Astral Apostle

Chapter 273: Arriving As Expected (1)

Through an internal spar, the mentor team basically established the core of this semester’s freshmen competition.

For the next few days, the instructors of the Crown Faculty focused their efforts on tutoring Zhou Jing and the others. They had also formulated several sets of tactics to arrange the troops in the arena.

The model of the freshmen competition was for each faculty to compete with the other two faculties.

Moreover, in order to give all the contestants a chance to perform, the competition format was to advance through a mixture of elimination and round robin formats. For example, there were 20 people representing each faculty in the arena. Everyone had to go on stage and choose an opponent to fight. The winner would advance and the loser would be eliminated. The round would then be adjusted according to the number of contestants who advanced on both sides.

With every round of advancement, the points obtained every time the faculty won would also increase. In the end, the total score would determine the winning faculty. Even if a person could fight alone to the last round, there was a limit to the points they could obtain. This was to prevent the department from winning the entire competition by themselves, so they needed to arrange their troops and formulate a strategy.

Zhou Jing had always been interested in the freshmen competition. Most of his free time every day was used to cooperate with the special training of the instructors.

The instructor team indeed did not disappoint him. They formulated a special training plan for his discharge ability and tried to widen his “electricity storage” limit through external forces.

For example, he could let the mage draw a magic array that attracted the electric elements for Zhou Jing to use. This would allow his body to naturally absorb more electricity, or he could inject electricity into Zhou Jing through external charging.

It sounded a little rough, but in fact, many superpowers that controlled certain energies had similar training programs. It was one of the methods that had been proven to be effective in increasing the strength of their abilities.

In particular, the superpower to control electricity was quite suitable for this model… As long as he took it step by step and did not inject too much energy at once, there was a high chance that he could subtly increase his limit.

In addition, there were also teachers in the mentor group who were good at superpower development. They gave Zhou Jing special treatment and taught him small techniques to hone his energy superpower. They got him to use his abilities to do all kinds of training, such as controlling the lightning to circle between his fingers to increase the duration, shorten the interval between releases, and have finer control.

After practicing for a while, the effect was actually obvious. His energy attribute had increased by 1 point, making him secretly happy.

The special ability that the new blood potion allowed people to obtain should only be the foundation. As long as one persevered in training, they would still have potential that could be squeezed out. One should not be afraid that they could not improve.

...

As the one month period gradually approached, the topic of the freshmen competition quickly rose and became the main topic of conversation for the students.

The list of participants given by the three faculties had also been announced. There were a total of 150 people.

In the academy’s forum, many students were discussing the 150 contestants. They analyzed the combat strength of the various faculties and debated who was stronger.

Some people even opened a quiz to guess the winning faculty of this competition.

Among them, the most eye-catching was that the 30 specially selected people were all participating in the arena.

The one with the highest discussion was Li Xiaoyin. Without a doubt, she was the core of the Banner Faculty. Many new students were either excited or curious about her.

After nearly a month of asking around, her ability was no longer a secret. It was powerful and destructive. Most people thought that she would be the favorite to win the championship.

And among the special candidates, Zhou Jing was the only Class B. He was also very eye-catching. Many students were very curious about him, causing Zhou Jing to feel that people were pointing fingers at him behind his back wherever he went.

Zhou Jing did not mind. He was never afraid of being watched.

He still attended classes, trained, and prepared for battle every day. His life was fulfilling and calm.

Soon, on their monthsary of starting school, the day of the new student competition arrived.

...

At the Rising Sun Training Grounds.

This was the largest open-air training ground in the academy. The layout was like a large stadium, with the competition venue in the center and layers of audience seats around it. All kinds of large-scale competitions were basically held here.

The competition venue in the center was not a simple flat arena. It could simulate the environment of forests, lakes, stone arrays, and other terrain to increase the complexity of the competition.

Early this morning, nearly 10,000 students arrived early. They were divided into three areas according to the faculty and occupied their seats.

At this moment, the training ground was filled with people. It was lively and noisy, and the sound waves echoed endlessly.

This was their first time participating in the academy’s grand event, so all the new students felt that it was a fresh experience.

The three faculties had to fight against both sides, so the freshmen competition would continue for three consecutive days. Every day, the opponents would draw lots to determine which faculty would get a free pass.

