Chapter 206: World Academy Tournament Opening Ceremony
In the following days, people from various places gradually made their way to Venice. The small Venice Water City suddenly saw nearly three times its usual number of tourists in just a few days, making the waterways, bridges, squares, and public ferries feel somewhat crowded.
Venice Water City is not large, and its capacity for people is limited. Gradually, Venice Water City began to restrict the influx of people.
There was no other way; traffic flow always had to be ensured, even if it was waterborne traffic.
The culprit behind the sudden overcrowding of the quiet and peaceful Venice Water City was naturally the World Academy Competition.
Internationally, there aren't many dueling competitions between Mages, and the various Magic Associations don't particularly encourage older Mages to perform in arenas and have it broadcast on television. Magic, after all, is solemn and sacred, yet also full of destruction and devastation…
The most suitable group for this kind of competition atmosphere are the Magic Academy students. Magic students are young and vigorous, and they can best demonstrate how successful a country's magic education is. This has led to the World Academy Tournament becoming the largest magic duel spectacle globally every four years. Furthermore, the students' strength is neither too high nor too low, making them the most suitable group for magic competitions.
At the Venice Governor's Mansion, the flags of the nations selected to enter Venice Water City were proudly hung. A total of 32 teams entered the final duels in Venice Water City. They were all teams that had performed exceptionally well in National Pavilion competitions and practical missions in various regions. In a way, this ranking also reflects the overall magic level of each country, and the deviation in this assessment is not significant.
Those who could enter the finals in Venice Water City could all be considered magic powerhouses.
With 32 flags suspended over Venice Water City, as the sun rose, magic salute cannons echoed through this beautiful City in the bay. Brilliant and sacred light streamed down, falling upon the young, vibrant faces of the teams from various countries. Listening to the soaring Italian magic battle hymns, and basking in the envious, worshipful, and hopeful gazes of the entire world, countless Academy Mages had dreamed of this day. From this moment on, they would no longer be unknown minor Mages, but potentially dazzling and renowned Mages who could enter the Parthenon Temple, the Freedom Temple, the Holy Judgment Court, or St. Peter's Basilica. Wherever they went, merely stating their name would elicit gasps of awe.
For many of the talented students here, these forces were exactly what they aspired to join, as they were considered top-tier powers in the magic world.
And the people attending recently were all super-Mages with renowned reputations worldwide.
"Here, I first express my gratitude to the Freedom Temple of America, the Dubai Magician Tower of Asia, St. Paul's Sanctuary of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope Demon Fortress of Africa, and the Altar of St. Kair of Australia. A sincere welcome to Venice! Once again, thanks to the Hunter Union, the International Clan Alliance, the Coastline Alliance, the Parthenon Temple, the Holy Judgment Court, the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo Magician Shrine, the Tehran Magic Ridge, St. Peter's Cathedral… and also sincere thanks for your long journey. And of course, the protagonists of our grand magic event, the most outstanding young Mages selected through layers of screening from major magic academies across thirty-two countries…" Venice Governor Fabio spoke his opening remarks with a booming voice.
The venue for this opening ceremony was not large, and everyone seated there was undoubtedly a world-renowned Mage. The forces and organizations they represented were even more the most longed-for holy lands for all Mages.
The chief representative from Great Xia attending was the Imperial Palace's Chief Mage, Pang Lai, who was just mentioned by the Governor – the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace Mages of Great Xia represent the strongest Mages on the surface of Great Xia; they are above the Judges, above the Pearl Mage Group, above the Imperial Guard Mage Group…
As for the Imperial Palace Magic Association being inferior to the Shanghai Pearl Magician Tower.
That is not the same.
One must know that before the Sea Monster Calamity, the chief of the Shanghai Pearl Magician Tower was not a Forbidden Magic Mage.
Excluding Wei Fang, almost all other Forbidden Magic Mages were on standby, ready to deploy whenever a Forbidden Magic Mage was needed.
However, with the arrival of the Sea Monster Calamity, and given that the Demon City was the main battlefield, the chief naturally had to be a Forbidden Magic Mage. In fact, almost all coastal Cities had Forbidden Magic Mage-level powerhouses stationed there.
As for other organizations named after famous national landmarks, they also represent the nationally recognized Mage Associations of various countries that enjoy a sacred reputation in the world, with the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court holding the highest global prestige.
Although the three giants—Parthenon Temple, Holy Judgment Court, and Hunter Union—originate from specific countries, their global influence is no less than that of the five major continent Magic Associations.
Therefore, if we were to talk about the highest world magic organizations, there should be eight.
Mo Fan knew this, but he remained indifferent. Zhao Manyan, on the other hand, was quite knowledgeable about the important figures of various forces. There was no other way; he himself lived among these so-called "celebrity" Mages, and knowing the major forces and their leaders was a basic requirement from his family!
After the opening ceremony concluded, they immediately proceeded to the tense and exciting drawing of lots.
The 32 National Government Teams, and which country would clash with which, had created a betting pool overflowing with money across the world. Why were ordinary people, who weren't so concerned with national affairs or magic disputes, so enthusiastic about watching the World Academy Competition?
On one hand, it had become a hot topic every four years, related to the prosperity and glory of their own country. On the other hand, the flow of funds in the gambling games opened during this period could rival a country's import and export funds.
"Captain, go draw the lot," Instructor Feng Li said to Mo Fan.
Thirty-two teams, and the captain of each team stepped forward. Normally, drawing lots would be the instructor's responsibility, but somehow, this task had begun to fall to the team captains. This could be considered an honor, as the drawing process was broadcast live, and the captains' faces would be exposed to the eyes of the entire world.
Mo Fan wasn't nervous at all. For him, everyone was the same; who was he not going to deal with?
Among the students, there were simply very few who could contend with him.
So, after Mo Fan drew his lot, he didn't even bother to look at which team it was. After showing it to the referee there, he grabbed the drawn card and walked back.
However, unlike Mo Fan's mood, other countries didn't think that way. After all, which country one drew was crucial. Strong countries didn't want to encounter other strong countries at the beginning, as that would only expose their overall strength too early. Weaker countries, needless to say, would be eliminated early if they met strong ones, not even having time for their names and faces to be remembered before having to return to their own countries in disgrace.
So, Mo Fan was very relaxed, but everyone else seemed a bit nervous.
And when Mo Fan returned and looked, it was the Sakura team.
The Sakura team, at the same time, also started shouting excitedly, as if they had encountered some weak country.