Sorry for being late, the champion must be me!

... Li Xunle and the other three were still rushing to the Gray Mist Forest's teleportation array.

Clearing the entire Hundred-Layer Demon Tower had brought them considerable rewards.

Li Xunle's level reached 45.

Zhao Hao was level 43, Xia Bingxue level 40, and Tan Huan level 40.

Their character backpacks were also completely full.

They had 305 one-star items, 256 two-star, 148 three-star, 88 four-star, 25 five-star, 5 six-star, and 2 seven-star items.

There were also over a hundred various gems, including attribute gems, star-up gems, and equipment upgrade gems.

Xia Bingxue and Tan Huan were very surprised.

They hadn't expected that teaming up with Li Xunle would raise their level from 18 to 40.

A full 22 levels!

One must know that leveling up after level 30 is very difficult.

If it weren't for coincidentally encountering the Hundred-Layer Demon Tower secret realm, they would probably only be around level 30 at most now.

What was even more surprising was that...

Xia Bingxue hadn't expected to actually obtain a seven-star skill.

This gave her more confidence for the Three Academies Competition.

Of course, she also knew that she couldn't win the championship, because she was very clear about Li Xunle's strength.

She simply couldn't defeat him.

She still had this much self-awareness... The Arena in Wolong City.

Today, the Arena was exceptionally lively, with a hubbub of voices.

The audience was enthusiastic, with cheers and shouts rising and falling, creating a fervent atmosphere.

Besides ordinary citizens...

There were also people from various adventurer guilds, the Xia Country Law Enforcement Team, the Supergod Academy, the Super Spirit Academy, and the Superordinary Academy.

Although not many people came from these groups, their presence carried significant weight.

The annual Three Academies Competition was about to begin here.

This competition would last for about a week.

The three academies were: Tenglong Academy, Fengchu Academy, and Black White Academy.

Such competitions were being held simultaneously in over a hundred other cities in Xia Country, in addition to Wolong City.

Guan Shanyue was directing the forty to fifty students participating from Fengchu Academy to line up properly.

He looked down at his watch: 09:55.

The competition would start at 10:00, with only 5 minutes left before they would successively enter the Arena Instance.

But he still hadn't seen Li Xunle, Xia Bingxue, and the others.

He was extremely anxious.

Time passed by minute by minute.

He waited and waited, but they still didn't arrive.

Finally...

In the most distinguished seat in the Arena, a spirited middle-aged man held a microphone:

"Alright, time's up!

According to last year's competition ranking, Tenglong Academy goes in first, followed by Black White Academy, and then Fengchu Academy."

The speaker was none other than the Mayor of Wolong City—Zhuge Tianming, an 88th-level Swordsman.

As soon as he finished speaking...

Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy, the Dean of Tenglong Academy, proudly led the fifty students from Tenglong Academy to the entrance of the Arena Instance, directing them to enter in an orderly fashion.

Soon after...

Mei Xingchen, the Dean of Black White Academy, led the fifty students from Black White Academy to the entrance of the Arena Instance, directing the students to enter in an orderly fashion.

Finally, it was Fengchu Academy's turn.

Guan Shanyue frowned, why hadn't these four arrived yet?

Mayor Zhuge Tianming, holding the microphone, reminded him:

"Guan Shanyue, it's your Fengchu Academy's turn."

"Mayor Zhuge, we are still missing four students..."

"If you're missing four, then you're missing four. Everyone can't wait for you."

Guan Shanyue was helpless but also understood.

He led Li Chen, Sword Saint and the others slowly towards the entrance of the Arena Instance.

Lin Yu softly said:

"Dean Guan, don't worry, the championship will definitely be ours. Whether Li Xunle and the other three come or not, it won't affect our victory!"

"Exactly, aren't Li Chen, Sword Saint and Lin Yu still here? And there's also that abnormal Tang Xiaosan!"

Wang Teng, who was beside them, couldn't help but speak up.

That incident last time had frightened Wang Teng by Tang Xiaosan's strength.

Originally, he had planned to settle scores later and cause trouble for Tang Xiaosan.

But at that time, Guan Shanyue had found Wang Teng and told him: Tang Xiaosan is backed by the Xia Country Law Enforcement Team and cannot be easily provoked.

A short sentence was enough to calm Wang Teng's fiery temper.

