On that night, glittering with starlight, Jamie Smith's figure streaked across the stands like a flash of lightning, heralding an epic battle about to unfold. The cheers of the audience washed over the arena like waves crashing against the shore, each one building the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

"Facing a massive charge, against heavily-armored warriors in close combat, even the most skilled archer would be at a disadvantage," Emily Johnson's voice echoed through the crowd, her eyes reflecting the memory of that battle, a test of skill and courage at its limits. "No wonder Yvonne Archer hasn't been able to pass the third level of the Star Tower yet."

Jamie Smith nodded, his gaze piercing through the crowd as if seeing the warriors struggling within the Star Tower. "The encirclement by the tiger pack in the Star Tower is far more terrifying than any orc legion," his voice was deep and powerful, each word striking the hearts of the listeners like a hammer.

Quincy Shawn's laughter broke the tension, his smile as warm as the sun. "Although we took some risks at the end, our ranking is quite impressive," his words were filled with pride, an affirmation of their team's efforts.

As their eyes turned to the ranking displayed in the live broadcast, the entire stand fell into a silence. The rankings shone like beams of light, illuminating the hearts of each team member. Yvonne Archer's team led with a kill count of 1000, closely followed by the Celestial Grace team and the Cloud Mountain team, both also with a kill count of 1000. The Golden Eagle team, the Ulin team, the Shield Axe team, the Heavenly Melody team, the Three Rats team, the Pear Wood team, the Sword Pure team, and the Frost Language team all followed with a kill count of 1000. The Second White Dragon team was just behind with 998 kills, and the Happy team was ranked 821st with only 22 kills.

Chase Ron's voice rang out in the silence, satisfaction in his tone. "Ninth place, not bad at all," he said, his gaze firm as if telling everyone that their goal was far from achieved. "In the last wave, we were more about honing ourselves, preparing for the main competition."

Jamie Smith also met up with his relatives and friends, their smiles and encouragement as warm as a spring breeze. May Lee, as a substitute, her eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation. "It's an honor to make it to the main competition," her words were filled with a thirst for the challenges ahead. "We've achieved our goal for the preliminaries; now we must prepare for the main competition."

Finn Brown nodded in agreement, his eyes gleaming with anticipation for the upcoming battles. "In the first round of the main competition, Master Ray Willow and Elder Ray Cloud's teams will be teams number 1 and 2 respectively," he explained the format in detail, each word showing respect and expectation for the tournament. "The format is head-to-tail combat, arranged to ensure that the strongest teams advance to the next round."

Jamie Smith's eyes flickered with light, knowing what such an arrangement meant. "Otherwise, if Master Ray Willow and Elder Ray Cloud were to face off at the start, the appeal of the entire competition would diminish in the later stages," his words were filled with respect for these two elders.

Emily Johnson also joined the discussion, her voice firm. "At least, we must give more teams the chance to face Ray Willow and Ray Cloud's teams," her words were filled with anticipation for the competition.

At that moment, Jamie Smith walked towards his mother, who was not far away, his eyes filled with concern. "Mom, where's dad?" His voice carried a hint of anxiety, his father had always been a hero in his heart.

Jamie Smith's mother shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. "Your dad is always mysterious; I don't know where he is," her words were playful, but then her eyes brightened with pride. "Son, your match was truly spectacular! From start to finish, I watched it all, your shield work was superb, not a single orc legion could touch you. Even your Master Ray Willow and Elder Ray Cloud praised your shield talent from the guest seats."

Jamie Smith was surprised, he didn't expect his shield skills to be so highly praised. "Praised my shield talent?" His voice was filled with doubt, his spear talent was even higher, already at the third level.

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Shield work, he still needed more practice.

Just then, Jamie Smith's grandfather ran over, his eyes filled with pride. "Great job, grandson," his words were full of praise for his grandson. He leaned in and whispered, "Grandson, if I'm not mistaken, have you made some breakthroughs?"

Jamie Smith looked at his grandfather in surprise. "Your shield defense was truly beautiful, no matter how the orc legion charged, they couldn't threaten you. I've seen several top-ranked teams, and your shield seems to be the best." Jamie Smith's grandfather said, "Trust grandpa's eyes, I can see even the slightest difference."

