CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER 139: AFTER THE MATCH

On the other side of the venue, in the Cold Smoke Pavilion’s resting area, Lian Zhou couldn’t care less about the repeated warnings from the event organizers and was excitedly yelling at the three students, waving his arms.

Lin Yin had already been sent to the hospital for treatment, and the remaining three team members stood across from Lian Zhou with their heads hung low, faces full of guilt.

The Tu Ling Team performed astonishingly in the preliminaries, standing out among the crowd of teams. Although it was their first time representing the Cold Smoke Pavilion in the competition, both the school and the students had high hopes for the Tu Ling Team.

And indeed, the Tu Ling Team broke the record for Cold Smoke Pavilion in the military academy competition, completing the contest with a score of zero for the first time. This kind of reverse excellence made it hard for Lian Zhou not to get angry!

As the only team with no injuries, the Peacekeeping Squad’s resting area was peaceful. They watched the match replay while snacking, lounging as if they were at a tea party.

Cui Tianxiao tossed a Grain Rice into his mouth and mumbled, "Do you think Lin Yin will be able to participate in the next match?"

"Didn’t Sister Xing say he has some battle damage? The injuries aren’t serious, so as long as Cold Smoke Pavilion doesn’t replace him, he can go up."

Cui Tianxiao paused the video, zoomed in on the screen to confirm the so-called "battle damage" state, and smirked.

"Actually, that kid Lin Yin has good strength, but unfortunately, he has low emotional intelligence and a strange temper, making him unpopular. It’s a good team, but because of discord, they couldn’t bring out their strength."

Ye Qingting nodded, "Zero gain after leaving – this is something that’s never happened in Cold Smoke Pavilion’s participation history. No wonder Principal Lian wants to kill someone."

Cui Tianxiao: "Old Lian ought to replace Lin Yin. That kid is something wicked! What Nether Demon Six Paths Cannon, what Eternal Nether Gauze, just the sound of those moves makes them seem like they’re not used by good people! Even though he wouldn’t last a round against our Star’s powder fist, to be honest, I’m not completely confident I’d win against him."

Qi Ming’s cheeks were puffed full of Grain Rice. It’s really a mystery where Li Xing got the inspiration to pressure roast the black Grains, which when heated to explosion, turned into something white and fluffy like clouds, sprinkle with a layer of icing, deliciously fragrant and sweet.

"I don’t like the aura around Lin Yin either – it’s very oppressive. Not only is he ill-tempered, but being around him more makes emotions contagious, becoming volatile."

"No wonder he went berserk without much fighting; he couldn’t control his own emotions. Wow, having such a ticking time bomb as a teammate, Song Shurun and the others don’t have it easy either."

"I watched the match analysis; Lin Yin’s outburst was partially due to emotions, but more likely related to forcefully absorbing Star Beast spiritual power. I agree with Brother Xiao; if Lin Yin can’t control his emotions and Primordial Spirit, he’s definitely not a qualified teammate."

Eating and discussing, Cui Tianxiao and Qi Ming’s cheeks seemed like two silly hamster beasts with bulging pouches.

Ye Qingting took a sip of hot tea and said:

"Even so, I feel that Cold Smoke Pavilion will likely still use Lin Yin. After all, his Primordial Spirit is rare and the strongest of the same level, but as for the captain position, he can’t hold it. He lacks cohesion and leadership, causing the team to act independently under his lead with no coordination, something Principal Lian absolutely won’t allow to happen again. I have a feeling that we’ll have a direct match with the Tu Ling Team in the next game. I think we should thoroughly analyze the Tu Ling Team’s combat characteristics, especially Lin Yin, as we can’t fight unprepared."

Ye Qingting’s analysis of the Tu Ling Team was completely unheard by Li Xing, whose mind was occupied with how to repair the Glazed Hand Bracelet.

The damage on the Glazed Array Bead hit by Chu Yunyi was increasingly apparent, with quite a few snowflake-like cracks visible even without using Divine Sense.

