201: Round Robin

Although Yun Feiyan was still a bit skeptical in her heart, given her recent understanding of Long Yuan, she chose to trust him this time!

Moreover, her trust was not unprincipled or blind, because Long Yuan's recent performance had been truly stunning. It was understandable that outsiders did not know, but as the de facto principal of Fengyang No. 1 High School, Yun Feiyan had witnessed Long Yuan's rapid rise with her own eyes. She had long been shocked by his series of performances, especially during the last Cloud Challenge Competition, where Long Yuan had secured first place in the test match with just two sword strikes. She had replayed those two strikes countless times herself, yet she was convinced that she could never execute such swordsmanship no matter what!

Hearing Long Yuan say that he could defeat Zhou Yuan, Yun Feiyan was overjoyed, even casting the matter of Yun Yi's disappearance to the back of her mind. Vibrant and spirited, she immediately gathered all the members to begin a secret discussion...

At this moment, a tall arena had been erected in the center of the training grounds, surrounded by tough xuan ropes. Above the perimeter of the arena, three massive light screens were arranged in a fan shape, each facing the audience from three different directions. This setup not only allowed distant spectators to see the match situation clearly, but also enabled those closer to see more details.

Several surveillance camera points were also set up around the arena, distributed at different angles to achieve a 360-degree, no-blind-spot observation effect. This measure not only allowed the audience to watch the match better but also enabled the referees to judge the match results comprehensively and accurately.

The five representative teams were gathered not far in front of the largest central light screen. At this time, the team leaders were giving final mobilization speeches and reminders to the students to help them enter a combat-ready state. Even the teams from Fengyang No. 2 High School and Fengyang No. 3 High School, which were purely there to make up the numbers, were high in fighting spirit. To them, if the outcome was already predetermined, what was there to fear? It was better to give it their all. Even if they lost in the end, they had to lose spectacularly; even in defeat, they had to make their opponents pay a price. After all, for every team member, their performance was related to their future path in martial arts. Therefore, while they could lose to the strong in the match, they absolutely could not perform poorly...

The live audience had also been looking forward to this match for a long time, and the sound of debates rose and fell in every corner. Among them, many were present representing various factions to observe; these people were called "scouts." They already had the list of contestants for this competition in their hands, and some had even selected potential candidates. They had come this time to see their on-site performance so that they could better determine the contract level when signing them.

Long Yuan watched Yun Feiyan and the others nervously discussing how to arrange their formation. Just as he was feeling a bit bored, a message suddenly arrived on his phone. He glanced at it and replied: "Xiao Hu, bet on our school!"

"Doesn't Qianlong Middle School have a super expert named Zhou Yuan? Many classmates are switching their bets to Qianlong now!" Duan Hu replied instantly.

"Don't worry, we will definitely win!"

"Really? I heard that these suddenly appearing contestants are the biggest trump cards. Aren't we a bit in trouble?" Duan Hu said.

"It's fine. Zhou Yuan does have some strength, but he is still no match for me..." Long Yuan said.

"Wow! You're that confident?!" Duan Hu said in shock.

"If I didn't have confidence, could I be your powerful backer?"

"Alright! Then I'll go all in on our school! Thirty low-grade xuan stones!" Duan Hu gritted his teeth and said. These xuan stones were actually what Long Yuan had recently given him for cultivation, but he had been very careful using them, which was why he had so many left.

Long Yuan shook his head inwardly. Duan Hu was too short on resources, which would affect his cultivation progress, so he said: "I'll lend you one thousand superior xuan stones first. Take them and bet. You can just pay me back later!"

"Ah? One thousand superior xuan stones?!!!" Duan Hu was shocked! His hands were trembling...

"With me here, it's fine! I've transferred them over; hurry up and bet!" Long Yuan said.

"Alright... Boss, you must win!!! By the way, with this much money, does that Good Luck Comes company dare to take the bet?" Duan Hu asked worriedly.

"Rest assured, Good Luck Comes is a chain operation across the country with strong financial backing. They dare to accept bets of any size, and they have never had a record of not paying out! Besides, behind Good Luck Comes is the Star Observation Platform faction!" Long Yuan said.

"The Star Observation Platform? Then I understand..."

Duan Hu checked his account on Martial Arts Home. The long string of numbers that met his eyes left him dumbfounded; he hadn't expected his boss to be so rich now. Regaining his senses, he immediately bet it all on Fengyang No. 1 High School...

With the rise of Qianlong Middle School and Fengming Middle School, the level of the Fengyang Inter-school Competition became increasingly close. This situation intensified the uncertainty of the match results and made the betting pool set up by the "Good Luck Comes" company very popular. Long Yuan saw that many people were participating in the on-site betting; even Geng Yun, Xu Guanghu, and others went to join in the fun. Qianlong Middle School was also very cooperative, only officially starting the tournament after the on-site betting pool had closed.

"Bang" "Bang" "Bang" "Bang" "Bang"...

After ten ceremonial cannon shots rang out, the whole stadium cheered endlessly, and the atmosphere was raised to its peak. Wan Heshan, the principal of Qianlong Middle School, ascended the ceremonial platform. After a lengthy and eloquent speech, he loudly announced that the competition had officially begun...

The first event was the round-robin tournament. This competition was actually the preliminary round, also known as the "warm-up match." Except for the two representative teams from Fengyang No. 2 High School and No. 3 High School, the other three representative teams tacitly sent non-star players to the stage. Because even these players could fairly easily defeat No. 2 and No. 3 High School, this allowed the key players to conserve their energy while also increasing their sense of mystery; otherwise, if their ultimate moves were exposed too early, they might not be effective later.

Although it was a preliminary round, the contestants on stage still gave it their all. After all, they were appearing in front of millions of people in the county. Everyone cherished their opportunity to perform immensely, and their performance was related to potential signing opportunities after the match. Perhaps they would be spotted by some major faction and embark on a smooth path of cultivation from then on...

The matches were very lively, and the whole venue was thoroughly heated up. The audience watched with great interest, exclaiming one after another that today's middle school students were truly incredible. At such a young age, they all had quite high Realms, possessed combat techniques, and had astonishing combat power. Many adult ordinary Xuan Practitioners would find it hard to be their opponents if they were to face them.

While the fighting on stage was lively, there were undercurrents moving beneath the surface. With the end of the round-robin tournament, Fengyang No. 3 High School was eliminated. The remaining four teams were divided into two groups for confrontation: No. 1 High School faced Fengming Middle School, while Qianlong Middle School faced No. 2 High School. The matches were about to break out at any moment...