Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 327: I'll Teach This Little Brat a Lesson Sooner or Later

The opposing instructor was severely injured, and the referee immediately escorted him off the stage for treatment by the Empire's priests.

Because it was timely enough, it wasn't to the point of causing a disaster, but with injuries of this level, even after treatment, he would probably need to rest and recuperate for quite a while.

On the other side, the instructor who fought against Ellie was also covered in wounds and was carried off the field.

The one who fought against both Flora and Amy was also under immense pressure. Seeing that he couldn't hold on, he quickly sold a feint and was blasted off the stage by Flora's magic.

This guy was quite cunning and didn't get injured.

This match thus came to an abrupt end.

Everything happened too fast, so much so that many spectators below the stage hadn't even regained their composure.

Just moments ago, it looked like a good show was about to begin. Then, in the blink of an eye, the last two instructors from the Lonia Kingdom Academy took the stage, seemingly about to sweep the floor with their opponents.

Yet, less than two minutes later, it was the Lonia Kingdom Academy side that got swept... Was this for real?

In the stands, the contestants and instructors from other kingdoms all wore grave expressions, and even the students from several Empire academies were dumbfounded.Among them, no one could defeat a level 20 Professional so effortlessly.

At the Imperial First Academy, several instructors who had previously expressed doubts about Nolan's words were now frowning deeply, which only made Nolan even more smug. She held her head high, puffed out her chest, and went all out, her little mouth chattering non-stop.

Several instructors' fists clenched, but after glancing at Shirleyas standing nearby and considering her background, they ultimately held back.

The next match soon began.

However, once in the elimination rounds, it became much more leisurely compared to the previous group stage. There was no need to fight continuously. After winning one round, you could rest for several matches, waiting for the next round to start.

Of course, no one would leave the venue, as they still needed to study their future opponents.

Those who lost also wouldn't leave; they could start researching their opponents for the next tournament.

The top students from various academies would likely return as instructors for their respective academies and compete again three years later.

The matches proceeded one after another. Logically, the elimination rounds of the Academy Grand Competition should be extremely exciting, much more intense than the preceding group stage, with every match full of suspense and thrilling action.

And indeed, that was the case. Those who made it this far were no weaklings. Unless they were as unlucky as the Donis Kingdom, who directly encountered the Imperial First Academy, even a medium-sized suzerain state facing a large suzerain state could at least put up a fight, as they were the best among the medium-sized kingdoms.

However, the opening battle was just too shocking. Even after three or four matches had been played, many people were still continuously discussing it, naturally paying much less attention to the ongoing fights.

Lin Mo also lacked interest. He could tell at a glance that many teams posed no threat, so he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the related information.

However, he did watch the match between the Donis Kingdom and the Imperial First Academy a bit.

The result... unsurprisingly, yielded no real gains.

The Donis Kingdom's instructors were only around levels 14-16, completely failing to push the Imperial First Academy's instructors. Even the strongest few students standing at the back didn't need to act; the mid-to-lower ranked students alone managed to sweep through them.

"Among the ten students of the Imperial First Academy, the weakest is level 13, and six have reached level 15 or above!"

Flora, noticing Lin Mo's reaction, shared some information about that academy: "Among these six, there is 1 level 15, 1 level 16, and 1 level 17. The last two... you should know."

Lin Mo nodded: "Do you have information about them?"

"Nolan Oxivis, heir to the Imperial Royal Duke Family, the Oxivis Family, had already reached level 16 nearly half a year ago. Her current strength is conservatively estimated at level 19, possibly reaching level 20."

Lin Mo recalled the scene from the Hunting Competition where she made her final move.

A Cursemaster... and a high-level one at that. She was indeed troublesome.

Forget about other kingdoms; even compared to the Empire's younger generation, she stood out like a crane among chickens, in a league of her own. No wonder she developed that tsundere, and occasionally even somewhat arrogant, personality.

Her age should be similar to Finnie's, only a few months younger than Finnie, not even 19 yet.

That meant it had been less than three years since she officially obtained her profession at 16.

In the same amount of time, without his help, Finnie would probably only be around level 3.

This wasn't to say Finnie's talent was poor. On one hand, she was in the hardest-to-level Priest profession. On the other hand, Finnie's mind was often distracted by church matters. Furthermore, after Lady Bessie left the family, she rarely contacted or troubled the family, and her resources were also very limited...

