Chapter 99: Beaten

"They did it! Li Xiaofei did it! The Red Flag High School team did it! Hahaha, I knew they could do it!"

Shen Yan was celebrating wildly in the livestream, not hiding his support at all. The chat was overflowing with enthusiastic comments. It seemed many viewers loved his exuberance. After several matches, Li Xiaofei's dominant performance had garnered countless fans.

These fans loved hearing praise for Li Xiaofei. They were all about Shen Yan, the number one Li fanboy. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Little White Dragon in the Waves livestream had become the official nest for Li Xiaofei, the Fist King.

No negative comments about Li Xiaofei were tolerated under Shen Yan's lead. Occasionally, one or two people, feeling independent and unique in their thinking, couldn't help but point out some overlooked weaknesses of Li Xiaofei.

But those independent voices were immediately overwhelmed in the next moment. Thousands of Li Xiaofei fans mercilessly shut them down. Eventually, the supporters of Longteng High School were utterly defeated. They had no choice but to retreat and find another stream to continue criticizing Li Xiaofei.

However, regardless of the criticism, the fact remained that Red Flag High School's team had won the second round of the league in team mode. After the second match of the BO3 series ended, Longteng High School chose to concede. They forfeited the third match in advance.

In most cases, most school teams would opt to play the third match even with a 0:2 defeat. Although it wouldn't affect the final outcome, it provided an opportunity to train substitute players. Moreover, winning the third match could still earn them the victory bonus from the Education Department. But this time, Longteng High School firmly decided to forgo the third match. The vice principal even offered to pay Red Flag High School the third match's prize money.

The crushing defeat was clearly unexpected for them. The confidence of their team members was severely shaken. The school leadership couldn't bear the consequences of completely destroying their star players' morale. They had to make this decision to protect their five team members. After all, the long league season had just begun, and anything could happen in the future.

At that point, the vice principal and his colleagues finally showed their commendable side as educators. However, that side was only shown to their own people. The new martial arts high school, eroded by a wolfish culture, had always operated that way.

As the sun set, casting a blood-red glow, the Red Flag High School bus, notorious for its emissions, slowly drove out of Longteng's gates amidst laughter and cheers. Li Xiaofei and the others were chatting and laughing inside the bus. The most excited were the students who had come along to support the team.

"Haha, two consecutive wins!"

"You should have seen it, the faces of Longteng High School supporters were like those of the dead."

"It was so satisfying; I've never felt this great in my life."

"When we won the match, the arrogant Longteng team fans went completely silent."

"Yeah, after the second team mode match ended, they didn't even have the energy to curse."

"Li Xiaofei was so cool."

"And what about me? Am I not cool?" Bai Longfei chimed in.

"Hahaha, you're all cool. All five of our senior teammates are amazing."

Every student from Red Flag High School was basking in the afterglow of their victory.

Suddenly—

Screech.

The bus abruptly braked to a stop at the school gate.

What's going on?

Li Xiaofei and the others looked out. They saw The Beast Zheng Shou, built like a small giant, standing in front of the bus with four of his teammates.

"What's the meaning of this?" Bai Longfei jumped off the bus, sneering. "Not satisfied with losing in the light core world and want a real-world PK?"

Swish.

The members of the Red Flag High School team also jumped off the bus. The two sides instantly faced off. At that moment, the departing spectators and media reporters from various platforms also walked out of the school gate. Their attention was immediately drawn to the confrontation.

What is happening?

Are they really going to fight in the real world?

This is going to be a big show.

Many portable light core cameras and video cameras instantly focused on the front of the bus. At the same time, a large number of Longteng High School students came. Thousands of students quickly surrounded the bus. More students were continuously arriving.

Unaware of the situation, they were misled into thinking that Red Flag High School was provoking their idols, which agitated them. The scene was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

"What do you mean by this?" Fang Buyi, ever the big brother, immediately stood in front of all his teammates.

He spread his arms, blocking the surging crowd, and shouted sternly, "Doing this violates the War God League rules. Do you want to be banned forever? Do you want Longteng High School to be disqualified from the competition?"

His shout made the surging crowd calm down a bit. But Zheng Shou, standing at the front, didn't look at Fang Buyi. He looked directly at Li Xiaofei. The tense atmosphere was palpable. Zheng Shou stared at Li Xiaofei for a full six or seven seconds before finally looking away.

"Sorry." He suddenly bowed and said loudly, "We apologize for some of our actions and words during today's match."

Guan Guan, Feng Yuzhen, Jia Yiyu, and Xing Yuantao also bowed their heads in apology.

Li Xiaofei and all the others were shocked.

What is this all about?

They were all taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. But Zheng Shou and his four teammates didn't offer much explanation.

"You proved yourselves in battle and deserve respect."

"I take back what I said before."

"However, next time we meet, we will defeat you fair and square."

Zheng Shou seemed to use all his strength to say this. He then turned and left. The confrontation dissolved as the Longteng High School students who had rushed to the scene fell silent. They made way for Zheng Shou and his teammates, watching them leave.

Some felt that something had changed in these once-glorious senior students, but they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.

"Heh, who would've thought that the people from Longteng would actually apologize."

Fang Buyi and the others were equally surprised. Longteng High School was famous for its strong, overbearing nature as the ninth-ranked veteran powerhouse. Zheng Shou, The Beast, was well known for his arrogant ways. They hadn't expected him to bow his head and admit fault this time.

Li Xiaofei scratched his chin, puzzled. "Are they always this courteous?"

Fang Buyi almost burst out laughing. The words courteous and Longteng High School had never been associated with each other.

"Interesting..."

Li Xiaofei called out loudly to the departing figures of Zheng Shou and his teammates, "But if you want to defeat Red Flag High School, it's impossible. You missed your best chance today. Next time we meet, we'll be even stronger. We'll make every high school in Liuhe Base City, including yours, look up to us."

His voice was loud and clear.

Thousands of Longteng High School students turned to look at him. But the boy from the slums met their gazes without flinching under the golden glow of the setting sun. Amidst countless stares, he held his head high.

***

The second round of the High School War God League Season 251 had ended. But the storm caused by the matches, after a brief period of fermentation, began to sweep through Liuhe Base City like a hurricane.

If the first round of the league had been an outlier, then the second round provided various data points that highlighted key performances. For instance, the breakout star, the Fist King Li Xiaofei.