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

　For the students of St. Mary's Academy, those who won this round first were heroes, and their terrifying enthusiasm was even reminiscent of the Academy Cup era.

　It is evident that the students attach great importance to this year's College Championship, which is close to or even surpasses the College Cup.

　Even the substitutes who didn't play received a very warm welcome.

　Characters like Aurora, Vittoria, Emma, ​​Sarah, Diana, and Vivian (who appeared once) were completely surrounded and unable to move. What's even more unbearable is that they were surrounded once upon entering and again upon leaving.

　Being able to gather in this private room of the restaurant truly means we've escaped. "Finally, something to eat!"

　As soon as Diana sat down, her eyes lit up and she reached out to grab some fruit, only to have Rose slap her hand away.

　"Don't use your hands."

　"Ow."

　Diana immediately grabbed a fork and attacked the fruit plate.

　To prepare for this dinner, she deliberately refrained from snacking to replenish her energy after returning to her dorm room. Now, she had finally made it to the time to indulge in her meal.

　From this moment on, no one can stop her anymore!

　Diana, unleash your unstoppable power!

　“Eat slowly,” Darke reminded her with a smile. “The main dishes are at the end.” “Is there a menu?” Aurora asked.

　“Of course.” After saying that, Dak asked the waiter to bring over two menus so that the team members could take turns looking at them.

　Their conversation gradually shifted from their experiences in the tower to the more mundane question of "what to eat tonight."

　Then, someone started talking about the duels that had taken place over the past two days.

　Of course, there was no professional analysis; it was merely an exclamation about how powerful a certain person or magical spirit was, and how dangerous a certain duel was.

　Only then did they finally release all the emotions they had been holding back.

　The atmosphere inside the restaurant became increasingly lively.

　As the waiters continued to serve dishes, the atmosphere became increasingly lively, and their conversation gradually shifted from the content of the competition over the past two days to the second round of the senior group competition next week.

　Emma knew the senior group's competition roster by heart. Based on their experience over the past two days, they casually guessed the possible outcomes of the second round.

　Of course... we can't lose even a little bit!

　"Given the current competition format, our senior group is still very competitive."

　"If you think about it carefully, it's been four months since the Academy Cup ended. The senior students' skills should have improved significantly by now."

　"Speaking of this, we have to mention senior Gina Grant and senior Shrek Holmes."

　"After a whole holiday of systematic training, everyone's abilities have more than doubled."

　"The senior students all have a solid foundation; they just lacked a bit of opportunity and resources before."

　"Anna and Angie didn't attend summer camp, so they might not know..." "This is delicious, and that is delicious too!"

　In short, eat less and talk more, or eat more and talk less.

　Some people were responsible for starting conversations, while others were responsible for emptying the plates.

　Everyone is doing what they are good at.

　Dark would occasionally chime in, offering his own opinions, much like a keyboard warrior pointing fingers at the duelists' names. The difference was, before they were on the dueling field, now they were off the field.

　The stance has shifted.

　But I must say, as a viewer, it's really enjoyable to comment on the contestants without any pressure.

　但快乐的时旴总是短暂的.

　As the topic gradually shifted to the third round of the all-grade competition, and with the change in everyone's stance, the discussion became serious again.

　The third round of the all-grade competition involved selecting six students from each of the lower and upper grades to compete in a duel arena that simulated a city, relying on their individual willpower to engage in duels.

　Before the competition begins, each participant will be given three badges representing their respective colleges.

　Each school badge is worth one point.

　Duelists earn school badges by battling against students from other academies. Duelists can use their own methods to evade or pursue their targets, creating duel zones that force them into a duel.

　However, only one school badge can be bet in each duel, and only one duel can be initiated against the same opponent.

　A contestant who has just finished a duel has a 30-minute immunity period during which they have the right to refuse another duel.

　The school badge is non-transferable.

　When a duelist has 0 school badges, they will be sent to the red restaurant in the arena, signifying their elimination.

