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

　But the sea creatures did indeed enjoy the joy of their first encounter. It's just that such simple joy might not last long.

　"Golden Mermaid" Aisalia Patus stood in the dense forest, atop the treetops, gazing at the cruise ship in the distance. Besides envy, she also felt a faint sense of longing.

　Although she was fully aware that her memories were false, and that the sea princess who broke the Sea God's Glass Lamp was someone else, she was still somewhat powerless to control her own destiny after inheriting the complete memories and personality.

　She longed to return to the sea, to revisit the palace of her memories. Such thoughts constantly surfaced in her midnight dreams. Aisalia bit her lip slightly, then leaped from the treetop and vanished in an instant.

　The hazy night sky was like a veil draped over the moon.

　A gentle breeze blows, and the lake water ripples with light.

　The lights on the cruise ships on the lake, as well as those in the castle and tower, were all turned off one by one.

　The night passed.

　The last vestiges of peace have vanished.

　The next day, Saturday.

　The opening ceremony of the Academy Championship finally took place amidst great anticipation. Only the participants and students from St. Mary's Academy attended the entire ceremony.

　But the people who came to watch the opening ceremony came from all over the continent.

　Not only are there real-time projections in the various dueling arenas of St. Marian Academy, but also in the various races, nations, and tribes, there are dedicated personnel to project slightly delayed projections onto the plazas near the dueling arenas. Then, projections with even greater delays are moved to plazas further away.

　Using the Duel Arena at St. Marian Academy as a base, they radiate outwards in waves. The "Magic League" is playing something entirely new.

　Only the "Magic Alliance," which brings together almost all the rulers of the entire continent, could have accomplished this.

　"Movie viewing for all" is becoming a possibility.

　And with

　The projection radiates across the entire continent, attracting all the "divine causes" under the divine ritual, which converge towards the actual dueling arena, making the absorption of "divine causes" easier.

　"Controlling the channels means controlling the power."

　If the "Magic Alliance" wants to establish its authority, it naturally needs to have the ability to do so.

　The "Academy Championship" is both a beginning and an experiment. The rulers of each race are watching this grand event unfold. As the contestants become aware of this, the pressure on them naturally increases, and their desire for victory intensifies, even to an extreme degree.

　This is not a battlefield, yet it feels just like one.

　"Well then, without further ado, the inaugural Academy Championship, sponsored by the Magic Alliance, will officially commence today, at this very moment, in the Duel Arena of St. Marian Academy! Let us enjoy the duels, enjoy the smiles, and let the era boil with our passion! Now, let the twenty-four preliminary contestants from St. Marian Academy take the stage first!"

　Today, Judy, who is also the host, is wearing a festive bright red dress. The red color makes her skin look even whiter, and her delicate features are endlessly pleasing to the eye.

　St. Maryann's Academy, as the host, made their appearance first.

　Leading the way was naturally the sixth-grade pre-competition contestant, and the undisputed champion among them—"Silver Dragon Girl" Pandora Drogon.

　Following closely behind is Winiscat, the "Daughter of Winter" from the fifth-year Magic Academy.

　As you can see, the "Fairy Princess" Eluri Clarissa, who was unable to participate in the Academy Cup at the end of the previous school year, also made an unexpected appearance.

　The other contestants, including Sherlock Holmes and Gina Grant, were also included.

　And slightly separated.

　The younger students followed closely behind. Dakdimon led the way.

　Behind him was Vitgt, the "Son of the Brave".

　One by one, familiar students walked out of the passage and appeared before the excitedly cheering audience.

　Anyone with even a slight understanding of duels can see that the new dueling rules have had a revolutionary impact on magical duels.

　Everyone wants to know if these players, who have already reached the pinnacle, can continue their past glory.

　As each of the preliminary contestants took the stage, Judy read out their titles and names one by one.

　The contestant finished reading just as he came onto the main stage.

　Then, after a few more words, she announced loudly, "Now, please welcome the preliminary contestants from the Royal Academy, which has gathered the stars of the Kingdom, to the stage!"

Chapter 1164 The Road Beneath My Feet Has Reached Its End (4k)

　The Royal Academy is, after all, the face of the kingdom. Even though a large portion of its students are taken by St. Mary's Academy and the Holy Mystic Academy, it is still not an ordinary academy that can be easily challenged.

