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

　In the first round, the easiest opponent to defeat so far... well, none of them are easy.

　Leslie sighed softly, reached into the black box, and quickly pulled out a number plate.

　He quickly turned the sign to face him and saw that it clearly read...[1!]

　"Number 1! It's a number that suits our Royal Academy perfectly. Woof!"

　Leslie smiled sincerely.

　"It seems that Judd is quite satisfied with the number he drew," Judy said with a gentle smile.

　Leslie Judd's smile faded, and he said, "It's... just average. But the number '1' always evokes positive associations."

　Senior Judy laughed and said, "Then I wish you great success, just like your number."

　Leslie nodded very subtly and returned to the line. Immediately afterward, the captain of the Holy Mystic Academy, [the Holy Son] Evan Pearson, who was the third in line to enter, stepped out from the group and came to the side of the host, Judy.

　Evan Pearson glanced up at the audience outside the arena and heard his senior, Judy, ask, "Two opponents have already drawn their numbers. Evan Pearson, is there a number you'd like to draw?"

　Evan Pearson raised an eyebrow and said without hesitation, "Of course it's number [5]."

　Senior Judy immediately showed a slightly surprised expression and asked curiously, "Why is it number [5]?"

　Evan Pearson said, "Our goal is to win the championship, and to achieve that, St. Mary's College is an opponent we must overcome. It doesn't matter whether we meet them first or later."

　Senior Judy nodded and said, "Then I wish you all the best."

　Evan Pearson reached for the black box.

　Humble yet sharp, he is becoming the person he aspires to be. Drawing his number, he looked directly at the front and announced the number: "[7]" Although it wasn't "5," Evan Pearson didn't show any disappointment.

　Whether it's (7) or (5), all they need to do is overcome the obstacles and move forward.

　The fourth to enter was the Elf Magic Academy.

　The captain of the lower grades at the Elf Magic Academy is a very rare Rain Elf.

　As a branch of the water elf race, the rain elves are born with rain and are naturally endowed with the power of "rainmaking".

　Therefore, she always appears carrying an umbrella, hence the name "Umbrella Elf". The rain elf in front of us is a woman. Her hair seems to be made of rainwater, her skin is fair and tender, and she has the long ears that are the hallmark of the elves, but there is a faint blue color on her earlobes.

　Her name was Julia Amelia; she was petite and slender, and wore a pair of bare white...

　Her small, fair feet, as white as rain, were particularly eye-catching.

　But of course she wasn't barefoot on the ground.

　If you look closely, you'll notice that with each step she takes, a small puddle appears on the ground, lifting her toes above the water's surface.

　Her ability to manipulate water is terrifyingly strong!

　Although Julia Amelia is petite and adorable, her everyday demeanor tends to be aloof. Her long eyelashes always droop down, like a curtain of rain obscuring her eyes, giving off a feeling of extremely low pressure, like a gloomy day before a storm.

　Julia Amelia pulled the number "3" from the black box. What a coincidence!

　The numbers drawn by the captains of the first four colleges were all spaced apart and did not match.

　But this also means that every draw from now on will determine a matchup.

　The fifth to enter was the War Totem Academy.

　The captain of the lower grades at War Totem Academy is an eagle-man royal from among the six orc royals.

　She was tall and slender, with a beautiful face and black wings on her back. Both her expression and appearance possessed a captivating beauty reminiscent of a fallen angel.

　Her name is Eva Hearst, and she once defeated Rose in an exhibition match, demonstrating the formidable strength befitting a captain.

　As the captain of the lower-grade group at the War Totem Academy, Eva was already very dissatisfied with her appearance being later than the elves, and she made no attempt to hide her bad mood at this moment.

　She walked to the front of the stage and drew a number directly.

　Host Judy, holding the microphone, said, "Let's see what number Hearst from War Totem Academy draws; that will reveal the first pair of opponents."

　Eva glanced at her sideways and then turned the number she had drawn over to show her.

　Judy read out the number: "[4]" The moment the result appeared, she suddenly became excited: "Could this be the showdown of fate? Evahurst from War Totem Academy actually drew number four! This means that War Totem Academy will face Elf Magic Academy in the second round of the match today!"

　As soon as she finished speaking, the elves and orcs in the stands outside the stadium started shouting.

　These races, who loathe each other, had no complaints about the draw. Eliminating their opponents in the first round of the official competition was exactly what they wanted.

