Chapter 520: The Opponent Is

Soon, a male student who looked about the same age as Jiang Cheng was selected as the person to draw lots.

The boy's face flushed bright red, clearly from excitement.

But besides excitement, there was also nervousness.

Because the people standing on the stage now were almost the strongest in the academy, and whether they could advance to the next round depended not only on strength but also on his luck.

Under everyone's gaze, the boy stepped onto the platform, trembling all over.

"He's so nervous."

From the audience, someone laughed warmly.

"Yeah, it's just drawing a lot; what's there to be nervous about? If it were me, I'd be too happy to wait."

"Hmph, that's easy to say; if it were you, you'd probably shake even more on stage than he does."

"Don't be nervous."

Xu Juan smiled at him, then glanced at the box placed in the center and said, "Put your hand in and randomly take out a ball."

"Yes, yes, Principal."

The boy bobbed his head like a chick pecking grain, reached the box, still turned to glance at Jiang Cheng and the others, then, trembling, slipped his hand in.

The box was transparent, clearly showing a hand rummaging among more than twenty metal balls.

After several seconds, the boy finally decided, grabbed a metal ball, and pulled it out of the box.

At that moment, the whole venue fell silent, everyone's attention focused on the ball in his hand.

"Who will be selected first? And who will be his opponent next?"

The same thought spontaneously arose in everyone's mind.

"Open it."

Xu Juan reminded.

The boy hummed, grasped the metal ball with both hands, twisted it open to the sides, and after a while the ball split in two, revealing a folded slip of paper in the air.

He placed the two halves on the table, nervous yet eager, and unfolded the slip.

"Lin Ziwei, it's Teacher Lin!"

The boy widened his eyes and looked toward Lin Ziwei behind him.

Not only him, but everyone else's gaze also turned.

"Who would have thought Teacher Lin would be the first drawn."

"Who will be her opponent next, I wonder?"

"It won't be Teacher Yao or Teacher Shao, right? If it were them, the first match would be very exciting."

"Yeah, yeah, but if that's the case, it might not be good for them."

"Indeed, if we could meet them later, the competition would be even more thrilling."

The students whispered, and the teachers on stage also grew nervous.

Whether their cultivation was weaker or comparable to Lin Ziwei's, none wanted to be the next drawn.

As for Lin Ziwei herself, her expression remained calm.

"Fine."

Xu Juan nodded, took the slip from the boy's hand, and said, "Proceed to draw the second person."

"Yes, Principal."

Having done it once, the boy was much more composed the second time; after inserting his hand into the box, he even stirred inside for a while before pulling out another metal ball.

The venue fell silent again.

As the metal ball was twisted open, the paper inside unfolded.

"It's Wang Jie, Teacher Wang."

He said.

Hearing the name, the teachers on stage let out a sigh of relief.

But Wang Jie's own complexion turned sour.

He is a Fifth-level Spirit Master, so logically he has a great chance to pass this round and advance.

Who would have thought that, after a poor start, he'd be selected for the first match, facing one of the opponents he most wishes to avoid.

Of course, that doesn't mean he'll definitely lose; after all, everyone's cultivation is similar, so there's still a chance of victory.

With that thought, he looked toward Lin Ziwei nearby; she, like everyone else, met his gaze and smiled.

Wang Jie gave a wry smile and nodded.

Now that it's come to this, he can't avoid it, and outright surrender is impossible; he must fight a do-or-die battle.

Fortunately, the opponent's strength is evident; if he does lose, it won't be a big deal.

"The first group's participants are set; let's start the second group," Xu Juan said.

Soon, the second group's list was also released; compared with the first group, the two participants were fairly evenly matched.

This let both of them breathe a sigh of relief.

By the time the third, fourth, and fifth groups came, the boy called out Jiang Cheng's name.

In an instant, everyone's gaze fell on Jiang Cheng.

"It's Teacher Jiang, I wonder who his opponent will be."

"Yeah, he's this time's biggest dark horse; making it to the Finals Round, who knows…"

"It's Brother Jiang Cheng! Brother Jiang Cheng was drawn!" Lin Yue said nervously from a corner of the audience.

"Um, I don't know who will be drawn next as his opponent," Qin Yu muttered to herself.

Currently there are still over ten people on stage, including several strong contenders for the championship; if Jiang Cheng draws any of them next, his chances of winning will drop significantly.

Conversely, if one draws someone whose strength is not too strong, even inferior to Sun Tong, then the chances of winning can greatly increase.

Those who hold this idea in their hearts are not only her, but also the Seventh Squad and the people of the Alchemy Workshop.

As people familiar with Jiang Cheng, they naturally hope he can go further, not be eliminated in the first round of the finals.

Of course, everything has exceptions.

Sun Bo and Sun Tong, at this very moment, especially hope Jiang Cheng encounters a strong opponent and is directly eliminated.

Otherwise, watching Jiang Cheng advance helplessly would be more painful than killing them.

On stage, the boy placed the slip of paper with Jiang Cheng's name aside, then immediately began drawing the next person.

The people on stage also felt somewhat nervous, more or less.

Especially the third- and fourth-level Grandmasters.

If they were to face Sun Tong, they would have little confidence of winning, let alone facing Jiang Cheng.

Even the fifth-level Grandmasters are no different.

Sun Tong's use of psychic weapons is not to be underestimated; even they might not be able to secure a sure win. As for dragging the fight into close combat, they have all seen Jiang Cheng's previous battle, and wanting to defeat him in melee is no easy task.

Meanwhile, a few people harbor some anticipation in their hearts.

Jiang Cheng's strength is not weak; for them, he also presents some challenge.

However, the difficulty is not too great; unlike some others, it does not put them under great pressure, and a slight mistake would not eliminate them.

(End of chapter)