After a display of destruction, the few who had previously questioned Chen Lang's age also accepted the fact that he was their new teammate.
Even though Chen Lang was much younger than them and only possessed a single high-level element... in terms of sheer strength, none of them on the field could possibly go one-on-one with him!
To put it bluntly, as long as they could not pin Chen Lang down right at the start, the result would be a full-map bombardment. If they were even the slightest bit inattentive, they might get roasted inside and out...
No matter where one went, strength was the ultimate authority.
Afterward, Jiang Shaojun carefully introduced the rest of the teammates to him.
First was Zhou Qing, who had an exquisite doll-like face with large, bright eyes that seemed filled with starlight. Her skin was fair and translucent, carrying the collagen-rich glow unique to a young girl.
She was a dual-element high-level mage majoring in the Light Element and supporting with the Earth Element.
Next to her was Mu Tian, with a standard oval face and delicate facial features as if drawn by an artist... She majored in the Ice Element and supported with the Wind Element, also holding dual high-level elements.
Aside from these two women, there was also a young woman in the team named Dongfang Qing.
The Dongfang Family undoubtedly majored in the Fire Element.
The girls of this world, especially those from the Great Clans, were unquestionably pretty and full of vitality.
Then came Jiang Shaojun, Zu Xiangtian, Zhao Yi, Liao Yan, Hua Xuan, and Mu Zhen—several utterly unremarkable males...
Except for Jiang Shaojun and Zu Xiangtian, whose cultivation levels were considered somewhat stronger—each presumably possessing three high-level elements—the rest were almost entirely single-element or dual-element high-level mages.
The strength of this generation's National Academy Team members was clearly not very high; astonishingly, not even a single Level-2 High-level mage existed among them?
Other people aside, wasn't Zu Xiangtian boasting himself to be a martial arts fanatic? How could his cultivation level be this sluggish?
Yet, when Chen Lang thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.
If everyone were truly that powerful, how could they have been kicked out directly in the knockout stage...
During the next few days, aside from participating in team combat coordination, Chen Lang spent his time bitterly cultivating the Space Element and Shadow Element.
He had only been somewhat biased toward the Lightning Element before, but that did not mean his cultivation talent was useless.
In just a few days, Chen Lang mastered the Shadow System's Shadow Dodge skill.
During these past few days, their new opponents were also screened out. Unsurprisingly, their second clash was against the American Team from among the magic-powerful nations.
On the day they received this news, almost everyone's face was filled with despair. Because they had already lost one match, if they failed this one too, they would be packing up and rolling back home...
It was not just that the American Team was strong this year; almost every four years at the World Academy Competition, the American National Academy Team demonstrated absolute dominance.
Meeting the American National Academy Team in just the second match gave them, as one could well imagine, an immense sense of pressure!!
The rules of the knockout stage itself dictated that two consecutive losses meant losing any chance to continue. Although this might seem unfair, luck was equally a part of strength...
In the tournament rest area, seeing the despair and disappointment hanging on the faces of every team member, Pang Lai said with extreme dissatisfaction: "What is the meaning of all this dejection!"
Even he did not think they could win, but even if they lost the match, they could not lose their spirit. How could the sons of Great Xia be so spineless!
If they lost their momentum before it even began, wouldn't this match be equivalent to being lost from the start?
Jiang Shaojun also cheered them on, encouraging: "That's right, it's impossible for the American Team to send all the powerhouses in their lineup onto the field during the knockout stage. We still have some chances."
Mu Tian also said: "Furthermore, our team has now added Chen Lang, a super-strong Destruction Mage. If we formulate a good strategy, we might even pull off an upset."
Mu Tian was the representative of the Mu Clan, and 'on the surface' she counted as a heartwarming big sister and one of the two decision-makers in the team.
As for what her true nature was, it remained unknown for the time being.
Hearing what Mu Tian said, coupled with everyone having witnessed the destruction belonging to Chen Lang, they regained a tiny bit of confidence once more.
Seeing the few recover their confidence, Pang Lai nodded and then placated them: "Winning or losing the match doesn't matter; what matters is that you dare to fight!"
To be honest, running into the ace team that had dominated the World Academy Competition for many years made the probability of winning far too low.
Yet, it still came down to that same point: win or lose, they could not chicken out!
"Mentor, then who from our side will go up for this match?" Jiang Shaojun asked directly.
"The players on the field... Mu Tian, Zhou Qing, Jiang Shaojun, Zhao Yi, Chen Lang!"
Hearing Pang Lai call their names, the others understood that the trump card lineup they had researched over the past few days... was going straight into play!
Yet who could blame them when the opponents were the American Team, and they were on the verge of elimination? Pang Lai making this choice was something they could understand.
After finishing the roll call, Pang Lai looked at Chen Lang: "Although my initial plan was to let us walk a bit further before letting you display your destructive power, now, if we can't even get past this hurdle, I'm afraid there won't be any 'afterwards'..."
"Alright."
After Pang Lai made the arrangements, the referee announced that they could enter the field and prepare.
Today's venue was the Dragon Fang Fighting Ground in Venice.
The Dragon Tooth Magic Arena was one of the oldest magic arenas in Venice. This arena did not have its scenes temporarily arranged; instead, it had stood for all this time like a forest of rock, with stone peaks soaring up like the fangs of a dragon.
The stone peaks varied in height; some spread out at a height of only a few meters from the ground, looking like scattered artificial rockeries forming a maze of rock stalagmites, while other stone peaks were quite tall—reaching lengths of thirty to forty meters, rivaling many of Venice's high-rise buildings and towering slightly above the blocks!
Whether it was the terrain or the modification of the terrain, those were things the refereeing side could autonomously decide at any time.
For an arena like this, Earth Element mages unquestionably had the greatest advantage.
When Chen Lang took the field, he was still wondering if this place would be flooded with water.
Yet what left him speechless was that the imagined river irrigation did not happen; today's battlefield was entirely this kind of solid rock battlefield...
After both sides took their positions, the referee announced the start of this match.
At the very moment it began, the four individuals directly took their positions around Chen Lang, guarding him in the center.
On the American Team's side.
Jerry, who was commanding this match, saw this scene and asked with puzzlement: "What are they doing?"
"It looks like a 'four-protect-one' setup?" guessed another exceptionally sturdy American man.
"Regardless of what they are doing, they are just a bunch of Eastern monkeys—just destroy them as quickly as possible," said Hart with an air of unruliness.
While speaking, Hart rapidly completed the depiction of a star constellation, and a streak of fire dragon instantly plummeted toward the location where Chen Lang and the others were stationed!
"Defense!"
The moment Jiang Shaojun saw this, he immediately issued a warning.
A golden light curtain instantly condensed above the heads of their few members.
"Boom!!!"
"Boom, boom, boom!!!"
Under the impact of this fire dragon, the golden light curtain directly began to sprout large areas of cracks.
Fortunately, Zhou Qing completed her reinforcement at the very first instant, managing to neutralize this destructive blow!
Yet this clearly demonstrated that the strength of the American Team was indeed formidable!
One person's destruction directly required two people to defend against it together.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"
"Boom, boom, boom!!!"
Immediately following that, the opposing members simultaneously launched a comprehensive bombardment.
Fortunately, their side had a conservative defensive lineup; although it appeared somewhat strenuous, they thankfully managed to block them one by one...
Before you continue