With the elimination rounds set to take several days before being whittled down from thirty-two to sixteen contestants, Azrael found himself with so unexpected breathing space after his dominant performance on the first day. The respite was welco; between the intense competition and maintaining his various cover identities, he desperately needed ti to decompress and plan his next moves.
Back in his hotel room, Azrael had barely settled into his ditation posture when his phone erupted with an insistent buzz that shattered the peaceful silence.
"Fredrika again?" Azrael muttered, glancing at the screen with mild irritation. "What could she want now?"
His first assumption was that the Crimson Oath Society had decided to provide additional materials or issue new mission paraters. After all, since arriving in Pixar, Fredrika had been his only significant contact outside of his school group. If his classmates at Silverbrook High School needed sothing, they would knock on his door rather than resort to phone calls.
But when Azrael checked the caller ID, instead of Fredrika's contact information, he saw an unfamiliar number.
"There's no way this is a sales call," he reasoned, answering with cautious curiosity.
"Hello, is this Student Azrael?" ca a professional voice from the other end, definitely not the aggressive telemarketing tone he'd feared.
"Who is this?" Azrael asked directly, cutting through any pretence of small talk.
"I'm Jack, Admissions Coordinator for Beijing University. Please, just call Teacher Shen," the voice replied with practiced warmth.
Azrael's eyebrows rose as understanding dawned. "Beijing University?" The timing couldn't be coincidental, soone from their admissions departnt contacting him imdiately after his crushing victory over Vali suggested they'd been watching the competition closely.
"Hello, Teacher Shen. What can I do for you?"
Though Azrael had already guessed the caller's intentions, he decided to play ignorant and see what kind of offer Beijing University might have. Information was always valuable, even if he had no intention of accepting their proposal.
"Nothing too complicated," Jack replied with the confidence of soone used to recruiting talented students. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in studying at Peking University. Don't worry about finances, scholarships and other support packages would naturally be arranged for soone of your calibre."
Azrael barely suppressed a snort of derision at the vague offer. Too insincere, not even bothering to paint a detailed picture of what they're offering.
The representative had ntioned scholarships without specifying amounts, tilines or any concrete training programs that would justify choosing Peking University over other prestigious institutions. Only an amateur would accept such nebulous promises without demanding specifics.
More importantly, Azrael had essentially committed himself to Pixar University and the opportunity to beco Lucian's personal pupil. In this world, raw fighting ability was certainly valuable, but political connections and institutional backing provided the foundation for long-term success. While strength could solve imdiate problems, the right background opened doors that re talent never could.
Still, Azrael saw no reason to burn bridges unnecessarily. "Teacher Shen, I appreciate your interest, but I'd prefer to wait until after the Greenridge Province Unified Examination before making any major decisions about my future."
Jack, of course, couldn't know of Azrael's existing relationship with Master Lucian and assud that the student was simply angling for better offers from competing universities. This preliminary contact had been primarily to gauge Beijing University's interest at an early stage. If Azrael had impulsively agreed to their proposal, excellent. If not, no significant resources had been wasted.
"Quite understandable," Jack replied calmly. "I won't take up any more of your valuable ti. If you change your mind or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact at this number."
"Thank you, Teacher Shen."
Azrael had barely put his phone down when it started ringing again with another unfamiliar number.
"Already?" he muttered with growing amusent. "I suppose Peking University wouldn't be the only institution paying attention to the competition."
This ti, before Azrael could even formulate a greeting, rapid-fire words poured out of the loudspeaker like machine-gun fire.
"Hello, student Azrael! This is Uta Wenrao from Pixar University. The administration is fully aware of your relationship with Master Lucian, so don't worry, you'll get everything you deserve. Don't listen to any sweet talk from those other schools!
Azrael listened to this breathless monologue with a sombre expression on his face, taking several seconds to analyse the information being thrown at him.
"Soone from Beijing University called just now," Azrael said simply, leaving the implication hanging in the air.
"Those scheming bastards from Peking University!" Uta Wenrao's voice carried such venom that Azrael could practically hear teeth grinding on the other end. "Don't worry, Azrael. I will report this to the administration imdiately, we will not allow you to be short-changed in any way".
Uta Wenrao had obviously realised why Beijing University had moved so quickly to contact Azrael. That was too close. If I hadn't reacted fast enough, those Beijing vultures might have poached him right out from under us.
Seeing that Uta Wenrao understood the situation perfectly, Azrael decided to set clear boundaries. "Teacher Uta, I would be grateful if you could inform other interested parties that I will not consider any offers of early admission before the Provincial Examination has been completed."
"Leave that to ," Uta Wenrao replied, relief evident in his voice.
