"Welcome, fighters from around the world! You have been selected among the best in your countries with an extensive championship history. It can be said that none of you are nobodies, and all of you are here for a purpose—to be the champion of the tournament and become a hidden dragon."
An Asian presenter spoke in English, as it was the most common language to date. Therefore, everyone could perfectly understand what the man was saying, including the VIPs who were watching the fighters scattered across the field.
"Right in this vast space, there are one hundred warriors who will fight today to choose the fifty preliminaries. Each of you will fight once, and the winners will be in the official tournament, while the losers will be sent home as expected after a defeat."
The presenter made a witty pause, looked in all directions, and shouted, "Fifty of you will advance to round 32, where you will fight one match a day non-stop until a winner surpasses the five fights they must win to become a finalist in this tournament and aspire to become the champion."
Dash, among the crowd, listened to this entire speech and understood how the preliminary selections would be. In short, fifty fighters would be eliminated today from the real tournament.
For the tournament, fifty warriors would be divided into sections, and if Dash wanted to win, he would need to defeat five opponents to reach the final, which would be the last match.
As for the prizes, as he had understood, these would start being given by the VIPs, and in general, each fighter would earn $100,000 per fight, and the winnings would be multiplied by two. In the end, if the calculations didn't go wrong, he would win a little over six million dollars. This was the base prize established by the tournament, not counting the gifts from the VIPs and their companions or third parties.
This money was more than enough for Dash. With that, he could buy a house and also pay off all the money he owed to his father without any problem, including the Kung Fu school fees.
"Yeah, the money is enough to have years of happy vacations... I'll keep 15% of your earnings, not including what the VIPs give you." Santiago looked at Dash and made his offer naturally.
Dash looked at Santiago and asked, "Do you trust that I'll make it to the final?"
"Damn, kid, you're a really good fighter for you to doubt if you'll reach the final now. I've got your three best fights from the last year, and without counting the more than seventy official matches you've had, you haven't lost in any of them; you remain undefeated in the eyes of the people who accepted you."
"What about them?" Dash asked, looking at the other fighters.
Santiago, who had previously investigated the best fighters in this tournament, turned his head and said, "They handle Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing, Kickboxing, a bit of mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai... Very few handle Kung Fu in particular, so for that reason, you have an advantage."
Of course, Dash was fifteen years old and very close to turning sixteen. In the eyes of many, he was very young and couldn't be compared to other fighters, but many did pay attention to him.
"Just crush them mercilessly; there are no rules... Although the selection is very different from before, there is only one rule, and that is to knock out your opponent." Santiago smiled a bit and said, "No matter what, even if someone dies, you won't know, but it's frowned upon to kill someone in a match for the VIPs unless you get a crazy sponsor."
Dash nodded and said, "I'll keep that in mind. Do you know who my opponent is in the preliminaries?"
Santiago checked the sheet he had been given and said, "You'll fight in round four, and your opponent will be Saelim Somchai, a nineteen-year-old Thai who handles mixed martial arts very well, but it won't be a problem, right?"
"None at all; I'll take care of it in a minute." Dash was confident in his abilities because he had never fought to cause harm, only to score points. His current Kung Fu skills were focused on damaging the vital points of enemies and taking them out of the fight. Not to mention that over the past few years, he had been hardening his knuckles, knee bones, and preparing his body to withstand really strong blows.
Today, he was good at martial arts. He still needed years to be considered one of the best, and he might need to defeat really powerful opponents, but he was not weak, and he was sure that no one of his age could defeat him.
He had trained brutally for over five years, something none of his age could do unless forced. He trained with an unmatched passion because that was his greatest desire.
"To breathe, feel the air, and be strong are my greatest passions..." Dash thought while waiting on the side and watching the matches that had begun to take place.
The tournament was private but recorded, and according to Santoyo, many watched it through the dark networks. However, unlike here, the faces were censored, and everything about the competition was strictly secret.
With fifty matches, there were three matches taking place simultaneously, and all were recorded. Many VIPs brought their assistants to find out for them who the most outstanding fighters were, hoping to find a good fighter to bid on in the auction.
In a VIP room, a group of magnates watched the matches, and one in particular asked, "Why are there more young people this time?"
"Don't be too indifferent to the participants; each of them is the best in their locality and could break the legs of our bodyguards. Young people are chosen because they are more resistant, and their fights are longer... Also, it's not like the elders would fight in a tournament like this; if they've reached that age, they wouldn't need the money." A man with a horse mask responded coldly.
"Well, I hope to find a good fighter to crush that idiot Carpio. He should be very passionate about finding a good fighter now."