After Ju Zi finished speaking, it was naturally time for the chief referee to announce the rules of the competition. Zhu Ziyang and the others already knew the rules beforehand, so there was nothing to say. Once the rules were announced, it was time for the competition to officially begin.
As the opening match of the competition, it should have been played by the champion of the previous competition, the Shrek Academy Team. However, since Shrek Academy had a bye in the first round and directly advanced to the second round, the qualification for the opening match naturally fell to the runner-up team of the previous competition, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team.
Therefore, the first match was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team against the Dragon Slaying Sect Team!
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team were all familiar faces, so Zhu Ziyang didn't pay too much attention to them. However, the seven members of the Dragon Slaying Sect Team surprisingly wore expressions of confidence and fearlessness. They couldn't possibly be unaware of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's reputation. The only explanation was that they were genuinely confident and looked down on academy-based Spirit Masters from the bottom of their hearts.
This was quite normal; Spirit Masters from Sects were generally stronger than those from academies. This had been an unchanging rule since ancient times. It was just that, were these Sect Spirit Masters perhaps a little too isolated and overconfident?
Zhu Ziyang shook his head with a helpless smile, as if regretting for the Dragon Slaying Sect.
When the competition began, the first player sent out by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team was Vice Captain Meng Hongchen. After all, it was the opening match, and it was on their home turf. This first match had to be won beautifully and cleanly!
Upon Meng Hongchen's appearance on stage, she was met with thunderous cheers, because on the spirit tool light screen projecting the arena above the audience, Meng Hongchen's beautiful figure appeared synchronously, along with a line of subtitles.
"Meng Hongchen, 19 years old, Vice Captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team, student of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, member of Mingde Hall."
This simple introduction immediately ignited the emotions of all the Sun Moon Empire citizens present. Everyone cheered for this beautiful young girl. At this moment, it was as if she represented their country.
The Dragon Slaying Sect player who entered from the other side did not receive such treatment. In fact, only members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team received such treatment. It was perfectly normal for the home team to have some special treatment when fighting on home ground. This format only affected the audience and had no significant impact on the actual competitors.
"Tsk tsk, what a grand display!" Ma Xiaotao couldn't help but click her tongue in admiration, "It makes this old lady a bit envious. I wonder if we'll get this kind of treatment too."
"Hehe, don't even think about it, Sister Xiaotao. If we had that kind of treatment, that would really scare me." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
"Brother, watch the match, don't talk!" Jiang Nannan pulled Zhu Ziyang's gaze back, a hint of jealousy on her pretty face, and said.
The match on the arena actually held no suspense. Although the Dragon Slaying Sect player was a Spirit King with optimal spirit ring configuration, facing Meng Hongchen, who also had optimal spirit ring configuration but was already a Spirit Emperor, was a bit too difficult for him. Meng Hongchen easily defeated the first player from the Dragon Slaying Sect, and then used the same method to defeat the second player from the Dragon Slaying Sect.
Meng Hongchen, who had consecutively defeated two opponents, didn't seem to have expended much energy. Just as everyone thought Meng Hongchen could achieve a seven-win streak, she surprisingly chose to concede and step down.
The second player from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team was a Spirit King, or rather, a fifth-rank Soul Engineer. The Dragon Slaying Sect Team, on the other hand, directly sent out their captain, who was also a Spirit King. After a tough battle, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team player narrowly defeated the Dragon Slaying Sect Team captain with flexible and varied spirit tool tactics.
With the defeat of their captain, the Dragon Slaying Sect Team essentially lost any chance of advancing. This clash between the academy faction and the Sect faction concluded with a complete victory for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team!
And indeed, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team ultimately advanced to the second round with eleven points. Aside from some isolated Sects that were overly self-important and failed to see the situation clearly, no one else was surprised by this outcome.
After the opening ceremony, the second match began without delay. Due to the largest number of teams in the first round, the schedule for the first round was the most intense. Three hundred sixty-six teams, one hundred eighty-three matches, needed to be completed within five days, which meant at least thirty-eight matches had to be completed per day. Time was very tight.
