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nAs a whole, the distribution of group members was fair.

nThe students who were around the same levels in strength had been grouped together.

nAs such, no one would complain even if they were to place dead last within their groups.

nThe rules of how one earned points was also rather simple. If they won, then they would earn one point, and if they lost, they would lose one point.

nHowever, they found that the new student, Locke’s, group to be rather unusual.

nIn this group of four, other than the relatively unknown Locke, the other three were all “celebrities”!

nHughes, a year 2 student of the academy, had hailed from a well-known family.

nAlexander, one of the most hardworking students, had reached the Diamond class all the way from the Silver Class via these competitions.

nLastly, there was Jonathan, who was known as the genius Beastmaster who controlled the Forest Series beasts.

nThese three students were all ranked in the top ten within the Diamond Class!

nAlthough Locke had a rose-gold divine rank Battle Beast, no one seemed to think highly of him.

n“It’s okay, I’ve entered the Gold Class playoffs before. There aren’t many experts in the Gold Class…”

n“Hughes likes to play dirty, you’d better surrender when you face him…”

n“Jonathan has a bad temper, take care of yourself…”

nA few “kind” students gave Locke some advice while walking past him.

n‘What are they talking about?!’

nLocke was really mad. It seemed like he had to prove his strength to everyone!

nAfter all, no one wanted to be looked down upon!

nMoreover, he also realized that there were a few people staring at him from afar.

nIt was Adrian and his vicious sister, as well as the other three people who were in the same group as Locke.

n‘It seemed like they’re about to carry out devious acts on me again.’

n“It’s you again…”Locke threw a provocative look at Adrian.

nAdrian responded with a cold smile while making a throat-slitting gesture at Locke.

n“Listen, I’ve already arranged for the strongest person in the Gold Class to wait for him in the playoffs. You don’t have to show him any mercy. Go all out and chase him out of the Diamond Class!”

nThe three of them looked as if they were listening to an imperial edict. They were nodding their heads non-stop.

nMeanwhile, Alice and Instructor Ollie were exchanging glances.

nThe instructor was in cahoots with the White Siblings.

nAfter all, it was the White Family who had nominated him to teach in the academy.

nBefore long, the judges had arrived. They were in charge of judging the matches for the groups.

nMeanwhile, the students were already in their assigned areas and were preparing for the competition.

nAdrian dominated Group A. He had defeated three opponents in a row and he was considered to be the top of his group. He sat on the chair that his underling had prepared for him, and sipped on red wine as he waited for the winner of the other groups.

nAlice was equally successful in group D. Instructor Ollie had arranged those who were infatuated with her beauty as her opponents. As a result, it was an easy win for her.

nAt this moment, on the combat grounds of Group B…

n“The first match! Alexander versus Jonathan!” The judge signaled for the two of them to get into the ring.

nThe two of them had a lazy expression on their faces. Without even making his way to the ring, Alexander raised his hand and said to the judge, “I… Admit defeat!”

nLooking at this scene, Locke frowned slightly.

n“Are you being serious? If your results are poor in the later matches, you’ll have to participate in the playoffs!” The judge asked, confused.

n“Really! I surrender!” Alexander declared again.

nSeeing how determined he was, the judge no longer insisted and announced Jonathan’s victory.

nFollowing that, it was Hughes and Alexander’s turn to battle. However, Alexander announced his surrender once more.

nIn short, as long as their opponent was not Locke, they had no desire to fight.

nThe judge was also helpless. After all, surrendering was not against the rules.

nLocke finally understood what they were planning.

nTo put it bluntly, the three of them had already discussed it beforehand. They were saving their mana to deal with Locke.

nAs long as Locke lost three times in a row, he would be relegated to the bottom of the group and he would need to participate in the playoffs.

n“The next match is between Locke and Alexander! Please come forward!” The judge signaled once again.

nMany students who had finished their matches in the other areas surrounded group B’s ring. They wanted to know how Locke would fare.

nLocke went forward with Lil’ White already wrapped around his arm.

nAlexander retracted his lazy expression and immediately summoned his Battle Beast — a Blazing War Chicken!

n“COO…”

nAs it was a Battle Beast, the Blazing War Chicken was different from ordinary poultry in several aspects.

nFirst was its size. Blazing War Chicken was at least ten times the size of an ordinary chicken!

nIts fiery red feathers and crown seemed to glow slightly as it breathed. It was quite a beautiful specimen.

nLocke concluded that it was a fire-type Battle Beast.

n“Level 9, Stage 2. I believe it’s strong enough to deal with you…” Alexander said confidently.

n“This chicken is pretty good-looking, does it lay eggs? I want to buy one from you and give it to my mom to raise…” No one expected had expected Locke to reply in such a manner!

n“Pfft…”

n“Hahaha!”

nA few students who were watching their match laughed.

nAlexander’s eyelids twitched!

nEven Blazing War Chicken was furious. “Coo Coo Coo!!”

n“Hmph, so what if you own a rose gold beast? It can only deal with a Level 6, Stage 21 enemy at most!” Alexander said.

nThe Blazing War Chicken’s eyes started to flicker!

nThe temperature around the ring began to rise!

nSoon!

nBalls of flames appeared in front of Locke!

nAn explosion immediately followed!

nHad it not been for Lil’ White’s Spatial Movement, Locke would definitely have been injured by the explosion!

n“Attention! You broke the rules just now! You can’t hurt the Beastmaster himself!” The judge hurriedly shouted.

n“Don’t worry, I was just joking around. I can’t hurt him since he has a spatial skill anyway!” Alexander said with an evil smile on his face.

nFollowing that, the Blazing War Chicken spread its wings and charged towards Lil’ White!

nLocke could clearly see the Blazing War Chicken’s beak becoming sharper. It was like a bayonet!

nLil’ White had transformed to its seven to eight-meter-long form. Its two heads hissed. It was ready for battle!

nAlthough the Blazing War Chicken looked a little plump, it was actually very fast. It constantly thrust its sharp beak at Lil’ White!

nLocke responded by activating Freezing Arrival!

nThe dense icicles did not cause much damage to the flaming chicken.

nInstead, they melted upon contact with it, and it had greatly reduced their impact!

n“So, this is the advantage of the fire element!”

n“That’s right, it can suppress Locke’s icicles!”

nSome students realized Alexander’s Battle Beast’s advantage over Locke’s.

nFollowing that, the Blazing War Chicken’s eyes flickered again!

nAnother ball of flame that appeared out of thin air and exploded in front of Lil’ White!

nHowever, Lil’ White responded quickly, and it teleported once again!

n“Let’s see where you can hide!” Alexander shouted. The Blazing War Chicken’s eyes flickered rapidly, and five balls of flames quickly surrounded Lil’ White.

nBoom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

nThe explosions rocked the scene! Before long, smoke had enveloped the battlefield.

n“It’s over! Locke is finished!”

n“Even with a spatial skill, there’s no way he’ll be able to escape!”

nAlthough they could not see the situation clearly, the students were certain that it was Locke’s defeat!

n1 He’s referring to the Netherfiend Tiger

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