After the fourth round of preliminaries concluded, all advancing teams would receive two days of rest, and the drawing ceremony for the group stage would be held on the afternoon of the second rest day.
After Shrek Academy secured its advancement, Zhu Ziyang gave the contestants a day off. Although only Jiang Nannan, Zhou Tianhe, Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and Xie Huanyue had participated in the entire preliminary stage, the pressure on the others was still considerable, especially for some members of the reserve team and those like Chu Hua and Ning Tian who were participating in a major competition for the first time; they were very nervous.
Why weren't Qian Lingyi and Fifth Huan'er nervous? Both of them were Spirit Saints; the ones who should be nervous were the contestants from other teams.
During the rare rest period, Zhu Ziyang was directly dragged out by Jiang Nannan, Ma Xiaotao, and two other girls to go shopping. As the most prosperous city on the continent, Mingdu held an extraordinary appeal for girls. The four girls shopped from day to night without showing any signs of fatigue, while Zhu Ziyang, on the other hand, was exhausted—not physically, but mentally.
"Ah~ I'm so tired!" Upon returning to the hotel, Zhu Ziyang instantly collapsed onto the bed, with no desire to move at all.
However, Ma Xiaotao didn't seem to let him off the hook. She pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing Zhu Ziyang sprawled on the bed, her face immediately showed displeased reproach. She said, "Why are you still lying here? Huan Er has already changed and is just waiting for you to appraise her!"
"Sister Xiaotao, please let me recover a bit; I'm so tired!" Zhu Ziyang said with a mournful face.
"Oh my, what's so tiring about this?" Ma Xiaotao leaned in directly and forcibly pulled Zhu Ziyang off the bed, saying, "You feel tired now because you haven't grasped the fun yet. Once you see the new clothes we bought, you'll definitely feel the fun."
"Hehe, I hope so!" Zhu Ziyang had no desire to resist and was unconsciously pulled by Ma Xiaotao out of his room and into the room of Ma Xiaotao and Fifth Huan'er.
At this moment, inside the room, besides Fifth Huan'er, there were also Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi. They were arranging the day's haul, with each person's face flushed with either excitement or shyness. However, Fifth Huan'er was nowhere to be seen.
When Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi saw Ma Xiaotao dragging Zhu Ziyang in, both subconsciously hid the clothes in their hands behind their backs, then smiled foolishly at Zhu Ziyang and said, "Brother, you're here."
It was at this time that Zhu Ziyang was distracted and didn't notice the two girls' unusual behavior, merely nodding mechanically at them.
Ma Xiaotao, not seeing Fifth Huan'er, wasn't surprised. A slightly expectant smile appeared on her face as she called out, "Huan Er, come out quickly!"
"Oh, oh! Coming right away!" Fifth Huan'er's voice, tinged with a hint of shyness, came from the bathroom. Then, after about ten breaths, the bathroom door opened, and Fifth Huan'er walked out.
The moment he saw Fifth Huan'er, Zhu Ziyang's languid spirits instantly became excited. His eyes couldn't help but widen, staring intently at Fifth Huan'er, which made Fifth Huan'er, who had initially been displaying herself generously, a little embarrassed.
"Wh-what's wrong? Does it not look good?" she asked.
"No, it's not bad; it looks great," Zhu Ziyang shook his head decisively, his eyes gleaming like a wolf that had been hungry for a long time. He said, "It suits you!"
"How is it? I told you you'd definitely feel the fun, didn't I?" Ma Xiaotao said, as if taking credit, then walked over to Fifth Huan'er and put her arm around the girl's exposed waist. "This little outfit Huan Er is wearing is the most popular style among noble women in the Sun Moon Empire, you know. Look, doesn't it particularly highlight a girl's figure?"
"Mm-hmm!" Zhu Ziyang nodded repeatedly, an expression of craving excitement on his face. He said, "Sister Xiaotao, I remember you all bought some too, right? You should also try them on and let me appraise them!"