Although time was tight, it must be said that the matches were exciting and very entertaining, with full viewing pleasure. Because it was a knockout round, all teams went all out, at least on the surface. The battles were exceptionally fierce, so it was inevitable that some tragic incidents would occur, but overall, no Death occurred.
The referee team of the Sun Moon Empire was still very professional.
Soon, the morning matches ended. After twelve matches, twelve teams advanced to the second round, and twelve teams were eliminated. The eliminated teams could actually leave; they had no further part to play.
Among the twelve teams that advanced in the morning, besides the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team, the only other team worth noting was the Snow Demon Sect Team from the Tianhun Empire. This was also the second team to score eleven points in the morning matches. As the de facto royal team of the Tianhun Empire, their captain was naturally Princess Vina, but the one who competed was the young girl who had been following Vina before, the Young Sect Master of the Snow Demon Sect, Muxue, a Spirit King.
The midday break was very short, only half an hour. Few spectators left their seats, but most of the participating teams had left.
The afternoon matches began, with fifteen matches following one after another. The intensity of the battles was no less than, if not greater than, the morning. After a short dinner break, it was time for the evening matches. There were only eleven matches in the evening, but they once again allowed everyone to witness the advanced spirit tool technology of the Sun Moon Empire.
The competition venue was brightly lit, almost as bright as daytime. Nearly a hundred spirit tool lamps hung in the sky, emitting a bright yet soft and non-dazzling light, making people feel as if they were in broad daylight.
Around nine in the evening, the first day's matches concluded. A total of thirty-eight matches were played, with thirty-eight teams advancing. Among them were many veteran powerhouses and newly emerging dark horses. The veteran powerhouses were naturally some academy teams, while the newly emerging dark horses were undoubtedly Sect teams. However, despite many strong teams, the thrilling and popular seven-win streak did not occur. Which team would achieve the first seven-win streak still remained to be seen in the upcoming matches.
After the Shrek Academy Team returned to the hotel, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan went to the hotel's tea restaurant. They ordered two drinks, then settled into a soft sofa, their gazes lazily and comfortably observing the bustling crowd.
"Brother, I wish it could always be like this." Jiang Nannan curled her delicate body into Zhu Ziyang's embrace, her arms wrapped around one of Zhu Ziyang's arms, and her two delicate hands playfully counting Zhu Ziyang's fingerprints, her voice soft and languid as she spoke.
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Zhu Ziyang rested his chin on Jiang Nannan's small head, speaking with a doting tone.
"I say, Zhu Ziyang, Nannan, you two are too much! Showing such affection in public, have you considered other people's feelings?!" Just as Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were being affectionate, the killjoy arrived. From the voice, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan knew who it was without even looking.
"Xiaoya, why are you only just getting back?" Jiang Nannan remained nestled in Zhu Ziyang's embrace, with no intention of getting up, her voice also lazy.
Tang Ya plopped down on the sofa opposite them, a helpless and envious look on her pretty face, and said, "We went to gather information on our opponents. Unlike you two, who don't need to worry about such things. Sigh, I'm so envious!"
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister Nannan." Huo Yuhao, holding Xiao Xiao's hand, also sat down. They imitated the others, with Xiao Xiao curled up in Huo Yuhao's arms, and Huo Yuhao cooperatively wrapping his arms around her petite body.
"I say, Yu Hao, Xiao Xiao, why are you two like this too?" Tang Ya couldn't help but widen her eyes, exclaiming somewhat speechlessly.
"Hehe, Teacher Xiaoya, this really is comfortable," Xiao Xiao said with a sweet smile on her face, "Right, Yu Hao."
"Mhm mhm!" Huo Yuhao nodded very sincerely, indicating his agreement. He and Xiao Xiao had been a couple for half a year, and their relationship was rapidly warming up. Although Wang Dong'er was an unstable factor beside them, it was safe to say that their relationship was inseparable.
As for what to do about Wang Dong'er, uh-huh, Huo Yuhao could only awkwardly rub his head. He was currently learning from his Senior Brother and idol, and had already achieved some success.