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

　Even the substitutes immediately quieted down; even if they couldn't offer help, they absolutely couldn't hold the team back.

　The contestants from St. Mary's College are on stage.

　Darko and others are having final discussions about the starting lineup. There will be six players in the main tournament, plus one swingman.

　Considering the possibility that the opponent might start with "Electric Shell" Lerella, Emma and Sara had to be moved to the back.

　Among the remaining contestants, Vittoria and Diana are both good choices. Even against the Ocean Magic Academy, the St. Marian Academy contestants do not want to drag the match into a tiebreaker after it's tied three to three.

　After two consecutive victories, the players gradually built up their confidence and stopped seeking the worst possible outcome from the outset.

　Considering that Witt's physique was still not good enough, St. Marian Academy decided on the starting player for this match - Diana Grete Bayer.

　The decision to include Diana in the starting lineup also took another factor into consideration. Among the main competitors from St. Mary's Academy, Diana is not the weakest link, but her tactics are indeed simplistic and easily countered.

　Putting her in the later stages of the game is not as good as starting her directly, making it impossible for the opponent to make a targeted move.

　"According to the records, St. Marian Academy had different starting lineups in the previous two rounds of duels. In the first round against Sky Magic Academy, they even sent Vivian, a second-year student, as their starting lineup. Moreover, Vivian did not even play in the match against Holy Mystic Academy."

　"In the second round against the Holy Church Mystic Academy, St. Marian Academy's starting lineup consisted of the Son of Heroes, who even managed to defeat the Holy Son of the Holy Church."

　"This shows that they do not have a fixed routine in personnel arrangement."

　"I actually hope they keep the Warriors starting lineup, so we can put Tim on the court and give him some close-range shock."

　“In our last match, Ryan started. After watching the game, they will definitely be wary of Ryan. My suggestion is to start Reilly.”

　Rayleigh is bald, a member of the "Sea Urchin Tribe"—just bald, not completely bald! The "Sea Urchin Tribe" has no hair!

　Riley Zangwell immediately seconded the motion.

　He hadn't had a chance to fight in the last two days and was getting impatient.

　He absolutely wouldn't give up on this final match, no matter what. Starting in the first game was exactly what he wanted!

　Leiriella Elekney of the "Electric Shell Clan" couldn't help but purse her lips. She wanted to say that she had contributed to the group and shed blood, but Rayleigh hadn't actually been involved. From any perspective, he was a higher priority than her.

　As more of her power is revealed, winning a duel has become relatively difficult.

　Switching in Rayleigh, who has never played before, would certainly increase the chances of winning.

　Since it was a team decision, she had no choice but to comply.

　Therefore, the initial lineup for the Ocean Magic Academy was quickly decided.

　During the strategy session, the team captains of both sides walked to the strategy table.

　"Mermaid" Carola Marjorie looked at Dark across from her with excitement, and took "Sea Urchin" Rayleigh's player card from the strategy deck and put it into the slot on the table.

　Dark glanced at the player and decisively placed Diana's player card into the slot. With the starting lineups confirmed, host Judy activated the projector.

　Rayleigh and Diana's figures immediately appeared in the image.

　The discussion among the audience outside the venue suddenly intensified.

　Judy glanced at it with slight surprise, then immediately announced the starting lineup.

　"St. Marian Academy has sent out our familiar Diana Gretby in the first round!"

　"But the starting lineup for the Ocean Magic Academy is none other than Rayleigh Zangwell, who is making his first appearance since the start of this year's Academy Championship!"

　"Since he bears such a heavy responsibility, Zangwell must possess extraordinary strength. Let's witness it together."

　"And now."

　"I hereby announce the commencement of the first round of the junior group finals of the inaugural Academy Championship, featuring Ocean Magic Academy versus St. Marian Academy!"

　Against a backdrop of applause.

　Diana waved to Dark and the others, then cheered herself up and stepped onto the elevator platform.

　She lost to "Radiant Knight" Lanmayatemica in a match against the Holy Mystic Academy.

　But those minor setbacks only made her more determined to succeed.

