A huge space window opened in front of everyone above the student union office, attracting the attention of everyone present.
On the window appeared a ladder-like list that resembled a castle, showing a progressive pattern.
On the list, the names of the teams composed of college partners appeared one by one, imprinted in everyone's eyes.
This was the championship schedule of the Phoenix Star Martial Arts Festival.
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"So, so many contestants…!"
Ferguson looked at the densely packed names and couldn't help but exclaim.
Claudia's voice followed just at the right moment.
"The actual number of participants in this Phoenix Star Martial Arts Festival is 512, a total of 256 groups, which will be divided into groups by the Operation Committee. After the opening ceremony, they will compete on different stages in the city."
During the Star Martial Arts Festival, the stages located in the Asterisk City blocks would be used extensively for competitions.
Including the Sirius Dome as the main comprehensive stage, a total of eleven large and medium-sized stages in Asterisk would be used as venues for the festival.
The grouping during the competition was designed by the operating committee, composed of members selected by the integrated corporate consortium behind each school.
To stir up the atmosphere of the Star Martial Festival as much as possible, the committee ensured that the strongest players from each school were distributed across the brackets, avoiding early confrontations that could eliminate potential finalists too soon.
Therefore, when Erend and his team found their names on the schedule, they noticed that their opponents were all relatively unknown participants from various schools.
Of course, they were called small characters only in comparison.
As a world-class large-scale event where six major academies competed on the same stage, only those confident in their abilities dared to sign up. Even the so-called weaker participants were among the top in their respective academies. If someone lacked the necessary skill level, they would only embarrass themselves in front of the whole world.
For the general student body, these competitors were not insignificant at all. But for Erend and his team, they did not pose a serious threat.
So, after seeing the schedule, everyone looked extremely relaxed.
"Looking at this grouping, we shouldn't meet before the official schedule," Butler said with a smile.
"Isn't this natural?"
Jenni Ortega was not surprised at all.
Participants from the same academy were deliberately dispersed in the early stages. Though it wasn't impossible to meet a fellow student early on, the probability was low.
Including their group, Jenni herself was ranked fifth in Livermorny, and although Butler wasn't officially ranked, the Information Operation Committee surely knew he wielded the Four-Colored Demon Sword. Their team was undoubtedly considered strong and would not face the champion-candidate teams too early.
Claudia continued.
"The Phoenix Star Martial Arts Festival will last about two weeks."
"The first week's schedule consists of the preliminaries, where the top 32 will be selected. The grouping is as you see now. Just follow the schedule, and unless there's a major accident, you should be able to advance to the official schedule smoothly."
"After the top 32 are determined, the official schedule begins in the second week. At that stage, representatives of each school will draw lots to form a new bracket. The tournament will then proceed from the top 32 to the top 16, then to the top 8, and finally, the semi-finals and finals to determine the champion."
"If our school wants to earn points, at least one team must reach the top 32."
The points Claudia mentioned referred to the scores used to evaluate and rank the six schools based on their performance in each season's Star Martial Arts Festival.
Only when a team entered the official competition would their final ranking contribute to their academy's total score. These points determined the overall standings of the academies.
At that time, the higher Erend and his team ranked, the more points Livermorny would earn.
"Whether Livermorny can shake off its recent slump in the Star Martial Festival depends on your performance in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival," Claudia said.
"To be honest, in this season's strategic plan for the Star Martial Festival, the Phoenix Star Martial Festival plays a crucial role. It is no exaggeration to say that your performance will determine our success or failure. I hope you will do your best to achieve the highest ranking possible."
As mentioned before, among the six academies in Asterisk, some were particularly dominant in specific Star Martial Festivals.
Saint Galedovas Academy excelled in the Griffin Star Martial Festival, a team battle competition, while Leiwolf Black Academy dominated the King Dragon Star Martial Festival, an individual battle event. These two academies had won the most championships in their respective specialties and almost monopolized these tournaments.
This season was no exception.
It had already been confirmed that the previous Griffin Star Martial Festival champions from Saint Galedovas would participate again. Likewise, Leiwolf's No. 1 team, which had won the King Dragon Star Martial Festival for two consecutive years, was returning to defend their title.
This essentially meant that the champions of these two competitions were practically decided in advance.
If the other academies wanted to secure victories, the Phoenix Star Martial Festival was likely their best opportunity.
Historically, Beauxbaton Academy had been the most successful in the Phoenix Star Martial Festival.
However, in recent years, Beauxbaton's performance in the Star Martial Festival had been underwhelming, largely due to their decline in the Phoenix Star Martial Festival—previously their strongest event.
Given these circumstances, whether it was to redeem themselves or reclaim past glory, Beauxbaton needed to excel in this Phoenix Star Martial Festival. Strong results were essential for their overall ranking.
By contrast, George Academy had not particularly dominated any specific Star Martial Festival, though they consistently performed well. Alecanthe Institute, on the other hand, experienced dramatic fluctuations in success, with their strength shifting unpredictably between different events.
As for Matrix Academy…
Well, they hadn't demonstrated dominance in any Star Martial Festival.
"Now, let's discuss the strongest teams from each academy who are most likely to challenge you in the Phoenix Star Martial Festival."
Claudia opened multiple windows displaying information about notable rival teams.
"Fortunately, this time, no academy has sent their top-ranked contestants to the Phoenix Star Martial Festival. Very few participants are even in the top five of their respective schools, but these teams can still pose a challenge."
She moved the windows forward, and everyone immediately focused on the details.
Erend was the first to finish reviewing and nodded to himself.
Compared to the original book in his memory, the list perfectly matched.
"The strongest teams from Saint Galedovas Academy in this tournament should be Dorotheo Remus (ranked 11th) and Elliot Fosda (ranked 12th)."
"From George Academy, the strongest teams should be Shenyun (ranked 9th) and Shakshi (ranked 10th)."
"From Matrix Academy, the strongest contender is Sandora Cejuel (ranked 7th), but her partner, Nina Achenwal (ranked 47th), is less of a threat."
"As for Leiwolf Black Academy and Alecanthe Institute…"
Before Claudia could finish, Erend, Butler, and Jenni Ortega all narrowed their eyes.
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