Lance watched Yu Hai's departing figure as he left the battlefield, then turned and found A Yi in the crowd. The next match was about to begin, and it was A Yi's turn to take the field.
"Fourth Elite Four match, Number Four, A Yi, what number did you draw?" Lance raised his voice so everyone could hear him.
A Yi frowned slightly, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. He subconsciously clenched the slip of paper in his hand, looked toward Xiao Qian in the distance, and called out, "I drew Number Eight."
In fact, from the moment he drew his opponent, A Yi had repeatedly considered tactics against Xiao Qian. This was the Elite Four competition's format: everyone fought two matches, one where they actively chose an opponent and one where they passively accepted a lottery draw.
Drawing an opponent in advance meant gaining the initiative. One could carefully plan tactics based on all sorts of information about the opponent and catch them off guard in battle. If one passively drew an opponent, though, all they could do was rely on their ability to adapt on the spot and leave things to fate.
At the referee's command, A Yi and Xiao Qian slowly walked onto the battlefield. The audience's eyes closely followed them as sunlight fell upon their upright figures.
The fourth Elite Four match officially began. Everyone understood that this battle was crucial for A Yi.
If A Yi won, he would still have a chance to fight for a tiebreaker. If he lost, he would be completely out of contention for an Elite Four seat and could only settle for becoming an Elite Four reserve.
The match officially began. A Yi wore a grave expression. He knew how formidable Xiao Qian's Perish Song tactic was, but