As the Chief Referee's majestic voice faded, the previously noisy Star Luo Plaza instantly became solemn and tense.
One by one, the team captains, wearing the uniforms of their respective academies, were guided by protocol staff to line up and walk onto the high platform in an orderly fashion.
The massive lottery box sat in the center, like a bottomless black hole, devouring the heartbeats of everyone present.
Every captain who walked up had their expression tightened to the extreme.
After all, this was a knockout tournament!
Under such a cruel tournament format, the quality of one's luck in the draw was sometimes more important than strength itself.
Everyone hoped to draw a "top-tier lot," such as encountering those small academies that were just there to make up the numbers, so they could advance to the next round without bloodshed and conserve their strength.
And everyone feared drawing that terrifying "worst-tier lot"—namely Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Once they ran into these two behemoths in the first round, they might as well buy their tickets home in advance.
Meanwhile, in the crowd below the stage.
Xuan Zi did not care about tactical arrangements or opponent analysis like the other team leaders.
At this moment, he was gnawing fiercely on a chicken bone that had long since lost its flavor, while locking his turbid yet sinister gaze firmly onto Liu Yuan, who stood to the side.
That gaze was filled with malice and calculation.
"Hmph..." Xuan Zi snorted coldly in his heart, unable to stop himself from fantasizing wildly.
"If the heavens have eyes, let this Liu Yuan run straight into us, Shrek, in the first round!"
"If we could just draw the Sun Moon Royal Academy in the knockout stage, that would be perfect!"
Excitement flickered in Xuan Zi's eyes, as if he had already seen that scene.
In his view, Shrek Academy was invincible.
With the Shrek Team at full strength, wouldn't dealing with a Soul Engineer academy that relied on external tools be a piece of cake?
"As long as we run into them..." Xuan Zi thought, gritting his teeth:
"With our Shrek's formidable strength, we will definitely win!"
"When that time comes, I will kick them out of the tournament right in the first round, in front of everyone on the entire continent!"
"I want to watch that dog, Liu Yuan, roll off the stage like a stray dog, making him lose all face! I want him to know that leaving Shrek was the biggest mistake of his life!"
The mere thought of trampling Liu Yuan under his feet made every pore on Xuan Zi's body expand with pleasure.
Just as Xuan Zi was immersed in his pleasant fantasies.
"Next, representative of Shrek Academy!" the referee's voice rang out.
On the Shrek Team's side, the captain, Ma Xiaotao, took a deep breath, and with her long, slender legs, strode up to the high platform.
Although she had a fiery personality, she looked quite solemn at such a moment concerning honor.
She reached into the huge lottery box, stirred it a few times, and then suddenly grabbed a numbered ball.
"Shrek Academy, draw position..." The referee took the ball, glanced at it, and announced loudly: "Number Six!"
Following the referee's voice, a line of large characters immediately lit up on the massive spirit tool screen behind the high platform.
[First Round, Sixth Match: Shrek Academy VS To Be Determined]
"Number Six, huh..." Xuan Zi, down in the audience, narrowed his eyes and glanced at the spirit tool screen.
So far, the previous academies had all drawn other numbers, and no team had yet drawn "Number Six."
In other words, Shrek's opponent had not yet appeared.
"Very good!" Xuan Zi's spirits lifted, his previously turbid old eyes instantly becoming sharp as he stared fixedly at the lottery stage.
Now, it was time to wait for the prey to enter the net.
As time passed, one team captain after another went up to draw lots.
"Number Twelve!" "Number Three!" "Number Twenty-Eight!"...
Every time the referee announced a number, Xuan Zi's heart would skip a beat.
He was waiting. Waiting for that figure he hated so much it made his teeth itch.
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