The man finished speaking and bowed to His Majesty Cangqiong, signaling that they could leave. Cangqiong rose and led everyone away from the competition field.
"Prince Ares, your Empire truly made people take another look this year! Out of the 30 groups that advanced, your Empire had as many as 9," said the crown prince of Cangqiong Country to Ares. The complint seed to carry a sharp undertone.
"Your Highness flatters !" Ares replied blandly, not taking offense at his words.
In fact, Ares had not expected such results either. His own father had ntioned that it would be good if 5 or 6 groups could advance in the preliminary round, but this year, there were unexpectedly 9 groups. And he felt that they had not even given it their all!
The accompanying officials from the Mors Empire had lost their previous anger and, on the contrary, were now brimming with joy.
"Prince Ares, I have a question, and I wonder if you could clear my doubts?" Lin Yuzhe, the crown prince of Glei Empire, approached Ares and asked.
"Please, Prince Zhe."
"The contestants from your Empire seem to be quite young. Why didn’t you choose older participants?" Lin Yuzhe said.
He had long noticed that most of the contestants from the Mors Empire were under 20 years old, with many being 17 or 18. The rules stated that anyone under 25 could participate in the competition, but why didn’t Mors select older people and instead chose such young ones? Everyone knew that those who were older had trained for a few more years and would surely be stronger.
Lin Yuzhe’s question was sothing many people wanted to know as well, so everyone pricked up their ears.
The officials from the Mors Empire had a strange look on their faces upon hearing this question.
"Hehe, this question isn’t easy for to answer. The contestants who participated in the competition this year were entirely organized by Empire College, and they didn’t tell us the reasons for this selection," Ares said with a smile.
Pfft! Everyone thought indignantly, how could you possibly not know? You just don’t want to say it, that’s all!
Ares just smiled, as he really couldn’t say anything. Revealing it would inevitably lead to other issues, and if other countries knew the capabilities of these contestants at the ti of selection compared to their current strength, the Mors Empire would be in danger! Other officials were seasoned in the craft of politics and naturally understood the gravity of the situation, so nobody ca forward to speak about the circumstances at that ti.
Once Cangqiong and the princes and officials left, contestants also started exiting through the entrance they had co from, making their way back to their respective lodgings.
At this mont, everyone from the Mors Empire was extrely excited, with smiles all around. Xie Ping saw these kids’ cheerful faces and the corners of his mouth also curved upward slightly. The results of this preliminary round were indeed much better than before!
"Boss, boss. We have 9 groups that advanced!" Sun Kui bounced in front of Dugu Qianye, boasting shalessly.
"Yep, I know," Dugu Qianye said with a smile as he pushed away the kid blocking his path.
"Boss, did you see my heroic stance on the stage, wasn’t I handso? Haha, I think I looked pretty good!" Sun Kui dodged Dugu Qianye’s hand and continued to move forward.
"You did look pretty handso," Dugu Qianye said helplessly. "But if you don’t move out of the way, we’re going to fall behind!"
Mo Ziqing and the others up front burst into laughter, looking back at them.
When Sun Kui saw that everyone was looking at him, even soone with thick skin like his felt embarrassed and quickly stepped aside. He just wanted to talk to the boss.
Dugu Qianye smiled and walked on, and as the other mbers of Thunder Squad passed by Sun Kui, they said in unison, "So shaful!"
"So what if it’s shaful! I don’t believe you guys didn’t want to tell the boss!" After saying this, Sun Kui quickly caught up with the others.
Gao Liang and the others continued walking and slowly began to laugh. Okay, they admitted, they actually wanted to do the sa.
After lunch, everyone was getting ready to go back to their rooms for a rest when Xie Ping called out to them.
"Vice Principal, is there sothing you need?" soone asked.
Xie Ping didn’t answer, instead just staring at Dugu Qianye.
"Is the academy really that strapped for cash?" Dugu Qianye asked.
"Yours are better," Xie Ping said shalessly.
"2000 gold coins each."
"Fine, but write an IOU first."
Huh? Everyone was confused. What act were the headmaster and the boss putting on?
Dugu Qianye had a face full of black lines, gave Xie Ping a glare, and took dozens of Jade Bottles out from his Space Ring, placing them on the dining table.
"These contain Top-grade Sacred Rhinoceros Pills, which I believe everyone is familiar with. There are three pills in each bottle. Each of you take one bottle, go back and heal up, and get ready for the upcoming duels. Even those who aren’t injured, take them. No one can be sure they won’t get hurt in the later duels, it’s better to be prepared," Dugu Qianye said.
Everyone took a deep breath, these were Top-grade Sacred Rhinoceros Pills! Was he just giving them away?
Seeing everyone’s looks, Dugu Qianye said rather unkindly, "The academy paid for them, so take them and go heal! Or would you rather have Xiaoyin give you so special training?"
The crowd hastily grabbed the elixirs and then left like the wind. Special training at this ti? What a joke!
Xiaoyin in the Refining Demon Pot, upon hearing the broadcast from Dudu, was speechless. Was it really that terrifying?
Xie Ping was taken aback by everyone’s reaction. Even the always calm Mo Ziqing, the cold He Yan, and the thick-skinned Dan Jingtian and others had the sa reaction, leaving him quite curious about what that special training entailed. He thought about asking Dugu Qianye, but upon seeing her smirk, he thought better of it.
The next morning, spectators arrived at the stands early, discussing yesterday’s duels. The Glei Empire had only advanced 9 groups, and surprisingly, the Mors Empire also had 9 groups! Cangqiong had 8 groups, Gabina 4 groups.
Even though Mors had 9 groups advancing, people still didn’t think they stood much of a chance.
"It’s just good luck," they said.
It seed that the status quo made it hard for people to believe they had actually improved in strength.
Before 8:30 AM, the contestants from the four great empires entered the arena. The alchemists and artifact refiners went to their respective duel arenas, while personal duel participants went to the main referee to draw lots. Forty people, with tags numbered 1 to 20 in black and white.
When they returned, everyone compared their lots, and it turned out that four people were paired together, with Dugu Qianye being one of them. This ant that effectively only 8 of them were facing off against others.
"No problem, it just ans two of us can advance directly, right?" Dan Jingtian said.
At 8:30 AM, the Cangqiong team arrived at the viewing area in a grand procession. The middle-aged man, who was the main referee, said, "Today’s duels begin. Referees, take your positions. Numbers 1 to 10, get ready."
Dugu Qianye was number 8, and her opponent was Fang Tian, a level 3 Phantom King. The two of them went up onto the stage, and as the referee was about to give the signal, Fang Tian said, "I surrender."
It wasn’t unheard of for soone to surrender as soon as they got on stage, but the problem was that the opponent didn’t seem to exhibit any Phantom Power fluctuation, which made the referee sowhat surprised.
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