Early the next morning, Qiu Yuhua and Gu Han brought the Pearl Academy contingent to the Imperial Capital Academy's Duel Arena ahead of time.
Imperial Capital Academy was vast. Unlike Pearl Academy, it had towering old trees and shaded paths everywhere. Its buildings favored an older style, a stark contrast to Magic City, where everything kept pace with the times.
The Duel Arena was enormous and imposing. The massive white columns outside brought to mind the grandeur of an ancient Roman colosseum.
The arena itself was modeled on a Roman colosseum, forming a great ring. Carefully designed honeycomb openings made the towering structure even more striking.
It was still early. Only half the seats were occupied, though students continued to stream into the stands.
The exchange teams from the other six academies had all arrived. They came from renowned academies across the country, including Southern Academy, Northern Academy, Western Academy, and Eastern Academy, and waited for the matches to begin.
The schedule was a little different from the original plan. The other six academies had been set to spar with Imperial Capital Academy in the morning, with Pearl Academy's match reserved for the afternoon.
Apparently, that arrangement lacked excitement. The organizers had decided to hold matches by lottery among all eight academies in the morning, leaving the main event—Imperial Capital Academy versus Pearl Academy—for the afternoon!
The other six academies would exchange pointers with Imperial Capital Academy the following day instead.
Everyone knew, though, that nearly all the spectators had come for the country's two leading academies.
Imperial Capital Academy's students felt the same way. They paid the other academies no mind. All they wanted was to defeat Pearl Academy.
Sure enough, the hostility was already showing through the hollow pleasantries that morning.
Xu Dalong and Luo Song, both blunt