Meeting Before the Exchange Competition

Training Building, Conference Room.

With less than two days left until the exchange competition, the School Team's advisor, Wang Yongfeng, called everyone on the team together.

The intention was to discuss strategies before the competition.

Ye Li sat beside the main seat, his eyes slightly closed.

Liu Yangde, Shen Lian, and several others not far away had extremely grim expressions, as if covered in a layer of ashen gray.

Their gazes flickered towards the young man, appearing very subtle and cautious, occasionally meeting each other's eyes.

But every time their eyes met, a deep fear seemed to emanate, and the object of this fear was precisely the handsome young man with a calm expression.

Clearly, the encounters of the past week had given them a preliminary understanding of Ye Li's strength.

Except for Jiang Qingzhu, no one else on the School Team was his match...

Shen Lian, seated, gritted her teeth, her hands clenched into fists.

She couldn't help but look at Jiang Qingzhu, who was also seated beside the main seat, feeling a surge of annoyance.

Shen Lian had heard a few days prior that Jiang Qingzhu had spoken with Ye Li.

Initially, she had hoped that Jiang Qingzhu would make a move against Ye Li because of the previous day's complaint, thereby achieving her goal of setting one wolf against another.

To her surprise, a few days had passed, and Ye Li was still full of vigor, showing no signs of being set back.

This indicated that Jiang Qingzhu had not taken her spreading rumors to heart at all.

Damn Ye Li, who can possibly deal with him... Shen Lian was extremely agitated internally.

But she currently lacked the courage to cause trouble for Ye Li and had no choice but to let it go.

At this moment, Wang Yongfeng, seated at the main seat, stood up.

"The opponent in this exchange competition is Qingshan First High School from Qingshan City."

He first glanced at Ye Li and Jiang Qingzhu on either side of the main seat, then smiled:

"Their team captain is someone many of you are familiar with, named Tang Yao. Not only is she the young sect master of the Qingshan Sword Pavilion, but she is also a renowned young martial artist in Qingshan City.

"Her Martial Arts Level is Second-Tier Level Six, two levels higher than Jiang, and her Martial Arts Talent is B-Grade [True Self Sword Heart]. As the name suggests, she specializes in swordsmanship.

"It is said that her personality is confident and arrogant, and she is the undisputed backbone of Qingshan First High School.

"She is arguably the only troublesome enemy we will face on this trip."

"According to the lineup they provided, this Tang Yao will also be appearing as the final trump card." Wang Yongfeng's smile faded, and his tone became more cautionary.

However, after hearing his explanation, Ye Li's eyes lit up.

There was no helping it; the prospect of tormenting a confident and arrogant sword-wielding girl had genuinely piqued his interest.

Apart from him, everyone else's expressions were grave.

Taking in everyone's reactions, Wang Yongfeng nodded slightly.

A Second-Tier Level Six martial artist was already a very high-level Martial Science Student in the martial arts high schools of the province.

Many reserve members of university teams were only at this level.

However, Wang Yongfeng was not overly worried.

Because in his opinion, Ye Li and Jiang Qingzhu combined would definitely be able to take down this young sect master of the Sword Pavilion.

As for the remaining six members of Qingshan First High School, four were First-Tier Level Seven, two were First-Tier Level Eight, and one was First-Tier Peak.

On their side, even including Shen Lian, who had been demoted to a reserve, their overall strength was considerably stronger.

If nothing unexpected happened, it was basically a guaranteed victory.

Fortunately, they gained Ye Li; the initially unfavorable situation instantly turned into a favorable one...

"The winning side this time will receive a reward of one million Hanxia Coin and a Qi and Blood Pill for the official members."

Wang Yongfeng leaned on the table and explained:

"Reserves will receive two hundred thousand Hanxia Coin, with no Qi and Blood Pill."

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian could no longer sit still. She shot up from her seat and glared angrily at Wang Yongfeng, saying:

"Reserves only get two hundred thousand Hanxia Coin? What's the justification for that! Are you trying to fob off beggars?!"

The reason for her breakdown was very simple.

She had just had her official team member status forcefully taken away by Ye Li.

Originally, Shen Lian felt that she was about to graduate anyway, so losing this status didn't seem like a significant loss, and she reluctantly accepted it in the end.

