Skysea Alliance Exhibition Match (Seeking Follow-ups, Seeking Recommendation Tickets)

"Hey, Shen Yi, what's up?" Lin Chen held his phone to his ear and spoke softly.

Shen Yi's voice came through the receiver: "Lin Chen, have you arrived in Skysea City yet?"

"I arrived a while ago, I'm at the hotel." Lin Chen stood up and walked to the window.

Hearing this, Shen Yi's tone lightened: "We're almost there too. Come find me later."

Lin Chen agreed and ended the call, pondering whether to ask Na'er to come along, but he made up his mind after a moment.

Lin Chen raised his hand and tapped lightly on Wu Changkong's door. The door opened to reveal Wu Changkong in simple, plain clothes, his cold, clear eyes looking at the youth outside: "What is it? Speak quickly if you have something to say."

Lin Chen scratched his head, his tone slightly tentative: "Um, Teacher Wu, Shen Yi and the others are arriving soon. She just called and asked me to go find her."

Wu Changkong nodded faintly, a flash of complex emotion crossing his eyes that was difficult to detect: "Go ahead. The competition doesn't start until tomorrow."

He then arrived at the door of the room where Gu Yuena and Xu Xiaoyan were staying. Just then, his phone vibrated with a location message sent by Shen Yi. After a quick glance, he knocked on the door.

Xu Xiaoyan's crisp voice came from inside: "Who is it?" "It's me, I'm here to find Na'er," Lin Chen replied.

The door pulled open. Xu Xiaoyan leaned against the doorframe with a smile, while behind her, Gu Yuena's ears were tinged with a faint crimson. Lin Chen noticed Gu Yuena's unusual appearance and asked in confusion: "What were you two talking about just now?"

Xu Xiaoyan laughed: "Nothing much."

Lin Chen didn't press the issue. He turned to Gu Yuena and said: "Na'er, let's go. Shen Yi has arrived and sent us her location to meet her."

Gu Yuena nodded gently and was about to follow Lin Chen out when Xu Xiaoyan looked at them longingly, tugging on Gu Yuena's sleeve and acting spoiled: "Sister Gu, can I come along to join the fun?"

Gu Yuena turned her head to look at Lin Chen, waiting for him to decide. Lin Chen said gently: "We aren't going out to play. If we were, we would naturally take you both. This is for official business."

Hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan slumped her shoulders, reluctantly letting go of Gu Yuena's sleeve, and muttered softly: "Alright then, come back early."

After saying goodbye to Xu Xiaoyan, Lin Chen and Gu Yuena followed the location Shen Yi sent and soon found them. There were eight people in total including Shen Yi, with Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi standing in the group.

Seeing that the newcomer was Lin Chen, Ye Xinglan walked toward him. During the holidays, she would find Lin Chen for sparring matches every few days, and though she never won once, the two had gradually become familiar with each other.

Except for Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi, Lin Chen didn't recognize the other five people at all.

Lin Chen walked up to Shen Yi and greeted her with a smile: "Long time no see, Shen Yi." Gu Yuena greeted her as well.

Shen Yi smiled and said: "How long has it even been? 'Long time no see' already?"

The other five students nearby saw this and huddled together, whispering in low voices: "Is he the Lin Chen that Teacher Shen Yi keeps talking about? He doesn't look that impressive."

"Yeah, is he really as formidable as the rumors say?" The fragmented discussion drifted into his ears.

Lin Chen didn't care about their chatter; he remained composed and chatted with Shen Yi.

After the conversation, Lin Chen swept a calm gaze over the few youths who had been whispering about him. Without any unnecessary argument, he said goodbye to Shen Yi and turned to leave with Gu Yuena.

Back at their respective lodgings, the moment Lin Chen pushed open the door, Xie Xie, who had been curled up on the sofa waiting for news, immediately leaned in, full of curiosity: "Captain, what did you and Gu Yuena go do just now?"

Lin Chen sat casually on the sofa and made up a random excuse to brush him off: "First it was like this, then it was like that, and after that it was like this. That's it, get some sleep."

Xie Xie was speechless; that was truly a conversation that said absolutely nothing.

The next morning, representative teams from major cities arrived one after another, and the massive stands were soon packed to capacity.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan were all experiencing such a large-scale competition venue for the first time. Looking at the expansive arena and the dense crowd, they felt involuntarily constrained and tense, their bodies slightly stiff as they looked around, filled with both novelty and apprehension.

The opening ceremony ended in a blur, followed by the drawing of lots based on different competition formats—which, of course, had nothing to do with the students, as the teachers handled it.

As the group huddled together chatting about the competition, a voice came from behind: "I'm so hungry, does anyone have food?"

Gu Yuena was about to turn around to see who it was, but her head was turned back toward the arena by Lin Chen. A faint red flush quickly dyed the girl's ears, and she lowered her voice: "Lin Chen, what are you doing?"

Lin Chen transmitted his voice: "Don't worry about it."

Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Tang Wulin all looked at Xu Lizhi in unison. Xu Xiaoyan instinctively quipped: "Another little foodie has arrived."

Tang Wulin took a piece of dried fish from his storage device and handed it to Xu Lizhi. Being fellow foodies, Xu Lizhi started chatting with Tang Wulin as soon as he finished eating, talking about everything from local snacks to seafood, hitting it off immediately.

The crimson on Gu Yuena's ears had not yet faded as she sat quietly by Lin Chen's side.

Just as the two foodies were about to exchange contact information, a somewhat cold voice rang out: "How did you end up over here?"

A girl walked toward them wearing the same sportswear as Xu Lizhi. Her golden ponytail was tied behind her head, and her pair of azure eyes were on par with Tang Wulin's, though they were slightly inferior compared to Gu Yuena and Lin Chen.

Catching sight of Lin Chen and Gu Yuena's backs, she felt a sense of familiarity. She looked at Xu Lizhi and Tang Wulin with a hint of disgust: "Don't just take things from any random person..."

Her words caught in mid-air as she glimpsed Lin Chen and Gu Yuena turning around. She stepped forward quickly, her tone light: "You two are here too? The exhibition match is about to start, I'm here to take him back."

Lin Chen and Gu Yuena smiled and nodded.

After Ye Xinglan took Xu Lizhi away, Xie Xie was the first to lean in, while Xu Xiaoyan and Tang Wulin also looked on with curiosity, asking in succession: "You know them?"

Lin Chen smiled faintly: "Na'er and I live in Shrek City; we met during the holidays."

"The exhibition match is starting. Let's watch."

The stadium broadcast suddenly resounded throughout the arena, the announcement ringing out clearly: "Next, for the exhibition match, the Skysea Alliance youth champion team will challenge the Shrek seven-member team!"

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan quickly looked toward the ring. When they saw the lineup on the field—Ye Xinglan holding the Star God Sword and Xu Lizhi standing behind—the three of them exchanged glances, then turned their heads with strange expressions to look at Lin Chen and Gu Yuena beside them.

The match ended in seconds. The youth leading the Shrek team utilized the amplification of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, a flash of intense light swept across, and a minute later, the opposing Skysea Alliance youth champion team fell in unison, were eliminated, and left the field.

Because of Lin Chen, the group wasn't particularly surprised.

Xie Xie rubbed his chin, pondering as he muttered: "I wonder who is stronger, the person leading the Shrek team or Lin Chen?"

Xu Xiaoyan immediately tilted her small face up and said firmly: "That goes without saying, Captain Lin Chen is definitely stronger."

Ring-ring, the phone rang. Lin Chen picked it up and answered. Ye Xinglan's voice came through: "Lin Chen, are you participating in the individual competition? Our captain wants to spar with you."