Chapter 339: It’s time to show up (3k)
On a special high platform, an elder dressed as a monk slowly got up and walked towards the five chairs in front of him. His extremely long white beard and whiskers fluttered slightly, finally stopping behind the chair with the Dragon Country flag. He narrowed his eyes and said with a smile to Mr. Yun Mo, the black-clothed elder,
“Mr. Yun, it seems like there’s some disharmony in your Dragon Country’s schools? As the representative of the Dragon Country, don’t you need to step onto the stage?”
Upon hearing this, Yun Mo didn’t react further. He merely glanced at the elder indifferently, then set his gaze on Su Jiu, and said softly, “It’s not for me, an old thing, to manage the affairs of the younger generation. Besides, what that short girl said is not unreasonable…”
This elder dressed as a monk was no easy opponent. He was the representative of the Divine Elephant Kingdom. In recent years, the population of the Divine Elephant Kingdom had surged. They initially couldn’t compete with the Dragon Country, but with their population growth, they could always produce some useful and talented individuals among the masses.
“What good does it do even if it’s reasonable? I see that short girl is likely to be targeted. If their team doesn’t have a High-Rank Battle General on the field, I’m afraid they’ll be defeated quickly.”
The elder dressed as a monk raised his eyebrows, clearly not surprised at annoying the former. But thinking that his country also had a Saint-level figure this time, he chuckled again.
“Perhaps…”
After glancing at him, Yun Mo stopped talking and quietly looked ahead. If silver alchemy bullets were not even as good as ordinary bullets, they wouldn’t be able to penetrate the hearts of the Blood Clan.
After Su Jiu finally finished drawing lots under everyone’s gaze, most of the match pairings in the arena were settled, including some disheartened and helpless student captains.
After all, their opponents were top students from famous schools worldwide. Among them, a student captain from a small country, who was a High-Rank Battle General, happened to draw the same number as Wend.
The moment that number was announced on the alchemy big screen above the competition venue, the student’s face instantly turned gloomy. Although his team’s strength could be considered middle-tier among these world competition teams, they couldn’t directly clash with Wend’s team. He could only pray that the opponent wouldn’t defeat them completely.
As for Hu Yang and the others, they were exceptionally lucky. They encountered a team from a small country as well. If luck was on their side, he could defeat them alone. As for the other Dragon Country teams, Su Jiu was not familiar with them and didn’t pay too much attention…
Su Jiu felt a sense of gratitude towards Hu Yang, a former opponent. Although he was an Aristocratic Disciple, he showed a sense of camaraderie, not much different from them ordinary folk.
The Mr. White slowly scanned the entire audience. Seeing that all participants had decided on their order, he nodded slightly and shouted with a powerful and resonant voice that echoed throughout the venue: “Since everyone has finished drawing numbers, please return to the audience seats. The matches will proceed according to your numbers, starting from one to eighty-seven!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. White glanced towards the judges’ seats. After receiving nods from the five individuals in the middle, he scanned the now empty arena and stated calmly, “Please, Group One, take the stage. The system will automatically record the list of participants based on your online registration information. Don’t worry about any mix-ups.”
Hearing the numbers called by Mr. White, two groups of participants in the arena suddenly looked as if they had been electrocuted and hurried towards the stage with their respective team members. They all looked at each other nervously. They were all participating members from two small countries, and the strongest captain was only a newly promoted High-Rank Battle General.
Next, a referee slowly walked onto the stage. His attire was vastly different from that of the members from the two small countries, and he was of Latin descent. It was likely to avoid suspicion that a random referee was chosen.
Including the captain, there were five members in each team. The regular team members were also intently watching their opponents, their faces tense, and their External Qi subtly emanating from their bodies, as if they were about to engage in battle.
Watching the gradually spreading fiery fighting spirit on the field, the much quieter audience seats began to fill with hushed whispers again. Some gazes became fiery and eager in that instant. The world competition they had been eagerly awaiting was finally about to begin.
The excitement of this world competition was on another level compared to the World Cup of Su Jiu’s past life. Basically, as long as it involved a match of their own country, major mainstream media of that country would report on it.
The World Cup only involved glory in football and sports, but the world competition was a genuine all-nation competition, and the significance it contained was entirely different.
“Thanks for the help.”
Su Jiu also returned to the audience seats. After making eye contact with Hu Ling not far away, she cupped her fist slightly. After the latter waved her hand, she went to her seat and sat down.
Vivian was to Su Jiu’s right. She glanced at the few people on the competition court and yawned somewhat uninterestedly, saying, “These two teams are really uninteresting. When can we get on the stage and teach those few a lesson? Tell me your plan?”
