Up on the main stage at the front of the arena, all the big shots had taken their seats. But just like in previous years, it was the same old lineup of leaders and Full Alliance officials.
This year, though, was different. When Ye Hongyi, Yu Qingcang, Liu Xinxin, and Lei Tai stepped onto the stage, the atmosphere in the entire venue exploded! The presence these four commanded among the professionals was way more electrifying than any of those lofty officials. Even the host was visibly pumped.
After a quick round of opening pleasantries, the host shouted with excitement, “As you can all see, this year’s Hundred Cities League has brought us the presidents of our Longxia Four Great Guilds—the Heavenly Alliance, the War Banner National Guard, the Red Garment Pavilion, and the Mirror Flower Water Moon—right here to our competition venue!”
The crowd responded with another wave of thunderous cheers. The audience had been waiting impatiently for this moment.
“Four presidents, can we take this to mean that among this year’s competitors, there are handpicked candidates from each of your four guilds?” the host asked.
Obviously—this young host had been emceeing the Hundred Cities League for a few years now, and he knew exactly how to ramp up the atmosphere, hook the audience’s attention, and stoke their anticipation to the max!
“You could say that,” Yu Qingcang replied openly. He didn’t hold back, nor did he find the host’s question the least bit offensive. He acknowledged it straightforwardly.
The other three nodded in agreement.
Seeing them all nod, the host was genuinely surprised—he hadn’t expected his guess to actually hit the mark! So there really were selected candidates from these four guilds among the players?
The crowd, too, buzzed with excitement.
“Holy crap, who did the four guilds pick this year?”
“All four are here—does that mean there are four prodigies in the lineup?”
“The Heavenly Alliance’s pick has got to be Cong Shuang, right? What about the other three?”
“The overall quality of participants this year is pretty high. The other three are hard to guess.”
…
Everyone was speculating wildly. But not a single soul imagined that the reason all four guild presidents had come was for just one person. One person that all four guilds had their eyes on!
The host, of course, wasn’t stupid enough to pry any further. Keeping an air of mystery only makes the tournament more gripping. It makes everyone watch every match closely and scrutinize every player’s performance!
After wrapping up that segment, the host bellowed, “Now, let’s give a warm welcome to all the contestants of this year’s Hundred Cities League!” And with that, the first round of the league officially kicked off!
All the participants emerged from their private backstage rooms and filed into the arena according to their assigned ring order. Each player had an accompanying person by their side—some had attendants, others were accompanied by arrangements from their respective academies. Beside Lu Ran, naturally, was Su Ting.
“Platform six, in the corner. Remember what I told you—your opponent has high magic resistance, so don’t go head-to-head with him. Use your undead summons to keep him occupied and then chip in with supplementary damage. Don’t use Touch of the Undead unless you have to—save it for when he closes in, then use it to create distance again. Also, hold off on Corpse Explosion for now; focus on maximizing your skeleton soldiers’ damage output.”
…
Su Ting repeated her instructions patiently. Lu Ran understood her perfectly, but he simply didn’t need to go about it that way. He waved a hand and said, “Don’t worry, Sister Tingting. I know how to handle this. I’ll end it quickly—no problems.”
“You…” Su Ting started, then hesitated. Seeing the firm resolve in Lu Ran’s eyes, she could only sigh inwardly. She still couldn’t figure out why Yu Qingcang had assigned her to look after Lu Ran. This kid… he was way too arrogant!
Then Lu Ran stepped onto the platform. From here, there was still some distance to the Cong family’s private seating area. Cong Yu craned her neck, scanning around, and then exclaimed excitedly, “Platform six—Lu Ran is on platform six!”
Beside her, Cong Jixian couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. “You silly girl, your sister is on platform twenty-six, right in front of you, and you’re not even watching her. What’s so interesting about platform six? Just a necromancer—he’ll be out in no time. Nothing worth watching.”
Cong Yu pouted. “He’s my friend, and besides, he’s really strong!” She still couldn’t forget Lu Ran’s Titan Python!
Then she turned her gaze toward platform twenty-six, where Cong Shuang had already stepped up and was quietly waiting. Her opponent was a young man with a hidden class, but his face had already turned pale. Cong Shuang of the Imperial Capital? How the hell was he supposed to fight her? His luck couldn’t be any worse!
“Go, Sis! Crush him!” Cong Yu shouted at that moment.
The normally composed Cong Shuang turned her head, glanced over, and couldn’t help but look both amused and exasperated. Then she looked up at her opponent. The young man quickly forced a smile and said, “Cong Shuang, I’ve heard so much about you. Please go easy on me, alright?”
Go easy? Cong Shuang shook her head. “I’ll end this quickly, and I’ll be using my full strength. Hope you can hold up.”
Oh, dear… The young man’s face turned even darker.
Meanwhile, a servant came over and briefed Cong Yu on the situation at platform six—clearly, she had asked them to keep an eye on Lu Ran. “His opponent is a Mystic Armor Berserker?” Cong Yu was a bit taken aback.
“See? Even less worth watching now. Girl, just focus on your sister’s performance,” Cong Jixian chimed in from the side.
“He won’t lose either,” Cong Yu said with confidence. Cong Jixian couldn’t help but turn and stare at his daughter. This girl rarely got this close to other boys; her male friends could be counted on one hand—almost none, really. Why was she suddenly so confident in a necromancer?
He couldn’t help but sneak a glance toward platform six, muttering to himself. Isn’t that just a necromancer?
At this moment, after all the contestants had taken the stage, a three-minute countdown began. When it hit zero, the matches would officially start!
However, most of the audience’s attention was locked onto the hidden classes and the other popular contenders. Everyone was still guessing who the four guilds’ lucky chosen ones were. In contrast, platform six—tucked away in the corner at the end of the second row—looked a bit pitiful. Not many eyes were on it. Some spectators even grumbled that their seats were poorly positioned and that they couldn’t see the more exciting matches on other platforms.
Lu Ran, though, remained completely unruffled. Play by the rules, finish fast—nothing to worry about. If there was one thing to keep in mind, it was just not to fall off the platform. Because falling off meant losing!
Across from him, Wang Yan grinned. He swung his massive battle axe lazily and flashed Lu Ran a wide, toothy smile—clearly in a great mood.
“Man, my luck is amazing! Looks like our academy made the right call. First round and I get matched with a magic-class opponent—and a necromancer at that, pfft, hahaha!” Wang Yan laughed heartily, thrilled. Because as long as he got past the first round, even if he lost in the second, he’d still earn resource rewards! And if his luck held in round two and he drew another rare magic class, he’d almost certainly win again!
Too bad. His opponent was Lu Ran. Round two was never going to happen for him.
