Awkward

After this incident, an unspoken sense of unease settled upon everyone, casting a shadow of pessimism over the academy's future achievements.

"I really don't know what the school leaders are thinking, only caring about their immediate interests," even the usually optimistic Su Lin lamented.

"Where's Zhou En? Why isn't he here yet?" Wu Min suddenly asked Su Lin.

Su Lin felt a bit awkward, having completely forgotten about Zhou En when they left. After all, who wouldn't want to be famous? They'd naturally run as fast as they could.

"He's probably on his way. How about I give him a call?" Su Lin said, reaching for his phone to dial Zhou En.

"Next, we invite the team members from each school to enter the arena." Just then, a gentle female voice came from the loudspeaker. Su Lin could only spread his hands in resignation.

He couldn't exactly make a phone call in front of everyone; that would be embarrassing.

The others also followed along with a sense of helplessness.

"Well, well, if it isn't the new participating team this year?" As East District School entered the stadium, a sarcastic voice, neither warm nor cold, rang out.

Liu Yu's beautiful eyes spotted them – the same group who had mocked her and Zhou En yesterday. She took a closer look at their school name: West District Academy.

"Heh, are you not convinced? I can beat you until you are," Zhao Haiyan, unable to stand such provocation, retorted sharply.

"Heh, a trash school like yours dares to compete? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves," the West District School members, naturally unwilling to be outdone, continued their taunts.

"Exactly, exactly. This Hundred Schools War should only involve our nine schools. As for you East District School, go back wherever you came from," just as Zhao Haiyan was about to retort, a voice suddenly cut in.

Everyone turned to look again. It was another school's group, arms crossed, coldly observing the East District School members. The person who spoke was the one at the front of the group.

"Sihai School," Liu Yu silently noted the name.

"East District School, don't waste your efforts thinking about winning the championship. If we can't even deal with you, how can we live in this world?"

Just as Liu Yu finished noting the speaker's school, another person chimed in with mockery.

Wu Min's brow furrowed. He sensed the strong hostility emanating from these people. He then clasped his fists and bowed, "We are unsure if the club members have offended anyone. We ask for your understanding."

"Ha, you think you can just brush this off with a single sentence?"

Hearing this, even Wu Min, with his good temper, couldn't help but get angry. Wu Min now understood that these people were clearly looking for trouble.

Liu Yu's delicate eyebrows also knitted slightly. She knew these people were benefiting Li Ming, and Li Ming was surely among these participating teams. Thinking of this, a hint of despair flickered across Liu Yu's pretty face.

With Li Hui, such a dead weight on their team, and facing a formidable opponent like Li Ming, what hope did they have of winning?

Wu Min then said coldly, "Whether you understand or not is none of my business."

The face of the team member who heard this froze. Just as he was about to retaliate, the broadcast suddenly announced that all competing teams should proceed to their designated positions.

The team member could only reluctantly follow his teammates. However, he still made a throat-slitting gesture towards Wu Min and the other four East District representatives. This infuriated the East District team members.

"Alright, all nine teams participating in the Hundred Schools War have entered. You should know that if you can win the championship in the Hundred Schools War, you'll have the chance to represent Sichuan Province and compete against provincial capitals from all over the country."

"For fighting enthusiasts, this is undoubtedly a rare temptation. It's the highest-level fighting competition that the country can organize. So, for your dreams, and for the honor of your school, everyone, fight hard!"

Zhang Li's motivational speech from the commentary booth left everyone feeling a bit dazed.

"This competition will still use a point system. Winning a match earns one point, losing earns none. To make this Hundred Schools War more exciting, we will be using an arena format."

As Zhang Li finished speaking, a buzz of discussion erupted from the crowd. Even the four official team members from East District Academy present had grim expressions, with the exception of Li Hui.

The arena format meant that if a person wasn't defeated, they could directly challenge the next opponent. This implied that if there was a particularly strong individual on a team, they could potentially take on five opponents alone.

But regardless of whether they had strong individuals, the mere presence of Li Hui, a burden on their team, already sealed their fate. If Li Hui intentionally held back, it would be like a four-on-five match.

One could imagine the immense pressure on East District Academy.

"I'm not competing anymore." Zhao Haiyan's mentality had completely collapsed. No matter how much Zhao Feiyan tried to persuade her, it was useless. In this situation, winning would be a miracle.

"Due to the arena format, the matches will take a longer time. The organizing committee has decided to hold the press conference after the competition. The first match begins today." Zhang Li's words landed like a bombshell on everyone's heads.

Making them feel dizzy. Although the crowd was somewhat displeased, they couldn't say anything. After all, it was just a matter of moving the afternoon matches up by a few hours.

"This is bad," Liu Yu suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone looked at Liu Yu in confusion, wondering why the coach was making such a fuss.

"The first match this afternoon is mine." Upon hearing this, everyone understood. With the competition suddenly moved up, this afternoon's matches meant they would be competing right now.

Everyone quickly reacted. That scoundrel Zhou En was still sound asleep in the dorm. It was uncertain if he would even make it in time.

At this point, everyone's faces truly changed. If Zhou En didn't show up, and Li Hui intentionally underperformed, then what was the point of competing? They might as well forfeit.

A smile crept onto Li Hui's lips. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.

"The first match is between East District School and West District School. East District School is participating in a fighting competition for the first time, but don't underestimate their strength."

"To cultivate excellent participating members, East District School has invested a significant amount of manpower and resources. Their strength should not be underestimated. Now, let's welcome the East District School team members with warm applause."

While everyone was still in a daze, Zhang Li's voice came, startling them. However, at this point, all they could do was take it one step at a time. So, they all walked out with gritted teeth.

"Huh? Why does the number of people seem a bit off? The team members plus the coach should be six, but one is missing." The spectators weren't blind. As the East District team members walked onto the field, someone immediately noticed the discrepancy.

"Haha, that guy must have overslept. If I were the coach, I would have kicked someone like that out long ago."

"That's true. With someone like that, how can East District School claim to have invested so much manpower and resources?"

"You don't understand. That's called commercial bragging."

"Hahaha."

Hearing the laughter from the field, the club members felt their faces flush with embarrassment and began to curse Zhou En's ancestors in their hearts.

After all, this was a city-level competition, and most of the people in this stadium were from other schools.