Chapter 95: The Round-Robin Draw Begins! An Excited Elder Xuan!
The deafening roar of the crowd in Star Luo Plaza refused to die down. If anything, the conclusion of the brutal first round of elimination matches only poured oil on the fire. Anticipation hung heavy in the air, thick and suffocating, as the tournament transitioned into the highly anticipated round-robin group selection.
High upon the grand podium, the chief referee stepped into the light. His expression was carved from stone. He swept a cold, authoritative gaze over the assembled team leaders of the surviving academies. When he spoke, his voice, amplified by high-tier sound-type soul tools, boomed across the vast arena like rolling thunder.
"Listen well! All qualified academy representative teams shall be divided equally into sixteen groups via a blind draw." The referee paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the tens of thousands of spectators. "Each group will consist of multiple teams, fighting under a single round-robin points system. Ultimately, only the team ranked first in each group's total points will secure a ticket to the round of sixteen elimination matches. Every other team will be instantly eliminated!"
A collective gasp rippled through the plaza, immediately followed by a frantic, low hum of murmurs from the competitors. The sheer brutality of the format was staggering. The tolerance for error was practically nonexistent. Dropping a single match, or even failing to secure maximum sub-points against a weaker opponent, meant staring down the barrel of immediate disqualification. There were no second chances here.
Du Busi stood among the crowd of leaders, his massive, imposing frame towering over those nearby. As he absorbed the harsh rules, the thick arms crossed over his broad chest relaxed slightly. A slow, predatory smirk crept onto his face. Without missing a beat, his gaze drifted sideways, locking onto the hunched figure of Elder Xuan standing a short distance away.
"Only the group winner advances, eh?" Du Busi murmured, his lips curling into a deeply mocking arc. He tilted his head slightly toward Liu Yuan, who stood quietly at his side. "Liu Yuan, I truly hope our luck is exceptionally 'good' today. Imagine the sheer joy of being drawn into the exact same group as Shrek."
Liu Yuan kept his posture relaxed, his hands resting casually at his sides. His deep Double Pupils fixed coldly upon Elder Xuan's tense, rigid back. The old man looked as though he were standing on the edge of a cliff. "Does Master wish to completely crush them before they even sniff the round of sixteen?" Liu Yuan asked, his tone perfectly flat, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.
"That goes without saying," Du Busi scoffed, a cold snort escaping his nose. Raw, undisguised dominance radiated from his very pores. "It would save me the headache of watching that decrepit old fool play his pathetic, mysterious tricks all day long. We meet them early, we break them early, and we send them packing. They sit on that championship throne every single time. Wouldn't it be incredibly satisfying to drag them through the mud before the real tournament even begins?"
Du Busi let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "Though, knowing that old dog, he is probably praying to every god and Buddha in existence right now, begging the heavens to keep us far away from him."
He was not wrong. Just a few paces away, Elder Xuan's greasy robes clung uncomfortably to his skin, his back completely drenched in a layer of cold, clammy sweat. Exactly as Du Busi had predicted, the Taotie Douluo was currently engaged in frantic, desperate prayer within the deepest recesses of his mind.
His jaw locked tight. He knew the grim reality of their situation better than anyone. With the current, pathetic caliber of the Shrek reserve team—a bunch of inexperienced children forced to carry ten thousand years of glory—encountering a true powerhouse like the Body Sect or the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy in the group stage meant absolute, guaranteed annihilation.
"Must avoid the strong teams... must avoid them..." Elder Xuan muttered obsessively under his breath. His knuckles turned stark white as his trembling fingers dug viciously into the fabric of his own sleeves.
The draw ceremony officially commenced. One by one, the team leaders of the major academies ascended the grand stage, reaching into a heavily inscribed, soul-tool-shielded lottery box provided by the tournament organizing committee to extract their numbered spheres.
"Next, the Shrek Academy representative team. Will the team leader please approach the stage."
Elder Xuan sucked in a ragged breath. He moved with the stiff, jerky gait of a condemned prisoner marching toward the executioner's block. The eyes of the entire plaza seemed to bore into his back as he dragged his feet up the stairs.
Plunging his hand into the dark opening of the lottery box, he could not stop the violent tremor shaking his fingertips. He fumbled blindly for a long, agonizing moment before finally closing his grip around a smooth sphere. He pulled it out, revealing a stark black letter painted across its surface.
The referee snatched the sphere from his trembling grasp, gave it a cursory glance, and announced to the roaring crowd: "Shrek Academy, assigned to Group C!"
Elder Xuan's head snapped up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto the massive soul-screen displaying the real-time match bracket. He scanned the names rapidly. The other teams populating Group C were already locked in. They were a collection of obscure, utterly ordinary academies. Not a single seed team from the Star Luo Empire was listed among them.
A long, shuddering sigh of relief escaped Elder Xuan's lips. His knees buckled slightly, the sheer release of tension making him feel as though he might collapse right there on the stage. Luck. For once, the heavens had actually smiled upon him.
For a Shrek Academy teetering on the absolute brink of despair and utter humiliation, this incredibly weak group was nothing short of a lifeline thrown to a drowning man.
