Chapter 272 Round-Robin Tournament Draw
As the passionate voice of the organizers on the platform faded, the curtain officially fell on the second round of elimination matches amidst a brightly lit arena.
The hundreds of thousands of spectators around the main square began to slowly disperse through the dense passageways, while the thirty-two teams that had successfully advanced, led by their teachers and elders, left the venue and returned to their respective hotels to rest under the cover of night.
However, after today's events, the atmosphere in the various groups returning to the hotels was so oppressive it was almost suffocating. Whether they were from prestigious academies around the world or members of large, usually arrogant sects, every student and even the leaders of their teams were under immense pressure.
The bizarre scene of Liu Yuan annihilating an entire heavily armored defense team in an instant with just a single pure mental attack, without even releasing his martial spirit, was like an invisible boulder pressing down on everyone's chests.
The lineup of all Soul Emperors combined with high-level Soul Saints was already overwhelming enough, but the presence of Liu Yuan with double pupils, sitting at the very front and whose true strength remained a mystery, widened the gap to an insurmountable level. The remaining teams knew perfectly well that they were no match for the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy. In the upcoming round-robin tournament, facing them would almost certainly mean a crushing defeat.
In a suite of a luxury hotel near the Ming Dynasty Imperial City.
After a long while, she changed into a simple and elegant outfit and stood quietly in front of the wide French windows. Outside the window was the cold night of Mingdu, filled with the texture of modern soul-guided technology, and the complex soul-guided streetlights illuminated the crisscrossing streets.
After a long while, her fair hands rested on the windowsill, and a rare look of deep helplessness and emotion appeared on her delicate face.
"Liu Yuan... It's been five years, and you've become so powerful."
She murmured softly for a long time, her mind replaying the image of the white-clad youth on the competition stage during the day, his hands behind his back, his expression calm and composed. As a princess of the Star Luo Empire, she had witnessed countless top geniuses since childhood, but an opponent like Liu Yuan, who completely defied convention and common sense, was truly a rare sight in her life.
Before coming to Mingdu, her father and the court officials had high hopes for the Star Luo National Academy she led, hoping that they could take advantage of the lack of promising young talents at Shrek Academy and try to win the supreme championship trophy in this Elite Tournament.
But now, after witnessing Liu Yuan's instant kill, Xu Jiujiu understood perfectly well that the suspense of winning this year's All-Continent Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament had actually been ended by Liu Yuan in an extremely direct way during the day. With the Body Sect's lineup of all high-level Soul Emperors and Soul Saints at the forefront, plus the unfathomable Liu Yuan holding the fort in the rear, their hope of winning the championship was completely gone.
However, the frustration in Xu Jiujiu's eyes only lasted for a moment before being replaced by an extremely calm and profound rationality.
She turned around and turned her gaze to the stack of secret files on the table, urgently delivered by the Star Luo Empire's military intelligence department. This time, as the captain of the main competition team, she personally led the team to Mingdu, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire. In addition to leading the Star Luo team to win honors on the field, she also had another important task on her shoulders, personally assigned by the Star Luo Emperor, which was related to the future life and death of the empire.
Since there is no hope of winning the championship on the field, she no longer needs to devote all the team's energy and trump cards to the next round-robin stage.
She took a deep breath, slowly closed the secret file on the table, and a resolute glint flashed in her eyes. From now on, she would have to shift most of her attention from the competition to this other matter.
Meanwhile, in a guest room on the second floor of an ordinary hotel on the south side of the main square, the atmosphere at Shrek Academy was even more tense.
After comforting everyone, Xuanzi limped back to his room to rest, carrying his wine gourd, leaving the core disciples in the dimly lit living room.
Although Xuanzi had tried to reassure them by saying that "Liu Yuan simply relied on sneak attacks and taking advantage of their unpreparedness," Bei Bei, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and He Caitou weren't blind. They clearly saw the Tianjia Academy captain's swollen, white eyes and his trembling, unconscious state. The sheer quality of Liu Yuan's spiritual power couldn't be explained away by a simple "sneak attack."
