In a situation where their physical strength was roughly on the same level, the strength of a group would surely be higher in comparison. Hence, the new student group from the Central Province Academy moved forth like a hot knife through butter. Xuanyuan Po and Zhang Yanzong’s fists danced in the air. Their fists were like iron, heavily smashing into those students in front.
A punch from each of them blasted out. The weaker ones directly fell onto the ground, while the stronger ones gritted their teeth and subconsciously dodged to the side.
“Why are you hitting blindly?”
Zhang Yanzong glanced at Xuanyuan Po, feeling a little speechless. (You are truly wasting that strong body of yours.) When Xuanyuan Po fought, he acted purely for the sake of fighting. He depended on brute force and rushed people in a direct manner, not thinking of using any sinister tricks. His ruthlessness was different from the rest, referring to him not showing mercy in terms of force exerted, but he wouldn’t harm anyone’s vitals.
Zhang Yanzong was different. Using both palm attacks and punches, he would either chop the throat of his opponents, hammer their hearts, or poke their eyes. His actions were sinister and violent.
Two-thirds of the students attacked by Zhang Yanzong had fallen to the ground and were panting and wailing unceasingly.
Xuanyuan Po turned his head and glanced at Zhang Yanzong. His lips twitched and he ignored him because he wasn’t fond of such techniques.
“Zhang Yanzong, be careful not to break the rules!”
Li Ziqi frowned.
“Don’t worry, the rules weren’t even announced yet. If the judge wants to find trouble with me, I can just say ‘I don’t know’ and quibble my way through!”
Zhang Yanzong was very calm. He had analyzed all possible situations.
Besides, he wasn’t the only one hitting so ruthlessly.
There were 108 schools, and each new student group consisted of twenty people. This meant that a total of 2,160 people were chaotically squeezed together, rushing toward the A1 zone. If someone looked down from the air, they would be able to see over 30+ new student groups using the same strategy as the Central Province Academy, dashing forward as one entity.
Among them, there were plenty of people using sinister techniques.
“Argh, my arm is broken!”
“Move aside, don’t step on me!” “Teacher, I feel so much pain!” Many injured students started to break down. “This is the ‘D’ grade league tournament?”
Sun Mo was stunned.
The countdown and chaos sounded like a death knell, causing all the students to feel extremely nervous. Looks of alarm and fear could be seen on their faces.
Only a few people managed to keep their calm.
“That’s right!”
Fan Yao laughed. He was already used to this and was able to remain composed in the face of the unexpected.
Cultivation was equivalent to stealing the essence of heaven and earth. One had to defy the heavens and change their fate. On this path, the number of people who could walk to the end was extremely few!
Without great determination and strong comprehension, how could one succeed?
Every year, the content of the league tournament would be different. However, one concept remained the same. And it was to temper the students’ will, nurturing their mental state to be as tough as steel.
“What does this little bit of suffering count for? If they don’t learn their lesson from their mistakes now, they might die if they temper themselves out there.”
Song Ren didn’t look at the students. He was surveying those teachers in the waiting area. They were their true rivals!
Sun Mo frowned slightly. He observed the other teachers and discovered that they were all very calm and were judging the strength of each student of their school, as well as searching for targets that deserved their notice from the other schools.
“The new student group from Central Province Academy seems a little impressive!”
“Mn, the two male students in the front aren’t simple!”
“Let’s take a look again after the third round. Maybe, they would screw up like how they did last year!”
The teachers of each group were discussing. After all, the better-performing new student groups would be noticed and observed.
Hu!
A fist suddenly blasted toward Xuanyuan Po’s head.
Bang!
Xuanyuan Po blocked it. Then, he lifted his head and looked. The owner of the fist was a two-meter-tall guy. This person was even taller and more muscular than him.
“Eh?”
The other party evidently didn’t expect Xuanyuan Po to be able to block it and felt very surprised. However, he also knew that this wasn’t a time to engage in battle. Hence, he immediately ignored Xuanyuan Po and continued rushing forward.
“Don’t leave!”
Xuanyuan Po felt joy after seeing prey. He wanted to fight.
“Xuanyuan Po, continue to clear the way!”
Li Ziqi shouted.
Zhang Yanzong was speechless, and he quickly grabbed Xuanyuan Po by his robes. “We are almost out of time!”
“Damn!”
Xuanyuan Po cursed. He channeled strength to his arms and went all-out. Hence, the students before him flew away like sparrows from the force of his punches.
In the end, when the other students saw Xuanyuan Po coming, all of them directly made way for him and his group.
The Central Province Academy’s new student group used a total of 42 seconds to enter the A1 zone. However, there were others faster than them.
“They are the new student groups from Mingshao and Haizhou!”
Seeing that they were not the first group to arrive, Zhang Yanzong felt very unhappy.
Although these students were all freshmen as well, their gazes were grave and stern. They emitted an immense self-confidence.
Three!
Two!
One!
The door is closed!
At this moment, there were still over 200 students outside. In addition to those lying on the ground, there were a total of 300 plus.
As the countdown concluded, the judge gave the order to close the door. The thick metal door of the A1 zone started to close slowly.
At this moment, the students were like bees whose nest was poked. They frantically rushed toward the door.
Nervousness and anxiousness could be seen on their faces. Although the judge didn’t say that they would be eliminated if they failed to enter the A1 zone, none of the students dared to bet on it!
Through the gap in the door, those students that had already entered the A1 zone could still see the chaotic fight between the students outside.