This Array Bead’s connection to her Divine Sense had obviously weakened. If not repaired in time, it would be a huge flaw in the Thousand Leaves Killing Array, possibly even unable to form at all.

Yet, Li Xing knew nothing about Artifact Refining. Doing it herself was impossible; looking for someone else, she feared others’ skills, feared the secret of the Glazed Array Bead might be leaked, and faced high repair costs. None of these were easily solvable, making Li Xing extremely anxious.

Soon, a prompt echoed across the square, asking all contestants to enter the stage, waiting for the rankings to be announced.

All contestants lined up, standing on the high platform in the center of the square.

Chen Luxi’s profound voice echoed through the venue:

"The contest has ended, with all ninety-nine Competition Tokens found. Tian Yi Institute’s representative team found fifty Tokens, ranking first, earning four points; Harssas Academy representative team thirty-six Tokens, second, earning three points; Xi Yuan Academy representative team four Tokens, third, earning two points; Cold Smoke Pavilion representative team zero Tokens, last, earning one point."

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue. Tian Yi Institute’s teachers were restrained, whereas the Harssas teacher group, having taken second place, were jubilant, filled the air with whistles, celebrating like it was the new year, practically behaving as if Harssas had taken first place.

Chen Luxi raised a hand to signal for silence, continuing:

"In the match area, Li Xing of the Harssas Academy improperly used a Flying Device, which should have resulted in point deduction. However, considering her urgency to save lives, an exception is granted, but this must not happen again. Future violations will result in disqualification!"

"The next match is scheduled in two months, to be held in the Ruo Ye Desert of Xi Yuan City. We hope all participating teams will prepare well."

The arena once again burst into heated applause. Hundreds of brightly dressed dancers flooded into the square, cheering and dancing around the contestants’ platform. The atmosphere infected the audience in the stands, who left their seats to join the singing and dancing.

This was the final celebratory show of every match, also a presentation opportunity arranged for sponsors by the event organizers. The ostentatious brand mascot dolls squeezed in the crowd, performing a variety of skills in singing and dancing, putting in full effort to grab attention for the products they endorsed.

Contestants maintained smiles, clapping along with the music’s beat.

Cui Tianxiao, possibly having consumed a lot during the match, found that the Grain Rice did not satisfy his hunger, so he secretly took out the jerky Li Xing had given him from his Space Button. He kept a few pieces to eat for himself and handed the rest to Ye Qingting.

Ye Qingting accepted and passed it to Qi Ming, who then passed it to Li Xing. Li Xing, still preoccupied with the Glazed Hand Bracelet issue, absentmindedly took the jerky and passed it onto the next person.

Chu Yunyi looked at the jerky handed to him, paused for a second, then naturally took a bite.

Mmm? Tastes good!

Chu Yunyi took the jerky with him, and Li Xing realized she had given it to the wrong person. But with the atmosphere as it was, she couldn’t ask for it back. Just when Li Xing thought she had lost a piece of jerky, Chu Yunyi spoke up:

"What is this?"

Li Xing’s eyes lit up: there was a business opportunity here!

"Red Mountain Pork Jerky, meticulously marinated with my unique spices. It has a salty and savory taste, lingering aftertaste, the perfect food for parties, travel, or binge-watching. If Brother Chu likes it, you can buy it from me, five thousand star currency per pound, with a ten percent discount for large quantities!"

Everyone had high spiritual power, so even in the noisy environment, they could clearly hear surrounding conversations. Lin Caier gave Li Xing a hard stare and, in a sarcastic tone, said:

"Wow—! It’s just a few pieces of jerky, priced so high, does eating it improve rank?"

Li Xing answered cheerfully, "No, it can’t, it’s just tasty."

Cui Tianxiao rolled his eyes, irritated by Lin Caier’s tone of voice!

"Ugly freak, is your head filled with mush? Eating a couple of pieces of jerky and thinking of advancing, are you crazy!"

Lin Caier was so angry she wanted to hit someone, but with so many cameras recording, her demure image couldn’t be shattered. She had to maintain a facade of gentle elegance while throwing eye daggers.