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n“Ding!”

n System quest announcement: Win the competition and obtain 1000 Function Points.

nLocke was unfazed. it was as if he had already expected the quest.

n‘Nice, with this, Lil’ Wind can advance too…’

nOnce the emcee had given the opening address, everyone then turned their attention towards the dueling platform.

nAs the person with the highest status present, Secretary Peter picked up the microphone and announced, “Everyone! The rules of this year’s competition will remain the same! We’ll be using the ring domination mode! In other words, the previous champion, Alpha Federation University, does not need to participate in the first round. Instead, they will wait for the duel between the Federation’s Advanced Beastmaster Academy and the Federation’s Advanced Military Academy to conclude before challenging the victor!”

n“There are no limit to the number of participants you can bring out at any moment. The duel ends once one side is exhausted of mana, or once all of their members have been incapacitated! You are not allowed to kill your opponents! Otherwise, you will be disqualified!”

nThe rules were very simple, and Lawrence had already memorized all of them.

n“The first match will begin in half an hour. You may start warming up now, students!” Once Peter had finished speaking, a transparent cabinet slowly rose from in front of his viewing stand.

nThe cabinet contained the reward for winning the competition. It was a Dragon Core!

nThe Dragon Core’s appearance was rather tame.

nHowever, it constantly flashed with various colors. It looked as if it was alive.

nUpon its appearance, the spectators present immediately shot up from their seats.

n“Wow, it’s a real Dragon Core…”

n“How much is it worth?”

n“Insanely expensive, I bet! I suspect that other than those great nobles, no one would be able to afford it…”

nThe people in the audience were unaware of its true worth, and as such, they could only gossip about its price.

nAt the same time, the audience’s gaze constantly shifted between the three teams.

n“It’s a pity that the Military Academy lost the last competition. They almost beat the Alphas last time. I bet they’ve come prepared this time…”

n“I still think highly of the Alphas. Their Battle Beasts are really strong, and all of their students have huge mana reserves…”

n“On the other hand, the Federal Academy has already lost many times. However, seeing as they’ve sent three new faces, they might have some tricks up their sleeves. Who knows, they might blow their opponents out of the water this time round…”

n“Forget it! They’ve already lost so many times, this year won’t be any different…”

nThe audience was not purposely picking on them.

nHowever, compared to the the other two academies who had five to six instructors to help them analyze their opponents, as well as several of their schoolmates cheering from the stands…

nThe lack of support for the Federal Academy had made it a rather awkward scene…

n“Captain, why don’t I go buy a flag too…” Lawrence tried to break the awkward atmosphere.

nRosetti covered her face and said, “It’s okay… Our school is currently being rebuilt. It’s normal that we don’t have any supporters…”

nLocke thought to himself, ‘Bullsh*t… That old man just isn’t willing to pay the travel expenses and food expenses…’

n“Fortunately, I brought food for us! Hehe…” Lawrence opened a bag of bread.

nOn the highest viewing platform…

n“Secretary-general, isn’t it too quiet over at the Federal Academy? Should we send a few people to relieve their psychological burden?” A subordinate asked.

nPeter shook his head and said, “Forget it, I know Hobrick’s style very well. He has always been like this…” Peter then turned to look at the Federal Academy’s preparation stands.

nPeter recalled Hobrick’s phone call a week before the competition. In it, Hobrick had told him of Locke’s genius, and he had described Locke as an individual that possessed unfathomable strength.

nHowever, from what he had seen so far, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Locke.

nHis recollection was interrupted by the appearance of the local officials, and he quickly returned to his usual responsibilities.

n“Captain, Locke and the others aren’t making any movements. They’re not even warming up…” A tall member reported.

nBronte, who was receiving a relaxing massage, laughed and said, “Hahaha… It doesn’t matter, it’ll be all the better for us. Remember, I’m not interested in the fatty and the chick. I’ll leave them to the two of you. I’ll only fight once Locke appears on stage…”

n“Understood!”

nMeanwhile, the Alpha University students were very relaxed. As the reigning champion for several years, they were extremely confident that they would emerge victorious again.

nAn instructor walked forward and whispered into one of the students’ ear, “Young master Andre… That guy has failed. Locke doesn’t seem to be interested in our academy…”

nThe young master, Andre, crossed his legs and took a puff of his cigar. “You don’t say! Why else would he be here? It’s fine. I’ll think about how to deal with him if he manages to defeat the Military Academy. Locke is the only interesting participant in the Federal Academy’s team anyway…”

nA bell rang, and it indicated the start of the competition.

nLawrence put down the french fries he was holding, wiped his hands, and stood up.

n“Captain, if the opponent is alone, I’ll go up first. Before we set off, Instructor Tristan has warned me…”

nHowever, upon realizing that Locke was not listening, Tristan burped and headed to the stage.

n“I’ll wait by the side of the stage. This was also arranged by Instructor Tristan. He told me to keep an eye on Lawrence…” Rosetti did not have much confidence in Lawrence. She was afraid that something would happen to her schoolmate, and as such, she gave an excuse to follow him.

nLocke laughed dryly and thought, ‘I’m just a captain in name…’

nHowever, Locke was not too bothered by it. In fact, he was rather curious about his teammates’ strength!

nThe tall man from the military academy leaped onto the dueling platform.

nHe took off his coat and revealed a toned body that did not match his age.

nSome of the audience began to sneer. “A fat man vs a strong soldier. I wonder who’ll win, haha!”

n“Thank God I betted on the Military Academy to win…”

nSeeing that both sides were already in position, the referee asked, “Dominic, Lawrence, are you both ready?”

nBoth sides nodded in unison.

nWith that, the first match had officially begun!

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