Chapter 42

When Shan Heyuan first saw the prize, he was full of confidence, but after training for so long, he no longer had that kind of ambition.

He sighed, "Second or third place is fine too. In terms of combat strength and experience, I'm not as good as you."

Jiang Zhi: "Promising."

After their competition, the college-wide competition continued, with multiple practice stages across the college simultaneously open for viewers to choose from.

Shan Heyuan wanted to see more, hoping to catch a glimpse of his opponents in the second round. Knowing oneself and one's enemy is the key to victory.

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian had no objections.

Shan Heyuan randomly picked a match.

He ended up with a match between a disciple of the Illusion Academy and a sword cultivator.

To be honest, Shan Heyuan had never dealt with any disciples of the Illusion Academy before.

No, that's not quite right either. On the very first day he and Shen Duheng entered Sword Reverence City Jingzhishan Town, they encountered disciples of the Illusion Academy, who were the extremely beautiful women on the street.

Even today, he can still clearly recall being mesmerized by its beauty; it was the ultimate in aesthetics.

He simply hasn't fought against any disciples of the Illusion Academy.

Today, the two disciples faced off, and the disciples of the Illusion Academy gave full play to their abilities.

Those watching were so captivated by the exquisite beauty that their hearts raced and their vision blurred. The swordsmen engaged in combat seemed to be even more engrossed in the illusion, moving in slow motion as if they were in a swamp.

Shan Heyuan had never seen a sword cultivator disciple with such fierce sword techniques so weak.

A swordsman who loses speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, and who loses his Sword Intent, is not far from defeat.

They had only been standing there for less than five minutes when the duel ended, with the swordsman losing.

Jiang Zhi whispered from the side, "A crucial aspect of the academy competition is the luck of the draw. This sword cultivator disciple's luck wasn't very good; otherwise, with his strength, he should have been able to win two rounds."

Shan Heyuan nodded in agreement. "If I were to face that disciple from the Illusion Academy, I'd probably lose too."

Li Jian: "Which show should we go to next?"

Jiang Zhi: "Sword cultivators! Sword cultivators! Let's go watch the sword cultivators fight!"

So the three of them moved to another location.

As he left, Shan Heyuan sensed that someone was watching him.

He turned his head and met the gaze of Lin Ji from the Sword Academy.

Lin Ji smiled at him in a friendly manner.

Chapter 42

Shan Heyuan and Lin Ji only met a few times.

He was a junior teaching assistant, while Lin Ji was a genius disciple of the Sword Academy. In terms of status, Lin Ji was much higher than him within the academy, so he didn't quite understand why Lin Ji was smiling at him.

However, he returned Lin Ji's friendly smile.

Jiang Zhi was almost gone when he turned back and saw that Shan Heyuan was still standing there. Lin Ji was watching them from a short distance away, and Jiang Zhi couldn't help but wonder, "When did you two become so familiar?"

Shan Heyuan withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice, "We're not familiar with each other; we've never even spoken to each other alone."

Jiang Zhi: "Then why did he smile at you?"

Shan Heyuan shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

Li Jian, standing nearby, said, "Could it be because you saved Hu Gu and Yan Liang?"

Shan Heyuan was confused, but Jiang Zhi reacted first. "I remember now, Hu Gu and Yan Liang are Lin Ji's subordinates."

Shan Heyuan: "Aren't Hu Gu and Yan Liang from the Sword Reverence Sect? Lin Ji seems to be from a small sect?"

Jiang Zhi: "The Law Enforcement Team. Lin Ji is the captain of the Law Enforcement Team."

Shan Heyuan finally realized what was going on.

Sword Reverence Academy has a Law Enforcement Team composed of the master and his disciples. Because the disciples of the Sword Academy have the strongest combat power, 80% of the disciples in the Law Enforcement Team come from the Sword Academy.

This Law Enforcement Team is led by Lin Ji, with Sheng Chao as his deputy; no wonder he's so friendly.

