Chapter 1 In the Locker Room

Inside the Chang'an Stadium, in the locker room.

Gong Yuge looked at his teammates and said, "That Jiang Xiaopi responded to me. Considering the previous conflict, he might take the bait."

The team's shield warrior, Su Xinyan, was a pretty boy—yes, literally, with a small, pale face.

Su Xinyan shook his head and said, "I watched some of their match recordings. That Jiang Xiaopi isn't an impulsive person."

Deng Siyang widened her eyes, an incredulous look on her face. She stared at the pretty boy and said with a hint of sarcasm, "He started a conflict with us as soon as we met, and started fighting without a word. Isn't that impulsive?"

Su Xinyan looked at Deng Siyang expressionlessly, muttering in his heart, *'You are too foolish to discuss great plans with.'*

This girl certainly had the strength, but she wasn't clever. She was only able to join this team because of her Xing Skills and her unique identity as a medic.

It had to be admitted that the quality of Xing Skills was really too important for Star Warriors. If one of your Xing Skills was extremely functional and perverted, it wasn't impossible to kill an opponent above your level. Jiang Xiao was a living example.

Gong Yuge nodded thoughtfully and said, "Hopefully, the little video we released yesterday will have an effect. Before the fight, I'll provoke him again, trying to get him to attack me first."

As he spoke, Gong Yuge turned to look at Yuan Qinghua and said with a smile, "Boss, I'm going all out to create an opportunity for you. You can't let my efforts go to waste."

Yuan Qinghua glanced at Gong Yuge, a slight dissatisfaction in his heart at his boastful appearance.

Gong Yuge was just like that. He would boast about every little contribution he made, wanting the whole world to know.

Yuan Qinghua nodded anyway, hoping that Jiang Xiaopi would lose his cool.

Everyone at Da Wan High School, from teachers to students, had never imagined that their first opponent would be Jiangbin High School from Beijiang Province.

Since the beginning of the National High School League, teams from Beijiang Province hadn't appeared in the playoffs in decades, so people's impression of the Beijiang team was basically nonexistent.

This so-called blank slate didn't cause any concern in the eyes of others, but rather a feeling of "It doesn't matter, you're going to lose anyway."

What did it matter if they knew anything about them? They could just crush them with their strength.

But since Han Jiangxue advanced to the Star River Realm, people had begun to take the Jiangbin High School team seriously. And for Yuan Qinghua and the others, their biggest concern had always been Jiang Xiaopi!

To be precise,

It was that Jiang Xiaopi who knew *Silence*!

Silence couldn't kill people, but it could restrict everyone's performance.

One wrong move, and the whole game was lost.

Han Jiangxue was called the Snow Goddess for a reason. She was fully capable of destroying a team in a short period of time. Whether it was defying fate or delivering the final blow, Han Jiangxue could do it.

Da Wan High School's battle plan was very clear: solve Han Jiangxue, and the victory was set.

The only thing they had to be careful about was taking care of Han Jiangxue before she destroyed them.

In other words, this was a race.

And Jiang Xiao, with his 9-star slots and supposed low-level role, had made things difficult for Da Wan High School because of his *Silence*.

Knock knock knock.

A knock sounded on the door, and two staff members walked in with tactical boards. "Please have the team leader confirm the lineup and formation."

Da Wan High School's team leader hurriedly came out.

The same scene was playing out in the Jiangbin High School team's休息室(xiū xī shì - rest area).

Jiang Xiao sighed inwardly. As expected of the National Tournament, even the formation had to be set in advance.

Although this formation was just an opening move, it was taken so seriously. If you didn't stand in the formation you reported, you could even be penalized with a foul and points deducted.

After discussion, they set up a relatively traditional 2-1-1 formation.

After reporting it, only the team members were left in the rest area again.

Hai Tianqing looked at everyone and said, "Our only goal at the start is Yuan Qinghua. Da Wan High School's magic-type, Gong Yuge, is good, but compared to Yuan Qinghua, he's less of a threat. Don't let him distract you..."

Jiang Xiao chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Teacher Hai. I know who the primary target is. I played these little tricks during military training in my first year of high school."

