A Battle with No Chance of Victory

With Yandu Academy ruled out, Bell's group had only Bashu Academy and Kunlun Academy left to choose from.

Considering that after such a long stretch of matches, even his usually energetic little sister's condition had inevitably declined considerably, Bell decisively chose Bashu Academy.

It was not because Bashu Academy was weaker. Rather, Kunlun Academy's Chaos Sword Array was truly formidable; a single lapse in attention could easily lead to injury. By comparison, Bashu Academy's contestants were not as outstanding in terms of offensive power, making them relatively safer opponents.

With the decision made, the group of five quickly arrived outside Bashu Academy's stronghold.

By now, the stronghold had long since lost its initial grandeur. The formation surrounding it had already shattered, and its walls were riddled with holes and breaches, leaving it in a miserable state of disrepair. Looking through the gaps, over half the buildings inside had become ruins, with no one bothering to repair them.

In fact, Bashu Academy's stronghold was not the only one in such a sorry state. The Old Homes of the other three Academies were much the same.

At this point, no one had the energy to concern themselves with such flashy nonsense. They needed to conserve as much of their precious energy, stamina, and spiritual power as possible for battles that could break out at any moment.

"Anyone home~? Is anybody there~?!"

After putting on a show and knocking twice on the wall, Bell shouted as he strode into enemy territory without the slightest hesitation.

He was a polite person, after all. He always knocked before entering.

At this moment, Bell was probably the only one still in the mood to fool around. Yet Hermione had to admit that seeing him remain as unreliable as ever made her both annoyed and amused. The