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They walked down the corridor lit by fluorescent lights.
No one spoke.
Their breathing became exceptionally distinct, like a series of disordered rhythms, or akin to an accordion, hu hu hu, blowing against each person's chest.
Making them increasingly tense.
However, this didn't last long because soon, their auditory nerves were occupied by chaotic noises, which grew louder and louder.
When they emerged from the bright exit, the sound was like thunderclaps.
Instantly, cheers, screams, shouts, incomprehensible roars, and a series of varied noises like wind seeping through every crack, drilled into everyone's skulls.
They looked at the spectator stands on both sides, seeing some people waving flags emblazoned with Mist City University's emblem. Their ages varied, but many wore the same school uniform-cum-Jersey as Mist City University.
Near the edge railings, the reserve team stood in neat ranks, their cheers the loudest, their eyes exceptionally bright.
—"One of the Big Six Academies of Zhu Xia, Misty City University, a top-four contender in the Junior World Tournament, makes its grand entrance!"
When the commentator announced this over the broadcast, the vast majority turned their gazes over.
Gazes are intangible, that's undeniable. But when people know they're being watched, they perceive these gazes as tangible.
Simultaneously, several camera Magnemite flew over, using their single eyes covered by lenses to capture each person's face.
The large screens around the stadium were filled with their figures.
The stark contrast between the empty stadium from days ago and the now packed one was immense. Even some senior sisters who could previously nonchalantly claim to be calm and laugh it off now stiffened their faces, walking forward like stones.
Most people had removed their masks, leaving only a few still wearing them—including Li Xiang.
This was at Xu He's request.
The rules didn't prohibit wearing masks anyway; at most, it might seem disrespectful to opponents and spectators.
As long as the organizers could confirm he was Li Xiang, it was fine. And his appearance successfully attracted considerable attention.
People chattered among themselves, looking at Li Xiang, who only revealed a pair of bright eyes, trying to gather information about him.
Song Jie and Gong Xu were also the focus of attention.
The former wore a mask, but even the visible parts were handsome enough, plus the bonus points of white hair.
The latter simply and boldly exposed his face, allowing the cameras to take close-up shots.
"How do you feel?"
Su Qian came to Li Xiang's side and asked quietly.
"Senior Sister, I'm really not nervous anymore. It's fine."
Li Xiang was somewhat helpless. This captain was afraid he'd be too nervous and make a fool of himself. She had asked him countless times along the way.
"It's good you're not nervous. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me; when I first came up, my legs were trembling. It only got better once the actual battle started."
Su Qian casually revealed her own embarrassing past.
Li Xiang smiled. With the Three-Blind Perception Method, he wasn't afraid of not being able to calm down.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the group arrived at the designated area.
—The preparation zone.
It was about thirty meters from the battlefield, located at the edge of the stadium. There were several wooden bars, and students from the reserve team, leading with water tanks and some supplies, had been waiting there early on.
There was also a staff member there.
On the battlefield, rumbling mechanical sounds echoed.
The flat earthen ground descended, replaced by a lush forest terrain, with three-to-four-meter tall trees scattered sporadically.
Not bad luck.
At least it was better than the other three flashy and complicated terrains; the ground was solid enough to stand on.
After the terrain was randomly selected, the coach decided on the team lineup. After filling out the form and handing it to the staff member, they could wait for the match to start.
"Is there anyone who volunteers?"
For the Spring Tournament, Xu He acted very lenient, looking at the students before him.
There were twenty-one students in total. Six doubles players voluntarily gave up their chance to participate, leaving fifteen.
Chao and Su Qian didn't speak; they didn't want to compete with others, but they were the guaranteed choices, certain to be selected as one.
So the remaining four slots would be contested by thirteen people.
Everyone exchanged glances, and a few raised their hands—they were alternate senior sisters.
Xu He scanned these people and began recording names.
