The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Evan Pearson frowned slightly and asked, "Is this first-place winner very strong?" Edwin Clarissa replied, "He should be very strong. However, he's in our fifth grade and is a rare loner. He rarely participates in group activities in previous years, but I didn't expect him to suddenly decide to participate in the Gold Cup this year, and he's quite focused on it. It's possible that he's eyeing some of the resources and rewards from this year's Gold Cup."

　Evan Pearson nodded. "I see. I wonder if he'll choose Dark Dimon."

　Edwin Clarissa glanced at him, then shook her head and laughed, "The probability is not high. After all, his goal is to win, so he will definitely choose the easiest target."

　Evan Pearson frowned and said, "No, it's Dark Dimon. He's a sophomore!"

　Edwin Clarissa chuckled, "Your Holiness, aren't you also a second-year student?"

　Evan Pearson immediately shut his mouth.

　"It seems our 'Thunder Blade' has made its choice. Let's reveal the answer!"

　With a wave of her hand, Judy sent the cube floating above Torrey Wozworth's head flying out and crashing into the remaining fifteen cubes floating above the contestants' heads.

　The cube skipped over the second-place cube all the way to the fifteenth-place cube, then slammed on the brakes and crashed into it.

　"Boom!"

　The two cubes collided and exploded into a dazzling firework, leaving a projection in the sky.

　[Match 1: Todd Wadsworth vs. Elijah Sheridan]

　Dark, standing next to Elijah Sheridan, patted his chest with a look of relief and said, "Thank goodness."

　“Almost.” Eluri Clarissa winked at him. Dark said, “Senior Wordsworth is a hidden talent. If he had chosen us, we might have been eliminated in the first round.”

　Eluri Clarissa glanced to the other side and whispered, "Rigana, who's ranked second, isn't weak either."

　Dark shrugged and said, "Then we can only hope she doesn't notice me."

　"Hehe." Eluri Clarissa chuckled and looked at Elijah Sheridan over Dark's side.

　Elijah Sheridan's face looked rather grim.

　As the fifteenth-place finisher in this "Golden Cup" points race, he wasn't a dark horse like Mars Carey, who surged all the way up. Instead, he slipped down from a high ranking and barely managed to hold onto his position.

　It's understandable that Torrey Wadsworth would consider him an easy target.

　But he himself, of course, was unwilling to admit it.

　As a fellow fifth-grader, Elijah Sheridan knew a bit about Torrey Wozworth. He didn't think he had no chance if he could find a way to counter Wozworth's deck.

　After all, none of those who have made it this far are weak, and there's no reason for them to show any fear. "Then let's settle this in the dueling arena!"

　He composed himself and, at Judy's prompting, stepped forward to stand with Elijah Sheridan.

　After conducting a brief psychological interview with them, Judy then invited Regina Milton, who was ranked second, to the stage.

　Regina Milton is also a fifth-grader, but she is a student from the "House of Fools".

　In fact, the top three in this points competition were all fifth-grade students, and they rarely lost in the points competition.

　In the sixth grade, above the fifth grade, only "Dragon Slayer" Luke Becky and "Power Attacker" Matthew Bilbohm made it into the main tournament.

　The other top sixth-grade students were focused on their graduation projects and did not put their emphasis on the "Golden Cup".

　After a brief moment of consideration, Regina Milton chose Mars Carey, who was ranked sixteenth from the bottom of the list.

　There's nothing wrong with her choice.

　After stepping forward, Mars Carey gave an interview along with Regina Milton.

　But in this interview, Mars Carey, who is only in fourth grade, showed his youthful arrogance!

　He directly thanked Regina Milton for her choice and declared his victory in advance.

　As soon as he finished speaking, the entire venue erupted in cheers! The audience still prefers to see the contestants show their full potential rather than hiding their talents.

　"Two are over, it's time for the third."

　Dark turned his head slightly and looked in that direction, where he caught a glimpse of Pandora's smiling face.

　He felt a sudden chill, realizing his chances were dwindling. If the top five contestants didn't choose him, then Pandora, ranked sixth, would almost certainly choose him!

