After watching the first day's elimination rounds, Chen Xiao felt no ripples in his heart.
Only when he got a bye in the final round did he chuckle softly, feeling lucky.
On the second day of the elimination rounds, including Chen Xiao, two hundred and one people competed in a total of one hundred matches.
After yesterday's round of eliminations, the quality of today's matches had significantly improved. One particularly intense match even took over ten minutes to decide the winner.
Although in the eyes of the strong, it was still like children playing house, at least throughout the day, being instantly defeated in one move rarely happened.
And Chen Xiao, today, still didn't get to compete!
"The last one..."
"Profound Rank Class Nine, Chen Xiao, bye!"
Hearing the referee's announcement on the stage, the crowd below erupted in an uproar.
Getting a bye once could be explained by luck, but continuously drawing byes easily led to speculation.
"Could this Chen Xiao be the offspring of some Elder? This luck is truly enviable."
"Shh, brother, don't be so sarcastic. I specifically inquired about it when I went back yesterday, and guess what?"
"Either say it or don't."
"Alright, no harm in telling you. According to the information I gathered, this Chen Xiao is a new student who just enrolled this year, only twelve years old, but he's already a Three Star Dou Ling. Do you still think there's something wrong with the draw?"
"Ah?"
Similar conversations were happening in various corners of the square.
Soon, the students who were originally skeptical about the draw results were relieved.
They guessed that the draw was very likely intentionally done by the academy, but they had no objection to it, only support.
After all, a Dou Ling expert competing against them, the strongest of whom were only Da Dou Shi, was simply too much bullying.
So, this little trick was well done!
In a sense, wasn't this also a form of fairness?
On the high platform, Vice Principal Hu Qian, two veteran Elders from the outer courtyard, and the head of the alchemy department sat together, taking in the situation in the square, their faces showing smiles like lottery directors.
"These little guys are still questioning it. If I weren't worried about them being too discouraged, why would this old man resort to such a measure? I even had to specially send some people to explain it to them."
"Yes, a twelve-year-old Dou Ling. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes on the day of the enrollment ceremony, I would find it hard to believe."
"What surprises me the most is that this kid is a native of the Northwest Continent."
"It's a pity he has ice attribute. The inner courtyard's help is greatest for those with fire attribute."
Just like that, Chen Xiao's name spread throughout the outer courtyard in a way he hadn't anticipated, and it also piqued the expectations of many students.
The third day, the third round of the elimination tournament.
As expected, Chen Xiao got another bye!
At the same time, it was on this day that the fifty-one spots for entering the inner courtyard were initially decided.
"The fifty winners today, and Chen Xiao who received a bye, please come up to the stage."
As the referee's voice fell, rustling sounds arose, and one by one, the students who had won through three rounds of competition squeezed out of the crowd and leaped onto the arena.
Chen Xiao was also among the crowd. He nodded towards Xi Wen Instructor and immediately ascended the stage.
As soon as he stood on the arena, Chen Xiao noticed that the dense crowd below, the fifty people on the stage, and even the high-ranking officials of the academy above, all cast their gazes upon him.
Some were full of curiosity, some had expressions of admiration, and some female students even had sparkling eyes...
At this moment, the twelve-year-old Chen Xiao finally experienced the feeling of being the center of attention!
It must be said that this feeling easily makes one feel lightheaded, which is why Xiao Yan, before becoming a 'waste', developed an arrogant personality.
"Now, the fifty-one students who have qualified to enter the inner courtyard are on the stage. All participants from the past few days, if you feel you can defeat any one of them, you may come up to challenge."
As the referee's voice fell, a tall, thin young man who had been regrettably eliminated in the second round after fighting his opponent for over ten minutes immediately leaped up.
"Profound Rank Class Three Fei Kai, challenging Yellow Rank Class Nine Bian Lingfei!"
Hearing the young man's words, the referee nodded slightly.
At his signal, Chen Xiao and the others retreated to the side, leaving only the young man who had been called out in the center with a bitter expression.
He only had the strength of a Five Star Dou Shi, one of the weakest few on the stage. His ability to pass through three rounds of elimination had a lot of luck mixed in.
Unfortunately, under the academy's rules, all luck was in vain, and the challenge round would inevitably reveal one's true form.
"No need to compete, I concede. I watched yesterday's match the entire time. Fifty-one spots, you should rightfully have one."
