Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 318: The Violet Empire, Peak Heroic Realm Expert!

The time had not yet arrived, and the students nearby began to chat idly.

On Lin Mo's side, Ellie was also whispering quietly to Lena.

Finnie also wanted to talk to someone, but Sherfilia was clearly not a suitable conversation partner, and as for Sister Flora...

Finnie's expression was somewhat peculiar.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she always felt that Sister Flora gave her a different feeling recently than before.

This sense of disorientation, of a familiar person becoming unfamiliar, left her momentarily unsure of how to interact with her.

Fortunately, the wait wasn't very long. Before long, the familiar old man appeared before them.

Elvish's face carried a trace of fatigue and gloom. After all, just a few days ago, the academy had lost many outstanding students.

Nevertheless, he forced himself to perk up and spoke with a smile, "Everyone's here? Then let's prepare to depart..."

As the vice president of the Magic Academy, Elvish held extremely high standing within the academy, both in terms of strength and reputation. Therefore, this time, he was also the one leading the team, guiding these teachers and students to participate in this Academy Grand Competition."Before we go, I'd like to emphasize some things about the Academy Grand Competition once more..."

Although many students had already heard this multiple times, there were still newly joined "external reinforcements" here, so Elvish had to repeat himself.

"The Academy Grand Competition is a grand event held by the Violet Empire, occurring once every three years."

Once every three years?

Lin Mo was stunned. He had previously thought this competition was held annually, like the Hunting Competition.

If that was the case, the "weight" of this competition seemed to increase even further.

Well, here, "weight" meant literally, referring to the rewards of the competition.

A competition held once every three years versus one held annually would definitely not have the same rewards.

"According to current intelligence, for this competition, besides the host, the Violet Empire, 41 other kingdoms are participating, totaling 108 academies."

The number of academies was quite a bit larger than the number of kingdoms, but that was normal... For a small kingdom like the Doria Kingdom, only the Royal National Academy was a presentable institution, but other kingdoms might not be the same.

Especially the Violet Empire, and those few large kingdoms, which had at least 2-3 or even more top-tier academies.

A lot of competitors... So, what about the competition format?

Next, Elvish indeed began to talk about the competition format: "The format for this competition is the same as the previous few sessions, with no difference. All participating academies will still be divided into groups through a draw, totaling four groups, with 27 academies in each group. Academies within the same group will compete against each other in cross-matches for points. In the end, only 8 academies from each group can advance to the subsequent knockout stage."

"What about the specific competition method?"

Lin Mo inquired.

This was key. In terms of overall strength, their Doria Kingdom team was inevitably inferior to the teams from those medium and large kingdoms.

If the role he, Ellie, and the others could play was minimal, then advancing would be somewhat difficult.

"It's simple... Academies drawn together will compete in an arena-style format. Both sides will send out contestants to duel. After a loss, they will switch to the next person and continue fighting. Similarly, after an opponent is defeated, the other side will also continue sending people onto the arena. The match is considered over when all contestants from one side have been defeated, and the side that still has a contestant on the arena wins."

An arena format?

Lin Mo immediately breathed a sigh of relief. In that case, if someone with exceptionally powerful strength appeared, it was entirely possible for them to defeat multiple opponents in a row and lead their academy to victory.

This format gave academies with weaker overall strength a chance to cause an upset.

After all, if it were truly one-on-one matches scored based on win-loss records, then weaker kingdoms and academies would have no chance at all, and the competition would lose much of its suspense.

Although, even with this format, upsets were still rare...

The resource gap between small kingdoms and medium/large kingdoms, and between medium/large kingdoms and empires, objectively existed. Even with similar talent, if everyone was a top-tier genius, the difference in resources during growth would still create a significant gap.

"What about the instructors? Do instructors also participate as contestants?"

Finnie asked curiously.