Among them were Li Xiang and Song Jie, plus the guaranteed Chao and Su Qian, and finally two alternate senior sisters.
"You few, who wants to go first?"
Xu He looked at the four. "Winning or losing isn't important. Putting you on stage is mainly to let you get familiar with this environment. Don't be afraid; if you're afraid, you've lost for a lifetime!"
Under singles rules, the side whose Pokémon are all defeated loses. So with a guaranteed player, Xu He wasn't afraid of Li Xiang and the others losing.
The two senior sisters were hesitant to take the lead.
"You go first."
Li Xiang gave the opportunity to Song Jie. "I'm afraid if I go up, the senior sisters won't get a chance to play."
Pre-match trash talk, a bit cocky.
Hearing his words, the two senior sisters who were somewhat nervous burst out laughing.
"Then I'll go."
Song Jie affirmed. At worst, he could surrender after one battle.
How could he not give others a chance to play?
Seeing this, Xu He marked Song Jie as the opener and handed the form to a staff member nearby.
The staff member took the registration sheet away.
In the distance, Hongcheng University's team members were engaged in heated discussion.
They had gotten their wish, obtaining a small part of the information about Li Xiang and the others.
"A first-year as an alternate! And three of them! Is Mist City University that arrogant?"
"They can be alternates because they have the strength, okay!"
"I'm not so sure. They were all top ten in last session's Youth Training Camp. Li Xiang even had Mo Ye personally recruit him. Is it strange that they got special treatment to enter the school team?"
"In this match, they'll probably put those freshmen in, eighty to ninety percent chance. But they'll also have guaranteed players. We better win four rounds first with strong force, securing four points to be safe!"
"But what if they do the opposite?"
"You're predicting that I'm predicting your prediction?"
They argued noisily, while the coach pondered, troubled by the lineup selection.
On one hand, he wanted the new members to gain experience. On the other, he feared Mist City University might pull some underhanded tactics.
Finally, after discussing for a long time, almost reaching the preparation phase, and still not reaching a conclusion, they had no choice but to be straightforward.
They didn't believe that sending out fourth or fifth-year students couldn't defeat a few first-years.
Players were selected.
They entered the battlefield.
Just as Hongcheng University had guessed, Mist City University sent a first-year student, still wearing a mask—
'Hmm? He took it off?'
'Oh, wow!'
Hongcheng University's students were quite surprised looking at Song Jie's revealed face. The white-haired youth's looks were undoubtedly appealing.
Especially after removing the mask that had covered him, the sense of wonder was like unveiling a treasure shrouded in mystery.
More critically, the teammate they sent out had far inferior looks.
When comparing goods, some get thrown away; when comparing people, some pale in comparison.
Facing Song Jie was like a white knight versus Frankenstein's monster—
Ahem.
It wasn't nice to describe a teammate like that, but the contrast truly was like heaven and earth.
The Junior World Tournament itself aimed to promote schools, showcasing their teaching resources and strength.
With this, who would still want to come to Hongcheng University? Which schoolgirl would come?
'Too much! This is a psychological warfare tactic! Can't we be a bit stunned?'
On the spectator stands, after Song Jie revealed his face, some girls took out their phones to take pictures.
The commentator initially remarked that kids these days are getting more and more handsome.
But after getting Song Jie's basic information, it turned into surprise.
A first-year playing in the Spring Tournament!
He used extremely enthusiastic words to reveal Song Jie's identity, sparking extensive discussion in the stands.
Compared to high looks, these pragmatic people were clearly more interested in Song Jie's first-year status.
Of course, the referee wasn't affected by this.
After loudly announcing the rules, he looked at the participants on both sides and sharply blew his whistle!
BEEP—
Both sides released their Pokémon simultaneously!
Off the field, Li Xiang watched the big screens filled with shots of Song Jie's front, side, and back, wondering if he had come to Song Jie's personal concert.
'What about the opponent? What about both sides' Pokémon? Aren't you going to film them?'
