Chapter 131: Ten University Freshman Battle

Chapter 131: Ten University Freshman Battle



"The Ten University Freshman Battle, I'm directly entering the second round?" Li Yuan reached out and tapped the light screen.

He began to browse through the specific rules of the Ten University Freshman Battle.

The ten universities were the top ten prestigious schools in the Asia-Pacific region.

They included the top five universities in Xia Nation, Dongying Martial University in Sakura Nation, three martial arts universities in Tianzhu Nation, and the Lion City Martial University in Southeast Asia.

In total, there were ten renowned institutions.

In reality, this did not encompass all the renowned martial arts schools in the Asia-Pacific region; it was merely a customary organization of the top ten schools in close geographical proximity, who would habitually host regional competitions.

"Virtual combat? So, it's purely a contest of skills?" Li Yuan pondered, understanding the concept.

The top universities were located far apart, and organizing a practical combat tournament exclusively for freshmen would incur substantial expenses.

However, virtual combat was a straightforward affair, solely testing skills, as long as the students could connect online and participate from their respective schools on time.

"This year, since the host nation is our Xia Nation, it's likely that three first-year freshmen from outside the top ten universities will be invited to compete," Li Yuan noted, scanning through one of the supplementary rules.

He contemplated this information.

In a virtual network battle, the host nation held no significance; it was merely a formality.

In other words, there would be three wildcard participants?

"For stability, they'll probably select students from Starfire University and Starlight University," Li Yuan speculated to himself.

The top geniuses from the nations where the ten prestigious universities were located had mostly entered the three top-tier martial schools.

Therefore, whenever the so-called 'host nation' changed, they should be able to invite wildcard participants.

If the goal was to compete for the championship, the host nation would most likely invite their own first-year freshmen from the three top-tier martial schools to participate.

"In a sense, this is a form of the 'catfish effect.'"

"This should be considered a form of the 'catfish effect,'" Li Yuan mused to himself, "It encourages us students from these ten universities to broaden our horizons and aim higher."

However.

Li Yuan's mind was focused elsewhere, regardless of whether these wildcard participants were from Xia Nation or not.

Regardless of whether there would be students from the three top-tier universities.

"First place," Li Yuan's goal was singular, to defeat all his opponents.

If he couldn't even secure first place in a freshman tournament, what chance did he have in the Global University Martial Tournament next February?

It was common knowledge that the Global University Martial Tournament was open to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, attracting true martial geniuses, including those with the extraordinary fifth-stage skill level.

To Li Yuan, the Ten University Freshman Battle was merely a warm-up.

"In the first round, a points-based ranking battle, the wildcard participants and each school's seeded players are exempt from this round," Li Yuan continued browsing the rules, "There are approximately 24,000 freshmen from the ten universities."

"In the end, only the top 1897 students in the points ranking will advance to the second round?" Li Yuan pondered.

Each school had ten seeded players, plus the three wildcard participants.

In other words, only 2,000 students would make it to the second round.

"Over 90% of the students are eliminated in the first round, that's brutal," Li Yuan muttered to himself, continuing to read.

In the second round, the 'Cage Free-for-All' would take place.

2,000 students would participate, with each student randomly assigned to two rounds of the 'Cage Free-for-All'. One point was awarded for each opponent defeated, and an additional ten points were given to those who survived until the end.

Ultimately, the top eight participants with the highest total points in the second round would directly advance to the 'Round of 16'.

Meanwhile, those ranked 9th to 136th in the 'Cage Free-for-All' would proceed to the third round of eliminations.

In the third round, the 9th-ranked participant would face the 136th, the 10th would face the 135th, and so on.

A single match would determine the winner, and then the winners would face off in subsequent rounds until the remaining eight slots in the Round of 16 were filled.

It was an extremely brutal format, with no room for error.

...

In the fourth round, the Round of 16, the system would freely pair participants in a single-elimination format until the top four and the eventual champion were decided.

...

"Advancing to the second round will earn a reward of 500,000 Blue Star Coins."

"Reaching the third round will award 2,000,000 Blue Star Coins."

"Qualifying for the fourth round, the Round of 16, will grant a cash reward of 20,000,000 Blue Star Coins."