This question was indeed important. After all, generally speaking, an instructor's strength was not on the same level as a student's. If instructors also participated as regular contestants, the situation would be different; the strength of the students would lose its significance.

"What I just described was the student competition format. The instructors naturally have their own separate arena, competing in one-on-one arena matches, best of five... also counted for points."

Best of five system, meaning there must be at least five instructors under 30 years old.

Lin Mo glanced to the side. There were exactly five instructors present here. If there were one more, the academy probably couldn't produce it.

No wonder Amy had to participate.

"Alright, that's enough about the competition format for now. If you have any questions later, you can ask me directly."

Elvish didn't continue explaining the knockout stage format, as their academy had never advanced to the knockout stage before.

Even though he felt very hopeful this time, there was no need to aim too high too quickly. It was better to first figure out how to pass the current qualifying stage.

"The entire competition only lasts five days. The qualifying stage is the first three days, so the schedule is relatively tight. I hope everyone is mentally prepared."

Flora, standing to the side, added, "The first two days are your stage. In two days, you will have to fight a total of 26 arena matches... If you don't want to participate, you can still withdraw now. After all, regarding students, there's no mandatory limit on numbers."

The expressions of many students immediately changed, and they all felt the pressure.

But those who could reach this level, which one wasn't considered a prodigy in the eyes of their peers? Which one didn't have their own pride?

They might lack strength, they might lose fights, but they would never lack a competitive edge.

Flora was well aware of this, which was why she used this method to give their competitive spirit a little nudge.

"Since no one is withdrawing, then let's prepare to depart. Everyone, stand properly, stand within the range of the teleportation array, do not exceed the array patterns."

As his words fell, Elvish waved his hand. The ground before them immediately lit up, and a huge magic circle appeared before their eyes.

Lin Mo focused his gaze. Compared to last time, with his current progress in Space Magic, he could clearly discern much more...

However, wanting to learn magic based on this bit of information was still too wishful thinking.

Soon, the teleportation array activated. The magic circle rose, enveloping them.

But the teleportation did not commence immediately. It seemed to be waiting for something.

"Wait a moment. We need the Violet Empire side to respond and open the teleportation channel."

This wasn't strange. So many kingdoms had teleportation arrays; they couldn't possibly allow them to teleport over at will.

They didn't have to wait long. After about half a minute, the teleportation array lit up again. The next moment, accompanied by a familiar feeling of weightlessness, everyone vanished from the spot.

When they opened their eyes again, they were already in a huge square.

Surrounding the square were magnificent, imposing buildings. The architectural style was completely different from that of the Doria Kingdom, more luxurious and grand. On the square, besides them, there was another group of people looking around, probably contestants who had also just teleported over.

Elvish didn't greet the person leading the other team. It seemed they didn't know each other; they were probably from a more distant kingdom.

Outside the square, some onlookers had gathered. Some wore academy uniforms, seemingly students from Violet Empire academies.

That's right. This competition was being held at the Violet Empire's Imperial First Academy.

They looked curiously at these contestants who had come to compete, pointing and commenting, their eyes clearly carrying a hint of disdain.

After all, in their view, these people from small kingdoms, even these specially selected top elites, couldn't compare to the most ordinary students of the Imperial First Academy.

Although this wasn't actually the case, they still held such thoughts.

Elvish was obviously accustomed to this, but the young students all looked rather displeased.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Violet Empire Academy."

Soon, someone from the academy walked over. He was dressed very meticulously, like a noble, but very young, clearly still a student.

Probably a student council member?

Elvish nodded slightly as a form of greeting.

"Please follow me. The opening ceremony for this competition will begin soon."

Everyone followed him to a huge open-air venue.

"This is the largest venue at the Violet Empire Academy, and also the place where the knockout matches will be held later."

The student introduced, "Besides this venue, there are many smaller venues within the academy. Your subsequent matches will take place in those venues."

"We're here. This is the seating area for the Doria Kingdom. Please wait a moment. The academy's vice president will come shortly to preside over the opening ceremony."

