Before the second knockout round started, the ten contestants who had made it through were full of confidence. Some wore serious expressions whereas others were anxious that they would lose. It was not all the same.
They were very aware that they only needed to win the next round to be part of the list that received recommendations to institutions.
The battle matchups for the second knockout round would be decided by the clan elders. They would match one strong and one weak contestant against each other according to the strength they had displayed previously.
This would prevent the possibility of an early encounter between strong contestants. The only flaw was that the battles might not offer much excitement.
In the end, the clans' resources were limited. The clan elders hoped to concentrate their resources on the clansmen with the greatest potential. The institution recommendations list was crucially important and was also the thing that clans had spent the most resources on over the years. Naturally, they had to be more prudent.
Of course, if a weak contestant pulled off a major upset, they would not be disappointed either. If something like that happened, it pretty much meant the defeated contestant had made a fatal mistake.
In the second knockout round, no matter if they were strong or weak, the clansmen's desire for the institution recommendations was on clear display. They threw caution to the wind and fought with fierce audacity. They paid no mind to their demon pets' injuries and kept pushing forward until a winner was determined.
In the second knockout round, Li Changsheng kept his eyes on Li Runfeng. His opponent was not very strong. He had a Lower 8th Order demon pet. Due to Li Runfeng's facade, his opponent thought the gap between their abilities was not big and wildly went on the offense.
Just like the previous round, Li Runfeng was still acting weak. After a string of 'bumbling' commands, he finally pulled off a 'narrow' victory.
"Li Runfeng is the victor!"
The internal affairs clan elder's voice rang out, full of vigor. Truthfully, he found Li Runfeng's actions rather shameless, but he knew better than to expose it. Hiding your strengths was a battle strategy too.
Originally, with Li Runfeng's strength, he could have easily won the semifinals' recommendation list, but he chose to hide his strength. Naturally, he had a goal he could not tell others. If there were no surprises, it could be nothing more than wanting to enter a better list since it concerned his future.
More than half an hour later, the second knockout round finally ended. The five winners smoothly went through to the semifinals. Along with Li Changsheng, Li Tianyu, and Li Jingyi, they just managed to make up eight people.
Getting into the semifinals meant they were all automatically part of the institution recommendations list, but the institutions were also divided by classes. If they wanted to get better institution recommendations, they had to continue working hard.
The semifinals would be held tomorrow morning.
After the event ended for the day, the clan head, Li Wenbo, went to his workplace. His left hand held his head and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed like he was plagued by some bothersome business.
Unlike the knockout rounds, the semifinals' matchups were drafted by the clan head. For the benefit of the clan, he had to make the right choices.
The reason he did not use drawing lots was mainly to avoid two players who had a lot of potential meeting too early and causing one of them to drop out. This was inconsistent with the desires of the clan.
This was the source of the clan head's troubles.
On the clan head's desk, there was an incomplete name list. Li Changsheng, Li Tianyu, and Li Jingyi's names were all on it. They all had Middle Order demon pets and had been classified as strong contestants by Li Wenbo.
Here was the problem—he still had to choose one more contestant for the 'strong' bracket. This was where Li Wenbo was conflicted.
If he knew the truth about Li Runfeng, Li Wenbo naturally would not hesitate too long, but the problem was he did not know. As his attention had not been focused enough, adding on Li Runfeng and the Ice Sparrow's impeccable acting, he did not sense it at the time.
Otherwise, with his Level 4 Demon Tamer vision, he would have easily seen through the Ice Sparrow's guise.
Knock knock~
Just then, knocks sounded on the room door.
"What is it?
"Clan Head, the internal affairs clan elder requests to see you!"
"Make it quick, please!"
Although the clan and internal affairs department's authorities were constantly at odds, causing Li Wenbo to not see eye to eye with a few powerful clan elders, they were united in that they wholeheartedly wanted to strengthen the clan.
After the internal affairs clan elder came in, it was unknown what the two of them discussed, but after the internal affairs clan elder left, Li Wenbo's originally wrinkled brows smoothened. He wrote two words down at the last spot—Li Runfeng!
After he had determined these four strong contestants, he randomly arranged the remaining four people. If they could defeat the strong despite their weakness, that was not a bad thing either.
The next morning, Li Changsheng arrived at the training ground early. After yesterday's test, his popularity had skyrocketed.
Li Changsheng did take heed of it at all. He sat silently at the contestants' seats as usual and opened a book about combat tactics as if there was nobody around. He very quickly immersed himself into the ocean of knowledge.
As his demon pets were growing quickly, he could not lag behind either. He had to continuously improve himself, increase his knowledge and experience, so that he could bring out the best in his demon pets.
Although he was not sure who his semifinal opponent was, he had complete confidence in himself. Even if he encountered Li Tianyu, Li Jingyi, or Li Runfeng, he had a firm grasp on victory.
During the process of waiting, time slowly passed and more and more clansmen gathered at the training ground, making the central ring so crowded that even water would not be able to flow through.
Before the competition started, Li Wenbo stood on the raised platform once again, voice like a sonorous gong as he declared, "I shall go through the rules of the clan competition again. First, this is a battle between demon pets, and attacking the demon tamers themselves is strictly forbidden. Second, each person can enter three demon pets in a one-on-one battle. Third, leaving the ring or being knocked out of it both result in the demon pet's defeat. Fourth, if the participating clansman doesn't arrive within the set time, it will be considered a forfeit! Fifth, killing blows are not allowed, or there will be severe punishment!"
Regarding the nature of the competitions, what was different about the semifinals and the knockout rounds was that the knockout rounds only allowed one demon pet whereas the semifinals allowed three!
The semifinals' rules actually highlighted Li Changsheng's advantage. He did not believe any other contestants had three Middle Order demon pets.
As usual, the internal affairs clan elder served as the referee for the semifinals. This was also where his responsibility lay. "For the first round, please welcome Li Changsheng and Li Jianren!"
Li Changsheng was a little surprised. He never thought his semifinal opponent would be his 'business partner' Li Jianren, but he did not hesitate. He unhurriedly went to the stone platform at the side of the ring.
On either side of the ride, there was a stone platform three meters high. It was used to give the demon tamers a birds-eye view so they could better observe the situation in the ring.
On the other side, Li Jianren's expression was bitter. He also had not expected that his semifinal opponent would be Li Changsheng.
Half a month ago, he and Li Changsheng had become 'business partners'. Li Changsheng provided the goods whereas he was in charge of sales.
Profit-wise, although Li Changsheng had taken a lion's share, Li Jianren had earned quite a lot of resources too. With the accumulation of resources, Li Jianren's strength also increased, but time was not on his side. If he had been given a few more days, it was likely that his Fire Wolf could have completed leveling up and possibly allow him to clinch a spot on the strong contestant bracket, and he would not be meeting Li Changsheng now.
'I can't beat him at all!' Li Jianren wailed silently. Unlike the others, he knew Li Changsheng better. Just the Heaven's Fowl was enough to make him taste defeat, let alone Ai Xi.
In order to hide his strength, Li Changsheng had not let Ai Xi appear on the training ground recently, but because they were business partners, Li Jianren had met Ai Xi at Li Changsheng's house once. The moment he thought of the tiger's imposing body and saber-like fangs, Li Jianren's heart turned cold.
He knew very well. Facing Li Changsheng, he had no odds of winning to speak of!