Although Lin Yaoyue had spoken softly, the instructors present were seated nearby. Moreover, Lin Yaoyue's existence in the God's Domain Academy was akin to a celebrity. No matter where she appeared, she would become the center of attention of every instructor. Thus, the instructors present all heard Lin Yaoyue's words clearly.
For a time, every instructor present couldn't help but shift their line of sight toward Shi Feng, surprise and confusion in their eyes.
"He's sending only Wu Lingling? What is he trying to do?"
"Did he not read the rules properly? Does he think it's going to be one-on-one fights?"
Most of the instructors present had done some research on Shi Feng's situation.
On one side, there was Shi Feng, Shadow's dismissed Guild Leader. On the other side, there was Gu Yiren, Shadow's newly promoted Guild Leader. Since Gu Yiren was here to show support to his younger cousin Gu Tong in the freshman competition, the competition could be said to be Shi Feng's best opportunity to one-up Gu Yiren and show his worth in the God's Domain Academy.
Shi Feng even had the necessary conditions to achieve this goal. So long as he paired the incredibly talented Wu Lingling with two other talented students, he would have a high chance to win against Gu Yiren.
Yet, now, Shi Feng was letting Wu Lingling participate by herself?
It should be known that Wu Lingling and Gu Tong had similar results in the entrance evaluation. Both had reached the Trial Tower's fifth-floor early stage. So, the two could be regarded as evenly matched, and it wouldn't be strange for any of them to win against each other. Although Gu Tong's teammates were stronger than any of Shi Feng's other students, Wu Lingling still had a winning chance so long as she had reliable teammates to support her.
Although the competition's rules did not state that participating teams needed to have three members, sending a one-man team to participate was no different from forfeiting the competition.
"Instructor Luo, do you think that Instructor Shi got scared after experiencing Guild Leader Gu's frightening aura?" a young junior instructor sitting beside Luo Tiancheng asked. Then, he smirked and continued, "Even if he's unwilling to embarrass himself and forfeit the match, there's no need to have Wu Lingling participate by herself. If Wu Xiaoxiao learns of this, his career as an instructor will probably come to an end."
Everyone capable of enrolling into the God's Domain Academy possessed a certain degree of talent. Even if Wu Lingling was superior to her peers, she hadn't reached a level where she could fight multiple opponents by herself. Not to mention, having teammates meant that one could execute many more strategic maneuvers. Thus, Wu Lingling would face an overwhelming defeat even if she fought in a two-on-one matchup, let alone a three-on-one matchup.
Wu Xiaoxiao, one of the God's Domain Academy's brightest students, definitely wouldn't be willing to watch her little sister suffer a miserable defeat. Even if everyone could understand the reason for Wu Lingling's miserable defeat, it still wouldn't sound nice when others talked about it.
Meanwhile, if a top student like Wu Xiaoxiao tried to seek justice for this matter, the Academy would probably fire Shi Feng without hesitation. After all, Shi Feng was merely a newly-hired junior instructor.
In regards to this situation, Luo Tiancheng glanced at Shi Feng and sneered, saying, "You can't say that about Instructor Shi. Who knows? Instructor Shi might be aiming to replicate Senior Instructor Qi's achievement several semesters ago and make a name for himself in this freshman competition."
"How is that possible? Instructor Qi was in charge of the Academy's Golden Duo at the time. Although Wu Lingling is a genius in her own right, she is still only one person," the young junior instructor said, shaking his head. However, he also understood that Luo Tiancheng was trying to ridicule Shi Feng, so he didn't continue detailing the matter.
In reality, there had been many past instances where instructors would send only one or two students to represent them in the freshman competition. However, out of the many instructors who did so, only Instructor Qi had ever secured the championship. Moreover, his achievement was largely attributed to his two students being twins. Not only did these twins have incredible talent, but they also had extraordinary coordination. Thus, they managed to win despite fighting in two-on-three matchups.
However, Wu Lingling's situation was different. She didn't even have someone to rely on, let alone a twin sibling. In such a situation, she wouldn't even get through the preliminary round, let alone winning against Gu Tong's team of three.
In the meantime, Shi Feng ignored the discussions taking place around him and calmly nodded to Lin Yaoyue, saying, "Mhm, just her. It won't be interesting if I send too many."
"It won't be interesting?"