But even excluding all these factors, Finnie's younger sister's talent was still above her older sister's!

Above someone who could gain the acknowledgment of Holy Light.

If not for Lin Mo, she would undoubtedly be the one shining brilliantly, suppressing all the geniuses across the continent.

Extremely strong talent, powerful background, vast resources...

Becoming a Heroic Realm Powerful Expert was only a matter of time for her. Even stepping into the Legendary Realm probably wouldn't be too difficult.

"What about her maid?"

Lin Mo continued asking.

"Named Shirleyas, she is a daughter born to a concubine of the Oxivis Family. Nominally a maid, she is actually Nolan's older sister, also a Young Mistress of the Oxivis Family... Her talent is equally astonishing and she has already been promoted to Transcendent Level."

Transcendent Level, and still a student!

How were the other academies supposed to compete?

Even a large kingdom, exerting its full strength, couldn't even force out the Imperial First Academy's instructors.

Actually, it wasn't that the Imperial First Academy's strength was so terrifying. In fact, among its five instructors, only one had stepped into the Transcendent Level. The other four were levels 20, 19, 18, and 16 respectively.

In previous years, the Imperial First Academy didn't have an overwhelming advantage over the strongest one or two kingdoms, nor over the Empire's Second Academy. They were only slightly stronger and couldn't guarantee a win.

For example, the champion two tournaments ago was the Empire's Second Academy.

The reason this year's team was so strong it felt despairing was precisely because of Nolan, a super-genius who was almost in a class of her own across the entire continent, and her maid Shirleyas, whose talent was only slightly inferior to hers.

So, in the final battle, he would have to deal with at least two Transcendent Levels?

Lin Mo curled his lip. To be honest, it was indeed a bit difficult...

With his current strength, fighting one Transcendent Level was completely doable. In a head-on confrontation, he wouldn't worry at all. Coupled with his endless stream of methods, victory was only a matter of time.

But two Transcendent Levels were a completely different story.

No matter how strong he was, he couldn't fight two Transcendents alone.

So, it seemed he needed to think carefully about how to fight that final match.

Time came to noon.

The first round of the elimination matches was still not over. It would continue in the afternoon. After the remaining few matches of the first round were finished, they would proceed directly to the second round to decide this tournament's top eight.

The final top four, semi-finals, and finals were reserved for tomorrow.

The noon break wasn't long, only about an hour, so most spectators didn't plan to leave the venue.

Lin Mo was even more so. In these aspects, he was always rather lazy. He preferred to run less if possible, would sit rather than stand, and lie down rather than sit.

But lunch was absolutely not something to be skimped on. He had long been prepared.

Lin Mo took out pots, pans, bowls, and ladles from his Portable Space and directly set up a stove in front of them.

Although the venue was packed, the rest areas allotted to each academy were relatively spacious. Everyone sat in a circle, watching Lin Mo take out various ingredients stored in advance in his space and cook on the spot.

Many people who had planned to eat jerky and flatbreads, or at most some luxurious cakes and desserts, were completely dumbfounded.

You could do this?

Lin Mo's movements were very skilled. With Sherfilia's help, a tantalizing aroma soon wafted from the pot.

All the surrounding gazes were drawn over. Smelling that rich fragrance, the food in their hands suddenly became hard to swallow.

Nolan, who had been happily eating a cake, also froze when she saw this scene.

Looking at that steaming hot pot, then at the cold cake in her hand, her mouth immediately pouted.

"Shirleyas, we should also..."

She wanted to tell the maid beside her to cook, but the words got stuck halfway.

Cook? She didn't know how. Asking Shirleyas to do it...

She recalled some "painful" memories.

Heaven knows how she managed to put that black lump in her mouth back then, and her stomach hurt for a long time afterward.

Shirleyas, watching Sherfilia's skilled cooking movements from afar, also had an unnatural expression on her face.

She was exceptionally talented and overwhelmingly powerful. When it came to matters of combat, she wouldn't even frown. But in daily life... in her core duties as a maid, she was completely at a failing level.

Lin Mo seemed to sense something and turned his head, his gaze accidentally meeting Nolan's.

"Hmph!"

