Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Under the blazing sun, sunlight streamed onto the arena, where several teachers huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

"It looks like everyone's here. Hao Aman and Ye Kerong never come, so we don't need to wait for them."

"Okay, let's announce the start then."

After saying that, Bona Tian landed on the largest arena in the center. He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Everyone, please be quiet. The Grand Tournament of the Strongest Rankings is about to begin!"

In the waiting area, seeing the astonished expressions of Ling Moyan and the others upon hearing that she had no ranking, Guan Xun could only shrug innocently.

They must have all heard the rumors about her being a nepotism beneficiary, so she didn't need to explain further. She raised her chin and signaled to the people around her that the competition was about to begin.

"The rules are the same as before: opponents will be determined by drawing lots."

Without wasting words, Bona Tian waved his sleeve, and the black cloth that had been covering the center of the waiting area fell down, revealing the huge stone platform underneath. There were two deep depressions in the stone platform, and bamboo sticks were placed in the depressions.

“Each set of bamboo sticks contains fifteen sticks, one black and one white, numbered from one to fifteen. For example, if someone draws a bamboo stick with a black background and the number seven, then their opponent is the holder of a bamboo stick with a white background and the number seven.”

The rules were only briefly explained; they were not complicated and could be easily understood even by freshmen.

"Alright, without further ado, let's begin the draw!"

The first student to step forward was a complete stranger, presumably ranked quite low on the leaderboard. Few people noticed his actions. After pulling out a bamboo stick from the stone platform, he read out his number in front of everyone and then returned to his seat.

Seeing that Ling Moyan and the others were not in a hurry, Guan Xun did not rush to draw her own ticket either, but stood there watching.

Suddenly, she frowned, tilted her head slightly, and glanced behind her, where she met a pair of resentful eyes.

"Hmph~" She chuckled, her lips slightly parted, and used her spiritual power to transmit an extremely faint sound to the latter's ears, "Want revenge? If you draw the draw, I'll give you a chance."

Jian Rou was so angry that her face twitched. She sneered and stepped forward, walked to the stone platform, fumbled around on the bamboo sticks for a while, and finally took out a black bamboo stick.

"Black background, number thirteen." She read it out in a low voice, then returned to her original position, her resentful gaze still fixed on Guan Xun. "If you draw the same bamboo slip, then you'll be in trouble!"

Guan Xun smiled knowingly, then looked away.

This senior student... she's just being stubborn. After their last encounter, she couldn't possibly have failed to sense the difference in their strength. Besides, she spent a month in the medical hospital, so her cultivation progress was far behind.

Ling Moyan nudged her with his elbow and laughed, "Do you think we're so destined to meet? Will we run into each other in the very first match?"

“That’s right.” Guan Xun smirked at him provocatively. “If you run into him, are you going to avenge your cousin?”

Ling Moyan paused for a moment, rubbed his chin a few times, and then showed his signature smile: "Don't worry, junior, I'm very chivalrous. Besides, didn't you reserve a spot? I might not even be able to beat you."

So she heard everything. Guan Xun chuckled and didn't say anything more. She was really not joking about reserving the top three spots. She had scanned the room with her divine sense and found that apart from a few teachers, there was no one else who could fight.

The draw was nearing its end, and Zeng Qianxue and Lu Shenqu were matched up against contestants ranked lower.

"White background is the best."

Ling Moyan raised the white bamboo stick in his hand and said, "I just winked at Guan Xun when a deep and sinister voice made his expression change drastically."

"Black background, number one..."

"Li Xun!" Jian Rou said through gritted teeth, causing Guan Xun to turn his head slightly and look at Li Xun, who was holding the first bamboo stick with a black background.

She recognized the name; after all, he was ranked third on the list. She glanced at it a couple more times; his surname was Li, and he belonged to the Li family, one of the three major families in the capital.

Thinking back to the first time I encountered Ling Moyan in the Illusion Forest, it was the Li family who tried to steal his things, so it's no wonder the atmosphere was so strange.

It's interesting to see these two sworn enemies clash.

"I'm so lucky to be playing against Brother Ling in the very first match."

Li Xun's voice was low and hoarse, and it wasn't hard to hear the resentment in it. Guan Xun couldn't help but think that the Li family must all have the same hoarse voices...

It's really torture for the ears.

Ling Moyan snorted coldly, flicked his hand and returned to his original spot, not even glancing at the other party.

The person who took advantage of his vulnerability and severely injured him was none other than Li Xun's own younger brother! He almost didn't make it through the ordeal, and later, out of anger, his father broke one of Li Xun's brother's legs.

Ling Moyan clenched his fists, his lips pressed into a straight line; the hatred between them had long since been formed.

Today, he will settle all accounts!

In the somber atmosphere, Guan Xun finally strode towards the stone platform, casually pulled out a black bamboo stick, and when she saw the number eleven on it, she glanced at Jian Rou and chuckled, "Looks like you won't have that chance."

"Black background, eleven".

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a gaze fixed on her. She turned her head to the right and met the probing gaze.

The man stood upright like a pillar, tall and slender, with dark skin, thick eyebrows that shot straight up to his temples, and three-dimensional features. Although he was handsome, his face was very fierce.

At first glance, he's someone you shouldn't mess with.

The one staring at her like that must be her opponent in her first match.

"Ye An".

"Ok?"

“He is Ye An, who is ranked fifth,” Ling Moyan explained again.

"The Ye family?" Guan Xun asked.

“Those with the surname Ye on the list are all from the Ye family.” Ling Moyan nodded, hesitated and frowned, but still reminded him, “The Ye family doesn’t act very fairly. You should be careful when you go up against them.”

Guan Xun thought only Ye Fengjing would act that way, but he never expected that the whole family would be like that.

She tilted her head slightly: "Thank you."

Before long, all the trainees had finished drawing lots. Two bamboo sticks, one black and one white, remained on the stone platform, presumably belonging to the top two on the list.

Their absence makes them redundant.

"Alright, now that everyone has been drawn, let's begin the competition." Bonatian said with a faint smile. "Before that, I must remind you that although the academy has an open-minded atmosphere, this is still a competition for friendly exchange. You are all classmates, so please refrain from killing anyone."

"That's right, the intention is to train you, not to fight to the death. Be careful to control your strength when you go through with it," another teacher added, waving his hand in reminder.

Bona Tian slowly swept his gaze across the entire arena, noticing many students nodding in approval. He smiled with satisfaction and said, "The order of appearance for the competition will be randomly drawn. Please return to your seats and wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bonatian casually pulled a bamboo stick from the teacher who was collecting them, glanced at it, and said, "Number two!"

Guan Xun looked at the arena with great interest; the competition had finally begun.