　When a duelist has 9 or more school badges, they will be eligible to enter the Blue Restaurant, which is a safe zone where duels can be refused on the first day.

　The first day of the competition will last for twelve hours, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Players with a badge count of more than zero will automatically advance to the second day.

　The rules for the second day of the competition are basically the same as those for the first day. However, the number of school badges bet can be decided by the two duelists, and the number of school badges bet by each side must be equal.

　Meanwhile, the blue restaurant is no longer a safe zone, and the players' rest time has been reduced from half an hour to ten minutes.

　The second day's competition will still start at 8:00 AM and end at 8:00 PM. However, there will be "duel time" at intervals.

　The "Duel Time" is ten minutes. During this "Duel Time", the number of badges wagered by duelists who initiate a duel will be automatically multiplied by N.

　In other words, the minimum number of betting badges is N.

　When N is greater than the number of badges held by the duelist, the number of badges held by the duelist shall be the minimum threshold.

　After the competition ends, the scores will be calculated based on the total number of badges held by the contestants from each college.

　At the start of the competition, each of the twelve contestants from each college had a base score of three points, which is equivalent to three badges.

　However, the organizers will issue badges to the contestants from each college based on their scores in the first two rounds.

　For example, for a college that scores twelve points, each contestant's initial number of school badges is three plus one, which equals four.

　For the college that scores 36 points, each contestant will have an initial number of six school badges.

　For each student in the college that scores 72 points, the initial number of school badges is 90.

　This means that the academy that wins the championship twice in the first two rounds will have a huge advantage of automatically advancing all its members to the second day.

　However, weaker duelists, even if they enter the second day, will only become easy prey for countless people.

　Moreover, with everyone hiding in the blue restaurant, they would only be overtaken on the first day.

　An academy that wins the championship in the first two rounds is unlikely to adopt a defensive strategy.

　In short, the advantages have already been given, and how to use them is up to the players.

　Moreover, the rules for the third round of the competition actually allow for a great deal of flexibility.

　The open-air dueling arena isn't particularly large, nor is it small. Contestants can use stealth and tracking techniques to choose weaker opponents or challenge stronger ones.

　If members of this academy cooperate, the stronger member can protect the weaker one. In short, how to proceed depends entirely on the choices of the members.

　The "World Cup Duel Challenge" scheduled to be held in the City of Liberty in the future will basically be based on this rule.

　However, the "World Cup Duel Challenge" will have an elimination round after the points round, and it is an individual competition.

　The "Academy Cup" is a team competition.

　Even in the third round of the "individual competition mode", there are team divisions.

　After winning the first round, Dark and his teammates should indeed consider how to gain an advantage in the third round.

　However, before that, they had to decide on the participants. At this point, Vivian found herself in a rather awkward position.

　...

Chapter 1253 Darkdemon and the Golden Steps (4k)

　But upon closer reflection...

　The position of the lower grade group contestants in the third round of the points competition was already rather awkward.

　Because the lower grade group is naturally no match for the higher grade group, their existence seems to be only to provide points for the higher grade group.

　As for the inferior overthrowing the superior.

　Such a scenario might be more likely in regular competitions. However, with everyone at their peak age, the possibility of an underdog defeating an upper-class player is extremely low.

　This is very similar to the situation of the St. Mary's College Cup's cross-level challenge.

　However, the organizers also provided certain protective measures for the lower grade groups, prohibiting the same person from launching a second duel against the same person on the same day. Furthermore, there was a half-hour break during the first day of competition.

　During this break, the younger students have the right to refuse challenges from others. They can use this time to find other younger students and challenge them to a duel.

　The overall atmosphere of the competition should theoretically be positive and uplifting.

　All the contestants actively participated, trying their best to find opponents they could potentially defeat.

　Even if it's not for ultimate victory, we must fight to obtain more "divine cause".

　As long as you can participate, it's basically a guaranteed win. So, Vivian naturally wanted to participate in the third round of the points competition. However, after much consideration, she ultimately decided to give it up.

