Douluo Continent II: The Dragon King Suppresses the World!

Chapter 13 Elimination Rounds

The freshmen dormitory fell silent once more, save for the golden and silver dragon egg that shimmered with iridescent light. Outside the egg, there was no fluctuation of soul power, while inside, the two figures stood with their foreheads pressed tightly together.

Time passed quietly, second by second, and the auras of the two became increasingly powerful, with the Dragon God Core preventing their auras from leaking out.

……

Poseidon Lake, the island in the middle of the lake, the lakeside.

Teacher Wang Yan, who had just finished the new student assessment not long ago, was standing here at this moment, his face showing exceptional respect.

Not far in front of him, an old man with disheveled hair was sitting there, his bare feet soaking in the cool waters of the Sea God Lake, and his right hand holding a huge gourd.

He would occasionally pick up the gourd and take a sip, instantly filling the air with a rich aroma of wine. In his other hand, he would hold a roast chicken, ignoring the greasiness, and devour it with sips of wine and bites of meat.

"Elder Xuan, that's right. Although these students are still young and freshmen, they are indeed worth paying attention to."

"Hmm..." The disheveled old man, known as Elder Xuan, swallowed a mouthful of chicken and glanced at Wang Yan. However, his eyes were slightly unfocused and even a little blank, as if he hadn't been listening to Wang Yan at all.

"The progenitor of power, the master of the elements," Elder Xuan muttered, his voice hoarse and aged.

Wang Yan nodded in agreement: "The martial souls of these two little guys are indeed the Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon martial souls, which have long been extinct on the continent."

Elder Xuan took another swig of wine, let out a burp, and said, "Interesting, interesting. However, a good martial spirit doesn't guarantee great achievements; it all depends on their future fortune."

Wang Yan quickly responded, "Elder Xuan is right. However, these two children performed exceptionally well in the new student assessment, demonstrating a composure and strength far beyond their peers."

Elder Xuan chuckled. "Composure? In this academy, composure alone isn't enough. Alright, you go back first. I'll stay a little longer. Go tell Xiao Ning that I'll be attending the freshman ranking competition. Tell him to save me a spot."

Wang Yan bowed slightly, "Then please enjoy your meal, Elder Xuan. I shall take my leave now."

Wang Yan turned and left, while Elder Xuan continued eating and drinking as if nothing was amiss, his gaze fixed on the tranquil Sea God Lake, lost in thought.

After a while, Elder Xuan suddenly stood up, and the lazy aura on his body instantly dissipated, replaced by an invisible pressure.

"It looks like Shrek Academy is about to get lively again." After saying that, he sat down again and continued drinking and eating meat.

……

As night fell, the golden halo in Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena's dormitory continued to shine quietly.

As evening deepened into the night, time quietly passed, and the auras of Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena underwent a strange change in a subtle way.

The colors and auras of the two intertwined and merged further, and even their soul power began to enter each other's bodies, thus forming a strange cycle.

Nothing was said that night, and dawn gradually broke.

The golden and silver dragon egg gradually began to crack, revealing what lay inside. Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena were still tightly embracing, but the color-changing aura emanating from them had disappeared. Their foreheads were pressed together, and they could hear each other's breath...

At this moment, the area outside the dormitory began to get lively. Students from other dormitories had already gotten up and were busy washing up. The noise gradually affected the two people embracing each other, and Gu Yuena moved first.

"Hmm." Gu Yuena hummed softly, her voice carrying a hint of languor.

When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Ye Qi'an standing right in front of her, holding her tightly. The two were pressed together, and she could feel the warmth emanating from Ye Qi'an's body.

A blush instantly spread across Gu Yuena's face. She gently nudged Ye Qi'an, "Qi'an, wake up."

Ye Qi'an slowly opened his eyes and saw Gu Yuena's slightly shy expression. He remembered that although they had been embracing last night, there was still some distance between them. What was going on now? They were so close. Could it be that last night...

An awkward expression appeared on Ye Qi'an's face. He quickly released his hand and said somewhat helplessly, "Nana, this... this might be because I unconsciously..."

Gu Yuena rolled her eyes at him, gently stood up, straightened her clothes, and said, "Do you think I don't know? Do you need to tell me?"

Suddenly, a piercing ringtone sounded, startling the two of them.

