Chapter 13 Knockout Round The freshmen's dormitory was once again quiet, with only the golden and silver dragon egg gleaming with a golden luster. Outside the dragon egg, there was no soul power fluctuation at all, and the two people inside the dragon egg had their foreheads pressed tightly together. Time passed quietly, minute by minute, the aura of the two people became stronger and stronger, and the Dragon God Core prevented the leakage of their aura. …… Poseidon Lake, the island in the middle of the lake, and the lakeside. Teacher Wang Yan, who had just finished the freshman assessment not long ago, was standing here at the moment, with an extremely respectful expression on his face. Not far in front of him, an old man with disheveled hair was sitting there, his bare feet soaking in the cool Poseidon Lake, holding a huge gourd in his right hand. From time to time he would take a sip from the gourd, and the rich aroma of wine would immediately fill the air. In his other hand he would hold a roast chicken, and regardless of the greasiness, he would devour it with sips of wine and bites of meat. "Master Xuan, that's it. Although these students are still young and freshmen, they are indeed worthy of attention." "Hmm..." The sloppy old man called Old Xuan swallowed a mouthful of chicken, then turned his head and glanced at Wang Yan. However, his eyes were a little scattered, even a little confused, as if he didn't listen to Wang Yan seriously at all.
"The ancestor of power, the controller of elements." Old Xuan muttered, his voice hoarse and old. Wang Yan nodded and replied: "The martial spirits of these two little guys are indeed the golden dragon and silver dragon martial spirits that have long been extinct on the continent." Elder Xuan took another sip of wine, burped, and said, "Interesting, interesting. However, having a good martial spirit does not mean that one can become a great person. It still depends on their subsequent luck." Wang Yan quickly responded: "Master Xuan is right, but these two children performed really well in the freshman assessment, showing a calmness and strength far beyond their peers." Xuan Lao chuckled, "Calm? In this academy, being calm is not enough. Okay, you go back first, I'll stay for a while, go tell Xiao Ning that I will go to the freshman assessment qualifying competition. Ask him to save a seat for me." Wang Yan bowed slightly and said, "Master Xuan, please enjoy your meal. I will take my leave first." Wang Yan turned and left. Old Xuan continued to eat and drink by himself, his eyes fixed on the tranquil Poseidon Lake, wondering what he was thinking about. After a while, Old Xuan suddenly stood up, and the lazy aura on his body instantly dissipated, replaced by an invisible pressure. “It looks like Shrek Academy is going to get lively again.” After saying that, he sat down again and continued to drink and eat meat. …… As night gradually fell, the golden halo in Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena's dormitory continued to shine quietly. As the evening gradually turned into deep night, time passed quietly, and the aura of Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena was also undergoing strange changes imperceptibly. The aura and color of the two people further entangled and merged, and even their soul power began to enter each other's bodies, forming a strange cycle. There was no conversation that night, and the sky gradually brightened. The golden and silver dragon egg gradually began to crack, revealing the situation inside. Ye Qian and Gu Yuena were still hugging each other tightly, and the aura of changing colors on their bodies had disappeared. The two of them pressed their foreheads together, and they could hear each other's breathing... At this time, things started to get lively outside the dormitory. The students in other dormitories had all gotten up and were busy washing up. The noisy noises gradually affected the two people who were hugging each other, and Gu Yuena's body moved first. "Hmm." Gu Yuena snorted lightly, her voice sounding a little lazy. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Ye Qian'an who was right next to her. She was being hugged tightly by Ye Qian'an. The two of them fit perfectly together, and she could feel the warmth from Ye Qian'an from time to time. Gu Yuena's face flushed instantly, and she gently pushed Ye Qi'an, "Qi'an, wake up."
