Time flowed like water, and years passed like a shuttle.
Four days passed by in a rush.
This year's national competition was being held in Skyforge City.
Heavenly Sword Stadium.
The vast and expansive stadium, designed with an irregular open oval shape, stood in the very center of the city.
Its most eye-catching feature was a skyscraper soaring into the clouds, standing in the center of the stadium.
This skyscraper was shaped like a giant sword.
Overall, it looked extremely artistic.
And at the top of this skyscraper, there were open-air boxes.
The boxes had a wide field of view, and one could watch the competition in real-time through the drones circling the arena.
Inside this open-air box, seats of varying specifications were arranged.
The six seats in the first row were for the principals of the "Six Great Academies" of the Great Xia nation.
Below them were representatives of prestigious aristocratic families as well as senior Agents and young talents of the Six Saint Sanctuaries.
"Instructor Ji, I heard that this time, you’ve invited a talent to our academy. I’m looking forward to your performance next."
On the seat of honor.
An elderly man over fifty with a receding hairline narrowed his eyes at Ji Baixi and spoke with a smile on his lips.
He was the current dean of Kaiyang High School—Chen Weiming.
Although Ji Baixi was a participating instructor, today was the selection round.
And since she was the third-place winner of the last competition, she had a guaranteed spot, so she didn't need to participate in the selection round.
Instead, she sat in the VIP seats as a guest.
"Yes, he’s a child of the Chu family named Chu Tianhe with an SSS-Rank Warrior Path class called 'Burning Heaven Martial Artist'. His current level is 35, and he happens to be with me right now."
Saying that, Ji Baixi hurriedly recommended a handsome young man beside her.
"Hello, Dean Chen. I’ve long heard of your great name. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation, still as dignified and impressive as when you were young!"
Chu Tianhe bowed to the old man.
Completely ignoring the old man's shiny receding hairline, he spoke words contrary to his conscience.
"Hahahaha! You kid, you have a bright future ahead of you."
Chen Weiming laughed heartily. He just loved hearing such flattering words, especially those praising his handsome appearance!
"Everyone, it seems that the top spot in this competition is definitely going to my academy."
Saying that, he glanced sideways at the representatives of the other five major academies.
The reason he called Ji Baixi out was also to show off their strength to the other academies.
This was the traditional virtue of the VIP box: show off one’s muscles before the fight starts, and then...
Place your bets, open the gambling!
Similar to "betting on football" in Ye Mo’s previous life.
Of course, placing bets also required paying a handling fee to each major academy.
That was why showing off one’s muscles was an art form.
It was all to earn the handling fees from the VIPs.
"Tch! Old thing, speaking as if no one else has talent."
The dean of Skyforge Academy frowned and waved his big hand.
On the wide display screen, his academy's signature student was instantly shown.
[Name: Cheng Shi]
[Path: Tank]
[Level: 36]
[Betting Number: 13281]
"Take a good look, everyone. SSS-Rank Tank Path class 'Vajra Arhat', Buddhist Sect Vajra Church intern player, Level 36 big tank!"
"Finished showing off? Then it's my turn."
[Name: Liu Muxiao]
[Path: Control]
[Level: 35]
[Betting Number: 10102]
"Known as the Heavenly Dao Alliance Little Saintess, SSS-Rank Control Path 'Heaven Punishing Formation Immortal'."
The academies showed off their outstanding disciples one after another just to profit from more handling fees.
At the same time, a small tablet popped up in front of each VIP seat.
Guests could search for the information of all participating players inside, and then place bets according to their numbers.
"Linyue, do you want to play a couple of rounds too?"
As a senior Agent of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Xu Qingfeng was naturally qualified for a VIP seat.
He looked at his precious disciple Jiang Linyue with a grin, urging her to place a bet for fun too.
After all, this disciple of his was really too cold. Her mind was filled with nothing but cultivation.
She didn't know how to enjoy life's pleasures at all.
"Um... Alright."
Jiang Linyue hesitated for a moment before unexpectedly agreeing, and then she began to search for names on the tablet.
"Hmm? This is rare! I’ve never seen her show interest like this before."
Xu Qingfeng stretched his neck with a strange expression, curious about whom Jiang Linyue would choose.
As a result, he saw...