"Hahahaha~" Ma Xiaotao couldn't help but burst into laughter, saying, "Alright, it just so happens that Nannan and Yi Yi have the same idea."
With that, she walked directly into the bathroom. Before entering, she didn't forget to give Zhu Ziyang a flirtatious wink, enticing his desires.
Now, the fire in Zhu Ziyang's heart was truly ignited, and Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi had also entered the bathroom to change. Only Fifth Huan'er was left outside, and her current attire was extremely alluring. Zhu Ziyang no longer wanted to think about what would happen next; at this moment, he should follow the guidance of his heart!
——
Early the next morning, Zhu Ziyang walked out of Ma Xiaotao and Fifth Huan'er's room. Although nothing had happened last night, he still felt refreshed and comfortable all over. After all, sleeping while embracing two fragrant beauties, how could he not feel good?
You ask why Zhu Ziyang didn't do anything last night? Uh, hehe, of course, it was because a certain divine beast was watching intently! *Cough, cough*, no more jokes. The reason Zhu Ziyang didn't choose to directly "devour" Fifth Huan'er was simple: the timing wasn't right.
Time quickly came to the afternoon, and the drawing ceremony for the group stage began. However, Zhu Ziyang didn't go; instead, Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Nannan represented Shrek Academy to participate in the drawing, as Zhu Ziyang had other important matters.
He found Zhang Lexuan, who was still in Mingdu City, and explained the details of the assassination plan to her. He then instructed her to return to their base camp now to make arrangements and to rush back on the eve of the competition's finals.
For Zhang Lexuan, time was a bit tight, but this didn't stop her from asking Zhu Ziyang for a brief moment of tenderness. As night fell, after Zhu Ziyang sent Zhang Lexuan out of Mingdu, he looked somewhat wistfully in the direction Zhang Lexuan had left. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of melancholy, thinking that he seemed a bit too broad-minded in his affections.
Harboring such sentiments, Zhu Ziyang returned to his room at the Mingyue Hotel. The moment he entered, he saw everyone gathered in the living room. Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Nannan, who were responsible for the drawing, had already returned and were preparing to inform everyone of the drawing results and group arrangements.
Zhu Ziyang's return did not interrupt Ma Xiaotao's speech, and Zhu Ziyang listened quietly.
The thirty-two teams that entered the group stage were divided into four groups, with eight teams in each group. The group stage would consist of a single round-robin within these four groups. Each team would play seven matches, and finally, based on the number of wins and losses, the two teams with the most victories would advance to the quarterfinals.
Excellent. This competition not only directly skipped the top sixty-four but also directly skipped the top sixteen. In a sense, it also prevented some academies from becoming too arrogant.
Shrek Academy was assigned to Group 1. Among the seven other teams in the same group, only two were noteworthy: the Holy Spirit Sect team, a front for the Holy Spirit Church, and the Star Luo Empire Royal Academy. As for the other five teams, their strength and reputation were both mediocre. Oh, right, the Tianjia Sect, which Jiang Nannan had defeated five members of by herself, also entered the group stage because their points from the first three rounds were high enough, and they happened to be in this group. How to put it? One can only say they had bad luck.
The Tang Sect, on the other hand, was assigned to Group 2, in the same group as the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. They had encountered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy in the fourth round of the preliminaries but chose not to engage them. It was unexpected that the two teams would be in the same group for the group stage; this truly seemed fated!
The group stage schedule was relatively relaxed, with eight matches daily—four in the morning and four in the afternoon. Divided among the four groups, this meant each group played two matches per day, and the schedule would last fourteen days.
Tomorrow's first match would be Shrek Academy's game, with Shrek Academy facing the Tianjia Sect.
That's why Zhu Ziyang said the Tianjia Sect had bad luck; it was truly unfortunate for them to encounter Shrek Academy in two consecutive matches.