“I guessed correctly after all; you aren’t an Elite-level trainer, you’re a Champion-level one!” Wang Yijia analyzed.
“Huh?” Mu Qingqing could no longer clearly see what was happening.
Wang Yijia gave a wry smile and said, “Do you remember when we were at A Li’s house? Back then, I even said he retired because he couldn’t reach Champion-level and was always suppressed by Yan Jin, another Fire-type Champion. Now it seems I was terribly wrong.”
“Hmm? What Yan Jin?” Mu Qingqing was completely confused.
Seeing Mu Qingqing’s expression, Wang Yijia also felt a bit helpless, so he looked at Mu Li and continued to analyze, “If you are a Champion, then there’s no such thing as being suppressed by Yan Jin. The only possibility is that you chose to retire voluntarily.”
“However, in the past decade, no Champion competitor has retired in their twenties. They all fought until they reached the age limit of 30 before being forced to retire. The only competitor who voluntarily retired before the age of 30 was one person: the Champion, A Li, who was already undefeated worldwide at just 18 years old.”
“If I remember correctly, after the World Pokémon Battle Association changed the rules of the World Pokémon Battle Tournament that year, you, with that Ninetales, prematurely dominated all the competitions that year. That Ninetales was also respectfully called ‘Fire God Fox’ by the world, and some even predicted that once that Ninetales reached Champion-level, you would have no rivals in the Champion-level.”
“Was I wrong?” Wang Yijia stared intently at Mu Li and asked back.
“Uh… it’s not wrong.” Mu Li awkwardly scratched his hair, “It’s just that title, you’d best not mention it in front of Ninetales.”
“Ah? Why?” Wang Yijia asked curiously.
Mu Li said in an annoyed tone, “She thinks that title is really too ugly. To desensitize her, I often joked about it, so she has a bit of an overreaction to that title now.”
Mu Qingqing also reacted at this point. As if she thought of something, she couldn’t help but swallow and tentatively asked, “So the Ninetales you’re talking about is that Ninetales who has an incredibly bad temper and, if she can’t win an argument, burns other people’s perfectly good Super Altaria into roasted chicken?”
Mu Li’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch: “Alright, alright, you guys haven’t forgotten any of these embarrassing past events, have you?”
“No, you guys shouldn’t slander our Ninetales!” Mu Li stubbornly retorted, “Our Ninetales is usually very well-behaved, she just likes to be pretty. Besides, what’s wrong with a girl liking to be pretty? Don’t you agree?”
“Hehe… do we really need to say what your Ninetales is like?” Mu Qingqing said irritably.
“But speaking of which, where are your main Pokémon? Why haven’t I seen any of them?” Mu Qingqing asked curiously, “It’s no wonder we didn’t guess you were a Champion. Besides Ninetales, we haven’t seen any of your main Pokémon that appeared back then. Are they not with you?”
“Sigh, none of them want to come out with me,” Mu Li explained. “They basically all stay in Yangcheng, incredibly lazy, I don’t know who they take after.”
“If one is lazy, that’s fine, but the problem is all of them are lazy. Isn’t it obvious whose fault that is?” Mu Qingqing couldn’t help but complain.
However, after learning Mu Li’s identity, the two couldn’t help but ask about the reason for Mu Li’s retirement back then. Mu Li also explained it. It was only at the end of the viewing that Li Muhua still asked somewhat unwillingly, “Can’t we really go to Manaphy? We can be careful…”
Mu Li said helplessly, “The problem is you can’t even get in, can you? After that Wailord was attacked by those pirates, it went straight home to sleep and strengthen itself. Looking at it, it probably won’t come out for several years.”
“Without Wailord’s guidance, you simply can’t get in. You can’t even defeat the ancient Wailord at the entrance alone.” Mu Li hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to speak, “Besides, do you know what I felt when I entered that cave?”
“What?” Li Muhua asked curiously.
“There’s another Pokémon deep in that abyss, which is the Sea Incarnate Kyogre you just mentioned,” Mu Li said.
“Kyogre?” Everyone was too surprised to speak. Li Muhua, in particular, could barely hide the excitement on his face, “Are you sure you didn’t sense it wrong?”
“No mistake,” Mu Li couldn’t help but remind Li Muhua when he saw his expression, “Don’t tell me you want to go see that guy? I don’t know that guy’s temper, but I advise you not to go unless you’ve written your will. In the deep sea, it’s useless even if you call all the Champions in the world.”
Li Muhua paused, and his gaze towards Mu Li gradually became fervent: “What I mean is, can you…”
“No, absolutely not, don’t even think about it,” Mu Li directly refused, “I still have to record a show. I’m just a singer now.”
Li Muhua curved his lips into an arc: “How about this? Our CCTV is preparing to record a variety show about archaeology and popular science. Are you interested in participating as one of the celebrity guests?”
