The rules were simple.
Three students—all of them in the same group—would enter the stage and fight for a total of five minutes. If a winner emerged within that time, then they would be considered the victor of the round and advance to the Main Event.
If no single victor had been established after the time limit was exceeded, then the one who dealt the most damage and had the least damage inflicted on them would be the winner.
To determine this, three judges—reputable, unbiased Instructors—were placed in an elevated platform to watch the entire Preliminaries.
Hence, by the end of the whole event, only thirty-two students out of the ninety-six would qualify for the main event happening the following day. Needless to say, the hall was electric with anticipation and excitement.
So many Dragons had turned up as spectators for the Prelims, and even more were going to show up for the main event.
This was an event of the year.
