154: Chapter 154 First Upset

Soon, representatives from each school began drawing lots on-site.

A moment later, the four giant screens on the dome of the Arena lit up simultaneously with the match brackets, and the noise from the 150,000 spectators paused for an instant before exploding into an uproar.

Donghai High School vs. Xiling No. 1 High School.

This draw...

Sister Bai, sitting on the platform, looked at the matchup information popping up on the light screen. She raised an eyebrow slightly, her voice carrying just the right amount of surprise:

"Oh? The matchup for today's first match is out. Donghai High School, the eighth seed of this tournament, will face Xiling No. 1 High School from Xiling County."

She paused and glanced down at the data on the light screen.

"This team, Xiling No. 1 High School, their registration data shows they are from Xiling County, a small county in the west."

Lu Cheng leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, his gaze sweeping over the row of contestant profiles on the light screen.

The roster for Xiling No. 1 High School was very brief.

Five starters, two substitutes.

The team leader's name was Gu Xicheng, at the mid-stage of the Source Gathering Realm. The other four starters were also at the early stage of the Source Gathering Realm, and the substitutes were even weaker, only at the Extreme Realm of Body Refining.

In contrast, Donghai High School had seven members, all at the mid-stage of the Source Gathering Realm; the gap was visible to the naked eye.

But as Lu Cheng looked at the information on the light screen, he tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.

Su Wan noticed his movement, turned her head, and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

"It's nothing." Lu Cheng shook his head. "I just find it interesting."

"What's interesting about it?"

"Have you watched the match footage of Xiling No. 1 High School?" Lu Cheng swiped on the control screen and pulled up a video. "This is the final of their regional qualifiers."

Su Wan leaned over to look.

In the video, the five people from Xiling No. 1 High School were standing on the field. Their school uniforms were washed to the point of fading, and their wrist and knee guards were old models. Placed next to the fully equipped team opposite them, they looked as shabby as a sparring team.

But after the match started, the situation was completely different.

The five of them started their positioning at the exact same second. Every step they took divided the field into three intersecting fan-shaped zones. The distance between the forwards, midfielders, and back row was identical, as if measured with a ruler!

Fifteen seconds, and all three forwards on the opposite side were down.

Su Wan blinked. "This level of coordination... how long have they practiced?"

"That's the question." Lu Cheng paused the video and pointed at the positioning of Xiling No. 1 High School on the screen. "The five of them form a single unit, with each person's position locked between their teammates' blind spots and the enemy's attacking lines. This style of play requires extremely stable mental fortitude and a high volume of training."

He closed the video.

"I just watched the match footage of Donghai High School as well. Shen Chaosheng is indeed strong, strong enough to take on three... even four people. But what about the other four? They are accustomed to having Shen Chaosheng as the core, accustomed to single-point breakthroughs..."

Sister Bai's voice rang out again. "Next, let us welcome the two teams to the field!"

The passages on both sides of the field opened simultaneously.

Shen Chaosheng, who walked at the front for Donghai High School, stood 1.85 meters tall. He wore a dark blue Source Power light armor over his school uniform, his stride was steady, and he wore a polite smile on his face.

The four teammates behind him all had a sharp aura, walking with a brisk, imposing air.

"Shen Chaosheng!"

"Donghai High School! Donghai High School!"

"The seeded team starts with a win!!"

From the passage on the other side, the five people from Xiling No. 1 High School walked out.

There were no cheers, only scattered, polite applause from the audience.

"Now, both teams, take your positions!" Sister Bai's voice rose. "The 58th National High School Martial Arts Competition, the Round of 64 to 32, the first match, officially begins!"

The referee in the center of the field raised his right hand and swung it down sharply.

Five versus five, both sides charged out simultaneously.

Shen Chaosheng took the lead, his aura of the Meridian Opening Realm fully unleashed, Source Power transforming into a layer of pale golden flame enveloping his entire body.

The alloy floor beneath his feet emitted a dull thud, and he transformed into a golden afterimage, lunging straight at Gu Xicheng!

Screams erupted from the stands.

This lunge was too fast, so fast that Gu Xicheng had no time to react at all...

Gu Xicheng sidestepped.

Shen Chaosheng's punch grazed his chest, the force of the punch slicing through the air, but it didn't touch him.

Gu Xicheng slipped under Shen Chaosheng's armpit and gave him a push on his back.

With Shen Chaosheng's sprinting speed added to this push, he rushed forward three more steps...

Three steps—for a team like Donghai High School that was accustomed to having Shen Chaosheng as its core, having their ace player separated from the battlefield by three steps meant a gap had been torn in their entire formation.

Lu Cheng sat up straight.

"Did you notice Gu Xicheng's move just now?" He raised his hand and swiped on the control screen, cutting the footage of that moment to a close-up. "He wasn't dodging Shen Chaosheng; he moved only after Shen Chaosheng attacked. When anyone throws a punch, there is a fraction of a second of shoulder lean. That was the signal he was waiting for."

