Chapter 108

Xu Jintang paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."

Two minutes later, a staff member led Xu Jintang to the VIP lounge.

He knocked on the door, and Mu Zhongbai quickly responded from inside, "Come in."

Xu Jintang pushed open the door and saw Mu Zhongbai sitting on the sofa.

He was holding a cup of tea, and when he saw Xu Jintang enter, a smile appeared on his face. "Miss Qian, please have a seat."

Xu Jintang politely declined, "I won't sit down. May I ask Teacher Mu is looking for?"

Mu Zhongbai smiled slightly, "Actually, I came here specifically for you. Ever since you created the Tracking Inscription in the last round of the competition, people have been mentioning your achievements to me. I am indeed curious about you and wanted to test your strength."

"Before I came here, I thought that if you could meet my requirements, I would take you as my last disciple and impart all the knowledge I had acquired in my life. But your performance today not only met my requirements, but even exceeded them completely."

"In short, your talent for inscription is stronger than mine. Therefore, I'm no longer qualified to consider taking you as my last disciple."

"But this time, I also brought a gift for you. That's why I had the staff invite you over separately."

Xu Jintang smiled slightly and said, "Teacher Mu, you're too kind. My meager skills are nothing compared to yours. As for this gift, I feel unworthy of it, so please accept it."

A mysterious glint appeared on Mu Zhongbai's face. "Don't rush to refuse. You might really need this gift."

Chapter 108

Xu Jintang hesitated for a moment, then did not insist on refusing.

Soon, Mu Zhongbai's assistant came over and presented him with a thick, illustrated ancient book.

Xu Jintang glanced down at the album cover, which was titled: "Complete Collection of Basic Inscription Array Diagrams".

Mu Zhongbai smiled and said, "I've watched the replays of Miss Qian's previous matches and noticed that your grasp of basic inscriptions isn't quite there yet. It's probably because you haven't received systematic instruction from the Inscriptionist Association. This book should be of some help to you."

The assistant beside him added with a smile, "This atlas contains all the basic inscription array diagrams available on the market, even more comprehensive than those in the Inscriptionist Association. Our teacher spent a lot of effort finding this atlas."

Hearing this, Xu Jintang couldn't refuse any longer and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Teacher Mu."

Mu Zhongbai smiled and said, "Don't feel burdened. Just think of it as training talent for our association. Go ahead and get busy; I won't take up any more of your time."

Watching Xu Jintang leave, Mu Zhongbai withdrew his gaze.

The assistant standing nearby also looked over and asked, "Why didn't the teacher mention taking her on as his last disciple?"

Mu Zhongbai chuckled. "Her talent is even more terrifying than mine was back then. I'm afraid I can't teach her anything. Let her figure it out on her own. Her future achievements might even surpass mine."

The assistant looked somewhat surprised.

He had never heard Teacher Mu speak so highly of anyone before.

After leaving the VIP lounge, Xu Jintang made several turns before returning to the competition venue.

Xue Zhongqi was leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

Upon seeing her return, I quickly went over to her. "What happened?"

As Xu Jintang walked, he said, "It's nothing, just a little something to mark our meeting."

Xue Zhongqi's voice was filled with shock. "A gift from Teacher Mu?"

"Mm." Xu Jintang nodded.

Xue Zhongqi's mouth gaped slightly, but he didn't utter a sound for a long time.

He only came to his senses after Xu Jintang had walked far away, and hurriedly chased after him.

When Xu Jintang and his companion returned to the villa, a floating light screen was projected into the living room, displaying the live broadcast of the Inscription Master Competition, which had already ended.

"No, the live stream is still on. Where are they? Didn't they agree to watch our match?" Xue Zhongqi looked around in confusion.

Xu Jintang glanced at the deserted living room and nonchalantly poured herself a glass of juice. "She must have forgotten."

The Inscription Master Competition lasts for eight hours straight; who can endure that?

Xue Zhongqi snorted coldly, "I knew these people were unreliable."

Just then, Yan Yuting, who had heard the commotion upstairs, came out of her room. She first leaned halfway up the stairs, exclaiming, "Oh my god! Squad leader, you're all back!"

She ran downstairs in a panic, anxiously explaining, "I... I accidentally fell asleep while waiting for the live stream, and when I opened my eyes it was already now."

Xue Zhongqi gave her a sarcastic look. "Yeah, they all agreed to watch our match, but they all went to sleep."

Yan Yuting was a little embarrassed, and cleared his throat, "So, you two... did you advance?"

"What do you think?" Xue Zhongqi deliberately put on a dejected expression.

Yan Yuting's eyes widened immediately, "You've been eliminated?"

Xu Jintang didn't even take a sip of her juice before immediately adding, "Anyway, I advanced."

Yan Yuting stared at Xue Zhongqi, and asked in surprise, "So you were the only one eliminated?"

