The next day, the group arrived at the Martial Arts Arena bright and early.
Half the contestants had been eliminated yesterday, leaving one hundred and seventy-four today. Barring any surprises, the fifty places in the Inner Academy should be decided by the end of the day.
Not long after Xiao Fan and the others arrived, they spotted Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er approaching hand in hand. Remembering how Xiao Yan had left with Xiao Xun'er last night, Xiao Fan smiled at them and called out to Xiao Yan, "Oh, Xiao Yan, where did you run off to last night? Why didn't you come back to my place?"
Hearing Xiao Fan's words, Xiao Yu and the others beside him turned their gazes toward Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er.
"N-no way. Xun'er, did you two...?" Instructor Ruo Lin stared at them with her lovely eyes, her voice full of shock.
Xiao Xun'er's cheeks visibly reddened at those words, and even her delicate earlobes turned a vivid scarlet. She hurriedly waved her hands. "N-no, we didn't." Yet she thought shamefacedly, If Ling Ying hadn't coughed last night, who knows what might have happened...
Xiao Yan also noticed Xiao Xun'er's embarrassment and squeezed her little hand to reassure her. "Nothing happened. Senior Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?" Then, under everyone's peculiar gazes, he pulled Xiao Xun'er along and sat down.
The others teased the pair from time to time, and before long, it was time for the competition to begin.
Once again, Vice Dean Hu Gan explained things on the stage. The rules were much the same as yesterday: contestants would fight in pairs to determine the winners. With one hundred and seventy-four contestants, once the eighty-seven winners had been decided, another round of drawing lots and challenges would select the final