I was too strong?
Zhang Xiao's brows furrowed, then quickly relaxed. So that was it. He really had been too close to the situation to see it clearly.
True, in theory, he should have been the person everyone scrambled to invite.
But as the saying went, being a little stronger than others might invite jealousy. Being far stronger, however, left them feeling helpless, able only to look up at you.
Hermione continued, "So everyone actually wants to invite you, but they're afraid... or rather, they feel inferior. They think you definitely wouldn't want to join them.
"So..."
Harry, Malfoy, and Ron all nodded. If they hadn't known what Zhang Xiao was like, and hadn't been such close friends with him,
they wouldn't have had the courage to invite him either.
"All right, I understand. I might as well take this opportunity to let everyone know."
Zhang Xiao nodded in understanding, then looked at Harry and Malfoy.
"I'm afraid you'll have to do this yourselves. I can't join your teams. Or rather, I won't be competing for Hogwarts."
?
Malfoy and Harry stood up, staring at Zhang Xiao in shock. Zhang wasn't competing?
How were they supposed to win, then?
Zhang Xiao sighed. In truth, even if he hadn't been representing the East, he wouldn't have entered. It wasn't boasting to say that his strength had more or less reached a dividing line.
In magic alone, he was merely on the level of an outstanding seventh-year graduate-an Auror.
In the Golden Light Spell alone, he was at the level of a Walker of the World of the Daoist Order. His mastery of the Golden Light Spell was considerable, but he was still sorely lacking in the Daoist Order's other arts.
Combining East and West, however, was another matter. The combination offered