Lin Yaoyue was momentarily stunned when she heard Shi Feng's answer. Her mind failed to comprehend what Shi Feng was trying to say.
As for the instructors seated nearby, they laughed when they heard Shi Feng's answer.
"It won't be interesting if he sends too many? Does he think it's interesting to watch three people gang up on one person, then?"
"Could he be insane?"
"I don't know whether Instructor Shi is insane, but I do know he'll go insane once Wu Xiaoxiao finds out about this!"
The many instructors present discussed and laughed over Shi Feng's words. Some instructors also started to look forward to the end of the competition. After all, nobody in the Academy had ever seen Wu Xiaoxiao go berserk before. However, they might just get the opportunity to see it this time.
…
While a commotion was taking place over the instructors' seating area, the Academy's dean also officially announced the start of the freshman competition.
The competition's format was simple. There were six virtual gaming pods prepared in the center of the arena, and participating teams would fight each other in the virtual realm. There was also a holographic screen projected above the gaming pods to allow spectators to see the fights.
Participants would automatically receive a virtual body with a Level 100, Tier 3 physique and weapons and equipment of similar quality when they entered the virtual realm. Afterward, all they needed to do was select their classes, and they would be automatically teleported into a randomized battlefield that spanned a radius of 200 yards. Unlike the Professional League, the freshman competition was a contest of skills and tactics.
Meanwhile, after the dean explained the competition rules, he also revealed the list of participating students and their respective teams. Then, when Wu Lingling saw the teammates she had, or lack thereof, she couldn't help but have a huge headache.
"Is Instructor Shi insane?"
Wu Lingling was a little stunned when she saw that Shi Feng's team only had her name in it. Although she had long since known that she would be chosen to participate in the competition, she never thought she would do so without even a single support…
As soon as Wu Lingling snapped out of her daze, she immediately tried to call Shi Feng and ask him why he was having her participate by herself.
Wu Lingling admitted that her combat standard had improved significantly after her training session in the Withered Ruins. He had also learned many evasive maneuvers from Shi Feng, which elevated her dodging standard to a whole new level. However, she hadn't gotten so arrogant as to think she could go up against three opponents simultaneously.
Even if all three of her opponents were freshmen capable of only reaching the Trial Tower's fourth floor, it didn't matter. In a situation where all participants had similar Basic Attributes, weapons, and equipment, so long as the other party didn't foolishly take independent action, their victory against her would be guaranteed.
However, before Wu Lingling could call Shi Feng, the holographic screen in the middle of the arena revealed the first matchup of the competition. Upon seeing the matched teams, the entire arena instantly fell silent.
As if fate was toying with her, Wu Lingling had gotten matched against Gu Tong's team in the very first round. The matchup that everyone thought would only appear in the final round had actually appeared in the first round.
"Huh? Wu Lingling doesn't have any teammates?"
"Wu Lingling is participating by herself? Is she insane?"
Surprise and confusion flashed across Gu Tong's eyes when he saw the information displayed on the holographic screen.
Out of the thousand or so freshmen this year, the only person Gu Tong acknowledged as his rival was Wu Lingling, Wu Xiaoxiao's younger sister. As for everyone else, he placed no importance on them at all. Once he defeated Wu Lingling, he even planned to challenge Wu Xiaoxiao before graduating, becoming a legend in the God's Domain Academy.
While everyone was still trying to process this situation, the mechanical voice of the competition's administrative system echoed throughout the arena.
"May the participants of both teams enter the virtual gaming cabins! The match will begin in one minute!"
The mechanical voice interrupted everyone's thoughts. When Wu Lingling saw Gu Tong's team walking to the gaming cabins, she gritted her teeth and swiftly made her way to the center of the arena as well. Then, she laid down into a gaming cabin and entered the virtual arena.
While both teams were waiting for the timer to count down and the system to teleport them to a random battlefield, Gu Tong's team members couldn't help but look at Gu Tong and ask, "Boss Gu, should we step aside and let you fight Wu Lingling one-on-one?"
The two of them knew that Gu Tong had originally planned to utilize his victory against Wu Lingling to increase his reputation in Shadow. However, now that Wu Lingling was participating by herself, it'd be meaningless even if the three of them won against her.
"No!" Gu Tong shook his head. Then, in a definitive tone, he said, "We'll fight together! Since Wu Lingling has given up on the competition, she is no longer worthy of being my rival!"