Everyone took Xu Zhi's words as a joke, or perhaps pre-match banter meant to liven up the atmosphere. Clearly, no one took her seriously.
The girl's arrogance seemed like mere posturing. Only Xu Zhi herself and her teammates knew that when she said it, her belief that her team was the strongest was no joke.
But aside from them, no one believed Xu Zhi was serious. Some comments were already fiercely cursing the decision-makers of Lotus City Light Institute, demanding to know why they had done this.
With an [Agent] present, they naturally would not question whether Xu Zhi had the same problems as Dingchan's first-years. Yet it was precisely the [Agent]'s presence, proving Xu Zhi's "innocence," that made them want to curse even more.
A genuine first-year—why wasn't she properly sitting on the bench? What was she doing out here?
The arguments did not stop even when the match began.
The blade Xu Zhi was using now was nothing particularly special. It was a horizontal saber forged from extraordinary materials and issued by the academy, with only basic toughness and sharpness. Though such a blade was a "treasure" to ordinary people, it was barely usable to her.
It was not that the academy could not equip her with something better, but Xu Zhi only needed a blade with those two traits. Now, just as the host stepped off the arena, called out the countdown, and passionately declared, "The match begins," Xu Zhi directly activated [Eye of Secrets] and drew her saber.
"We can see from the current predictions that seventy-six percent of viewers who voted believe Lingzhou will win this match."
"The match has begun. As everyone knows, Jiang Qing, an extraordinary being with the [Lamp] attribute, is the core of Lingzhou Light Institute. Lotus City Light Institute's first-year