151: Chapter 151: Battle against Kitagawa No.1 High School, Individual Competition
The next day, 8:00 AM.
Ten schools, fifty competitors, plus the principals and accompanying staff, packed the entire hall to the brim.
Afterward, everyone arrived at the competition venue—the gymnasium in Qinglan City.
The venue was oval-shaped, with outer walls made of silver-gray metal panels that gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
At the entrance stood a huge electronic screen displaying the scrolling text, "The 10th Eastern District Ten-School League."
The interior of the venue looked even larger than the outside.
In the center was the competition arena, surrounded by stands that could accommodate thousands of people.
At this moment, the stands were already filled with quite a few spectators, including accompanying staff from each school, local citizens, and media personnel carrying cameras.
The competition venue was divided into two areas—the left side was the ring for the individual competition, and the right side was the arena for the team competition.
For today's first round, the ten schools would draw lots for matchups, with five matches taking place simultaneously.
The principal led them to find the contestant seats and sit down. Lin Fan scanned his surroundings and saw the other nine schools.
The contestant seats for Qingcheng City No. 1 High School were at the very front. Lin Mobai sat in the very center, still looking as refined as ever, holding a book in his hands and looking down at it.
The contestant seats for Fengdeng City No. 1 High School were on the other side. Principal Zhang stood nearby leaning on his cane, saying something to those five students.
The principals of the other schools were also busy instructing their own students.
On this side, the principal handed a list to Lin Fan.
On it was the previous rankings of each school, which Lin Fan and the others had already learned about beforehand.
First: Qingcheng City No. 1 High School. Second: Luocheng No. 1 High School. Third: Nanlin City No. 1 High School. Fourth: Beichuan City No. 1 High School. Fifth: Huating City No. 1 High School. Sixth: Fengdeng City No. 1 High School. Seventh: Dongyun City First High School. Eighth: Xiping City No. 1 High School. Ninth: Haicang City No. 1 High School. Tenth: Mingyuan City No. 1 High School.
At 9:30, the chief referee walked onto the main stage, and the whole venue quieted down.
Without any unnecessary chatter, he said, "The 10th Eastern District Ten-School League, first round of drawing lots, now begins."
The large screen behind him lit up, displaying the names of the ten schools in order, with each name followed by their previous ranking.
The chief referee pressed a button, and the names on the screen began to scroll rapidly, flashing alternately in red and blue.
The entire venue held its breath. A few seconds later, the scrolling stopped, the ten names were paired up, and five matchups appeared on the screen.
Group 1: Qingcheng City No. 1 High School vs. Haicang City No. 1 High School, Team Competition. Group 2: Luocheng No. 1 High School vs. Mingyuan City No. 1 High School, Individual Competition. Group 3: Nanlin City No. 1 High School vs. Huating City No. 1 High School, Individual Competition. Group 4: Beichuan City No. 1 High School vs. Dongyun City First High School, Individual Competition. Group 5: Fengdeng City No. 1 High School vs. Xiping City No. 1 High School, Team Competition.
Qian Duoduo pursed his lips. "Fourth place? We have to fight the fourth-place team right off the bat?"
Lin Fan stared at the screen without speaking, instead looking toward the Beichuan City side.
Four men and one woman.
Sitting in the very center was their captain, who should be Han Feng, the one the principal had mentioned before.
He was tall and thin with high cheekbones. His hair was extremely short, almost a buzz cut, and there was a shallow scar above his ear that extended from the earlobe all the way to his temple.
He radiated a fierce aura.
Sitting to his left was a short, sturdy boy with broad shoulders, a neck as thick as an ox's, a square chin, and thick lips, looking quite reliable.
To his right was a tall, thin boy with medium-length hair; his bangs covered half his face, making it impossible to see his expression.
He was leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, spinning a pen in his hand, the pen dancing between his fingers.
On the far end was a boy wearing glasses. He was fair and clean-looking, even more refined than Lin Mobai, and was looking down at a thick notebook, occasionally writing and drawing on it with a pen.
The last one was a girl with short hair cut at ear-length. She had delicate features, her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her gaze was cold.
She sat straight, with her hands on her knees, motionless.
