At daybreak the next morning, Xiao Fan and the others headed to the central plaza.
The number of students watching had not diminished at all compared to the previous two days. If anything, it had grown considerably.
After all, quite a few students had little interest in the earlier battles and had only come now that the contest for the top ten was underway.
They had barely taken their seats when they saw the First Elder land on the central Competition Stage.
Then the twenty victors from yesterday appeared in the center of the Competition Stage.
"Hehe, next comes the contest for the top ten. I hope all of you will give it everything you have."
The First Elder looked warmly at the twenty students standing on the stage, a smile on his face.
Then he swept his hand and addressed them. "The order of your matches will no longer be the same as it was over the past two days. We will announce your opponents shortly. Those whose names are called, please step forward. Those who have not yet been called may rest for this round."
Hearing the First Elder's words, Xiao Fan's brows shifted slightly.
The rules had changed again?
Instead of letting the students draw lots to choose their opponents, the elders would announce the pairings directly. It seemed they wanted to keep the strongest students from meeting too early.
Xiao Fan cast a discreet glance at the kindly-faced First Elder, then waited for him to announce the ten contestants in the first round.
"The pairings for the first round are as follows."
"Qin Zhen versus Chen Zhi."
"Qian Mo versus Wu Gou."
"Lin Yan versus Liu Zixu."
"Zi Yan versus Han Qianming."
"Xiao Xun'er versus Huang Yaolin."
As Xiao Fan listened to the First Elder