　While Rayleigh of the "Sea Urchin Tribe" is an unknown opponent, compared to facing Lyrella of the "Electric Turtles Tribe"... it's better to be unknown.

　Although she was confident she could withstand it, she certainly didn't want to undergo electrotherapy.

　This duel is a battle we'll fight with our all!

　They are full of fighting spirit here.

　Rayleigh over there was equally full of fighting spirit.

　Making its debut since the start of the competition... it looks like a secret weapon reserved for the finals.

　But who could know the bitterness in Rayleigh's heart?

　He was originally the sixth in the team and should have had many opportunities to obtain divine resources, but Lyrella took them all.

　Now, as the starting lineup in the finals, he is receiving far more attention than before, and he is determined to reclaim all the "divine influence" he has lost!

　then.

　Reilly Zangwell, who started in the final and made his first appearance, also suffered his first defeat!

　He lost his last chance to gain a lot of "divine influence" in the lower grades competition.

　This is, undeniably, a very, very regrettable situation. In contrast, Diana reaped considerable rewards!

　Rayleigh took this duel very seriously and didn't hold back at all. But his appearance gave him away; the students from St. Marian Academy deduced his race based on his appearance, and then deduced his abilities based on his race.

　Diana was on guard as soon as she entered the arena.

　Therefore, when Rayleigh feigned summoning but actually launched the spikes on his head as projectiles the instant the "battle phase" began, Diana immediately unleashed her "power surge," transforming her inner energy into "armor" that enveloped her entire body, thus directly neutralizing this most terrifying burst of power!

　The spikes on Rayleigh's head fired with incredible speed and power. While they didn't have the paralyzing effect of Lyrella's lightning, they were even more lethal.

　Moreover, he can fire multiple spikes at once, making them impossible to defend against. Even if the opponent is a martial artist, it would be difficult to remain unscathed.

　In fact, the "armor" that Diana created with "Burst" was also pierced by those spikes.

　However, she was not unprepared to take the hit head-on. The very short time that the "armor" blocked the spikes was enough for her to change shape and avoid the spike attack.

　Those that were impossible to avoid were all severed by her hand-blade technique, which was enveloped in aura.

　Those black spikes even contained toxins.

　But Diana never let them touch her skin, so she naturally had no fear of being poisoned.

　However, the poison on the spikes revealed another piece of information about Rayleigh—he most likely uses a poison-based deck!

　With even greater precautions, Diana made every effort to avoid giving Rayleigh any chance to administer the poison.

　After such a fierce battle, she finally seized an opportunity to attack Rayleigh's main body, severely injuring him.

　Based on this, they ultimately won the duel.

Chapter 1243 Today's Feast: Shark Fin Soup (5k)

　Rayleigh Zangwell's defeat was certainly not good news for the Ocean Magic Academy team.

　Although they suffered defeats in the duels over the past two days, it was mostly the substitute players who lost.

　Riley Zangwill, however, was a pre-selected main draw contender from the start. Although his main draw journey never began before he was replaced by "Electric Shell" Lyrella's outstanding performance, he was indeed a main draw contender.

　The Ocean Magic Academy team ultimately decided to let him play in this final, not because he was better than Lyrella, but mainly because he had never played before and no information about him had been revealed.

　Moreover, his abilities are particularly suited for "first-meeting kills".

　It's a pity that his first opponent was Diana, otherwise the outcome of this duel would have been hard to say.

　But this is the uncertainty brought about by the current competition format. Ocean Magic Academy can only accept its fate.

　Fortunately, Rayleigh is indeed the weakest among the main contestants—even with all the main contestants being elites, he can still be clearly classified as the "weakest," which shows that the gap in strength between him and the other contestants is actually quite large.

　Therefore, although Ocean Magic Academy was slightly unhappy after the initial defeat, it did not feel anxious.

　For them, the game has only just begun.

　Consider this first match a bonus for the opponent!

　St. Maryann's Academy was unaware of the Ocean Magic Academy's intentions; they were simply overjoyed by Diana's first-round victory.

　Rayleigh Zangwill actually has some skill. Although Diana was unharmed until the end, she walked a tightrope several times during the duel.

