Tianhai Grand Hotel
"You didn't see it with your own eyes—Shrek Academy's team was ridiculously strong. Just one minute, it only took them one minute."
"Despite the five-year age gap, they easily crushed the reigning champions of the previous Tianhai Alliance Tournament's youth group seven-man team battle."
"Heavens! They're too strong, and two of their members are about the same age as us!"
At this moment, Nan Fusheng was lying in his hotel room, listening to Xie Xie go on and on about how incredible Shrek Academy was.
"Alright, alright, the way you're talking, anyone would think you were part of Shrek yourself," Gu Yue muttered, unable to hold back when she heard him praising Shrek so much.
"And besides, didn't that almighty Shrek team still end up losing in the end?"
"Yeah… but this year's Tianhai Alliance Tournament is just insane! That Water Dragon Team, led by Zhang Wuji, actually managed to win against Shrek by sheer strategy. With strength beating weakness like that, I don't see how our Eastsea Academy can rank anywhere near the top in the seven-man team battle."
Xie Xie's expression grew complicated as he spoke, and then he glanced at Xu Xiaoyan with something like pity.
Xu Xiaoyan: "What's that look supposed to mean?" ←_←
"I'm sighing on your brother's behalf. The members of Water Dragon Team are older, so they're not in the same bracket as us. But your brother is different—he's competing in the youth group seven-man team battle. If he runs into Water Dragon Team, they'll give him a good thrashing, and Eastsea Academy will lose face."
"And if they don't run into them?" Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously.
"That'd be even worse. From what I know, this year's youth group is packed with monsters. Losing to Water Dragon wouldn't be so bad, since they beat Shrek, and losing to them is still respectable. But if we can't even make the top eight, then we'll be a laughingstock. Still, I have no idea how Water Dragon Team cultivated themselves to be this strong."
"When we reach their age, we'll be stronger than them," Gu Yue said calmly, as if she were stating something as ordinary as the sky being blue.
"Why are you so sure, Gu Yue-jie? When I was watching from the stands, just looking at Water Dragon Team's captain gave me a crushing sense of pressure," Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously.
"Their strength is only surface-deep. Didn't you notice that after the match ended, the rest of their team looked exhausted? I think they used some method to stack their soul power and channel it all into Zhang Wuji, which let him unleash such terrifying strength.
What I don't understand is—this kind of method should take time to set up. Why would Shrek Academy's team let them pull it off?" Gu Yue frowned slightly, clearly puzzled.
"Being stronger than others isn't impressive," a cold voice suddenly cut in, drawing all five sets of eyes toward Wu Zhangkong, who had silently entered Nan Fusheng's room at some point.
"Whatever soul power-stacking method Water Dragon Team used, it must have serious flaws. I don't know how they pulled it off, but there's no way it's something they can just use freely.
And don't forget—they went all out just to defeat Shrek Academy's outer court students," Wu Zhangkong said coldly. If anything, his expression was even frostier than usual after witnessing Shrek lose.
"Shrek Academy has both an outer and an inner court. The inner court is where Shrek's true elites are. The best of the outer court may qualify to enter the inner court, but they have to undergo additional assessments first. The inner court's minimum entry requirement is sixteen years old, so naturally, those students weren't in the inner court."
"But that's all for later. Right now, what matters most is tomorrow's matches. Your draw results are already out."
"Nan Fusheng, how's your condition? If you need it, I can request a withdrawal for you," Wu Zhangkong asked, his tone softening slightly.
"Don't worry, Teacher Wu, I'm fine." Nan Fusheng patted his chest.
"Good." Wu Zhangkong gave a short reply and left without further explanation.
He didn't tell them who their opponents were, nor did he offer any analysis or strategy. He only told them to rest well and be ready for the next day.
"Fusheng, are you okay? Don't force yourself," Xu Xiaoyan asked worriedly.
"Relax, I'm fully recovered now. It was just an accident before," Nan Fusheng said helplessly.
"Teacher Wu is irresponsible. Not even giving us the slightest bit of intel—does he not care if we run into a tough opponent and get eliminated?" Xie Xie grumbled.
Tang Wulin spoke up then, "I think the reason Teacher Wu didn't give us much direction is that it wouldn't help anyway. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves. Tomorrow morning, we all have individual matches—just do your best. For the team battle in the afternoon, we'll decide tactics based on how things look then."
"Right, in the team battle, we should let Xie Xie take point. That way, Class Monitor and Gu Yue-jie can avoid unnecessary injuries," Xu Xiaoyan suggested.
"Agreed," Gu Yue nodded.
"Hey! What did I ever do to you people? Am I your sworn enemy or something?" Xie Xie snapped.
Xu Xiaoyan giggled, "Well, you're just not as handsome as Teacher Wu, Fusheng, or Wulin."
Xie Xie snorted disdainfully, "Hmph. Someday, someone will appreciate my looks. You guys just don't get it."
After some more teasing, everyone returned to their rooms. Tang Wulin, however, received a phone call and went out.
Nan Fusheng let out a sigh and sent a mental message: "Main body, main body… are you not coming back?"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just bored and wanted to chat. By the way, are you sure I'll be fine with just this much strength? Don't let me get beaten up in the arena and embarrass the name Nan Fusheng."
"Don't worry. You possess all the strength I've revealed so far. Trust yourself—you've got this."
"Screw you." Nan Fusheng's clone in the hotel room cursed and cut off the link.
Meanwhile, the real Nan Fusheng was wandering through Tianhai City, searching for his next prey.