But today, she was suddenly told that she not only lost a full eight hundred thousand Hanxia Coin but also a Qi and Blood Pill, which was priceless and had significant effects on First-Tier martial artists!

How could she not break down?

Shen Lian's mood instantly plummeted. Thinking of the series of heavy blows she had recently suffered from Ye Li, a strong sense of grievance and anger surged within her!

I spent two and a half years on the School Team, always diligently working hard and competing.

Even so, the prize money I earned from all the competitions I participated in over those two and a half years doesn't even add up to this amount!

And Ye Li, this Childhood Sweetheart I've always seen as just a tool, not only took my spot on the School Team and beat up my boyfriend, but he's also suddenly become the apple of the school's eye!

"...Student Shen Lian seems a bit agitated, doesn't she?"

Facing Shen Lian's anger, Wang Yongfeng lightly adjusted his glasses and patiently explained:

"Teacher, I haven't finished speaking yet."

"...Please continue," Shen Lian said, calming down slightly and sitting back down.

Wang Yongfeng cleared his throat and stated:

"In addition to the aforementioned rewards, the student who performs most outstandingly in this exchange competition will also receive a Treasure Tool jointly provided by the two cities!"

After speaking, he looked at Shen Lian and smiled, "Also, this reward has nothing to do with being a substitute."

At this moment, Shen Lian's defenses completely crumbled.

"Ye Li!"

She pushed her chair away and angrily looked at the young man not far away, shouting with conviction:

"If you have any conscience at all, return that 800,000 Hanxia Coin and the Qi and Blood Pill to me!"

Her tone was undeniably aggressive.

Such an overbearing attitude stunned Liu Yangde and his lackeys beside them.

Is Shen Lian... always this brave?

Doesn't she know Ye Li can kill her with one punch right now?!

"..."

Ye Li opened his eyes and looked at her calmly, his gaze devoid of emotion.

It's only been a few days, and she's already forgotten the lesson from last time.

But this is also his fault; he was too gentle, which is why she's able to speak so brazenly so quickly.

She even has a chance to get 200,000 Hanxia Coin.

"Are you mute? I'm talking to you! You ungrateful wretch, and here I thought I was so good to you before!"

Shen Lian seemed to have regained her old confidence and grew bolder as she spoke, "I'm telling you, Ye Li, the school only values your potential right now!"

"If you didn't have this strength, do you think the school would let someone with such a notorious reputation join the School Team?!"

As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears, and she stared directly at Ye Li, looking extremely wronged.

"..."

Jiang Qingzhu looked up. She didn't care about her own reputation, but that didn't mean she didn't care about Ye Li's.

As she watched, an icy blue light flickered in her clear eyes, and the temperature around her began to drop.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Hearing this, Wang Yongfeng frowned, "Shen Lian, don't say things that are baseless!"

He couldn't stand anyone trying to sow discord between Ye Li and the school.

The potential the young man was displaying was terrifying, and the school's higher-ups were doing everything they could to foster a sense of belonging to Linhai First High School in him.

This damned Shen Lian had just jumped out and caused such a huge disruption.

A surge of anger rose in Wang Yongfeng's heart.

If it weren't for the fact that Shen Lian was still a substitute on the School Team, he would have kicked her out on the spot!

"What? Am I wrong?"

Shen Lian glared at Ye Li, her fear of him long forgotten.

She sneered, "The whole school knows Ye Li is a hot-headed bully who abuses his classmates."

"It's not like I haven't helped spread the word about his heroic deeds on the School Team."

"Ye Li, you're a rat that everyone in Linhai First High School wants to catch right now!"

Just then, Shen Lian suddenly saw a flash of ruthlessness in Ye Li's dark eyes... it was like finding the rat that had been causing trouble in the rice bin all day; there was no pity in his eyes, only pure killing intent!

The next second, the young man let out a light chuckle.

At the same time, his entire aura abruptly changed, and a familiar sense of pressure instantly descended upon Shen Lian's heart.

The air in the conference room became heavy.

Shen Lian immediately realized she had gotten carried away.

She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, a thin layer of cold sweat breaking out on her smooth, delicate back.

As the owner of those dark eyes slowly stood up.

Shen Lian's once steady heart began to pound wildly!