I and Chen An woke up early in the morning. Thinking back on the results of last night's practice, we couldn't help but smile. We were brimming with confidence in regards to the tournament. We didn't see Teacher Hu in the house; maybe he went to go look for some teammates for us. I was also looking forward to having new teammates.
Waiting was the best way to get annoyed. It wasn't until noon that Teacher Hu returned. "Have you found some teammates for us? How come you were gone for so long?" I grumbled.
Teacher Hu smiled and said, "I see that you are anxious, but I'm even more anxious! I had to screen them; only the most suitable teammates will do. Hehe."
"So you're saying you've already found some suitable candidates? Who are they?" I eagerly asked.
"I told them to come report in the afternoon since we have to eat lunch first. Once they're here, we'll go over the rules and system of the tournament again. You two can go practice for a bit before we eat. Just don't tire yourselves out. The most important thing is to be in optimal condition. You won't have a breakthrough in such a short amount of time."
"Oh. Then we'll go practice." I said dissatisfied as I dragged Chen An off to practice.
Soon, it was afternoon. We were currently in the house resting when we heard some people shouting. "Xiu Shen li, Ao Di Feng and Bao Hua Jin, reporting for duty!" It seems our teammates have arrived.
Teacher Wen replied: "Good. Come in." I quickly ran out of the room with Chen An to welcome our new teammates.
All three of them had differing appearances. Two of them were exceptionally tall, exceeding two meters in height, and possessed a sturdy body. Although they weren't handsome, you could tell from their appearances that they had tempered themselves through extremely difficult training. They had a ferocious aura. From head to toe, they had bulging muscles causing them to have a very valiant appearance. They seemed to be about 27 or 28 years old. The last person was a bit shorter, he was only about 180 centimeters tall, just a bit shorter than me and Chen An, and appeared formal and cleanly cut. With clear and deep eyes full of wisdom, he looked to be about 24 or 25 years old.
Teacher hu also came out of the house beaming. "Come, I'll introduce you guys. This one here is Zhang Ling. He came from Aixia and he's a Magister Rank Mage. Over here is Chen An, my disciple. He's also the weakest out of all of you, so you must take care of each other in the future."
Teacher Hu pointed at a robust man in red samurai's clothing. "This is Xiu Shen li. His strength is approaching that of a sky knight. He could have graduated long ago, but in order to learn martial skills that are even more profound, he stayed to continue his studies. He's one of the expert warriors at the academy."
Chen An and I immediately went over to greet him. Although Xiu Shen li's etiquette was very thorough, he didn't really look at me and Chen An.
Teacher Wen pointed to the other robust man. "This is Bao Hua Jin. His circumstances are similar to Xiu Shen's. He's also an expert warrior."
Indeed, their circumstances really were similar. He didn't really put me or Chen An in his sights either.
Finally, Teacher Hu arrived at the side of the gentle and quiet youth and patted his shoulders. "This is Ao Di Feng. He's admired by everyone as the number one expert at the academy with the strength of a sky knight." He truly did possess a formidable strength. As he was attentively watching me, he took the initiative and stretched his hand out. "Hello, I'm Ao di."
I smiled as I shook his hands. "Hello, I'm Zhang Ling. I welcome you guys as our new members." After seeing Xiu Shen and Bao Jin standing behind Ao Di, I knew that Xiu shen was the boss of the three.
Teacher Hu said: "Alright then. For now, you can all go practice and get to know each other. I'll talk to you all about the tournament later."
All five of us bowed in salute as Teacher Hu returned to the house.
Without letting me speak, Chen An said in rush: "Ah! You're big brother Xiu Shen. I've heard of your reputation as the number one expert among the students long ago. Please give guidance to your little brother in the future."
Xiu Shen softly said: "I don't dare to give you guidance. We'll mutually help each other in the future instead." Chen An could only sheepishly smile in response.
He really does know how to capture people. I don't like these kinds of people. I interjected, "Ah, don't we need to organize a team for the tournament? We need to decide on a captain and give the team a name."
Bao Jin (Bao Hua Jin, they all called him bao Jin) directly said, "Why do we need to choose? Obviously, the team captain should be Boss Xiu Shen,"
Xiu Shen said with a frown: "Bao Jin, don't speak in your confusion. My ability isn't enough to be the captain."
"How were my words confused, boss? With your strength, if you aren't going to be the captain then who is? Don't tell me…. you mean them?" He said as he shot us a glance full of contempt.
So violent. I said with a slight smile, "I hope that we can all talk to each other in a peaceful manner. We all share the goal of surpassing The other team's troops and ultimately attaining the position as champions to win honor for the academy. It would be pointless for us to argue over such a trivial matter. How about this, each of us will exhibit our strengths and whoever is the most powerful will be the captain."
Xiu Shen secretly thought to himself, 'He's only a child yet he's so insightful. He must have an uncommon strength.' Thinking this, Xiu Shen replied: "That's fine."
Bao jin and Ao Di both took the initiative to forfeit. Chen An also forfeited; he didn't have any ambitions within his heart at all. I didn't have any originally either, but in order to prove to them that neither Chen An nor I were weak, I must compete with Xiu Shen.
Obviously, Bao Jin and Ao Di thought I was overestimating myself. Ao di even told me it would be better if I forfeited, otherwise my defeat would be too unsightly.
I ignored them and concentrated on my opponent who was as calm as water, Xiu Shen "Will you be starting or will I?" Xiu Shen indifferently replied, "The guest will comply with the host's rules. I'll see your strength first.
I bluntly replied, "Yes." I walked to the center of the courtyard and closed my eyes. I started slowly moving my body, but gradually increased the speed. The whole courtyard gradually became filled with my reflections. Suddenly, my figure stopped moving in the courtyard but instead, there were 10 exact copies of me standing in a circle.
Bao Jin gasped in surprise. "What sort of [witchcraft] trick is this!? Why are there so many people now?"
All ten of me said, "This isn't a trick. This is a type of Shadow clone. I created it from Shadow Affinity magic. Every reflection is me while at the same time they aren't me." This was a spell I created using shadow Affinity as a foundation. It hasn't ever been seen in Aixia before. Actually, It was only when I entered the realm of magisters that I was able to use this spell.