After a good night's rest at the official designated hotel, everyone rushed to the venue of the World Martial Arts Tournament early in the morning to prepare for the preliminary rounds.
This was the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, and there were a total of 182 participants in the preliminary rounds, more than the previous tournament. However, the rules for the preliminary rounds were no different from before.
Goku changed back into his Turtle School martial arts uniform and couldn't help but happily say, "This martial arts uniform feels the most comfortable on my body!"
At the same time, the four disciples of the Turtle School instantly attracted the attention of everyone at the tournament venue.
The previous World Martial Arts Tournament could be said to have made the Turtle School famous overnight. Three of the four finalists were disciples of the Turtle School.
This time, with four disciples of the Turtle School participating, would all four semi-finalists be from the Turtle School? Would the tournament become an internal exchange between members of the Turtle School?
These words from the surrounding participants immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of several martial arts masters, especially Crane School's Tien Shinhan. He loudly said to those around him, "How can the Turtle School compare to our Crane School? The reason they did so well in the last tournament was only because we didn't participate. This time, I will definitely take them down."
At the same time, the tournament organizers noticed the situation in the venue. To create a bigger buzz, the organizers decided to separate the four disciples of the Turtle School into different preliminary round arenas after consulting with John.
If the disciples of the Turtle School were defeated by other martial artists, it would create a news buzz: "Disciples of the Turtle School fail to make it to the top 8."
If the disciples of the Turtle School all made it to the top 8 again, it would also create a buzz: "Disciples of the Turtle School dominate and all advance to the top 8."
Since the preliminary rounds were not open to the public and were not broadcast live, the organizers decided to use their authority to separate the disciples of the Turtle School in the preliminary rounds to create the most sensational effect and avoid them fighting each other.
John and his friends were naturally very happy with this arrangement, as it would prevent them from having to fight each other in the preliminary rounds.
Tien Shinhan was very unhappy with this, but he didn't say anything. He only instructed Chiaotzu to avoid drawing the Turtle School disciples in the lottery.
He wanted to defeat the Turtle School in front of the audience and the worldwide live broadcast, to maximize the exposure of the Crane School and surpass the Turtle School.
So, under Chiaotzu's arrangement, the Crane School disciples did not meet the Turtle School disciples in the preliminary rounds.
With a loud gong, the preliminary rounds were about to begin. John was assigned to Arena 1, with the number 1, and he was the first to take the stage.
John's first opponent shocked the other contestants below the stage because he was so tall and muscular that the ground shook as he walked. Soon, someone recognized him—Anthony Greg, the former world wrestling champion.
Anthony stepped onto the arena, looked down at John, and saw the prominent turtle symbol on his clothes. Anthony said, "I heard that your Turtle School was very arrogant in the last tournament, but that's only because I wasn't there. This time, I'm going to crush your bones!"
As he spoke, he kept squeezing his fingers, making a "crack" sound.
Seeing this scene, Tien Shinhan smiled and said to Chiaotzu, "It looks like we won't even need to lift a finger. This Anthony will take care of the Turtle School disciples for us."
On the stage, John looked at Anthony as if he were looking at a fool and said, "Are you an idiot? Just because you've achieved something in the wrestling world, you think you can dominate the martial arts world too? You're really too naive."
Hearing John's words, Anthony became furious. He roared, "Arrogant brat, die!" and rushed towards John, spreading his arms as if to hug him.
John dodged and stepped forward, then threw an uppercut that struck Anthony's chin. The powerful impact sent Anthony flying into the air, and with a loud "boom," he fell heavily off the stage and passed out.
The display of strength stunned everyone in the arena until the referee declared, "Number 1 wins!"
The entire arena erupted in excitement once again, with the noise never-ending.
John stepped down from the stage, and Goku had already eliminated his opponent. They came over to John.
At this moment, Tien Shinhan walked over with Chiaotzu and said to John and his friends, "Is this all the Turtle School has to offer?"
To be honest, before Tien Shinhan turned over a new leaf, he was quite arrogant. John had disliked him for a long time, and in this tournament, apart from the other three disciples of the Turtle School, only Tien Shinhan was worth a second glance.
So, before Yamcha could speak, John said to Tien Shinhan, "Talking big doesn't prove anything. Do you dare to fight me? I can personally show you the strength of the Turtle School."
"Hmph, we'll see in the finals," Tien Shinhan coldly laughed and prepared to leave.
At this moment, Chiaotzu pointed at Krilin and said, "Shorty!"
Krilin became furious and replied, "You're the short one! You're not even as tall as me. Who are you to call someone short?"
"Baldy!" Chiaotzu continued, pointing at Krilin.
Krilin became even angrier and said, "You're the one who's bald! What right do you have to call someone bald?"
In response, Chiaotzu took off his hat, revealing a single strand of hair, and displayed it to everyone.
Tien Shinhan was ashamed of Chiaotzu's behavior and quickly put Chiaotzu's hat back on, pulling him away.
Krilin watched the two of them leave and angrily said, "That little shorty! I'll teach him a lesson in the finals."
After a day of preliminary rounds, the eight finalists were finally selected from the four arenas.
They were John, Man-Wolf, Yamcha, Pamput, Son Goku, Chiaotzu, Krilin, and Tien Shinhan, a total of eight people.
Master Roshi didn't participate this time because he felt that John and the others were already very powerful and didn't need his reminders on stage. Goku was still disappointed because he didn't get to see Jackie Chun.
The last item on the first day was the lottery for the quarter-finals. Under Chiaotzu's control, the quarter-final matchups were as follows:
Match 1: John vs. Tien Shinhan
Match 2: Yamcha vs. Man-Wolf
Match 3: Krilin vs. Chiaotzu
Match 4: Son Goku vs. Pamput
With that, the first day of the World Martial Arts Tournament came to an end. Everyone returned to their hotels to prepare for the quarter-finals the next day.