　Eva Hearst also gave a slight cold laugh, her mood visibly improving.

　Today's match suddenly became interesting.

　Seizing the opportunity, host Judy immediately asked, "As the team captain, are you satisfied with your draw results?"

　"There couldn't be a better result," Eva Hearst said. Then she suddenly raised her hand, gave a thumbs-up to the audience, then sharply turned it down, giving a wicked smile: "Beat them!"

　This was in response to the behavior of Dylan, the grassland elf of the Elf race, during the exhibition match.

　But Dylan is still lying in a hospital bed... This instantly filled the elves with righteous indignation, and their anger flared up.

　Senior Judy finally revealed a bright smile.

　Her outfit today gives the impression of golden flowers suddenly blooming in the darkness.

　"Tick."

　Suddenly a chill swept over her, and Judy touched her cheek, feeling a dampness on her face. She immediately looked up at the sky.

　But it did rain.

　“Julia,” an elf gently reminded her.

　Julia and Amelia's expression remained unchanged, but no more raindrops fell. Judy winked at Eva beside her and said, "Now it's the Public Magic Academy's turn."

　The captain of the public magic academy is none other than the goblin genius and great inventor, Babayevnidam.

　Among the many goblin houses, Babaevnidam was a relatively outgoing type. He represented the public magic academy and drew lots, very ordinaryly drawing the number "8".

　This means that the Public Magic Academy's opponent will be the Holy Mystic Academy, which drew number "7".

　Next up was Disney Neham, the captain of the lower grades group from the Sky Magic Academy.

　Disney Neham, now in third grade, had a very happy week.

　Because he not only lived on the same floor as his idol, but also attended classes in the same classroom.

　Oh, his idol is Darkdemon.

　“I’m lucky that I still have the right to decide my own destiny,” Disney Neham said, raising his hand with a touch of humor.

　Sky Magic Academy was the seventh to appear. After he finished drawing lots, the last remaining number would be Ocean Magic Academy's. This meant he could also decide Ocean Magic Academy's opponent. "Hopefully it will be [5]."

　He thought to himself.

　He couldn't wait to get up close and personal with his idol. Perhaps the god of fate had truly heard his prayers, for the number he drew was indeed "5"!

　"Wow!"

　Disney is thrilled.

　But his teammates all frowned.

　But he didn't care about any of that and immediately turned to look at the St. Mary's Academy line with his number tag in hand.

　Judy quickly replied.

　"The final matchup has been decided, but the draw process is not yet complete. Please invite the captain of the Ocean Magic Academy to draw a number."

　The captain of the Ocean Magic Academy stepped out from the group.

　That was Carola Majorli, a third-grade girl, a

　The Little Mermaid. Carola Maggiore, with her carefree nature, wasn't bothered by the fact that only one number tag remained in the box. Instead, she enthusiastically reached into the black box and began rummaging around.

　Of course, she couldn't possibly pull out any other numbers from the box that only had one number left.

　The Ocean Magic Academy's number is "2".

　They will face the Royal Academy of the Kingdom in the first round of matches today.

　The second round of the competition was between the Elf Magic Academy and the War Totem Academy. The third round was between the Sky Magic Academy and the St. Marian Academy.

　The fourth round is between the Public Magic Academy and the Holy Mystic Academy. The schedule is now finalized.

　Two exhibition matches will follow as a warm-up, allowing at least half an hour of preparation time off the field for the teams taking the first round.

　【5k】

Chapter 1184 [60% Off Full Subscription] Academy Showdown, Mission Accomplished (4k)

　Now that we've entered the main competition, it's impossible to be as casual as we were at the opening ceremony.

　The two exhibition matches, which serve as a warm-up, will be selected from the list submitted before the main competition.

　Eight colleges, each of which submitted a contestant's name before the competition.

　Because this week's competition is for the lower grades, the names of the participants submitted were all from the higher grades.

　Over the next two days, these eight contestants will present a wonderful debut performance for all the audience.

　While host Judy was selecting contestants for the exhibition match from the list, Dark and the others had already retreated backstage.

　St. Maryann's Academy's match is the third round today, and they won't be able to play until at least the afternoon.

　However, among the four colleges that appear in the first two rounds, one will definitely advance to the finals.

　If St. Mary's Academy can also win two consecutive matches, they will face one of these four academies.

