Chapter 245

"Grande Military Academy was able to gain the upper hand against Leikedasi before, so if you ask me, they are definitely stronger than Green Sail Vine."

As the discussion intensified, teams from the Grande Military Academy and Green Sail Vine Military Academy stepped onto the stage.

"The random matchmaking process for the two teams will now begin."

As soon as the referee finished speaking, a screen of light appeared behind him.

The text on the screen began to flash and bounce, and after two seconds, it settled on "3v3 Team Battle".

Shi Anyu glanced back at his teammates and raised an eyebrow in a gesture.

Everyone immediately understood what he meant and nodded in agreement.

"We concede." Shi Anyu raised his hand to signal the referee.

The referee was taken aback, then looked at Shi Anyu with a serious expression, "The match hasn't even started yet, are you sure you want to forfeit?"

"Confirmed," Shi Anyu replied without hesitation.

The other team members behind him obviously had no objections and followed Shi Anyu's arrangements in everything.

The five members of the Green Sail Vine Military Academy opposite them glanced in their direction with surprise. However, strangely enough, upon hearing Shi Anyu voluntarily admit defeat, the five members of the Green Sail Vine Military Academy did not show any particularly obvious joy.

Xu Jintang, who noticed this scene, fell into deep thought.

"Green Sail Vine Military Academy emerges victorious in this match."

After hearing the referee's announcement, the entire audience let out a sigh of disappointment.

"What? They gave up without even fighting? This Grande Military Academy is no good either."

"That's how it was when they played against Leikedasi before. They clearly still had a chance to fight in the last match, but they gave up before even playing it."

"I thought Grande Military Academy had some strength, but they gave up without even fighting. How pathetic."

The two teams slowly walked off the stage.

Despite the audience's complaints and discussions, Shi Anyu and his companions remained unaffected, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.

The group from the Green Sail Vine Military Academy probably didn't understand why Grande had voluntarily surrendered. The captain, who was in charge, kept staring at Shi Anyu and the others, but after a long time, he couldn't figure it out and finally had to look away.

"What's going on with the Grande Military Academy? They conceded defeat without even playing a single match?" Yan Yuting asked, puzzled.

Song Tianqi leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, and said, "Sigh, if you're not good enough, just admit defeat."

"How could he be weak?" Xue Zhongqi retorted. "Grande could hold his own against Wanyao and the Wanyao, so he certainly wouldn't be much weaker than the Green Sail Vine Military Academy. He's clearly capable of fighting."

Yan Yuting nodded. "I think so too. It's really strange; Grande Military Academy really doesn't play by the rules."

If it were a team from another military academy, they would definitely want to perform better in the league.

But the guys from the Grande Military Academy didn't seem to have that idea at all.

As night fell, the qualifiers came to a close.

"After fourteen days of intense competition, the rankings of the more than 700 participating military academy teams have undergone tremendous changes. Let's take a look at the current rankings."

Qin Tiangang stood on the number one arena in the very center, turning to the side to reveal the leaderboard behind him.

The light screen projected down from the top of the venue, stretching over twenty meters from top to bottom, and displayed the names of each team.

The screen rapidly switched between different images, with the team names changing each time, until all the team rankings were displayed.

"Sigh, I didn't make it. But at least I improved by ten places compared to last year; I'm 230 this time."

"We made it! We're right on the 199th spot that qualified!"

"A ranking in the top 100 is barely acceptable; hopefully, the knockout stage can last a while."

In the team's rest area, some were happy while others were sad.

With his hands behind his back, Qin Tiangang calmly announced, "This concludes the preliminary round of this tournament. The top 200 teams will automatically advance to the next round of the knockout stage. The league will resume in one week."

After making the announcement, Qin Tiangang jumped off the stage, turned and walked towards the rest area, quickly disappearing from the scene.

Song Tianqi stretched and yawned. "Hey, now it's our turn to perform."

"Let's be cautious, after all, the knockout stage is coming up, and it's easy for something to go wrong if we're not careful." A series of experiences had taught Yan Yuting to be rational.

Xue Zhongqi nodded, "Yes, the intensity of the knockout stage will definitely increase exponentially."

Xu Jintang and Jiang Shiyi exchanged a glance. Both of them understood each other perfectly and, without saying much, quickly walked side by side toward the exit of the rest area.

The preliminary rounds have concluded.

The rankings of the various military academy teams quickly spread across the Star Network.

[Leikedasi is really in a sorry state; they even fell to third place in the qualifiers.]

[They only dropped to third place after two draws, and the qualifiers are just the beginning; they don't represent the final result.]

[Oh, haven't you heard? All five of Leikedasi' official team players are seriously injured, so they can only field substitutes for the later knockout stages.]