"Class is starting! We're doomed! Run!" Ye Qi'an jumped out of bed instantly, grabbed Gu Yuena, and ran straight outside.

The two ran towards the teaching building as fast as they could. As Ye Qi'an ran, he couldn't help but shake his head: "I never thought that one day I would experience the same things that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong went through."

When the two of them ran to the freshman teaching building, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were also rushing over from the other side. The four of them looked at each other for a moment and couldn't help but stare at each other. Well, four people were late at once. A dozen seconds later, they arrived at the door of the freshman class.

"Report!" the four hurriedly called out.

At this moment, Zhou Yi walked towards them from the classroom door. The other students had already arrived. When Zhou Yi saw the four of them looking disheveled, a smile flashed in her eyes.

"You four, what's going on? Come in here first." Zhou Yi beckoned to the four of them.

The four latecomers hurriedly entered the classroom, and Ye Qi'an closed the door behind them. At this moment, all eyes in the class were on the four of them, especially on Huo Yuhao, whose clothes were disheveled.

Zhou Yi asked in her usual icy voice, "Tell me, what are you four up to? Huo Yuhao, you go first."

"Uh... I'm sorry, Teacher Zhou, we overslept," Huo Yuhao said awkwardly.

"Who slept with whom? How could they have slept together?"

Huo Yuhao was stunned, and Wang Dong next to him blushed instantly because he had been right. The whole class remained silent, but this time, it only lasted for three seconds before the whole class burst into laughter.

Wang Dong lowered his head, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground. It was so embarrassing, so incredibly embarrassing.

"Alright, you two go back to your seats." Zhou Yi waved her hand, showing unprecedented magnanimity and tolerance towards the two.

"Huo Yuhao and the other guy slept with you, what about you two?"

Ye Qi'an scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Teacher Zhou, we went to study the Martial Soul Fusion Technique last night."

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze scrutinizing him. "A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"

Ye Qian glanced at Gu Yuena and then said, "Teacher, we accidentally discovered that our martial souls showed signs of fusion during our cultivation, so we wanted to give it a try."

Gu Yuena nodded in agreement, saying, "Although we succeeded, we've been unconscious ever since."

Zhou Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll trust you for now, but if this happens again, you must report to me in advance. Go back to your seats."

The two nodded and returned to their seats.

Looking at Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena back in their seats, Zhou Yi actually believed what they said. Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena would not stoop to using lies to cover up their lateness, so it was most likely that they were telling the truth.

This is a Spirit Fusion Skill. Originally, the two of them were the strongest in Class 1 of the freshmen. Now that they have a Spirit Fusion Skill, their strength is enough to sweep through the entire freshman class.

After returning to the podium, Zhou Yi said calmly, "The freshman assessments have all concluded after three days. The final results were tallied last night."

Hearing her say that, all the students in Class 1 immediately perked up, realizing that not every group was as confident as Ye Qi'an and his group in passing the test.

"I have to say, you all worked very hard and made me proud. All of the students in Group 22 of Class 1 who participated in the assessment passed the new student assessment. I am very pleased."

"Boom—" The entire freshman class erupted in cheers, which echoed throughout every corner of the classroom. This time, Zhou Yi did not stop them, but simply watched the children cheer with a smile.

"Alright, quiet down." After everyone had been cheering for quite a while, Zhou Yi finally signaled them to quiet down again.

"Among these twenty-two groups, there are still fourteen groups whose freshman assessments are not yet complete. Because you have made it into the top sixty-four, you still need to complete the next elimination round. And the elimination round is when you will truly prove your excellence."

Zhou Yi continued, "In this round-robin competition for the new students, a total of seven groups achieved a perfect record. Our class had two groups. I originally wanted to give them some class rewards, but unfortunately, they were late for class today. Therefore, their merits and demerits cancel each other out, and there will be no reward or punishment."

The four latecomers once again became the focus of the entire class.

Zhou Yi continued, "These two groups of students are Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena, and Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. I hope you will all perform well in the upcoming elimination rounds."

"Now I'll explain the rules and precautions for the knockout stage..." Zhou Yi introduced the relevant content of the knockout stage in detail.

"Did you understand everything?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Understood!" the students answered in unison.

"Okay, that concludes today's lesson. get out of class dismissed." Zhou Yi said, turning and leaving the classroom.

……

The next day, outside the assessment area, stood a row of college teachers, about thirty in number, including Zhou Yi.