　Every time she narrowly avoided Rayleigh's poison needle attack, viewers couldn't help but hold their breath for her.

　But she herself didn't seem to think so. Even after winning the duel, she was still full of fighting spirit, and it even felt like she hadn't had enough.

　Unfortunately, although Rayleigh was quite strong, he was not very durable and collapsed after taking only a few punches.

　This made her feel very regretful.

　As the duel ended, Diana stepped onto the contestant's platform and openly shared her immediate impressions.

　Rayleigh's head was spinning.

　But as the loser, he could only grit his teeth, suppress his anger, and roar in his heart that fortunes change every thirty years, and vow to transform himself in the next two weeks and take revenge in the third round of the all-grade competition!

　However, the prerequisite for him to seek revenge in the third round is that he is qualified to represent the Ocean Magic Academy in the third round of the main competition.

　Given the current situation, that seems somewhat dangerous.

　He has to beat Lyrella first.

　Diana finished the interview and returned to the players' stand.

　The dueling arena projected highlights from the previous duel. Basically, it was a compilation of Diana's plays.

　Through this recap, audiences around the world got to know this ever-energetic girl once again.

　The contestants' platform at St. Mary's College.

　After celebrating with Diana, Dark and the others continued their discussion about who would be the next duel.

　Diana is a solid mid-tier fighter in the team, and her victory in this duel is surprising, but not entirely unexpected.

　"What needs to be discussed now is whether Riley Zangwell is a suitable replacement for Lyrella."

　"If so, we won't have to worry about facing Leirira in the upcoming matches, which is undoubtedly very good news for us."

　Emma had a slight smile on her face.

　Players like Riley and Lyrella are really not compatible with her and Sarah.

　It's great that we don't have to worry about facing them in the upcoming duel.

　Similarly, Sarah also had a smile on her face.

　Although the contestants from the Ocean Magic Academy are exceptionally strong, they can still find ways to hold their own against anyone who can eliminate them at the very beginning of the round.

　At least, I don't have to worry about being easily defeated in the upcoming duel.

　Under such circumstances, the factors they need to consider in troop deployment will be relatively reduced.

　"We still can't let our guard down too much," Dark reminded them. "Rayleigh isn't considered a strong member of the Ocean Magic Academy's team; he doesn't even seem to know 'Abyss Summoning.'"

　“Then…” Witt suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, “Could we have been outmaneuvered?”

　“Viter, there’s no point in thinking about this,” Emma said. “Ocean Magic Academy is no ordinary opponent, and winning any match is crucial for us. If it’s a trade-off tactic, I’d love for them to do it a few more times.”

　“Ha, that’s true.” Witt scratched his head and continued listening.

　Emma continued, "However, Rayleigh's strength is indeed only considered mid-to-lower tier within the Ocean Magic Academy team. The competitors above him, such as Ryan the Shark and Tim the Naga who have already appeared, are clearly much stronger. Speaking of which, what are the chances that the Ocean Magic Academy team will send Ryan or Tim in the next duel?"

　Witt: One-fifth

　Emma glared at him suddenly.

　Sarah said, "Psychologically speaking, Rayleigh's first appearance ended in failure. Under normal circumstances, they would subconsciously avoid the same situation, and instead try something similar that they've never experienced before."

　Leander the Shark and Scarlett the Clam, who had already passed through the arena, were left behind. Considering the reactions of the remaining three, I speculated that the next duel opponent was very likely to be Ryan the Shark.

　"Rayonjalimaia?" Emma lowered her head, looking at the information in her notebook and thinking carefully.

　Her thoughts were basically the same as Sarah's.

　However, there are always people in this world who "knowingly venture into dangerous places."

　If the decision-makers at the Ocean Magic Academy are this type of person, it's not impossible that they would continue to send out players who haven't even competed in the main tournament for the second duel.

　Compared to Leander of the Shark Clan, Scarlett of the "Sea Clam Clan" is clearly a defensive type.

　Those who have such radical ideas tend to have a strong desire to attack and will often send Leander from the "Shark Clan" to the field.