Shortly after Lia Scarlet returned to her room, the tournament organizers summoned all of the participating schools and their students to the center of the stadium.

"All participants, please gather in the field for a briefing." A voice resounded in all of the waiting rooms even though there were no speakers inside.

Sometime later, a grand total of 55 schools appeared in the field.

The tens of thousands of spectators at the stadium began cheering when they saw the schools coming out.

Once all of the schools gathered, a figure descended from the sky and hovered in the center of the stadium with a microphone in her hands.

This figure in the sky was an elegant beauty with long pink hair and azure-colored eyes, and she was wearing a white bunny headband for some reason.

"Welcome to the Stellar Stadium. I am Thalia Laurens, and I will be the judge of this year's tournament. First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone for coming here today, especially to the friends and families of the participants. I would also like to give special attention to the esteemed guests from the Four Celestial Families that came to witness this tournament despite their busy schedule!"

"Let us all welcome those from the Scarlet Family, Light Family, Thorns Family, and Tempest Family!"

The crowd began cheering and clapping for these four powerhouses that were present at the tournament.

Naturally, only their representatives showed up at the tournament, as the important figures from these elite families were too busy to attend a mere school tournament.

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Once the cheering weakened, Thalia Laurens continued to speak, "I know everyone is excited for the tournament to begin, but before we send the participants on the stage, I would like to take a minute to go over the rules for this tournament."

"For this year's tournament, we have 439 participants. There will be 165 participants for the Knight Tournament and 275 participants for the Magic Tournament."

The spectators raised an eyebrow when they heard this information, as the numbers didn't add up.

'How can there only be 439 participants if there are 165 and 275 students participating in each tournament?' They all wondered. After all, this is the first time that someone will be participating in both the Knight Tournament and the Magic Tournament simultaneously.

"Now let's move onto the rules for the tournament. For the Knight Tournament, all participants are required to consume a Mana Suppressing Pill before they step onto the stage to prevent cheating. As for your weapons, they will be supplied to you, and no artifacts will be allowed."

"As for the Magic Tournament, it's the same as the Knight Tournament except for the Mana Suppressing Pill. Quite simple, right?"

Sometime later, Thalia Laurens snapped her finger, causing the ground to tremble.

Then, everybody there watched as a massive platform that took up 70 percent of the field emerged from the ground.

"This stage is where your matches will take place. The tournament is very simple. Two schools will be picked to enter the stage, and the students will fight each other until their opponents are all defeated. I will elaborate more on this later when the tournament begins."

"The only thing I have left to say is good luck, everyone! You may return to your waiting rooms until we call you onto the stage, or you can stay out here and watch the matches."

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Most of the participants decided to return to their waiting rooms and waited for the tournament to begin.

About ten minutes later, once the staff members double checked all of the magic protections on the stage and the stadium to ensure the spectators' safety and that the students wouldn't receive any life-threatening injuries, Thalia appeared on the stage and pointed at the transparent screen above the stage.

"The tournament will officially begin now! The two schools that will appear on the screen will be up first! By the way, this is all random, so even I don't know who will fight who until their names are revealed!"

The audience roared with cheers.

Then, almost like a slot machine, the transparent screen began shuffling through the 55 school names at a quick speed.

A few moments later, the first name was revealed.

[Plum Blossom Academy]

The second name was revealed a few seconds later.

[Scarlet Academy]

The audience became even more rowdy when they saw the second name.

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"Ooooh! One of the powerhouses, the Scarlet Academy, will be going first this year!"

"Hahaha! I feel bad for the Plum Blossom Academy! To be facing the Scarlet Academy during their first match, what shitty luck they have!"

When the students and teachers of Plum Blossom Academy saw their first opponent, their faces immediately turned pale, almost as though they'd just seen a ghost.

"Fuck! We're up against the Scarlet Academy already?!"

"What bad luck!"

The participants cursed, but there was nothing they could do about it. Of course, they could forfeit the match, but to surrender on the first match of the tournament, they will become a laughingstock. Thus, they could only reluctantly leave their room and meet the Scarlet Academy on the stage.

Furthermore, because of Scarlet Academy's influence and reputation, many participants decided to leave their room to watch the match personally.

Sometime later, the Scarlet Academy and the Plum Blossom Academy showed up on the stage.

However, the students of the Plum Blossom Academy were surprised when they couldn't see the monster they feared the most amongst the Scarlet Academy's participants.

"Where's Lia Scarlet? Is she not participating in this year's tournament?" The spectators mumbled to each other when they noticed her absence.

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"That's not possible. I saw her earlier, so she's definitely at the stadium."

"Hahaha! Of course Lady Scarlet isn't here! Her opponents are so weak that she can't even be bothered to show up!" One of the spectators there laughed out loud.

"I see That makes sense" The people couldn't argue with that logic, and even though it may seem rude to the Plum Blossom Academy and extremely arrogant of Lia Scarlet, nobody dared to utter a single complaint, as Lia Scarlet had the power and influence to back up her arrogance.