　Given his current situation, if he were to suddenly face Pandora, he would probably be eliminated in the first round.

　Darko Dimon, after all, still has a little bit of pride. What he said in the interview wasn't entirely untrue.

　His only current goal was to survive the first round! But if he managed to be selected by one of the top five, only three of them would remain. He quickly began to consider his options.

　Ranking third is Silas Andy, a fifth-year student at the Magic Academy. Silas Andy is a student in the same year and academy as Pandora. Although he has always been overshadowed by Pandora's dazzling brilliance, this does not mean he is weak.

　His increased time commitment allowed him to accumulate a large number of points, successfully securing third place in the "Golden Cup" points competition.

　Moreover, students from the Magic Academy are always the most difficult to deal with, so if possible, Dark doesn't want to face him in the first round of the single-elimination tournament.

　However, looking at it from above, one can see that he is already the best choice at present.

　Because the fourth place goes to "Dragon Slayer" Luke Becky. The fifth place... although a fourth-year student, is the vice president of the "Astrology Club"!

　"Astrology Society" is also known as "Astronomy Society".

　Someone who can become the vice president of the "Astrology Club" in the fourth grade is definitely not an easy person.

　"Compared to that, is fifth-year student Silas Andy really the easiest to deal with?"

　Dark tried to glance past Pandora's face to see Silas Andy's reaction. But all he saw was Luke Becky's cold smile.

　"When did I offend this sixth-grade student?"

　A thought flashed through Dark's mind, and he noticed that Silas Andy had been called over by Judy.

　Silas Andy walked out of the crowd without looking to either side. He was of medium height and appearance, with curly brown hair and a pair of homemade glasses. At first glance, he looked like a student from the Magic Academy.

　"Silas Andy, choose your opponent." Senior Judy handed the microphone to Silas Andy.

　Silas Andy quickly and firmly uttered a name: "Dark Dimon."

　Instantly, the block above his head flew rapidly toward the block above Dark's head.

　"Boom!"

　The two cubes collided, bursting into a dazzling display of fireworks. A clear projection appeared in the sky.

　[Match 3: Silas Andy vs. Darko Dimon]

　…·

Chapter 873 Beauty is a Curse, but It Can Be Beneficial (6k)

　Silas Andy, a fifth-year student at the Magic Academy, is known as the "Man of the Ocean." His preferred decks include the "Shark" series, the "Sea Clan" series, and the "Sea Fish" series. He specializes in water-type and fish-type decks and has a deep understanding of field cards and water-type spell cards.

　Information about this senior student quickly surfaced in Dark's mind.

　Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he stepped out of the crowd and, together with Silas Andy, stood next to the second group.

　Senior Judy then walked over, raised the microphone, and said, "Andy, may I ask why you chose Dimon?"

　Silas Andy said calmly, "The sixteenth and fifteenth have already been chosen, so we can only choose the fourteenth."

　Senior Judy smiled and said, "That's a very reasonable reason. So, Andy must be determined to win today's duel, right?"

　Silas Andy said, "The opponent is a sophomore, so we shouldn't lose."

　Senior Judy immediately looked at Dark and asked, "So, Dark, what do you think of what Andy said?"

　Dark smiled slightly and said, "To be honest, I really breathed a sigh of relief when Andy called me over just now."

　Senior Judy asked with a smile, "How so?"

　Dark said, "Look behind there, isn't that Luke Becky, a sixth-grader? He's really lucky to have been chosen by Andy so early."

　Judy glanced deliberately in Luke Becky's direction. She immediately turned her gaze towards Luke Becky, also targeting the projections of the audience outside the arena.

　The projection captured that face, which looked like it wanted to devour someone. Luke Becky sneered, unconcerned.

　Silas Andy frowned.

　Dark's words were veiled in barbs, clearly implying that he was far inferior to Luke Becky.

　He didn't mind being told he was inferior to Luke Becky, but the dismissive tone in those words made him feel very uncomfortable.

　After all, the reason he so decisively targeted Dark Dimon was because he harbored hostility towards him!

