“I don’t need to say much about this achievement, do I?” Ling Fei said with a smile, “This achievement would still be impressive even now. Anyone who can achieve this against Austan, I would crown them as the world’s number one.”
“So, now you all understand why he chose to retire, don’t you?” Ling Fei said somewhat helplessly, “For him, these honors are completely useless now. What’s even more outrageous is that because of his existence, the honors he earned for the country are no longer recognized by other countries.”
The audience was completely convinced.
“No, if I were that amazing, I… I wouldn’t know what to do either.”
“I thought it was a peerless expert forced into retirement, but it turns out he was just seeking a worthy opponent!”
“What to do? How come I never realized A Li was so formidable before!”
...
Suddenly, an audience member shouted, “Then, A Li, what’s your current strength like?”
“That’s right! How strong are you now?”
“You haven’t gotten weaker, have you?”
...
At this point, even the host, Xiao You, was curious.
She hadn’t used a single one of her original interview questions; now she could only improvise.
“I’m actually very curious too. A Li hasn’t participated in a competition for five years. What is his current strength?” Xiao You also looked curious.
Ling Fei’s mouth twitched: “His current strength… how about this, I actually prepared some small clips here. I wonder if everyone is interested in watching them?”
Mu Li was stunned first: “Clips? What clips? Why don’t I know about this?”
Ling Fei smiled mysteriously: “Of course, I couldn’t let you know in advance.”
Soon, the first clip was played.
After watching it curiously, Mu Li smiled helplessly: “So it was this.”
The first clip showed Yan Jin, Guan Tong, and Zhang Yi battling a Gyarados.
Unexpectedly, a Gyarados that was a hundred meters tall appeared right at the start.
Everyone was terrified.
“Is this Gyarados real?”
“Oh my goodness, even seeing this with my own eyes, I’d have to doubt if I was seeing things.”
“Did this Gyarados take drugs? Why is it so big!?”
...
“This is…” Xiao You was already shocked. She instinctively looked at Mu Li, asking.
Mu Li clearly understood what she meant, so he took the microphone and began to explain: “Actually, this Gyarados was just very lucky. Its body carried the blessings of four other God-level Pokémon. One of those powers I call ‘Ancient Energy,’ which can help Pokémon rapidly grow very large, somewhat like Dynamax, but this Ancient Energy can last for a long time on the Pokémon.”
Mu Li pointed at the Gyarados in the video and said, “Actually, although this little guy’s power has increased, its strength is still very ordinary.”
The audience didn’t know what to say.
“There’s a video here, why don’t you watch what nonsense you’re saying?”
In the video, Mega Charizard X, Mega Metagross, and Dragonite were basically all beaten up by the Gyarados.
Not only that, when everyone saw the Gyarados smashing opponents like toys, they found it a bit amusing.
But when they realized that the three people battling against it were currently among the top five in the world, they no longer found it funny.
Those were active Trainers ranked in the top 10! How could they be blamed?
And facing A Li, the three of them together still couldn't win. Was it their fault?
It could only be blamed on A Li being too strong.
Mu Li looked at the audience, not knowing what to say.
The scene quickly moved to the second battle.
Upon seeing this one, Mu Li was also stunned.
This was precisely the battle he had against Qin Mo after his match a while ago.
He hadn't expected Ling Fei to have a recording of even this battle.
Ling Fei seemed to sense Mu Li’s gaze and quickly explained, “I didn’t record this; South Korea recorded it, and we intercepted it.”
Mu Li twitched his mouth, but in this video, although he appeared in his true form, his actual appearance was not shown in the video.
Clearly, these were all results of careful editing.
“But is Qin Mo okay with it?” Mu Li asked, puzzled.
“That guy, he lost in front of so many people, does this little bit matter?” Ling Fei said with a smile, “He’s much tougher than you think.”
However, the appearance of this video completely ignited all the audience members present.
The appearance of dual Mega Evolution, the appearance of Rayquaza’s bloodline, and Gardevoir’s clumsy acting after suppressing its opponent—all of these drove the audience into a frenzy.
After calming down, everyone looked at the person sitting in the center of the stage.
After watching these two videos, everyone could more or less understand why Mu Li might not want to battle.
The opponent brought out a team of Pokémon, constantly transforming and applying various buffs, yet the battle ended before they even uncovered the opponent's true strength?
Seeing Gardevoir’s effortless demeanor, everyone felt a sense of awe.
However, Xiao You did not let this atmosphere last too long.
Soon, she guided the program into the audience Q&A segment.
The first question came from a male in his twenties: “A Li, what did you do after you retired?”
Mu Li paused, many images flashing through his mind, then he smiled and said, “Actually, I didn’t do much. I just went back to college, like everyone else.”
“College?” The male was instantly confused.
“That’s right, college.” Mu Li smiled, “I was still an 18-year-old kid when I retired.”
Mu Li’s words once again silenced everyone.
If Mu Li hadn't brought it up, everyone probably would have forgotten Mu Li's age.
He debuted at 15, reached his peak upon debut, and his short 3-year professional career garnered countless attention.
So much attention was focused on him that everyone forgot he was only 18 when he retired.
Eighteen, the best age for a person, a time of high spirits.
Perhaps for most people, 18 is just the beginning—the start of college, the start of work, the start of all new life.
But for Mu Li, he had already experienced a complete professional career, and had even retired.
This was enough to make countless people begin to recall what they were doing at 18.
“A Li, what was your college life like?” the male followed up with a question.
Mu Li couldn’t help but show a wry smile: “It was simple, I guess, just like everyone else: attending classes, skipping classes, playing games, and so on. Perhaps because my friends didn’t know my identity, I felt especially at ease and didn’t have to worry about anything, so I never revealed my identity.”
“Then, have you fallen in love?” a female suddenly shouted.
Fu Peiyao’s image instinctively appeared in Mu Li’s mind, and a gentle smile appeared on his face: “Not yet, but I do have someone I like, and I’m currently pursuing her.”
Mu Li’s answer immediately caused many of the females present to sigh.
And a certain person who was watching the live broadcast of this interview at that moment had a flushed face.
