Chapter 325: Championship Favorites
After holding the girl’s gaze for a few seconds, Xu Zhi looked away.
For some reason, she felt that the way the girl had looked at her was… subtle.
Curiosity, she could understand. Plenty of people were curious about her now. But this gaze was different from ordinary curiosity. There was something strangely familiar in it.
Not that she found the other person familiar—but rather, it felt as if the other girl had seen her somewhere before.
Weird.
Xu Zhi poked Su Ran’s shoulder and whispered, “That super eye-catching Lamp-attribute girl on the left—what’s her name? Which academy?”
The moment Xu Zhi asked, Su Ran knew exactly who she meant.
After all, such a distinctive manifestation of the [Lamp] attribute was impossible to miss.
“Jiang Qing. Core member of Lingzhou Light Academy.”
Xu Zhi had just started feeling that “Lingzhou” sounded familiar when Su Ran continued explaining:
“Lingzhou Light Academy ranked first in this year’s Light Academy internal rankings. They’re also one of the biggest championship favorites this season. A lot of people predict the finals will be them against Celestial Heart Association or Yingtian City.”
Even the usually quiet senior Su Ran couldn’t help but sigh. “She’s beautiful, right? Almost unreal.”
Xu Zhi nodded. “She really is.”
“And ridiculously strong. They didn’t lose a single match in the Light Academy internal competition. Some people say Yingtian only won last year because Jiang Qing wasn’t on the team yet.”
Shu Yushan, overhearing, added, “If we’d had junior sister during the internal rankings, we probably could’ve placed higher too. But whether we could beat them? Hard to say. It’d be tough.”
“That strong?” Xu Zhi was genuinely surprised. Even her usually confident teammates sounded cautious.
“I personally think they’re a bit stronger than Yingtian this year,” Shu Yushan shrugged. “But who knows? This season feels strange. There might be variables.”
Xu Zhi nodded in understanding.
She barely watched the opening ceremony performances at all. Instead, she spent the whole time listening to her teammates gossip, gradually sorting out this year’s widely recognized championship favorites:
- Lingzhou Light Academy
- Yingtian City Academy
- Wen Yuan Celestial Heart Association
Meanwhile, these teams were generally considered stable Top 10 contenders:
- Lian City Light Academy
- Sangluo City Academy
- Hejiang City Academy
The remaining Top 10 spots were fiercely contested, with many academies being mentioned, though none as stable as those six.
The cities of Yingtian, Lingzhou, Lian City, Wen Yuan, Sangluo, and Hejiang had long occupied the top ranks among cities. These six held most of the continent’s resources and influence, naturally creating a kind of “ranking monopoly.”
Lian City’s City Academy was also a Top 10 favorite, but since it had slightly underperformed compared to Lian City Light Academy last year, most media outlets ranked it lower this time.
By the end of the opening ceremony, Xu Zhi had more or less “met” all the potential opponents—though really, her seniors had enthusiastically pointed people out while she passively absorbed the information.
Her teammates seemed subtly dissatisfied that, although they were recognized as a prestigious powerhouse and Top 10 favorite, they weren’t considered true championship contenders.
Xu Zhi understood that mentality completely.
If everyone thought, “We’re just not championship material,” then she’d find that worrying.
After all, one slacker on the team was enough—and that was her.
Who didn’t have a bit of youthful ambition?
Even she, someone from another world, felt that first place was obviously better than second.
As expected, during the opening ceremony draw, the Top 10 favorites were mostly separated into different brackets. Ji Muge got his wish and would play in the very first match.
After a few days’ rest following the ceremony, the finals officially began.
Countless viewers had been waiting eagerly for this day. To meet expectations—and boost viewership—the organizers scheduled many heavyweight matches on Day One.
All six powerhouse teams were placed on the first day at different time slots. Every single one aired on the official main stream, commentated by Xiaoxiao and “Peak Bro.” Rumor had it that ad slots that day sold for astronomical prices.
Unlike the group stage, finals teams didn’t need to pre-confirm their lineup. Which members would play at each stage, and what their extraordinary ranks and abilities were—these became part of the strategic game.
Compared to group stage, the finals clearly favored big-city teams.
At the pre-match meeting the day before, Xi Min specifically asked Xu Zhi if she wanted to play.
Xu Zhi was indifferent. “If you think it’s necessary, I can go up and… drift a bit.”
Otherwise, she’d prefer to stay on the bench.
Their first opponent was just a mid-to-lower-tier group-stage qualifier. There was no need to treat it like a life-or-death battle.
Xi Min nodded. “If nothing unexpected happens, Tong Zhou and Shu Yushan—you two secure the 1v1s. Can you?”
“No problem.”
Then she looked at Xu Zhi. “For team battle: Xu Zhi, Ji Muge, Tong Zhou, Shu Yushan, Qiu Hou—you five.”
“Once you’re on stage, you three finish them quickly. Qiu Hou supports and protects Xu Zhi. Xu Zhi, don’t command, and avoid using your extraordinary ability as much as possible.”
“You’re just there to show up. Understood?”
Xu Zhi got it immediately.
A performance match.
Play the “boss” who gets carried.
She was very good at that.
She nodded. “Understood.”
Xi Min’s strategy was clear:
Hide Chu Xiaoyue.
No healer in team battle.
All-out aggression from the start.
Well—others going all-out.
Xu Zhi would be the decorative corpse getting carried.
It would give outsiders the impression that they were hiding something—and reinforce the illusion that Xu Zhi was just there to pad her résumé.
How devious.
Chu Xiaoyue merely nodded in agreement.
If someone else possessed her level of talent and strength, they might have thought: If you let me play, I could 1v5 and end it myself. Why not give me the spotlight?
But Chu Xiaoyue would never think that way.
“Alright, that’s it for now,” Xi Min concluded. “The opponent’s data has been sent to you. Study it. Decide yourselves how you want to approach tomorrow.”
Against a team like this, Xi Min and the coaching staff wouldn’t spoon-feed tactics.
They would assist from the side and correct anything outrageous—but otherwise, they preferred letting the players think independently at this stage.
It was part of the training.
