Chương 158: features a barefoot person who isn't afraid of wearing shoes.

Chapter 158 focuses on the idea that having nothing to lose makes one fearless.

quiet!

The entire venue fell silent!

Lu Sha's icy breath caused a silence to fall.

Many viewers who had witnessed top-tier players compete live believed that, even if Gardner wasn't as good as those veteran stars, she should at least outperform Cora.

But they couldn't see any power in this attack.

Is this a foot trimming treatment for a Salamence?

"That's laughable!"

With his arms crossed, Du gave a cold smile and offered his definitive assessment.

Although he didn't understand how an earth dragon could learn ice breath, that didn't stop him from judging the move as rubbish.

With its professional-level foundation, Garchomp's pitiful Special Attack stat, coupled with its non-STAB Ice-type moves...

Even though its move type is super effective against Salamence, it's still quite an achievement that this weak attack managed to break through the defense of a Gym Leader-level Pokémon.

Moreover, with Du's keen eye, he could naturally see that Lu Sha hadn't put in any real effort.

If we were to quantify it with data, the strength of this attack would probably be around 1000.

"Huh?" (That's it? That's all?) Not only the onlookers, but even the examiner, Flying Dragon, was stunned.

It looked down at its calf, which wasn't even scratched, and felt as if it had been gently scratched by a kitten.

This is different from what Master Genji told him before he went on stage, isn't it?

Didn't Genji say that the blonde girl in Sinnoh is an extremely dangerous monster, and that it must be on high alert?

It just took a hard hit from Lorelei, and thought it was going to be skinned alive when facing the Sinnoh monsters this time.

So you took your pants off, and this is what you showed it?

However, it didn't give Salamence and the others any time to react or question.

"Cut! (That's it, time to go.)" Lu Sha clapped his paws, turned around, and returned to Cattleya's side with great elegance.

Then, under the watchful eyes of 60, 000 people, the Zhuqing Academy team acted as if nothing had happened, directly bypassing the still-dazed Flying Dragon and heading towards their rest area without looking back.

"... Announce it now, Sinnoh Celebration Academy is currently ranked second."

Genji, who was standing to the side, twitched his eye slightly, but he still reached out to comfort his old friend.

The gaze fixed on Zhu Qingxue's retreating figure was tinged with a touch of melancholy.

Confidence is a good thing.

But this is a stage that brings together the world's top talents, and it's the World Academy Cup, not a competition where individual strength alone can crush everything.

He simply couldn't understand where Sinnoh's group got their confidence from.

"roar!!!"

Although Salamence may not be quick-witted, it is extremely efficient in its execution.

When its owner told it to bark, it let out a loud roar.

The leaderboard on the big screen refreshed accordingly: 【2. Zhuqing College】 Immediately following, accompanied by rousing music, teams from colleges around the world began to enter the venue for testing.

Strangely, as more and more people entered, the host's introductions of the other colleges, while still full of praise, never reached the exaggerated level of the praise given to Cattleya.

Even more bizarre was the leaderboard on the big screen.

As each new college completed its tests, Zhuqing College's original second-place position began to slip uncontrollably.

Even if it's an obscure, low-ranking Sinnoh academy, its top student releases a Torterra that has just reached the professional level and unleashes a Leaf Storm with all its might, and the evaluation it receives is higher than Lu Sha's Ice Breath.

When the number of participating academies reached thirty, Zhuqing Academy's ranking had steadily fallen to thirtieth place.

Seeing this extremely dramatic, even absurd, scene, the top geniuses in the venue finally realized what was happening.

"Tsk, it seems Shiba was right. Some people deliberately lowered the rankings to the bottom, treating our Quartz Academy like an easy target, trying to squeeze us out in the first round."

Kona took off her glasses and wiped them gently. Her cold gaze swept across most of the venue, locking onto Cattleya, who was sitting in the rest area with her eyes closed, and Garchomp, who was sprawled out on the chair.

With more than half of the academies having played so far, Indigo Academy still firmly holds the number one spot thanks to Lorelei's stunning Ice Beam.

By this time, most of the powerful monsters from each major competition area had already entered the arena.

Following Quartz Academy in the rankings are, in order: Carlos's Miare Academy, Padia's Orange Academy, Galar's Master Ma's Martial Arts School, and Unova's Blueberry Academy.

The rankings are unlikely to change much in the future.

Only the host German Academy, which appeared last, deserves some attention from the geniuses present.