　The main reason it ranks third after school preference is that the college's curriculum is too diverse, including a large number of etiquette-related courses.

　Within the Royal Academy, magic courses make up a small percentage of the curriculum, making it difficult to truly call it a "magic academy."

　Of course, starting from this academic year, it began to resemble a "magic academy".

　Following the Royal Academy is the Holy Mystic Academy.

　The Holy Ritual Academy is far more famous than the Royal Academy in every respect. The "Holy Son" and "Holy Daughter," as preliminary contestants, attracted considerable attention, eliciting cheers upon their very appearance.

　……

　Only after all three human academies had made their appearances did it come to the turn of the demi-humans.

　Among the magic academies of demi-human races, the Elf Magic Academy is at the forefront both morally and logically.

　Following the Elf Magic Academy, the War Totem Academy and the Public Magic Armor Academy will take their turn. After that, the special guests of this "Academy Championship" will be the two academies from [Sky City] and [Near Sea Kingdom].

　When the long-lived species from the Sky Magic Academy and the sea creatures from the Ocean Magic Academy took to the stage one after the other, the audience in the stands couldn't help but widen their eyes, and even their breathing became rapid.

　Whether it's the Sky City that exists only in myths and legends, or the mysterious and powerful sea creatures, they are all unattainable in the eyes of ordinary people.

　Furthermore, the promotional posters for the "Academy Showdown" made no mention of the participation of either of the two academies.

　This brought immense joy to the audience who had purchased tickets to the venue. The slight annoyance caused by the nationwide projection of the competition instantly vanished.

　Just being able to observe the long-lived species of the Sky City and the sea creatures in the ocean up close is enough to make the ticket price worthwhile.

　What's more, you can interact with the contestants on-site! Ultimately...

　Delayed broadcasts are never as satisfying as live streaming.

　If you want your favorite player to hear your cheers and respond to you, only ticketed audience members can do that.

　The atmosphere inside the dueling arena is absolutely incomparable to that of the outer plaza.

　What you see in the plaza outside is ultimately a product of the interaction between the venue and the athletes.

　However, for ordinary people who don't usually pay attention to duels, free movie viewing is indeed a major factor that gets them hooked, and it is the pillar of "movie viewing for all".

　However, after the first performance, astute businessmen should immediately realize the value of "movie viewing for all".

　This would be an excellent advertising space!

　Others pay to watch movies, while you watch ads for free—this is perfectly in line with market principles.

　Of course, the remaining advertising slots for today have all been taken by Dark's "Duel Club" to promote the two shops, "All People's Duel Club" and "Magic Duel Club".

　Whether "Magic Duel Club" can turn things around depends on today's event.

　Soon, all the pre-competition contestants had taken the stage.

　Senior Judy smiled and handed the microphone to the designated contestants to conduct "random interviews".

　Whether the interviews are random or not is an open secret. The contestants who are chosen for interviews are already thoroughly familiar with the answers to the questions they will be asked.

　In short, absolutely no mistakes can be made!

　The "random interviews" lasted for about half an hour.

　Through this interview segment, the audience learned about some players who don't appear often, and also learned some interesting stories from before the competition.

　However, what the officials valued more was providing the audience with a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of the new dueling rules through their interviews.

　Although the new dueling rules have been in effect for about a month, it is wishful thinking to expect the general public to take the initiative to understand them.

　Even now, many people forget it after hearing it.

　They preferred to admire the beautiful mermaids rather than memorize the rules. Therefore, during the interview, Judy projected a brief summary of the new dueling rules onto the air for the audience to refer to at any time.

　Following closely behind was an exhibition match held to celebrate the opening of the "Academy Championship".

　The exhibition match segment will run throughout the entire competition.

　Some popular contestants, or those who are not able to participate in the official competition, will be invited to the stage for a warm-up duel.

　It's like a cheerleading performance before a match, only in the form of a duel.

　Furthermore, these 24 pre-competition participants have come from afar; we can't really let half of them sit on the sidelines for a whole month.

　The exhibition race before the main competition can both generate excitement and give the runners a chance to participate.

　Demonstrating one's own strength is secondary; the key is to gain (divine favor) through this.

　This "Academy Championship" is the first influential formal tournament after the announcement of the new dueling rules. Subsequent dueling tournaments will basically refer to the situation of this tournament.

