Chapter 331: Bad Lot

The next day, in the Tang Sect's hotel room, a heavy gloom prevailed, the low pressure making it hard to breathe.

Looking at the slip Xu San Shi held in his hand, Tang Wulin suddenly understood how Huo Yutong had felt a few days earlier.

Xu San Shi's opponent in this draw was their old rival: the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy.

What's more, this wasn't even the worst part; worse still, Xu San Shi's slip had placed Tang Sect and Shilake Academy in the same group.

In other words, before advancing, they were destined to face the Shilake team once in the round-robin.

This left everyone in the Tang Sect unsure what to say.

After all, they could represent the Tang Sect in the competition only because the academy permitted it; if they made the academy lose this match, it would really be hard to justify.

Just then, Bei Bei suddenly clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright, why are you all moping around like this? Don't you think this is a good thing? Did San Shi draw a bad lot for us? Of course not—he actually drew us a good lot."

Xu San Shi wore a bitter face and gave a wry smile: "Bei Bei, if you want to scold me, just say it straight; no need to be so sarcastic."

Bei Bei gave a faint smile.

"Look, even you don't believe my words—that won't do. What I say comes from the heart; you're all overthinking because you care. Think again: is the lot San Shi drew really a bad one?"

Seeing how certain he was, everyone froze, then began to think along his lines.

The first to react was Tang Wulin.

"I see now!"

His eyes lit up, and he looked excitedly at Xu San Shi.

"Senior Brother Bei Bei is right; Third Senior Brother, you really did draw us a good lot."

"Why?"

Xu San Shi still hadn't reacted.

Tang Wulin smiled and said:

"Because if we and the academy are placed in the same group in the round-robin, the rules mean we won't meet the academy again before the finals."

Of course, this premise assumes that Tang Sect and Shilake Academy both advance and enter the later stage of the competition.

But with Tang Wulin on one team and Huo Yutong on the other, how could they fail to advance? In other words, if things go smoothly, it's very likely that after this tournament Tang Sect and Shilake Academy will take the top two spots.

Xu San Shi curled his lips.

"My little junior brother, didn't you see what's written on the slip in my hand? Don't forget our opponent this time is the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy."

Even in this tournament full of experts, the strength of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy is certain to place it among the top five.

However, Tang Wulin merely gave a light smile.

"No problem—we'll just take them out."

Everyone stared for a moment, then their eyes lit up.

"Yeah, what's there to fear about the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy? Just take them out."

Five years ago, when they were still reserve team members, they could defeat their opponents; this time defeat is even less likely.

Bei Bei secretly gave Tang Wulin a thumbs-up, and Tang Wulin returned the smile.

It must be said, Bei Bei is ultimately five years older than him and far more steady mentally.

This is something he needs to learn. He glanced around at everyone and smiled, saying:

"Well then, let's start preparing tomorrow's tactics."

The next morning, the sun shone brightly and the sky was cloudless.

The spectator stands were packed with people; although the match on the stage was fiercely underway, very few focused their attention on the stage.

Their attention was now focused more on the Tang Sect members and the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy's player bench.

There's no need to explain why they paid attention to the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy—it's the strongest team of the Ri Yue Di Guo, naturally evoking fondness and anticipation.

As for why they watched the Tang Sect, besides being opponents of the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy, another important reason is that the Tang Sect team is now quite eye‑catching.

After these few days of matches, the reputation of the Tang Sect members has been thoroughly established.

In almost every match, the Tang Sect can be said to have won by an overwhelming advantage.

Moreover, Tang Wulin, Bei Bei, Xu San Shi, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jingxuan, Xiao Xiao, and Nan Qiuqiu—none of them are low in looks, which has further boosted their popularity to new heights.

Everyone has a psychology of admiring the strong; if someone is both powerful and good‑looking, their popularity won't be low.

Among the Tang Sect members, there's no doubt that the most popular is their captain, Tang Wulin.

With the highest male looks in this tournament and top‑tier strength, after the first two days' battle between Shilake Academy and the Snow Demon Sect ended, the question of whether Tang Wulin or Long Aotian is stronger—and who is the tournament's strongest male contestant—has been hotly debated on the streets and alleys of Bright Capital.

Anyway, neither of them belongs to the Ri Yue Di Guo, so there's no bias; for a while it was "you say you're right, I say I'm right," with everyone sticking to their own opinion.

Those who think Long Aotian is strong point to his display of overwhelming strength in his fight against Huo Yutong; although he ultimately lost, nobody considers him weak.

Those who think Tang Wulin is strong say it's because all his fights so far have been effortless, giving no hint of his limits.

Since the start of this tournament, Tang Wulin has been the first to go out in every match, bringing victory to the Tang Sect.

So far, no one has been able to defeat him; each time he steps down it's because he admits defeat himself, yet he visibly still has plenty of energy left, making it even harder for everyone to gauge his limits.

The only possible weakness known about him so far is that his melee ability isn't strong, since he always tries to avoid close combat in his fights.

But they don't realize that if the Ri Yue Royal Soul Engineering Academy's competitors heard this idea, they would definitely laugh out loud.

Five years ago, Tang Wulin's melee ability could go head‑to‑head with a Soul King of the assault system; five years later, his melee ability is certainly not weak.

At this moment they all held their breath, faces tense, discussing how the upcoming fight should proceed.

Xiao Hongchen said, "Why don't I go up first? We need to wear down his combat power somehow."

Meng Hongchen shook his head.

"No, big brother, we still need to conceal your strength; we can't expose it this early."

Xiao Hongchen helplessly glanced at his older sister.

"Then what should we do? You go up? I don't think you could stay calm fighting him."

"I......"

Meng Hongchen opened their mouth, but was speechless.

At this moment, a youth stood up and volunteered: "Captain, let me go first; I'll just test the opponent's strength myself. If I lose, then you can go next."

Xiao Hongchen looked at him, pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"All right, then it's your turn."

(End of chapter)