The second round of the tournament soon drew to a close.
By that afternoon, the twenty-five winners had already been selected.
As the final match ended, everyone thought the day's battles were over.
Then they saw the First Elder suddenly fly into the air.
"What is the First Elder doing? Isn't the tournament over?"
"Who knows? Let's wait a moment. He probably has something to announce."
Those who had been about to leave all stayed where they were when they saw the First Elder's movements.
"Students, all twenty-five winners, please step onto the central Competition Stage."
At the First Elder's words, everyone exchanged bewildered looks, unsure what was happening now.
Xiao Fan exchanged a glance with Xiao Yan and Xun'er, gave a few instructions to the people behind them, then headed back toward the central Competition Stage.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiuya and the others looked equally puzzled.
Still, they followed the First Elder's instructions and returned to the Competition Stage, waiting for him to continue.
"Ahem."
Only after everyone had entered the grounds did the First Elder speak. "For this year's tournament, we will select the top twenty students today. In other words, five of you will lose your eligibility to compete."
His words immediately stirred a towering wave of commotion throughout the Arena.
"I've never heard of a rule like this before."
"Exactly. In previous Strong Ranking Tournaments, once they narrowed it down to a dozen or so people, they would randomly pick a few to fight and decide the Top Ten places. I never expected the rules to change this year."
Even among the twenty-five victors, quite a few expressions changed.
Aside from those such as Lin Xiuya, Yan Hao, and Liu Qing, who had absolute confidence in their strength, everyone felt at least a little worried.
"First Elder,