234: Chapter 234 Pre-match Ceremony

As soon as Principal Li stepped into the room, he exchanged warm greetings with Liu Tai, then sat down next to Principal Qin as if nothing was amiss.

He picked up his tea and took a large gulp, as if he had truly rushed over in a hurry.

Principal Qin swept a glance from the corner of his eye and secretly grumbled to himself:

"This old fox, he puts on quite an act."

"I caught a glimpse of your leisurely figure on the road earlier; I almost believed your nonsense about being tied up with school affairs."

Principal Li finished his tea, let out a long sigh, then turned his head leisurely and said to Principal Qin with a smile:

"Old Qin, sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's fine, I understand. If it were me, I wouldn't want to arrive too early either."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Principal Li feigned confusion.

"Our School Team students are full of youthful vigor and often act without considering the consequences, not knowing how to show mercy. If they happen to go overboard later, Principal Li, please bear with it."

Principal Qin said with a meaningful tone.

Principal Li laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying:

"Oh, that's easy to say, easy to say. Fists and kicks have no eyes, after all. It's normal for young people to be reckless when they start fighting."

Seeing that his provocation was like a stone sinking into the ocean and Principal Li simply wouldn't take the bait, Principal Qin decided to be blunt:

"However, the level of your school's current School Team... is indeed somewhat disappointing, while my school's team this year is the strongest in the last decade."

"Our captain, Xie Ning, is at the Qi Control Realm Sixth Stage, and the vice-captain has also reached the Qi Control Realm Second Stage."

"In fact, there is another team member who just made a Breakthrough to the Qi Control Realm a few days ago."

"And your school's School Team... only has one captain who is passable, with strength reaching the Qi Control Realm Second Stage."

Principal Qin said with a hint of pride in his tone, smiling:

"Don't blame me for being blunt, Old Li."

"I originally thought our opponent would be Tianqing Martial Arts School, but who knew that incident would happen, allowing you to enter the finals."

"The gap is obvious. Even if we wanted to go easy on you, the audience would say we are throwing the match."

"You might as well just forfeit. Although it might be a bit embarrassing for your Face, everyone would understand."

After Principal Qin finished speaking, his gaze locked tightly onto Principal Li's Face, wanting to capture his reaction.

Unexpectedly, Principal Li just smiled slightly and said nonchalantly:

"Indeed, compared to yours, the previous level of our School Team did have a significant gap."

"But if our strength isn't as good, it isn't as good. The match still has to be played seriously to the end."

Seeing Principal Li's reaction, Principal Qin couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

Strange? Why is this old guy not reacting at all after being told that?

In the past, this old guy would have at least retaliated with a few words.

Why is he so composed today?

"In the past?"

Principal Qin noticed the phrasing in Principal Li's words just now and began to ponder.

Did Captain Zhang Qing improve his strength, or is there someone else? Or perhaps both?

There are several members of the Henghuo Martial Arts School team at the Blood Accumulation Realm Ninth Stage. If they all managed a Breakthrough and reached the Qi Control Realm First Stage, they might actually cause some trouble regarding the rules of the match format.

But it would only be some trouble, making a match that originally had no suspense a bit more eventful.

"Xie Ning's Qi Control Realm Sixth Stage is not just high cultivation compared to his peers; he also has extremely high attainments in Martial Skills."

"Even an average Qi Control Realm Ninth Stage Martial Artist might not necessarily be his opponent."

Principal Qin analyzed internally,

"This old guy is just pretending to be calm."

In reality, Principal Li was indeed pretending to be calm; if not for that, he would have probably already burst out laughing.

"Oh, it looks like the time is up. The opening ceremony is about to begin."

Principal Li swept his gaze across the stands and looked towards the passageway.

He saw that, led by Ma Jingyuan, a team of five was walking out of the passageway in an orderly fashion.

They were wearing the School Team uniform with an orange-red base and gold trim, walking with wind-swept momentum and an imposing Aura.

From the passageway on the other side, another team of students slowly walked out, led by their team teacher.

The uniforms they wore were primarily emerald green, distinct and eye-catching; this was indeed the School Team of Jiangshui Martial Arts School.

Following closely behind the team teacher was a young man with sharp, short, layered hair and a rather handsome appearance.

As soon as he appeared, the auditorium, especially the area where the teachers and students of Jiangshui Martial Arts School were gathered, immediately erupted into a frenzy, with cheers and discussions rising one after another.

"He's here! It's Xie Ning!"

"Is that Senior Xie? This is my first time seeing him; he's truly as extraordinary as the rumors say!"

"Xie Ning! Xie Ning!"

There seemed to be a group of Xie Ning's exclusive fans among them. As soon as they saw Xie Ning appear, they immediately raised cheering banners and screamed at the top of their lungs to cheer him on.

Hearing the cheers of his fans, Xie Ning smiled and waved to the surroundings.

This action made the fans even more excited, and the scene became increasingly frenzied.

"So exaggerated... Why is our side not saying anything?"

Chen Moxuan followed behind Ma Jingyuan and chatted with Peng Jie, who was behind him.

Peng Jie had been temporarily pulled into the team by Ma Jingyuan and put on the team uniform to fill the vacancy left by Zhang Qing.

"They think we're going to lose miserably, how could they dare to speak up?"

Peng Jie replied with a bitter Face,

"I originally just wanted to come and watch your match, but I ended up being forcefully dragged over by Teacher Ma to fill in."

"I really won't need to go on stage later, right? This uniform is too tight. I feel like if I exert any force, it will burst open..."

"You've trained to be too muscular; there are no uniforms that fit you for the time being." Chen Moxuan comforted him with a smile,

"I was originally supposed to be the last to go on stage, but now I've temporarily taken Zhang Qing's spot, so my order is third."

"And you've taken my spot; by the time it's your turn, the match should be over."

"As expected of my Brother Xuan! You talk so tough!" Peng Jie gave a thumbs up.

He knew that Chen Moxuan had relied on pure strength to spar with Lin Muhan back then.

Although even without revealing her vampire identity, Lin Muhan's own strength was still quite a bit behind Xie Ning's.

But seeing Chen Moxuan so confident, he believed it.

He always unconditionally trusted Chen Moxuan.

"Besides, even if you had to go on stage, as long as the opponent isn't in the Qi Control Realm, you should be able to handle it, right?"

Chen Moxuan said with a meaningful tone.

If not for the fact that he had developed his Spiritual Sense, he wouldn't have discovered that Peng Jie was the one hiding the most in their Traditional Martial Arts Class 2.

Although his cultivation was only at the Blood Accumulation Realm Seventh Stage, Peng Jie's blood and Qi volume had already surpassed most people at the Blood Accumulation Realm Ninth Stage.

His physical body was even more formidable.

It seems Ma Jingyuan had vaguely sensed Peng Jie's true strength, which is why he arranged for him to come up.

This path of hard training indeed holds a great advantage for Martial Artists who have not yet mastered True Qi, or whose True Qi is not abundant enough.

Hearing Chen Moxuan say this, Peng Jie scratched his head, chuckled, and did not deny it.

After chatting for a bit along the way, both teams met in the center of the arena.

After standing in their respective positions according to their upcoming match order, Chen Moxuan came to the middle and stood Face-to-Face with Xie Ning.