33: The preliminary round of the Fledgling Cup begins

The training on Friday was quite fulfilling.

The next day, Saturday, was the start of the Chu Niao Cup preliminaries.

Lin Shu and a few classmates had agreed yesterday afternoon to go together.

Including Lin Shu, there were five people in total, all of whom had matches today.

They were also the more well-known and active students in the class.

They were Huang Yian, Zhang Qi, Liu Dong, Li Feng, and Lan Ke.

Four boys and one girl, most of whom had previously fought against Class 2.

Thirteen students from the class had signed up for the preliminaries, with the others competing tomorrow.

Counting them, the number was not small.

The preliminaries were split over two days, with 40 spots for the main competition decided each day.

This meant there was no need to make an extra trip, which was quite considerate.

It was currently 7:30 AM, and the competition started at 12:00 PM, so there was still some time.

Lin Shu had no intention of wasting it, so he took Hei Ye and Tu Yao to the equipment room.

Compared to hitting wooden stakes in the house as before, the equipment here was better and allowed for more comprehensive training.

Upon arriving at the equipment room, Gao Feng was indeed already there.

In the vast venue, only two people and their beasts were training.

After a while, Xu Lihuang also arrived.

He then began to guide them through parts of their practice.

Of course, there wasn't much to teach Hei Ye, but Tu Yao was different.

After all, it hadn't received the baptism of stat points.

Its attributes in all aspects were much worse.

This also made Xu Lihuang feel like he had something to do.

Otherwise, if all beasts were like Hei Ye, wouldn't he, as a teacher, be dispensable?

Time flew by, and it was not long before the competition was about to begin.

Lin Shu told Xu Lihuang and Gao Feng about participating in the Chu Niao Cup.

Xu Lihuang nodded, having no objections.

It was good to go and have some fun; it would be even better if he could get a ranking.

Gao Feng, however, stood still, recalling something.

"I also participated last year, and it's quite embarrassing to say."

"I passed the preliminaries, but in the main competition, I was eliminated in the 480 to 240 round."

"My opponent was from Central No. 1 High School; their strength in Fengdu City is indeed in a league of its own."

"You can pay more attention to them."

Although what he said was brief and calm, there must have been many stories behind it, but he was unwilling to share them.

Perhaps this was also the reason for Gao Feng's hard work.

They were clear about Lin Shu's strength; the preliminaries would be a breeze.

So, they didn't say much more.

Under their gaze, Lin Shu left the equipment room.

He waited at the entrance of Canglan No. 2 High School.

This was the agreed meeting point for Lin Shu and the other four classmates.

Soon, a seven-seater commercial car with its hazard lights on pulled up at the entrance.

Lin Shu recalled Hei Ye into his beast space, as the car was not that large.

Huang Yian had already informed them that it was his family's car, so Lin Shu directly opened the door and got in.

The cars on Blue Star were not much different from those in his previous life.

Only the engine and energy consumption were different.

After Lin Shu got in the car, everyone started asking him questions nonstop.

They were mainly about the school team, and Lin Shu patiently answered them all.

The commercial car sped along without stopping and soon arrived at its destination, the Shinan District Arena.

Compared to the White Cloud Arena, the size was similar; it was, after all, the best arena in Shinan District.

The people in the car got out one after another, and the driver took the car to a parking lot on the other side.

Lin Shu also released Hei Ye from his beast space.

Hei Ye was quite averse to the beast space, but fortunately, Lin Shu usually didn't put him in there, except for some unexpected situations.

Outside the Shinan District Arena at this time, people were bustling, mostly students like Lin Shu who had come to participate in the competition.

There were also some of their families and spectators; today was the weekend, and everyone had free time.

Following the guidance of the volunteers outside the arena, the group smoothly entered the preparation area.

There were many preparation areas, with plenty of seats inside, and many people were already waiting there.

The group casually found an empty corner to sit down and began to wait for the competition to start.

Because it was the preliminaries, the attention was still somewhat lacking, so there was no live broadcast of the competition, but the arena would still have spectators.

This was somewhat difficult for many people, as they needed to overcome their nervousness.

Lin Shu, however, was unfazed; in fact, he was so bored that he even felt like sleeping.

The others were not so calm; Li Feng was very nervous at this moment, constantly looking around.

"I'm so nervous, I've never seen so many people!"

His speech was somewhat disjointed.

Although the remaining people also felt nervous, it wasn't as pronounced.

Huang Yian then comforted them, and they felt much better.

Because 40 spots for the main competition would be decided today.

So, about four matches would be needed.

It might not end until the afternoon.

Then, staff members came into the preparation area and gave everyone a number tag.

Lin Shu received number 488.

The group sat in their seats, constantly discussing promotion and opponents.

Lin Shu occasionally interjected a few words, and soon it was 12:00 PM.

After a brief opening speech, the competition officially began.

Many lottery machines in front of their eyes spun and tumbled.

The upcoming match schedules would all appear here.

It seemed quite fair and just.

The match numbers were quickly all drawn, but they still needed to proceed in batches.

Lin Shu was lucky; he had a match in the first round, which saved him from waiting.

Amidst the cheers and encouragement of the others.

Lin Shu arrived at the designated venue and met his opponent.

The opponent was a girl, with delicate features and smooth black hair, looking quite pretty at first glance.

After simple preparations, the match began.

The girl was just about to command her beast, Moon Rabbit.

But Hei Ye moved like a phantom, dashing forward, and with just one swing, knocked out Moon Rabbit.

After the referee announced the winner, Lin Shu unhurriedly left the venue.

Only the girl remained, staring blankly at the ground, wondering what she was thinking.

Returning to the preparation area, his original seat was already empty.

It seemed everyone else had gone to battle.

Lin Shu sat back down, quietly waiting for the next round of matches.

In the subsequent matches, Lin Shu also easily defeated his opponents, successfully advancing to the main competition stage.

Each battle did not exceed fifteen seconds, and every opponent who witnessed this scene would fall silent, wondering what they were thinking.

Among the remaining people, only Huang Yian successfully advanced.

The others were eliminated in either the second or third round of matches.

However, they were not disheartened by this, as they had already prepared themselves mentally before coming.

The main competition stage was set for next Saturday.

They could rest for a week, and also promote the event to gather more attention.

The venue had already been chosen; the event would be held at the White Cloud Arena.

The news of Lin Shu and Huang Yian advancing to the main competition also spread within the class group chat.

Messages kept pouring in, discussing the matter.

Lin Shu took a screenshot of a promotion photo and sent it to Bai Sheng.

However, there was no reply from the other side; it seemed his match had not yet ended.

Subsequently, everyone got back into the car and headed towards the school...