183: Longxia Festival!

Chapter 183: Dragon Xia Grand Event!

The next morning.

Da'an Square, Imperial Capital.

The Hundred Cities League grand event was packed with people!

Because of the convenient teleportation arrays, professional players from all over the country flocked in.

The enormous Imperial Capital seemed crowded.

But in Da'an Square, even with the massive crowd, there was still enough space!

Lu Ran was startled when he arrived.

Looking around, there were heads everywhere, making it almost impossible to move.

Lu Ran hadn't expected the Hundred Cities League to be so popular.

In his lower grades, he knew that senior students participated in the Hundred Cities League, and he was aware of its grandeur and the nation's support for it.

But he had never been there before.

He hadn't expected it to be so bustling!

And this meant that Lu Ran was destined to become famous nationwide today!

Beside him were the four Guild Leaders; to avoid causing commotion and chaos among the crowd, they all wore cloaks.

This made Lu Ran instinctively feel that anyone seen on the street wearing a cloak to conceal their appearance must be a master, or at least a celebrity!

"Don't be nervous, just play normally," Liu Xinxin said softly, patting Lu Ran's shoulder.

"I'm not nervous, I just didn't expect so many people here," Lu Ran said.

Then he thought for a moment.

He continued to ask, "After the competition starts, do I need to hide, waste some time, and then make my move?"

Liu Xinxin shook her head and said, "No need. It's not like before. You've grown up; you don't need to worry about your safety anymore. Just play however you want."

At this moment.

Ye Hongyi leaned close to Lu Ran and added, "In other words, Sister Xin is telling you to play however you want! No matter what you do, I'll support you."

Lei Tai and Yu Qingcang, on the other hand, couldn't get a word in.

After a while.

Yu Qingcang finally said, "Lu Ran, I've arranged for someone to take you into the venue. Then, you'll draw lots to decide your one-on-one opponent. Contestants have a special aisle, just like your Sister Xin said, you can play however you want; you won't lose anyway."

Afterward.

Liu Xinxin also explained the rules of the Hundred Cities League to Lu Ran in detail.

It was actually very simple.

As the name suggested, a hundred main cities participated.

Each main city had only one slot.

Some main cities even had new professional players with powerful hidden professions who would migrate their data to other main cities to participate.

This even involved issues like buying and selling players.

But those had nothing to do with Lu Ran.

In short, one hundred main cities, one hundred players.

On the first day, there were two rounds in total.

Lots were drawn to decide the matches, one-on-one, using real-time combat. After the match began, if either person's health dropped to 1%, failure would be automatically triggered, and the other person would be the winner.

Because the arena used arena rules.

So there would be no death; health could only drop to 1%, so there was no life-threatening danger.

The first round had 100 people, divided into fifty groups, 1V1, to determine fifty people to participate in the second match.

The second match also involved drawing lots, 1V1, to determine twenty-five people.

The two matches on the first day ended like this, and finally, twenty-five people advanced to the third round.

Tomorrow, the third round would begin. The twenty-five people would also draw lots to decide their opponents, but there would only be twelve groups, with one lucky person getting a bye and automatically entering the fourth round.

In other words, thirteen people would ultimately enter the fifth round.

That would be the semifinals in the latter half of tomorrow afternoon.

In the semifinals, one person would also get a bye, and the remaining twelve people would be divided into six groups to determine six people, for a total of seven people entering the third day, which was the final on the day after tomorrow!

Similarly, one person would still get a bye, and the remaining six people would be divided into three groups to determine three people.

And in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, four people would battle to determine the final two, followed immediately by the ultimate final to determine the champion!

Of course.

These were the most basic rules, the most ideal state.

But it wouldn't always be so precise, because there could be accidents, student withdrawals, unexpected absences, and so on, and it wasn't certain that anyone would get a bye.

Only the result remained unchanged; ultimately, a champion had to be determined.

After Lu Ran understood the rules, the four Guild Leaders left. They were attending as invited judges and referees for this Hundred Cities League.

Although they were invited every year.

But they rarely showed up, because the Hundred Cities League was held before the National War every year, and they simply didn't have the leisure to watch new professional players fight each other.

That had no meaning whatsoever.

At most, it was for the major guilds to select good prospects, but those were mostly pre-determined, and the guild management would be responsible for decisions; they didn't need to interfere.

But this year was different.

With Lu Ran here this year, this Hundred Cities League was bound to be spectacular!

As for the National War, it would be fought when the time came; there was nothing to worry about, after all, Lu Ran was participating.

After the four left, the person Yu Qingcang arranged also arrived.

"Hello, my name is Su Ting. I'm from the Tiandao Alliance Management Department. These next few days, I'll coordinate your schedule and competition-related matters," a long-haired girl said with a smile, standing beside Lu Ran.

As she spoke, her curious eyes scanned Lu Ran up and down.

Similarly.

She didn't know much about Lu Ran either, but as an Undead Mage, and personally assigned by Yu Qingcang to take care of him, this Lu Ran must be somewhat special!

However, even Su Ting couldn't possibly imagine what could be so special about just an Undead Mage?

The Hundred Cities League was full of hidden talents; it wasn't a place where a slightly special Undead Mage could stand out.

"My name is Lu Ran, thank you," Lu Ran said politely.

"Just call me Ting Ting. I'm actually not much older than you," Su Ting said with a smile.

At this moment.

Another surprised voice suddenly came from outside the crowd.

"Lu Ran, it's really you! You came so early!"

Lu Ran turned his head to look.

He was surprised to find it was Cong Yu.

Beside Cong Yu was another girl who looked almost identical to Cong Yu, but whose hair color and overall demeanor were vastly different.

"Cong Shuang…" Lu Ran wasn't foolish; he immediately guessed.

This was the famous talented young lady of the Imperial Capital, Cong Shuang, Cong Yu's twin sister!

"I just arrived too," Lu Ran said casually.

"Oh, the Cong Family has a special spot right at the front. Come with me, I'll save you a seat, so we can see more clearly later," Cong Yu said excitedly.

It was clear that the Cong Family was indeed extraordinary.

Behind Cong Yu and Cong Shuang, besides a middle-aged man, there were also some bodyguards and attendants, showing off their full prestige.

Although it was packed with people here, wherever the Cong Family passed, people moved aside to make way.

"No need for that. I still have to participate in the competition later, so I don't have time to watch. Contestants have a specific aisle, not in the audience seats," Lu Ran explained.

Huh?

Cong Yu's eyes widened, "You're still messing around, the competition is about to start, you…"

Before she finished speaking.

Lu Ran took out his certification card.

That was also the identification for a contestant.