Chapter 588: First Round-1
Lana narrowed her eyes. ’If I’m not mistaken... That’s definitely Melody.’
Even though Melody had disguised herself well, Lana still recognized her immediately.
She simply chose not to expose her.
Nearby stood James. James’ girlfriend was standing beside him, clapping enthusiastically.
As Lana continued looking around, she discovered even more familiar faces.
Monica was there. Betty, Layla, Richard, and Quinn.
Several of her classmates from the Mystical Cultivation Department had also arrived.
Even a few professors and instructors from the department were sitting together, smiling proudly as they watched her.
A warm feeling spread through Lana’s chest.
She couldn’t help smiling softly.
She raised her hand and waved toward them.
The reaction from the crowd was immediate. Almost the entire arena looked bewildered.
Many spectators exchanged confused glances, whispering among themselves.
"How does she already have such a huge fan base?"
"The competition hasn’t even started yet."
"Exactly! She hasn’t even fought a single match."
"I’ve never seen a contestant receive this kind of welcome before."
The discussions spread through the audience like wildfire. Even several contestants couldn’t help glancing toward Lana with curious expressions.
Kyle eventually stepped forward, a playful grin spreading across his face.
"It looks like our dear contestant, Lana, is already incredibly loved by the audience."
Lana simply let out a small chuckle. Kyle walked over before extending the microphone toward her.
"So," he asked with an amused smile, "what do you think? Do you believe you have a good chance of qualifying?"
Lana paused for a brief moment. She slowly shook her head. Kyle blinked in surprise before laughing. "Why so humble?"
Before he could continue speaking, Lana calmly interrupted him. "I’ll win."
The entire arena instantly fell into complete silence. For nearly three full seconds, nobody spoke.
Then, the stadium exploded. "What arrogance! Who does she think she is?"
"Another overconfident mystical cultivator."
"People like her always lose the hardest."
Lana remained completely unfazed. She calmly continued speaking into the microphone.
"Not only will I win the National Mystical Competition..."
She looked toward the audience with unwavering confidence. "...I’ll also achieve an excellent ranking in the International Mystical Competition."
This time, even the judges reacted. Mason slowly frowned before crossing his arms. "I’ll deduct one point for arrogance."
Lana looked toward him before smiling softly. "That would depend on whether I’ve actually done something worthy of having points deducted."
Mason’s expression became even more serious. "You’re undermining every one of your opponents."
Lana gently shook her head. "No."
She spoke calmly. "I’m simply stating fact."
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of panic in her voice.
In the audience, Axel couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. "She really knows how to rile everyone up."
Conard, sitting beside him, looked proud. "My sister knows her worth."
Mason looked directly at Lana. "Little girl..."
He spoke slowly. "You’re overestimating yourself."
Lana chuckled lightly. "I could say the exact same thing about everyone else."
Mason snorted. "With that attitude, you’ll never reach the top."
Lana simply nodded. "We’ll wait and see."
Her confidence remained completely unshaken. Mason didn’t reply again.
However, deep inside his heart, he had already labeled Lana as the very definition of arrogance.
Without even realizing it, he subconsciously removed her from the list of contestants he believed could become finalists.
Nearby, Matt let out a quiet snicker. Janet, standing beside him, laughed as well. The two exchanged amused looks.
Both of them already knew... Lana was about to receive an unbelievable amount of criticism.
Sure enough, the livestream comment section exploded.
"I thought she had the aura of a protagonist at first."
"But after watching so many mystical competitions, she honestly just seems overconfident."
Another comment quickly appeared.
"I really wonder why some people are always in such a hurry to prove they’re fools."
Countless viewers agreed.
Meanwhile, Thessy watched the livestream from her office.
The moment she noticed the audience beginning to turn against Lana, her lips slowly curled into a satisfied smile. ’Perfect. This is the best opportunity.’
She immediately planned to hire internet trolls to magnify the criticism and completely destroy Lana’s reputation online.
However, just as she attempted to transfer the money, her expression suddenly froze. "What?"
She stared at the screen in disbelief. Her payment had been rejected.
Her account had been frozen. Her heartbeat instantly sped up. Without wasting another second, she hurriedly dialed Conrad’s number.
The call connected almost immediately. "Why did you freeze my black card?"
Her voice was filled with anger. Conrad merely chuckled. "So, you really tried making a move against Lana."
Thessy’s expression changed. "What are you talking about? I was just shopping and I realized the card isn’t working!"
Although she tried sounding calm, her heart was already pounding violently inside her chest.
Conrad laughed softly. "Your black card isn’t actually frozen."
His tone suddenly became colder.
"I simply arranged for one condition. Whenever you attempt to use my money for anything related to harming Lana, the transaction is automatically blocked."
A brief silence followed. "So..."
His voice turned even colder. "You really did try to attack her."
Thessy’s eyes widened. "You..."
She clenched her fists tightly. "Why would you do that?"
Conrad didn’t hesitate. "You think having money means you can casually throw it around just to ruin someone else’s life?"
He let out a cold snort. "In that case, I’ll freeze every bank card under my authority."
Thessy’s breathing became uneven. "You wouldn’t dare!"
Her voice nearly turned into a scream. "If you do that, I’ll hurt myself! You’ll regret it! Lana will be too much in pain to continue with her competition! I can ruin you!"
Conrad’s expression remained completely indifferent. "Go ahead."
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
"But remember one thing. If you actually do something like that, the Mystical Cultivation Association won’t simply ignore it."
Hearing those words, Thessy gritted her teeth so hard that her jaw ached. "Wonderful..."
She laughed bitterly through tears. "So now my own brother is threatening me."
She wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks. "What’s next? Are you going to stand beside Lana and worship her too?"
Her emotions completely collapsed. "How can all of you be this heartless?"