Chapter 546 - Conceding
The victory in this two-on-two match was wholly different from the previous victories in the duels. While the duels had all been close matches, including Ye Xinglan’s considering her opponent, this two-on-two was a crushing victory for the underclassmen.
At the beginning of the match, the Li twins had tried to play it safe and sound out how strong Tang Wulin and Gu Yue were, but they were blitzed. They hadn’t even had a chance to unleash their soul fusion skill before getting eliminated. It was devastating.
The twins were pale as they stared at Tang Wulin and Gu Yue. This wasn’t just because of their injuries, but the fear struck into their hearts by the draconic roar Tang Wulin unleashed. Their instincts told them that any efforts to go against this monarch would be futile.
Clad in golden scales and surrounded by a pair of golden soul rings, Tang Wulin was a majestic knight of shining gold. Even without using his own battle armor, he had annihilated a pair of soul masters with a superior cultivation level and five pieces of battle armor each. The twins couldn’t accept that they lost despite having so many advantages, but their hearts had long since given up.
Tang Wulin’s scales quietly withdrew into himself and he returned to his normal form. Basking in the cheers of the first and second grades, he showed no signs of leaving the stage. The team battle was up next after all.
Tang Wulin and Gu Yue had decided on such domineering tactics for this match in order to set the tone for the team battle. They wanted to fire up their teammates and instill fear into their opponents, who they were certain would also participate in the team battles.
From the first and second grade team’s waiting area, Yuanen Yehui, Yue Zhengyu, Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, and Xu Lizhi ascended the stage one by one. They convened at Tang Wulin and Gu Yue’s sides, putting up a united front.
Since Ye Xinglan was unfit for battle, Xu Lizhi had been chosen to take her place. Dark clouds hovered over a face full of gloom as he handed Tang Wulin some bunch of recovery buns.
As the seven of them stood there in solidarity, an immense wave of pressure filled the arena.
Faced with these mighty juniors of theirs, the third grade team sat frozen in silence. Moments later, Li Qiankun alone rose up from his seat and made for the stage. But Song Lin raised a hand to stop him. “Please wait a moment.” He turned back and looked at her in confusion.
Song Ling shut her eyes tight and let out a long sigh. When she opened her eyes, they were filled with resolution. She walked onto the stage and said in a low voice, “Excuse me, Elder Cai. We’re withdrawing from the team battle. We concede.”
The entire arena went silent, the only sounds heard being the whirring of the gears within everyone’s brains as they processed what they just heard. They’re conceding? The third grade is surrendering? What? Concede? They still have a one-word battle armor master! The strongest of the third grade, Li Qiankun, hasn’t even gone up yet! Yet they’re giving up?
“Teacher Song, how come?” Li Qiankun exclaimed.
Song Lin turned back to face Li Qiankun, then cracked a bitter smile and shook her head. “Look at your teammates. See what state they’re in. We don’t have any chance in the team battle like this.”
Li Qiankun gaped for a moment, then looked back to his teammates with renewed clarity. Looking to the side, he saw Mo Jue sitting in the corner like a zombie. His gaze moving on, dead fish eyes on Ye Wu who took one glance at Tang Wulin on stage and gulped. Li Qiankun then turned back to the stage to observe the Li twins. The two were holding each other in fear of their opponents. Finally, he turned his gaze to his companions who had yet to battle. Whenever his gaze met theirs, they would avert their eyes and lower their heads.
All of their confidence was gone, completely destroyed by their juniors.
“Teacher Song, I want to fight in this match. Even if it’s one against seven, I want to do it,” Li Qiankun said, his fists clenched tight.
Song Lin shook her head again. “I don’t want you to end up like Mo Jue. My decision is final.”
Li Qiankun’s breathing went ragged as he turned to gaze to the team of seven on stage. He saw the fire in their eyes and realized he truly was no match. He bellowed in frustration, then turned tail and withdrew.
This marked the defeat of the third grade, the class that was supposed to be the greatest of all of the outer court. It was an utterly disgraceful defeat, so much so that not even the final match had been fought in fear of earning more shame.
It was true that the third grade still had the one-word battle armor master Li Qiankun in reserve, but out of the entire team, he was the only one fit to fight. While he thirsted for battle with these seven mighty opponents, the rest had fear and shame struck into their hearts. Taking this into consideration, Song Lin had made the right choice. If she had let them go up and suffer another defeat, she feared that not even Li Qiankun was resilient enough to weather such a setback. She didn’t want to see her students fall any further than they already had.
Upon the stage, Tang Wulin stood at the head of his team, the rest flanking him on either side. The seven of them stood as valorous young men and women. They exuded confidence and a will to prove themselves burned within. Every single student of the outer court stared at them in awe, hundreds of gazes converging on one point.
“These kids are excellent!” Yali exclaimed in a hushed tone from her seat on the elders’ viewing platform.
Tang Wulin and his teammates did not cower under these hundreds of gazes. They stood with their backs straight and chests puffed with pride.
After having spent a little over a year here, Tang Wulin and his friends in the first grade had grown to a point incomparable with before. In addition to their peerless talent, they held a firm conviction that victory was a certainty. They would not grow timid even before a full team of battle armor masters. This was the courage of youth, the fruits of their efforts, and their strength.
Zhuo Shi glanced at Feng Wuyu just as Feng Wuyu happened to glance at him. The stared at each other for a moment and nodded in agreement for once. Both of them smiled as they watched Tang Wulin, their hearts bursting with pride. They were also happy with the other kids on his team. The two were certain that in a few more years once those kids turned eighteen or nineteen, they would become central figures and lead Shrek Academy into a shining new era.
“The Pavilion Master was right. What kids as talented as them need is experience,” muttered Zhuo Shi.
“Well shit. I agree,” Feng Wuyu said.
Elder Cai floated into the air and declared, “The third grade has conceded. The first and second grade team wins.”
The audience snapped out of their stupor and began to cheer. The stadium rumbled as the students stomped and clapped, most of all in the section where the first grade sat. The first grade students were the proudest of them all! As the newcomers who had barely spent a year at Shrek Academy, they had finally established their place today with a feat deemed nigh impossible. They had defeated the third grade, the greatest of the outer court, to now stand at a new peak. Their position was firmly cemented now. It was impossible for a class to appear in the next few years to surpass theirs.
While Tang Wulin pumped his fists into the air and cheered with his teammates, Xu Lizhi ran off-stage with a bounce in his step to grab a just woken up Ye Xinglan. She yelped when he scooped her up into his arms and ran back on stage with her.
“We’re the awesomest!” Xu Lizhi grinned.
Ye Xinglan blushed crimson. “L-let go me down!” Her body was still too weak to even put up a resistance.
“Huh? What did you say?” Xu Lizhi shouted back at her, his voice nearly drowned out in the cheering.
“I said let me down!” Ye Xinglan glared at him.
“Huh? Are you afraid I’ll drop you? Don’t worry, I’ll hold you tight!” Xu Lizhi said, tightening his arms around her.
“You damned fatty!” Ye Xinglan pinched his arm and Xu Lizhi looked down, facing her with a goofy grin.
In a dour mood, Li Qiankun led the third grade out of the arena. They didn’t belong in this scene of glory.
“I have something to announce,” Elder Cai said in a booming voice, her aura flaring with a hint of the strength of a Titled Douluo and quieting the arena in an instant.