The next day, the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition continued in full swing. Cheers and shouts rose and fell within the various venues, creating a heated atmosphere.
However, in the Donghai Academy preparation area, although Huo Yuhao and the others were sitting there, their minds were clearly no longer on the matches before them. Their heads were filled with the upcoming duel against Shrek Academy!
Not long after the afternoon matches began, a white-clad figure quietly returned to the preparation area. Five pairs of eyes focused on him simultaneously, filled with undisguised expectation.
Wu Changkong's face remained cold. Without beating around the bush, he spoke directly: "The matter has been settled. The night of the Grand Competition's closing ceremony, on the main stage of the Tianhai Stadium. Donghai Academy Class Zero versus the Shrek Academy Junior Elite Team."
After a brief silence, the five members of Class Zero instantly erupted into a burst of uncontrollable cheers! All their previous planning and risks had finally not been in vain!
At this moment, even though they clearly knew their opponent was Shrek Academy, there wasn't a hint of fear in the eyes of the Class Zero five; instead, they were filled with battle intent.
The cheers gradually subsided, and everyone calmed down. At this time, Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on Wu Changkong's face. He hesitated for a moment before asking the doubt that had been circling in his heart for a long time.
"Teacher... you also come from Shrek Academy. But now, you want us to defeat Shrek's team, and in such a public match that will be watched by the entire Federation. Aren't you... worried that this will affect Shrek Academy's reputation?"
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, and Xu Xiaoyan all looked up as well, their gazes complex as they looked at Wu Changkong; they also had the same question in their hearts.
In Wu Changkong's icy blue eyes, which seemed forged from ten-thousand-year ice, a rare and extremely subtle flicker of an unreadable emotion passed through upon hearing this question.
He didn't answer immediately but remained silent for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, or perhaps tracing back some distant memories. Then, he finally spoke slowly: "This match is your match."
His gaze swept across the five young faces before him one by one. "Regardless of your identity, once you stand on that stage, everyone should have only one goal... and that is to win!"
Wu Changkong paused, his tone softening slightly: "This world, the world of Spirit Masters, has always respected strength above all else. On the stage, there is no sentimentality, no background, only the strong and the weak. If you are stronger, then you win; it is only natural. At your young age, do not be bound by those irrelevant thoughts, and certainly do not think about 'holding back' or 'preserving face'."
After saying this, Wu Changkong let out a long breath before continuing: "As for Shrek Academy's reputation... an academy with a two-thousand-year legacy will not have its reputation easily affected by the outcome of an insignificant exhibition match. You just focus on fighting with all your might."
That was all he said aloud, however, a whisper he hadn't spoken echoed quietly in his heart.
Perhaps... the current Shrek Academy also needs a proper defeat.
Meanwhile, on the upper floor of the Tianhai Stadium, inside the third VIP box with an excellent view, all the members of Shrek Academy who had come this time were gathered there. Through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, they could look down at the various venues where intense matches were taking place, and the soul tool screens in the box could also broadcast images from various matches.
"On the night of the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition's closing ceremony, we will have a five-person team exhibition match against Donghai Academy's Class Zero."
Shen Yi's voice was calm, revealing no particular emotion as she announced this added itinerary. The box was silent for a moment. The seven young members of the Shrek Academy team now had varying expressions. Some raised an eyebrow, showing a bit of surprise, while others curled their lips dismissively. Most remained expressionless, as if they had just heard an unimportant announcement.
But without a doubt, deep in everyone's eyes, none of them truly took this Donghai Academy Class Zero seriously.
Ye Xinglan's brow furrowed slightly. Yesterday, when Huo Yuhao's voice rang through the stadium via the broadcast, publicly challenging the Shrek team, she understood the cause of this disturbance. Because her own momentary words and actions had led to this, a trace of guilt still rose in her heart.
Of course, this guilt wasn't toward Huo Yuhao and the others, but rather she felt that her behavior had brought unnecessary trouble to Shrek Academy, which made her feel a bit bad. But immediately after, this faint guilt was replaced by an even stronger surge of anger!
