451: Oops! It seems I was misunderstood!

After Wang Chen's match concluded, the remaining twenty-four duels of the first round of the singles main event proceeded sequentially according to the numbers on the small balls drawn during the lottery.

The matches progressed quickly, with all twenty-four duels concluding in less than half a day.

Ultimately, before the second round began, all five of Dragon Country's participating Awakeners advanced, while the remaining twenty spots were divided among other powerful Empires, with each country's team having some Awakeners eliminated.

For example, Sakura Country was completely wiped out in the first round, with not a single Awakener advancing to the second round, causing them to leave in a huff.

Wang Chen and the others even received news from Lei Meng that Sakura Country would not continue to watch the subsequent matches and had directly left the Sky Arena under Nomura Shinji's leadership.

Clearly, their faces had been slapped swollen, and they had no dignity left to continue watching.

However, this was just a small interlude; Wang Chen and the others merely chuckled after hearing about it.

…

Soon, as the halftime break ended, the time arrived at afternoon.

Bang bang bang!!!

Consecutive fireworks rose and exploded above the main arena, their light casting a colorful glow on the excited faces of the audience below.

"Welcome back, esteemed audience, to the Global Prodigy Competition main arena! This afternoon, we will be holding the second round of the singles competition, where twenty-five participating Awakeners will vie for a chance to enter the third round."

"Without further ado, let's proceed directly to the lottery draw."

"The draw will be conducted according to the order in which Awakeners advanced to the second round."

After the host appeared on the high platform, he bowed, then immediately gestured for all participating Awakeners to come up for the draw.

"Starting from the second round, one lucky participating Awakener will directly advance. Let us anticipate which participating Awakener will draw the solitary Thirteen ball!"

As Wang Chen walked towards the lottery box, the host waved his arms and spoke loudly, even casting an encouraging look his way as he spoke.

"I probably don't have that kind of luck…"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chen muttered to himself, directly reaching into the box, casually grabbing a ball, and pulling it out.

Six.

After showing the Six ball to the host and the audience, he turned and walked down the high platform to wait in the spectator area.

The draw continued.

Chu Youxiong, Three.

Chai Yue, Two.

Carlos, Eleven.

Richard, Nine.

Talia, Eight.

Lu Tingyi, Eight.

…

Wang Chen paid attention to the numbers everyone drew, while also guessing who his opponent in the second round would be.

However, seven or eight people had come up consecutively, but the Six ball still hadn't been drawn. On the other hand, Senior Lu Tingyi was matched against Bear Country's ace, Talia, in the second round.

"Senior Lu is in danger this time."

In the spectator area, Wang Chen rubbed his nose, his gaze involuntarily falling on the slender figure wearing a mask in Bear Country's seating area.

Talia, the ace of Bear Country's team, Level one hundred seventy-nine, Asura Warrior.

She is skilled with a single saber and possesses extremely strong combat power!

Moreover, her fighting style embodies the roughness and wildness of Bear Country to the fullest; to put it plainly, she fights with no regard for her own life!

In the first round, Talia was arguably the quickest to end her battle, seizing an opportunity to trade injuries and directly eliminating her opponent.

Her style is extremely similar to Lu Tingyi's.

But in Wang Chen's opinion, Talia is almost a plus version of Lu Tingyi in every aspect.

It will be very difficult for Lu Tingyi to win this battle.

"Hmm?"

Just as Wang Chen was pondering, a premonition of danger suddenly arose in his heart, and Talia, whom he had been staring at, turned to look over.

In her eyes, hidden beneath the mask, there seemed to be an indescribable emotion.

"Hmph!"

As Wang Chen was about to nod in acknowledgment, a cold snort reached his ears. Then, Talia withdrew her gaze, stood up, changed her position, and her figure was obscured by her teammates.

"This…"

Seeing this scene, Wang Chen felt a bit awkward.

It seemed he had been misunderstood.

However…

Startled by the cold snort, Wang Chen's thoughts, which had been wandering due to comparing Talia's and Lu Tingyi's strengths, returned.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that Talia's figure gave him a strangely familiar feeling.

"Have I seen her somewhere before?"

Scratching his head, Wang Chen felt a little hesitant.

Before he became a Awakener, his memory was quite outstanding, and after becoming a Awakener, it was greatly enhanced.

But at this moment, searching his mind, he couldn't recall when he had ever seen Talia.

"It must be an illusion. Such a distinctive brown bear mask, how could I forget if I had seen it?"

After his thoughts yielded no results, Wang Chen shook his head and gave up on further investigation.

"Don't zone out."

At this moment, Chu Youxiong, who was beside him, suddenly patted his shoulder:

"Your opponent for the second round has appeared."

Upon hearing this, Wang Chen looked up at the high platform, only to see Lionel of the Day-Never-Setting Empire holding the Six ball and waving towards them from beside the lottery box.

Seeing this, Wang Chen nodded and smiled at him in greeting, his expression very relaxed.

After Lionel finished drawing, the lottery session concluded. Except for one Awakener from the West France Empire who fortunately drew Thirteen, all other participating Awakeners had drawn their opponents.

Next, the host announced the official start of the second round.

…

…

Off the stage.

"Wang Chen, you're facing Lionel in the second round. How come you don't seem to feel any pressure at all?"

While the first match was underway, Chai Yue leaned over and asked curiously, looking at Wang Chen, who was sitting in his seat watching the match with a composed expression.

Lionel of the Day-Never-Setting Empire is a Level one hundred seventy-nine Ice Spirit Mage.

His strength is absolutely at the top tier among all participating Awakeners.

Even Chai Yue himself would not be able to guarantee victory against him.

Yet, Wang Chen, facing such a formidable opponent in the second round, showed no sense of urgency whatsoever.

He seemed to have completely disregarded Lionel.

"Senior Chai, you're right."

Upon hearing Chai Yue's words, Wang Chen nodded relaxed:

"Among all participating Awakeners, Lionel's strength is indeed very strong, but for me, he is the easiest one to deal with among everyone."

"Oh?"

As soon as Wang Chen finished speaking, the gazes of Chu Youxiong and the others were all drawn to him.

"Junior, you still shouldn't underestimate Lionel too much. Ice Spirit Mages have extremely strong crowd control abilities. With Lionel's strength, he can turn the entire battle arena into a world of ice and snow."

"At that time, your movement speed will be greatly reduced, and fighting him, you will inherently be at a disadvantage."

Seeing Wang Chen's confident demeanor, Chu Youxiong thought for a moment and said tactfully.

"Thank you, Senior Chu, for your concern, but…"

Hearing Chu Youxiong's words, Wang Chen politely thanked him, then a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

"If it were other Professions, I would still need to put in some effort."

"But Lionel's Profession is an Ice Spirit Mage. None of his methods will have any effect on me."