After saying this, he nodded and turned to leave.

Although his words were polite and courteous, some unintentional phrasing clearly carried a hint of disdain towards them.

This was normal.

A small kingdom like the Doria Kingdom, in the usual impression, indeed had nothing worthy of particular attention.

In the previous few Academy Grand Competitions, the kingdom's group stage results were 24th, 27th, and 25th place respectively.

One time at the bottom, the other two times not much better. Even considering only the qualifying group stage, they were undoubtedly at the very bottom.

"Not willing to accept it?"

Elvish glanced at the students. "If you're not willing, then fight well and prove them wrong."

In the past, he might not have said such things, because saying them would be meaningless. If the strength wasn't there, it just wasn't there.

But this time was different.

With Flora, with Eve—just these two geniuses who had risen in recent years were enough to improve their results compared to before. Getting into the top 20 wouldn't be a problem. With some effort, they even had a chance to get into the top 15 of the group!

And now, it's not just you two. There's also Lin Mo, and these girls by my side.

Back when they first entered the academy, what Elvish had valued was actually only Lin Mo. As for the other girls, although their talents weren't bad, besides that priest named Finnie, they weren't particularly outstanding either.

That maid's strength was quite good, but her age wasn't young anymore. Overall, her talent was clearly somewhat lacking compared to the level of Flora and Eve. That wolf tribe half-orc was even more mediocre, belonging to a very ordinary level even within the kingdom's academy.

But now, in just this short amount of time, they had progressed to a degree that left him astonished.

This was clearly beyond normal reasoning...

But what was beyond normal reasoning probably wasn't them, but that one person from beginning to end.

To be honest, Elvish now also didn't know exactly how strong Lin Mo's strength was.

What he did know was that these few instructors who came to compete were probably no longer his match.

With Lin Mo and the others here, his expectation for this competition was to enter the top ten, even make history by advancing to the knockout stage for the first time!

If they could truly achieve that, it would undoubtedly be a feat that would shock all kingdoms, even the empire!

Elvish's heart surged with emotion.

They took their seats in the venue and waited for about half an hour. Finally, in the central area of the venue, an elderly man with white hair, wearing a red robe with golden trim, appeared before the crowd.

"That's the vice president of the Violet Empire Academy! The peak Heroic Realm Archmage—Aaron Fisher!"

An exclamation from someone nearby rang out.

Peak Heroic Realm!

Lin Mo looked at the old man on the stage.

Above the Transcendent Level was the Heroic Realm. A peak Heroic Realm expert was undoubtedly an existence that almost stood at the pinnacle of the entire continent.

One more step up was the true summit, the Legendary level, of which there were exceedingly few across the entire continent!

Elvish looked at the old man on the stage, his expression complex.

"Teacher..."

He murmured softly, his voice filled with deep longing and melancholy.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Violet Empire... Of course, some among you may not be here for the first time. I don't want to give a long-winded speech, but for the sake of those children who are here for the first time, I still have to say a few words..."

Although he appeared to be a venerable elder, his voice wasn't as serious as one might imagine. Instead, his tone was quite light and brisk.

What he said next also wasn't overly formal, giving people a feeling of approachability.

The content was nothing more than some things related to the competition, most of which Lin Mo had already learned from Vice President Elvish.

However, at the end, this old man announced news that energized everyone—

"Well then, to celebrate the opening of this Academy Grand Competition, next, let our academy's vice president of the Warrior Division, and the head of the Ice Element Department of the Magic Academy, put on a lively performance for everyone..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the area below the stage immediately erupted.

Discussions rose and fell, and for a moment, the entire venue seemed to turn into a bustling marketplace.

Performance? What did that mean?

Did it mean they were going to fight?

The two just mentioned were both Heroic Realm experts!

Were they really about to witness a clash between two Heroic Realm experts?!