The World Academy Competition was considered a sporting event that received immense international attention.
International dueling matches between mages were extremely rare. Furthermore, major magic associations did not strongly encourage veteran mages to compete and put on shows in arenas before broadcasting them on television. Magic was, after all, solemn, sacred, and simultaneously filled with devastation and destruction...
The only ones capable of shaping such a competitive atmosphere were magic students. Magic students were young and vigorous, and they best demonstrated how successful a country was in magic education. This consequently turned the World Academy Competition into the largest global magic dueling feast every four years. Coupled with the fact that students' strengths were neither too high nor too low, they were the crowd most suited for magic athletics.
Of course, countries all over the world had a representative team that could participate, but with so many nations, naturally not every country got the opportunity to enter the world stage and display their strength.
Students from each country needed to complete designated training missions in various nations while also acquiring badges from each country. To put it bluntly, it was challenging other venues...
National representative teams that completed the various requirements were the ones that could enter Venice and compete for rankings. As for other countries that failed to complete the targets, they could only tuck their tails and roll back home.
In fact, the elimination rounds had already begun. While boarding the special flight, Chen Lang learned that Great Xia's first battle had collided directly with the British Team and resulted in an immediate defeat...
The residence of the Great Xia National Academy Team instructors.
Pang Lai, who was currently studying the limited data of other national academy teams, looked at Chen Jin and Chen Lang walking in. He also put down the work in his hands, stood up, and greeted, "Old Chen..."
Chen Jin smiled cheerfully and said to Pang Lai, "Old Pang, long time no see..."
After the two exchanged simple, polite pleasantries, Pang Lai proceeded directly to the point, "Putting aside how our relationship stands for a moment, there is one thing I must make clear to you."
Chen Jin naturally understood what Pang Lai and the others meant, asking with a smile, "Are you worried that I'm pulling rank and forcibly stuffing my Chen Clan junior in here to make up the numbers?"
Pang Lai did not hide it either, nodding very seriously, "You know that a lot is riding on the academy rivalry... Besides, we already lost our first match!"
The thirty-two advancing countries also had distinctions of strength. Losing the opening battle meant they were already hovering on the brink of elimination.
If they failed to win the next few matches, it would be equivalent to packing their bags and returning home.
"I am naturally aware of the defeat in the opening match. It is precisely because of this that I've come to offer timely help; otherwise, if the next match is botched, wouldn't my Chen Clan have its spine poked by our countrymen?"
Chen Jin continued, "You can go ahead and let the current national academy team members spar with us. We'll speak with strength."
Hearing Chen Jin say this, Pang Lai felt it made a lot of sense.
Right now was not the time to care about building a reputation. It concerned elimination, and if they lost, they would clearly just be there to share the pressure of public opinion.
For the Great Clans, something invisible like public opinion possessed terrifying lethality instead...
At the same time, Pang Lai was somewhat surprised because he earnestly sized up Chen Lang and suddenly... he discovered that this kid had unexpectedly already turned out to be a High-level mage!
Pang Lai looked at Chen Lang, whose complexion still appeared somewhat tender and youthful, and inquired, "How old is this kid of yours?"
"18."
Upon hearing this, Pang Lai's eyes widened quite a bit, "What!?"
Even Pang Lai truly dared not imagine that this kid was only 18!
A student he had taken in could already be considered richly endowed by nature, yet right now, that student had only reached the Intermediate Level. Come to think of it, whose junior at 18 years old had already reached the High-level!
Just what kind of magical monster must this be?
Furthermore, couldn't you have completely participated in the next World Academy Competition instead!
Yet right now, Pang Lai believed even more that Chen Jin had not come to freeload off any reputation.
Perhaps he really was 'offering timely help', who could say for sure!
Even though his cultivation had already passed muster, whether Chen Lang was ultimately here to assist or something else, an explanation was still required in the end.
"Then let's go, come with me to the training ground." Pang Lai was not someone who dawdled either, speaking on the spot.
"Good!"
The training ground of the Great Xia National Academy Team.
The students who should have been applying themselves to cultivation were gathered in a row of ten at this moment.
"The battle against the British Team was a defeat that simply should not have happened. If we fail to achieve good results this year either, it won't be a good thing for our country or for yourselves!"
Pang Lai paused before saying, "In view of everyone's utterly terrible performance in the first match, our Great Xia National Academy Team will conduct an internal elimination system."
The moment they heard the words 'internal elimination system', the few people present all wore unsightly expressions.
If they were eliminated at this time, wouldn't all their previous efforts go down the drain?
Yet how could words spoken from Pang Lai's own mouth be something they could question?
You must know that the person before them was the Chief of the Imperial Magic Association!
Domestically, the Imperial Magic Association represented the domestic magic association, and the status of the person before them was even higher than that of many councilman-level figures.
"Mu Zhen."
When his name was called, the person's complexion instantly turned somewhat unsightly.
Yet right now, he had no choice but to step forward.
Pang Lai looked at him and said indifferently, "I shouldn't need to reiterate what caused the defeat in the previous match, right?"
The match against the British Team previously might not necessarily have been a loss. After all, the ones coming up through the elimination rounds were not all trump cards among the teams.
Yet it was precisely because of Mu Zhen's conceit—wanting to use destruction magic to blast and flatten the opposing five people—that he ended up being besieged by the five of them and quickly eliminated from the field.
The subsequent four-versus-five left almost no suspense...
Mu Zhen regretted it too, but coming to think of it, what use was regret?
"I don't care whether you were having a moment of youthful arrogance or whatever, but having committed a mistake, you need to bear this consequence. However..."
Pang Lai's pause made Mu Zhen seem to see a glimmer of hope, and he immediately stated, "Instructor, speak your mind. As long as you don't eliminate me, I'll do whatever you ask!"
The Mu Clan had invested heavily in his cultivation. If he went back like this, he would not even be able to establish a foothold domestically in the future, let alone within the clan.
"His name is Chen Lang, considered a substitute competitor. Spar with him in a match later. If you win, you can retain your status as an official member; if you lose, then..."
"Alright!"
Although Pang Lai did not finish, Mu Zhen agreed anyway; how could he not understand Pang Lai's meaning?
If he lost, awaiting him would be the direct stripping of his official member status.
However, as long as he wasn't directly stripped of being an official member, that was his chance!
He had also carved a bloody path through all the obstacles; among his peers, where else could anyone find someone capable of fighting him?
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