"Look at the rubbish you're spouting. Are you satisfied now? No one gets to enjoy Jiang Yuan's huge buff anymore," Zhao Manyan complained.
"What do you mean I'm spouting rubbish? Everything I said was serious! What kind of nonsense is coming out of your mouth?" Mo Fan instantly retorted, feeling indignant.
The two started bickering, quickly escalating into a full-blown argument.
This greatly troubled the other students of Mingzhu Academy.
They had been eagerly hoping to team up with Jiang Yuan and personally experience how amazing the powerful talent of Brilliance of the Stars truly was.
But now, they could only watch helplessly as Jiang Yuan left.
Competing on their own would be incredibly difficult!
...
After Jiang Yuan left, he leisurely weaved through the crowd, randomly selecting lucky individuals to form four-person teams.
The one-hour team formation period passed in a flash.
The first match was scheduled after lunch, and this interval was perfect for team members to get acquainted and briefly discuss tactics.
After lunch, in the waiting area.
"Can your talent really allow us to achieve One Mind Starmap?" a sweet-looking, petite girl asked, her face full of curiosity as she leaned closer to Jiang Yuan.
The other members of the team also looked on with eager eyes, filled with anticipation and curiosity.
Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded gently.
"Wow! Then we're sure to get high scores this time!" The cute girl excitedly covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with surprise.
She wanted to ask more questions, such as whether Jiang Yuan was single or what type of girls he liked.
But just then, it was Jiang Yuan's team's turn to go on stage for their match.
Led by a teacher, they steadily walked onto the dueling platform.
The students watching from below were surprised to see that Jiang Yuan had chosen unknown teammates, exchanging puzzled glances.
"Isn't that Jiang Yuan from Mingzhu Academy? Why isn't he teaming up with people from his own academy?"
"Could it be that he thinks they're not strong enough and doesn't want to team up with them?"
"How is that possible? Didn't you see that arrogant guy named Mo Fan today? He's also from Mingzhu Academy. Although he's annoying, his strength is extraordinary. His Fire Element is already fully cultivated, and his Spirit Seed is also unusual!"
The crowd buzzed with discussions, but none of this affected the contestants on the dueling platform.
With the referee's command, the match officially began.
Jiang Yuan acted quickly, immediately applying enhancement buffs to his three teammates.
In recent battles, he had played the role of a support mage, and he quite enjoyed the feeling of quietly contributing from behind the scenes.
Under the powerful buffs from Jiang Yuan, his teammates instantly felt an surge of power, as if they were possessed by a berserker.
Even the small, cute girl laughed as she continuously cast one magic spell after another.
"Boom~~~~!"
"Bang~~~~!!!!"
Explosions, thunder, and whistling sounds intertwined, echoing continuously throughout the dueling arena.
Thick smoke quickly spread, engulfing the entire dueling arena.
"It's One Mind Starmap, it's really One Mind Starmap!"
"This is Jiang Yuan's talent, Brilliance of the Stars! It's too strong!"
"With this talent, team battles are simply invincible!"
The spectators excitedly clenched their fists, their eyes filled with envy, wishing they could personally experience the exhilarating feeling of uninhibited magic release.
As the smoke gradually cleared, the opponents had already lost their will to fight, huddling together, trembling with fear.
Next, it was the judges' turn to score.
The lineup of judges for the first round was luxurious, including Dean Song He, Federal Council Member Zhu Meng, Military Chief General Hua Jun, and several other influential senior mages.
"This score..." Zhu Meng looked at the score sheet, hesitating to speak.
"Aside from Jiang Yuan, all other team members receive eighty points. As for Jiang Yuan, he directly advances to the second round with a perfect score, and does not need to participate in the subsequent matches of the first round!" General Hua Jun's gaze was firm as he made the decision without hesitation.
"Direct advancement? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" A judge expressed doubt, raising an objection.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it." General Hua Jun's expression was calm as he explained, "The focus of the first round is to assess team combat ability. Jiang Yuan's talent in team combat far surpasses that of any other student present. His direct advancement is well-deserved."
"Chief General Hua Jun is absolutely right. Everyone must already understand Jiang Yuan's talent. With such a talent, even without going through regular voting, we should fully recommend him to become a formal contestant. A mere direct advancement to the second round is perfectly fine." Dean Song He nodded slightly, expressing his agreement in a steady tone.
Hearing the two influential figures speak, the other judges also found it reasonable and nodded in agreement with the decision.
Soon, the scores for both teams were finalized.
Dean Song He stood up, his deep voice amplified by magic, resonating throughout the arena: "After careful deliberation by all our judges, we have made a decision."
"It is hereby officially announced that Jiang Yuan will directly advance to the second round and is not required to continue participating in the first round of team matches!"
"Whoosh~~~~!!!!"
As soon as this news was announced, the entire arena instantly erupted into chaos. The spectators began whispering to each other, filled with confusion and protests regarding this decision.
"Quiet!" General Hua Jun suddenly stood up and roared, an invisible pressure instantly sweeping across the entire arena. The chaotic scene instantly quieted down.
His gaze was cold as he slowly scanned the crowd, stating with a serious expression, "This decision was issued by our judging committee. If anyone has any questions regarding this, they can directly approach the judging committee, and we will provide a detailed explanation."
Under General Hua Jun's powerful deterrence, although the crowd was displeased, no one dared to voice their opposition again.
The first round of team matches continued in an orderly fashion.
However, none of this concerned Jiang Yuan anymore. He comfortably sat in the audience, watching the intense matches on stage with great interest.
The large-scale team matches involving hundreds of people naturally could not be completed in a single day.
After six full days of fierce competition, the final rankings were finally settled.
Mu Ningjiao, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and East Side Strong all advanced.
The successful students were about to enter the second round of individual matches.
...
Before the second round began, in the academy cafeteria.
Guan Yu and his companions were chatting.
"That Jiang Yuan really got lucky. With such a powerful innate talent, he directly advanced to the second round," Guan Yu said, looking displeased.
The others echoed him, expressing their dissatisfaction.
Just then, someone sat down at their table.
"You are...?" Guan Yu frowned.
He recognized this person as Zu Jiming, who had barely scraped by as the last to advance. He was backed by the Zu Family.
"I came to talk to you about the second-round voting," Zu Jiming said indifferently.
"What's there to talk about? Let's just rely on our own abilities, right?" Guan Yu said nonchalantly.
Zu Jiming said no more, placing the prepared documents on the table. Jiang Yuan's handsome face was prominently printed on them. He said, "This contains Jiang Yuan's detailed information. What you know is definitely not as comprehensive as what's on here."