Finals Draw

Finals Draw

The Knockout Tournament from the Top 32 to the Top 16 had also concluded. The upcoming matches were the truly crucial ones, and they would determine whether Ye Qingchen could receive the system's reward.

I wonder what the system will give me this time, Ye Qingchen thought.

"Ye Qingchen of New Student Class One, come forward to draw lots."

Director Du Weilun's voice jolted Ye Qingchen out of his thoughts. He stepped forward and drew a numbered lot from the tube in Du Weilun's hand.

Du Weilun gave Ye Qingchen a careful look at close range and thought to himself, This student truly is outstanding.

"Number Three." Du Weilun took the lot Ye Qingchen had drawn and announced it loudly.

Among the teams that had already completed the draw, one team's expressions immediately changed slightly. They were Ye Qingchen's opponents.

The two sides faced each other in the examination area and introduced themselves. Ye Qingchen's opponents this time came from New Student Class Nine. All three were Great Soul Masters above Rank 20.

Both sides released their martial souls at the same time. For the first time, Ye Qingchen used a Soul Skill. It was not that he could not defeat them without one; he simply did not want to waste time and wanted to end this boring match as soon as possible.

Ice spikes shot out one after another, each emerging from a small blue circle of light. There were roughly dozens of them in total, and in the next moment, azure light flashed across the entire arena.

His opponents had never expected Ye Qingchen to open by directly unleashing such a powerful Soul Skill. More importantly, they had not expected him to control its power so perfectly.

After the blue light faded, the two Agility Attack System Battle Soul Masters were blasted straight out of the arena. Although the Assault System Battle Soul Master managed to hold on, most of his Soul Power had been depleted, and the formidable Extreme Cold Power had left him injured as well.

Ye Qingchen said domineeringly, "Am I going to knock you off, or are you going to walk off yourself?"

And then there was no more. After entering the knockout stage, this became the fastest match to end. It was also this match that greatly boosted Ye Qingchen's popularity once again, with many calling him the ceiling of new student combat strength.

Early in the morning, when the first glimmer of light appeared in the distant east, Ye Qingchen rolled out of bed and pushed open the east-facing dormitory window. Wang Dong straightened her clothes and went to wash up first.

Everything felt so natural. Breathing in the fresh air drifting in from outside, a faint smile appeared on Ye Qingchen's face.

"It would be nice if things could stay like this. Compared to fighting, I'm better suited to slacking off. I wonder how Blue Star is doing now." Ye Qingchen looked out at the scenery beyond the window as he spoke.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Wang Dong pushed open the door and, seeing Ye Qingchen still standing by the window, could not help asking doubtfully, "Ye Qingchen, are you alright?"

Usually, by the time she returned, Ye Qingchen would already be about to leave to wash up. Yet today, he was still standing at the window.

Ye Qingchen turned around and smiled. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about my hometown."

Wang Dong walked over to Ye Qingchen and said, "Qingchen, is your hometown fun? When will you take us there for a look?"

"All you think about is having fun. When there's a chance, I'll take you all back to my hometown for a visit." Ye Qingchen chuckled, picked up his toiletries, and left the dormitory.

After washing up, Ye Qingchen and Wang Dong quickly finished breakfast. Ye Qingchen then guided Wang Dong in cultivation for a while, and only when the sky had fully brightened did they leave the dormitory for the examination area. Today, the champion of this year's new student Knockout Tournament would be decided.

Compared to yesterday, there were even more spectators today. Naturally, all of them were teachers; the students still had to attend classes.

All twelve new students who had made it into the semifinals stood together. The person in charge of the draw today was an elderly man dressed in white.

"Hello, young people. I am Yan Shaozhe, the 261st dean of Shrek Academy." Yan Shaozhe spoke with a smile.

"I know you are curious about why I have appeared here. I am very satisfied with the performance of your class of new students. Furthermore, I will watch all of your matches today. I hope you can show me some surprises. Alright, let the draw begin."

"New Student Class One, Huo Yuhao's team, come forward to draw lots." This time, Huo Yuhao's group was actually the first to draw.

Huo Yuhao walked forward somewhat nervously. When he reached out to draw a lot, his emotions were already a little beyond his control, and even his hand trembled.

Dean Yan smiled faintly. "Young man, don't be nervous. I wish you and your team good results."

After drawing a lot, Huo Yuhao took a step back and respectfully bowed ninety degrees to Yan Shaozhe before handing the lot to Du Weilun and returning.

"New Student Class One, Huo Yuhao's team, Number Two."

Number Two meant that they would compete in the second arena during the semifinals. There were only four numbers in that box: two Number Ones and two Number Twos. "New Student Class Five, Dai Huabin's team, draw lots."

A tall youth strode out. After stepping onto the platform and bowing to Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun, he also drew a lot. Following Huo Yuhao's example, he bowed once more, handed the lot to Du Weilun, and turned around.

The instant Huo Yuhao saw his face, his entire body suddenly shook violently. His eyes filled with disbelief, and his body began trembling uncontrollably as he grabbed Ye Qingchen's arm beside him.

Ye Qingchen turned to look at him, only to find Huo Yuhao's face deathly pale. Yet within his eyes was an unmistakable, profound hatred. Huo Yuhao gripped him so hard that it was beginning to hurt.

"Dai Huabin's team, Number One." Only after Du Weilun made the announcement did Dai Huabin return to his team. It was not until his face was out of sight that Huo Yuhao's emotions stabilized somewhat. At that moment, he even needed support just to stand steadily.

This was the first time Huo Yuhao had displayed such emotions, but it was certain that they had something to do with Dai Huabin. Ye Qingchen patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder and said, "You're this angry because of Dai Huabin, right? Leave them to me. I'll crush them."

"Ye Qingchen of New Student Class One, come forward to draw lots."

Ye Qingchen stepped forward and drew a lot.

"New Student Class One, Ye Qingchen, Number One."

"Kid, you're very strong. As expected of someone Zhou Yi personally selected." Yan Shaozhe looked at Ye Qingchen with the expression of a father-in-law looking at his future son-in-law, making Ye Qingchen's skin crawl.

(End of Chapter)