Chapter 196: Chu Liuyue 197: Chu Liuyue

　　When Cheng Han saw how Situ Xingchen—who was sitting beside him—seemed to be surveying her surroundings, he could not help but ask, “Xingchen, what are you looking at?”

　　“Hm? Oh, nothing much. It’s my first time at the Qing Jiao Competition, so I’m rather curious.” Situ Xingchen quickly hid the disappointment in her eyes and happily smiled at Cheng Han.

　　Cheng Han did not doubt her words and laughed out loud. “It’s natural for you to be curious. You’ll naturally find out what’s going on when the competition starts! I have high hopes for you this time!”

　　“Don’t worry, Mentor. I’ll definitely do my best.”

　　“You have such outstanding talent. I don’t have much to worry about.” Cheng Han was very confident, as if he knew for certain that Situ Xingchen could definitely attain good results in the end.

　　Situ Xingchen smiled and nodded, suppressing her other thoughts at the bottom of her heart.

　　…

　　Sun Zhongyan stood in the middle of the square and cupped his hands towards his surroundings.

　　“I’m Sun Zhongyan, Tian Lu Academy’s Elder. I’m in charge of this year’s Qing Jiao Competition. The competition sequence will be the same as usual; we start from warriors, then Xuan Masters, and finally heavenly doctors!”

　　His thick and forceful voice reverberated throughout the square, silencing the originally bustling crowd. This caused them to look at Sun Zhongyan with serious expressions.

　　“The competition rules are the same as before. The three academies will challenge each other. Everyone, please look here. There are three boxes in front of the three academy’s areas! Those three boxes are written with heavenly doctor, Xuan Master, and warrior, respectively. They contain the names of students participating in the various competitions. However, to be fair, the boxes in front of the academies don’t have the names of their own students.”

　　He pointed towards Tian Lu Academy.

　　“Tian Lu Academy’s box contains the names of Tai Yan Academy’s students. The students who are going to compete will randomly pick a name from the box, and the chosen person will be their competitor.”

　　The crowd burst into an uproar. Isn’t this the same as making Tian Lu Academy students challenge Tai Yan Academy students?

　　Sun Zhongyan put his hands down and continued after the crowd quietened down. “Similarly, the box in front of Tai Yan Academy contains names of students from Nan Feng Academy. Nan Feng Academy, of course, has the box filled with the names of Tian Lu Academy’s students.”

　　Everyone partook in heated discussions. No matter what, this still sounded pretty fair.

　　“The one who loses the competition will have their name taken out from the box, and the winner’s name will be placed back inside. The competition will proceed in different rounds until the final winner emerges!”

　　Chu Liuyue crossed her arms in deep thought. “Doesn’t it mean that the person who wins the competition has the chance of being picked for a second, third, or even more times?”

　　The further one goes in the competition, the more brutal the battles. It really isn’t easy to take first place.

　　Si Yang said, “Maybe not. Thus, the competition’s sequence is very important! It’s better if you’re placed at the back, but if you’re unlucky and you’re placed right at the front, you really might have to compete multiple times! Of course, you need to have the ability to win first before you can be picked repeatedly.”

　　He chuckled as he said, “Actually, this competition isn’t that grim. There’s a specific amount of time set for the competition every day. Normally, one person will only compete once a day. Even if a person wins and gets picked again, they will still have time to recover. Of course, the condition is that they aren’t severely injured.”

　　If one truly was brutally beaten up, they would just directly withdraw from the competition.

　　“The Qing Jiao Competition always ends sufficiently, and they never allow for any killing. Therefore, you can be assured of that.”

　　Chu Liuyue heard his words, but she was still doubtful. They don’t allow the participants to kill people, but there are many methods in this world that will make one wish for death instead of staying alive. This Qing Jiao Competition affects the reputation of all the top academies and even their countries. How can this be taken so lightly?

　　While the two were talking, Sun Zhongyan had already walked to Nan Feng Academy’s area and stood in front of the ‘warrior’ box. “I’ll personally pick the first person to compete in the arena!”

　　As he spoke, he stretched his hand into the box.

　　Everyone’s gazes were gathered on his body.

　　This was especially so for the Tian Lu Academy and Tai Yan Academy warrior students. They all held their breaths in anticipation.

　　“Don’t pick me… Please, don’t pick me…”

　　“Please! Don’t let it be me!”

　　“They should pick stronger people for the first match, right?”

　　Before Sun Zhongyan picked the name, Chu Liuyue could hear all sorts of prayers around her. She could not help but turn around and take a look. As expected, many people’s foreheads were engraved with the words ‘don’t pick me.’

　　She thought for a while and quickly understood why.

　　The first match had a different meaning. If one could win the first match beautifully, it would bring utmost honor to themselves and the academy, motivating and energizing everyone else.

　　However, they would definitely be reprimanded if they lost. Thus, this naturally made the competitors even more stressed out.

　　It wasn’t that bad for the older and stronger students, but the freshmen were all dazed and worried.

　　…

　　People from Tai Yan Academy’s side stared at Sun Zhongyan’s actions closely.

　　“I heard that their academy’s strongest warrior is the Crown Prince—Rong Jin—and he’s here today! I just hope that it isn’t him!”

　　“How can there be such a coincidence? There are more than 100 people participating in the warrior competition from their academy. How can Rong Jin be picked first?”

　　“Hehe, so what if he’s picked? We have strong competitors too! Even if they can’t win, it’s good that they exhaust their strongest participant’s energy, right?”

　　“That sounds pretty logical, hahaha!”

　　…

　　Sun Zhongyan finally took his hand out of the box, holding a paper ball in his hand.

　　Everyone quietened down as they stared at the paper ball. Everyone knew that the paper ball contained the name of the first person that would compete.

　　The crowd was silent, and the entire square’s atmosphere immediately became nerve-wracking.

　　Sun Zhongyan slowly opened the paper ball, and his expression changed a little when he saw the name on the paper. Why is it…

　　Quite a few people saw the change in his expression, and they immediately had all sorts of guesses.

　　Who exactly is this person…?

　　“Qing Jiao Competition’s first warrior match. The competitor from Tian Lu Academy is…” Sun Zhongyan paused for a while, and he looked in a certain direction with a complicated gaze. “Chu Liuyue!”