Shan Heyuan's impression of Lin Ji improved considerably.

Jiang Zhi put his arm around Shan Heyuan's shoulder and pulled him forward, saying, "Come on, let's go see the next match."

Li Jian: "Let's go watch the match between cultivators specializing in daily life skills."

Jiang Zhi: "Great minds think alike, I also want to watch this match."

The martial arts tradition is thriving at the Sword Reverence Academy, with over eight thousand people registering for the academy's grand competition, ninety-nine percent of whom are disciples.

The first round of the competition consisted of more than four thousand matches, and it took nine days to complete.

The Planting Institute achieved good results in this competition; 285 people, including the Master and his disciples, advanced to the second round.

Shan Heyuan and his team need to draw lots again to determine their opponents for the second round.

The lottery is held in the college square, and the drawing is done automatically using Law Artifact.

After the draw, the results will be sent to each person's communicator.

However, many people still want to witness such a life-or-death moment firsthand.

Shan Heyuan wasn't initially interested, but after Jiang Zhi pulled him to the main square, he became nervous as well.

When it was the Planting Institute's turn to draw lots, Jiang Zhi was drawn first.

His opponent was a disciple from a Miscellaneous Academy. Judging from the name, age, and cultivation level on the jade screen, he shouldn't be very powerful.

Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her, "I know her, this round is in the bag."

Shan Heyuan rubbed his back and continued to stare intently at the jade screen above.

One by one, the people from the Planting Institute were drawn. Some drew opponents of average strength, while others drew particularly difficult opponents. With each draw, the expressions of the people below changed.

After drawing lots from more than a dozen people, it was finally Shan Heyuan's turn.

The moment Shan Heyuan saw his name appear, his heart skipped a beat.

The others, like him, were intently watching upwards.

The draw results came out quickly, and next to Shan Heyuan was a familiar name— Lin Ji.

Lin Ji! It's actually Lin Ji!

Everyone turned to look at Shan Heyuan, some disciples couldn't help but gasp and cry out in surprise.

People tacitly made way for Shan Heyuan, and his figure appeared before them.

He was so slender, so handsome, and so unknown, yet he faced the most formidable opponent in this competition.

Many people looked on with sympathy, while others felt relieved that their most formidable opponent had been removed.

Looking at everyone's expressions, Shan Heyuan silently felt a toothache, but his expression remained unchanged.

Jiang Zhi hadn't expected his luck to be so bad, and for a moment he opened his mouth slightly, not knowing how to comfort him.

Li Jian's calm voice rang out from the side. "It's alright, at worst we can have another match in the free-for-all after this one."

Jiang Zhi nodded hurriedly beside him, "Yes, yes, yes, most of us weaker players will still have to play one match in the free-for-all. It's okay if we draw Lin Ji; his fighting style is always gentlemanly, and he'll stop when the match is over. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see what it's like to fight against a top player."

Surrounded and comforted by two people on either side, Shan Heyuan came to her senses and whispered, "You're right, it's alright."

To ensure fairness, all the advancing players will be released after the second round of competition, and anyone who is confident can challenge them, which will be a five-day free-for-all.

Five days later, all challenges will be over. Only those who have advanced will be considered the true finalists and will be able to enter the third round.

It was indeed unexpected for Shan Heyuan to draw Lin Ji, but it wasn't a terrible result.

The draw is still ongoing.

After the minor commotion subsided, everyone else turned back to wait for the draw.

Shan Heyuan's draw was a major upset, and no subsequent draws produced such surprising results.

Lin Ji is too strong; no matter who you draw, no one can be more troublesome than him.

After the draw, the second round of the competition will begin.

On the surface Shan Heyuan said that he had no hope of winning against the top-ranked opponent in the entire college, and that he should just wait for the big free-for-all challenge after the competition. But in reality, he was unwilling to give up so easily.

He has been practicing intensely since returning home these past few days.