About ten minutes later, the hall was filled with people.
A middle-aged man in a suit walked up to the podium with a microphone in hand.
He had been responsible for reading out names during the previous second phase of the examination.
And now, he was about to announce...
"Firstly, let's talk about the arrangements for the third phase."
"We will shortly announce the list of 128 individuals who passed the second phase of the examination."
"These examinees, please proceed to the fourth venue tomorrow for the third phase of the examination."
"The examination will consist of 6VS6 battles between the examinees, with the battle roster announced on-site tomorrow. The rules are as follows..."
The rules for the third phase were about the same as what Fang Yuan had investigated, nothing new; even Fang Yuan, who was participating in the examination for the first time, knew about them, and it was likely that everyone present did as well.
Everyone listened quietly to the suited man's explanation.
In fact, the examinees present didn't recognize this suited man and treated him as just an NPC.
Finally, after going through the precautions, and even clarifying the arrangements for the trainers who hadn't passed the second phase, the suited man took out a remote control and pressed a button.
"Now, please look at the list of those who passed."
As soon as the suited man pressed the remote control, the next moment, the black wall behind him lit up and turned white.
The wall, now a screen, displayed one profile picture after another, accompanied by names, starting small in the middle and then enlarging so that every examinee could see clearly before shrinking again and neatly flying up to line up at the top.
Every examinee felt frustrated, not understanding the point of this elaborate display; why not just notify everyone via mobile phone if they passed or not?
The necessity to witness it in person made it especially cruel for those who didn't pass. Those who passed might relish it secretly, but for the failing examinees, it was too cruel.
After watching more than a hundred faces and names, and then not finding one's own... the blended emotions of anticipation and tension, ultimately turning into disappointment and sadness, were distressing even just to think about.
"But this lottery-like feeling isn't that bad, is it?" Fang Yuan, the psychological master, mumbled to himself, speculating about the officials' intentions...
At this point, just five people had been announced passers, and every person in the hall was watching the front, unblinking.
Fang Yuan was doing so, Hao Feng was doing so, Xu Jing was doing so, Jiang Ran was doing so...
Then, the sixth person to pass was announced...
The profile picture and name gradually enlarged, and Fang Yuan began to feel a growing sense of familiarity, eventually realizing that the person was himself.
Seeing the handsome and sunny smile in his profile picture, Fang Yuan also smiled...
Fang Yuan smiled, but someone was dumbfounded.
Hao Feng, a prop maker who was sitting somewhere in the middle, widened his eyes when he saw Fang Yuan's profile picture...
That "excellent" was not a boast?
While surprised, Hao Feng was relatively calm. To him, Fang Yuan represented the image of a rich second-generation, and it wasn't too hard to accept that someone in his early twenties had passed the second phase of the professional examination. If he hadn't invested his pocket money into improving his props and instead focused on training like Fang Yuan, he was sure he could have done even better.
While Hao Feng remained composed, the two women sitting behind him were not.
Having not seen him in two years, they might have felt a bit unfamiliar looking at the photo... but upon seeing the name written below the portrait, they immediately recognized Fang Yuan. Xu Jing nearly unleashed her spiritual power outwardly as she stood up and began to search the crowd for Fang Yuan's figure.
Jiang Ran didn't react any better. Seeing the name Fang Yuan, she was instantly reminded of some unpleasant experiences.
"Didn't he become a researcher?"
Xu Jing realized she might be blocking someone behind her and sat back down with her spiritual power sinking in concentration.
Xu Jing and Jiang Ran exchanged glances, both clearly seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.
Without a doubt, Xu Jing and Jiang Ran knew each other, and they were both aware of each other's relationship with Fang Yuan.
Xu Jing and Jiang Ran, both hailing from the Road of Champions, were trainees there.
As girls of similar age, they naturally got to know each other... and it wasn't difficult to learn about each other's competitive experiences.
Both had been runners-up in competitions they had lost to Fang Yuan.
In a way, were they fated to meet?
However, their emotions towards Fang Yuan were not quite the same.
In the final battle of the Su province rookie league individual match, Eevee used tactics like "Dig + Substitute + Playing Dead + Spiral Shadow Ball + Sneak Attack" to win against Jiang Ran, leaving her extremely frustrated.
Since then, Jiang Ran realized the importance of being decisive in battle, not giving the opponent any chance, and being vigilant regardless of what kind of enemy she faced!
At that time, Jiang Ran's Gengar, which had received Spirit Realm Inheritance, was indeed stronger than Eevee...
Her battle with Fang Yuan was one of the rare defeats Jiang Ran had experienced, but losing publicly in a major competition made a particularly deep impression, so she strived to learn and train afterward, all to meet Fang Yuan again and defeat him strongly.
Yet, when Jiang Ran heard that Fang Yuan had enrolled in the Magic University Research Department, becoming a renowned genius researcher, she felt disappointed.
It might have been similar to how Kiku from the Four Heavenly Kings felt about Dr. Oak, disheartened by the other's change of career, although Fang Yuan's tactics were hard for Jiang Ran to accept, she couldn't deny that he had taught her a lesson and defeated her on the field.
Xu Jing felt the same way, as in the Little Phoenix King Cup, both Casey and Eevee fell, but in the end, it was Eevee that stood up.
The moment the referee declared the winner, Xu Jing couldn't understand why Casey, with whom she had a spiritual connection, had less willpower than Fang Yuan's Eevee.
During the match, Xu Jing faintly heard what Fang Yuan shouted to buoy Eevee's spirit.
With her doubts, Xu Jing asked after the match, and for the sake of saving face, Fang Yuan also gave a misleading answer.
It wasn't "two mobile phones."
But rather "Don't give up, with our bond we can surely create miracles."
Thus, Xu Jing understood why she had lost; she had relied on her superpower and overlooked her emotional bond with her Pokemon.
Fang Yuan's misleading comments gave Xu Jing great insight, allowing her on top of her superpower talent to find her own path and eventually grow much faster than what the Tianxin Master had anticipated.
So, Xu Jing's feelings towards Fang Yuan were complicated. When Xu Jing and Jiang Ran first discussed Fang Yuan, they had a relentless debate.
Jiang Ran thought that although Fang Yuan had decent strength, his tactical methods left something to be desired. If he didn't change, she was sure to surpass him.
Xu Jing wanted to object, as Fang Yuan was, after all, her enlightening opponent. Without his guidance, she might have still been wallowing in her identity as a Psychic.
But remembering Fang Yuan's performance before their duel at the Little Phoenix King Cup, Xu Jing was left speechless... yet she firmly believed that Fang Yuan must have his own merits.
Both women held different feelings towards Fang Yuan but saw him as a formidable rival, hoping to battle and surpass him someday.
But the news of Fang Yuan's career shift to a researcher had left them puzzled for a long time, and ultimately, they stopped thinking about him and focused on becoming stronger and professional evaluations instead!
Time... slowly passed.
The two devoted all their time to their training over the past two years, accepting inheritance, venturing to special locations to capture powerful Pokemon, and astonishing even themselves with their rate of growth.
However... Fang Yuan, who had transformed into a researcher thriving in the realm of study, once again appeared before them...
But the emotions they harbored were clearly joy and excitement because at last, they had the chance to defeat Fang Yuan, the early boss, rid themselves of their inner demons, and progress even further.