　Setting aside the competition between academies, what duelists care about most is whether they can obtain (divine favor) in such a large-scale event, which is far superior to private duels.

　Therefore, today's opening ceremony still attracted a large number of people in the know.

　Whether it's "Valkyrie" or "Lionheart," all members of the "Magic League" are already seated in the audience seats of dueling arenas around the world.

　Princess Elizabeth, too, was given a long-awaited opportunity to get some fresh air. This time, she had more freedom.

　Therefore, he decisively escaped the old king's sight and came to Arvit's side.

　"I've lost weight and become stronger."

　Arvit looked Eliza up and down and praised her. But Eliza kept a straight face the whole time and did not react at all to the praise of "losing weight and becoming stronger".

　She was already very thin; if she continued to lose weight, it would be considered unhealthy.

　“The Academy Championship will last for four weeks, so you can go out and about for at least two days each weekend during those four weeks,” Arvit added.

　But her words, meant to comfort her, inexplicably struck a nerve with Elizabeth, bringing her to tears. Even the strong-willed Elizabeth burst into tears.

　Arvit instinctively hugged him, and after saying a few comforting words, there was silence in her arms.

　Eliza wiped away her tears, her expression regaining its resolve.

　"How about I say a few words to him on your behalf?" Alvitt suggested softly. "No, no need," Eliza shook her head and said, "It's just a bit of hard work; consider it the price for my laziness in the past few years."

　Alvie nodded. She had always admired the princess's character; otherwise, she wouldn't have stood by her side all this time.

　Eliza said, "If this 'Academy Championship' goes well, I will participate in the subsequent 'World Cup Duel Challenge'."

　"The World Cup is scheduled to last a week, and if it were a little shorter, I'd like to get some playing time," said Arvit.

　Eliza's expression stiffened, and she said, "Then... let's extend it a little longer."

　Arvit flicked her forehead and laughed, "A match without opponents doesn't mean much to me. I'm really looking forward to you guys growing up quickly."

　Eliza looked away guiltily and said, "Oh, I'll do my best." "Don't make things difficult for her," Claire said with a squinty smile. "The World Cup is a great stage. If I have time then, I wouldn't mind going to have some fun."

　"We'll see," said Arvit. "We still need to see how the 'Academy Championship' goes. If a large-scale event like the 'Academy Championship' doesn't help advance the Shinto rituals, then we'll have to find another way."

　The core purpose of any competition is to promote Shinto rituals.

　Only through the continuous evolution of Shinto rituals can the path of the mage be continuously expanded. The mage and Shinto rituals complement each other.

　Alvitt had reached the finish line long ago. But the wall blocking her path was as thick as the Wall of Sighs, with no possibility of breaking through.

　The Shinto ritual is a stepping stone; it thins the wall at the end of the path, allowing the mage standing at the finish line to pass through and cross to the other side of the wall.

　Before the Shinto ritual, Arvit thought her path had come to an end.

　Unlike Principal Art, who could follow the path of becoming a god through magic, she was a mage from the start. Although she had the title of "Valkyrie," her path was completely different from that of the "God of War."

　She only has one path to take, and that is the path of the Magic God!

　"It is said that as the divine rituals progress, the consciousness of the twelve Hermes will awaken, and their 'Heavenly Court' will evolve into a magical divine realm most suitable for mages."

　"The Magic Kingdom will become a sacred ground for duelists. Only duelists who possess the 'God Card' can enter the sacred ground and participate in the 'God's Cup' dueling tournament hosted by Hermes."

　"By then, this path might be open!" Arvit's thoughts drifted, but a divine light seemed to gather in her eyes.

　If someone who understands "divine cause" looks closely at her at this time, they will find that "divine cause" is naturally gathering.

　This phenomenon is quite similar to the one observed around Principal Arte, except that the "divine cause" she naturally gathered was relatively shallow.

　However, as the Shinto ritual progressed, the "divine cause" gathering around her gradually increased and became more solidified.

　This means she is indeed only a hair's breadth away from becoming a god of magic. At this moment, Alvit is a humanoid detector.

　There's no need to look for any other method; simply observing the "divine cause" phenomena around her is enough to know the progress of the "divine ritual."

　While they chatted casually, a dueling stage had already been set up inside the open-air dueling arena of St. Marian Academy.