　Ultimately, he, like Luke Becky, wanted to teach this arrogant second-year student a lesson!

　Silas Andy is Pandora's classmate and is closer to her than Luke Becky is.

　Starting around the beginning of the third grade, he found himself particularly interested in Pandora, who was already the top student in the grade at the time, and it has been almost two years since then.

　Unlike Luke Becky, he didn't boldly confess his feelings. Instead, he silently pursued her, hoping that one day he could surpass her... or at least catch up with Pandora, and then express his love to her on an equal footing.

　However, all of that came to an end.

　He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.

　Why would someone as perfect as Pandora fall for a naive and impetuous second-year student?

　Shouldn't she be like a pure white flower atop the icy plateau, aloof and independent from the world?

　No one is as perfect as her, and no one deserves her!

　A rare hint of gloom flashed across Silas Andy's eyes, and he finally couldn't help but say, "I hope you'll still feel lucky when we're on the court!"

　Dark smiled reservedly: "I hope so."

　Although he didn't know the reason, after a brief probing, Dark was still convinced that both Silas Andy and Luke Becky were somewhat hostile towards him.

　However, Silas Andy, the senior student, was very tight-lipped and did not reveal any details, which prevented him from further exploring the reasons behind it, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

　But the more this was the case, the more he wanted to find out the reason!

　"It seems we can only investigate further during the duel."

　Dark stood upright and then turned his attention to the others. He was also curious to see who the next contestant would choose as their opponent.

　After Silas Andy, it naturally comes down to "Dragon Slayer" Luke Becky.

　Luke Becky originally wanted to choose Dark as his opponent. But since Dark had already been chosen, he could only choose from the remaining fighters.

　His gaze swept around, and he quickly made a decision.

　[Match 4: Luke Becky vs. Matthew Bilbohm] "Power Attacker" Matthew Bilbohm is the only sixth-year student besides Luke Becky in the Gold Cup Round of 16.

　At the same time, he is also the weakest player among the remaining choices.

　At least from Luke Becky's perspective, that's the case.

　Therefore, there is no problem with his choice.

　However, Matthew Bilbohm, whom he had chosen, looked extremely grim.

　Matthew originally thought he would try to get a ranking in this year's Golden Cup because there were not many sixth-year students. However, he did not expect to encounter Luke Becky, the "Dragon Slayer", who was also a sixth-year student, in the first round of the single-elimination tournament.

　He has faced Luke Becky many times in past matches, but has yet to win a single game against him!

　This is a duel with almost no suspense!

　After Luke Becky finished his selection, only half of the contestants remained on stage.

　The range of choices has also become relatively narrow.

　However, the biggest favorite for this Golden Cup is still present.

　This made the remaining four contestants who had not yet been chosen feel a little nervous. In this atmosphere, Philomena Bach, the vice president of the "Astrology Club" who ranked fifth and a fourth-year student from the Fool's House, walked to the front with a calm step.

　Without much deliberation, she bypassed the thirteenth-ranked Eluri Clarissa and the eleventh-ranked contestant, choosing instead the tenth-ranked Marshall Wyant.

　[Fifth Match: Philomena Bach vs. Marshall Whiteant] Marshall Whiteant is a fourth-year student from the Knights Academy and also "90008" of the "Hidden Serpent".

　Philomena Bach, being a fellow fourth-year student, likely knew him well and was quite confident in defeating him.

　After Philomena Bach, it was finally time for Pandora Drogon, the "Silver Dragon Girl," who ranked sixth!

　"I wonder which unlucky person will be chosen this round." At this moment, the audience and the contestants were surprisingly in agreement. Dark was also paying close attention to this.

　But then Pandora turned her head slightly, pointed her finger, and the cube floating above her head shot out like lightning, smashing the cube above Eluri Clarissa's head!

　Match 6: Pandora Drogon vs. Eluri Clarissa

　l

　This sudden choice stunned Elurly Clarissa herself.

　Although Eluri Clarissa is ranked thirteenth, her strength is by no means weak.