61: Chapter 61, Scene Two: Drawing Lots!

Li Yuanyuan's face turned pale.

Yang Lei watched this scene, his heart sinking completely.

Of the five people, only he and Zhang Feng were still barely standing.

Wang Xue was out of commission, Li Yuanyuan was out of commission, and Zhao Yu was still trapped by the swarm.

And the three people on the opposite side hadn't even sustained a single injury.

He looked at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan was still standing in the back, arms crossed, a faint smile on his lips.

That smile seemed to suggest he had known this would be the outcome from the very beginning.

Yang Lei gritted his teeth and let out a low roar.

"Zhang Feng! Let's give it one last shot!"

Zhang Feng nodded, and both of them exerted their strength at the same time.

Zhang Feng gave it his all, swinging out three of his strongest Wind Blades, aiming straight for Su Xiaoxiao.

Yang Lei pushed his Wolf Shadow Step to the limit, transforming into a flaming afterimage as he bypassed Sun Wei and lunged straight at Qin Ling.

This was their last hope—take out the one controlling the bees!

Su Xiaoxiao watched the incoming Wind Blades and raised her right hand slightly.

Ice Crystal Scatter!

Dozens of ice crystals met the Wind Blades, colliding and annihilating each other in mid-air.

The last Wind Blade broke through the interception of the ice crystals, but its force was already greatly diminished; it grazed her shoulder, only tearing a bit of her clothing.

As for Yang Lei...

Just as he reached a point three meters in front of Qin Ling, he saw a massive shield appear before him.

Sun Wei had blocked the path in front of Qin Ling before anyone realized it.

"Captain Yang, you can't get past."

Yang Lei gritted his teeth and clawed at the shield.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

He was about to strike again when he suddenly felt a chill on his back.

Looking back, he saw Qin Ling standing behind Sun Wei, her dark golden left eye fixed on him.

"You lost."

She said softly.

The remaining worker bees in the air swarmed toward Yang Lei.

Yang Lei desperately channeled his Wolf Shadow Step, trying to retreat, but his spiritual energy was mostly depleted, and he couldn't pick up any speed.

The worker bees instantly engulfed him.

He felt intense pain all over his body as countless stingers pierced his skin, and the venom spread rapidly.

"I... surren..."

Before he could finish, his vision went black, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The referee immediately rushed up to check on him, and after confirming he was unconscious, raised his hand.

"Yang Lei, unable to fight!"

The entire arena was silent for a second.

Zhang Feng stood where he was, his left arm still in the posture of releasing a Wind Blade, but he had completely run out of strength.

He looked around.

Wang Xue was hopping on one leg, Li Yuanyuan was holding her frozen right arm, Zhao Yu was lying motionless on the ring, and Yang Lei was unconscious on the ground.

All five of them had lost their ability to fight.

And the three people on the opposite side hadn't even broken a sweat.

Zhang Feng smiled bitterly and raised his left hand.

"I concede."

The referee nodded and announced loudly.

"Group A, Match 3, Class 2 Lin Fan Team, wins!"

The stands erupted in deafening cheers.

Su Xiaoxiao retracted her Ice Crystal Butterfly and clapped her hands.

"Oh my, we won, we won~"

Sun Wei scratched his head honestly, and the Iron Scale Shield dissipated into light.

Qin Ling recalled the swarm, her dark golden left eye returning to its normal black, and she lowered her head, reverting to her usual low-profile demeanor.

Lin Fan finally walked to the center of the ring and said with a smile.

"Well fought."

Su Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course, you don't even have to look at who took the field."

Lin Fan looked toward the referee's table.

Over there, the matches in Area B were still ongoing, and Qin Hao was standing on the ring, looking over with a cold gaze.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and smiled.

"Let's go, the next match is still a while away, let's go rest first."

The five of them turned and walked off the ring, sitting down on the platform.

Sun Wei and the others took advantage of the interval to start recovering their spiritual energy in preparation for the next battle.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan observed the battles of the other groups.

Class 1's strength was truly overwhelming.

There were 20 people in Class 1, divided into five teams.

They all advanced, and not a single match lasted more than five minutes.

The teams from Class 2 and Class 3 had a much tougher time.

Lin Fan watched them one by one, gaining a rough understanding of each team's characteristics, core members, and weaknesses.

Soon, the first round of matches was completely over.

The referee walked up to the main ring and picked up the microphone.

"The first round of matches is over! There are nine teams that have advanced."

"Now, we will proceed with the second round of drawing lots. Among the nine teams, one will get a bye and advance directly, while the other eight will face off in pairs."

The team captains stepped forward.

Lin Fan walked to the drawing table, where Ye Wushuang, Qin Hao, and the others were already standing.

When Qin Hao saw Lin Fan, a cold sneer curled the corner of his lips.

"Lin Fan, I heard your team won with only three people?"

Lin Fan glanced at him without speaking.

Qin Hao took a step forward and lowered his voice.

"I hope you don't draw me. Otherwise, I'll let you know what true strength is."

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

"What are you barking about? Have you forgotten when you tucked your tail and ran in the Secret Realm?"

Qin Hao's face instantly darkened, his fists clenching and cracking.

Ye Wushuang glanced at him indifferently from the side, a hint of imperceptible mockery in his eyes.

Just as Qin Hao was about to explode, the referee's voice rang out.

"Begin drawing lots!"

Everyone reached into the drawing box, and a moment later, the results were revealed.

Qin Hao looked at the lot in his hand and glared at Lin Fan with a sinister expression.

"It looks like your luck isn't very good."

He slowly unfolded the paper in his hand, which clearly read, "Area A, Second Match."

The paper Lin Fan unfolded had the same words.

Lin Fan looked at the handwriting on the paper and calmly folded it up to put it away.

"Luck?"

He looked up at Qin Hao, his gaze full of provocation.

"Perhaps it's your luck that's bad."

The muscles on Qin Hao's face twitched, and he sneered.

"Then we'll see each other on the ring."

Having said that, he turned and left the drawing table, his back radiating unmasked hostility.

Lin Fan shrugged indifferently and walked back to his team.

The second round of drawing lots was over.

This time, Ye Wushuang's team got the bye.

However, this time, no one felt any envy; on the contrary, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

...After all, no one wanted to face this recognized strongest fighter early in the qualifying rounds.

On the ring in Area A, the first match had already begun.

The Liu Xiaoman Team was facing another Class 1 team.

Both teams were composed entirely of Class 1 students, with an average Rank of 16 or higher, and their Armor Spirit configurations were quite luxurious.

Aside from Liu Xiaoman's Web-Binding Spider, which was a low-grade profound spirit, the short, chubby boy beside her had a Shiro Pig that was also a low-grade profound spirit, with thick skin and incredible defense.

The other members' Armor Spirits were all high-grade mortal spirit, and none of them were weak.

The team on the opposite side was not to be underestimated either.

On the ring, light flickered, and the sounds of Armorization rose one after another.

Both sides attacked almost simultaneously, their offensives like a tidal wave.

But Lin Fan just watched quietly, without analyzing as carefully as he had before.

Ten minutes later, the match ended.

The Liu Xiaoman Team lost.

It wasn't a crushing defeat, but the kind of narrow loss that made people sigh with regret.

The two sides fought until the very end, when Liu Xiaoman's Web-Binding Spider had its weakness exploited by the opponent; before she could even cast a large net, it was focused down and knocked out of the fight.

The remaining four struggled to hold on, but in the end, they couldn't turn the tide.