Chapter 499

"Professor Xie, we shouldn't sell ourselves short." Jiang Cheng heard his words and encouraged: "Maybe we can make it all the way through and reach the end."

Xie Jianfeng laughed helplessly, didn't take those words to heart, and continued: "If our luck is decent, winning three straight rounds gets us into the first round of the finals; after that, it's no longer like before, where each person only gets one shot and one battle decides the outcome, but rather it's best of three."

"Best of three?"

"Yes."

Xie Jianfeng recalled a moment, then continued: "Last year, those who made it to the quarterfinals numbered thirty, paired into fifteen groups; theoretically each group would have three matches, and the first to two wins would advance to the second round of the finals,"

The same applies afterward, all the way to the final; if there are four people, they are split into two groups, and the winners of each group then compete in the final round, with the victor taking first place and the loser second.

If three remain, they all enter the finals together, each fighting the other two in three matches; ranking by wins decides first, second, and third, and the rest are ordered by wins to receive fourth through tenth.

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng gained a clear understanding of the competition rules.

However, he still had a question in mind.

That is, what if the number of participants isn't even?

"Oh, that's a bye—the person who can't be matched with an opponent automatically advances to the next round; in a sense, that's also luck." Xie Jianfeng said enviously.

"I understand, thank you, Professor Xie."

"Hahaha, no need to be polite." Xie Jianfeng scratched the back of his head.

Jiang Cheng's life-saving kindness, he didn't know how to repay it.

Answering some basic questions—what's that worth? Even if you didn't ask him, just randomly picking anyone here would know this.

Before they knew it, more than half an hour had passed.

In the lounge, another dozen or so people arrived; compared to before, each newcomer caused a stir in the room.

Xie Jianfeng also stood aside introducing who's who, their strength, and what results they achieved in the previous Grand Competition.

Among them was the previous first-place winner, a middle-aged man in his forties named Yao Jun, a Level 7 Spiritual Master.

Of course, the most eye-catching was a woman in a long dress, as if stepped out of a painting; every gesture made people reluctant to look away.

Immediately, many teachers gathered around her, and the woman smiled as she chatted with everyone.

"That's Professor Lin Ziwei, our academy's top beauty." Xie Jianfeng sighed, his eyes full of longing.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go up and say hello.

But his own strength was simply too low; he hadn't seen the male teachers who went to greet anyone—those were at least Fifth-Level Masters, while the Third- and Fourth-Level ones didn't dare approach.

Jiang Cheng also looked and had to admit, this woman was the most beautiful he'd encountered since his transmigration; crucially, she wasn't just a pretty face—a Level 7 Force Master with mastery of water, her combat power astonishing and she could also heal teammates.

With so many advantages, it's hard not to be popular.

"It's started! It's started!"

Suddenly, a voice sounded; everyone immediately stopped talking and looked toward the nearby screen—sure enough, several school leaders had already walked onto the stage, at their head was Xu Juan.

Everyone fell silent, quietly listening to her speech.

In the auditorium, it was deathly silent; everyone's gaze toward Xu Juan was filled with respect, even Qin Lao was no exception.

Xu Juan didn't launch into a long speech; after a brief talk, she declared the Academy Grand Competition officially underway.

On the big screen, the matchup chart appeared; at a glance you could see that this time there were 180 participants.

Each box contained a name, and the names were rapidly flashing.

Xu Juan had her back to the big screen, waited a few seconds, then pressed the button in her hand, and the screen froze.

At the same moment, the lounge was filled with the constant sound of phone notifications or vibrations.

Everyone pulled out their phones.

"Song Zhijie?" Jiang Cheng looked at the name on his phone; he had no impression of it, naturally not knowing who this person was or what their actual strength was.

Fortunately, he hadn't paid attention to that from the start.

Whether he faced a First-Level Master or a Seventh-Level Master, he'd meet force with force, water with earth—basically, he'd handle whatever came.

"How could this be?"

Just then, a wail sounded from beside him.

Jiang Cheng instinctively looked to the side, only to see Xie Jianfeng, who had been smiling moments ago, now wearing a mournful face.

"It's over—I actually drew him; he's a Third-Level Force Master, and moreover a Force Master proficient in the earth element."

Seeing Jiang Cheng looking, Xie Jianfeng gave a bitter smile.

"Is he that strong?"

Jiang Cheng glanced at his phone screen; the opponent's name was Fangguo.

"He's strong."

Xie Jianfeng nodded heavily: "In last year's competition, he went straight through the first three rounds, entering the first round of the finals; if it weren't for truly bad luck drawing Yao Lao, he'd likely have made it to the second round of the finals."

Now another year has passed; his strength has surely improved since last year, and his handling of earth element will be even more adept—this time he might break into the top twenty, even top ten; I never expected my luck to be so terrible that I'd meet him in the first round—sigh.

Xie Jianfeng wanted to cry but had no tears.

Last year, he at least made it to the second round, not getting eliminated in the first.

This year, however, he can't even pass the first round; if students ask later, what will he say?

"By the way, Professor Jiang, who's your opponent?" Suddenly he remembered something and hurriedly asked.

"It's him."

Jiang Cheng turned his phone screen toward him.

"Oh, it's Professor Song."

Xie Jianfeng's eyes were full of envy.

"Professor Song is like us, a First-Level Force Master skilled in swordsmanship; Professor Jiang, you're a Spiritual Master who can fight with psychic weapons, so you still have some advantage against him, and if worse comes to worst, you can also engage in close combat—sigh."

Having said that, Xie Jianfeng sighed again.

"Maybe this is just the newcomer's benefit?"

Jiang Cheng's first time participating; if he draws a strong opponent right away, it will surely dampen his enthusiasm; drawing an opponent of similar strength is also fine—even if he loses, he won't feel resentful.

Unlike him, drawing such a strong opponent right away—how to fight? Can only pray that the fight has some give and take, just don't lose too embarrassingly.

(End of chapter)