In the afternoon, as the team competition was about to start, Wu Zhangkong was still nowhere to be found. Instead, their escort to the arena became Director Long Hengxu.
Long Hengxu was in a great mood; the individual results from the morning had shown that Class Zero's members were living up to expectations, making him optimistic and excited about the upcoming team competition.
"Are you ready, kids?" he asked with a smile.
"Ready, Director Long!" Jing Shaoyu responded on behalf of everyone.
Long Hengxu nodded. "It's all up to you now. I'm not sure if your teacher told you, but this Tianhai Alliance competition is actually an evaluation for Class Zero.
"Class Zero is unique—there are few students, but substantial resources have been invested in you. The academy has its doubts, fearing that such heavy investment might not yield the desired results. So go for it, kids! The chance to prove Class Zero's worth is right in front of you. Your performance here will determine Class Zero's future and the resources it will receive!"
Jing Shaoyu replied confidently, "We'll give it our all!"
Compared to the individual competition stage, the team stage was much larger. The arena for the five-person team match was a circular platform with a diameter of one hundred meters. Like the individual arena, a protective barrier surrounded it.
Led by Long Hengxu, the five members of Class Zero arrived at the arena. They learned from him that their first-round opponent was a five-person team from Linghai City, one of the five major cities in the Tianhai Alliance and one of the eighteen first-tier cities in the federation. Their opponents represented a smaller, lesser-known school under Linghai City called Wavecrest Junior Academy.
As they ascended the platform, their opponents from Wavecrest Academy entered from the opposite side. Compared to the calm expressions of Class Zero, Wavecrest's team showed surprise and joy—the age of Jing Shaoyu's team was clearly unexpected.
Wavecrest's team consisted of three boys and two girls around fourteen to fifteen years old, similar to Class Zero in gender ratio, but as would soon become clear, the similarity stopped there.
"Prepare yourselves!" announced the referee on the platform.
Class Zero quickly got into formation: Tang Wulin stood at the front, Xie Xie behind him, with Jing Shaoyu and Gu Yue following, and Xu Xiaoyan at the rear. Their opponents had the two girls at the front, two boys following, and one boy at the rear—a two-two-one formation.
The Wavecrest team immediately activated their martial spirits and spirit rings. The two girls in the front were Grand Spirit Masters with two yellow spirit rings each. One had a cheetah martial spirit, and the other wielded a spear. The three boys in the back were also Grand Spirit Masters, with a fire raven, water crane, and a large flower martial spirit, respectively.
A whole team of Grand Spirit Masters was an impressive showing for the first round, one that could usually push through to the top eight.
"Begin!" the referee called.
"Wulin, Xie Xie, go!" Jing Shaoyu commanded.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie launched themselves forward like bullets, activating their martial spirits as they went. Blue Silver Grass circled around Tang Wulin, but his primary transformation was his Golden Dragon Claw. Xie Xie wielded a shining Light Dragon Dagger in one hand and an invisible Shadow Dragon Dagger in the other, his aura sharp and deadly.
Behind them, Jing Shaoyu summoned his Star Staff, which unleashed a crimson starlight that rained down on Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, boosting their strength. At the same time, a series of fireballs appeared in the sky.
Star Blaze Amplification combined with Meteor Shower Fire Blast!
The Wavecrest team, lacking sufficient combat experience, hesitated at the unexpected opening move. Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had already crossed the halfway mark before their opponents finally reacted.
But it was too late. Enhanced by the starlight, Tang Wulin's speed surged, and in an instant, he was upon the spear-wielding girl, striking with his Golden Dragon Claw.
Frozen in fear, the girl could only stare in horror as the golden claw grew larger in her eyes. If not for the referee's quick intervention, she would have sustained serious injuries.
On the other side, Xie Xie had already snuck up on the boy with the flower martial spirit in the back row. With a simultaneous stab from his Light Dragon and Shadow Dragon Daggers, the boy had no choice but to surrender, his healing-focused Blue Spirit Flower proving useless against a close-range assault.
In less than a minute, two members of the Wavecrest team were down, leaving the remaining three disoriented. The cheetah girl was the first to regain her senses, lunging at Tang Wulin in anger with her dark claws.
But her efforts were futile. Tang Wulin simply raised his Golden Dragon Claw defensively, then pushed her back with a forceful shove, sending her sprawling across the floor, hands trembling and effectively out of the fight.
Xie Xie, after finishing off the healer, turned his attention to the remaining two boys. Combining his Light and Shadow Dragon Daggers, he unleashed a Double Dragon Storm, catching the fire raven boy in its wake. The referee quickly rescued him, leaving only the water crane boy, who took to the air, only to be struck by Jing Shaoyu's Meteor Shower Fire Blast.
Thus, the match concluded in under three minutes, leaving Wavecrest's supervising teacher visibly agitated. In the end, he could only console himself with the knowledge that they'd lost to Donghai Academy.
For Jing Shaoyu and his team, the victory brought no excitement; it was simply expected. While their opponents' ranks were decent, they lacked real combat experience and teamwork. Defeating such a team was merely a warm-up for the main event.
"That was almost too easy. If only the rest of the tournament could be like this," Xie Xie mused on the way back to the hotel, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Don't get cocky," Xu Xiaoyan warned. "This was just a small school. I did some research, and we're not the only major academy in the youth division this year. Teams from Tianhai Academy, Hailu Academy, and Ninghai Academy are all participating. While Linghai Academy isn't in the five-man division, the others from the big cities are, and they're our real competition."
"Good work on the intel, Xiaoyan!" Jing Shaoyu praised.
"Of course!" Xu Xiaoyan beamed. "I didn't just sit around while you guys were in the individual matches."
"Whether it's Tianhai Academy, Hailu Academy, or Ninghai Academy, we'll beat them all!" Xie Xie declared confidently, hands on his hips.
The others couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.
"Hmph! Don't let your mouth get ahead of you!" A cold voice interrupted. The group turned to see Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi standing a few meters away, Ye Xinglan's expression icy and Xu Lizhi looking embarrassed.
The following events didn't stray far from the original storyline. To settle a score with Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan, dragging Xu Lizhi along, impulsively joined another academy just to compete against him in the individual and team matches.
Jing Shaoyu could only chuckle,
thinking, What a classic Shrek Academy heiress move—capricious as always.
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