40: Advancement

Not long after discussing the top ten champions, the competition was about to officially begin.

The group walked out of the VIP room.

They arrived at the competition venue.

They found that the drawing ceremony was about to start.

The matches would begin immediately after the draw.

Upon entering the stadium, they found it similar to a football field in his previous life.

Looking from a distance, a huge oval-shaped field enveloped a dozen square battle stages in the center.

Several large screens hung above the battle stages, displaying information about the contestants.

There was also the battle list that would be determined by the draw later.

The spectator stands were densely packed, with rows of tables and chairs closely connected, completely surrounding the battle stage area.

Many spectators had already taken their seats above, appearing like countless tiny black dots.

This was enough to show the popularity of this event.

The group walked through a long corridor, and after verification, arrived at the contestant waiting area.

There were five such waiting areas, enough for all contestants to enter.

In the middle of the venue, there was a huge screen displaying the real-time progress of the matches.

They found an empty corner, sat down together, and began watching the large screen in their view.

They didn't wait too long.

As the host's voice rang out,

the Fengdu Hatchling Cup officially commenced.

"Welcome everyone to this Fengdu Hatchling Cup. I am your host, Pan Zhoudan."

"Now, let's begin the first segment: the draw!"

The main competition began, and the entire process was broadcast live.

As the camera moved, a drawing machine was neatly placed.

The machine was very large, with its upper part entirely made of transparent material.

They could see many small, egg-sized balls, each containing one contestant.

This method effectively prevented many shady dealings, which was also the reason why the Fengdu Hatchling Cup had been able to continue for so long.

A staff member stepped forward and started the machine; the small balls moved erratically inside, instantly scattering.

Then, after pressing a button to stop, two small balls appeared from a transparent tube.

This signaled that the first match was about to begin.

"Excellent, we can see that the information for the first match has appeared."

"Please follow me to Battle Stage 1 to watch the first match!"

The host's voice rang out, and the camera changed again, moving away from the drawing area.

However, the footage of the drawing area did not disappear; instead, it was separated, allowing viewers to watch it at any time, and the draw continued without interruption.

Although this method was a bit cumbersome, the organizers insisted on doing it this way because it had been done this way for so many years.

Today, the matches for 480 into 240 would be completed.

This meant a total of 240 matches, a very large number.

Fortunately, with nearly thirty battle stages, completing so many matches in one day was not difficult.

Huang Yian and Min Hu seemed a bit nervous, staring at the large screen with some unease.

However, Lin Shu and Bai Sheng showed no signs of nervousness and were chatting and laughing nearby.

They didn't wait long before Min Hu's name was drawn.

With encouraging glances from the others, Min Hu headed to Battle Stage 13.

His luck was quite good; his opponent's strength was not too strong.

He easily secured victory in just a few minutes.

He achieved an opening victory.

Returning to the waiting area, he was all smiles, appearing quite happy.

The rest of the time was spent waiting.

Everyone watched the screens showing other contestants battling.

They observed the spectacular matches on the various battle stages and the diverse array of spirit beasts.

It could only be said that it was indeed the main competition; every contestant had a certain level of skill.

Both the audience and the contestants cheered and shouted.

The atmosphere reached a peak.

About an hour later, Lin Shu also saw his name on the large screen.

The loudspeaker in the waiting area announced the contestants and their corresponding stages.

Lin Shu was also about to have his match for the day.

Leaving the waiting area, Lin Shu quickly arrived at Battle Stage 22.

His opponent was already in position.

Looking over, his opponent was a slightly thin young man.

He formed a strong contrast with the tall and muscular spirit beast beside him.

His spirit beast was a Level 10 Belligerent Ape, of elite quality, and had mastered four skills.

Its strength was generally average, but for Lin Shu, it was somewhat insufficient.

"Dali, your opponent is a Shadow Mantis. You need to be careful not to be led by the nose."

The Belligerent Ape casually scratched its back, clearly not taking its master's advice to heart.

The thin man rubbed his forehead, somewhat speechless, but continued to speak.

"Go for it, Dali! I still want to advance to the next round."

He seemed to want to say more, but the referee's words directly interrupted him.

"Match start!"

For Lin Shu, there was nothing to say about this battle.

He directly commanded Night to charge forward, its agile and nimble body attacking straight on.

Seeing this, the thin man was delighted.

"Fighting my Dali in close combat? He really doesn't take us seriously!"

He began to signal the Belligerent Ape to use Heavy Punch to counter.

But Lin Shu wouldn't consider anything; the opponent's resistance was meaningless.

The Belligerent Ape saw the small mantis in front of it move with astonishing speed.

Its pupils widened, and a look of fright appeared on its face.

It threw a punch in a panic, but only hit air.

Night dodged the attack with a slight twist, then heavily swung its blade-like forelimbs.

The Belligerent Ape was struck as if by a heavy object, directly sent flying by the immense force, and fell a meter away, unable to move.

The thin man looked at the Belligerent Ape, then at Night.

He seemed not to have understood what had happened; his proud Belligerent Ape had been instantly killed.

His expression froze, unsure what to do.

"Belligerent Ape has lost its combat ability; contestant Lin Shu wins!"

The referee also announced the result at this moment, and another staff member in the venue immediately recorded the match result.

This match thus ended.

Lin Shu withdrew and returned to the waiting area.

He found that Huang Yian and Bai Sheng were not there.

Min Hu told Lin Shu that they had both been drawn and had just left.

He nodded; the competition was only just past halfway, and all four of them had already started their matches.

Their luck was quite good; they didn't have to wait too long.

The two began searching the screens to watch Bai Sheng and Huang Yian's matches.

They also lived up to expectations, successfully defeating their opponents and advancing to the next round.

Bai Sheng won very quickly, defeating his opponent within a minute.

Huang Yian, however, had a more anxious match, only ending it after capitalizing on an opponent's mistake.

Since everyone's matches were over, they discussed leaving the battle arena first.

They returned to VIP Room "001," where the group continuously chatted about what had happened in the battle arena.

The atmosphere was very harmonious.

After all of today's matches concluded, tomorrow would be the 240 into 120 matches.

The overall intensity of the competition would increase significantly...