After several days of grueling training at the training grounds, Sceptile's speed and strength had improved considerably. At last, the day came for the group assignments to be announced. Xiao Yan got up at five in the morning to check them; if he went any later, the crowd would be so thick he could barely squeeze in. Several grunts who had had the same idea were already in the main hall's plaza, examining the group lists posted on the noticeboard. Xiao Yan went over to look too.
Including Xiao Yan, a total of 1,280 grunts were entering the selection tournament. They were divided into five groups-A, B, C, D, and E-with 256 people in each. Only a little over a hundred of these 1,280 participants had joined this year; the rest were seasoned veteran grunts, on an entirely different level from the inexperienced newcomers. Still, the fact that these experienced "seniors" had spent so long in Team Flare without being promoted to squad leader showed both their lack of strength and how demanding the promotion requirements were.
Team Flare had only ten battle arenas. Group A would use Arenas One and Two, Group B would use Arenas Three and Four... and so on. With so many participants, the first two rounds would use a 2v2 format, Double Battles, to save time. Standing before the noticeboard, Xiao Yan checked his assignment. He was in Group B, scheduled for the twentieth match in Arena Three. He knew neither his opponents nor his teammate.
"I'd better remember my teammate's name..." Xiao Yan silently repeated Meng Tingting three times, committing to memory the name of the teammate who would accompany him through two Double Battles.
Since it was still very early, he decided to go back and sleep a little longer. As he walked