Nolan snorted, turned her head away from that direction, and continued eating the cake in her hand.

But after a few bites, her mouth seemed to taste no sweetness, only a sense of greasiness.

Lin Mo immediately chuckled happily and then patted Finnie's head.

When Nolan peeked over again, she happened to see him leaning close to her sister's ear, whispering with a "mocking" expression on his face, which immediately made her fists clench in anger.

This detestable guy! During the later matches, she must kick his butt hard!

However, just as she was puffing up her cheeks angrily, a golden figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Nolan..."

Finnie scratched her cheek somewhat awkwardly. "Lin Mo asked me to ask you... if you want to come eat something together?"

"Huh?"

Nolan was stunned for a moment, turned her head to look over there, and saw Lin Mo waving at her with a smile.

Nolan pursed her lips, originally intending to act tsundere out of habit. But when she turned her head and saw Finnie blinking her eyes, looking both nervous and expectant, those words got stuck in her throat and could no longer be spoken.

Finally, she slowly nodded.

"Okay then, let's go!"

Finnie happily took her hand and pulled her down.

"You're here? Sit down, the food just finished cooking."

Lin Mo invited her to sit.

"You... hello..."

Nolan lowered her head. The usually haughty Young Mistress was actually feeling a bit awkward at this moment.

Lin Mo didn't mind and served her a big bowl of food.

A bowl of hot meat stew sat before her, its rich aroma continuously wafting into her nostrils.

Ellie was already eating heartily, huffing and puffing because it was too hot.

Finnie remained well-behaved and reserved, taking small bites of the food...

Nolan looked at the bowl in front of her, finally picked it up, and took a small sip of the soup.

The taste was quite good, but only at a "quite good" level... As the heir of a top Empire family, Nolan had eaten many things more delicious than this. Even Epic Level monster meat was often served at her table.

But, why?

This strange feeling...

She looked at her sister's serene smile, at Ellie who was being boisterous with soup stains at the corner of her mouth, and at Lin Mo who stood up and gently wiped her sister's mouth.

Such a strange feeling.

Nolan stared somewhat dazedly at the bowl in her hands, picked up a piece of meat, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.

By the time the meal was finished, she watched as Sherfilia carefully wiped Lin Mo's mouth, as Ellie noisily threw herself into his arms, and as her sister Finnie looked at Ellie with envy all over her face before turning to her: "Nolan, are you full?"

Nolan nodded, her voice very soft. "Mm."

"What's wrong, are you unhappy?"

Finnie moved closer, waving a hand in front of her face. "Or are you feeling unwell?"

"No."

Nolan shook her head, finally regaining her usual demeanor, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't think just because you treated me to a meal, this Young Mistress will go easy on you in the later matches! Especially you..."

She pointed at Lin Mo. "You better wash your butt clean and wait for me to kick it!"

This little brat.

Lin Mo helplessly scratched his head. Sooner or later, he'd find a chance to teach her a proper lesson.

Nolan left with Shirleyas. The lunch break soon ended, and the matches continued.

The first round of matches quickly concluded, deciding the top 16 of this Grand Competition.

In previous years, the top 16 teams were without exception all from the Empire or large kingdoms.

This time was actually similar... except for the unexpected dark horse, the Doria Kingdom Academy.

As Lin Mo "completely" displayed his strength, now, no one dared to look down on the Doria Kingdom Academy anymore.

Based on Lin Mo's performance in the previous battle, any team without a Transcendent Level Powerful Expert was now feeling nervous, praying not to draw them as opponents.

Drawing another large kingdom meant at least a 40-60 chance of winning, or even 30-70, which was still better than fighting that monster.

The relatively calm ones were only the two strongest academies from the Violet Empire, and the Ross Kingdom and Garshi Kingdom, which were at the forefront among the kingdoms this year.

These academies all had Transcendent Level instructors overseeing them.

The second round's draw soon began...

"Imperial First Academy, versus Ross Kingdom!"

And this first draw instantly ignited the atmosphere at the venue.

"So exciting? Starting with such high intensity?!"

The Ross Kingdom's strength was roughly third place this year, even stronger than the Garshi Kingdom which also had a Transcendent Level instructor. Logically, they should have been a solid top-four contender, but now they directly ran into the Imperial First Academy?

This was going to be interesting to watch...