Chapter 124: Captain draws lots, first match against Japan

The Venice Magic Competition has a complex and unique competition system, divided into three stages, and the competition format of each stage is completely different.

The first stage is the [Knockout Stage], which is like a brutal screening storm, selecting the sixteen best teams from the numerous participating teams, advancing to the next stage, and successfully becoming one of the top sixteen.

The second stage is the [Treasure Hunt]. All teams compete with all their might in this stage. In the end, only eight teams can stand out and successfully advance to the final stage to become the quarterfinals.

The third stage, the [Grand Duel], is undoubtedly the climax and peak showdown of the entire competition. During this stage, each team will fight desperately for the supreme championship glory.

The draw at the beginning of the competition is the key node for the [knockout stage] grouping.

The 32 national government teams from different countries will be cleverly divided into eight groups, each containing four teams.

Once the groups are determined, each team will compete in two rounds, totaling six intense matches. After this fierce competition, the top two teams in each group will secure a spot in the second stage of the competition.

When the grand opening ceremony came to an end, the intense and exciting drawing session began immediately.

This draw is not just about deciding the groups for the competition. All over the world, huge gambling pools with huge capital have been formed around the matchups between the 32 national teams. The amount of money involved is staggering.

Strangely enough, many ordinary people who usually don’t pay much attention to national affairs or disputes in the wizarding world, showed extraordinary enthusiasm for the competition among the world’s universities during this competition.

The reason for this is that, on the one hand, the competition among world universities has developed into a hot topic discussed by the whole nation every four years. It is closely linked to the glory and prosperity of one’s own country and is related to national pride.

On the other hand, the various gambling games opened during the competition had extremely large capital flows, even comparable to the scale of a country’s import and export funds. Such huge economic benefits naturally attracted the attention of many people.

“Go draw the lot.” Mentor Feng Li said to Li Xuan with concern.

At this time, the captains of the thirty-two teams walked out of their respective teams and lined up in an orderly manner.

According to convention, the instructor should be responsible for drawing lots, but since when, this important task has quietly been transferred to the captains of each team.

Nowadays, the draw has become a special honor. After all, the entire drawing process will be broadcast live, and the captains’ faces will be presented to audiences around the world without reservation.

Li Xuan didn’t care about this at all. It made no difference to him which team he played against.

He calmly walked forward and completed the draw. After drawing the lot, he didn’t even look at which team he drew. He walked straight to the referee and handed the lot card to the referee for verification.

After the verification was completed, Li Xuan casually grabbed the sign-in card and walked back to the team with a calm pace.

In contrast, the other 32 teams, even those strong and famous national teams, were all feeling tense and nervous at this moment.

After all, it is crucial which country’s team is drawn.

A strong team naturally does not want to encounter an equally strong opponent at the beginning of the game. An early collision will only cause the overall strength of the team to be exposed prematurely.

The relatively weaker teams are even more nervous. Once they draw a strong team, they are likely to be eliminated early.

Before they even had the chance to make their mark on the field and have the team’s name and members’ faces remembered by the world, they had to return home in disgrace.

If you perform poorly in the competition, you may face overwhelming accusations and abuse after returning home.

In today’s society with highly free speech, ordinary people who have only a superficial understanding of magic can curse others in a clear and logical manner. It makes people wonder if there is a hidden holy wizard hiding behind the Internet, who is venting his anger on others through a fake account.

Soon, Li Xuan walked down from the drawing platform.

As everyone waited eagerly for him to announce which country’s team they were playing against, a tragic roar suddenly erupted from the nearby Japanese government team. They kept speaking the international language, their voices filled with despair and unwillingness.

“Why does God treat us like this?”

“Such a powerful enemy appears right at the start!!”

Li Xuan and others had dealt with the Japanese Kokufu team a long time ago.

I still remember that when the Japanese government team was dealing with the Caribbean Red Ornament Guild, they were so arrogant and domineering.

“Are they our opponents?” Mo Fan asked with a hint of surprise and confusion.

On the Japanese team, almost half of the people turned their heads and looked towards Li Xuan and the others.

Ming Bushong, Shao Hegu, and that soft girl, these people can be considered old acquaintances to Li Xuan and his friends.

“Look.” Li Xuan said, showing the sign in his hand.

The sign clearly showed the match against the Japanese team.

Mo Fan stared at the sign, stunned for a moment, then his lips curled up. “Hey, it’s true what happens when enemies meet on a narrow road! They didn’t get away with it last time with the Caribbean Red Ornament Guild, and now they’re running into each other again. It’s going to be fun.”

On the Japanese team’s side, the atmosphere was as dark as a cloud.

Ming Bushong frowned, his face full of worry.

He was well aware of the strength of Li Xuan’s team. This time they encountered a strong opponent at the beginning, and the road to promotion was full of thorns.

The attention of other teams around was also attracted, and for a while, discussions were heard one after another.

“The Japanese team is in trouble now. They’re facing the Chinese team, and I think this round of eliminations is hanging in the balance.”

“Yes, the strength of Li Xuan from the Chinese team is obvious to all. It will be very difficult for the Japanese team to break through.”

These discussions reached the ears of the Japanese team members, making them feel even more depressed.

Li Xuan looked at the reactions of the Japanese team members and said calmly, “Just play normally.”

The players nodded one after another, they were full of confidence in this game.

At this time, the broadcast in the stadium sounded and began to introduce the matchups of each group.

When the match between Li Xuan’s team and the Japanese team was announced, the emotions of the audience were instantly ignited, and cheers and discussions were intertwined.

This game has already become the focus of everyone’s attention before it even started.

Many viewers took out their mobile phones and began to share the news on major social platforms, predicting the results of the game. The amount of bets on this game in the gambling pool also soared in an instant.

Behind the scenes of the Venice Competition, senior leaders of magic associations from various countries were also closely watching the draw results.

The president of the Japan Magic Association looked very unhappy when he saw this matchup.

(End of this chapter)