44: Top 8 Rewards

"Principal, you were looking for me."

Shi Li arrived at the private room, only to realize there were many people inside.

Opening his Card Player system, he was secretly surprised to see a room full of Platinum players.

Besides his own Principal, two others were also Emerald rank.

Evidently, this was a room full of big shots.

In this setting, their identities were obvious.

"Shi Li, greet the Principals."

Sure enough, Principal Su's words provided the answer.

"Hello, Principals."

Shi Li respectfully greeted everyone.

"Your performance today was excellent, you worked hard."

"It's all thanks to Principal's good teaching."

In front of the Principals, Shi Li gave Principal Su ample face.

"Come here, thank Principal Xue."

Principal Su then pointed to the elder next to him, who was also Emerald rank.

"?"

Although Shi Li didn't understand why, he still complied: "Thank you, Principal Xue."

"..."

Principal Xue already understood what the other person meant, and his expression was not very pleasant.

"Alright, give your bank account number to Principal Xue, and then you can go back first."

Under Principal Su's instruction, Shi Li wrote down his bank account number.

Before he could even leave the private room, he received a transfer notification message.

"Your account ending in 6831 has received a transfer of 50000.00 cubic coins from Xue Gaoming, with a balance of 51032.18."

"Thank you, Principal Xue!"

Shi Li thanked him again, this time from the bottom of his heart.

With this money, he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to conquer the Dragon Burial Ancient Tomb!

"No need to thank me, keep up the good work in the upcoming matches."

As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling face; no matter how displeased Principal Xue was, he should maintain the demeanor of an elder.

After the junior left, Principal Su once again started to gloat.

"Don't look so glum; even though both of your school's top two seeds have been eliminated, you won't fail to get even one spot in the top 8 this year, right?"

He seemed to be comforting, but in reality, he was rubbing salt in the wound.

Considering that the players from other schools were also not weak, it was truly hard to say.

"Hmph, a mere top 8 is nothing; my Third High School doesn't care for it!"

Principal Xue flicked his sleeve.

"Alright, Old Su."

At this moment, the other Emerald-ranked elder stepped forward to act as a peacemaker: "Forgive others when you can."

"When Fang Jinghai won just now, you were clearly laughing even louder than I was!"

Principal Su, however, didn't buy it.

Because the other party was precisely 'Old Chen the Dog' in his WeChat contacts, the Principal of Second High School.

"If you're so capable, go gamble with Old Chen."

Principal Xue had a flash of inspiration and started fanning the flames.

"That's right, Old Su, maybe your Twenty-sixth High School can even go further this year."

"Your student is growing so fast, it's really hard to say."

"If he can advance to Gold 5, it's not to say he wouldn't have a chance against Old Chen's student."

"The subsequent matches won't be held until a month and a half later, he might not be without a chance."

The other Principals, wanting to watch the show, naturally joined in the instigation.

"Want to try, Old Su?"

Principal Chen asked with a chuckle.

Evidently, he was happy to accept.

After all, he hadn't forgotten Principal Su's arrogant expression when Shi Li eliminated Second High School's seeded player during the qualifiers.

"..."

However, this time, Principal Su truly hesitated.

Could Gold 5 really defeat Fang Jinghai?

Liang Dan's previous experience was right there as a lesson.

Fang Jinghai, as a Platinum 1 with a Characteristic character card, couldn't be considered an ordinary Platinum 1.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to consider his deck strength as Platinum 2.

So, he really felt that even if Shi Li was promoted to Platinum 1, he might not be Fang Jinghai's opponent.

Because even among Characteristic character cards, the Red Blade Maiden's Characteristic had far lower versatility than the Yuan Shan First Disciple.

Unless...

"What's wrong, Old Su, are you scared?"

At this moment, Principal Chen spoke again: "I've already thought it through, we won't gamble money.

If you lose, you'll have to call me Big Brother for the next six months.

If I lose, I'll call you Big Brother for the next year.

How about that, isn't that generous enough?"

"Wow, this is even worse than gambling money!"

"The insult is too strong."

"The key is that he also set unequal stakes, this clearly shows he looks down on you, Old Su!"

"Six months for a year, you'll profit, bet him!"

Everyone, eager for a spectacle, started to egg him on.

"Bet then! Who says I'm afraid of you!"

Principal Su, in a fit of passion, agreed.

Anyway, there were still 45 days until the next competition, and during that time, the top 16 would also go to Jiangnan University for tryouts.

With such a long development period, plus his full support, who's to say Shi Li truly had no hope at all?

At this moment, Shi Li had already returned to the player's seats to continue watching the matches and was unaware that his Principal had placed such a "heavy bet" on him.

The subsequent duels were also quite intense.

Gong Ping was not so lucky later on; after a fierce battle, he narrowly lost to his opponent, stopping at the top 16.

However, even as a top 16 player, Gong Ping also obtained the tryout qualification for Jiangnan University, so he was not dejected.

After watching all the matches, he felt confident against at least 4 of the top 8 players.

Besides Fang Jinghai, whom he definitely couldn't beat, there were 2 other opponents he wasn't very confident against.

Of course, this judgment was based on the decks currently displayed by everyone.

It did not rule out the possibility that some people had hidden their strength, or that they would undergo significant growth during the upcoming break.

The day after the top 16 to top 8 matches concluded, Shi Li was notified to go to the Principal's office.

Before this, Teacher Li had already explained the subsequent schedule to him.

A week later, the top 16 would go to Jiangnan University for a week-long tryout.

A month and a half later, the top 8 would resume competition and determine the champion.

In the office, it was mainly Principal Su speaking and Shi Li listening.

First, there was a customary round of praise, and then Principal Su got to the point.

"This tryout, in addition to the high school seniors from our Durian City, will also be attended by high school seniors from other cities in the province."

"And not only will Jiangnan University assess you, but I've also received news that the Four Famous Universities will send a team of teachers to observe your performance."

"But you don't need to feel pressured, just perform at your normal level."

"The specific tryout content will be sent to you by Teacher Li in a document."

"I believe with your current deck level, you will definitely have an outstanding performance."

"Take this card."

At the end, Principal Su pulled out a card.

"Principal, I already received the prize money yesterday, isn't this too much?"

Although Shi Li said this, his hand had already honestly reached out.

"Yesterday's prize money was sponsored by Principal Xue.

This card now is my reward for you reaching the top 8.

Absorb this card well, don't let those guys look down on you, hmph!"

Principal Su handed him the card.

Shi Li could feel that the Principal had a lot of pent-up energy in his last sentence.

...

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