　Therefore, it is still very necessary to carefully observe their duel.

　Moreover, there will be a competition for the entire grade level after this.

　However, before the official competition began, their main focus was naturally on discussing how to defeat their opponent today—Sky Magic Academy.

　Among the eight academies, only the Sky Magic Academy and the Ocean Magic Academy have the least information on their contestants. The students of St. Marian Academy can only analyze the overall tactical style of those two academies from the contestants who have fought in the past, and then prepare strategies accordingly.

　"The contestants of the Sky Magic Academy are all long-lived beings, and it's almost certain that at least half of them possess the special ability that the 'Old Man' once demonstrated in the exhibition match—the ability to increase the age of their own magical spirits!"

　Emma sat down and opened her notebook.

　Unlike some other team leaders, she did very detailed research for this competition and was truly dedicated to the club.

　"That ability is actually a curse. Historical records indicate that people in the past named this special curse the 'Aging Curse,' a terrifying curse that can instantly turn a newborn into a dying old person. However, using the 'Aging Curse' requires sacrificing one's own lifespan."

　At this point, Emma looked up at her companions.

　Witt Gold frowned and said, "If they have to sacrifice their own lifespan, then every duel they engage in is actually consuming their lifespan."

　"Pfft." Anna and Angie suddenly burst out laughing.

　Sarah then crossed her legs and said, "Of course that's impossible. Judging from the last exhibition match, the 'Old Man' contestant didn't pay the price of shortened lifespan. This shows that Sky City has found a special way to utilize the 'Aging Curse,' at least mitigating or eliminating the cost."

　“It’s simply a matter of mitigating the cost by reducing the curse’s effect,” Jon said, looking up. “From what I’ve observed, the ‘Aging Curse’ should only affect the caster’s own magical spirit, and the effect won’t last long.”

　"Not too long is a bit of a stretch," Doron said. "Just the ability to create a nine-star magical spirit at the very beginning is terrifying. Even if it only lasts a minute or two, it'll be hard to stop. Besides, that 'old man' lasted much longer than two minutes in the exhibition match, didn't he?"

　Jon glanced at him and said, "But it didn't last long either, right? I remember that duel ended very quickly. And he only used 'Aging Curse' on one magical spirit."

　Emma nodded slightly and said, "The duration, the number of uses, and whether it can only be used on his own magical spirit are all points to consider. Finally, the 'Aging Curse' is still a curse, and it may have limitations we don't yet know about. For example, what happens to the magical spirit that has used the 'Aging Curse'? After the duration ends, does it revert to its original form, or does it die from exhaustion?"

　Sarah smiled and said, "Ideally, it will hit all targets. It lasts for only three minutes, can only be used once, can only be used on your own magical spirit, and will kill you immediately after three minutes."

　“Isn’t that a bit too idealistic?” Witt exclaimed.

　Sarah said, "Witt, great power always comes at a great cost. Every alchemist knows that to gain something, you must give something; it's an equal exchange."

　Jon continued, "Sister Sarah is right. Such powerful strength must be subject to many restrictions in order to reduce the cost to almost nothing."

　Witt instinctively retorted, "But even if that's true, it's useless. Starting with a nine-star magical spirit, even if it only lasts three minutes... I have ways to deal with it, but what about everyone else?"

　Emma glared at him and said, "That's why we're sitting here discussing our strategy, isn't it?"

　"Uh." Witt choked on his words.

　"Alright, alright," Dark Dimon, the "Mr. Nice Guy," quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

　Captain Dark Dimon, who didn't need to do anything because his teammates were so capable, finally managed to interject: "A nine-star magical spirit at the start is indeed extremely difficult to deal with, and as you can see, that 'old man' is just a substitute from Sky Magic Academy. Their main competitors likely possess juvenile magical spirits that are even higher. The most troublesome aspect of this ability is its ability to bridge the gap in grade level. This allows their third-year students to generally compete with their seniors. Moreover, Sky Magic Academy also possesses the extremely unique 'Accelerated Summoning'."

　The Sky Magic Academy once demonstrated "Accelerated Summoning" in its summoning class, a unique skill that only long-lived species could master.

　Of course, unlike the "Aging Curse," not all long-lived species can master "Accelerated Summoning."

　In short, the Sky Magic Academy is extremely difficult to deal with.