Chapter 439: The Reliable Liu Hong (3)
While the matches were progressing.
Beyond the stage.
Five students were huddled together.
Jia Mingzhen had a wide smile on his face as he spoke with voice transmission, "Guys, do we snatch the first place for ourselves? Old Wan told us to give these students some motivation, but it doesn't feel like these students need any further motivation. Each of them is as eager as a mad dog. Do we still need to do anything?"
All five of them were elders.
And all of them had been assigned to the same team. This wasn't due to luck. Nor was it a coincidence. They had simply cheated.
"Old Jia, stop messing around."
The sole female elder in the group said, "We are not pretending to be new students for fun. Don't waste our time on needless endeavors. What is the update on your side?"
Jia Mingzhen said, "There's no rush. I think we have gone about this the wrong way. We shouldn't have pretended to be the students of elders. Because of this, some people are afraid of approaching us. But that doesn't matter. I have been selling the personal items of some elders in the black market to earn a large sum of money for myself. Before long, someone will notice what I'm doing. As long as I give them enough blackmail material, they will definitely contact me."
"That's a good idea. Keep at it, then. There is also some progress on our side..."
The female elder said, "There is actually a bounty for Su Yu in the cult. And the reward is quite high. Why don't we kidnap him and use him as bait?"
Jia Mingzhen said, "Wow. You guys sure are ruthless. That would be boring. How about forcing Su Yu to join the cult instead? With his talent, he will definitely become an important member of the cult. Maybe he can even attract the attention of some Mountainseas and Sunmoons."
"You..."
They were speechless. Was he not ashamed of calling them ruthless?
Jia Mingzhen said, "I'm serious! Of course, there are too many eyes on Su Yu. So I believe people like Huang Qifeng would be a better option instead. What do you think? Or maybe we can use a heavyweight for this plan. What do you guys think about Zhou Pingsheng?"
"..."
They looked at him and frowned.
Jia Mingzhen explained, "The names I mentioned are the people currently filled with resentment. And the cult is definitely aware of that. In fact, I suspect that the cult has already contacted some of them."
"Old Jia, that doesn't matter. We should never force one of us to join the cult. You are harboring a very dangerous thought."
Jia Mingzhen disagreed. He said, "The hearts of some people in the academy have changed long ago. Forget it. Since you guys disagree, there is no need to move forward with this plan. But I believe that if things continue as they are, either the single or the multiple character faction would start losing some members to the cult."
Jia Mingzhen did not say anything else. The conflict between the two factions was starting to get out of hand. And it was very likely that the losing side would start consorting with the cult.
After all, the cult had always paid close attention to the major academies.
...
While the elders were chatting among themselves, the matches continued.
Nothing surprising had happened during the first round. Nothing dramatic, like a dark horse, had appeared.
After about two and a half hours, the first round came to an end.
Out of the 1,666 teams, 833 teams remained.
Once again, Liu Hong stepped onto the stage. With a smile, he said, "The first round is over. There are 833 teams remaining. The academy is proud of all of you. Congratulations. But this is merely the start of the tournament. The following matches will only be more and more intense. Remember. If you encounter an opponent you clearly can't defeat, stubbornly fighting that opponent to death is a foolish choice. Naturally, the following round will also be harder than the previous round."
A wide smile bloomed on his face as he announced, "For the second round, we will be using a variation of the king of the hill format. 20 rings will be provided, and 20 teams will be allowed to defend the rings. The other teams will be allowed to challenge the defenders. The teams with three victories will advance to the next round. Feel free to get in a ring if you're confident. Just remember that a single defeat is enough to eliminate you from the tournament.
"This format will allow the truly strong students to properly showcase their abilities. A single-elimination format like the previous round is honestly too boring."
He had just finished making his announcement when someone from the Discipline Hall protested, "Teaching Assistant Liu, this won't be a fair format. There is too much room for manipulation."
Liu Hong asked, "How is it unfair? We are here to pick the strongest team. The losers will be eliminated. What is unfair about this?"
"What if three strong teams decide to challenge a single team consecutively?"
Liu Hong smiled and said, "Is that the fault of the three challengers? The defending team can only blame themselves for being too weak. If they are strong enough, they will win. This is still a valid format to pick the strongest students out of all the participants. As long as this does not change, what is the issue? As for the choices of the students, that has nothing to do with us. As cultural researchers, the ability to actually use their brains is also important.
"For example, if someone is actually capable of making three strong teams challenge and tire out Zhan Hai's team, isn't that also proof of their ability? That does not break the rules. We are cultural researchers, not warriors. Are we supposed to stubbornly fight round after round with the traditional format?
"I am doing this for everyone's benefit. This way, we will save a lot of time. With this format, a single winning team will be able to eliminate three other teams. After this round, no more than 200 teams will remain. Including the teams that end up defeated in their third match, more teams will be eliminated. The weaker students will stop wasting everyone's time while the stronger students can advance to the final round earlier.
"Having said that, this is also a good opportunity for the weaker students. Think about it. Maybe there are some stubborn strong teams that insist on challenging the other strong teams? That will be your opportunity. The strong teams will end up exhausting each other, giving you an opening to defeat them. And they can only blame their foolishness for their defeat. It is perfectly normal for those with actual brains to survive until the very end. That's life.
"Strength, luck, and intelligence. All three factors are extremely important for a cultivator. As long as you know to grab the chance when it appears and use your brain well, you might even be able to face only weak teams and advance safely to the next round. This is your chance. Think about it. Will you stand a chance in a traditional format? What's the point of participating in this tournament if you have no chance of winning? Are you merely here to receive a beating and help the strong students showcase their talent?
