26: Group A

"Hoo..."

Everyone in the lounge couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

That was close.

Nothing happened.

They were truly afraid of getting caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out.

Especially the contestants who had just barely won their matches in the morning qualifiers and hadn't recovered yet.

They certainly didn't want to end up like Cui Meng, falling fast asleep because of a scuffle between two people.

Time passed.

Contestants who advanced from the qualifiers entered the lounge one by one.

The first thing they did was glance at the two figures by the distant floor-to-ceiling window.

Then they joined the silent crowd.

Until...

"Bitch Ye!"

"Green Tea Ning!"

"Hmph!"

Two elegant figures, followed by several people, walked into the lounge.

The personnel from Jiang Wu and Chuanwu University had arrived.

Ning Lingyao and Ye Congshuang surveyed the surroundings, their gazes locking onto the two figures by the distant floor-to-ceiling window, and walked over at the same time.

"Brother Gu Chen."

"You're here."

Lin Yan turned his head slightly.

Ning Lingyao lowered her head slightly, her fingers gently pinching the corner of Gu Chen's clothes, her eyes somewhat shy.

Ye Congshuang's usually cold expression was gone, a smile playing on her lips as she intimately linked her arm with Gu Chen's.

One on the left and one on the right, they directly formed a pincer movement.

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow.

A bit something there.

As if sensing his gaze,

Gu Chen subtly pulled his arm away, a trace of helplessness flashing across his face.

"Mm."

"Our venue was closer, and no one was injured."

"We'll be there soon."

The two nodded.

"That's true."

They simultaneously thought of something and looked toward Lin Yan on the other side.

If it weren't for someone needing treatment, how could they have arrived so late?

Ning Lingyao pouted.

"Brother Chen, I was bullied."

Ye Congshuang also sounded aggrieved.

"Someone bullied me."

Lin Yan's brow almost knitted together.

What's wrong with them?

Noticing his movement,

"You... !"

Ning Lingyao and Ye Congshuang glared angrily.

Just as Gu Chen was about to say something,

"Brother Yan!"

A loud voice came from the doorway.

Xue Cheng and Lian Chuan arrived beside Lin Yan.

"You're here."

Lin Yan smiled at the two.

"The qualifiers were naturally no problem."

Lian Chuan patted his chest.

Then he turned his head to look at the three people on the right, raising an eyebrow.

"A Shuraba?"

Xue Cheng nodded, his expression serious.

"A Prodigy Shuraba."

The corner of Lin Yan's mouth lifted.

These two rascals.

"You guys!!"

Gu Chen glanced at the three of them, pulling back Ning Lingyao and Ye Congshuang who were about to explode.

"And the Grand Competition."

The Magic Martial University uniform.

Who are these two?

Lian Chuan curled his lips.

"Cowards, just like that Zuo Zhengqing."

"So boring."

He stopped walking.

Zuo Zhengqing, who had just walked into the lounge, had a gloomy expression, veins bulging on his forehead.

Gong Ren pushed his arm slightly, shaking his head in warning.

"Don't be rash."

Lin Yan looked at Lian Chuan with surprise.

Chuan Zi was indeed mischievous when he was little.

But he was far less sharp-tongued than he is now.

He was starting to suspect if this kid had acquired some kind of Taunt System.

"He's been like this recently."

Among the three brothers, they could immediately understand each other with just a small expression.

Xue Cheng spoke calmly.

"He was mocking this and that during the qualifiers just now."

"I'm gradually getting used to it."

Lin Yan nodded, his eyes thoughtful.

As more people arrived,

the atmosphere in the lounge gradually became oppressive.

While silently observing their respective opponents, everyone's gaze would occasionally drift towards the few figures by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Among them,

were Yuan Cheng and Yu Jiao in the corner.

They looked at Xue Cheng and Lian Chuan chatting and laughing with Lin Yan, thinking to themselves,

So he already knew the Prodigies from Magic Martial University.

It was fortunate they hadn't done anything outrageous before.

