Chapter 148: The Peak Elite Tournament Begins

"Principal Yu!"

Zhou Chu's figure appeared once again behind Yu Dafu like a ghost.

Yu Dafu was slightly startled, and his heart felt a sudden tremor.

If Zhou Chu were an enemy, his own old life would likely have been forfeit.

This unique Stealth method of Zhou Chu's, which could easily evade his Spirit Energy perception, was truly not to be underestimated.

This feat alone was enough to prove his extraordinary nature.

Moreover, Zhou Li being able to block two of his attacks single-handedly also showed that her strength was not weak.

As such, being able to clear the Nightmare-level Steel Wasteland seemed to make sense.

Regardless, this Steel Wasteland was only a Novice Dungeon; although he had poured over ten years of effort into it, for students who were truly gifted and powerful, clearing it was not entirely impossible.

It was just that the strength displayed by these two students had far exceeded Yu Dafu's original expectations.

Yu Dafu looked at Zhou Chu, the expression on his face becoming increasingly serious and earnest, and he slowly said, "The performance of you two today truly shocked me greatly."

"Originally, I only thought that you clearing the Steel Wasteland Copy was mostly due to luck, or perhaps you had found some loopholes in the Copy, but after this exchange just now, I realized that you possess solid, genuine skills."

Zhou Chu hurriedly said, "Principal Yu, we were just doing our best to deal with various challenges, but compared to you, we are truly far behind."

Yu Dafu waved his hand and said, "You don't need to be overly modest; your potential and combat ability are plain for all to see. Although I only used thirty or forty percent of my strength, being able to neutralize my attack is still extremely rare."

"The strength you two possess now is already outstanding among your peers, but you must not become arrogant or complacent; the path of cultivation ahead is still long."

"You must know that there is always someone better, and there is always a heaven beyond our heaven; there are countless experts in this world, and you must continue to improve yourselves."

Zhou Chu nodded repeatedly in agreement.

A lecture from the principal of Shenxia himself was something that had to be taken seriously.

Even though he had heard these words countless times from his teachers back in high school.

But now, coming from the mouth of Principal Yu, an Eight-Turn expert and the helmsman of Shenxia University, the weight and significance were completely different.

Yu Dafu looked at the two students of no small ability before him, his heart full of gratification.

He continued, "In one week, it will be Shenxia University's annual Peak Elite Tournament. This is a grand event for our school, gathering the top students from every grade and every major; everyone will show off their skills and compete in strength at the tournament."

Yu Dafu looked at Zhou Chu and Zhou Li with expectation in his eyes and continued, "With the strength you two have shown now, you are fully qualified to participate in this tournament."

"For you, this is both a rare opportunity for training and a chance to discover your own strengths and weaknesses more clearly."

"I hope you can give full play to your strength at the Peak Elite Tournament without too many concerns."

"Alright, it's getting late, go eat and rest quickly; you must adjust your state these few days and make full preparations for the tournament!"

Having said this, Yu Dafu waved at Zhou Chu and Li Er and stepped into the air to leave once more.

A week passed by in the blink of an eye.

Soon, Shenxia University's annual Peak Elite Tournament arrived.

As the most eye-catching on-campus tournament at Shenxia University, the entire campus was immersed in a fervent and tense atmosphere.

The competition venue was set in the huge Arena in the center of the school.

At this time, the area around the Arena was already crowded with teachers and students who had come to watch; everyone was full of anticipation, wanting to see which dark horses would emerge this year and which experts would successfully defend their titles.

When Zhou Chu and Li Er arrived at the tournament waiting area, it was already gathered with contestants from all grades and all departments.

Upon seeing Zhou Chu and Li Er, these contestants cast scorching gazes toward them.

Especially those upperclassmen; they were regulars at the Peak Tournament every year and, self-assured of their extraordinary strength, had always looked down on the lower-grade contestants.

However, Zhou Chu had defeated Lei Jianting, and this matter had long since spread among these upper-grade contestants, making Zhou Chu a "formidable enemy" in the eyes of many.

To be qualified to participate in the Peak Elite Tournament, the minimum requirement was for one's Soul Profession grade to reach A-Grade.

This meant that every contestant present possessed no small amount of strength and were all outstanding individuals in their respective grades and majors.

Moreover, the Peak Tournament did not divide by grade or level; it was entirely about competing based on strength in the arena.

Therefore, even lower-grade students, as long as they believed they were strong enough, could issue challenges to upper-grade experts, or even challenge the champion of the Peak Tournament.

In the past, there had never been a case where a freshman fought their way through the ranks and finally defeated an upper-grade expert to win the championship.

Therefore, in the eyes of those veteran Peak Tournament contestants, lower-grade participants were just there to make up the numbers and gain experience; it was almost impossible for them to make it to the end.

The tournament was divided into two parts: the Individual Tournament and the Team Tournament.

The Individual Tournament first used a drawing method to conduct one-on-one elimination matches, deciding the final winner round by round.

As for the Team Tournament, it was free team formation, with at least two people per team, and then the teams competed against each other.

The Team Tournament tested not only individual strength but also placed greater importance on the coordination and cooperation between team members.

Generally speaking, one could choose to participate in the Individual Tournament or find suitable partners to form a team for the Team Tournament based on their own situation.

Of course, if one had the energy, participating in both was also possible.

However, participating in both tournaments at the same time was no small challenge.

After all, whether it was the Individual Tournament or the Team Tournament, it would cause varying degrees of consumption to oneself.

Therefore, among the many contestants, those participating in the Team Tournament still made up the majority.

Only a very small number of people would choose to participate in both.

The Team Tournament focused on coordination and cooperation; at the same time, one had teammates to rely on and share the pressure with, and during the competition, one could use clever tactical arrangements to achieve an effect of "one plus one is greater than two."

For many contestants, the chances of winning this way were relatively higher.

Conversely, the Individual Tournament was entirely about fighting alone based on one's own strength.

Every duel was a severe test of one's all-around abilities, allowing for not even the slightest mistake; once there was a slight slip-up, one might face the outcome of being eliminated.

Especially for newcomers, participating in the Individual Tournament seemed extremely not worth it.

Because the Individual Tournament used a drawing method, if one was unlucky, it was very possible that their first opponent would be an upperclassman.

In that case, a freshman would have almost no chance of winning; not only would they be completely crushed by their opponent, but they would also end their tournament run early.

Zhou Chu and Li Er both signed up for two events.

For the team tournament, the two of them were still in a group together.

However, in the Individual Tournament, he and Li Er would only be able to fight for themselves.

When the time comes, a clash will certainly be unavoidable.