"The top four will also receive a piece of heaven-sent treasure that suits their cultivation?" Li Yuan read through the rewards, feeling a sense of awe.

It was just as President Li had mentioned,

truly extravagant.

Four pieces of heaven-sent treasure were offered as rewards.

The total cash rewards for all students exceeded several billion Blue Star Coins.

As he contemplated this,

Li Yuan tapped on his smart wristband, opening his wealth column:

Bank Balance: 4,351,000 Blue Star Coins

Martial Hall Points: 380,000

Martial Hall Cultivation Points: 9,420,000

...

After achieving the Bright Moon Rank on the Starfield Combat Network, Li Yuan received a reward of 20,000,000 Blue Star Coins.

Li Yuan's cash wealth had once exceeded 5,600,000 Blue Star Coins.

"In August, I spent 500,000 Blue Star Coins on a High-Origin Spring, and in September, I spent 600,000," Li Yuan recalled, "In October, I expect to spend even more."

Cultivating with the most effective High-Origin Spring was like pouring money down the drain.

Li Yuan needed a vast amount of resources to maintain such a high-speed cultivation pace.

"Four million may seem like a lot, but the further I progress, the more resources I'll need. Even this might not be enough for half a year of cultivation," Li Yuan shook his head slightly, "When I venture into the Star Realm, I'll need to purchase various weapons and equipment, which will be even more expensive."

Money was needed everywhere.

"October."

"The cash and Martial Hall points from the Starfire Martial Temple's A-Class contract will be deposited in two weeks," Li Yuan noted.

However, this only amounted to 7,200,000 cash and 7,200,000 Martial Hall points.

Therefore,

Li Yuan was determined to secure the 20,000,000 cash reward from the Ten University Freshman Battle.

"My goal is first place."

"I want the 20,000,000 Blue Star Coins and the heaven-sent treasure," Li Yuan's heart was filled with desire.

The cash was important, and the heaven-sent treasure was invaluable to his current cultivation.

"The first round will be held on October 4th."

"The second round will take place on October 5th."

Li Yuan scanned the schedule, "Continue cultivating."

Li Yuan firmly remembered Teacher Peng's words, "The most crucial aspect of competitions and exams is not how serious you are during the event itself, but the effort and preparation you put in day after day before the event."

Li Yuan's mantra was simple: focus on cultivating every day.

Cultivate diligently each day.

By surpassing his past self, he might discover that—there would be no more opponents to challenge him.

This night, not only Li Yuan received the notification, but all the freshmen from the top five universities in Xia Nation also got the message, whether they were cultivating on campus or wandering outside during their vacation.

This was a rare opportunity for the freshmen to participate in a grand tournament, naturally causing a wave of excitement.

Many students yearned to showcase their strength, advance to the second round and beyond, and claim the high bonuses.

Similarly, the top five universities from the other three nations also received messages from their schools one after another.

...

Today, Li Yuan took a rare break from his cultivation, ending his practice at 11:30 PM the night before.

Then, he resumed his cultivation at 12:20 AM and continued until 10 AM.

At around 10 AM, Li Yuan leisurely rode a low-altitude flight device to the Xuanwu Building.

Today was October 3rd, and the National Day holiday had just ended.

As he passed by the Hei Long Building, Li Yuan saw from a distance hundreds of freshmen from the Sixth Institute being 'lectured' by President Li Yang in the square.

It was nothing more than words of encouragement, such as 'work hard and strive to enter the second round to win 500,000 Blue Star Coins.'

The goal was to be realistic, as there were only 136 spots in the second round, averaging ten per school, which was not feasible for most students.

Soon, Li Yuan arrived at the Xuanwu Building, which was relatively empty with not many people coming and going, mostly sophomores attending classes.

Li Yuan went straight to a conference room on the sixth floor.

"Li Yuan is here."

"Li Yuan."

"Senior Brother." Nearly a hundred people in the conference room turned to look at Li Yuan, and over a dozen students from the Sixth Institute even stood up involuntarily.

"Is Li Yuan here?" The young female teacher on the podium also looked at Li Yuan.

"Teacher, sorry for being late." Li Yuan smiled.