Mu Li was stunned, looking at Li Muhua in disbelief: “No, are you serious?”
“Of course, it’s just a show. As long as you’re willing to participate, just name your conditions,” Li Muhua said Domineeringly with a wave of his hand.
“This is a CCTV show? You just decided it like that?” Mu Li still looked disbelieving.
Li Muhua smiled: “I’m responding to the national call to popularize knowledge about ancient Pokémon. We were already planning a promotional program, just deciding whether to do it as a documentary or something else. How about it? Will you consider it? If you agree, the theme song and everything else will be yours.”
Mu Li naturally understood how much popularity participating in such a variety show could bring him. However, no matter how he looked at it, he seemed to have no reason to refuse.
“Alright, but don’t expose my identity, or I won’t have any fun,” Mu Li instructed.
“Absolutely,” Li Muhua’s face was practically splitting with laughter. “Do you have any other ideas for the celebrity guests?”
Mu Li said irritably, “You guys can just decide for yourselves.”
With that, he looked at Fu Peiyao and the other two, asking, “Are you interested in participating?”
“We can too?” Mu Qingqing asked in surprise, “We’re not very familiar with these ancient Pokémon and legendary Pokémon.”
Wang Yijia also nodded.
Li Muhua, however, comforted them, “It’s alright. Since it’s a variety show, there naturally needs to be someone to ask questions. If the three of you are willing to participate, I’ll save myself the trouble of inviting other artists.”
“But…” Fu Peiyao still seemed a little worried.
“It’s fine, I’m here,” Mu Li comforted them. “We can just call two more Champions to join us then. Most of those legendary Pokémon, except for a few, have pretty good tempers.”
“Really?” Fu Peiyao asked somewhat surprised, “Didn’t you say Pokémon like Kyogre have bad tempers?”
“Of course, would I lie to you?” Mu Li explained, “I haven’t interacted with Kyogre, so I don’t know if its temper is good or bad. I was just guessing randomly. But most Pokémon are very friendly towards humans. We have an old saying that goes, ‘No discord, no concord.’ For Pokémon, as long as you fight them and make them happy, they’re easy to talk to.”
Well, the premise is that you win. If you lose, the other party will most likely ignore you.
“Besides, we’re just going for archaeology, not specifically to find legendary Pokémon,” Mu Li looked at Li Muhua and asked, “Right, Professor Li?”
Li Muhua quickly nodded and said, “That’s natural. Unless necessary, we will not disturb those Pokémon. This is also a basic principle of Pokémon ecological research.”
Seeing Mu Li say this, the three naturally had no other concerns.
As for the time issue, please, don’t you see where this show is being hosted? It can be said that for all artists, except for the Spring Festival Gala, all other shows can take a back seat.
Mu Li asked, “How many artists are you planning to invite for this show?”
Li Muhua thought for a moment and said, “About six, I guess. After all, it’s a variety show, so it needs to have some effect. Plus me and an old colleague of mine, then inviting two Champions, and 5-10 staff members, that should be about right.”
Mu Li nodded and said, “Bring one more. I have a brother who’s a new actor, and I want to bring him along.”
“Okay, then let’s invite 7 artists,” Li Muhua didn’t dwell on it. In fact, he didn’t even care about the viewership ratings for this show; his main goal was simply to conduct archaeology, and most importantly, to bring Mu Li along.
How much does it cost to produce a show?
Being able to invite a Champion like Mu Li is worth any cost.
Mu Li naturally knew what Li Muhua was planning, but this was, after all, a variety show broadcast on CCTV. Participating in this variety show would also significantly develop his singing career, which is why he agreed.
Moreover, participating in this kind of show, he wasn’t afraid of exposing his strength, as it could be edited anyway.
Although whether his strength was exposed or not seemed to have little impact on his singing career, compared to gaining attention by exposing his strength, conquering the audience through music and personal charm after hiding his strength felt more fulfilling.
Afterward, he also told his theory to Fu Peiyao and the other two, and their unanimous evaluation was—this was like farting with your pants down, but Mu Li didn’t care; he just enjoyed it immensely.
“As long as you’re happy.” Helpless, the others had no choice but to go along with his wishes.
After this filming, the content for the “I Live Alone” production team was more than enough.
The production team almost went crazy when they heard about Mu Li’s filming.
“Didn’t you go out to sea? How did you end up in public waters? And got into a fight with pirate ships?”
“And then you went into the deep sea and saw an ancient Wailord, and also the legendary Pokémon—Manaphy?”
The production team could already imagine how explosive Mu Li’s segment would be when it aired. The production team even held an emergency meeting and finally decided to create a separate episode just for Mu Li’s recording this time.
But these were all later developments. Mu Li and the others had already returned home and started their respective work.
Mu Li had originally thought his only remaining work was the recording of “Wonderful Life” which would resume in three days, but unexpectedly, a phone call from He Lin made him fly overnight to Star City.