Chapter 198: Cruel Competition
Lin Qi heard a familiar voice.
He turned to see Jiangtao's handsome, tan face to his left.
Beside him were Guan Mountain, Guo Heng, Wang Qiufeng, and Chen Zichuan.
"Brother Qi!" everyone greeted.
"Brother Qi, you're finally here!"
"Brother Qi, let me fill you in. We're in the virtual spectator stands for the freshman tournament. From this vantage point, we can clearly see the fights in the arena," Jiangtao said with a smile.
"The area we're in now is the Azure Sky Sixth Institute's section. Each institute has its own," Zhou Xiyin, to his right, added with a smile.
Lin Qi nodded and glanced around. He was surrounded by students from the Azure Sky Sixth Institute.
"Brother Qi!!"
Upon seeing him, they all greeted him enthusiastically.
He then looked toward the other institutes' sections. They were too far away to see clearly; he could only make out their general builds.
As they chatted, it quickly became nine o'clock, the starting time for the competition.
BEEP!!
Yellow light particles coalesced high above the arena, projecting the figure of Vice-Principal Xu Wenji. Magnified ten times, he was clearly visible to everyone.
"Fellow students!"
Xu Wenji began to speak, his voice deep and resonant, booming like a great bell to reach every corner.
"Welcome, everyone, to the individual freshman tournament."
"If the Disaster Beast Hunting Competition is a formal battle against Calamity Beasts, then the individual tournament is a contest between geniuses."
"It is the art of Martial Arts, the pinnacle of competition."
"In the individual tournament, there are no restrictions, only winning."
"Your Qi and Blood Value, Martial Arts, and physical conditioning are all scanned to perfectly replicate your real-world body."
"Here, the strong are simply strong, and the weak are simply weak!"
"Don't worry about injuring your opponents. Unleash your full strength to kill them and claim victory."
The crowd erupted the moment he finished speaking.
In the past, inside the Red Realm, nearly everyone fought with their Qi and Blood Values set to the same level.
But now, with no restrictions, everything came down to a person's overall strength.
'The great thing about the Virtual World,' Lin Qi thought, 'is that I don't have to hold back. I won't have to worry about casualties, so I can unleash my full power without any restraints. This is perfect for me. In the real world, I'm so used to hunting Calamity Beasts that I'm afraid I might accidentally slit an opponent's throat out of habit.'
"In the first round, 8,991 contestants will fight simultaneously. Only 900 will be able to advance to the second round, and those who advance will receive a reward of 500,000 Xia Country Coins!"
Xu Wenji announced the reward with a smile, and many students' eyes lit up at the news.
The rules for the first round meant it wasn't guaranteed that only the top experts would advance. If you could just lay low until the end, you might just snag 500,000 Xia Country Coins for free.
For many students from ordinary backgrounds, that was a huge sum of money.
"I now declare the individual freshman tournament officially started!"
"All contestants, enter the arena now!!"
"Compete to your heart's content!!"
Xu Wenji bellowed!
The next moment, countless people in the spectator stands transformed into crimson pillars of light, shooting out and vanishing from their spots.
Nearly 9,000 pillars of light descended from thin air onto the massive, 20,000-square-meter arena.
8,991 contestants appeared on the arena, all enveloped in pillars of light, and began to choose their Combat Suits and Weapons while observing their opponents.
Meanwhile, the spectator stands had become completely empty.
Lin Qi glanced around and could only faintly make out a few figures—they were all the Deans of the various institutes!
Lin Qi could feel several gazes land on him. They were his opponents for the later rounds.
[30-Second Countdown initiated!]
[3... 2... 1...]
[The battle officially begins!!]
An emotionless, automated voice announced the start of the match from high above the arena.
"Kill!!"
WHOOSH WHOOSH~~
The moment the match began, the brawl erupted. The sounds of battle echoed throughout the entire arena.
It was an utterly shocking scene: thousands of geniuses, all top-ranked in their respective provinces, were fighting to the death.
The clash of Weapons and an overwhelming killing intent filled every corner. Even an expert could die instantly from a single careless mistake.
SHLICK~ SHLICK~
Clad in a silver Combat Suit, Jiangtao swung his sharp Battle Saber, his legs rooted to the ground like an old tree.
He wove a defensive perimeter with his blade, blocking every incoming attack and using the momentum to launch deadly counters.
In just a few moments, he had killed several opponents.
He noticed other students from the Sixth Institute and, by tacit agreement, they all avoided fighting each other, focusing instead on students from other institutes.
Even among students of Azure Sky University, the difference in strength was immense.
Jiangtao could clearly feel that his opponents were too weak; many couldn't even block a single one of his slashes.
From the spectator stands, Lin Qi watched the large screen projected in the sky.
[Survivors: 8601/8991]
Less than a minute into the battle, more than three hundred people had already been eliminated.
Pillars of light, carrying the eliminated students, continuously reappeared in the spectator stands.
Many from their own Sixth Institute were among those eliminated.
"I saw a flash from a blade, and then I died. I barely got to experience anything."
"Same here. I only got one swing in before I died. We're all students at Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy; how is the gap in our strength so huge?"
...
[Survivors: 8002/8991]
...
[Survivors: 7500/8991]
...
[Survivors: 3008/8991]
...
In just ten short minutes, only three thousand people were left. Every single survivor was an expert.
Lin Qi spotted many familiar faces from the Azure Sky Sixth Institute, all desperately fighting off the opponents around them. He could only describe the scene with one word: chaos.
Everyone was an enemy. The only way to advance was to fight and kill. Of course, this also meant that some experts were bound to be taken out by unlucky encounters.
SHLICK~ SHLICK~
The first round didn't officially end until half an hour later.
[Round One has officially concluded!]
The 900 who advanced were returned to the spectator stands.
The large, projected screen began to update.
[Qualifiers: 99 (Sixth Institute)]
The screen was divided into nine sections, showing the number of qualifiers from each institute. The Azure Sky Sixth Institute's performance was about average.
"Brother Qi, Azure Sky First Institute actually got more than two hundred people into the second round!"
"And the Azure Sky Ninth Institute has 135 qualifiers!" Jiangtao exclaimed from beside him.
Lin Qi's expression grew grim. The number of qualifiers from the individual tournament was a clear indicator of the disparity in strength.
The weakest, the Azure Sky Seventh Institute, only had 40 qualifiers, five times less than the First Institute.
Jiangtao and the others still felt a lingering fear. If Huo Wanyang, Ao Feng, and their group hadn't withdrawn early yesterday, but had fought to the end, their Sixth Institute would never have been able to win.
"Let's congratulate the students who have successfully advanced to the second round."
"As for those who were eliminated, do not be discouraged. There will be many more competitions in the future. You just need to work harder."
Xu Wenji's projection concluded his summary. A moment later, he continued:
"Next, we will begin the second round of the individual tournament immediately. In this round, 900 will become 90."
"The 900 contestants will be divided into 9 groups of 100. Each group will fight until only 10 are left standing to advance."
"Furthermore, every student who advances to the third round will receive a reward of 1,000,000 Xia Country Coins."
"Now, we will begin the random drawing for the first group!"
The moment Xu Wenji finished speaking, a panel materialized in front of him, large enough for everyone in the spectator stands to see clearly. One hundred names appeared on it.
Lin Qi immediately spotted Jiangtao's name among them.
...