'Way too exaggerated! You Magnemite aren't professional! I suggest replacing the lot!'
"Just based on his looks, Junior Song is already a golden signboard for our school."
Chao, with an Aipom on his shoulder, sighed with emotion.
"I think so too." Su Qian nodded in strong agreement. With Song Jie's appearance, who knew how many outstanding female students it would attract to Mist City University.
After the whistle, the professional camera Magnemite finally changed their subjects.
To Song Jie and his Pokémon, and the opponent's Pokémon.
As for the opponent... Sorry, the director said there isn't enough camera space. Try to fit them in; if you can't, no need to force it.
The camera Magnemite didn't force it.
'Huh? Favoritism?'
(Don't talk nonsense! We Magnemite are all face-blind; we can't tell if a human is good-looking or not!)
Putting aside these minor amusing matters, the focus was still on Song Jie's match.
He opened with Lycanroc (Midnight Form). His opponent sent out a creature that looked like a large pineapple, with a serrated lotus-leaf hat on its head and a somewhat samba-like element—a cheerful, plump platypus: Ludicolo.
If he remembered correctly, this guy had the Swift Swim ability, and its level wasn't particularly high.
Although it was super effective against Lycanroc, it wasn't a match for it.
Sure enough, facing the Ludicolo that set up Rain Dance, Lycanroc crouched, as if disappearing into the grass.
Without much nonsense, it directly used Accelrock, which it originally shouldn't have been able to learn.
Utilizing Accelrock's speed boost, it closed in on Ludicolo in an extremely short time, completely ignoring the muddy wave it stirred up, jumping high one step ahead. Then, countless sharp stone spikes rotated around its body, raining down on Ludicolo like bullets!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Countless rocks tearing through the air!
Then, the sharp rocks exploded on Ludicolo!
The descending Lycanroc was instantly swept away by the muddy wave, falling to the ground, covered in mud, its fur matted together.
Rain plus STAB plus double effectiveness.
If it were an ordinary Midnight Lycanroc, even ten wouldn't be enough to withstand it. But this one seemed like an indestructible cockroach, quickly getting up as if unhurt, its face full of ferocious malice.
Meanwhile, the Ludicolo, thoroughly hit by the super-effective Stone Edge, instantly fainted!
The referee was stunned, and the commentator was prepared for a long-winded commentary, but never expected Hongcheng University's opening Pokémon to be instantly defeated!
On the screen, the standing Lycanroc and the fallen Ludicolo were exceptionally conspicuous, as was Song Jie's calm expression, making others even more surprised.
"Tsk tsk tsk, even when a proper person puts on an act, they're not vague either."
Off the field, Li Xiang pinched some raisins, making clicking sounds with his mouth, guessing whether the opponent would be fooled.
If they really thought that Muddy Water didn't deal much damage, then they'd be dead wrong—
The second Pokémon.
A creature that looked like a silver, spike-covered clam but had three emerald green tentacles and a flail landed.
—The Grass/Steel-type Ferrothorn.
'Wow, isn't this handing over a win for free?'
When Li Xiang saw Ferrothorn immediately use its highly flexible vines, swinging them like a flail to use Metal Claw on Lycanroc from a "long-range" distance, trying to finish it off, he knew this second one was probably also handed over for free.
Five seconds after this thought arose, Lycanroc used Accelrock to dodge the Metal Claw. Taking advantage of the moment when the opponent retracted its vines, intending to use Gyro Ball, it directly used Reversal on this Fighting-weak opponent.
After taking that Muddy Water, Lycanroc was already hanging by a thread, but it was pretending to have plenty of stamina.
With that Reversal, even ten Ferrothorns couldn't save it.
Boom!
Smoke from the energy explosion spread on the field.
Three seconds later, the two fainted Pokémon inside were exposed.
No suspense left.
Li Xiang sighed and said to Gong Xu beside him, "These alternates aren't up to par."