22: Chapter 22 Pre-match Conflict

The official drawing ceremony for the City-level Competition was held at the headquarters of the City Awakened Association.

It wasn't a small-scale event like the ones held in school conference rooms.

The association headquarters was a building with a strong sense of history, and the names of all the S-rank Awakened since the founding of Nanjiang City were carved on the exterior wall.

When Shen Ye arrived, he couldn't help but take an extra look at that wall.

Fang Zhen's name was placed very early on, and the carving had already become somewhat blurred.

Gu Yan's name was slightly newer.

He Man's name was at the end, and the carving was the deepest—she was the only one of the three who had retired alive.

Principal Zhou Wenyin was right.

Of the three S-ranks, not one had truly reached the place they wanted to go.

The drawing hall was on the first floor.

When Shen Ye walked in, there were already many people standing in the hall.

All the Awakened who had registered for the competition from the city's three districts and six counties had come.

Hundreds of people were crowded into the hall, standing in areas divided by school.

The uniforms of City No. 1 High School were dark blue, City No. 2 High School were dark green, and City No. 3 High School were dark red.

Nanjiang No. 7 High School's light gray uniforms stood out conspicuously among the pile of dark colors.

Shen Ye found the location for Nanjiang No. 7 High School.

Liu Yang was standing in the line, craning his neck and looking around.

Seeing Shen Ye, he squeezed over and lowered his voice, saying, "The people from City No. 1 High School are here."

The one leading them is Lu Chuan.

Shen Ye followed his gaze and looked over.

At the very front of the City No. 1 High School team stood a tall boy in a dark blue uniform, his hands in his pockets.

His expression was very cold—not the kind of cold that was deliberately put on, but the kind of cold that truly didn't care about anything around him.

Beside him stood a girl with a ponytail, whom Shen Ye recognized—Su Wanqing.

She wasn't wearing casual clothes today; she was wearing the City No. 1 High School uniform, standing next to Lu Chuan with a calm expression.

Su Wanqing also saw him and nodded slightly.

Shen Ye nodded back.

Just from this simple interaction, Liu Yang had already gasped in shock beside him.

"You know Su Wanqing?"

The one from the City No. 1 High School Spirit Plant Garden?

"We've collaborated," Shen Ye said.

Liu Yang's expression was full of "How many more things are you hiding from me?"

Before he could ask further, a commotion came from the entrance of the hall.

The people from City No. 3 High School had arrived.

Dark red uniforms. The leader was a boy of medium build with decent features, but the smirk on his lips ruined the overall impression.

His gaze swept across the crowd, accurately locked onto Shen Ye, and then he walked straight over.

"Shen Ye?"

He stood in front of Shen Ye, looked him up and down, and said, "I am Zheng Chuan."

City No. 3 High School, Storm Canyon.

Shen Ye looked at him.

"I know."

"Good that you know."

Zheng Chuan smiled, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for those around to hear, "You saw my post, right?"

S-rank talents don't have much of an advantage during the development phase; the City-level Competition relies on immediate combat power.

You only Awakened a little over a month ago, so your God's Kingdom has limited development time.

I've been developing for over a year, and I've fought more real battles than you've ever seen.

If I draw you today, it'll be the perfect chance to let everyone see how an A-rank beats an S-rank.

The surroundings went quiet for a moment.

Dozens of eyes looked at Shen Ye simultaneously.

Shen Ye glanced at Zheng Chuan.

"See you in the competition."

Then he shifted his gaze to the drawing stage at the front of the hall, as if Zheng Chuan didn't exist at all.

The smirk on Zheng Chuan's lips froze.

He took a step forward, his shoulders slightly raised.

The people from City No. 3 High School around him also followed by pressing forward a step.

On the No. 7 High School side, Liu Yang clenched his fists, and a few D-rank Awakened from No. 7 High School hesitated for a moment before standing behind Shen Ye.

"What are you doing?"

An association staff member walked over from the drawing stage; it was a middle-aged woman at the True God level. With a sweep of her gaze, she effortlessly released her pressure.

Zheng Chuan's footsteps stopped.

"This is a drawing ceremony, not a fighting ring."

If you want to fight, fight in the arena.

Zheng Chuan gritted his teeth, stepped back, and whispered to Shen Ye, "I hope I draw you."

Then he took the people from City No. 3 High School and left.

Shen Ye did not look at him.

His consciousness was submerged in his God's Kingdom.