Ye Qi'an also slowly opened his eyes and saw Gu Yuena's slightly shy look. He remembered that although they hugged each other last night, they were still a little distance apart. What was going on now? The distance between them was so close. Could it be that he... Ye Qian'an's face also showed a trace of embarrassment. He quickly let go of her hand and said somewhat at a loss: "Nana, this... maybe this is something I did unconsciously last night..." Gu Yuena rolled her eyes at him, gently stood up, straightened her clothes, and said, "Don't I know? Do you need me to tell you?" Suddenly, a shrill ring rang, startling the two of them. "Class is about to start. We are finished. Let's run!" Ye Qian'an jumped up from the bed in an instant, pulled Gu Yuena, and ran straight out. The two ran towards the teaching building at the fastest speed. As Ye Qianan ran, he couldn't help but shook his head: "I never thought that one day, I would go through the same experience as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong." When the two of them ran to the freshman teaching building, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were also running hurriedly over from the other side. The four of them looked at each other for a moment and couldn't help but stare at each other. Well, four people were late at once, and they arrived at the door of the freshman class a dozen seconds later. "Report." The four people shouted hurriedly. At this time, Zhou Yi walked towards them at the door of the classroom. The other students had already arrived. When Zhou Yi saw the sloppy appearance of the four people, a smile flashed in his eyes. "What's going on with you four? Come in first." Zhou Yi waved to the four people. The four latecomers hurried into the classroom, and Ye Qian'an closed the door. At this time, all the eyes of the class were focused on the four people, especially the disheveled Huo Yuhao. Zhou Yi asked in her usual cold voice: "Tell me, what are you four doing? Huo Yuhao, you speak first." "Uh... I'm sorry, Teacher Zhou, we overslept." Huo Yuhao said with embarrassment. "Who slept with whom? How could they have slept together?" Huo Yuhao was stunned, and Wang Dong beside him blushed instantly, because he was really hit on the mark. The whole class continued to be silent, but this time, it only lasted three seconds, and then the whole class burst into laughter. Wang Dong lowered his head, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. It was so embarrassing. "Okay, you two go back to your seats." Zhou Yi waved his hand, showing unprecedented magnanimity and forgiving the two of them. "Huo Yuhao and the other two have slept together, what about you two?" Ye Qian scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Teacher Zhou, we went to study the martial soul fusion technique last night." Zhou Yi raised her eyebrows slightly, with a look of scrutiny in her eyes, "Martial Soul Fusion Technique?" Ye Qian glanced at Gu Yuena, and then said, "Teacher, when we were practicing, we accidentally discovered that our martial souls showed signs of fusion, so we wanted to give it a try." Gu Yuena also nodded and agreed: "Although it was successful, he has been unconscious until now." Zhou Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll trust you for now, but next time this happens, you must report it to me in advance. Go back to your seats." The two nodded and returned to their seats. Looking at Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena returning to their seats, Zhou Yi had actually believed what they said. Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena were too disdainful to use lies to cover up their lateness, so the most likely scenario was that they were telling the truth. This is a martial soul fusion technique. Originally, the strength of the two was the highest in the freshman class. Now that they have the martial soul fusion technique, the strength of the two is enough to sweep the entire first grade of freshmen. After Zhou Yi returned to the podium, she said calmly, "After three days, the freshman assessment has been completed. The final results were calculated last night." After hearing what she said, all the students in Class 1 immediately perked up. Not every group was as sure of passing the assessment as Ye Qian'an and his team. "I have to say that you worked very hard and made me proud. All the twenty-two students in our class who participated in the examination passed the freshman examination. I am very pleased."