On the first day, the Crown Faculty and the Gem Faculty both drew a lot. The War Banner Faculty got a free pass.

“How lively…”

Zhou Jing muttered softly.

At this moment, he was following the team from the Crown Faculty and staying in the waiting area at the side of the venue. The Crown Association, who was acting as the coaches, were discussing strategy with the instructors.

The waiting area of the Gem Faculty was on the other side, separated by the entire competition venue. Neither side could interfere nor eavesdrop on each other.

The order of appearance was decided at the last minute. One person would take turns to enter the arena first, and then the other side would decide on the candidates to fight. It was all about strategy.

The competition had yet to begin, so no one knew the other party’s tactics.

This was not the first time Zhou Jing had received so much attention. He was calm, but many students around him were quite nervous. Some of their bodies were even trembling, making him worry if they could perform steadily on stage.

However, there were also a few participating students who were full of confidence. It was as if they had taken a stimulant.

Even the usually cold Wu Fan’s eyes flickered as he muttered, “I hope I meet a worthy opponent.”

Tang Liu felt as if his entire body was on fire. He said proudly, “This is my chance to make a name for myself. After today, my name will resound through the clouds!”

Young people were really energetic…

Zhou Jing smacked his lips and swept his gaze across the audience.

Not long after, he saw Li Xiaoyin and the others waving at him excitedly.

Because her faculty drew a pass, Li Xiaoyin only needed to watch the battle. The Banner Faculty did not need to participate at all today.

Zhou Jing waved from afar before looking away. Soon, he discovered the VIP seats.

In the VIP area sat Dean Wu Zhongsu, Vice Dean Shen Xinqin, and other higher-ups of the academy. Other than these people, there seemed to be some people in different uniforms. Zhou Jing did not know where they came from.

At this moment, Deng Yunjie walked over and followed Zhou Jing’s gaze.

“Currently, our Supers Academy is the only one on Planet Aquamarine. Therefore, every time there’s a large-scale competition, the academy will invite the members of the various official departments to watch the battle and screen the talents worth paying attention to. If they perform well, they might even have a chance to be selected by some official organizations, so don’t waste this opportunity.”

“I see…”

Zhou Jing nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of the competition in the academy.

Organizing these academic competitions was not only to stimulate the students’ desire to compete, but also to give them a chance to show their faces in front of important organizations and affect their future. For the time being, it was a benefit for the top students.

Zhou Jing paused for a moment before changing the topic.

“Have you decided when I’ll go on stage? Do you want me to go out first or later?”

The corners of Deng Yunjie’s mouth curled up, and he casually replied,

“According to our expectations, we hope that you can go against Lin Kun. It’s best if you eliminate him in the first or second round, lest he takes more points from us later on. However, this is just an ideal scenario we imagine. The most important thing is to adapt to the situation… Speaking of which, you’ve tied once with Lin Kun, so it shouldn’t be a problem to deal with him again, right?”

Hearing this, Zhou Jing spread his hands, “Even if it’s not guaranteed, it’s at least foolproof.”

If he faced an opponent with unknown abilities, the outcome would be hard to say. However, he was still very confident in defeating Lin Kun, an opponent he had already sparred with.

Especially compared to the last time they fought, his physical fitness had increased greatly. He was no longer the same as before.

“Haha, I like your confidence.”

Deng Yunjie grinned and patted Zhou Jing’s shoulder.

On the other side, in the waiting area of the Gem Faculty, the tutor was also discussing with Lin Kun.

“Lin Kun, the file shows that Zhou Jing once tied with you. If I let you deal with him again, are you confident?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Kun revealed a sinister smile.

“After a month of hard work, I’m no longer the immature me from back then. Zhou Jing is not even a dish in my eyes now. I won’t fall into the same pit twice. Today is the day I settle the score with him!”

“Alright, I’m relieved.”

The instructor of the Gem Faculty had a lot of trust in his abilities and nodded heavily.

“You’re one of our core members. Whether you can win this competition will depend on your performance!”

Lin Kun snorted coldly in response,

“Hmph, among so many new students, only Li Xiaoyin is a threat to me. As long as I don’t meet her, no one can stop me!”