.
Then, Wang Jing purposely revealed a flaw and chose to fight with everything he had. He threw his opponent out of the arena in one fell swoop, completing the incomparably difficult challenge. It also attracted a lot of sincere applause from the audience.
As for the remaining group, they also decided to advance. I reluctantly let go of Little Cherry and walked to the front of the arena as the beautiful host announced.
"At this moment, standing in front of us are the top eight contestants of this selection. They are the most outstanding elites in the province. They also represent their respective families or the long-cherished wish of the person who recommended them. On this stage, the strong will face off against the strong and fight with all their might. It also shows the Chinese people's national characteristics of constantly striving to become stronger and accumulating strength."
Hearing the host's words, I felt a lot more excited, and goosebumps appeared all over my body. Perhaps, this path of martial arts was the most suitable choice for me. In the process of learning, I didn't feel this kind of excitement.
Of course, not everyone was born to study. Although I knew that this was a way to change my fate, sometimes, due to certain factors, I would gradually deviate from this path. Just like me, I had been confused about the future.
Today, I had found my direction and goal, so I was calmer and more confident.
Furthermore, there were professional photographers who took pictures of the eight contestants. Compared to those who had been eliminated, being in the top eight was already a result worth bragging about. After the short ceremony, the fierce and cruel finals began.
Without a doubt, the top eight competition was definitely the focus of attention. Not only were the spectators incomparably excited, even the internet was boiling over. There were some online forums in the country. Although there was no way to broadcast the competition in real time, there were still people using their phones to communicate with the outside world. Many of the participating forces were watching closely at all times, wanting to know the dynamics of the competition as soon as possible. Of course, the thing they were most concerned about was whether their own contestants had advanced or not.
It was like the atmosphere of a large-scale competition. The list of the top eight was quickly announced, and the specialized martial arts forums in the country were in an uproar. Compared to the other participants, I was the most inconspicuous one, because they had more or less some fame and achievements in the past, while I was just a wandering wild crane. Even if the people in the arena knew that I was recommended by Tianji Laoren, they didn't dare to publicize it, because it was classified as confidential information. When I came to the Heavenly Eagle Martial Arts Academy, Headmaster Du Hongchen had told me that if I met some big shots, I wasn't allowed to make it public. Otherwise, if the news was leaked, I would be directly disqualified from the next competition, and I would also have to accept some punishment.
Therefore, on the online forums, the heated discussion about me had never stopped. Everyone was guessing who the person who recommended me was. As for the others, their information had been thoroughly researched. In this era of information, it was very difficult to have any secrets. The more difficult a topic was to understand, the more it would arouse the curiosity and attention of others.