“Those outside, pay attention to me. You guys absolutely have no more chance to come in. Why don’t you take the chance to disrupt others? By doing so, you will be able to reduce the future opponents of your teammates who have gotten inside!”
A voice abruptly rang out.
Swish
The gazes of the students directly turned over. Even the judge standing on the rostrum looked over, feeling surprised. “Good morning, my name is Zhang Yanzong!” Tantai Yutang waved his hand and greeted everyone.
“Oi!”
Zhang Yanzong was depressed. “Can you not be so lawless? Also, do you know that your actions will increase the difficulty for our group?”
“Ruthless enough!”
Li Ziqi had thought of doing this, but after considering it, she gave up the idea. She was worried that if she did so, their group might be targeted by everyone else.
“What a crafty individual. We have to pay attention to them!”
Nangong Dao reminded his group members.
Such a conversation happened in all the groups.
Honestly speaking, these words by Tantai Yutang were beneficial to all the groups who had entered.
Pak!
A student managed to rush through the door, but before his leg landed on the ground, someone behind him dragged his hair backward, causing him to stumble. He was then pulled out.
Bang!
The door closed.
Everyone in the A1 zone was staring at Tantai Yutang. Because of this ‘Zhang Yanzong’s’ words, not a single student outside managed to come in.
One could say that Tantai Yutang had eliminated over 200 people by himself.
“Cough, cough. Don’t look at me like that. My guts are very small!”
Tantai Yutang coughed.
“Tantai Yutang. In the future, you are not to speak out without my order!”
Zhang Yanzong warned. “Alright, leader!” Tantai Yutang’s tone was humble, and he also had a smile on his face. However, Li Ziqi knew that this sickly fellow didn’t give a damn about Zhang Yanzong. In the A1 zone, the sunlight streamed in through the large windows. The area here was extremely bright. A middle-aged man that seemed forty-plus in age strode onto the rostrum and spoke. His voice was like a thunderclap.
“I’m Tong Yiming, the main judge of this competition. Now, I will announce the content and rules of the first round.”
Tong Yiming’s gaze swept through the crowd. “I will only mention it once. Listen seriously. You are not allowed to ask any questions, interrupt me, or whisper among yourselves. Once you are discovered, your qualifications to participate will be stripped.”
Tong Yiming’s strict tone and cruel words immediately caused the atmosphere to become heavier. All the students were staring at him with pricked ears.
“For the first round of the competition, it’s known as the death race. All the new student groups have to reach Honglu Island within five days!”
“The earlier you reach there, the higher your ranking will be. If the time you took exceeds seven days, you will be eliminated.
“The final rankings will be determined through three standards. First, the order you arrive there. Second, if two people drop out from a team, their rankings will be pushed back by one. If six people drop out, their results will be canceled and they will be eliminated.
“Third, if you guys choose to bring teachers along with you at the start, your ranking will be pushed back by one. If your group chooses not to bring a teacher, your ranking won’t change. “However, if you guys encounter some trouble that you cannot resolve mid-way and need the help of your teachers suddenly, your rankings will be pushed back by three. After requesting their aid, your teachers cannot help you any longer, or your group will be eliminated!” Tong Yiming spoke at a normal speed, but there were simply too many rules. It was too troublesome and this caused many students to be confused.
Lu Zhiruo was leaning forward, trying her best to remember. However, she had forgotten much of what was said and this caused her to perspire cold sweat.
There was a curtain on the rostrum. Tong Yiming suddenly stretched out his hands and tugged.
Huala
As the curtain was removed, a gigantic blackboard with a map could be seen.
Pak!
Tong Yiming took a teacher’s pointer and pointed it to a small hill at the center of a lake. “This place is Honglu Island. Because this is the dwelling place for a large quantity of honglu birds, the island was named like that. Everyone has to remember this, this place is the ending point.”
As Tong Yiuming spoke, he took the pointer and forcefully tapped thrice.
“Very good. I’m done. Right now, the group leaders of the various groups are to come over to collect the map. After that, be prepared to move out in five minutes!”
Li Ziqi actually wanted to head up to get the map, but Zhang Yanzong was quicker than her.
“Let him go!”
Tantai Yutang had wanted to take a clearer look at the map on the blackboard, but one of the staff immediately covered the board up with a cloth.
“Mn?”
The sickly invalid frowned. (Is there a need to cover it so urgently?) After that, he took out a small notebook and drew something in it.
“Judge, what will happen to the students outside?”
One of the group leaders couldn’t control his curiosity and asked the question after getting his map. There was no solution to it. Three of his group members were still stuck outside. If they didn’t join the group back, it would mean that his group would be ranked at the bottom the moment the competition started.
“I said before, no questions are allowed. Your qualification to participate is revoked!”
Tong Yiming’s voice was like a cold air current from the tundra of the north. The atmosphere of the scene immediately turned chilly. The students who were discussing with each other subconsciously shut their mouths.
“Ju… Jud…!”
There was a look of panic on the face of that group leader. He wanted to beg for mercy, but he wasn’t able to say anything under Tong Yiming’s strict gaze. “Luckily, Ziqi gave the command quickly, or not all our members would be able to arrive on time.”
Li Fen felt a lingering fear. If it wasn’t for Li Ziqi, there was an 80-90% chance that he wouldn’t be able to enter.
Lu Zhiruo nodded frantically.
“Let’s not talk about this. The most important question now is that should we bring along a teacher?”
Li Ziqi frowned as she took out her pocket watch to look at it. There were only four minutes more before their discussion time ended.
