Stop pretending, I'm a security guard, a five-star general!

A few hours later, the opening ceremony of the event officially began.

The team members from each participating team filed out of the waiting hall and onto the central stage of the arena.

As soon as they stepped onto the stage, a deafening roar of cheers erupted. The seats, which could accommodate 100,000 people, were now completely full, and the atmosphere was electric.

Meanwhile, over a thousand media outlets from all over the country rushed to the scene to provide live coverage of this grand event!

"Let's welcome all the participating team members to the field!"

A loud and clear male voice resounded throughout the venue, followed by even more enthusiastic cheers and applause.

After all the team members had entered and taken their positions, an elderly man over fifty years old came to the podium, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

This man was none other than Fang Tiancheng, the Governor-General of the Southeast Province!

He started with a long, clichéd opening, and then loudly proclaimed:

"I hereby declare the 443rd Provincial High School Games officially open!"

"Now, please let our Qin Envoy from the Southeast Province announce the competition rules and some important notes for this contest."

As soon as he finished speaking, another elderly man with a slightly weathered face but extremely sharp eyes strode over with a powerful and vigorous gait.

Qin Yu's eyes lit up when he saw the newcomer, and he quickly smiled and said to the people around him:

"You know, he's my grandfather! Yes! The one who's going up on stage now to announce the competition rules!"

"Grandpa! I'm here! Look at me! Look at me!"

Everyone: "..."

Despite the cacophony of noise in the hall, Qin Qingshan immediately and keenly heard that incredibly familiar voice, and stumbled backward.

"This brat!"

Qin Qingshan cursed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He calmly walked to the front of the stage and spoke loudly:

"Now, I will announce the competition rules for this event."

"This competition is divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the elimination round."

"The preliminary rounds will select 64 teams to advance to the knockout stage. Then, the teams will be drawn into pairs to compete against each other, and the champion of this competition will be determined in the end."

"However, the format of this year's preliminary rounds has changed."

"We have placed a thousand special cards in advance in the ordinary-level secret realm [Huaguoyuan]. All you have to do is enter the secret realm and find these cards within the seven-day period."

"Ultimately, your advancement from the preliminary rounds will be determined by the number of cards you acquire!"

Wow!

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

They had heard about the competition format reform before, but they never expected it to be so drastic, actually sending them directly into a secret realm!

This difficulty level is more than just increased; it's increased dramatically!

"Holy crap! What the hell is the point of playing this?!"

"Damn it, sending a bunch of noobs at the Martial Apprentice level into a secret realm? Isn't that just sending us to our deaths?!"

"Yare! What's the point of playing this game? Just pack up and go home."

"..."

At that moment, the audience erupted in uproar, protesting loudly.

With their strength, going down into the secret realm now would be practically suicide.

"Quiet!"

Qin Qingshan's eyes sharpened, and he let out a loud shout imbued with spiritual power, silencing the entire audience once again.

"Please don't worry too much, fellow participants. We have assigned a Grandmaster-level examiner to each team. This is to monitor whether you will violate any rules during the competition, and also to protect your safety."

These words softened the expressions of the crowd below the stage.

Fortunately, the event organizers weren't completely ruthless; at least their safety was guaranteed.