Chen Jia’er, who was beside them, was also eager to try. She handed everyone a box of popcorn and looked at Su Jiu expectantly. After receiving various instructions yesterday, the three of them had not only caught up in terms of surface strength but had also become more proficient in their skills.
Picking up the popcorn given by Chen Jia’er, Su Jiu threaded it piece by piece with her fingernails and ate it, then said with a smile, “There’s no special plan… Isn’t it a war of attrition? I plan to let Ah Hu go on the front line first. With my skill support, endurance won’t be a problem.”
Everyone listened and nodded thoughtfully. Chen Jia’er, however, looked at Su Jiu with some worry. After thinking for a moment, she felt she should remind her, saying, “Captain, that’s not the main problem. I know my sister’s methods very well. She might have her team members target you, the Priest… I think we need to formulate a plan to protect you.”
“Protect me?”
Su Jiu looked at her with a strange expression. She turned her head to look at Vivian, who was trying to suppress a smile, and then explained helplessly, “I can protect myself, you don’t need to worry about anything.”
“But…” Chen Jia’er wanted to say something else, but she was pulled back by her boyfriend. Li Yi shook his head at her and said softly, “Listen to the captain. Think about her. She has the absolute ability to protect herself.”
Li Yi didn’t say the rest. He even thought that Su Jiu could now contend with Battle King Level Experts, which was why he called it “absolute ability to protect herself” rather than “definitely has the ability to protect herself.”
Su Jiu didn’t deny it, but smiled at Chen Jia’er. Seeing her worried expression, she asked, “Do you want to have a real match with your elder sister?”
“I… She’s a Battle King Level Expert, I’m no match for her at all. Let Ah Yi go with me. If he’s buffed, he should be able to fight my sister to a draw.”
Chen Jia’er shook her head with self-awareness. She wouldn’t cause trouble for Su Jiu to show off. What she wanted most was for her boyfriend to win a round against Su Jiu.
Seeing this, Su Jiu didn’t force it. She did want everyone to participate, so she would have to arrange for her to perform later.
While they were talking, the two teams on the field below had already arranged their participants, with the captains personally taking the stage. Under the referee’s flag, a fierce clash erupted.
“Clang clang clang!!!”
Amidst bursts of fiery clamor, the strong external Qi clashed, emitting low explosions. Figures flashed, and the crisp sound of metal friction, accompanied by sparks, continuously appeared. The Priests of each team, about five to six meters behind, continuously used various buffing and healing skills.
The two on the field were fighting honorably, engaging in head-on combat without targeting the healers. For a time, their strengths were evenly matched. This operation gave both Priests a chance to see who could sustain larger skills to end the match smoothly.
The battle on the field was, for some students, enough to be called passionate and exciting. Therefore, the spectators in the surrounding stands were all staring intently, their eyes not blinking, fixed on the four figures on the field. Cheers of excitement followed, shouted hoarsely, and finally echoed endlessly within the plaza.
However, while the battle on the field was quite exciting for the students in the stands, for Su Jiu and the others, it could only be described as “uninteresting.”
“That’s the Priest using the Wind Spirit Art to speed him up.”
Soon, the captain on the left was struck in the lower abdomen by his opponent using extremely fast wind elements. His face immediately turned pale, a mouthful of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and his body fell heavily out of the arena.
When he managed to get up, he heard thunderous applause from the entire audience. He could only look at his teammates apologetically. It was an unfavorable start for his first match, and his teammates likely had little chance of winning.
“Exceeded the boundary, Captain Seth is disqualified. Please send other personnel to compete.” The referee continued to say by the side of the arena. This appetizer was truly a bit uninteresting to watch.
Without their captain’s support, they were indeed easily defeated. The subsequent matches were all boring duels, either a stomp or a match between weaklings…
As time came to the afternoon, the Mr. White sent another group off the stage and said to the surroundings with a slight smile, “The moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived. Match Nineteen! The Slacker Team versus the Imperial Capital School Team!”
“It’s finally our turn.”
As soon as his voice fell, Su Jiu met the provocative gaze of the first person to come on stage, then ignored it and said with a smile to everyone behind her, “Let’s go to the contestant’s area first. As for the order of who goes first, it will be as decided later: Ah Hu, Li Yi, Chen Jia’er, Yun Xi.”
Upon hearing the arrangement, Vivian was stunned. She pointed at Su Jiu, twitched her mouth, and said, “You’re not really going to just be a Priest and slack off the entire time, are you?”
“There are no strong enemies.”
Su Jiu paused again, then walked onto the stage with a light smile, “As for me, of course, I’ll take the Priest position. As for slacking off, being a Priest is very hard work.”