Hai Tianqing felt a little relieved, but he was still worried. Jiang Xiao could see through these schemes, but he was afraid that Xia Yan would be indignant and help Xiaopi fight the enemy's magic-type, Gong Yuge.

Jiang Xiao continued, "What's important is the Fallen Shadow Witch's Star Bead..."

Hai Tianqing shook his head helplessly. "I tried my best."

So,

They didn't get a sponsor?

Sigh, just one Star Bead short, so frustrating.

Hai Tianqing looked at Han Jiangxue with a helpless expression and said, "Don't be too obsessed with it. Silence is, after all, a support-type god-tier skill. It's understandable that you can't absorb it. Sometimes, talent alone won't get you far in this world. For example, those medical Xing Skills that you covet, but you don't have the conditions to absorb."

Han Jiangxue remained calm and nodded silently, knowing her mission as the scapegoat: just mess things up!

Even if Hai Tianqing begged for ten thousand Star Beads from various departments, Han Jiangxue still wouldn't be able to absorb Silence.

Why?

Because she was a pit... um, because she gave them all to Jiang Xiao!

There was no doubt that Han Jiangxue was the ultimate younger brother supporter...

But Jiang Xiao wasn't the kind of mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall. Under Han Jiangxue's protection, he had already taken off.

This competition was the best opportunity to assess him.

Today there would be four matches. According to the team rankings, the opposing teams would be automatically divided into: Group A 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5; Group B 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6.

The purpose of this grouping was to ensure that the strong teams remained until the end as much as possible.

After the opening ceremony performance, the first match, the first-place team versus the eighth-place team, would begin. The other three matches would be held in the afternoon.

Da Wan High School vs Jiangbin High School had been hyped up by various parties and had become the highly anticipated opening match.

The officials even called this battle the battle of the century!

This wasn't just a battle between a traditional powerhouse and a stunning dark horse, but also an unprecedented double Star River battle!

This was the 38th National High School League, and nothing like this had ever happened before!

If they didn't hype it up, it would be a disservice to this once-in-a-century event.

Everyone reviewed the tactics while anxiously waiting for the opening ceremony performance to end.

At 10:20 AM, a staff member knocked on the locker room door.

Everyone's expression turned serious. What was coming would eventually come!

A young man with a staff pass around his neck said, "Beijiang, Jiangbin High School team, follow me to the arena."

The group stood up, stretched their bodies, and Li Weiyi took the lead, swaggering out.

Leaving the locker room, passing through the long corridor, and stepping into the slightly dark players' tunnel, the group saw the bright light ahead and heard the restless sound inside the stadium.

One step, two steps, getting closer and closer.

Until the chaotic sound filled their eardrums, until the bright light shone on their slightly thin bodies.

Jiang Xiao felt as if he had come to another world.

Last time, he had passed through the dark players' tunnel and seen the flying snow, and he had won the cold provincial league trophy.

What awaited him this time?

Still the cheering crowd, the huge stadium, and... the iron cage!?

Yes, an iron cage.

The venue for the National Tournament wasn't an open soccer field, but a soccer field covered by an iron cage.

Obviously, this was to encourage the students to fight and minimize accidents.

What kind of accidents?

Of course, the accident of losing immediately upon exiting the boundary.

And the rule of losing immediately upon exiting the boundary had been changed to being judged as a loss only after staying outside the field for 30 seconds continuously.

This invisibly weakened the wind-attribute Xing Skills of the magic-type, and wasn't friendly enough to Jiang Xiao's Blue Glow.

Did the officials mean that the enemy had to be convinced by force to be considered a victory?

Of course, this rule had been implemented a few years ago and wasn't new this year, so Jiang Xiao and the others were prepared.

The National Tournament, at least from the playoffs onwards, was a place for bayonet fighting.

Some small tricks and opportunistic victories would be rejected by the rules as much as possible.

"Hey, kid, you have to hide well later, don't get killed by me in seconds, haha." A disgusting voice suddenly came from behind.

Jiang Xiao turned around and happened to see a staff member leading the Da Wan High School team into the arena. The two sides ended up standing in the players' tunnel, facing each other.

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Xiao looked at Gong Yuge coldly, his smile very sinister, and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "We're in the same boat!"

Gong Yuge remained calm on the surface, but his heart was slightly pleased. Had this guy fallen for the trap?