Although Group Eight had already been set in stone, the formalities still had to be completed.
The principal went through the usual procedure. After receiving the responses from Jiangling Fifth High School and Huanan Third High School, he turned around and used a marker to write the final group assignments on the whiteboard.
Aside from Jiangling Fifth High School, everyone else couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at not having to face Huanan Third High School in the first round.
Yet while they felt fortunate, they unusually felt no trace of schadenfreude.
Quite the opposite, in fact. Everyone felt weighed down inside, their moods inexplicably heavy.
Because even though they hadn't encountered Huanan Third High School in the first round, what awaited them would still be the cruelest possible single-elimination tournament!
There were sixteen schools in total. In the first round... at least eight of them would be eliminated!
Even if they won in the first round and advanced to the second, they might still encounter Huanan Third High School. If they didn't meet them in the second round, they might run into them in the third.
Even if they were lucky enough to avoid them in the third round as well, once they reached the finals, they would inevitably have to face Huanan Third High School!
The four words "Huanan Third High School" were like a stone pressing down on everyone's hearts, making them feel immense pressure.
Thus, it was only natural that they couldn't feel any schadenfreude toward Jiangling Fifth High School, which had run into Huanan Third High School in the first round. If anything, they felt a kind of compassion born from seeing a fellow suffer.
The atmosphere throughout the competition venue was so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe.
This left Zhou