Xiao Xiao twisted her fingers anxiously, her face pale as she looked at Bei Bei sitting beside her: "Senior Brother, we're going to start the second stage of the round-robin tournament draw tomorrow. This isn't the previous elimination round. Although Elder Xuan has been trying to reassure everyone, we've all seen how strong Liu Yuan is. We're not blind. I'm really worried that we might get drawn directly into the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Xu Sanshi and Wang Dong, sitting to the side, also tensed up, a barely concealed anxiety and heaviness flashing in their eyes. If they were to clash with the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy at this moment, given the current situation, it would undoubtedly be an unpredictable and arduous battle for Shrek Academy.
Seeing the anxious and fearful looks on his companions' faces, Huo Yuhao went to the center of the living room.
His usually calm gaze remained fixed on Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong as he gently advised, "Everyone, calm down first. Things have come to this point; excessive worry and anxiety won't benefit our performance tomorrow. Regardless of the draw results, we can only take it in stride and do our best on the field. After all, even if we imagine the sky falling, the draw won't change because of our will."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's calm words, Bei Bei took a deep breath, stood up, patted Xu Sanshi on the shoulder, and said to everyone, "Yuhao is right, there's no point in thinking too much. Everyone go back to your rooms and rest, conserve your energy, and prepare for tomorrow's draw."
The group responded in hushed tones, then stood up and returned to their rooms, each with their own thoughts.
The night passed in the blink of an eye.
When the next morning arrived, the entire area around the main square on the outskirts of Mingdu was once again surrounded by fully armed soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire's Royal Soul Master Corps.
After the brutal elimination rounds of the first two rounds, only thirty-two truly top-tier teams remain to enter this core area. Although the morning sun was quite gentle, the atmosphere around the competition area was more oppressive and heavy than it had been the previous two days.
"All captains of the qualifying teams, please come to the stage to begin the draw ceremony for the second stage of the round-robin tournament!"
As the loud voice of the organizers resounded throughout the arena via amplified soul-guided device, the captains of each team, their faces grim, walked along their designated passage to the center of the competition stage. The enormous metal lottery box gleamed coldly in the morning sun; inside, thirty-two metal spheres would determine the fate of these thirty-two teams.
On the side of the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, Liu Yuan, dressed in neat white clothes, walked at the forefront with unhurried steps, while Long Aotian, Chen Lu, and others stood guard on either side with calm expressions.
As the previous champions, Liu Yuan and others walked to the draw box first, at the referee's signal.
Liu Yuan remained calm and without the slightest hesitation, his fair right hand reaching directly into the top of the box. With a slight twist of his wrist, he pulled out a black metal ball and handed it to the referee beside him.
The referee took the metal ball, read the markings on it, and immediately announced loudly:
"The Heavenly Soul Royal Academy team has been drawn into Group A, Team 1!"
Upon hearing this result, the captains of the various teams waiting in line for the draw all changed their expressions. According to the rules of this tournament's round-robin format, if any team is also drawn into Group A and becomes Team 2, then they will become Tianhun Royal Academy's opponent for today's match, directly facing off in the first game of the round-robin.
Looking at Liu Yuan in white standing motionless on the stage, many team captains below the stage were praying frantically in their hearts, fearing that their right hand would fail them and draw the "Team A2" that seemed like a death warrant.
The lottery ceremony continued.
Each team captain stepped forward with trepidation, taking out their team's match number from the metal box.
"Star Luo National Academy, drawn into Group C, Team 3!"
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, drawn into Group D, Team 1!"
With each shout from the referee, one group after another was filled. However, perhaps due to bad luck, during the draw of the next dozen or so teams, no one drew "Team 2 of Group A," which represented absolute danger.
That spot hung there all alone on the large screen high in the sky, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.
Meanwhile, Xuanzi, sitting on the south side of the preparation bench, stared intently at the direction of the draw box with his squinted eyes wide open. He both hoped that other strong teams would draw two teams to wear down Liu Yuan, and secretly harbored a sense of arrogance, wanting to personally go up and try his luck.
Finally, halfway through the draw ceremony, the referee shouted:
"Next, please have the captain of the Shrek Academy team come up to draw lots!"
Within Shrek Team's area, everyone's expressions instantly became extremely tense.
Under the tense and worried gazes of Bei Bei, Wang Dong, and everyone else, Huo Yuhao walked slowly and steadily up the wide ramp to the high competition platform and arrived at the cold metal lottery box.
(End of chapter)