Jamie Smith's grandfather was incredibly confident.

Jamie Smith sighed inwardly, his grandfather was really amazing. Compared to others, he had no advantage in shield techniques. But ever since he reached the 'Body Like Fire' realm, even if he deliberately restrained his strength and speed, his body's reaction speed was much faster.

The dangerous and terrifying charges that others felt were all slow motion in front of him! He was also honing his shield skills, striving to display various techniques, naturally appearing much more stable than others.

"The competition is over," Jamie Smith's mother said.

Jamie Smith looked up, yes, the competition was over. Eighteen teams had successfully passed, and the last few teams were all fighting until only one member remained. The other teams were all defeated by the orc legion.

"The competition is over, why hasn't your dad come yet?" Jamie Smith's mother muttered, then her eyes brightened as she saw Hugh Smith appear in the stands, walking towards the family and friends with a smile.

"Dad," Jamie Smith stepped forward.

"Good performance," Hugh Smith nodded in approval, his eyes filled with pride for his son.

"You said you formed a middle-aged and elderly team with Old Dai, right?" Jamie Smith's mother asked, "Why didn't I see your match among the 821 teams? You were evasive when I asked about the team name before, saying I'd know when the competition started. But I didn't see your match today!"

"Look."

Hugh Smith pointed to the commentary stand.

On the live broadcast commentary stand, the host Shine Lewis was saying: "The entire preliminaries are over, congratulations to the eight teams that were able to defeat the orc legion. Although the teams ranked thirty and below cannot participate in the main competition, being able to defeat an entire orc legion has already proven your strength. Oh... Now that the top thirty are determined, the first round of the Fire Seed Cup competition's main competition bracket has been set."

"Please see this bracket, the first round of the Fire Seed Cup competition's main competition starts at 0:00 on September 2nd, and our official live broadcast room will broadcast continuously until 8:00."

"At 0:00 on September 2nd: the first match, Ray Willow's Veterans VS Changnan Team."

"Ray Willow's Veterans team members: Ray Willow, Michael Davis, Hugh Smith, Dane Tony, Samuel Bell, substitute Jacob Clark."

"Changnan Team members: Liu Bo, Lei Chong..."

"At 0:30 on September 2nd: the second match..."

...

The detailed bracket, with a match every half hour, sixteen matches lasting eight hours.

"Ray Willow's Veterans?" Jamie Smith, May Lee, Jamie Smith's mother, Jamie Smith's grandfather, Emily Johnson, Quincy Shawn, Finn Brown, Chase Ron, and many other relatives and friends around, all looked at the list in unison.

"The captain said," Hugh Smith said with a helpless expression, "To avoid causing discussion, let's keep it a secret and keep a low profile before the official announcement."

"Dad, how did you form a team with Master?" Jamie Smith couldn't help but ask.

"After sending you to the national team, I naturally contacted and interacted with your master more, and we became familiar," Hugh Smith said, "Didn't your master come to Mingyue City? Old Dai and I entertained him for several days, and this time he invited me and Old Dai to form a team, and we naturally participated."

Above, the host Shine Lewis looked at the list and couldn't help but say: "Teacher Ray Willow, why did you name your team the Veterans?"

"Haha, our team is not young," Ray Willow laughed, "The youngest is Michael Davis, years old. By the way, let me introduce in more detail, Samuel Bell is a bit older than me, he is Yvonne Archer's father! He is eighty-eight years old this year! Hugh Smith is Jamie Smith's father, Dane Tony is Daisy Young's father, Michael Davis is Nora Davis's father, and the substitute Jacob Clark is my in-law."

Ray Willow's smile was brilliant as he introduced the team members. His words were filled with respect and pride for these old friends.

Ray Cloud's eyes twitched slightly: "The players I chose

don't have as high a profile as Ray Willow's."

"Yvonne Archer's father, Jamie Smith's father, Daisy Young's father, and Nora Davis's father?" The host Shine Lewis was surprised, "Yvonne Archer, Jamie Smith, Daisy Young, and Nora Davis, all four of them have made it to the main competition this time."

"Like father, like son," Ray Willow said with a smile, "All the teams that have made it to the main competition, I also have a word for you, if you want to compete with me, first get through these old guys, these old guys are not easy to provoke!"