244: Chapter 244 Five-Man Squad!

Just as Li Fan was pondering the details of the New Student Competition...

...there was a knock at the door.

He opened it.

The visitor was none other than Peng Song!

Peng Song looked high-spirited, a look of resilience and confidence flowing in his eyes; his aura was a level stronger than before.

Peng Song first sized up Li Fan. Seeing that Li Fan didn't seem mentally affected by spending nearly a month in Confinement Valley, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Brother Fan, I'm glad you're okay."

"That Fang Tong is simply going too far! I originally wanted to go to that kid's doorstep to challenge him, but I didn't expect him to go into seclusion out of cowardice. Otherwise, I definitely would have let him know the power of my precious sword!"

Peng Song pulled Li Fan into a hug, feeling very excited.

Over the past month, he had spent most of his time with the Student who chose him as a Sparring Partner. Just a few days ago, he heard that Li Fan had offended Fang Tong and was sent to Confinement Valley.

Li Fan finally got out, only to be called over by Fang Tong again and receive another punishment in Confinement Valley.

In Peng Song's eyes, this was clearly Fang Tong going too far and deliberately targeting Li Fan!

Since Li Fan was one of his few good friends, he truly couldn't stand by and watch Li Fan suffer such grievances, so he had gone directly to Fang Tong's manor some time ago.

Unfortunately, Fang Tong had already entered seclusion at that time, so he had to leave.

A large part of why he included Li Fan in that post was for Fang Tong to see.

He wanted Fang Tong to know that although he and Li Fan were just Sparring Partners, their strength was not at all inferior to those Formal Students. Don't look down on the young and poor!

"It's fine, I didn't really suffer any loss. The punishment in Confinement Valley didn't have much of an impact on me."

"As for you, you've made quite a bit of progress this month, haven't you?"

Li Fan said with a smile.

He hadn't expected Peng Song to care so much about him. However, facing Fang Tong, he really hadn't suffered any loss—he even made a small profit.

Not only could he train and cultivate carefree in Confinement Valley, but he had also caught the attention of an Immortal Level existence in the academy.

Shortly after...

...the two of them began to chat.

Before long...

...their conversation turned to the New Student Competition.

"Brother Fan, have you seen the rules for the New Student Competition?"

"Yeah, I just finished reading them."

"Brother Fan, this format is completely different from previous years. I feel that if we team up, we'll have a huge advantage!

If we add Luo Ling, the Student who chose me, our advantage will be even greater. Reaching the top ten should be a sure thing!"

Peng Song made a suggestion, his face filled with hope.

Hearing this, Li Fan fell into thought.

If it was the first scenario he had envisioned, teaming up would indeed be a good idea.

Even if it were the second scenario, teaming up wouldn't hurt and wouldn't have much of an impact.

Seeing Li Fan hesitate, Peng Song thought it was because he mentioned Luo Ling, so he quickly introduced him.

"Brother Fan, this Luo Ling is different from those other Students who discriminate against Sparring Partners. I've spent nearly a month with him and have a decent understanding of him. He's a reliable person, worthy of trust."

Hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Then he must be a pretty good person."

"As for teaming up, I think it's fine, but the two of us should be enough. There's no need to add him."

"After all, generally speaking, we aren't very popular in the eyes of those Formal Students. If he teams up with us, he might be ostracized by them, which would just cause him unnecessary trouble."

At those words...

...Peng Song couldn't help but smack his forehead, suddenly realizing. "You're right, Brother Fan, you're more thoughtful!"

"Luo Ling has treated me well. Dragging him in might actually harm him."

"Then let's just team up, the two of us!"

"Brother Fan, you excel at close combat, and I excel at long-range attacks. With our two brothers teaming up, we'll surely be invincible!

Once we enter the top ten, fully comprehend the enlightenment stele, and become Formal Students, we'll give those people who look down on us New Students a good slap in the face!"

...

Just as Li Fan and Peng Song had decided to form a two-person team...

...the Formal Students who had chosen them, Duan Ping and Luo Ling, along with Duan Linger, all came to find them of their own accord.

From them, they learned...

...that many Formal Students were actually in the process of forming teams.

This was normal.

After all, teaming up was such an easy way to significantly reduce the difficulty of the competition that it was bound to be thought of.

Faced with the enthusiasm of the three...

...Li Fan and Peng Song discussed it. With the mindset that there is strength in numbers and it wouldn't hurt to have more people, they finally decided to let the three join the team.

And if their five-person team happened to survive until the end, deciding who would be first among them would also be very simple.

Defeating Starry Sky Giant Beasts earned points, right?

In the final moments, the five of them would leave the shelter together and join the beast tide. Whoever could kill the most Starry Sky Giant Beasts and survive until the end would be the final winner.

...

Soon...

...in the blink of an eye...

...it was the next day.

Today was the day the New Student Competition began.

According to the notice released by the academy last night...

...all participants needed to gather at the designated meeting point within the specified time.

By now, many people were already heading there one after another.

Unsurprisingly...

...everyone arriving at the meeting point was basically standing in small grouped-up teams.

Only a very small number chose to be alone.

For example, Jiang Yunxu, whose initial Student ID was number one.

In fact, many teams had just invited him one after another.

However, he had rejected all of them.

People could understand this and had even expected it.

After all, for someone like Jiang Yunxu, who possessed immense strength and confidence, choosing to act alone was perfectly normal.

However, it was worth mentioning that...

...Duan Xuan, who, like Jiang Yunxu, was a heavy favorite to win and had the initial Student ID of number two, had chosen to team up.

His teammate was Fang Tong.

Everyone basically knew the relationship between the two, so it wasn't surprising.

But judging from the look on Duan Xuan's face, he seemed very dissatisfied with Fang Tong.

The reason was simple.

When Duan Xuan came out of seclusion, he discovered that his underling, Fang Tong, had been beaten by a Sparring Partner again, becoming famous among the New Students once more.

This really made him lose face.

To put it bluntly, he was ashamed to be on a team with Fang Tong!

Had it not been for the fact that Fang Tong had a good relationship with him in recent years and had done many things for him, he would never have teamed up with Fang Tong.

Fang Tong was also discerning and could see the disdain in Duan Xuan's eyes.

He understood this; after all, if Duan Xuan had been flattened twice in a row by a Sparring Partner, he would also find it hard to acknowledge Duan Xuan as his big brother.

In the end, it was all Li Fan's fault!

With the format of this New Student Competition, he might not necessarily encounter Li Fan, but if he did, he would definitely make Li Fan pay back double!

Although he wasn't sure he could beat Li Fan, he had his big brother, Duan Xuan!

If his big brother Duan Xuan just made a slight move...

...Li Fan would surely be sent running with his tail between his legs!

While Fang Tong was fantasizing about how to get revenge...

...there was a stir in the crowd, and everyone's eyes turned together toward the newcomers in the distance.

It was none other than...

...Li Fan and Peng Song!