Especially Yuan Cheng.

He thought of his idiotic younger brother again.

Truly deserving of death.

Fortunately, Lin Yan wasn't one to hold grudges.

There were also Jing Pengtian and Zuo Zhu from Anyi University.

Jing Pengtian stood with Zuo Zhengqing and Gong Ren, displaying a fawning expression.

Zuo Zhu, on the other side, kept secretly glancing at Lin Yan from time to time.

In this environment,

time passed quickly.

Dong... Dong Dong—!

Several loud noises echoed.

Everyone in the lounge suddenly looked towards the window.

Eight arenas suddenly appeared in the center of the venue.

At the same time,

"The group stage pairings have been determined."

"All contestants, please proceed to the area beneath your designated arena."

A curtain appeared.

Continuous prompts sounded in the lounge.

"Let's go."

Lin Yan turned around.

"Let's go!"

Xue Cheng and Lian Chuan followed.

Everyone filed out of the lounge and appeared in the contestant passage.

Instantly,

"Roar!"

Deafening cheers rushed towards them.

"Imperial Martial! Invincible!"

"Mo Wu! Victorious in every battle!"

"Jiang Wu! Clear everything away!"

"Chuan Wu! Supreme over all!"

"Hao Tian! Hao Tian! Pressing forward bravely!"

"Gu Chen is invincible!"

"Lin Yan will win!"

"Zuo Zhengqing stands alone!"

"..."

Various shouts rose and fell in succession.

"So many people."

Lian Chuan clenched his fist.

Xue Cheng's eyes flickered.

"The first station for us three brothers to make a name for ourselves."

Everyone looked towards the giant screen, searching for their names.

Some people's expressions changed slightly, while others looked pleased.

"Brother Yan,"

"I'm in Group D."

"I'm in Group F."

Xue Cheng and Lian Chuan spoke up.

Lin Yan retracted his gaze from the giant screen.

"Group A."

"Good luck!"

The two nodded.

"Good luck!"

The three separated.

Lin Yan walked straight towards the arena marked with 'A'.

Eight arenas, eight groups.

25 people per group.

He took a quick glance and noticed that neither he nor Gu Chen, Zuo Zhengqing, Ning Lingyao, Ye Congshuang, or the others were grouped together.

This meant that

all these people, including Xue Cheng and Lian Chuan, were in separate groups.

This draw was something.

He could only say it showed skill.

However, even so,

he did see a familiar name in his group.

Jing Pengtian.

Standing at the front of Group A, the corner of Lin Yan's mouth lifted slightly.

What a coincidence.

The youth with the number A2 stared at the black figure in front of him, looking nervous.

"Th-that..."

"Prodigy Lin Yan."

"Could you go a little easier on me later?"

"I... I... want to make it into the top 64."

Lin Yan turned his head slightly.

"Why don't you just forfeit directly?"

The youth looked stunned and quickly replied,

"O-okay..."

Sigh.

He just didn't want to use up this one chance to forfeit.

Jing Pengtian, ranked A9, had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

What kind of number did his uncle draw?

He was going to be beaten to a pulp by this monster later?

He would have to use his forfeit chance.

In fact, it wasn't just him.

Jing Anxiang in the stands also looked extremely grim.

Damn it!

What terrible luck!

Compared to them,

Duan Tiancheng on the other side was completely relaxed.

He knew it; it was a top-tier draw.

Lin Yan was a given—stable.

He was steady.

Yuan Cheng was drawn into the same group as Xue Cheng.

Yu Jiao was drawn into the same group as Lian Chuan.

The difficulty level for both groups was acceptable, and there were no enemies.

Moreover, both were good brothers of Lin Yan.

Considering the help I provided last time, they should hold back.

No need to worry about being completely crippled in one move.

The contestants arrived quickly.

The referee team exchanged glances and began to read out the announcement solemnly.

"All participating contestants,"

"Before the start of the Grand Competition group stage,"

"We must announce one thing."

"There have been some changes to the promotion rules for this year's group stage."