Jin Lin was practicing sword techniques in front of the sword stele, and the small golden dragon was slowly slithering on his shoulder.

Mu Sheng was weaving a vine net by the spirit field, twenty-one vines fluttering in the sunlight.

Elder Quan sat cross-legged by the spirit spring, three spiral spirit springs slowly rotating in his palm.

In the Land of Gods and Demons, Chen and Ye stood on either side of the Twilight Spirit Spring, holy light and the abyss intermingling between them.

One day in the outside world is two years in the God's Kingdom.

Zheng Chuan has been developing for over a year, which is over four hundred years in God's Kingdom time.

His God's Kingdom has been running—he did a quick mental calculation—from awakening until now, over four weeks have passed in the outside world, and he has already accumulated a significant amount of God's Kingdom time.

Although he Awakened later than Zheng Chuan, the actual running time of his God's Kingdom is not much shorter than Zheng Chuan's.

And his God's Kingdom has two worlds; Gain Without Labor makes building grades always two levels higher than others, and Eternal Loyalty makes his kin never stop.

Zheng Chuan thinks he only has a little over a month of accumulation.

He doesn't know that one day for Shen Ye is two years.

The drawing began quickly.

The association staff called names in the order of schools, and everyone went up to draw a numbered tag from a sealed box.

The one Shen Ye drew was Group 7.

The one Zheng Chuan drew was Group 3.

The two were not in the same group.

When Zheng Chuan got his numbered tag, he glanced in Shen Ye's direction, his expression somewhat complex—there was disappointment, and also a sense of relief.

After the drawing ended, Shen Ye walked out of the hall and was stopped by Su Wanqing in the corridor.

She was leaning against a pillar in the corridor, holding a drink she bought from a vending machine.

"Those three words you said to Zheng Chuan earlier were harsher than cursing him out."

'See you in the competition'—he prepared such a long speech, and you dismissed him with three words.

"The words he prepared were indeed very long," Shen Ye said.

Su Wanqing couldn't help but smile.

Then her smile faded.

"This Zheng Chuan, his strength is in the upper tier among A-ranks, but his mentality is poor."

When he wins, he fights smoother and smoother, but when he loses, he easily collapses.

You made him lose face in public today, so he will definitely hold a grudge.

If you meet in subsequent matches, he will definitely fight with his life on the line.

"This is on the competition field."

She paused, "But Zheng Chuan's family has a lot of influence in the city."

His dad is the director of the Resource Department of the City Awakened Association, a True God level.

His mom is the vice principal of City No. 3 High School.

The Zheng family has people in the referee group and the resource allocation department of the City-level Competition.

Shen Ye looked at her.

"Are you saying he might pull some tricks off the field?"

"Not necessarily."

But it is necessary for you to know that he has this ability.

Su Wanqing threw the empty drink can into the recycling bin, "Drawing, grouping, venue arrangement, resource supply—these links are all within the jurisdiction of the association."

Zheng Chuan himself might not have the guts to pull tricks, but if his family feels their son has been bullied, that might not be the case.

Shen Ye was silent for a while.

"Thank you."

Su Wanqing waved her hand.

"I'm not helping you; I'm helping myself."

You are my long-term meal ticket in the City-level Competition; if you get taken down by off-field means, my cut will be gone too.

Shen Ye knew this wasn't the truth.

Su Wanqing likes to use business as an excuse when she tells the truth, and conversely, she seems very sincere when she tells lies.

This is a pattern he figured out from their few interactions.

"I understand."

I will be careful about the Zheng family.

Su Wanqing nodded, turned and walked a few steps, then stopped.

"Right."

Lu Chuan asked me to pass a message to you.

Shen Ye looked at her.

"He said, you are not a dark horse."

You are the fourth S-rank from Nanjiang No. 7 High School in sixty years, and the first three didn't even make it into the national top fifty.

You are just like him, both fighting while carrying the expectations of predecessors.

He hopes to meet you in the finals.

Not the kind of "Double S Meeting" hyped by the media, but really wanting to see how far the fourth S-rank from No. 7 High School can go.

Shen Ye did not answer immediately.

Lu Chuan.

Iron-Blooded Battlefield, Undead Spirit.

The only other S-rank in the city.

He remembered Principal Zhou Wenyin's words—Fang Zhen, Gu Yan, He Man, three people, three paths, not one of them truly reached the place they wanted to go.

Lu Chuan is also an S-rank.

The expectations he carries, whose are they?

"Tell him."

Shen Ye said, "See you in the finals."