Chapter 153: The Greatest Suspense

Fang Buyi lost. Despite his recent five-match winning streak and strong momentum, the Staff King couldn't handle Gu Haochen's third sword strike. There was a significant gap in both cultivation and combat skills.

As Fang Buyi stepped down from the light core mainframe, his face didn't show much disappointment. When he walked into the preparation area, he apologized to his teammates.

"I was outmatched. Sorry to disappoint everyone." He said sincerely, "But I will continue to cultivate and grow stronger."

After Li Xiaofei's spiritual cleansing last time, the mindset of Red Flag High School's battle team members had greatly improved. Losing to a rising star in the league was not a disgrace. Fang Buyi had felt the difference in strength and was now even more determined to improve.

"Looks like we have to rely on you again today." He said while looking at Li Xiaofei.

"I've got this." Li Xiaofei said confidently. "Everyone, do your best without feeling any pressure. As long as I'm here, Red Flag High School will never lose a team battle."

It was a powerful morale booster. It immediately filled everyone with confidence, since Li Xiaofei had the absolute ability to back up his words.

The second solo match was a beastmaster battle. Red Flag High School chose the newcomer, Bai Qiqi, once again. In the past five rounds of the league, Bai Qiqi had a record of five losses out of five matches. Her performance could only be described as underwhelming.

So, her strength didn't attract much attention from the outside world. Instead, her delicate, doll-like features earned her the nickname Porcelain Doll, so she was admired by many fans.

In today's match, Bai Qiqi's opponent was not the league's superstar He Changzai. It was Hongye High School's substitute player, Ding Ling. From Hongye High School's perspective, neither of Red Flag High School's beastmasters, be it the former main player Liu Xiao or the current newcomer Bai Qiqi could be considered a threat. So, they used this match to train their new player.

Ding Ling, known as the Cuddly Fierce Beast, was also very beautiful. She was one of Hongye High School's key new-generation players, and had been personally selected by Principal Xiao Hongye as He Changzai's successor.

A duel between two beauties. Their appearances alone made the battle a delightful sight.

The system randomly selected a classic beastmaster map, Thousand Beast Island. The island resembled a nine-compartment hotpot. It wasn't large, but it featured a variety of geographical conditions such as deserts, swamps, forests, hills, lakes, and valleys. It had thousands of different Grade One star beast species.

Such a terrain wouldn't exist in reality. It was a virtual island created by the light core system to fully showcase the comprehensive abilities of beastmasters.

The battle quickly commenced. But against all odds, Bai Qiqi held on for a full half hour against Ding Ling, who was at the peak of the Qi Refining ninth stage. Eventually, she lost the match due to an insufficient number of controlled beasts during the beast mastery duel.

This marked Bai Qiqi's sixth loss. Since she had participated in six matches without a single win, some streamers and experts couldn't help but voice their doubts.

"Red Flag High School may have made a mistake by replacing their original main beastmaster, Liu Xiao, with this young newcomer."

"This girl has nothing else apart from her looks."

"Her poor skills make her uncompetitive in the league."

"A mere pretty face."

"Maybe Red Flag High School is aiming to become a team of internet celebrities? They might just want to use Bai Qiqi's high attractiveness to gain followers."

"Haha, could this have been the choice of team bully Li Xiaofei?"

"Possibly, after all, which man doesn't like a pretty face?"

Some streamers began to mock and find ways to stir up controversy from various angles.

In the Little White Dragon in the Waves livestream, Shen Yan was also silent. A record of six losses in six matches was indeed disappointing.

After a while, he forced a smile and said, "It's okay, she's a newcomer after all and doesn’t have much combat experience. Losing to a stronger opponent is understandable. Not every newcomer can be like Li Xiaofei."

But this explanation clearly didn't sit well with the viewers in the chat.

Streamer, you're just making excuses.

Even you can't justify this.

She's just a pretty face.

Shen, we accept you praising Li Xiaofei, but trying to justify this girl Bai Qiqi is just insulting our intelligence.

Countless comments flooded the screen.

Bai Qiqi returned to the preparation area looking frustrated.

"You did really well." Yan Chiyu was the first to comfort her. "I feel like you're getting closer and closer to your first victory."

Liu Xiao also stepped forward immediately to console her, "Don't be discouraged. Hongye High School is a top prestigious school. Their substitute Ding Ling is incredibly strong; she just hasn't had many opportunities to prove herself yet. I guarantee that Ding Ling will become a superstar in the league. The fact that you held your own against her for half an hour is commendable."

"I-I-I... I actually c-could have done better," Bai Qiqi said, a bit defiantly.

The young girl's competitive spirit was strong. When they saw that she was still full of fighting spirit, everyone felt reassured. Chen Fei and Grandpa Qin looked relaxed. They both agreed with Liu Xiao's assessment.

Bai Qiqi had been making rapid progress in the past six matches. Her improvement in strength had been astonishing. It was just bad luck and a lack of experience that had resulted in six consecutive losses. Unfortunately, it was overshadowing her potential and outsiders were beginning to underestimate her. But given enough opportunities, this Porcelain Doll could absolutely shine brightly and become one of Red Flag High School's most reliable scorers.

Unsurprisingly, Red Flag High School lost both the medic and weapons specialist duels that came next.

Hongye High School's superstars, Flower of a Thousand Blossoms Liu Yao and Thousand-Armed Mech God Huang Yueru, had both surpassed the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. They were also veterans of the league, so they easily defeated Ren Dong and Bai Longfei.

Red Flag High School had now lost four solo mode matches. The last match left was the main event duel between the top fighters of each team. Red Flag High School was obviously sending out their strongest, Li Xiaofei. Meanwhile, Hongye High School's representative was the Soul of Hongye, Wang Siyu.

Strongest versus strongest! Both of them had never been defeated in this season of the league. Would the newcomer overthrow the established legend? Or would the veteran successfully defend his title? All the suspense was focused on this match.

"It’s no exaggeration to say that Red Flag High School's best chance for a win today, especially at an away game, lies in this solo mode match."

"Exactly, if they lose this match, Red Flag High School stands no chance in team mode."

"Maybe we are expecting too much."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"No matter how strong Li Xiaofei is, he's still in the Qi Refining Realm, while Wang Siyu reached the first stage of the Limit Breaking Realm last year. His strength must have improved even more this year, making him even stronger. Li Xiaofei stands no chance."

The tension was palpable as everyone waited to see if the dark horse, Li Xiaofei, could pull off a miracle against the seemingly invincible Wang Siyu.