Zhuang Silin nodded, "It's okay."
Following behind, Xu Jintang looked around at the packed audience stands, clicked his tongue in amazement, and turned to Yu Wanyao, "With so many audience members, are you feeling any pressure?"
Yu Wanyao's expression remained calm. "It's alright."
Having seen her share of big events, the presence of the audience had little impact on her.
Qin Shuxue and Mu Guang remained relatively calm.
Wei Zixuan was the most nervous.
Wei Zixuan took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself down.
"It's nothing, a minor issue, just a small matter."
"Principal, are these the official members of the Leikedasi team?" Xie Gaoyi walked over, looking nervously at Yu Wanyao and the others.
Principal Erten smiled and nodded, "Yes, these are the official team members, and the ones behind them are substitutes. You can practice and exchange experiences with each other."
Xie Gaoyi glanced at Xu Jintang and the other four behind him, but didn't pay them much attention.
For them, the only team that needs to be studied and paid attention to is the Leikedasi official team.
Xie Gaoyi's gaze quickly fell on Yu Wanyao. He smiled slightly and stepped forward to introduce himself, "Hello, my name is Xie Gaoyi, and I am the captain of the second-year regular team at the Aierteng Military Academy."
Yu Wanyao extended her hand and shook hands with him. "Hello, you can just call me Yu Wanyao."
Soon, other official team members also stepped forward to shake hands and get to know the others.
Meanwhile, the five substitutes, including Xu Jintang, were completely ignored.
No one paid any attention to him, and Xu Jintang didn't say anything either. He just stood silently at the back and took out the crushed ice cream cup from his storage space.
Jiang Shiyi glanced at her, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she also took out the half-empty ice cream cup from the morning and continued drinking, just like Xu Jintang.
Both of these bigwigs have started to give up.
Song Tianqi and Yan Yuting exchanged a glance, then immediately took a big step back and silently began eating the new dessert they had discovered that morning.
After Zhuang Silin finished talking with Principal Erten, she turned around and wanted to call Xu Jintang and the others to go to the lounge to watch.
When he turned around, he saw Xu Jintang and his four friends eating and drinking, looking completely listless.
Zhuang Silin cleared her throat. "You five, come with me."
Principal Erten happened to be looking over as well.
His gaze suddenly paused as it swept over the broken ice cream cup in Xu Jintang's hand.
Are all the reserve players on the Leikedasi team this relaxed?
They started drinking before the fight even began.
Principal Erten was filled with respect, and his expression became serious.
The only reason the substitutes are playing so casually is probably because the main team players are so strong that they rarely need to come on as substitutes.
It seems they're going to face a complete rout from Leikedasi in today's challenge match.
After introducing themselves, both sides retreated to their respective back areas.
After Xie Gaoyi retreated to the backcourt area, his teammates surrounded him.
"Captain, Leikedasi's reserve team is too arrogant. They're already eating and drinking. Aren't they afraid their official team will lose?"
"Exactly, and those five substitutes look so lazy and irresponsible, I don't know how they were even chosen as substitutes."
Xie Gaoyi raised his hand to interrupt them, "None of those from Leikedasi are simple-minded. Don't underestimate them."
After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Xu Jintang and the others from a distance.
At that moment, Xu Jintang had just finished the last sip of his Crushed Ice Cream and was looking up for a trash can to throw away the empty cup.
Her gaze met Xie Gaoyi's.
Xu Jintang paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled, raised his empty glass, and made a toasting gesture to Xie Gaoyi across the distance.
Xie Gaoyi snapped out of his daze and quickly returned the greeting with a smile.
"Squad leader, why is that guy looking at us?" Song Tianqi leaned over and whispered, while still stuffing a small cake into his mouth.
"I don't know, anyway, it's none of our business. Let's go." Xu Jintang finally found a trash can, casually tossed the empty cup in his hand, clapped his hands, and turned to leave.
Yan Yuting also glanced at Xie Gaoyi and the others.
Xie Gaoyi is still watching.
She smiled slightly, raised her hand to wave to the person opposite her, and mouthed, "Good luck."
He then turned his gaze away and followed Xu Jintang's footsteps towards the rest area.
The figures of Xu Jintang and his four companions quickly disappeared from sight.
Xie Gaoyi withdrew his gaze. "That girl actually cheered us on just now. What do you think she meant by that?"
"Insulting us?"
"It can't be that bad, they might just be genuinely cheering us on."
"Those five substitutes from Leikedasi look strange."
Just as the five were confused, their military academy instructor came over. "Come on, let me explain the tactics and formations we arranged earlier to you again."
Xie Gaoyi and the other four immediately focused their attention and leaned over to listen.
