Chapter 95: The Round-Robin Tournament Draw Begins! Xuanzi is Excited!
The noise at Xingluo Square did not diminish after the first round of elimination matches ended; on the contrary, it became even more intense due to the upcoming round-robin group stage.
On the podium, the chief referee walked forward with a serious expression. He looked around at the team leaders from various colleges who had advanced, and began to loudly announce the specific rules of the round-robin tournament.
"All the college teams that advance will be divided into sixteen groups by drawing lots."
"Each group contains multiple teams and uses a single round-robin format."
Ultimately, only the team ranked first in each group will qualify for the Round of 16 knockout stage. All other teams will be eliminated!
As soon as the rules were announced, a low hum rippled through the audience.
This means that the margin for error in the round-robin tournament is extremely low. Losing a single match or failing to secure enough points against a weaker team could result in being eliminated directly.
As Du Bu Si listened to the rules, he slightly loosened his arms, which had been crossed in front of his chest, and his gaze involuntarily turned to Xuan Zi not far away.
"Only the first place in the group can advance?" Poison Immortal's lips curled into a playful smile as he whispered to Liu Yuan beside him.
"Liu Yuan, I sincerely hope that our luck will be 'good' later and that we can be drawn into the same group as Shrek Academy."
Looking at Xuanzi's retreating figure, which seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, Liu Yuan replied calmly, "Master, do you intend to eliminate them completely before the top sixteen?"
"Of course." Poison Undying snorted coldly, his expression revealing an undisguised domineering aura.
"So that we don't have to watch that Xuanzi putting on all those pretentious tricks all day long."
"Meeting them early means they'll be sent home early. They always win in the past, so eliminating them early this time is incredibly satisfying, isn't it?"
"However, that old dog Xuanzi is probably praying to the gods right now, hoping he won't run into us."
At this moment, Xuanzi, who was standing not far away, had his back soaked with cold sweat.
He was indeed praying frantically deep inside, just as Poisonous Immortal had said.
He knew very well that with the current quality of Shrek Academy's reserve team, if they were to encounter Body Sect or Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in the group stage, they would almost certainly be defeated.
"We must avoid strong teams...we must avoid them..." Xuanzi muttered to himself, his hands gripping his sleeves tightly.
The lottery ceremony officially began.
Team leaders from various colleges took turns going up on stage and drawing numbered balls from a special lottery box provided by the competition organizing committee.
"Next up is the Shrek Academy team. Please welcome the team leader to the stage."
Xuanzi took a deep breath and walked stiffly onto the stage as if he were going to the execution ground.
As he reached into the lottery box, he could even feel his fingertips trembling slightly. After a moment of fumbling, he pulled out a round ball with black letters printed on it.
The referee took a look and announced loudly, "Shrek Academy, assigned to Group C!"
Xuanzi immediately looked up at the real-time match schedule on the big screen.
The other teams in Group C have been largely determined. Most of them are ordinary, relatively unknown academies, and even some of the seeded teams from the Star Luo Empire are not among them.
Xuanzi let out a long sigh of relief; in that instant, he felt as if he were about to collapse.
Luck, this time luck was actually on his side.
For Shrek, who was already on the verge of despair, this was nothing short of a last straw.
As he stepped off the stage, his steps became much lighter, and he even deliberately puffed out his chest in the direction of the poison-free man, as if showing off his elusive luck.
Du Bu Si looked at the match on the big screen, his eyes revealing a deep sense of regret and disgust.
"Pah! That bastard's luck is ridiculously good, he managed to escape again." Poisonous Undying spat on the ground, clearly very unhappy that he hadn't been able to kill Shrek earlier.
"Those small fry in Group C, even if Huo Yuhao and his team are only at the reserve team level right now, they can probably hold out. It seems that Xuanzi's old life can be extended for a few more days."
The drawing ceremony then continued.
"Next up, the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy team."
Du Bu Si straightened his collar and swaggered onto the stage.
He drew lots in an extremely casual way, without even looking at them, and just grabbed a ball with his hand.
"Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, assigned to Group F!"
Du Bu Si took the sphere off the stage and returned to Liu Yuan's side. At this time, the match list for Group F was still blank, with many spots waiting to be drawn later.
Xuanzi sat on the preparation bench not far away, his previously ashen expression suddenly revealing an extremely intense resentment. He stared intently at the lottery box, cursing incessantly in his heart.
"Go in... let all the strong teams into Group F!" Xuanzi muttered through gritted teeth, his voice filled with a morbid madness.
"It would be best to have Star Luo Royal Academy and Sun Moon Team drawn in! Poison Undying, aren't you very arrogant? I'd like to see if you can still laugh when you're besieged by these two powerful teams!"
At this moment, Xuanzi completely disregarded his status and position; he only hoped that Liu Yuan and the others would immediately suffer misfortune. As long as the Body Sect was eliminated, he could at least somewhat quell the twisted sense of humiliation within him.
Soon, the drawing ceremony reached its climax.
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, please come to the stage."
All eyes in the arena shifted accordingly. As Shrek Academy's arch-rival for millennia, every move of the Sun and Moon Team was closely watched.
Ma Lao, the leader of the Sun and Moon Academy, walked onto the stage with a gloomy expression and took out the sphere.
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, assigned to Group A!"
Xuanzi saw the result on the screen and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he did not give up the curse and continued to stare intently at the remaining spot.
"Next up, the Star Luo Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy team."
This is the seed team of the organizer. The leader of the Star Luo team, dressed in a gorgeous gold school uniform, walked confidently onto the stage and reached into the box.
The atmosphere in the arena became extremely tense at this moment, especially for Xuanzi, who held his breath and stared intently at the ball in the referee's hand.
"Star Luo Royal Academy, assigned to—Group F!"
When the huge "F" appeared on the screen, Xuanzi was stunned at first, then, as if he had gone mad, he suddenly jumped up from the preparation seat, clenched his fists, and let out an extremely piercing laugh.
"Hahaha! I won! I finally won!"
Ignoring the strange looks from the team leaders of the various academies around him, Xuanzi pointed at Du Busi and laughed wildly: "Du Busi! Did you hear that? You're in Group F! You're going to fight to the death with Xingluo Royal Academy! That's a top team with home-field advantage! Let's see how you try to be so arrogant this time. You'd better wait to be eliminated in the group stage!"
(End of chapter)