As a major event held once every three years, the Pamir Academy Grand Competition was especially lively.
This year's competition venue was unprecedentedly located within the Fallen Star Remains, drawing the attention of far more Ninth Rank Experts than in previous years and lending the event even greater symbolic and commemorative significance.
The many new students brought out every trump card they had. Strange tactics emerged one after another during the matches, and those who appeared stronger on the surface were often overturned by an opponent's unexpected hidden cards after letting down their guard.
The preliminary stage lasted a total of seven days. Several hundred teams were ultimately narrowed down to eighty-four, who advanced directly to the semifinals five days later.
The remaining teams entered the revival matches, with the top ten percent by total points advancing.
After seven days, the logistics members responsible for crafting equipment had already produced some relatively simple Magic Equipment. The revival matches were far more intense than the preliminaries.
Five days later, as the revival matches came to an end, the semifinals of the competition's battle stage officially began.
Compared with the preliminaries and revival matches, the semifinals were far more entertaining, as only the most elite teams remained.
All kinds of hastily crafted Artifacts, Magic Tools, simple Magic Armor, and other items added more uncertainty to the battles.
Moreover, among the competing teams, the use of unusual tactics became increasingly common.
Some teams concentrated all their Magic Equipment and one-use Artifacts on their strongest member, then relied on overwhelming strength to end the battle quickly.
Other teams deliberately sent out weaker combatants, equipping them with protective Magic Equipment before the match and giving them multiple high-damage, large-area Magic Scrolls.
Taking advantage of the rule that Ninth Rank Experts protected the students during matches,