At this point, he paused slightly, then said loudly.
"Ah, I actually favor Tianxing Academy more."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar below the stage.
The students and teachers of various academies all showed looks of astonishment.
Ning Fengzhi seemed not to notice the commotion below and continued unhurriedly: "Although this academy was only recently established, in my opinion, they have profound foundations and their students are exceptionally talented. I firmly believe that they will become the biggest dark horse of this competition."
"Tianxing Academy? Which one is Tianxing Academy?"
"Never heard of it! A newly established academy?"
"How could School Master Ning favor an unknown new academy so much?"
"Look over there! It seems to be the team brought by Poison Douluo!"
The discussion below immediately became lively.
All curious, questioning, and scrutinizing gazes simultaneously turned towards the location of Tianxing Academy, trying to discern something extraordinary about this unfamiliar team.
Just then, the host stepped forward at the opportune moment, calmly took back the amplification spirit tool from Ning Fengzhi's hand, and announced loudly, skillfully diverting the attention of the audience.
"Thank you, School Master Ning, for your wonderful speech and unique insights! Next, we invite His Excellency Salas, the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall, to draw lots for the teams in the first round of the preliminaries!"
All eyes instantly focused on the red-robed old man again.
"Tianxing Academy? How come I've never heard of it before?"
With a cold snort, Salas's lips curved into a subtle sneer. His gaze contemptuously swept over the direction of Tianxing Academy, then he slowly rose and walked towards the central drawing table.
The next second, he expressionlessly reached into the bamboo stick holder and began to draw and display the bamboo sticks one by one, while the host loudly announced the matchups for each round:
"Preliminary Round One, Oakland Academy versus Blazing Glory Academy!"
"Preliminary Round One, Elephant Armored Academy versus Barak Academy!"
..."Preliminary Round One, Exotic Beast Academy versus Purple Star Academy!"
The drawing of lots proceeded in an orderly fashion, and the atmosphere below the stage gradually became tense.
When the drawing of lots was halfway through, the moment Salas's hand reached into the bamboo stick holder, an almost imperceptible Soul Power fluctuation seemed to faintly light up in his palm.
Immediately after, his fingers moved slightly, and two specific bamboo sticks, as if guided by an invisible force, quickly collided.
Taking a deep breath, Salas, with a normal expression, handed these two bamboo sticks, which were drawn out simultaneously, to the host beside him.
The host took the bamboo sticks, lowered his head to look at the academy names on them, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he immediately resumed his professional expression, gathered his breath, and announced to the entire venue in his loudest voice:
"Next up, Preliminary Round One, Tianxing Academy versus Shrek Academy!"
Boom!
This news was like a bombshell, instantly exploding among the Shrek Academy members.
Not far below, the faces of Master, Flender, Liu Erlong, and others suddenly changed dramatically, instantly turning so dark they could almost drip water, becoming extremely ugly.
This drawing result was so coincidental it was almost unbelievable!
"What? This... how is this possible?"
"No way, we're facing them in the first round."
"Someone is definitely playing tricks in the dark."
Just then, Master suddenly pushed his wheelchair to the front of the crowd and said in a deep voice:
"This drawing is absolutely problematic!"
"It must be that little bastard Tang Chuan playing tricks in the dark! Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence in the world that our Shrek Academy would run into their Tianxing Academy in the first round!"
The angrier he spoke, but then, as if drained of all strength, he let out a heavy sigh and then slumped back against the wheelchair.
"I think…"
"How about we… just forfeit this match."
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