Sister Bai's eyes widened slightly. "That—that requires how fast of a reaction?"

"It's not about fast reactions." Lu Cheng shook his head. "It's from practice. He must have watched at least a hundred match recordings of Shen Chaosheng and memorized his starting habits."

Just as Lu Cheng was speaking, the situation on the field had already changed.

After pushing Shen Chaosheng away, Gu Xicheng did not pursue; instead, he retreated two steps, returning to his team's formation.

The five members of Xiling No. 1 High School took their positions like chess pieces. The three forwards immediately pressed up, and the two defenders pulled out to the flanks.

The positioning of the five of them managed to isolate Shen Chaosheng outside the formation.

Shen Chaosheng looked back and saw that his four teammates had already been cut into two groups.

Two were in front of the Xiling No. 1 High School forwards, and two were being held back by the defenders. Everyone was moving, but not a single person could support him.

"Do you see that?" Lu Cheng's voice carried through the sound system across the entire venue. "The tactical core of Xiling No. 1 High School is to divide the battlefield. They first had Gu Xicheng lure the enemy deep, and after Shen Chaosheng was separated from his team, they used a human wall to isolate him. The five of them formed three closed zones, cutting Donghai High School into three pieces."

He paused. "This isn't just teamwork between five people; it's five blades under the command of one person."

The audience in the stands was silent.

In the footage on the giant screen, Donghai High School's formation had completely disintegrated.

Shen Chaosheng was being entangled by three people in turns. Every time he tried to burst through to return to his team, the Xiling No. 1 High School contestants would automatically step back, preventing him from gaining momentum.

If he tried to force his way through, two of them would double-team him, not engaging in a head-on fight, just stalling for time.

In the other two closed zones, the Donghai High School contestants were being beaten without any ability to fight back.

It wasn't that they were weak; it was that everyone was facing two enemies at the same time.

The Xiling No. 1 High School forwards attracted attention from the front, while the defenders cut in from the flanks to attack.

The Donghai High School contestants couldn't look after their backs if they blocked the front, and couldn't look after the front if they blocked the back; they didn't even have time to react.

"This is tactical suppression." Lu Cheng watched the battle on the screen, his voice calm but his speaking speed fast. "No matter how strong individual ability is, once cut into local battlefields, one can only fight three at once. You might be able to handle one-on-three, but your teammates can't hold up in one-on-two situations. Once your teammates fall, you will end up fighting one-on-five."

He tapped his finger lightly on the light screen. "From the start until now, every step Xiling No. 1 High School has taken was scripted..."

"Thud!!"

A dull thud echoed across the field. The second contestant from Donghai High School was knocked down, taking a straight kick to the chest, flying backward, and sliding three or four meters along the ground after landing.

The referee raised his hand. "Eliminated!"

The audience in the stands began to murmur noisily.

"Holy crap, what's going on?"

"Donghai High School is going to lose??"

"No way, this is a seeded team!"

"That Xiling what's-it-called, Xiling No. 1 High School? Where did they come from?"

Another one. The third contestant from Donghai High School was knocked out of the field.

Shen Chaosheng's eyes were bloodshot!

"Damn it!"

His aura erupted with a roar, the pale golden Source Power flame surged violently, and he charged toward the Xiling No. 1 High School formation like a burning cannonball.

Gu Xicheng raised his hand. "Contract."

The Xiling No. 1 High School formation instantly closed in. Three people stood shoulder-to-shoulder, Source Power pouring out from each of them, forming a pale blue light membrane on the surface of their bodies.

Shen Chaosheng slammed into it.

"Boom!!"

The gold and blue Source Power collided in mid-air, the shockwave sweeping across the entire Arena.

The alloy floor emitted a piercing screech of friction. Shen Chaosheng forced his way through the blue light membrane and smashed a fist into Gu Xicheng's chest.

The floor beneath Gu Xicheng's feet shattered, and he slid back two meters, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

But he smiled. "You lost."

Shen Chaosheng froze and spun around sharply.

The last teammate behind him was hit simultaneously by the two forwards from Xiling No. 1 High School, sent flying into the air, and slammed heavily into the protective railing at the edge of the field.

The five of them presented a surrounding formation, and what awaited Shen Chaosheng next was simply being beaten up by the five of them.

The entire Arena was silent for a full three seconds. Then, the roar of the crowd exploded.

"What the hell???"

"A seeded team is out on the first day?!"

"What is this thing!!"

"Donghai High School lost?! Lost to a team from a small county?!"

Sister Bai opened her mouth, her voice a bit disjointed. "I never expected this! Xiling No. 1 High School launched a courageous attack and defeated the strong seeded team, Donghai High School, in one fell swoop!"

Lu Cheng leaned back in his chair, watching the center of the field.

