In the third round of the competition, the audience's anticipation was high.

Although the area was crowded with people, nearly everyone's eyes were fixed on the backstage entrance where the contestants came out.

They all wanted to see which stage Lu Ran was assigned to so they could quickly rush over, get a good spot, and have a clear view!

The various family members had the same idea.

This included the Cong Family, Zhao Family, and even some unrelated prominent families that had no members in the competition, they all joined in.

Their purpose was surprisingly unanimous: to see if Lu Ran's performance would be worth aligning with him and building connections!

So far.

Although Lu Ran was already a provisional member of the Four Major Guilds, which was already quite impressive,

perhaps the Four Major Guilds valued him for that peculiar blood spear?

If Lu Ran lost in the third round, the Four Major Guilds might also give up on him!

In that case, making connections in advance would be meaningless and might even become a laughingstock.

So.

This third round was very crucial.

Backstage at this moment, a random draw was happening, which was different from what many spectators speculated, as this couldn't be faked.

The purpose of the random draw, rather than pre-selecting opponents, was to prevent anyone from bribing opponents in advance.

After all.

Since global digitalization, transactions and communication have become too convenient.

Communicators enable direct contact, bribery, then money exchange, and it's settled.

Random draws prevented these circumstances from occurring.

"Which stage number?" Su Ting asked.

"Number three, it should be on the edge." Lu Ran glanced at the number card and said.

"The location isn't important; the opponent matters. Next, we'll match opponents, but this round, one person will get a bye. If you're lucky enough to get a bye, you can directly advance to the fourth round." Su Ting pondered and said.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as hoped.

Lu Ran didn't get a bye; instead, Cong Shuang did.

In Cong Shuang's small room, seeing her bye result left her somewhat stunned.

Not encountering Lu Ran made her sigh with relief, but she didn't expect a bye.

To other contestants, this was a piece of good fortune.

But Cong Shuang was indifferent to this; she preferred to defeat opponents to advance rather than relying on luck to move forward.

"Your opponent is someone called Zhao Xuan, and his profession is Qimen Celestial Master. What kind of profession is that?" Lu Ran asked curiously.

Hearing this, Su Ting's face slightly changed.

She said, "Troublesome! I didn't expect it to be him!"

"Is he very powerful?" Lu Ran asked with curiosity.

"Very powerful! Zhao Xuan is from the Imperial Capital's Zhao Family. Although he's an infamous scoundrel and a well-known jerk, his profession is strong enough to rival Sister Hong's Karmic Fire Celestial Master. The Celestial Master series' hidden professions are all powerful." Su Ting nodded affirmatively and said.

According to Su Ting's explanation,

a Qimen Celestial Master doesn't manipulate elements but Qimen arrays.

This distinguishes them from Ye Hongyi's Karmic Fire Celestial Master.

Ye Hongyi's Karmic Fire Celestial Master controls an advanced version of the fire element, while the Qimen Celestial Master manipulates Qimen arrays which include special effects beyond the Five Elements.

"It's important to note that Zhao Xuan has a skill that allows him to enter a soul voidification state, making him unpargetable for attacks and immune to damage."

"During this time, he can't move either."

"However, he can attack, and the Qimen Celestial Master's burst attack is very high."

"He knows your abilities too, so he'll probably immediately enter a phantom state and unleash a ten-second burst attack."

"In ten seconds, it's enough to kill any Undead Mage! After all, even though your level is high, you're still within the novice professional range."

...

Su Ting didn't mention Zhao Xuan could directly kill Lu Ran but said he could kill an Undead Mage because Lu Ran is rather peculiar, and Zhao Xuan might not be able to kill him.

This was still under the premise that Su Ting didn't know Lu Ran's abilities.

"Oh, then it's no problem; I'll just wait for him." Lu Ran said casually, not paying much attention.

Only ten seconds.

Then I'll just wait for you.

"Uh..." Su Ting looked at Lu Ran in astonishment and reminded, "In these ten seconds, Zhao Xuan will definitely use his best skills to maximize output. If you have any defensive measures, act promptly to reduce damage. Remember not to be arrogant."

Although in Su Ting's impression, the Undead Mage seemed to have no self-preservation skills or methods.

"I understand, Sister Tingting, don't worry, I won't lose," Lu Ran said confidently.

"That's good, just take care." Su Ting said no more and nodded.

On the other side.

In Zhao Xuan's small room.

Zhao Xuan seemed very excited.

"Hahaha... today's my chance to shine!"

"Lu Ran's two matches yesterday got such wondrous rumors."

"A waste from the slums, why the high attention?"

"Today, I'll put an end to him!"

"Then people will know who the true powerhouse is!"

...

It's clear Zhao Xuan is thrilled to have matched with Lu Ran.

He even felt blessed by heaven to have such a great opportunity to show off.

Rather than having someone else defeat Lu Ran and steal the spotlight.

Beside him.

A middle-aged man said, "Master advised that if you are matched against Lu Ran, don't dally, don't speak much, finish quickly; your power is enough to win."

It's clear neither the middle-aged man nor Zhao Xuan's father

was unaware of Zhao Xuan's habit of showing off!

If he kept talking and showing off and Lu Ran threw a blood spear while Zhao Xuan hadn't yet started his void state, he would die instantly!

"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Zhao Xuan raised an eyebrow and glanced at the middle-aged man.

"I wouldn't dare, just conveying the master's words. Young master, be cautious. Winning is key; as long as you win..." the middle-aged man hurriedly said.

But he was cut off by Zhao Xuan before he could finish.

Zhao Xuan waved impatiently, "Alright, alright, get ready to go on stage. Just watch how I crush that Lu Ran. I know what I'm doing."

The middle-aged man had no choice but to shut up.

In the Zhao Family's seats outside.

Zhao Xuan's father, Zhao Deyang, checked the messages on his communicator.

Frowning, he said, "It's actually matched against that guy Lu Ran..."

The person beside him said, "Will there be any issues?"

Zhao Deyang shook his head.

"As long as that kid doesn't show off, he starts in phantom state and bursts to kill Lu Ran; losing is impossible. I just fear that kid's bad habit of talking comes into play. However, it shouldn't be much of an issue; the blood spear's release has a wind-up motion, enough for Zhao Xuan to enter phantom state. In this battle, losing is impossible!"

On the other side.

With Cong Shuang getting a bye, she's out this round.

She simply left the small room and went to the Cong Family's seats to watch the match with Cong Yu.

Before long.

The list was announced, and the contestants entered the arena.

Cong Shuang glanced at the list and frowned slightly, "Lu Ran's opponent is Zhao Xuan, this isn't good..."

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