A short while later, Xu Jintang followed Zhuang Silin to sit in the high-platform rest box.
The entire rest box is located at the top of the training field, offering a wide view and a clear view of the situation on the ring.
"Teacher, Sister Wanyao and the others should be fine, right?" Yan Yuting stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the private room, her gaze fixed on the arena below.
Zhuang Silin replied, "The official team members from Erten aren't much of a threat. In a best-of-five series, Yu Wanyao and her team will most likely win the match 4-1."
Xu Jintang looked up at him, "Why is it four to one?"
"Because this mission is very stressful, Yu Wanyao and the others might not be able to handle the pressure at first, and they might lose a normal match."
Xue Zhongqi thoughtfully, "I wonder when we'll be able to play."
Zhuang Silin glanced at him, "You guys had better not go on stage."
Meanwhile, in the rest area on the other side...
Principal Erten and several other leaders were still speculating about their chances of winning today.
"Do you think we have a chance to win a match against Leikedasi today? Even just one win wouldn't be a disgrace," Principal Erten said, his voice tinged with nervousness.
The other military academy leaders exchanged glances and began to speculate:
"I think winning one shouldn't be a problem. But I watched some fight videos of Yu Wanyao and her friends online before, and they are indeed quite strong."
"Sigh, I think everyone should stop guessing. The competition is about to start soon anyway, let's just see the result."
"However, don't you guys find that Leikedasi reserve team a bit unfamiliar? There are practically no videos of them playing online."
"It's really strange. Last time when Leikedasi challenged the school, it seemed like they didn't even have a reserve team. A full-strength team completely crushed a bunch of military academy students."
Principal Erten said nothing more, his hands gripping the handles, his eyes fixed nervously on the ring below, waiting for the match to begin.
About half an hour later, the military academy teacher in charge of hosting the challenge match stepped onto the stage.
He raised his hands and pressed them down, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
"Today's challenge match is initiated by the Leikdasi Military Academy. The standard rules are a best-of-five series, with each match requiring a five-player team battle. The first side to achieve three wins will be the victor."
"I will serve as the referee and the match's safety officer, overseeing the entire challenge match today."
"Now, please welcome the official team members from both sides to the stage."
Yu Wanyao and the other four lined up neatly and walked onto the arena.
The two stood firmly in the center of the ring and began the self-introduction segment.
" Leikedasi Yu Wanyao, mental strength level Third Tier."
" Leikedasi Wei Zixuan, Peak Second Tier tier of mental power."
The five people took turns announcing their names and mental strength levels.
It was the turn of the five from the Aierteng Military Academy.
" Xie Gaoyi the Aierteng Military Academy, Peak Third Tier tier of mental strength."
" Tong Lei from the Aierteng Military Academy, mental strength level Second Tier."
Both teams' mental strength levels were roughly the same, and if we were to be precise, the five members from the Aierteng Military Academy were even slightly higher.
A new murmur immediately arose from the audience, "My god, I thought all the students from Leikedasi had incredibly high levels of mental strength."
"So they're about the same as us."
"You don't understand, do you? Their strength lies in combat ability. As for mental strength level, everyone is the same age, so the difference can't be too great, unless everyone is a freakish genius."
"That's true. Now that you mention it, it reminds me of the Mask Squad that was all the rage a while ago. Those five were all freaks."
Chapter 177
After introducing themselves, both teams retreated to either side of the ring.
The referee stood in the middle, raising his hand in a ready gesture.
At this moment, the entire room fell silent.
All eyes turned to the arena.
The referee scanned the players on both sides, and after confirming there were no issues, he raised his hand and waved it downwards, announcing, "The first match begins."
As soon as he finished speaking, the referee spread his arms and quickly retreated to the edge of the ring.
The battle erupted instantly.
" Xiaoshan Cauldron, the Cauldron's Resonance!" A powerful sonic attack instantly spread throughout the area.
Mu Guang, controlling Xiaoshan Cauldron, calmly charged to the front.
Yu Wanyao stepped back to the center, slowly raising her hands, and a huge phantom of Black Armor Turtle appeared behind her.
Suddenly, a blanket of snow and ice descended, and the ice layer rapidly spread from her feet to the opposite side.
At the same time, Wei Zixuan, who was hiding at the back, knelt on one knee, quickly made a summoning gesture with his hands, and then placed them on the ground.
A mysterious stone gate, exuding an ancient aura, slowly emerged.
The stone gate opened, and a Flying-Winged Jiaolong with two wings burst out.
A silver-white Flying-Winged Jiaolong instantly took to the air, its enormous eyes gazing down, exuding the aura of a superior being.
"My God, it's Peak Third Tier Flying-Winged Jiaolong. How are we supposed to fight it?"