[Are you sure you want to place a bet of 2 million each on the two contestants, "Ye Xiaoxiao" and "Meng Li"?]
[Bet Content: Enter Top 8]
[Current Odds: 1:50 (Max)]
[Yes/No]
Then, Xu Qingfeng saw Jiang Linyue click "Yes" without hesitation.
"Ye Xiaoxiao? Meng Li? These two names are quite unfamiliar."
Xu Qingfeng curiously opened the tablet, searched for the names of these two participating players, and opened their information.
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[Name: Ye Xiaoxiao]
[Path: Mage]
[Level: 19]
[Betting Number: 181866]
[Name: Meng Li]
[Path: Warrior]
[Level: 22]
[Betting Number: 181883]
——————————————————
Seeing these two pieces of information, Xu Qingfeng's face darkened.
'What?'
'Just looking at the surface data, these two are too mediocre.'
'Whether they can get past the preliminary round is probably a problem.'
After all, the contestants who could enter the selection round were generally around Level 24.
Soon.
With everyone finishing placing their bets…
The list of contestants everyone bet on quickly appeared on the large screen.
——————————————————
Top 8 Prediction List:
NO.1: Liu Muxiao (Odds 1:1.2)
NO.2: Chu Tianhe (Odds 1:1.2)
NO.3: Cheng Shi (Odds 1:1.2)
...
——————————————————
A total of fifteen students showed up on the large screen.
These were all the seed players among the participants this time. Their fame wasn’t small; almost all of them were household names.
Until...
Finally, two names suddenly popped up that were extremely unfamiliar, contrary to everyone else on the list.
NO.14: Ye Xiaoxiao (Odds 1:50)
NO.15: Meng Li (Odds 1:50)
Seeing these two names, a big question mark popped up in everyone's minds.
'Who the fuck are those?'
Soon, someone found the participation information of these two on their tablet.
'Contestants from Kaiyang Academy?'
'One Level 19, one Level 22?'
'Isn't this just purely coming to feed kills!?'
'What kind of person would open a market on them?'
"Ye Xiaoxiao? Isn't this... the student under Zhou Minjun?"
Looking at the familiar name on the large screen, Ji Baixi's shapely brows furrowed slightly, and she quickly connected some dots.
She remembered this vividly.
After all, this Ye Xiaoxiao's Agent was that absurd man who had rejected her.
For a Demi-human, he was actually willing to give up three million, and...
The opportunity to spend a good night with her.
On the other side.
Inside the selection round preparation room.
"Are you two ready?"
Ye Mo unscrewed a bottle of water and looked at the two girls behind him.
"Hmph hmph! Of course."
"I-I-I... I’ll do my best!"
Ye Xiaoxiao swung the staff in her hand, her expression incomparably confident.
Meng Li, on the other hand, took a somewhat nervous deep breath and gripped the greatsword on her back.
"Very good, then let this world remember your names well!"
Saying that, Ye Mo patted the two girls on the shoulder and gently pushed them forward.
The two girls took a step forward while looking at the contestant tunnel ahead.
After taking deep breaths, they walked straight ahead!
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A/N - Sigh~ Brothers, the thing I wanted least to happen has happened.
Last night, it was announced that I was put in the little black room [banned/under review], but please rest assured, Little Luo has already revised and submitted.
It shows that the review takes 1~5 days.
If lucky, it might be released today.
But I'm not sure if it can pass in one go, so if there are no updates in these two days, it means Little Luo is fully revising the text.
If it passes in one go, I will post a new chapter to notify everyone.
Please wait patiently.
And just right, I can take this opportunity to thank everyone for your continued support.
It's so good to have you guys with me. Seeing your messages, comments, and chats is my greatest motivation for creation.
Honestly, in reality, Little Luo is very introverted.
At work, I'm also obscure, the kind who only knows how to bury my head in hard work.
The greatest motivation writing gives me is being able to see your interactions and feedback.
Whether good or bad, in my opinion, as long as someone is talking, it is very gratifying.
For this, I sincerely thank you!
Giving me the opportunity and motivation to continue writing.
Allowing an obscure person to not be so lonely.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Finally, I wish all my lovely readers can have their wishes come true, everything goes well, and get rich, get rich, get rich!
Brothers, wait for my return together!
Love you all. (≧ω≦)/
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