The next day marked the start of the first round of the preliminary competition. Apart from the Qilin Team and Purple Star Team, who had already completed their matches, the other twenty-six teams would participate in their respective matches.
After the audience was seated again, the teams entered as usual. This time, all the audience members were clearly expecting something, and everyone had a fervent expression on their faces.
It was obvious who they were waiting for; since yesterday's match, Qi Ling's reputation had spread throughout the streets and alleys of Heaven Dou City.
In people's eyes, he has become a once-in-a-millennium chosen one, and any genius would pale in comparison to him. The champion of this competition is none other than him.
Logically speaking, such a jinx is very likely to backfire, but Qi Ling doesn't care. Her goal is far beyond what a small championship can satisfy.
That's why when Qi Ling led the Qilin Team into the arena, the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers, and the other teams' expressions changed upon seeing this scene.
Although they are also native to the Empire, the current situation makes it seem like they are fighting on away turf, with only the Qilin Team having the home advantage.
It's easy to imagine that any team facing the Qilin Team would be at a disadvantage in terms of momentum before the match even begins.
After entering the venue, since there were no matches today, Qi Ling led everyone directly to the players' viewing area and sat down in the very center, which could be said to be his exclusive spot.
Originally, the Purple Star Team, who had already finished their match, came to the viewing area with the Qilin Team. However, as soon as they saw Qi Ling, they felt their legs trembling uncontrollably. They found a corner to sit in the distance, afraid of attracting Qi Ling's attention.
"Watch today's matches carefully and make a clear assessment of everyone's abilities," Qi Ling said to the entire Qilin Team. "I won't be playing in the following matches; you'll have to rely on yourselves then."
"Don't worry, darling, among these teams, apart from Shrek, none of them can beat us," Dugu Yan said softly, leaning on Qi Ling's shoulder.
"If you're really that careless, you'll suffer a great loss," Qi Ling said. "Even a lion must go all out when hunting a rabbit. What we need to do is to strategically despise the enemy, but tactically take them seriously!"
Dugu Yan blinked and said, "Darling, what are you saying? I don't understand."
"It's alright. It seems too early to give you that kind of education. Let's watch the game first."
In today's match, since all teams will be playing, even if some players choose not to field their starting lineups to hide their true strength, they still need to at least ensure a victory.
As for teams that can win without using their main lineup, they are naturally exceptionally strong teams, and these are the teams that deserve our attention.
According to the information Qi Ling currently has, all the participating teams can be roughly divided into three tiers based on their strength. The first tier is naturally the top-tier teams, including Shrek and Qilin Team, which have an absolute crushing advantage over the others.
The second tier consists of the teams from the five single-attribute academies, as well as one or two exceptionally strong teams. It's highly likely that the other three qualifying spots will come from among them.
As for the third tier, most of them are just cannon fodder teams going through the motions. Some of them don't even have a single Soul Ancestor, so they're not even worthy of being used as practice.
With 26 teams participating, there were 13 matches today. And perhaps it was fate, but the stronger teams weren't drawn together, making the day's matches rather uneventful.
Shrek's matches took place in the first round, and because there were five arenas, all five matches were held simultaneously. In addition to them, Thunder Academy and Elephant Armor Academy also held their matches in the first round.
Shrek Oakland Academy, was not particularly strong. After seeing their Martial Soul combinations and Soul Power Level, Grandmaster gave Tang San some advice. In the end, the team that fought consisted of Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and four substitute members.
The result was obvious: Shrek Academy emerged victorious. At the start, Dai Mubai and Tang San teamed up to eliminate two of the opposing team's Power Attack System Soul Master. Then, while the opponents were distracted, Xiao Wu took care of another of their Agility Attack System Soul Master.
At the start of the match, their team was down to only four members, including two Support System Soul Master who had no offensive capabilities. It was basically pointless to continue the fight, so the Oakland Team simply chose to concede defeat.
As for the other single-attribute students, they all demonstrated their respective attribute characteristics and achieved victory.
The Blazing Fire Academy, with its fire attribute, displayed the powerful offensive capabilities of fire to the fullest extent. Under the relentless bombardment of flames, their opponents were almost unable to even utter a word of surrender.
The Earth-attribute Elephant Armor Academy, despite the all-out defense of seven burly men, couldn't do anything to their opponents until their Soul Power was exhausted. In the end, they were knocked off the stage by the seven men, and they looked quite badly injured.
The Thunder Academy, with its lightning attribute, possesses the most ferocious attacks, offering virtually no means of defense. All their enemies are paralyzed and sent off the stage.
The Skywater Academy, with its water-attribute members, demonstrated exceptional teamwork and powerful control abilities. Their enemies were also incredibly lucky; although they suffered a crushing defeat, they sustained almost no serious injuries.
As for the Wind Attribute Academy, their fighting style was arguably the most shameless, and their opponents suffered the most humiliating defeat! Because all of their members possessed Martial Soul capable of flight! Their opponents were sent off the stage without even being touched.
As for the other teams, perhaps to hide their strength, or perhaps because their skill level was genuinely limited, Qi Ling didn't find any other noteworthy individuals, and then all the matches ended.
In addition, something interesting happened during the competition: it seemed that after each team won, they would glance at Qi Ling with a meaningful look in their eyes, their Middle God containing a variety of implications.
This feeling was like a hero who, after defeating a monster, looks at the final boss with eyes full of fighting spirit and anticipation. Qi Ling couldn't help but feel helpless. It seemed that she had really stolen the show. Perhaps everyone was carefully studying how to defeat her.
Qi Ling could only recall one sentence about this feeling: Invincibility is truly lonely!