Xue Zhongqi was a little unhappy. "What do you mean I was the only one eliminated? I advanced too, okay?"

Yan Yuting rolled her eyes at him speechlessly, "Who gave you permission to sell cases here?"

Before long, Song Tianqi and Jiang Shiyi were both awakened by the commotion downstairs.

The two went out and downstairs one after the other.

Song Tianqi got up, still half asleep. His eyes widened when he saw Xu Jintang and the other person, then he suddenly snapped awake. "Holy crap! The competition's over? I accidentally fell asleep!"

Fortunately, Xue Zhongqi hadn't had any expectations of him anyway, saying, "I knew you guys were unreliable."

As Jiang Shiyi came downstairs, she calmly looked at Xu Jintang and said, "Congratulations."

Xu Jintang was a little surprised and put down her glass. "How did you know we advanced?"

"While I was cultivating in my room just now, I was listening to the live broadcast of your match with Xue Zhongqi," Jiang Shiyi said calmly.

Xu Jintang immediately gave a thumbs up, "Sister Shiyi is still the most reliable."

Xue Zhongqi chimed in, "Yes."

This comparison made Song Tianqi and Yan Yuting even more embarrassed.

Yan Yuting quickly brought over the food he had saved for them during the day to make amends. "Squad leader, I saved some food for you two. It's been in the insulated box and it's still warm. Eat it while it's hot."

Xu Jintang smiled slightly and didn't make things difficult for her. "Okay."

Xue Zhongqi, acting like a big shot, shamelessly demanded, "Come on, give me a shoulder massage."

Yan Yuting's lips twitched, and she raised her hand and slapped him on the back of the head. "Get out."

"Exactly," Song Tianqi said, crossing his arms, "Don't push your luck."

Xue Zhongqi clutched the back of his head, looking at the two of them in disbelief. "You two not only ignored our match, but you also hit me! Class monitor, look at their attitude! You have to stand up for me!"

Before long, Yan Yuting and Xue Zhongqi were pulling each other's hair and fighting.

Song Tianqi was still excitedly cheering from the sidelines. "Yuting, hit him!"

Xu Jintang didn't have time to pay attention to them. She quickly ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice, then got up and said to Jiang Shiyi, "Going back to my room to rest."

Jiang Shiyi nodded, "Okay."

While the two of them were enjoying their peaceful time together, the trio next door were already arguing like crazy.

When Xu Jintang entered the room, he shook his head at the noise and quickly closed the door.

During the break of the tournament, the organizers began releasing merchandise related to the teams. Among them, the Mask Squad figures were the most popular, selling out almost immediately upon release.

People are still posting online offering to buy the product at a higher price.

[Buying Mask Squad 5-member group figure at a high price. If you have any, please contact the following number: 143XXX...]

[Ahhhhh I got Mask Squad figure! The organizers even gave me a mini figure of Captain Foodie, I'm so happy!]

[Holy crap! I set my alarm to grab them, but I was only a second too late, Mask Squad figures were sold out.]

[It's okay, I just saw the official announcement from the competition organizers that they're restocking, so there should be a second round of sales.]

The name "Mask Squad" has become a best-selling brand.

In major stores, any merchandise related to the Mask Squad is basically sold out as soon as it is released.

Those fans who couldn't be bought even through a bidding war had no choice but to be bought back at a high price.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the main conference room of the Federation Bureau Command Center was very quiet.

The principals and senior leaders of the five military academies sat in their respective seats, all with serious and focused expressions.

"Principal, everyone is here." Zhuang Silin finished counting the number of attendees and bent down to report to Miao Mingzhi.

Miao Mingzhi grunted in response, then stood up and surveyed the entire room.

"The main purpose of this joint meeting of the five military academies is to discuss the specific details of the Military Academy League three years from now. First of all, thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to gather here. I won't waste your time with idle chatter; let's get straight to the point."

The Military Academy League is held every five years. Due to its large scale, each event requires a significant amount of resources, which is why the five major military academies collaborate on it.

"Principal Miao, before the meeting begins, there's something I'd like to discuss with everyone," Shi Lekang suddenly said with a smile, raising his hand to interject.

Miao Mingzhi looked at him, "What is it?"

The eyes of everyone else in the conference room also turned to him.

Shi Lekang's smile widened. "I wonder if you've heard of the Mask Squad lately?"

The meeting room fell silent upon hearing this.

The expressions on the faces of the principals also became subtle.

Shi Lekang continued, "Many people online are saying that the combined strength of the five members of the Mask Squad has exceeded what should be expected for their age, and they are very likely graduates of one of our five major military academies. I'm actually quite curious as to which military academy's leadership secretly trained such a team."

Seeing the silence of the crowd, Shi Lekang continued with a smile, "Isn't everyone curious about this?"

Once he started talking, those who had been holding back immediately chimed in.