With a soft sigh, Bian Lingfei shook his head and said.
After speaking, he jumped straight off the arena.
Seeing this, some felt he lacked backbone and didn't even have the courage to fight a match, while others felt he had self-awareness.
People's hearts are different and can never be unified.
The challenge round continued.
Chen Xiao also took the opportunity during his leisure time to scan the group of people on the stage.
Excluding himself, there were a total of six people above the Da Dou Shi rank.
One Four Star, one Three Star, three Two Star, and one One Star.
The rest were all Dou Shi above Five Star.
It was already clear by now that as long as there weren't any monsters capable of challenging across major realms, the other four spots in the top five would likely come from the six Da Dou Shi.
And based on Chen Xiao's observations over the past few days, among this group of geniuses, there were quite a few who could challenge across minor realms, but none were monsters who could ignore major realms.
The challenge segment lasted for about an hour before concluding. The people standing on the stage had changed six or seven times as a result, and no Five Star Dou Shi remained in the spots.
After waiting for a while and seeing that no one else came up to challenge, the referee nodded slightly.
"It seems the current fifty-one people are truly the popular choice. So next, those on the stage will bring you a unique grand free-for-all."
"No teaming is allowed in this battle, and it doesn't affect the spots for entering the Inner Courtyard. It's only to determine the top five. Those who fall or are knocked off the stage are considered defeated, until only the last five people remain on the field!"
As the announcement fell, a rare hint of schadenfreude appeared on the face of the usually stern referee.
Every year during the Inner Courtyard Selection Tournament, these Elders and the higher-ups of the Outer Courtyard enjoyed this segment the most.
The students below the stage also cheered loudly, equally full of anticipation.
In contrast, on the arena, the fifty-one people who were originally gathered together immediately distanced themselves from those around them, their gazes sweeping left and right, feeling as if enemies were on all sides!
Among them, Chen Xiao's position was the most obvious. Within a zhang of him, it was completely empty. No one wanted to be targeted by a Dou Ling expert right from the start.
Especially the six Da Dou Shi, they were strong contenders for the top five. If they were knocked off the stage by Chen Xiao, it would be too tragic.
Therefore, these six people kept an even greater distance from him.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
He sometimes had a bit of a mischievous streak, but he was too lazy to do things that didn't benefit him further.
Immediately, Chen Xiao lightly shook his right hand, and a beautiful ice-blue Ice Spear condensed, proving that he was undoubtedly a Dou Ling.
Subsequently, Chen Xiao didn't actively attack. He just stood there holding the long spear, like a big boss waiting for challengers.
Noticing this scene, the other fifty people couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Immediately, a grand free-for-all officially kicked off after an Eight Star Dou Shi was backstabbed.
"Damn it! You're a Da Dou Shi and you still sneak attack me!"
"Brothers, let's take care of these Da Dou Shi first!"
"The referee said no teaming."
"Are we teaming up? This is called tacit understanding!"
A group of Dou Shi students loudly plotted, however, the six Da Dou Shi were faster. They simultaneously erupted and attacked. By the time the others reacted, more than ten people had already been blasted off the stage.
The remaining ones were undoubtedly scattered soldiers, unable to form a threat.
After less than ten minutes of elimination, all the Dou Shi were without exception knocked off the stage.
Next was the battle between the six Da Dou Shi.
Almost ninety percent of the people thought that the One Star Da Dou Shi would be the first to be defeated, but the result was surprising. This plain-looking young man, relying on a long staff in his hand, actually defeated two Two Star Da Dou Shi and became one of the last five remaining!
At this point, the top five of the selection tournament were decided.
With the spots confirmed, under Chen Xiao's gaze, these four people, who were not very familiar with each other, exchanged glances and made a decision with great tacit understanding.
"Hehe, excuse us. Opportunities to fight a Dou Ling expert without risk are rare. We want to see the gap between a Dou Ling and a Da Dou Shi!"
The most burly Four Star Da Dou Shi youth chuckled honestly and immediately led the charge towards Chen Xiao.
The other three followed closely behind.
Chen Xiao grinned, not taking offense. He swept out the Ice Spear in his hand, bringing forth a brilliant light.
With just one strike, the four people who came at him were all sent flying back.
"Sorry, I'm slightly better, by a large margin."
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