This anger stemmed from what she saw as Class Zero's ignorant overestimation of their own abilities! A mere obscure local academy's junior class actually dared to publicly challenge Shrek?! This was a blatant provocation and a slight against Shrek's glory! What right did they have?!
As the captain, Yu Tianlong stood up at this moment. He had a tall, straight build and a handsome face, with a steady air and a trace of imperceptible pride between his brows. He looked at Shen Yi and asked, "Teacher Shen, that Class Zero is just a group of kids with an average age of around ten. Why... did you agree to their challenge?"
Shen Yi's gaze swept over the seven team members present, and she explained in a calm voice: "Yesterday, Class Zero's challenge declaration spread throughout the entire stadium via the official broadcast. At that time, there were still a large number of spectators and participating teams present. If we, Shrek Academy, did not accept the challenge, it would make it look like we were afraid of them, damaging the academy's prestige."
Yu Tianlong nodded, expressing understanding, but then said: "Teacher is right, but... if we have to accept every challenge just because someone makes it public, wouldn't we be busy to death? Shrek's name is too famous; there will always be people who want to climb up by stepping on our reputation."
Shen Yi's expression became a bit more serious. She looked at Yu Tianlong and the other members, her tone becoming a few degrees heavier: "The situation this time is slightly different. The class teacher of Class Zero, Wu Changkong, also hails from our Shrek Academy, and... he was an Inner Court Disciple."
As soon as these words were spoken, a flicker of surprise crossed everyone's faces. A teacher from the Shrek Inner Court? That was indeed something a regular local academy teacher couldn't be compared to.
Shen Yi continued: "Therefore, his students absolutely cannot be viewed as ordinary ten-year-old Spirit Masters."
Speaking of this, the scene of her meeting with Wu Changkong this morning couldn't help but surface in Shen Yi's mind. Shen Yi knew Wu Changkong; she knew he was definitely not someone who acted without purpose or allowed his students to mess around. Since he had agreed to this challenge, it meant he had considerable confidence in those five children under him.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi couldn't help but set aside her casualness and add a bit more importance to this yet-to-begin exhibition match. Shrek's glory had been passed down for ten thousand years, but its pride had also been passed down for ten thousand years. This pride made them accustomed to looking down from a high place, giving them a natural, almost instinctive sense of superiority when facing the vast majority of challenges.
Another team member, Qian Hongdu, spoke up with a grin at this moment: "Don't worry, Teacher! We will handle it carefully and definitely won't lose face for the academy!"
Hearing this, Shen Yi glanced at him indifferently. The smile on Qian Hongdu's face was relaxed and casual, but his eyes clearly didn't hold much importance, showing more of a perfunctory attitude. She sighed inwardly, knowing that these favored children of heaven probably hadn't truly taken her warning to heart.
"A Spirit Master's battle is not just a head-on collision of spirit power, Spirit Abilities, and physical fitness."
Shen Yi's voice became a bit clearer, carrying a cautionary tone: "It is also a duel of information, tactics, psychology, and on-the-spot adaptation. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you be victorious in every battle. The members of Class Zero will later participate in the Junior Division Three-Person Team Battle of this Grand Competition. You can pay attention and familiarize yourselves in advance with the characteristics of their Spirits and their combat habits. This will be helpful for you in dealing with the exhibition match at the closing ceremony."
"Yes, Teacher! We understand."
Led by Yu Tianlong, the seven team members all nodded and gave their assent, their attitudes seemingly respectful. However, Shen Yi keenly captured the still relaxed, even somewhat dismissive expressions on their faces.
Shen Yi's brow furrowed even tighter, but these students were not personal disciples she had raised herself; she was only the temporary leading teacher for this Tianhai trip, not their class teacher. If she spoke too harshly, it might instead cause a rebellious reaction or make her seem like she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
In the end, she just gave them a deep look and said calmly: "Remember what I said, do not lose face for Shrek."
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Quick update: I wasn't able to upload chapters for a few days due to laptop issues. I had informed earlier, and things are stable now. Uploads will continue regularly from today, along with pending and bonus chapters. Thank you for your patience.
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