In the following days, Dash's lifestyle was confined to maintaining a normal training routine to keep his mind focused on the upcoming tournament. During the day, he trained with Devon in simulated combat exercises, and when he felt unable to continue, he swam in the hotel pool.
After finishing swimming half an hour later, he relaxed in a bathtub for some time to recover his energy. Subsequently, at night, he practiced memory exercises of strikes, kicks, and defense, which were his strengths in combat.
Among the younger participants in the tournament, there probably wasn't anyone who could maintain this training pace. After all, Dash had realized that he had a unique body that allowed him to follow these strict routine forms without ending up exhausted.
At night, what Dash did was remember his training style and adapt it to imaginary fights while trying again and again to improve his sense of battle. This was his way of resting his mind, and his combat experience and reaction speed had improved immensely until Dash believed he could react to a confrontation where he had to think fast.
But he probably also thought that it would be ironic to believe that he was extremely talented when he was doing something that many others could also do. Moreover, maybe he'll taste the bitterness of defeat someday, and that's why he trains hard without thinking he's good at what he does, as that would make him inferior to many who train daily.
So, right now, the Dash he had become was the closest to perfection, having the right mindset to be a winner from his humble experience.
In the blink of an eye, the remaining days until the tournament had come to an end.
During this week, Dash had also lightly trained with Dre to get the hang of his Kung Fu, and for him to be familiar with the fights. However, during this period, Dash did not push himself to the maximum as he wanted to be in perfect condition.
The situation continued this way until the day of the tournament.
While meeting with Mr. Kim, Dash bid farewell to Devon, who promised to support him wholeheartedly and wished him a crushing victory against his rivals. Those words left Dash completely motivated to crush anyone in front of him in the tournament. There was no doubt he wanted to win; he had the skill, and he felt that as long as nothing significant came up, he could demolish his opponents.
Heading to the tournament site, Dash met Dre, who was wearing the same uniform as him, and also Mr. Han, who had finally put on his teacher's uniform.
Mr. Kim and Mr. Han talked for a while as they were admitted to the complexes after being listed.
"First, we'll fight the qualifiers; once we win all the scheduled fights, we'll move on to the big stage," said Dash as he walked ahead of Dre, who was very scared of the fights.
Despite all this, Dash was aware that even in that state, he won the tournament in a very beastly way that he still vividly remembers in his memories.
"There are so many people; this is incredible!" Dre felt much more confident knowing he had Dash supporting him. He couldn't help but feel more secure knowing he wasn't alone.
"The most important thing is that you shouldn't pay attention to anything other than the opponent in front of you. I'm aware that you have a rival to face, but you must first defeat many more before you meet him in the tournament."
As Dash had more experience in a tournament than Dre, he shared many of his mistakes and things he needed to learn to never lose track of the fight no matter what.
In this tournament, he didn't care about the future; all he wanted was to win this tournament and prove to himself once again that he could defeat rivals fairly.
By the time Dash entered the venue, his eyes immediately discreetly sought Devon, and seeing her in the distance, he smiled slightly as he nodded with his gaze.
He didn't know until when his friendship with Devon would remain like this, but he would really do everything to make sure it never ended.
Now, with a tournament to win, Dash looked at all the participants, and his eyes fixed on Cheng, who was not a bad guy but was taught by a bad teacher. Before the day ended, at least Dash wanted to see the same result that happened in the original story, with him reconciled with Dre. That would be a truly good ending, and if he was lucky, he could even invite him to the Sakura Bushido school, which would be supervised by Mr. Han.
When his eyes met Cheng's, he smiled slightly and bowed in greeting, to which Cheng responded in the same way before looking away.
"You have enemies; I can tell that teacher is of very bad taste, and I'm afraid he'll act the same way as the Sensei I talked about. Be careful in your fights."
Dash looked at Dre, who had nodded with a serious look, and said, "It would be incredible if either of us won the tournament, wouldn't it?"
"I'll take care of eliminating the competition; we'll be on opposite sides, so probably one of us will have to fight Cheng first. Who do you think will have the luck to face him?"
Dre looked at Dash and replied, "I hope it could be me; I have some pending issues, but it would be lucky if I made it to the final with so little time to train."
"You have talent, which is important. Many don't have the qualities you enjoy, so you can go further than you imagine."
By the time Dash said this, the competition was about to begin, the qualifying matches to choose the best fighters so that everyone could see their skills similarly to karate.