"This team is interesting." Lu Cheng's voice carried out through the speakers. "They know their individual abilities are inferior to the seeded team's contestants, so they spend every ounce of energy on tactical coordination. They don't fight for the strongest point, but rather fill in all their shortcomings."

Su Wan said softly beside him, "Their tactical system is even more complete than many university freshman teams."

Sister Bai took a deep breath, regaining her professional host rhythm. "Thank you to both teams for the wonderful matchup! The next match is..."

The matches continued. The subsequent matches had no suspense.

As soon as Qin Zhaobai from Imperial Capital No. 1 High School took the stage, he ended the battle in three minutes.

His aura at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm suppressed the five Source Gathering Realm opponents on the other side so much that they couldn't even stand steadily. Qin Zhaobai didn't even really move his hands; the sheer aura alone made the opponents voluntarily concede.

Lu Cheng provided commentary. "Qin Zhaobai's Source Power purity far exceeds that of others at the same Source Gathering Realm level; he must have used some kind of compression technique. Furthermore, he didn't go all out the entire time, which means he still has hidden strength."

The matches proceeded one after another.

Jingmen High School's brute force suppression, North District 3 Comprehensive High School's defensive counterattack, Nanwu High School's balanced style...

Lu Cheng provided commentary for every single match without missing one. For every match, he accurately dissected the core tactics and key turning points of both sides, and even pointed out the contestants' habitual movements and tactical preferences clearly.

Sister Bai was completely convinced after the fourth match. She was, after all, a singer in the Meridian Opening Realm, and her discernment wasn't bad.

But Lu Cheng had already predicted the subsequent trends before the matches were even over, and every comment hit the nail on the head.

"Student Lu Cheng, how did you know that the number two position from Nanwu High School would make a mistake?" Sister Bai couldn't help but ask.

"He had a slight force-dampening movement in his right ankle just now." Lu Cheng pointed to the frozen image on the light screen. "It should be an old injury. After the old injury flared up, his lateral movement speed slowed by a fraction of a second. That delay is fatal in a fast-paced battle."

Just as he finished speaking, the number two position from Nanwu High School on the light screen indeed slowed by half a beat while dodging laterally, getting swept in the ankle by his opponent, and losing his balance to fall to the ground.

Sister Bai took a deep breath. This discernment—how could a high school student have it?

By the time all the matches for the first day ended, it was already past seven in the evening.

Round of 64 to 32: thirty-two teams advanced, and thirty-two teams were eliminated.

Seven of the eight seeded teams advanced, with only Donghai High School being eliminated in an upset.

Lu Cheng and Su Wan came down from the platform. Just as they walked into the corridor of the lounge, they saw Manager Yu Xiuqi standing at the door, his terminal lighting up in his hand, his expression a bit strange.

"What's wrong?" Lu Cheng asked.

"See for yourself." Manager Yu Xiuqi handed over the terminal.

On the terminal screen was a social media platform. The number one spot on the trending list.

#Donghai High School Eliminated in Upset# Burning

#Xiling No. 1 High School Tactical Analysis# Exploding

#Genius Commentator Lu Cheng# Hot

#How Terrifying is Lu Cheng's Discernment# Hot

#What Does a High School Student Know About Martial Arts# Hot

Lu Cheng scrolled down twice. The discussion threads had already exploded.

"Did anyone watch the first match today? Donghai High School got wrecked by a county team, holy crap!"

"Lu Cheng's commentary is too outrageous; he can even tell what the contestants are going to do in the next second!"

"Is this the level of Navigator Academy..."

"I was there on the scene. The thing happened within three seconds of Lu Cheng saying it; I even got goosebumps."

"Lol, a bunch of keyboard warriors start bashing without even checking Lu Cheng's background. Let me educate you all: this guy is in the Meridian Opening Realm."

"A Meridian Opening Realm high school student???"

"Emmm... suddenly I feel it's very normal that his commentary is professional."

Su Wan leaned over to take a look, the corners of her mouth curving up. "There are quite a few bashing you too."

"Normal." Lu Cheng returned the terminal to Manager Yu Xiuqi. "That's how it is when you get popular."

The lounge door was suddenly pushed open.

The three of them turned around at the same time.

Shen Guhong stood at the door. "Lu Cheng. Su Wan."

His voice was low and hoarse. "Stay at the hotel tonight. Do not go out."

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment. "Teacher Shen, what happened?"

Shen Guhong did not answer.

He tilted his head, as if listening to movement somewhere in the corridor.

"Some minor matters," he said. "I'll go handle them."

"Teacher Shen, do you need..."

"No need." Shen Guhong interrupted him. "Lock the door after returning to your room. Manager Yu, keep an eye on them."

Manager Yu Xiuqi pushed up his glasses. "Understood."

Shen Guhong turned around. Three seconds later, the sound of his footsteps disappeared.

Lu Cheng leaned against the door frame, watching the direction Shen Guhong left in, his brow furrowed.