The Hundred Schools League Officially Begins

Mo Zixuan and the others furrowed their brows deeper. The second and third years hadn't taken part in the military training, but they'd heard about what went down in the Fierce Beast Forest. Even Lin Hao's performance was now the talk of the school. Yet Mo Zixuan and his crew scoffed at it, convinced that Lin Hao had only taken down a Gold-rank beast with the instructor's help. As for the rumors of three beasts and instant kills, Mo Zixuan paid them no mind. These past months, he'd been obsessed with breaking through, aiming to reach Silver rank before the tournament and lock down the captain's position. Now the principal had handed the captaincy to Lin Hao without a word, and it rankled him.

Oh, what's this? A little grasshopper hopping before me? As captain, I should take good care of my team members. Since you love to hop so much, your captain will have to dote on you properly!

Lin Hao's face stayed impassive, but inwardly he slapped a "doting" label on this little grasshopper named Mo Zixuan.

Just then, Jiang Weiwei continued, "The Hundred Schools League qualifiers are about to begin. Our Shancheng Martial University has been chosen as the venue. That saves us travel time. I hope you'll all bring your best form and skill to this tournament."

"Yes!" the group answered in unison.

"Also, all arrangements during the competition must follow the captain's orders. I won't interfere too much."

At that, Lin Hao stepped forward. "I'll take good care of my team members, Principal Jiang, rest assured." His tone was righteous and firm.

Jiang Weiwei nodded. "Rest well these next few days. The competition starts Monday. I hope everyone faces their challenges with full energy. Alright, Lin Hao stays. The rest of you are dismissed."

After the others left, only Jiang Weiwei and Lin Hao remained in the office.

"Weiwei, are there any rewards for good results in this Hundred Schools League?" Lin Hao wore a troubled expression.

"The top ten get pretty generous prizes—cash, cultivation resources, Martial Arts, battle skills, and so on. This year's rewards are richer than ever. The officials say they've doubled them." Jiang Weiwei couldn't figure out why Lin Hao looked so glum.

"Sigh, I'll have to aim for first place then. My cultivation resources are running low." Lately, Lin Hao had been deep in training, and his beast core stock was plummeting. He'd thought a few hundred Silver-grade beast cores would be plenty, but those three in his Mental Space kept snatching them away. As a result, he hadn't absorbed much Spiritual Energy for his own breakthrough.

"You're short on cultivation resources?" Jiang Weiwei's eyes went wide.

"Sigh, I got too absorbed in training. My beast cores are almost gone."

"You've nearly finished 500 Silver-grade beast cores?" Jiang Weiwei's beautiful eyes widened further. Absorbing 500 Silver-grade cores in two months—even a top-tier martial university couldn't afford to support Lin Hao like this. And the key was, he was still Bronze High-rank. Any normal person would have reached Gold High-rank by now. Jiang Weiwei sank into deep self-doubt.

"By the way, Weiwei, why did you keep me here?" Lin Hao quickly changed the subject, seeing her lost in thought. If they kept talking about that, she'd probably start banging her head against the wall.

Jiang Weiwei snapped out of it at his question. "You saw those people today. The first-years are fine—they know your strength. But those four from the second and third years will probably give you trouble. That student Mo Zixuan is the best talent in the third year. He's been training like mad these two months to break through to Silver Initial. Now that you've taken his spot, he'll likely try to trip you up."

Lin Hao shrugged it off. "A little grasshopper can't hop far. I wasn't counting on him to win the championship anyway. If he doesn't behave, I've got plenty of ways to teach him a lesson."

"Just be careful. Don't let him catch you off guard." Seeing his nonchalance, Jiang Weiwei gave him another warning.

"Brother Xuan, who is this Lin Hao? Why should a first-year freshman be captain?" Lian Chenyang grumbled on the way back.

"Exactly. Why should we second and third years take orders from him? Zixuan has the highest cultivation here. If he were captain, we'd accept it. What qualifications does some rookie have to lead us?" Xiaoxiao fumed as well.

"Haven't you heard the rumors about Great God Lin going around school? I bet it's this Lin Hao. Insta-killing three Gold-rank beasts? Might as well say he can fly," Lu Jincheng said, equally frustrated.

"If he really has that strength, I'll respect him. But if not, he can dream about ordering me around!" Mo Zixuan declared. "When the tournament starts, let him go first. We'll test his mettle."

Heh, Great God Lin's ability isn't something you shortsighted lot can judge. Wang Meng and the other first-years thought to themselves. They didn't speak up for Lin Hao—honestly, there was no need. Even if they did, those seniors wouldn't listen. Let Great God Lin slap them in the face instead.

Three days later, the Xia Kingdom's Hundred Schools League officially began.

The league was a national event held every five years. Not just the schools, but the entire kingdom's populace took it seriously. Many geniuses emerged from here, and the burden of fighting beasts and liberating humanity would one day fall on their shoulders. During the qualifiers, the officials didn't broadcast. Only after the top sixteen were decided for the finals would they air it. Ordinary citizens could also attend the matches in person.

Outside Shancheng Martial University, banners welcoming other schools' staff and students had been hung early. Jiang Weiwei, Su Xiaorui, and other school leaders, along with the tournament team, waited at the gate for the arrival of other martial university delegations.

The Hundred Schools League was divided into eight regions. Each region had sixteen martial universities competing in the qualifiers, and the top two from each region advanced to the finals. The qualifiers used a points system, not elimination—each school played fifteen matches, and the two with the highest points earned finals spots. The top sixteen in the finals used a single-elimination format, one match to decide the winner, until the champion was crowned.

Before long, buses pulled up at the school gate.

Staff and students from various martial universities stepped off. Jiang Weiwei led the school leaders and team members forward to greet them.

"Principal Jiang, long time no see!" A white-haired old man laughed heartily as he approached. "Oh, these are your students for this year's tournament? Not bad at all."

"Old Li, don't tease me. Just call me Weiwei. They're just a bunch of unremarkable students." The man Jiang Weiwei called Old Li was the principal of Nancheng Martial University and a Gold-rank martial artist.

"Ah, you were once the rarest genius Shancheng Martial University had seen in a century. If Old Mo hadn't gone missing, you wouldn't have to work so hard." Old Li sighed deeply.