Subsequently, the chief referee gave ten minutes of preparation time. The sound of voices in the stands gradually grew louder, and the contestant seats of each school were engaged in low-voiced discussions.
Lin Fan gathered the five of them together, squatted on the ground, and used his finger to draw a simple diagram of the ring on the floor.
"Individual competition, best of five." Lin Fan tapped the ground.
"On the Beichuan City side, Han Feng will definitely be the anchor; he won't go up in the first match. They will most likely send that tall, thin one or the sturdy one for the first match. On our side, we cannot go all out in the first match."
He glanced at Liu Qing. "Liu Qing, you're in the first match. Your fighting style leans toward control and attrition; even if you can't win, you can force out the opponent's trump cards. Even if you lose, it won't hurt our Origin Qi."
Qian Duoduo nodded. "Indeed, Liu Qing is the best fighter other than you and Ye Wushuang."
Lin Fan shook his head. "Not the best fighter, but the most troublesome. In individual competitions, as long as a control-type fighter doesn't encounter an opponent with a countered attribute, they can wear someone down to the point of collapse. Winning is a huge profit, and losing is no loss. Plus..."
He looked at Liu Qing. "After your Armor Spirit, the Ink-scale Ghost Vine Flower, evolved, your control ability has been significantly enhanced. As long as you don't get reckless, it's hard to get taken out in one wave."
Liu Qing nodded. "Fine."
The principal stood nearby, listening to Lin Fan's arrangements without interrupting, only nodding secretly.
Once the ten minutes were up, the referee announced for the contestants to take their positions. Liu Qing walked slowly onto the stage.
The person the opponent sent out was indeed that sturdy boy.
The two stood still in the center of the ring, and the referee raised his hand. "First match, Liu Qing of Dongyun City First High School versus Su Zhong of Beichuan City No. 1 High School. Begin!"
Liu Qing initiated Armorization first.
Dark green vine-like armor spread from the roots of her hair, covering her entire head of long hair.
But unlike before, fine scale-like patterns emerged on the surface of those vines, just like snake scales.
Several slender vine thorns extended from the tips, the points of the vine thorns glowing with a dark purple light.
She raised her left hand, and a set of deep blue arm armor spread from her fingertips to her wrist. The surface of the arm armor had fine spiderweb patterns, and hair-thin blue threads extended from the joints of her five fingers, drifting gently in the air.
Immediately after, a pair of translucent black wing armor extended from her shoulder blades. The wing armor was as thin as a cicada's wing, with fine serrations on the edges, and every flap emitted a low, whimpering sound, as if someone were crying.
Finally, a translucent dark green crown condensed on her forehead. The crown was shaped like a floral coronet, with a dark purple crystal embedded in the center.
Lin Fan's left eye felt slightly warm, and Liu Qing's information appeared in his field of vision.
[Name]: Liu Qing [Rank]: Rank 45 Armor King [Armor Spirit]: 1. Ink-scale Ghost Vine Flower, Rank 44 Heavenly Spirit Medium. Armorization Part: Hair. Armor Skill: Vine Strangulation, Dance of Thorns, Ghost Vine Parasitism, Ink-scale Hardening, Poison Vine Entanglement. 2. Blue-faced Nephila, Rank 39 Earth Spirit High. Armorization Part: Left Hand. Armor Skill: Spider Silk Entanglement, Venom Injection, Spiderweb Trap, Net of Heaven and Earth. 3. Weeping Raven, Rank 39 Earth Spirit High. Armorization Part: Back. Skills: Weeping Cry, Poison Feather Scattering, Raven Clone, Cursed Whisper. 4. Poison Spirit Flower, Rank 40 Heavenly Spirit Low. Armorization Part: Head. Skills: Toxin Amplification, Poison Domain Diffusion, Poison Spirit Possession, Poison Burst, Poison Source Sensing.
Lin Fan quickly went through it in his mind. The Ink-scale Ghost Vine Flower was for main control, the Blue-faced Nephila for main toxins, the Weeping Raven for main harassment and mobility, and the Poison Spirit Flower for main amplification. This was Liu Qing's style—control and attrition. If she couldn't beat you head-on, she would disgust you to death.