　After all, she's only a second-year student and doesn't have the absolute strength of Aurora, so it's really not a good idea for her to take Sarah's or Emma's place.

　We can only wait for next year's college competition and try again!

　After Vivian chose to give up, the third-year students offered her encouragement.

　Judging from the current situation, this year's college competition has been very successful, and it is basically certain that it will be held again next year.

　By then, Vivian, who will be in third grade, will become one of the leading figures in the lower grades.

　She will fight alongside Aurora and the others for the academy!

　Meanwhile, Dark and his classmates will move up to the fourth grade and compete with the fifth graders for a spot as contestants.

　If Emma and Sarah don't make much progress in the following year, they might not be able to compete.

　But hearing this boosted Emma and the others' morale.

　As the discussion about the third round of the competition deepened, the atmosphere inside the VIP box became increasingly serious.

　Of course, Diana's battle with the food on the table was also very serious. As for the other hidden glutton present—Aurora—she was noticeably more reserved, maintaining a steady pace of slow, deliberate eating without ever stopping. Dak, on the other hand, stopped eating early, only occasionally picking up his knife and fork to cut off a small piece to taste.

　Although he has a "bulimia" research project, the first ten days of this month have passed, and he needs to regain his self-control and prevent his "bulimia" index from continuing to rise.

　As time passed, the menu gradually came to an end. Only after Diana was fully satisfied did the group conclude their meal and leave the restaurant together.

　Normally, after a meal like this, people would continue to stroll around the tourist street until late at night.

　However, the two consecutive days of competition were indeed exhausting. Although the athletes' physical strength had recovered, their energy was quite depleted, so it was decided to disband the team and send them home.

　Dark, Aurora, Diana, and the others naturally gathered together. On his way back, he stopped by a branch of the All-People Duel Club to check on the business growth over the past two days before leaving the store and returning to the castle.

　The All-People Duel Club branch in Traveler's Street is now also facing the issue of expanding its business.

　Since magical duels have been added in addition to simulated duels, Dark decided to merge the businesses of the two shops into one, since he did not plan to open a second shop in Traveler's Street.

　However, this would present some practical problems. But he didn't need to worry about those; someone would handle them properly. Currently, one of the purposes of placing this Duel Club branch in Traveller's Town was to observe market reactions.

　After all, this street is arguably the commercial street with the highest concentration of mages. Let's leave aside the simulated duel business for now.

　The most direct customers of the magic duel business are magic masters. Therefore, observing the reaction of the student market is very important.

　Only by grasping the specific direction can the Magic Duel Club seize the opportunity and rise to the challenge.

　The night is deep.

　The group returned to the castle, chatting and laughing.

　The newly established "Disciplinary Committee" organization is still patrolling the castle.

　Accompanying them were, of course, patrolling golems whose programs had been reprogrammed. But as the "Disciplinary Committee" began its activities, the security problems within the academy suddenly vanished, and even those who liked to wander around the castle after curfew were all gone.

　It's unclear whether the deterrent effect of the "disciplinary committee members" was truly effective, or whether the fact that someone had been murdered naturally put people on high alert.

　In short, St. Marian Academy appeared to be peaceful tonight. Dark led everyone back to the Noble Academy tower, nodded slightly to the feathered serpent golem at the entrance, and then pushed open the door to enter.

　After a full day of revelry, there weren't many people left in the common room.

　Dark felt a little relieved, so he first took Aurora to her bedroom on the third floor, and then took Diana and Rose to their bedrooms on the fourth floor.

　After that, he returned to his dormitory to wash up and go to sleep. Of course, before going to sleep, he didn't forget to practice the "Netherworld God Technique." When he finished practicing and opened his eyes in bed, he found himself surrounded by magical sprites.

　He shook his head slightly, burrowed into the covers, closed his eyes, and drifted into a dream.

　It must be a beautiful dream.