As he descended the stairs, his previously leaden pace transformed into a brisk, almost bouncy stride. The fear vanished, instantly replaced by his usual arrogant facade. He even had the audacity to deliberately puff out his chest as he walked past Du Busi, jutting his chin out as if proudly parading his ethereal stroke of sheer, unadulterated luck.
Tracking the bracket on the massive screen, Du Busi's eyes narrowed. A deep sense of disgust, mingled with sharp regret, flashed across his rugged features.
"Pah! That shameless old bastard. His luck is truly, ridiculously thick. He actually managed to dodge the blade again." Du Busi spat onto the polished stone floor, his displeasure radiating from his heavy frame. He had wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around Shrek's throat and strangle their so-called glory in the cradle.
"With that collection of absolute small fries in Group C, even if Huo Yuhao and the rest of those brats only possess the meager strength of a reserve team, they should be able to scrape by," Du Busi grumbled, crossing his arms once more. "It seems Elder Xuan's miserable old life gets to be extended for a few more days."
The draw ceremony pressed forward without delay.
"Next, the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy representative team."
Du Busi casually adjusted his collar, rolling his shoulders before swaggering up the steps with the confidence of a conquering warlord. He didn't bother with the nervous hesitation of the others. He simply shoved his massive hand into the box, didn't even bother to look, and yanked out a sphere at random.
"Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy, assigned to Group F!"
Du Busi tossed the sphere back to the referee and strolled off the stage, returning to his spot beside Liu Yuan. Up on the giant screen, the match list for Group F remained mostly blank, a wide-open battlefield waiting for its combatants to be decided by the remaining draws.
Over in the preparation area, Elder Xuan had taken a seat. The relief that had washed over him moments ago rapidly curdled into something dark and venomous. A dense, intense malice twisted his wrinkled features. His bloodshot eyes locked onto the lottery box with a hateful glare, a stream of vicious curses echoing incessantly within his mind.
"Get in... let every single strong team get dragged straight into Group F!" Elder Xuan hissed through tightly gritted teeth. His voice carried a raspy, almost pathological madness.
"It would be absolute perfection if the Star Luo Royal Academy gets drawn in. Let the Sun Moon team fall into that pit as well! Du Busi, aren't you arrogant? Aren't you so damn proud? I want to see if you can still laugh when your precious disciples are besieged and torn apart by two apex teams!"
In that dark, bitter moment, Elder Xuan completely abandoned the dignified bearing expected of a Super Douluo. He no longer cared about his exalted status or his position as the pillar of Shrek. He only craved one thing: for Liu Yuan and the Body Sect to suffer immediate, catastrophic misfortune. If he could just watch the Body Sect be utterly humiliated and eliminated, it might finally soothe the burning, distorted sense of shame festering inside his chest.
The draw ceremony swiftly approached its climax. The tension in the plaza spiked sharply.
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. Will the team leader please come to the stage."
The collective gaze of tens of thousands of spectators shifted in unison. As Shrek Academy's absolute mortal enemy for the past ten thousand years, the Sun Moon team commanded a suffocating level of attention. Every single movement they made was scrutinized by the masses.
Elder Ma, the leading instructor of the Sun Moon Academy, ascended the stage. His expression was heavy and gloomy, his eyes cold as he reached into the box and extracted a sphere.
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, assigned to Group A!"
Watching the giant 'A' flash across the screen, a sharp pang of disappointment struck Elder Xuan. His malicious fantasy had been partially thwarted. Yet, he refused to give up his bitter cursing. He leaned forward, his eyes practically bulging as he stared fixedly at the remaining empty slots on the board.
"Next, the Star Luo Royal Advanced Spirit Master Academy representative team."
A massive cheer erupted from the home crowd. This was the absolute seed team representing the host empire. The leader of the Star Luo team, clad in a magnificent, glittering golden school uniform, walked onto the stage with a perfectly composed, regal demeanor. Without a hint of hesitation, he reached his hand into the box.
The atmosphere within the arena pulled taut like a bowstring. For Elder Xuan, the suspense was practically agonizing. He held his breath, his chest tight, his unblinking eyes glued to the small, numbered sphere now resting in the referee's hand.
The referee raised the sphere high. "Star Luo Royal Academy, assigned to—Group F!"
The moment that massive, glowing 'F' materialized on the soul-screen, Elder Xuan froze. For a split second, he was completely stunned. Then, as if a dam of pure madness had suddenly burst within his mind, he violently vaulted up from his seat in the preparation area. He threw his clenched fists into the air, his face twisting into a grotesque mask of glee as an extremely piercing, unhinged laugh tore from his throat.
"Hahahaha! It hit! It actually hit!"
Completely ignoring the baffled, disturbed, and outright strange looks shot his way by the dignified leaders of the surrounding academies, Elder Xuan jabbed a trembling, accusatory finger straight at Du Busi. He laughed wildly, spittle flying from his lips.
"Du Busi! Did you hear that?! You are in Group F! You are going to have to fight to the bitter death against the Star Luo Royal Academy! That is a top-tier powerhouse with the absolute home-field advantage! Let me see how you manage to keep that arrogant tone now! Just sit back and wait to be utterly crushed in the group stage!"
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]