"There's still a minute before the start time, so you're not late." The female teacher smiled and said, "Sit in the first row."

"Mhm." Li Yuan nodded and directly took a seat in the empty spot in the first row without hesitation.

Next to him was Wu Luo, who smiled at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was the last to arrive.

"Good, everyone." The female teacher said indifferently, "You are the elites selected by our Kunlun Martial University this time."

"At least a Third Stage Perfect in skill."

"With your strength, you are all capable of reaching the Fourth Stage."

"The reason for gathering you all is to specifically introduce the powerful opponents you may encounter." The female teacher waved her hand lightly, and the light curtain behind her flickered, "First, I'll introduce the three wildcard players sent by our Xia Nation this time."

"Dantai Feng, Yuming, and Guan Ying."

"All from Starfire University." The female teacher slowly said, "There is very little information about them, and we couldn't collect any recent combat videos."

"We only have some combat videos from before their college entrance exams, which have limited reference value."

"However, one thing we can confirm is that they have all reached the Bright Moon Rank on the Starfield Combat Network."

Instantly, the classroom erupted in exclamations. Bright Moon Rank?

It was worth noting that among the nearly a hundred people in the classroom, only a few had reached the Bright Moon Rank.

"Bright Moon Rank?" Li Yuan narrowed his eyes.

As expected!

Bright Moon Rank represented at least a Fourth Stage High Rank in skill, and Starfire University had sent three super experts.

At the same time, Li Yuan also understood why they were all from Starfire University.

Among the three major Martial Temples, Starfire Martial Temple had the closest relationship with Xia Nation.

The second closest was Starlight Martial Temple.

The last was Blackstone Martial Temple, which didn't even have a branch in Xia Nation.

Therefore, unless they were signed with Starlight Martial Temple, Xia Nation's top martial geniuses would usually choose to study at Starfire University, and not many would go to Blackstone University.

"Direct confrontation."

"Apart from Li Yuan, the other students are unlikely to be their match." The female teacher spoke frankly, "Only Li Yuan has a chance of winning."

Many students couldn't help but look at Li Yuan, and Wu Luo and Yang Hong did the same.

After the entrance competition and practical assessment.

All the freshmen knew that Li Yuan was strong, but they weren't sure how strong he was now.

After all, the surveillance video of Li Yuan's practical assessment wouldn't be leaked.

Facing the female teacher's praise, Li Yuan remained calm and unbothered.

"As for the rest of you, during the Cage Free-for-All, if you encounter them, try to avoid them as much as possible." The female teacher continued to introduce the three wildcard players.

In addition to the wildcard players, the female teacher proceeded to introduce the elite students from the other nine top universities, and Li Yuan quietly listened, memorizing this intelligence.

...

In Tenzin Nation, within a renowned martial arts university.

"Galava, your talent is no less than that of Blackstone University's top students. This time, your goal is to break into the top four and obtain the Star Earth Marrow Crystal." The middle-aged man said, "Understand?"

"Yes." The youth with dark skin nodded slightly, his eyes gleaming.

...

Almost simultaneously, at Starfire University, in a small conference room within a building.

"This time, the Ten Schools Freshman Battle."

"The host is our Xia Nation." The black-robed elder looked at the three students, "The school has sent you three as wildcard participants."

"Firstly, it's because you are all Xia Nation citizens. Although Salvatore and the others are no less capable than you, they are ineligible to participate as they are not from Xia Nation."

"As the top students of Starfire University, you represent the face of Starfire University."

"Your opponents are all from ordinary schools."

"Therefore, there is only one goal, which is for all of you to break into the top four and claim the ultimate first place." The black-robed elder spoke in a low voice, "Winning brings not only honor but also a huge reward."

The two male and one female students nodded slightly, unconcerned.

As the top students among the freshmen at Starfire University.

In their eyes, the 20 million Blue Star Coins and the Star Earth Marrow Crystal were almost like free gifts.

"Don't be careless."

"Among the ten schools' freshmen, Galava from Tenzin Nation and Li Yuan from our Xia Nation's Kunlun Martial University will be your biggest competitors." The black-robed elder said.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end