Volume 3: Chapter 21 – New Teammates
Me and Dong Ri woke up early in the morning. Thinking back on the results of last night’s practice, we couldn’t help but smile. We were brimming with confidence in regards to the tournament. We didn’t see Teacher Wen in the house; maybe he went to go look for some teammates for us. I was also looking forward to having new teammates.
Waiting was the best way to get annoyed. It wasn’t until noon that Teacher Wen returned. “Have you found some teammates for us? How come you were gone for so long?” I grumbled.
Teacher Wen smiled and said, “I see that you are anxious, but I’m even more anxious! I had to screen them; only the most suitable teammates will do. Hehe.”
“So you’re saying you’ve already found some suitable candidates? Who are they?” I eagerly asked.
“I told them to come report in the afternoon since we have to eat lunch first. Once they’re here, we’ll go over the tournaments rules and system again. You two can go practice for a bit before we eat. Just don’t tire yourselves out. The most important thing is to be in optimal condition. You won’t have a breakthrough in such a short amount of time.”
“Oh. Then we’ll go practice.” I said dissatisfied as I dragged Dong Ri off to practice.
Soon, it was afternoon. We were currently in the house resting when we heard some people shouting. “Xiu Si Ma Li, Xing Ao Li Si and Gao De Jin, reporting for duty!” It seems our teammates have arrived.
Teacher Wen replied: “Good. Come in.” I quickly ran out of the room with Dong Ri to welcome our new teammates.
All three of them had differing appearances. Two of them were exceptionally tall, exceeding two meters in height and possessed a sturdy body. Although they weren’t handsome, you could tell from their appearances that they had tempered themselves through extremely difficult training. They had a ferocious aura. From head to toe they had bulging muscles causing them to have a very valiant appearance. They seemed to be about 27 or 28 years old. The last person was a bit shorter, he was only about 180 centimeters tall, just a bit shorter than me and Dong Ri and appeared formal and cleanly cut. With clear and deep eyes full of wisdom, he looked to be about 24 or 25 years old.
Teacher Wen also came out of the house beaming. “Come, I’ll introduce you guys. This one here is Zhang Gong. He came from Aixia and he’s an expert in magic. Over here is Dong Ri, my disciple. He’s also the weakest out of all of you, so you must take care of each other in the future.”
Teacher Wen pointed at a robust man in red samurai’s clothing. “This is Xing Ao Li Si. His strength is approaching that of a sky knight’s. He could have graduated long ago, but in order to learn martial skills that are even more profound, he stayed to continue his studies. He’s one of the expert warriors at the academy.”
Dong Ri and I immediately went over to greet him. Although Xing Ao’s etiquette was very thorough, he didn’t really look at me and Dong Ri.
Teacher Wen pointed the other robust man. “This is Gao De Jin. His circumstances are similar to Xing Ao’s. He’s also an expert warrior.”
Indeed, their circumstances really were similar. He didn’t really put me or Dong Ri in his sights either.
Finally, Teacher Wen arrived at the side of the gentle and quiet youth and patted his shoulders. “This is Xiu Si Ma Li. He’s admired by everyone as the number one expert at the academy with the strength of a sky knight.” He truly did possess a formidable strength. As he was attentively watched me, he took the initiative and stretched his hand out. “Hello, I’m Xiu Si.”
I smiled as I shook his hands. “Hello, I’m Zhang Gong. I welcome you guys as our new members.” After seeing Xing Ao and Gao De standing behind Xiu Si, I knew that Xiu Si was the boss of the three.
Teacher Wen said: “Alright then. For now, you can all go practice and get to know each other. I’ll talk to you all about the tournament later.”
All five of us bowed in salute as Teacher Wen returned to the house.
Without letting me speak, Dong Ri said in rush: “Ah! You’re big brother Xiu Si. I’ve heard of your reputation as the number one expert among the students long ago. Please give guidance to your little brother in the future.”
Xiu Si softly said: “I don’t dare to give you guidance. We’ll mutually help each other in the future instead.” Dong Ri could only sheepishly smile in response.
He really does know how to capture people. I don’t like these kinds of people. I interjected, “Ah, don’t we need to organize a team for the tournament? We need decide on a captain and give the team a name.”
Xing Ao directly said, “Why do we need to choose? Obviously the team captain should be Boss Xiu Si.”
Xiu Si said with a frown: “Xing Ao, don’t speak in your confusion. My ability isn’t enough to be the captain.”
“How were my words confused boss? With your strength, if you aren’t going to be the captain then who is? Don’t tell me…. you mean them?” He said as he shot us a glance full of contempt.
So violent. I said with a slight smile, “I hope that we can all talk to each other in a peaceful manner. We all share the goal of surpassing Duke Bi Qi’s troops and to ultimately attain the position as champions to win honor for the academy. It would be pointless for us to argue over such a trivial matter. How about this, each of us will exhibit our strengths and whoever is the most powerful will be the captain.”
Xiu Si secretly thought to himself, ‘He’s only a child yet he’s so insightful. He must have an uncommon strength.’ Thinking this, Xiu Si replied: “That’s fine.”
Xing Ao and Gao De both took the initiative to forfeit. Dong Ri also forfeited; he didn’t have any ambitions within his heart at all. I didn’t have any originally either, but in order to prove to them that neither Dong Ri nor I were weak, I must compete with Xiu Si.
Obviously, Xing Ao and Gao De thought I was overestimating myself. Gao De even told me it would be better if I forfeited, otherwise my defeat would be too unsightly.
I ignored them and concentrated on my opponent who was as calm as water, Xiu Si. “Will you be starting or will I?” Xiu Si indifferently replied, “The guest will comply with the host’s rules. I’ll see your strength first. (He meant for me to demonstrate first. I’d reckon that Xiu Si is from the mountains. Haha.”
I bluntly replied, “Yes.” I walked to the center of the courtyard and closed my eyes. I started slowly moving my body, but gradually increased the speed. The whole courtyard gradually became filled with my reflections. Suddenly, my figure stopped moving in the courtyard but instead, there were 10 exact copies of me standing in a circle.
Xing Ao gasped in surprise. “What sort of [witchcraft] trick is this!? Why are there so many people now?”
All ten of me said, “This isn’t a trick. This is a type of spatial magic. I created it from short range teleportation magic. Every reflection is me while at the same time they aren’t me.” This was a spell I created using short range teleportation magic as a foundation. It hasn’t ever been seen in Aixia before. Actually, it was just that my teleportation speed was very fast but it required a large amount of magic power to sustain. It was only when I entered the realm of magisters that I was able to use this spell.