Soon, Du Weilun, the Dean of Instruction of the Martial Soul Department of the Outer Court, finished taking attendance, and the next step was to draw lots. It was just a freshman assessment, without too many complicated ceremonies.

Ye Qi'an, on behalf of his team, drew lots to determine the starting positions. All sixty-four groups of students participating in the elimination rounds were divided into thirty-two matches to compete against each other.

Yesterday, the trainees had a day to rest, and the assessment area has been improved. Only the partition positions need to be changed. It has been reorganized into sixteen areas. This time, each area is several times larger, giving the trainees participating in the elimination rounds much more room to showcase their skills.

The rules for the knockout stage were simple: one match each morning and afternoon. Eliminated teams went back to class, while winning teams stayed to continue the competition. The final three teams were determined over three days.

After the draw, the competition to narrow down the field from 64 to 32 began immediately, with all 32 matches held simultaneously. This shortened the assessment time as much as possible, giving the winning students ample rest time to prepare for the afternoon's matches.

Ye Qi'an and his classmates were assigned to the fifteenth district this time, and the proctor was also changed. This time, it was a female teacher in her thirties who looked very kind.

They only had numbers drawn during the lottery, so they had no idea who their opponents would be. When they arrived at the venue, they were somewhat disappointed to find that they had drawn their own teammates from Class 1 of the freshmen in the first round. This elimination tournament had turned into an internal battle.

To be honest, after three months at Shrek Academy, Ye Qi'an hadn't even gotten to know everyone in his class, and he only had a vague impression of the three students from the other side.

Since Zhou Yi dared to choose Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena as her team, their strength was naturally unmatched by other teams. The match didn't last long, lasting less than three minutes, and the battle was over, allowing them to smoothly enter the top 32. More importantly, only one of the two had to go on stage to wipe out an entire team.

The freshman assessment elimination round, the competition between thirty-two and sixteen will officially begin in the assessment area when the bell rings in the afternoon.

Compared to the morning session, half the number of participants in the elimination rounds were eliminated. After another draw, participants immediately went to their assigned areas to compete.

Since it was the same day's competition, the venue remained unchanged, with the same divisions as in the morning, but only the first sixteen numbered courts were put into use.

To the north of the assessment area, a high platform has been erected, a full twenty meters above the ground, supported by six metal pillars. Looking up from below, it's impossible to see how many people it can accommodate; only shadowy figures suggest some people are watching the competition. From this height of twenty meters, one can overlook the entire assessment area and clearly see the situation of the matches in each arena.

Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena arrived early outside the assessment area to draw lots. This time, their assessment area became number eight. When they arrived at the venue, another team that had also drawn area number eight had already arrived. All three members of that team were women.

Observing from the high platform.

Zhou Yi stood quietly on the stage, surveying the upcoming competition below. In the round-robin tournament, Class 1 of the freshmen was the biggest winner, but in the knockout stage, some students with strong individual abilities began to show their potential and strength.

In the round of 64 to 32, Class 1 only had five teams left. Although this was still more than other freshman classes, their advantage was no longer significant. The next round, from 32 to 16, was crucial.

"Teacher Zhou, are you looking for your seeded team? I just looked at the draw, and what a coincidence! The seeded team you chose happens to be our class's seeded team. They're over there, in assessment area number eight. Guess who will win?" A female teacher who looked to be around thirty years old came up to Zhou Yi and said with a soft laugh.

Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed instantly. "Mu Jin, do you think your student is guaranteed to win?"

Mu Jin smiled and shook her head, saying, "That's not true. Nothing is absolute, at least there aren't any above level 30. It's such a pity."

Zhou Yi's eyes turned cold. "Are you here to provoke me?"

Mu Jin's smile vanished instantly. "So what? Your class has good grades, right? I'd like to see how many of your students can make it into the top eight. I was quite pleased to find out that my seeded student was matched up against yours when the draw was over."

Zhou Yi ignored Mu Jin's provocative expression and turned her gaze to the competition area below, fixing it on the eighth section where Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena were located. She said calmly, "Shall we make a bet?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Jin immediately and without hesitation agreed, "Bet? What are you betting with me?"

Zhou Yi finally stopped ignoring her, turned to face her, and said in a deep voice, "A soul bone, do you dare?"

(End of this chapter)