[Speaking of which, the five major military academies were really unlucky; they were all ambushed and seriously injured overnight. Now many of them need to be replaced.]

[... Won't the positions of the five major military academies all change this year?]

The training ground is located on the second floor of the villa dormitory.

"Holy crap! Was Sister Shiyi's attack that terrifying?" Song Tianqi, who had been knocked off the stage, covered his head in horror, still feeling a strong sense of his soul being torn apart.

Jiang Shiyi, holding the rocket launcher in one hand, calmly explained, "This move is called the Single-Gun Soul-Seizing Cannon. When it explodes, it inflicts a certain amount of soul damage. If the enemy doesn't possess soul-based abilities, it's very difficult to defend against."

Xu Jintang nodded, "Yes, I've used this trick on her before, and it's indeed hard to defend against."

If it weren't for Brother Long and Thunder Dragon King being in her spiritual sea, she might have been caught off guard.

Song Tianqi shook his head and sighed, "Ugh, they're really freakish, I can't beat them, I can't beat them."

He clapped his hands, stood up, and looked up at Xu Jintang. "Class monitor, why don't you and Sister Shiyi form a two-person practice group? None of us can withstand the damage from your attacks."

Xu Jintang has now also advanced to the Sixth Tier.

Her newly derived skill effect is called Frost Blast, which, as the name suggests, is a large-area explosion damage effect.

So far, no one in their team has personally taken on this move.

"Sure, shall we give it a try?" Xu Jintang looked up at Jiang Shiyi and raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Shiyi picked up the rocket launcher and slung it over his shoulder. "Okay."

Half a minute later, Xu Jintang and Jiang Shiyi stood facing each other on the ring.

The protective shield around them slowly rose.

A battle is about to break out.

--Frost Blast, a type of large-scale explosive attack that condenses the essence of ice.

A bright, icy blue light flashed instantly in Xu Jintang's palm, and an irresistible force rapidly gathered around her.

Jiang Shiyi's gaze gradually turned serious, and he gripped the rocket launcher even tighter.

Chapter 245

Watching from below the ring, Song Tianqi sensed the energy emanating from the protective shield and clicked his tongue, "Letting the two of them fight each other was definitely the best choice."

"Sigh, with that kind of attack damage, I couldn't even withstand one hit and I'd be down instantly," Xue Zhongqi said tactfully.

Yan Yuting stroked his chin, lost in thought, "So, between the class monitor and Sister Shiyi, who is the better choice?"

As the group was discussing, the sparring match between the two on stage had reached a fever pitch.

The Frost Blast and the Single-Gun Soul-Seizing Cannon collided, and the frigid air rapidly evaporated under the scorching heat, turning into a cloud of mist.

Then there was a loud "bang".

A powerful shockwave rippled outwards from the center of their attack.

Xu Jintang and Jiang Shiyi were both knocked back and then fell off the stage.

"It's a draw." Song Tianqi exclaimed in surprise.

Xue Zhongqi and Yan Yuting exchanged a glance, both of them revealing surprise in each other's eyes.

"You haven't used your full strength yet?" Jiang Shiyi looked up at Xu Jintang and asked.

Xu Jintang smiled back at her, "You probably didn't use your full strength either."

After this conversation, both of them understood each other's strengths and weaknesses. Although no real winner was decided, they gained a general understanding of each other.

"Damn, even at this point, you two haven't used your full strength?" Song Tianqi said incredulously.

"Sigh, isn't this their usual routine?" Xue Zhongqi was already used to it, and quickly turned and went upstairs while fanning himself.

Yan Yuting stepped forward and patted Song Tianqi on the shoulder, "Keep it up."

Spurred on by the two of them, Song Tianqi's enthusiasm was fully ignited.

He clenched his fists tightly. "I need to cultivate to the Fifth Tier as soon as possible."

In the days leading up to the elimination rounds, all the advancing military academy teams began to train intensively.

Losing a match in the qualifiers doesn't have a big impact, but losing a match in the knockout stage means immediate elimination, and the pressure in the following matches will only increase.

"Jintang, I heard about the attack on the Leikedasi official team. You're playing as a substitute this time, so the pressure and responsibility are just as great. Your teacher is happy for you, but also worried about you." Jiang Lu I hadn't contacted in a long time, suddenly called via video.

Xu Jintang nodded obediently, "Yes, Lao Lu, don't worry, we're prepared to fight to the death."

"Good! You truly are a student I, Jiang Lu, have mentored. It's a rare opportunity for you to compete in place of Leikedasi, so cherish it. If you can achieve a good ranking, you might be assigned to work for the Federation Bureau after graduation—that's a great job."

Jiang Lu gave a lot of advice, and it was clear that he was genuinely concerned about Xu Jintang's future development.

Sensing the other party's concern, Xu Jintang patiently responded with a few words from time to time.