"Lin Shen, over here!"
As soon as he stepped into the field, Lin Shen saw Zheng Hongsheng waving at him from not far away.
Beside them stood Xu Yuan and Qian Hui.
Lin Shen smiled and quickly walked up to them to greet them.
"Have you been here long?"
"We have!"
Zheng Hongsheng chuckled.
"Many people must be coming to watch such a competition. If you don't come early, we won't be able to occupy a good position!"
Lin Shen looked around and agreed with Zheng Hongsheng.
The empty space in the middle of the spacious sports ground was used as the competition arena. The area surrounding it had long been filled with densely packed people.
It was crowded, noisy, and much livelier than an open market.
Not only the third-year students but many first- and second-year students also came to watch the battle.
Most of the students had excited expressions on their faces. Clearly, they were looking forward to the upcoming competition.
In a corner of the sports field,
more than ten teachers stood together and whispered to one another.
Kong Hong was among them.
When he saw Lin Shen, he even smiled and nodded at the latter.
Lin Shen had just nodded back at him when he was interrupted by Zheng Hongsheng, who had come over to his side.
"Lin Shen, I've asked around!
"Including you, there are a total of 31 participants in this competition. All of them are students at the fourth level of the Qi Transformation Stage and above!"
There were no restrictions on the cultivation level of the participants. Any third-year students could sign up.
However, students below the fourth level of the Qi Transformation Stage couldn't possibly get into the top ten. Participating in the competition was just a waste of time and energy. Therefore, all the applicants were elite students above the fourth level.
"You have to pay special attention to five of them. They've all reached the fifth level of the Qi Transformation Stage. Three of them are Proficient in the Blazing Sun Palm just like you. They're quite capable. If you encounter them, you have to be careful!"
Before Lin Shen could speak, Qian Hui smiled and said,
"Don't worry, Lin Shen is so powerful. He'll definitely get into the top ten!"
"Not just the top ten!" Xu Yuan smiled and continued, "It's not like you haven't seen Lin Shen's strength. It won't be a problem for him to enter the top four!"
Lin Shen smiled faintly but didn't say anything.
At this moment, there was a commotion in the crowd.
They looked in the direction of the voice and saw the crowd at the side of the sports field suddenly parted, leaving a path for someone.
A group of people walked through that path with their heads held high and chests puffed out. They went straight to the front of the spectating crowd.
Zheng Hongsheng exclaimed.
"Why are they here to watch the battle?"
The sudden appearance of the disciples of influential families immediately attracted the attention of most people.
Yan Xing and Zhao Xueying, who were in the lead, were like fireflies in the night. They were especially eye-catching.
"It's Yan Xing and Zhao Xue Ying!"
"Why are these people here? Are they also participating in the competition?"
"That's impossible. I've asked around. Among the participants of the competition, only Su Nian from Class Five is from a declining old family. Apart from her, there are no other disciples of influential families!"
"In that case, they're only here to watch the battle?"
"Most likely."
The surrounding crowd discussed animatedly and pointed at the disciples of influential families.
Lin Shen's gaze passed Yan Xing and Zhao Xueying and landed on Zhou Zhihai, who was at the back of the crowd.
The latter happened to look over at this moment.
The moment their eyes met, a cold glint flashed across Zhou Zhihai's eyes before he retracted his gaze.
Zheng Hongsheng and Xu Yuan also noticed Zhou Zhihai.
Seeing Zhou Zhihai turn his head away after a glance, Zheng Hongsheng couldn't help but grin.
"Ha! Zhou Zhihai is indeed afraid of Lin Shen. He doesn't even dare to look at him!"
"He's a guy who bullies the weak and fears the strong!" Xu Yuan echoed.
Lin Shen smiled without denying it.
Only he understood why Zhou Zhihai restrained his malice just now. That was because even greater malice was already brewing.
At this moment, Lin Shen suddenly sensed another gaze. He followed his senses and saw it was Yang Zhongyi.
He was also among those disciples of influential families.
Seeing Lin Shen look over, Yang Zhongyi smiled and waved at him, attracting the attention of many disciples beside him, but he didn't care at all.
Lin Shen smiled and raised his hand in greeting as well.
Ten minutes later,
a teacher walked to the center of the sports field and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.
"The competition is about to begin. We'll start with the first round of competition. Students whose names are called, please stand in the middle of the arena!
"Remember, the competition is only used to compare notes. Don't go beyond the limit. Those who deliberately act ruthlessly and injure their opponents will not only be disqualified from the competition, but they will also be severely punished by the academy!"
Looking around, the teacher nodded in satisfaction when he saw the students were all listening quietly.
"Let the competition begin. The first competition will be between Huang Weiqing and Shi Jun!"
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, two boys walked out of the crowd.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the two of them quickly walked to the center of the arena, stood still, and looked at each other aggressively.
The moment the referee announced the start of the battle, the two of them immediately rushed toward each other. In the blink of an eye, they were in a fierce battle.
"Huang Weiqing is from Class 4, and Shi Jun is from Class 8. Both of them are at Qi Transformation Stage Level 4 and Beginner in Blazing Sun Palm. Their strengths are about the same," Zheng Hongsheng explained in a low voice.
Just as he said, Huang Weiqing and Shi Juna�TMs strengths were about the same.
The two of them fought for four to five minutes. In the end, Shi Jun was slightly better and sent Huang Weiqing flying with a palm strike. Huang fell to the ground and couldn't get up for a long time.
The referee glanced at Huang Weiqing and announced loudly,
"Shi Jun is the winner!"
Shi Jun was filled with joy. He took an Energy Recovery Pill from the referee and walked off the stage under the envious gazes of the surrounding people.
After catching his breath, Huang Weiqing got up dejectedly and left the sports field. He didn't even want to watch the next match.
"Next round, Sun Jie and Qi Guangyuan!"
Another two people walked out of the crowd and entered the competition arena.
As the participants went on stage one after another, winners were also announced in turn. The atmosphere in the venue gradually rose.
When the first Level-5 student appeared, the atmosphere on the sports field instantly reached its peak.
There were even excited screams from the crowd as if they were fans who had seen their idol.
At first, Lin Shen was surprised at why the people around him were so excited. However, when he saw the appearance of the person who went on stage, he immediately came to a realization.
The student was a boy. He wasn't very tall. At 1.7m tall, he was thin and fragile-looking, and his skin was pale as if he hadn't been exposed to the sun all year round.
How should one describe his looks? He could easily be mistaken for a girl.
If it weren't for his male uniform, Lin Shen would definitely have thought he was a pretty girl.
In fact, many boys were shouting excitedly.
"Who is he?" Lin Shen turned to ask Zheng Hongsheng.
Zheng Hongsheng said without thinking,
"He's the one I mentioned earlier, the only student from a declining old family among the participants. He's Su Nian, from Class 12.
"Don't be fooled by his fragile appearance. It's said that he already stepped into the fifth level three months ago. He has even cultivated the Blazing Sun Palm to the Mastery Stage!
"In this competition, he's the participant with the highest chance of obtaining first place!"