The Law Enforcement Team represented authority and strength; no one was willing to provoke them, not even the wealthy.

In this world, strength comes first, and money second.

Guan Shanyue forced a smile and nodded.

He watched the students enter the Arena Instance one by one, feeling very relieved.

Thankfully, there were Li Chen, Sword Saint and Lin Yu, as well as the surprising Tang Xiaosan.

All students had entered.

In three minutes, the instance entrance would close.

At this moment...

Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy of Tenglong Academy chuckled and approached Guan Shanyue:

"Old Guan, what are you worrying about? You guys can't win the championship anyway."

Mei Xingchen, who was nearby, also muttered:

"Yeah, you've been in last place for several years in a row, haven't you gotten used to it? A few more students won't make much difference."

Guan Shanyue felt a bit mortified by what was said.

"This time, it might not be!" Guan Shanyue argued, his face flushed.

"This time, I think it'll be pretty much the same." Mei Xingchen said casually:

"Our Black White Academy has an Shadow Saint Assassin this time, he's incredibly powerful! The championship is ours for sure!"

"Hey! Old Mei, you don't know, our Tenglong Academy has a Blade Saint this time! The championship will definitely be ours!"

Mei Xingchen was not to be outdone:

"You only have one Blade Saint, that doesn't pose much of a threat. This is a survival instance, and the Shadow Saint Assassin has the strongest survival ability!"

"Then you're wrong, besides the Blade Saint, our Tenglong Academy also has a Saint Poison Mage!"

"Saint Poison Mage? A hidden class?" Mei Xingchen was very surprised.

"Of course!" Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy was triumphant.

Upon hearing this, Mei Xingchen's expression changed slightly.

The Saint Poison Mage was the pinnacle of Poison Mages, a hidden class that had rarely appeared in history.

Guan Shanyue was also very surprised, he hadn't expected Tenglong Academy to actually have someone with such a specialized profession.

Mei Xingchen's surprised gaze lingered on Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy's face for two seconds before he looked at Guan Shanyue:

"But no matter what, Fengchu Academy probably doesn't have the qualifications to win the championship, right?"

Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy quipped from the side:

"I heard they have a Swordsman class, and a powerful Summoner, and some kind of First Poisonous Healer? All flashy stuff."

"Poisonous Healer? How does he compare to a Saint Poison Mage?" Mei Xingchen asked curiously.

"He definitely can't compare!" Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy chuckled.

"Hmph!"

Guan Shanyue snorted coldly and sullenly walked back to his team, sitting in his seat, sulking.

It wasn't that he didn't want to argue, but he was worried that arguing would make him look even worse.

At this moment...

Suddenly, a female voice rang out.

"Dean Guan! The four of them are here!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Shanyue immediately stood up and looked towards the source of the voice; it was Yang Yu.

Indeed...

Beside her, Li Xunle, Xia Bingxue, Tan Huan, and Zhao Hao were rushing over.

He checked the time; the deadline had just arrived.

But he wanted to try and make it!

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Guan Shanyue strode forward, waving at them.

Li Xunle and the other three immediately ran to Guan Shanyue's side, their speed astonishing.

The equipment on the four of them shimmered with brilliant light, making Guan Shanyue's eyes light up.

At a glance, their equipment looked luxurious, indicating a huge harvest!

This made Guan Shanyue feel even more confident.

He led the four of them jogging towards the entrance of the Arena Instance.

Mayor Zhuge Tianming immediately asked:

"Hey! Guan Shanyue, what are you doing?"

"Mayor Zhuge, our four students have arrived, just in time. I want to take them in."

"They're late, you need to get the consent of the other deans..."

Zhuge Tianming looked at Zhou Shanhai, Dean of Tenglong Academy and Mei Xingchen.

The two of them casually said:

"Just let the four of them go in!"

"Yeah! After all, they've been last for several years, a few more people means a little more hope."

"..."

Guan Shanyue's old face flushed again, and his figure seemed to slump a bit more.

"Alright! Go in!" Zhuge Tianming nodded.

"Go, go, go, hurry and get in!"

Guan Shanyue waved his hand, eagerly saying.

Li Xunle was the last to enter. Before entering, he looked back at the slumped figure of Guan Shanyue:

"Sorry for being late, the championship will definitely be mine!"