Shi Lang and the others soon landed on a spaceport. The hustle and bustle of this place was not something they could have ever imagined. Every second there were at least, a hundred spaceships taking off or landing. The representative of the federation, Shashi, had come to receive them.
The man was dressed in a uniform, with a faint smile on his face. As Shi Lang and the others passed the security check, Shashi stepped forward and greeted them, “Greetings, General Shi, everyone, welcome to the galactic council home planet, The Bluestar.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Glad to be here, Shashi. How have you been?”
Shashi was happy to see this guy being amiable to him but he did not dare to overlook the status of the person at all, he replied with a grin, “I am doing well, Sir. How about we first talk after we have checked you all in your accommodations?”
The team obviously had no problem, they had been tired by the space jumps in the big ship, and since they knew it was the last stretch, they had been meditating regularly which did exhaust him. Shashi took them all out of the spaceport, they all had minimal luggage with them.
Suddenly, Ryan asked, “Sir, what about our gear?”
Although the question was directed to Shashi, but Ryan was gazing at the general, they had no idea of who Shashi was so they would only speak through their leader. The representative smiled and said, “Your gear will be moved directly to your accommodations, do not worry, the council may seem like a bunch of strong guys trying to manage a puppet show, but it is quite fair. After all, the puppets are no longer made of wood.”
The people gazed at him but nodded and they followed him to board a big vehicle, similar to a bus back at the federation. The luxury of this bus was mediocre, but they did not have to share it with everyone. After they were seated inside the vehicle, Shashi looked at the bot installed on the driver seat and said, “Star crown camp, site xbd.”
The bot did not respond but started the vehicle and they began to move. OB-One was gazing at the bot for a few minutes and said, “Sire, it is troublesome.”
Shi Lang cast him a gaze and OB-One pointed at the driver bot. The team was watching them communicate and became vigilant. The young general nodded and said, “It is fine, let us take a nap till we reach the accommodation.”
Everyone was sitting straight in the chair, after hearing this, they all relaxed and closed their eyes. Shashi looked at the scene awkwardly, and asked, “Umm, is there something wrong sir?”
Shi Lang cast him a gaze and said, “We are under observation.”
The envoy nodded and said, “I apologize, this…”
It was obvious that he could not do anything in this situation, it must be the higher-ups manipulating things. Shi Lang only gave him a few signs before he also closed his eyes to take a nap. Shashi sighed and looked down at the floor. He was dejected because this was out of his ability, otherwise, who would like to be observed as if they were a bunch of criminals?
He sighed and the vehicle slowly moved through the busy routes after an hour they arrived at the designation. Shashi was about to wake the people up when the bus stopped. The whole team opened their eyes in sync. They were in a good form, which made Shashi feel a bit scared.
The training had made their sense reach a level, where they were aware of their surroundings even if they were in deep meditation. Sleep was now a myth to these people, thanks to the devil Shi Lang.
…
The place was akin to an apartment building with different blocks, it was like a beehive, and from what Shashi had told them, this place was attached to the stadium where the battles will happen for convenience. The team was eager to hit the bed but they were told to attend the orientation event before they were allotted their rooms.
The orientation event was simple. They were told about the rules of the competition in detail and all the doubts were cleared during this process. However, the team’s attention was the various types of creatures they saw in the hall.
Some were akin to a snail, while some looked like a cheetah standing on its hind legs. These creatures all had a slight variations in their anatomy, and what surprised them was the number of humanoid species they encountered. However, despite looking like a human, these species did not seem to have any compassion in their hearts.
Shi Lang said, “Did you all see? This is the state of indifference. If they passed by us and tried to slash your throats, we won’t be able to defend ourselves.”
His tone was solemn, but his eyes were calm. Shashi gulped and said, “I did not expect this sort of event to be so tense.”
Jane looked at the man with a faint sneer and asked, “Did you expect this competition to be a dance battle? Of course, it is tense. We like it.”
The team replied in a low tone, “Hoorah!!!”
They did not say it loud in order not to embarrass themselves, and just to keep their spirits up. However, this scene still happened to be captured by a few people and they could not help but leer at the Terran contingent. The team was ready to spill blood when Valerian said in a deep voice, “Do not give me a reason to kick you out. Simply kill them in the competition.”
The people calmed their rage and nodded to the young man. Shi Lang had given them permission to kill the opponents for embarrassing them. Then, they received their special tags and then moved to their rooms. The rooms were simple, a bed, a table, and a bathroom.
They were all allowed to make minor changes to the place. So, Shi Lang told them all about spiritual formation and they all arranged one in their room. They all sensed the faint spirit energy as soon as they came out of the spaceship. There were still a hundred and sixty-eight hours before the competition started as the contenders from all over the galaxy were being picked up and delivered here.
They all slept with calm in their mind. OB-One was arranged to stay with Shi Lang in the same room, this guy did not need much space, he would silently stand in the corner if Shi Lang did not ask him to move. In the evening, Shashi visited them and they all came to the mess hall to have a meal.
Steel looked around and found that the place was bustling, he could not help but look at the representative and asked, “Mr. Shashi, can you tell us, how many teams will there be in this competition?”
Shashi looked at him with a confused expression and he asked, “Did you all not hear what they were telling you in the orientation?”
They all looked away because they were ashamed to have put their minds into checking out what sort of amazing creatures lived in the galaxy with them. Shi Lang did not say anything, after all, he was the same as them.
Shashi sighed and said, “There are five million species, who are members of the galactic council. The competition is divided into four tiers, A, B, C, and D. The tier we are placed in is tier D. The lowest as the other tiers can only be played when you have earned enough points to qualify. The D tier is also the most violent tier. The death toll is highest in this level.”
The team nodded and Steel asked, “Then can you tell us, how many teams there are in the D tier?”
Shashi replied, “Ten thousand. Everyone will start with the lowest point zero. Your rank will be promoted based on how many rounds you win in each round and the two teams can select the mode of battle on their own.”
Ryan nodded and said, “This part, I heard. We can select from, Mecha battles, solo fights, or group battles. However, they will all be done real-time, thus the risk.”
Shashi nodded in affirmation. Jane glanced at Shi Lang and asked, “Why did you not let us act against those people earlier? They do not prohibit fighting outside the ring.”
Shi Lang gazed at her and said, “So do you want to flex the level of your skills? Do not forget, that all your actions represent the Federation and the Federal Army. If you all did anything that put stains on the colors. I will be the first one to lighten the burden on your shoulders. Endure till you get the chance to deal with them in the battle. Kill them for all I care. However, know this, you are not yet invincible, so be mindful of what you want to show to the people here.
A battle is not won by fighting physically, you need to put your brain to work too.”
That said, the dinner was finished and the people returned to their rooms.