"What does a decent person need that for?"
Fang Si was momentarily stunned, then chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not a bandit!"
"I think you two… are a bit alike."
Long Jiang remained wary, the incident with Shi Ziming having left him with a lingering shadow. If he were to end up with a urea bag, especially in front of the entire nation, he'd have no face to return to his family.
"Please, both contestants, take the stage!"
The host introduced both individuals' information and directly announced the start of the match.
"Chen Shu, who do you think will win?" Ah Liang asked, a hint of regret in his eyes. If only he were Silver rank. The current Silver division was incredibly competitive; everyone was a genius among geniuses.
"Fang Si will win!" Chen Shu stated confidently. "Watch closely, Long Jiang's eyes already show fear. He clearly lacks confidence."
"It seems so!" Ah Liang raised an eyebrow. "He's only Silver one-star, facing Fang Si, a Silver two-star senior. He indeed has little chance of winning."
Chen Shu said no more. Even he felt Fang Si's strength was somewhat formidable. Her trip to the secret realm likely brought her significant improvements. Moreover, as a representative of the Imperial Dragon Guard, the officials would naturally spare no effort in nurturing her.
At this moment, the match between the two had begun! From the start, Fang Si held nothing back. Crimson Flame Dragon and Frost Dragon attacked in tandem, one controlling and the other attacking, unleashing multiple powerful skills. Long Jiang's three contracted spirits were immediately at a disadvantage. While the potential ratings of both sides' contracted spirits were similar, Fang Si's skill was clearly superior.
Seeing the dire situation, Long Jiang didn't hesitate and unleashed his inherited skill. The Golden Dragon's aura on the field surged, and its attributes were significantly boosted. Long Jiang successfully managed to turn the tide temporarily, showing no signs of defeat. The match seemed to have entered a stalemate.
However, as time passed, Long Jiang was still unable to defeat Fang Si, and the scales of victory tilted once more. Finally, the effect of the Golden Dragon's inherited skill ended, and its combat power plummeted. Fang Si successfully won the match! Although it was Silver two-star versus Silver one-star, the battle was still incredibly intense. Long Jiang's strength was not weak, but unfortunately, his rank was a bit low, and facing Fang Si, his loss was understandable.
"The Dragon family's representative this year is a bit young," Chen Qinghai remarked. "If he were Silver two-star, he might have a chance to contend for a higher ranking."
"Our Huaxia Academy's representative is also a bit young," Liu Feng shook his head. "If Chen Shu were twenty-five, he might already be Gold rank by now."
"Can you not breathe without bragging?" Chen Qinghai's mouth twitched. He admitted Chen Shu's talent was immense, but couldn't he stop…
"Is telling the truth considered bragging?" Liu Feng smiled broadly. "Old Chen, seriously, why not give him the championship reward in advance?"
"You and your student are equally shameless!" Chen Qinghai made a gesture of contempt and turned away, ignoring him.
At this time, Long Jiang had already left the stage. He walked up to Chen Shu, his eyes filled with unwillingness and regret. He regretted not fighting Chen Shu, not losing to Fang Si.
"It's my bad luck!" Long Jiang sighed. "There will be opportunities in the future. I must have a proper match with you!"
As Chen Shu was about to speak, Fang Si interjected first: "You couldn't even beat me, so why would you fight Chen Pi…"
"..."
Long Jiang was immediately silenced. After a long pause, he said with some disbelief, "She really couldn't beat you?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, that seems to be the case." Chen Shu nodded honestly, showing no humility.
"My apologies, I'll be taking my leave!" Long Jiang turned and left with a dejected expression.
Chen Shu grinned and gave a thumbs-up, praising, "Sister Fang Si, after all these years, you're still so honest."
"Don't push it!" Fang Si pouted. "I'm just giving you face outside. Don't you actually think I can't beat you now, do you?"
Seeing the eagerness in Chen Shu's eyes, she immediately pulled away. "I'm talking about beast tamer combat. Put away your sinful urea bag!"
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. He had merely touched his combat bag; he hadn't done anything…
At this point, it was no longer the Silver division's turn, but the Bronze division was up for their matches. Despite the significant rank difference, the Bronze division's 3v3 format led to even more intense battles. Various powerful skills were unleashed, greatly enhancing the spectacle. Both the people on the island and the national audience were engrossed in watching the competition.
Meanwhile, about fifty kilometers off Holy Imperial Island, a black shark in the deep sea, with intelligent eyes, flapped its tail and sped towards Holy Imperial Island. Surrounding creatures seemed unable to see it, completely ignoring it. On the shark's head stood a person in a black robe, the robe obscuring their face, revealing only a pair of cold eyes. Their eyes seemed to have spotted Holy Imperial Island, and they couldn't help but murmur, "Finally, it's time for… gurgle gurgle…"
Before they could finish, salty seawater surged in, flooding their mouth. The black-robed figure quickly closed their mouth and ordered the black shark to accelerate.
…
As evening approached, the day's matches concluded successfully. A total of two Silver division matches and two Bronze division matches were held. According to the progression of the Grand Competition, the next matches would be held in three days. The first round alone would take nearly a month.
Chen Shu and his group sat on the southern side of the island, enjoying the sea breeze.
"Chen Shu, for the upcoming matches, absolutely do not let your guard down!" Liu Feng reminded him again. Although he had said it many times, he was still uneasy.
"Teacher Liu, I'm tired of hearing it," Chen Shu sighed and muttered, "You wouldn't be this nagging when you're scattering my ashes…"
"Huh? What?"
"Nothing… nothing." Chen Shu waved his hand. "It's the Grand Competition now. Can you remove the sniper rifle…" "I'm under too much pressure now. One mistake and I might capsize in a ditch."
Liu Feng pondered for a moment. "Alright, but you absolutely cannot cause trouble!"
Chen Shu patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, when have I ever caused trouble?"
"That sentence sounds so familiar…"