That powerful wave of mental energy came and went in a flash, like the tide.
Sensing that the mysterious mental force had retreated, the two people on the rooftop no longer dared to mess around. They glanced at each other and quickly left the hotel roof.
After playing his little prank and scaring those two off, Ian Song didn’t give it another thought and went back to meditating on his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.
The next morning, after breakfast.
Ian and his two teammates followed the deputy minister’s instructions from yesterday and arrived at a large stadium not far from the hotel.
The Special Police Tournament would be held here.
The official matches were scheduled to start at nine o’clock sharp in the morning.
Before the matches, there was a ceremony and speeches from the leaders.
This rule was established before the Interstellar Era, and even now it’s still followed.
The speakers included a lower-ranked deputy provincial governor and the director of the Special Police Department, among others.
Luckily, the leaders knew that talking too long would annoy everyone, so none of them hogged the microphone for too long.
At exactly nine o’clock, the Special Police Tournament officially began.
A massive projection screen appeared above the stadium.
On the screen, nearly six hundred competing officers were divided into 297 groups, two people per group.
Ian Song found his name on the big screen: Group 124. His opponent was Gavin Ge.
Mason Hu was further up, in Group 23.
Evan Lin was ranked somewhere past the two hundredth group.
Ian also noticed Erin Cooper and Daisy Morgan’s rankings—they were both in the top hundred.
“Now, would the members of the first ten groups please come up for their matches!”
Following the broadcast, twenty officers took the stage one after another and began their matches under the supervision of robotic referees.
In less than ten minutes, all the matches in this round were decided.
The winners’ names appeared in the bottom right corner of the big screen. Once this round ended, the groups would be reshuffled.
Second round...
In the third round, Mason Hu took the stage. His opponent was also an eighth-level Warrior, but compared to Mason, who had trained in Bajiquan for years, the other guy was weaker. So, in less than three minutes, Mason won, and his name appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen.
The matches kept going, and before long it was already the sixth round.
This round, Erin Cooper entered the stage. Her opponent was also a female officer, but compared to Erin’s tall, sturdy frame, the other woman looked rather petite.
After just a minute, the petite officer couldn’t withstand Erin’s onslaught and chose to surrender.
Seventh round, Daisy Morgan took the stage.
The moment Daisy Morgan appeared, Mason Hu’s eyes lit up.
Daisy Morgan was extremely strong. Although she was only an eighth-level Warrior, even most ninth-level Warriors weren’t her match.
Her moves were crisp and clean, like a wild wind sweeping up fallen leaves.
In just two minutes, she easily defeated her opponent—even while holding back.
Seeing Daisy win, Mason was even happier than when he won himself, clapping and cheering for her nonstop. Unfortunately, Daisy didn’t even spare him a glance.
Finally, after another hour, it was Ian Song’s turn to take the stage.
His opponent was Gavin Ge, a seriously burly guy.
“Hey, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. You go first!” Gavin Ge glanced at Ian’s thin frame and said arrogantly.
“Sure!”
Ian nodded, then dashed forward, launching into a set of short-range boxing techniques with both fists.
His punches came down like a torrential storm—though not individually powerful, the force kept stacking up, creating an unbroken wave of pressure.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blow after blow forced Gavin Ge to retreat again and again. After dozens of exchanges, he finally broke down and surrendered.
"Deputy Captain Lu, what kind of boxing was that just now? How were you so fast?" As soon as Ian returned to the sidelines, Mason Hu hurried over to ask.
"Wing Chun," Ian replied.
"Wing Chun? Never heard of it," Mason said, looking puzzled.
"There’s a lot you haven’t heard of. Just focus on the tournament!"
Soon, it was noon, but the matches didn’t stop.
It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that the first round of the Special Police Tournament ended, with 140 people advancing.
For Ian, these matches were boring—at this level, there was nothing to look forward to or watch.
The next day, both Ian and Mason Hu advanced smoothly, while Evan Lin was eliminated.
It’s worth mentioning that Erin Cooper and Daisy Morgan also made it into the top 70.
On the third day, Ian Song made it into the top 35, while Mason Hu was eliminated. Erin Cooper and Daisy Morgan both advanced.
This left Mason feeling pretty depressed.
On the fourth day, Ian Song reached the top 18, Erin Cooper was knocked out, and Daisy Morgan advanced.
On the fifth day, Ian Song broke into the top 10, becoming the only seventh-level Warrior in the group. Daisy Morgan narrowly made it into the top 10 as well, the only female officer and one of three eighth-level Warriors among them.
News of Ian’s top-10 finish reached Plumridge City, and the entire Special Police base erupted in celebration.
In the end, Minister Frank Lu decided to lead the Special Police leadership to the provincial capital to watch the top-10 ranking matches in person.
On the sixth day, the Special Police Tournament’s top-10 battle began.
As the names flipped on the big screen, the ten contestants were paired into five matchups. By coincidence, Ian Song’s opponent turned out to be Daisy Morgan.
Right then, a pair of eyes glanced over from nearby—it was Daisy Morgan.
"Deputy Captain Lu, when you go up against Doudou, remember to go easy on her," Mason Hu whispered, pulling Ian aside.
"Yeah, I will," Ian Song nodded.
"Thanks, Deputy Captain Lu," Mason Hu said gratefully.
One’s interested, the other isn’t. Watching Mason’s antics, Ian couldn’t help but shake his head—he didn’t think Mason had a shot with Daisy Morgan.
Ian Song and Daisy Morgan were scheduled as the third pair to go up.
First up were two ninth-level Warriors. Both were very strong and had mastered advanced martial skills. Their fight lasted a full half hour before a winner emerged.
Next came two eighth-level Warriors.
Anyone who made it into the top 10 was no pushover. Although both were only eighth-level Warriors, their strength far surpassed that of most ninth-level fighters, and their match was quite a spectacle.
Third up, it was Ian Song and Daisy Morgan’s turn.
"Should I call you Landon Lu, or Ian Song?" Daisy Morgan looked at him, half-smiling.
"Either’s fine," Ian replied with a casual smile.
"Remember, don’t hold back—otherwise, I’ll look down on you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Daisy Morgan dashed forward and launched a rapid three-hit combo at Ian.
That move might have worked on most people, but Ian slipped aside with ease, dodging Daisy’s combo and instantly closing in to unleash his Wing Chun short-range boxing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The punches kept coming, like the endless flow of the Yangtze River, never letting up.
At that moment, Daisy finally understood what Gavin Ge had gone through—chased around and battered, she couldn’t take it anymore and jumped back to concede defeat.
Fourth match...
Fifth match...
The first round of the top-10 battles was over. Five people, including Ian Song, each earned one point. The Plumridge City Special Police leadership, led by Minister Frank Lu, were all overjoyed.
The second round of matchups began.
This time, Ian Song was paired with David Zhao.
David Zhao was a ninth-level Warrior who had trained in ancient martial arts hard-body techniques, making his defense incredibly strong.
So when the Plumridge City Special Police saw Ian matched against David Zhao, they all looked hopeless—they didn’t think Ian had any chance of winning.