The preliminary rounds officially began the next day.
Early in the morning, a new notice was posted at the entrance of the Jade Medical Clinic.
[Due to urgent matters concerning the owner, Jade Clinic will be temporarily closed indefinitely starting today. The reopening date will be announced later. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.]
This announcement greatly disappointed many patients who had come seeking treatment there.
Inside the clinic, Brigitte and Ah Yin were packing their things.
They will also accompany Dongfang Yao and the other girls to the competition today.
This is not just because they are curious.
Furthermore, late last night, they received exciting news that thrilled everyone.
Dongfang Jing is coming back!
Although the note sent contained only a few words.
But for the women who had been separated for a year, this was undoubtedly great news.
...
Inside the exclusive rest area for participating teams at the Heavenly Battle Arena.
Edmund, the dean of Purple Star Academy, was all smiles as he cheered on the girls who were about to take the stage.
"Relax, everyone. Just treat it like regular training and give it your all!" He rubbed his hands together, his eyes crinkling into slits with a smile. "Our opponent is Canghui Academy. I believe that with your strength, winning the first match will be a piece of cake!"
Dongfang Yao, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong all still had some impression of Canghui Academy.
"Canghui Academy? Is that the academy where we clashed with Tang San and the others in the town before?" Ning Rongrong tilted her head and recalled.
"It seems so." Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that we ran into each other in the first round."
With Dongfang Jing absent, the task of tactical assignment naturally fell to Dongfang Yao, the vice-captain and widely recognized as the smartest.
but,
Seeing her teammates all eager and confident, Dongfang Yao felt that there didn't seem to be any tactics to assign.
With their current strength and teamwork, do they even need tactics to deal with their peers?
"Including Sister Jiangzhu, there are only eight people in our team, so there's no need to hide our strength." Dongfang Yao cleared her throat and said directly, "I think it's like this: seven of us will be fixed, and you two support players, Sister Jiangzhu and Sister Lingling, will take turns playing. How about that?"
Jiangzhu and Ye Lingling exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded, indicating that they had no objections.
"Alright, it's settled then!" Dongfang Yao clapped her hands. "Everyone, get ready, it's our turn to go on stage!"
Guided by the staff, the girls from Zixing Academy slowly stepped onto the competition stage amidst cheers and applause from the crowd.
Their opponents, the seven members of Canghui Academy, had been waiting on the other side for quite some time.
Upon seeing that the Purple Star Academy had seven stunningly beautiful girls on stage, the captain of the Azure Radiance Academy, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties and of average appearance, immediately revealed a lewd smile.
He stepped forward, striking what he thought was a very cool pose, and shouted to the girls opposite him, "Hey little ladies over there, we brothers are all chivalrous. How about you just admit defeat now, and we'll treat you to dinner tonight?"
His teammates behind him burst into laughter.
"Yes, yes! Fighting and killing are so bad. If we accidentally hurt your beautiful little faces, we'd be heartbroken!"
"Little girl, just admit defeat already. What are you doing here participating in the Soul Master Competition?"
Hearing the offensive and lewd remarks from the other side, Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan exchanged glances. Instead of being angry, they were amused.
"Hey guys, you've got quite the nerve," Ning Rongrong said with a grin, hands on her hips. "I just wonder if your skin's tough enough? Don't let us beat you up and make you cry, that would be so embarrassing."
"Exactly," Dugu Yan said with her arms crossed and a sneer, "Instead of wasting time talking here, you should think about how to kneel down and beg for mercy later, so that you can do it in a more respectable way."
"You...you guys!" The students from Canghui Academy were shocked by the sharp tongues of these young girls, and their faces turned pale with anger.
Just then, the referee walked to the center of the playing platform.
She glanced at both sides and announced loudly, "Both sides bow, and non-participants shall step down from the ring."
...
The atmosphere in the VIP section was somewhat subtle.
Platinum Bishop Salas's gaze swept across the field seemingly unintentionally, finally landing on Ning Fengzhi's gentle and refined face.
"Sect Leader Ning," he said with a forced smile, his voice carrying a distinctive hoarseness, "you praised a certain team highly before His Majesty a few days ago. In my opinion, the team you favor is this very same Purple Star Academy, full of hype?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly and said, "Isn't it more interesting to leave things a little mysterious? I think you must have your own team to support in your heart."
"Heh," Salas chuckled dryly, "So, Sect Master Ning is unwilling to reveal it?"
"This is a secret of our sect, and it seems to have nothing to do with Lord Salas."
"You…!" Salas's face darkened instantly.
Their gazes met directly in front of Emperor Xueye, without any attempt to avoid each other.
Emperor Xueye, sitting in the middle, frowned slightly. He could naturally sense the undercurrent between the two and was also curious about the secrets hidden in Zixing Academy.
"Hehe, you two don't need to be in such a hurry." He spoke up to smooth things over, "Once this competition is over, it will be clear who the real dark horse is and who the final winner is."
That's what they say.
But in reality, all three of them knew exactly what was going on.
Their gazes briefly swept across the field before landing simultaneously on the viewing platform specially provided for the participating academies.
In the viewing area of Zixing Academy, besides Jiangzhu who did not participate, there were four other figures that attracted particular attention.
Snow Emperor, Ice Emperor, Jade Princess, Silver Princess.
Even the usually aloof Dugu Bo was sitting there, gazing tenderly at Dugu Yan on the stage.
An obscure academy has managed to attract so many powerful figures at the Title Douluo level to personally oversee and watch the competition!
Not only because Dongfang Yao and the others are all beautiful girls,
Furthermore, because this was the second match of the first round of the qualifiers, the match actually received a considerable amount of attention.
Besides these important figures in the VIP section
In the stands of other academies, Tang San and others from Tiandou Royal Academy, Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang from Blazing Fire Academy, and Tianshui Academy, which also has an all-female team, were all closely watching the match.
They all wanted to see just how good this hyped-up Purple Star Academy really was.
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(End of chapter)