"If we let strength decide everything, can any of these students defeat people like Zhan Hai? We might as well cancel the tournament and just assign the slots to them."
"..."
Nobody said anything.
Liu Hong smiled and asked, "Any objections? If not, I will assume that everyone agrees to this format. And a format everyone agrees to is a fair format. Something won't be fair or unfair just because you claim so."
The person from the Discipline Hall looked at Old Huang. With a frown, Old Huang looked at Su Yu. There was clearly a reason behind this sudden change in format.
He had thought that these people would try to rig the matches, but instead, there was no need to do so. Liu Hong was basically setting up a format where the matchups could be openly manipulated without breaking any rules.
And the students would probably not object to this format. The stronger students would be more than happy to waste less time. As for the weaker students, this format would present them with an opportunity they didn't have before.
And this format would also prevent the clash of the stronger teams too early in the tournament. Old Huang stared at Liu Hong, who merely smiled calmly.
"Liu Hong..." Old Huang frowned and said, "Although this is a tournament organized by the single character faction, I hope you don't keep changing the rules."
Liu Hong smiled, "Hall Master Huang, I am merely learning from experience in real time. And look at how satisfied all the students are with this new format. The rules that everyone is happy with are the most suitable rules to have. This is only a tournament. What is the point of holding a tournament with rules that nobody is satisfied with?"
Old Huang sank into silence. Liu Hong was too unpredictable and annoying. And this fellow had not broken any academy rules, leaving him helpless. After a short silence, Old Huang nodded and said nothing else.
Liu Hong smiled and said, "In that case, the format of the second round is decided. As cultural researchers, we should use our brain more. Observe your opponents and make sure that you are the one countering your opponent instead of the one being countered."
At this time, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, for this format, would the winner be forced to stay in the ring to face the next challenger, or would they be allowed to leave the ring and pick their next fight? Also, what if no new challenger appears for a team with two victories?"
Liu Hong explained, "You are not allowed to leave the ring after winning a match. You have to stay there until you obtain three victories. As for the situation where nobody is willing to challenge a team that has won two matches, the solution is simple. That team will be allowed to pick one of the remaining teams as the challenger. If they win, they would get their third victory and advance to the next round."
A different person asked, "If that's the case, even winning three matches won't guarantee you an advancement. Even a team that has won three victories can be picked as the challenger in this situation. Am I understanding this right?"
Liu Hong answered, "Simply put, if there are two teams with two victories with no other opponents, the two of them can simply fight each other. Toward the end, there will definitely be a team with only one or two victories and no challengers left. That team will naturally be allowed to challenge any of the remaining teams. They might end up eliminating themselves or eliminating one or two teams with three victories. It's very simple. Don't say that this isn't fair. If you're capable enough, you can still win."
"In that case, won't some of the teams be forced to fight more matches than others?" someone questioned.
Liu Hong said, "Yes, but that isn't necessarily a good thing for the team that has waited until the very end to challenge the teams that have already won three matches. In fact, that is a stupid choice. They have avoided the weaker teams in the beginning and have instead waited until the very end where only the stronger teams are left. So it will be hard to say who are the actual ones benefiting from this."
Nobody else had any questions.
Liu Hong was right. If one didn't get their three victories earlier, one would only be left with the choice to challenge the stronger teams. After all, no weak team would be able to snatch three victories.
"If there are no other issues, let us begin. Remember, it's not necessarily a bad thing to fight first. Some people enjoy showing up late because they are strong, but the longer you wait, the stronger your opponents will be."
With that final reminder, Liu Hong announced, "The second round starts now."
The students started looking at each other. Should they go first, or should they wait? As for Su Yu, he couldn't even be bothered to say anything. He started walking toward a ring with no hesitation.
It would be better to finish his matches earlier so that he would have enough time to rest. His enemies would definitely target him, so he might as well get it over with. The expressions of Liu He and the others changed.
This fellow was indeed behaving in an unpredictable manner. It did not make sense that a strong team would be the first to go up. Just look at Zhan Hai and the others. All of them were still waiting and observing.
The first teams to fight could easily end up being targeted by the other teams. Was Su Yu confident, or was he simply stupid? Shouldn't he make his decision after people like Zhan Hai fought? That way, he could at least avoid fighting the stronger teams.
In fact, a lot of people were thinking the same thing. As a result, Su Yu became the first person to step into a ring.
Ignoring his teammates, he looked down from the ring and said with a smile, "Let us set an example for everyone. Any challengers? Feel free to get into the ring. If you're here for a proper fight, we won't have any problems. But if you're deliberately targeting me, well, I can't promise what will happen to you in the ring."
After saying that, he looked toward a certain team in the crowd. That was the strongest team of the single character faction. Two of Zhou Pingsheng's students were in that group. Zheng Yuming's student was also there.
Silence descended.
Many gazes landed on the single character faction's team. Would they rise to the challenge now? Or would they wait until Su Yu's team was done with their second match before issuing a challenge?
But the other teams weren't stupid. Nobody was willing to waste their strength and test the strength of Su Yu's team for the single character faction. It was more likely that all three challenges to Su Yu's team would come from the single character faction.
In the spectating zone, Elder Sun's lips moved as he transmitted his voice to someone. This was the perfect opportunity. What were they still waiting for? The time to deal with Su Yu had finally arrived.
Liu Hong was indeed reliable. He had actually created such an excellent opportunity for them to openly take their revenge on Su Yu.