Early morning, sunlight streamed onto the ancient streets of Venice.
Ancient and resonant bells chimed melodiously, followed by Venice's unique music, waking people from their sleep.
The air was filled with mist, feeling exceptionally fresh on the skin.
People eagerly made their way to the venue of the grand finals.
The eight National College Teams that performed excellently in the treasure hunt competition arrived early at the finals' opening ceremony, lining up on the field.
The audience cheered and shouted, eagerly anticipating the upcoming matches.
They were sure to be thrilling!
The rules of the grand finals were simple; there was no elimination, and the final ranking would only be determined by win-loss records.
It could be said to be a very ancient competition rule, not very reasonable but a tradition that had been followed in every session.
"Is Jiang Yuan still in secluded cultivation?" Feng Li asked.
As the finals' draw approached, Jiang Yuan's figure still hadn't appeared.
Ai Jiangtu nodded: "He's still in seclusion, it'll probably take some time for him to finish."
"Hmm."
Feng Li nodded.
Each team had five chances to compete, and the final ranking depended entirely on the win-loss records of those five matches.
Therefore, any win or loss was extremely important.
With the strongest Jiang Yuan absent, Feng Li inexplicably felt a bit uneasy.
"It's not like the sky is falling just because Old Jiang isn't here, why are you all so down? Have you gotten too used to Old Jiang carrying you, that you can't fight on your own anymore?" Mo Fan said.
Hearing this, everyone was startled.
That's right, each of them was very strong, and they had all reached this point through their own strength.
Even Zhao Manyan, who got in by spending money, was as hard as steel with the boost of his wealth!
There was absolutely no need to be intimidated by other teams!
Thinking of this, the gloom between their brows instantly dissipated, and they smiled again.
"We really did get used to the captain leading us, but the captain's strength is truly too great; in front of him, I feel like a novice elementary-level mage who just started." Jiang Shaoxu sighed, she was already molded by Jiang Yuan.
At this moment, it was time for the finals' draw.
With the captain absent, Vice-Captain Ai Jiangtu took his place.
The draw results came out, and their first opponent was the France Team!
The organizers placed this match as the first one.
The China Team would once again participate in the opening battle.
The strength of the France Team goes without saying; they were also one of the veteran strong teams, often ranking among the top.
Under the gaze of all, the two teams stood on opposite sides of the competition arena.
"Why hasn't the China Team captain appeared yet?" In the audience, Jerome of the British Team, who hadn't seen Jiang Yuan again, asked puzzled.
He hadn't seen him during the draw, and he still hadn't seen him when they took the stage.
"I heard he's in secluded cultivation, perhaps he's reached a critical moment somewhere." Irene said, holding the intelligence she had gathered.
Jerome frowned.
Based on what he had seen and felt before, Jiang Yuan's magic system had definitely reached the peak of High-Level cultivation.
Now he was at a critical point in his cultivation again.
Could he be aiming for Super-Level?!
The audience outside the arena were all curious about where Jiang Yuan had gone.
Inside the arena, the two teams moved at the referee's announcement.
The moment the match began, the China Team moved first, with Nan Rongni and Zhao Manyan applying defensive buffs to Mo Fan and the others.
Once everyone was glowing with colorful light, Mo Fan unleashed a giant flaming fist from the sky towards the France Team!
At the same time, the France Team didn't just stand there idly; that would be a foolish thing only seen in turn-based games.
A massive earth fortress rose from the ground.
"Boom!"
The earth trembled, and rocks flew everywhere.
"This Chinese man's flame has the Soul Seed bonus, its power is very high, pay more attention to him later!" The France Team captain ordered.
The next second, he merged into the shadow beneath him.
"Crack~ Crack~"
At the same time, the temperature of the arena suddenly dropped, and an Ice Domain covered the area; Mu Ningxue had made her move!
As the powerful Ice Domain emerged, the France Team was immediately suppressed.
To compensate for this disparity, they had to use more magic.
Both sides fought fiercely, with various magical lights dancing on the ground and in the sky.
The audience was thrilled, their adrenaline surging, faces flushed, and excitement beyond measure.
What they wanted was such a visual feast, a direct confrontation of magic against magic!!
"Does your Grandpa Mo's Great Nine Dragons feel good? If not, I'll give you something even better!"
"Little Flame Princess, come on, Heavenly Flame Funeral!!"
Mo Fan laughed, completing the possession with Little Flame Princess in an instant, and his flame power reached a new height.
A rain of fiery meteors fell from the sky!
Mo Fan loved this kind of violent behavior too much.
Violence was the synonym for a destruction mage!
After using his Fire, Mo Fan seamlessly switched to Thunder, and his Thunder with the Soul Seed bonus was even more abnormal.
Thunder and fire intertwined on the field, and the dazzling magic immediately drew the audience's attention to Mo Fan.
"What a violent mage, watching him is so exhilarating!"
"He should be the second strongest member of the China Team, right?"
"What do you know? Their Vice-Captain is much harder to deal with than this violent Thunder-Fire Mage."
"Hard to deal with? I don't feel it, I haven't even seen where he is!"
Ai Jiangtu, whom the audience was talking about, was moving through the gaps in the surging elements.
He gave the opportunity to show off to his teammates, while he himself was restraining the France Team captain on the field and helping to block some dangerous magic.
Therefore, his presence was not strong, and many spectators didn't even notice his existence.
Only those in the battle knew the importance of Ai Jiangtu.
The France Team was about to go crazy; they had Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, two destruction mages with domains, in front of them, Ai Jiangtu watching like a tiger from the side, and Zhao Manyan and Nan Rongni providing buffs.
They were always unable to open up the situation; on the surface, they were evenly matched, but a slight lapse would lead to a complete loss!
"Damn it, the China Vice-Captain is too despicable!" The France Team captain cursed inwardly, again diving into the shadows, heading towards Mu Ningxue, who was closest to him.
"This path is blocked."
Ai Jiangtu's figure suddenly appeared in front of the shadow.
"Damn it!"
The France Team captain finally gave up on the assassination, his body emerging from the shadow.
The two engaged in a direct confrontation.
As time passed minute by minute, the France Team's offensive gradually weakened.
Seeing this, the China Team immediately increased their magic output.
Soon, one member of the France Team was blasted away by Mo Fan's magic.
What followed was like a chain reaction; one by one, the France Team members were blasted away by magic.
In just a few minutes, only the France Team captain remained.
He was a tough one, refusing to surrender until the very end.
However, the outcome of fighting alone was destined to be tragic.
Ultimately, the China Team won the match against the France Team.
The next matches were between America and the British Team, and Greece and Egypt.
The China Team's next opponent was the British Team.
Before the match began, Jiang Yuan's secluded room door opened.