After closing the store, Qi Han sat inside for a while, reading the food review. Then, he turned around and headed outside. It was about time to head to the Star Luo City Great Spirit Arena.
"Meow!"
Pururu jumped down from a partition and trotted over to Qi Han, grabbing his pant leg.
"Pururu, do you want to come along?"
"Meow!"
Pururu nodded in agreement, shaking his head while holding Qi Han's pant leg.
Such an intelligent cat.
Qi Han smiled slightly, picked up Pururu gently, and said, "Alright, let's go together."
The Star Luo City Great Spirit Arena was not far from the restaurant, about two kilometers away, which took about ten minutes to walk. Outside the Great Spirit Arena, Fu Ya, dressed in the Shrek Academy uniform, saw Qi Han and waved enthusiastically before running over to him. "Boss, follow me through the players' entrance. It leads directly to the friends and family viewing area."
Having never been in this area before, Qi Han followed Fu Ya through a quieter side entrance, bypassing the crowded main entrance.
The journey was smooth. Upon seeing Fu Ya's Shrek Academy uniform, the guards respectfully stepped aside, allowing them into the arena.
Although Shrek Academy's opponent had forfeited in the first match, their second opponent had not. In that battle, Shrek had demonstrated its strength as the top academy on the continent, earning the respect of the Star Luo Empire's citizens.
"Fu Ya, I heard the format of the round-robin matches differs from the elimination rounds?" Following Fu Ya, Qi Han asked curiously.
It was said that the round-robin matches were much more exciting than the elimination rounds and not just simple seven-on-seven matches, but Qi Han hadn't had the chance to learn the details.
"The round-robin format is a three-choice draw. The exact match format is determined by a draw before the match starts, so we don't know yet how we'll be facing Element Academy this time."
Fu Ya paused and continued, "The three formats are one-on-one round-robin, 2-2-3 small team battle, and the seven-on-seven team battle from the elimination rounds."
"One-on-one round-robin involves each team sending out seven players in order. The winner stays on until one team's players are all defeated, resulting in a loss."
"The 2-2-3 small team battle splits the players into two pairs and one group of three, with each team conducting two 2v2 matches and one 3v3 match. The overall winner is determined by the best of three matches."
"The final seven-on-seven team battle has all seven players from each team on the field until one side is completely eliminated."
As Fu Ya finished explaining the formats, they walked through the passage into the stadium.
Qi Han couldn't help but be amazed at the impressive open-air stadium before him.
In his previous life, he had visited the Bird's Nest stadium a few times. While this stadium wasn't as artistically designed as the Bird's Nest, it covered a much larger area, capable of holding nearly 200,000 people.
On regular days, the seats might not be fully occupied, but now, every seat was filled.
Clearly, Qi Han had underestimated the allure of the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament and the Shrek Academy team. This was the ultimate clash among the continent's most talented young Spirit Masters, something many people dreamed of witnessing.
"Hello, Boss Qi!"
"Long time no see, Boss Qi!"
The friends and family viewing area was also the rest area for the Shrek Academy team. Seeing Qi Han, the team members warmly greeted him.
Lately, these guys had been treating the restaurant as their dining hall, often coming to eat, so they were quite familiar with Qi Han.
The team members sat close together, with about half of the rest area seats still empty.
Cao Rang wasn't there. Yue Lengxin, as the senior sister of the inner court, was leading the team. She sat quietly on one side, looking away from Qi Han, with no one sitting beside her.
Fu Ya's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as she pretended to suggest casually, "Boss, there's a free seat next to Senior Sister. Why don't you sit there?"
This...
Qi Han's heart skipped a beat. He glanced instinctively at Yue Lengxin.
Yue Lengxin, with her Spirit Douluo cultivation level, had heard Fu Ya's words clearly. She couldn't help but feel annoyed. This girl, who seemed so obedient when they first met, had become quite mischievous now that they were familiar with each other.
As Yue Lengxin stewed in her irritation, Qi Han approached slowly, holding Pururu, and spoke softly, "May I... sit here?"
Yue Lengxin gave a soft "Mm" in response and fell silent, her gaze wandering straight ahead, her cheeks slightly flushed. How did it end up like this?
Yue Lengxin felt deeply troubled. If she had the chance to do it over, she would have refused Qi Han earlier.
But now that she had agreed, it would be rude to refuse again.
Oh well.
With a light sigh, Yue Lengxin gave up on resisting.
Qi Han's face also felt warm. This was the first time he had been so close to Yue Lengxin, close enough that a slight breeze could make her silver hair brush against his clothes.
He seemed to feel the heat from her body, and the half of his body closest to her felt slightly hot.
A faint fragrance wafted over, a scent he had often caught in fleeting moments when he brought dishes to her table. Now, it was clear and distinct, making his heart pound uncontrollably.
Beside him, Yue Lengxin, with her keen spiritual sense, noticed Qi Han's quickening heartbeat and couldn't help but feel frustrated.
"Meow?"
Comfortably nestled in Qi Han's arms, Pururu sensed something was amiss with her caretaker and looked up at Qi Han quizzically.
This meow snapped Qi Han back to his senses, and Yue Lengxin also stopped her distracting thoughts, turning her attention to Pururu.
"Meow!"
It's that fragrant human woman!
Pururu finally noticed Yue Lengxin and wriggled out of Qi Han's arms to snuggle up to her.
The awkwardness between them was instantly broken. Qi Han inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Pururu seems to like you a lot. How about you hold her?"
Yue Lengxin nodded, "Let me try." She extended her fair, delicate hands to take Pururu from Qi Han.
"Meow~" Apparently uncomfortable with how Qi Han was holding her, Pururu twisted her waist, making Qi Han's hand brush against Yue Lengxin's fingertips.
Both of them shivered slightly as if electrified, but Yue Lengxin, acting as if nothing had happened, took Pururu into her arms.
No one noticed her feet shifting uncomfortably under her long dress.
Qi Han took a deep breath, trying to calm his breathing.
[Pfft, so this is how you act when you're close to a girl you like] In his mind, Ruyi suddenly spoke, clearly having watched the situation for a while.
'Shut up!' Qi Han silently retorted.
[Hahaha~]
<+>
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