"Boom——" The whole freshman class was boiling with excitement, and cheers resounded in every corner of the class. This time, Zhou Yi did not stop them, but just watched these children cheering with a smile on her face. "Okay, be quiet." After everyone cheered for a long time, Zhou Yi signaled them to be quiet again. "Among the twenty-two groups of you, fourteen have not yet completed the freshman assessment. Because you have entered the top sixty-four, you still have to complete the next elimination round. The elimination round is the time to truly prove your excellence." Zhou Yi continued, "In this round-robin competition for freshman assessment, a total of seven groups of students won all the games. Our class has two groups. I wanted to give them some class rewards, but unfortunately, they were late for class today. So, the merits and demerits are offset, and there will be no reward or punishment." At this moment, the four latecomers once again became the focus of the class. Zhou Yi continued, "The two groups of students are Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena, as well as Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. I hope you can also perform well in the upcoming elimination rounds." "Now let me explain to you the rules and precautions of the knockout round..." Zhou Yi introduced the relevant content of the knockout round in detail. "Did you understand everything?" Zhou Yi asked. "I understand!" the students answered in unison. "Okay, that's it for today's class. get out of class dismissed." Zhou Yi said, turned around and left the classroom. …… The next day, outside the assessment area, there was a row of nearly thirty teachers from the academy standing, and Zhou Yi was among them. Soon, Du Weilun, the director of the Wuhun Department of the External Academy, finished the roll call, and then the drawing of lots began. It was just a freshman assessment, without too many complicated ceremonies. Ye Qian'an drew the lots on behalf of their team, and all sixty-four groups of students participating in the knockout rounds were divided into thirty-two matches to compete against each other. The students had a day off yesterday, and the assessment area has been improved. All that is needed is to change the position of the partitions. It has been divided into 16 areas. This time, the area of each area has been increased several times, and the students participating in the elimination round will have a wider space to display their skills. The rules during the knockout period are very simple, one game in the morning and one game in the afternoon every day. The eliminated team goes directly back to class, while the winning team stays and continues the competition. It took a total of three days to determine the top three. After the draw, the 64 to 32 competition started immediately, and 32 games were held simultaneously. This would shorten the assessment time as much as possible, giving the winning students enough rest time to compete in the afternoon. Ye Qian'an and his classmates were assigned to the 15th district this time, and the invigilator was also replaced. This time it was a female teacher in her thirties who looked very kind. When they drew lots, they only had numbers, and they didn't know what opponents they would face. When they arrived at the venue, they were a little helpless. The one they drew in the first round was actually their own people from the freshman class, and this elimination match turned into a civil war. To be honest, it has been three months since Ye Qian'an came to Shrek Academy, but he still hasn't recognized all the people in his class. He only has an impression of the other three students. Since Zhou Yi dared to choose Ye Qian and Gu Yuena as a team, their strength was naturally unmatched by other teams. The game didn't take long, and it took less than three minutes to resolve the battle and successfully enter the top 32. More importantly, only one of them took the field and destroyed a team. The freshman assessment elimination round, the competition between thirty-two and sixteen will officially begin in the assessment area when the bell rings in the afternoon. Compared with the morning, the number of students participating in the knockout round was reduced by half. After drawing lots again, they immediately went to their respective drawn areas to compete. Because it was the same day's competition, there were no changes to the venues, and they were still divided the same way as in the morning, but only the first sixteen venues were put into use. On the north side of the assessment area, a high platform was erected. It was twenty meters above the ground and supported by six metal pillars. Looking up from below, it was impossible to see how many people could be accommodated on it. There were shadows on it, and it seemed that some people were watching the competition. From a height of twenty meters, it was enough to overlook the entire assessment area and see clearly what was happening in each venue. Ye Qian'an and Gu Yuena arrived early outside the assessment area to draw lots. This time, their assessment area became number eight. When they arrived at the venue, another team that had also drawn area number eight had already arrived. The three members of the other team were all women. Watch the game from the high platform. Zhou Yi stood quietly on the stage, watching the competition that was about to begin. In the round-robin competition, the freshman class was the biggest winner, but in the elimination round, some students with strong individual strengths began to show their potential and strength.
In the 64-to-32 match, only five teams were left from Class 1. Although there were still more teams than other freshman classes, the advantage was no longer obvious. The next 32-to-16 match was crucial. "Teacher Zhou, are you looking for your seeded team? I just looked at the draw, and it's such a coincidence that the seeded team you chose happens to be the seed of our class, over there, in assessment area number eight. Guess who will win?" A female teacher who looked to be about 30 years old came to Zhou Yi and said with a low laugh. Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly fixed, "Mu Jin, do you think your student is sure to win?" Mu Jin smiled and shook her head, saying, "That's not the case. Nothing is absolute, at least not above level 30. What a pity." Zhou Yi's eyes turned cold, "Are you here to provoke me?" The smile on Mu Jin's face disappeared instantly. "So what? Isn't your class doing well? I want to see how many of your students can make it into the top eight. When the draw was over just now, I found that my seed student was playing against your seed student, and I felt very happy." Zhou Yi stopped looking at Mu Jin's provocative expression and cast her eyes towards the competition venue below, locking onto the eighth area where Ye Qian and Gu Yuena were, and said calmly, "Want to make a bet?" Upon hearing this, Mu Jin agreed without hesitation: "Bet, what do you want to bet with me?" Zhou Yi finally stopped ignoring her, turned around to face her, and said in a deep voice: "A soul bone, do you dare?" (End of this chapter)