Though Azrael's connection to Lucian provided considerable leverage, Uta Wenrao had been genuinely concerned that a young student might be swayed by generous offers from rival institutions. Azrael's declaration that he intended to focus entirely on the competition removed that particular concern.
What Uta Wenrao hadn't considered was the possibility that Azrael's performance in the final might be so spectacular that other universities would abandon all restraint and engage in an aggressive bidding war. After all, Master Lucian wasn't the only legendary Lore Cardian in the Empire of Aetherlight; other institutions had their own heavyweight recruiters who might be willing to make extraordinary offers for the right talent.
Since Uta Wenrao had agreed to handle the situation, Azrael felt no need to prolong the conversation. "That's settled then, Teacher Uta. I have other things to do."
"Of course! I won't keep you any longer."
As he put the phone down, Uta Wenrao's eyes blazed with competitive fire. "You want to steal talent from Pixar University? Not if I have anything to say about it!"
The next mont he was dialling another number. "Hello, President? We have a situation..."
Azrael tossed his phone onto the bedside table with a sigh of relief. "Finally, so peace and quiet."
Ring ring ring!
The phone rang again.
"Are you kidding ?" Azrael grabbed the device with visible irritation and replied with barely contained annoyance.
To his surprise, the call wasn't from another university representative. Instead, corporate groups had apparently decided to join the recruitnt frenzy.
Azrael listened in stony silence as another voice launched into an obviously rehearsed pitch about partnership opportunities, endorsent deals and exclusive contracts. When the caller finally paused for breath, Azrael cut him off with practiced efficiency.
"Thank you for your interest, but as I've told others, I won't be making any major decisions until after the Provincial Examination."
He hung up before the company representative could continue his sales pitch.
On the other end, the caller stared down at his phone in mild disappointnt. "Couldn't close the deal," he muttered to himself. The strategy had been to lock Azrael into an agreent while his market value was still relatively unknown, before other companies recognised his potential and drove up the bidding.
Fortunately, Azrael wasn't the only promising talent in the Greenridge Province competition. The representative's expression changed to a predatory smile as he scrolled through his contact list.
"Hello? Is this Student Xue?" he said and dialled another number.
After that particular call, Azrael's phone finally went silent. Uta Wenrao had apparently made good on his promise to prevent any further recruitnt attempts.
Azrael enjoyed two blissful days of uninterrupted rest. His ti was divided between ditation sessions to replenish his ntal reserves and private monts with Heart-Under-Blade, exploring both her combat skills and her more... personal attributes.
The vampire's presence had proven remarkably therapeutic. Aside from her obvious aesthetic appeal, Heart-Under-Blade provided intelligent conversation, tactical analysis of his upcoming matches, and a genuine emotional connection that helped Azrael decompress from the constant pressure of maintaining multiple dangerous identities.
Her healing abilities also proved their worth in the more energetic encounters, vampire stamina was no joke, and Azrael's Bronze-level physical conditioning was put to the test over these two restful days.
On the morning of the final round, Azrael surveyed the remaining competitors with analytical detachnt. The field had been whittled down to the most capable, there were no weak links or lucky amateurs left at this stage of the competition.
Each remaining competitor possessed the skills, cards, and tactical awareness necessary to reach this level through rit rather than luck. Battles from this point onwards would require increasingly sophisticated strategies and a willingness to reveal trump cards that had been carefully hidden in earlier rounds.
Azrael's opponent for the round of sixteen was a familiar face: Nick, his fellow Velkairos representative.
"Interesting," Azrael mused, studying the bracket arrangent. "Another Velkairos vs. Velkairos match."
Nick had clearly developed his skills since their last encounter during the Elite Talent Cup competition. The fact that he had made it this far through the elimination rounds suggested significant improvent, and Azrael couldn't afford to underestimate him based on outdated assessnts.
Moreover, Nick had detailed knowledge of Azrael's public fighting style from their shared experiences and training sessions. While Azrael had kept his most powerful cards hidden from the public, Nick had witnessed so of his earlier techniques and would no doubt plan accordingly.
"This may be more difficult than I expected," Azrael admitted privately.
Still, he had several overwhelming advantages that Nick could not possibly anticipate. Heart-Under-Blade remained completely unknown to the opposition, and Azrael had yet to reveal Yoriichi's Shikai or Luffy's most devastating techniques.
The real question was whether Nick had developed counterasures for Luffy's electrical immunity and fight continuation abilities. If Silverbrook High's training programs included detailed analysis of their students' abilities, Nick might have devised specific strategies to exploit weaknesses Azrael wasn't even aware of.
"I guess I'll find out soon enough," Azrael concluded, making his way to the contestants' preparation area.
The Round of Sixteen would determine who possessed the skills to compete in the Provincial Championships, and more importantly, who would earn the attention and resources that ca with such recognition.
Azrael's journey to the top was about to face its most serious test yet.
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