56: Chapter 56 Is this map... really random?

Boom!

As soon as those four words were spoken, a commotion instantly broke out among the teams below the stage.

Some were happy, while others were worried.

The melee Professionals showed looks of joy, while those of magic classes—especially the sonic-type Professionals—saw their expressions turn ugly in an instant.

"Echo Gobi?"

The moment Chen Xi, standing at the very front of the team, heard this name...

His pupils suddenly constricted.

Echo Gobi, as the name suggests, was a gobi desert filled with rocks that possessed a special magnetic field.

The terrain here was extremely open and seemingly devoid of danger, but in reality, those rocks had an incredibly disgusting property—[Sonic Reflection].

In the Echo Gobi, any high-decibel sound or sonic-type skill would be reflected indiscriminately by the rocks. It could even create multiple echoes, causing severe backlash and dizzying effects to the caster!

"This is going to be troublesome..."

Chen Xi's brow furrowed tightly as he subconsciously glanced at Li Murou beside him.

Li Murou's class was Rhythm Musician; all of her skills achieved control and buffs through the sound waves produced by playing her instrument.

In a map like Echo Gobi, once her zither music sounded, not only would it fail to control the enemy, but she would also be injured by the reflected sound waves!

This was practically rendering Li Murou completely useless!

Without Li Murou's abnormal Time Freeze control, Nirvana Battle Team's combat power would be cut at least in half!

"Is it a coincidence?"

Chen Xi's gaze instantly became sharp as he stared fixedly at Tian Lin, Grade Head on the stage.

In the school's dungeon library, there were at least a hundred maps suitable for competition.

Why did they happen to choose this Echo Gobi, which was extremely unfriendly to sonic-type classes?

Moreover...

Chen Xi keenly captured a flash of guilt and evasion in Tian Lin, Grade Head's eyes when he announced the map just now.

"To be able to accurately select the one map that perfectly counters us out of over a hundred..."

Chen Xi let out a cold laugh in his heart, a trace of cold light flashing in the depths of his eyes:

"This map... is it really random?"

It seemed someone didn't want Nirvana to win.

In the interval of Chen Xi's contemplation...

Tian Lin, Grade Head, as if to hide his embarrassment, continued speaking at a rapid pace:

"All non-essential personnel have now been cleared from the Trial Grounds!"

"The positioning parameters for all Portals have been modified to Echo Gobi!"

"Next, please have the twelve teams enter their respective Portals!"

"The Freshman Challenge Tournament will officially begin in 5 minutes!"

Following Tian Lin, Grade Head's command, the various teams that were still buzzing with discussion began to move, walking toward the Portals marked with their team names.

The path to the Portals was not spacious, and several teams inevitably squeezed together.

Chen Xi had just taken two steps with the two girls when he felt a gaze full of malice fall upon him.

He looked to the side.

Not far to the right, the four members of the Shenfeng Battle Team were crowding around Yan Zidong.

The former captain, Lin Feng, was currently acting like a total lackey, bowing and scraping at Yan Zidong's side.

Though he should have been the captain, his current position was extremely marginalized.

At first glance, one who didn't know better would think Yan Zidong was the captain of Shenfeng.

As if sensing Chen Xi's gaze, Lin Feng turned his head.

When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.

Lin Feng glared back fiercely, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

In front of Chen Xi, he slowly raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture across his neck.

His mouth moved silently:

"You're dead meat."

Chen Xi looked at him expressionlessly; he didn't respond, merely withdrawing his gaze calmly.

"Tsk, acting tough on someone else's authority."

Walking behind Chen Xi, Li Murou also saw this scene and curled her lip in disdain.

Just then, her gaze accidentally swept over the Royal Squad on the other side.

"Eh?"

As if she had discovered a new continent, Li Murou gently tugged at Chen Xi's sleeve and asked curiously:

"Captain Chen, look over there!"

"That illiterate guy's team seems to have an extra person! It's someone we haven't seen before!"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Chen Xi snapped back to his senses and looked in the direction Li Murou was pointing.

In the Royal Squad's lineup not far away, Zhou Tianren was walking at the very front, still maintaining that arrogant posture with his nose in the air.

Behind him, besides the familiar faces of Li Shan and Qi Huan, there was indeed an unfamiliar figure at the very back of the team.

That person was wrapped tightly in a large black cloak; their face was even covered by a mask without any patterns, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

Walking at the very back of the team, his footsteps were so light they were almost silent, keeping a low profile like a non-existent shadow.

But for some reason, when Chen Xi's gaze fell on that person, the Black-Robed Man seemed to sense it and slightly raised his head.

From those eyes hidden behind the mask, a heart-palpitating cold light shot out.

Their gazes briefly met in the air, and Chen Xi actually felt a killing intent that was eerie to the extreme.

Chen Xi's heart jolted, and his brow furrowed slightly.

This feeling was completely different from the likes of Lin Feng and Lei Zhen from before.

This person had the scent of someone who had truly seen blood.

"Be careful once we get inside."

Chen Xi lowered his voice and instructed the two girls behind him:

"For some reason, the map for this challenge... including that person behind Zhou Tianren, gives me a bad feeling."

"This competition probably isn't as simple as we imagined."

"Echo Gobi targets Mu Rou, and it's hard to say who that mysterious person is targeting... this is likely a setup."

Hearing the gravity in Chen Xi's tone, Li Murou's small face also tensed up, and she subconsciously hugged the electronic keyboard in her arms tighter.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming somewhat oppressive...

A slightly cool palm gently rested on Chen Xi's shoulder.

Chen Xi turned around and met Su Xiaoxiao's cool and determined ice-blue eyes.

At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao exuded an extremely restrained yet powerful aura, like a peerless ice sword about to be unsheathed.

"Don't worry, Captain Chen."

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Chen Xi, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly in a confident smile:

"Soldiers will be blocked by generals, and water will be covered by earth."

"The current me... is already different."

"No matter what schemes they have, and no matter who that mysterious person is."

"Since they are targeting Mu Rou, then let me be the sharp blade."

Looking at Su Xiaoxiao's confident eyes, the sliver of gloom in Chen Xi's heart instantly dissipated.

That's right.

What was he worried about?

Su Xiaoxiao had already advanced to an Ice Thunder Battle Method Professional.

His own attributes had skyrocketed, and more importantly, the talent Sovereign Judgment could already allow him to instantly eliminate everyone in the Shenfeng team.

"Yeah."

Chen Xi nodded heavily, a raging battle intent reigniting in his eyes:

"You're right."

"Whether it's Shenfeng or Royal, whether it's Echo Gobi or a mountain of blades and a sea of fire."

"Let's go!"

Chen Xi waved his hand, no longer hesitating.

Under the spotlight of the entire venue and the gaze of countless eyes...

Chen Xi led Li Murou and Su Xiaoxiao, taking firm steps as they stepped into the Portal emitting a faint blue light!

Buzz—!

The light swallowed the figures of the three.

Nirvana Battle Team, setting out!