Never Judge a Book by Its Cover

The numbers of the contenders were starting to drop one by one. According to the rules, those who have passed the first round of the fight would have to wait and fight against five other competitors. Their results would determine whether they qualify for the semi-final stage or not.

For a total of over eleven thousand participants, twenty-four hour a day might not be enough for them to compete against each other. Surprisingly, after several hours, half of the participants population have all been eliminated.

Mostly because lots of contestants, whose contract beast were weak against their opponent contract beast finds it hard to resist, before they finally succumb to their defeat. Unlike Louie, who hadn't summoned out his contract beast, the others all rely on their contract pet to win the match.

Xue Yiran was also called up to the stage. All of her opponents were defeated in an instant. Their contract beasts were very much weaker than those she fights with in the wilds. Since they were domesticated beast cubs, a lot of them had lost their beastly behavior, making it an easy win for her.

"Not bad." Louie complimented Xue Yiran after her victory. "You were quite a few seconds faster than me. I must say, even your keen sense is stronger than mine." He had been watching Xue Yiran movements ever since she stepped onto the stage.

From the way she had dealt with her opponents, it truly signifies that she was no rookie at all. He knew that she wasn't a weakling. But what he hadn't foreseen, was the fact that she didn't hold back like he had done.

'Looks like she's not bothering to hide her strength'.

The same as Louie; there was also another person seated in the audience, who was also keeping an eye on Xue Yiran. Ian looked at Xue Yiran, who had just come down from the stage.

Although he was quite suspicious about the changes in Xue Yiran, he couldn't be quite sure then. But after seeing her in a combat state, Ian knew she definitely wasn't the same girl that had confessed to him back then.

How did she change so much in a span of time?

Xue Yiran hadn't summoned out her contract beast during her fights. However, Ian knew that for her to be able to venture into the wilds; along with those experts' team he encounters back then, truly means that she must have a powerful contract beast.

From the earlier clash between her opponents and her, Ian had saw how she dealt with them with ease. He instantly concludes that she was much stronger. Possibly even stronger than him. If she hadn't been expelled by the academy, maybe she would have been included to participate in the national tournament.

The match continues.

Xue Yiran kept winning throughout out the round. The homeroom teacher was beaming from ear to ear seeing her easy wins.

Louie lost out in a match with a student from another academy. He had deliberately lost the match by himself. But in the view of the audience, Louie opponent had cornered him, with him having nowhere to escaped and then sent him out of the ring, leading to his defeat.

Susu who saw through his facade gave a cold snort.

Xue Yiran won her match and advanced to the fifth round. This time around, her opponent was from a lower rank academy like her. It was a young boy. The young boy figure looks frail and thin. Making one have the impression that he would soon be blown away by the winds in no time.

The boy's face was deadly pale. Most likely he might have suffered from a severe blood lost. His big black eyes stared intently at Xue Yiran.

If it was anyone, they would have been freaked out by such stare. However, Xue Yiran who had spent her previous life fighting off zombies all through her life, stood unaffected by the boy's stare.

Ascertaining that Xue Yiran wasn't affected by his appearance, the young boy curls his lips into a smile, revealing his white teeth. "You're the first person who would look at me with such a calm gaze."

"Who the hell is that guy? Damn, he looks so scary."

"He's even more scary that a fierce beast."

"Don't tell me he's a monster in human form. Those black eyes of his are really terrifying to look at."

"His name's Ronin. He's from our Rimfire academy. He was once a healthy person, but ever since he contracted with a beast, his appearance became like this." A student from Rimfire academy spoke out from the audience.

"What the hell. How can just contracting with a beast turns you almost to a dead person."

"Perhaps it might likely be the effects of a contract backlash. Have any of you seen what his contract beast looks like?"

"No, I haven't."

"Then it's possible that he failed in contracting the beast. Maybe he was trying to contract with an adult beast, leading to the contract failure backlash on him."

"Wow, he truly has the courage to dare contract with an adult beast. That's what you get from being greedy."

All these fell into the ears of the two contestants standing on the stage.

"Ahh, I didn't think I would get so known because of my appearance." Ronin had an embarrassed look on his face.

The emcee didn't delay any longer and started the match.

The two stood still, not making any movement. Xue Yiran remained still, observing her opponent actions.

Ronin on the other hand also stood still, waiting for Xue Yiran to make a move.

This scenario went on for a minute. Not until the emcee broke the act by speaking into the mic.

"If any of you do not make a move, then you two would be declared to have forfeit the competition."

"Oh, then I'll make the first move."

Contrast to his frail figure, Ronin speed was quite fast. In a blink of an eye, he appeared in Xue Yiran view.

Xue Yiran brow furrowed together as her face took up a serious expression. She dodges to the side. However, Ronin reaction was faster than she had imagine. In spite of that, Xue Yiran didn't panic, she executed the gale swift footsteps, putting a distance between the two.

"Your contract beast must be of the wind ability. No wonder you have a swift speed." While saying that, Ronin had already dash towards Xue Yiran again.

The two engage in a run and chase fight for several minutes.

"Wow they've been on it for several minutes. He doesn't even look tired at all."

"That's why they said you should never judge a book by its cover."