When Dash saw Xander Stone, he noticed that competitive spirit in his eyes. However, Dash, who had his own personal goals in this tournament, wouldn't lower the intensity of the fight.
"Fight!"
Dash's eyes were fixed on Xander, who was the first to start the fight by throwing high kicks. Although these strikes were strong, they weren't enough to penetrate Dash's defense, so he responded with two quick punches to test the other party's defense more precisely.
"Compared to his strength and speed, his reaction to feints is slow, so I think his perception of the fight isn't good."
Of course, Dash's thoughts were based on the preliminary matches, and because he had long been mentally prepared to embrace this competition, he could predict the movements of his opponents.
Like movements falling onto his arms like raindrops, time passed very slowly as Dash dodged Xander's attacks.
The shouts, sounds of coaches, and many other things were nullified in Dash's ears, who, using the Northern Dragon style of fighting, began by receiving the blows, adapting to the enemy, and when ready, he moved.
The moment Dash shifted from defense to offense, his sleeves, like large whips, began punishing Xander's arms, who immediately, feeling the pain, began to retreat.
Seeing this, Dash, who realized that Xander was about to attack with a kick, stepped back and in response launched a powerful low kick.
As long as Dash hit the right spot, he could knock down his opponent, and if he failed to do so, he could quickly advance to score the point in a forceful impact.
Pum!
Xander staggered from the kick he received in his lower body, and when he thought this hadn't been considered a point, he was about to raise his guard when suddenly a straight punch hit under his shoulder.
"Point!" The referee shouted as Xander retreated due to the impact.
"Effective blow..." Dash murmured as he stepped back with a cold expression.
Dash's seriousness when fighting was admirable; none of his relaxed and joking personality was highlighted when he fought, giving a certain intimidation to opponents older than him.
Everyone thought Dash had serious personality issues, but what no one knew was why Dash fought. He didn't want to feel weak again; he didn't want to die of weakness, and if he somehow met his end, he wanted to feel anything but regrets and pain.
For that sole reason, Dash fought; every blow he executed was covered with a fierceness and rage that he only released when he fought. His blows contained everything accumulated in his past life, so compared to any karate student, no one could match up.
Devon knew that no one was a match for Dash, and those great masters or talented ones would eventually be surpassed by her friend who fought for something more than just victory.
Xander could feel Dash's excitement for fighting, and after an exchange of blows, he knew that the competitive spirit alone wasn't enough to win. No, he believed he didn't have the spirit to defeat Dash, but he was prepared to go all the way to the end.
"Fight!"
When the match resumed, Dash took a step forward and began attacking Xander with superior blows. His speed, which had overwhelmed his opponent after a warm-up, was the reason Dash connected a kick to Xander's stomach, who fell to the ground.
"Point!"
"Ah!"
Xander wanted to get up, but he felt as if all the air had left his lungs, and he couldn't continue with the fight. Seeing this, the referee signaled Dash as the winner, and after a salute, he stepped off the arena.
Dash didn't feel sorry for his opponents; he wasn't the same when he fought because if he was, it would be better not to fight. Although he wasn't cruel, he never held back when fighting his opponents, and that was just a bit of his respect.
"Well done, Dash!" Mr. Kim nodded towards Dash, who still seemed overwhelmed by the match.
Devon handed him a blanket and said, "We were indeed strong; it seems everything we did was enough to crush our rivals!"
"He's a good fighter, but he lacks combat experience he doesn't have yet to predict my blows..." Dash didn't discriminate against Xander; on the contrary, he admired him as a fighter due to his good talent at a young age.
It seemed that this guy was the same age as Devon; for that very reason, Dash had no complications facing him.
Passing through the matches, Dash's next opponent was Silva, who had completely defeated his opponent and had advanced to the next round.
On the other hand, Dash saw how Sam, Daniel's daughter, had reached the semifinals and nodded approvingly at her good skills, all inherited from her father. He just didn't expect her to beat Devon; he wanted to think that she wouldn't have any ruthless spirit not to lose, like her father did before. It wouldn't be fair to his friend.
But even though she was good, more precisely, he was sure that Devon would win securely. Devon's kicks were in another category, so after the quarterfinals ended, the semifinals began.