If Daigo's ace doesn't surpass Kona's score, nor does it fall below Riku's score.

Therefore, the final matchup will present a dramatic showdown.

The top-ranked Kanto Quartz Academy will face off against the bottom-ranked 64th-placed team in the first round of the top 64 elimination tournament...

Sinnoh Celebrates Academy!

"If you lose to them in the first round, you should know very well what that means."

Du had somehow moved to the front of the group, his dark red cloak draped behind him, his tone icy and devoid of any warmth.

Sinnoh, widely regarded as the weakest team in the league, provoked the opponent in such an insulting manner, and was ultimately defeated in front of everyone.

Nakona and Shiba will never be able to hold their heads high in Guantanamo again.

Not only them, but the dignity of the entire Kanto Alliance will be trampled.

Even he, a king who has already reached the top, will bear an indelible stain on his reputation because of this team's crushing defeat today.

"Come on! I'm more afraid they won't dare to come! If we really lose, it's because we're not good enough, and we deserve to be nailed to the pillar of shame!"

Shiba's eyes widened, like a raging lion, a cruel smile spreading across his face: "Did you really think just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could come and cause trouble in our prison? A natural-born superhuman? Ha, these fists of mine are for all sorts of flashy superhumans!"

"If I really do face Lance in the first round, put me in the starting lineup for the tournament! I want to personally test with my fists whether that woman named Cattleya is really as amazing as the Hoenn people claim!"

Superpowered individuals are indeed an extremely troublesome presence in open field battles.

But on the official battlefield with its limited space, it's like a wing with broken wings; in front of this top fighter, it's nothing more than a slightly harder sandbag.

"I hope you win."

Du gave Shiba a deep look, his tone calm, but he did not deny the radical proposal.

They are the pride of Kanto, and it is impossible for them to deliberately avoid their sharp edge just to be greedy for a sure victory.

In the last competition, they lost because they were too conservative.

If they choose to avoid battle and retreat in the face of such provocation, what difference is there between them and surrendering before the battle even begins?

This time, they not only want to win, but they want to crush these guys who dare to provoke Guandu under their feet in the most overwhelming way!

"Now, let's give a warm welcome to the final team of this year's Academy Cup, the pride of Kanaz City, the reigning World Academy Cup champions, the German Academy team!"

As the host raised his voice again, even with a hint of shouting, the last team finally stepped out of the contestant tunnel.

Leading the procession as the flag bearer was a silver-haired nobleman in a well-tailored black bespoke suit and short silver-blue hair.

Dawu!

Holding the huge school flag bearing the Devon Group logo in one hand, he led the Devon Academy team to the center of the field with a calm and spirited stride.

The home advantage was on full display at this moment.

The moment Daigo appeared, the 60, 000-seat arena seemed to explode, erupting with the most deafening cheers since the start of the tournament.

Countless blue support signs for the German Academy lit up in the stands, and a deafening roar chanted the names of Daigo and Michael.

The two walked side by side, one calm and reserved, the other elegant and noble, frequently smiling and waving to the audience in the stands, eliciting screams from countless fans.

"The atmosphere has been built up to this point, and it's their home field, so they can't possibly throw the game like we have, right?"

In the rest area, Cynthia looked at the incredibly popular Devon team with a hint of hesitation on her face.

Lu Sha had just made a bet with her, saying that when the German Academy test came later, her ranking would definitely not be very high, and might even be lower than theirs.

At the time, Cynthia didn't believe it.

Now that she could truly feel the popularity of the German Academy, she was even less convinced.

"Hehe! (Who knows? Daigo's a pure pragmatist.)" Lu Sha slumped comfortably in the large armchair, opened his mouth wide, and let out an "Ah".

In mid-air, several potato chips, enveloped in his telekinetic energy, flew into his mouth automatically, making a crunching sound as he chewed them.

"This... can't be right?"

Cynthia's mutterings were still stuck in her throat when the scene before her left her speechless with astonishment.

When the German team arrived in front of Salamence, Steven and Wallace surprisingly stepped aside quite naturally.

The person representing the entire German Academy to test the strongest combat power was actually a female student with long purple hair.

The purple-haired girl threw out a Poké Ball, and a professional-grade Altaria flew into the arena, then performed a standard U-turn on Salamence.

His proficiency with the moves is quite good, at least at the master level. The strength of his moves is estimated to be around 3000, which is just over the threshold of the dojo level.

However, among the 64 top academy teams today, a move strength of 3000 can only be considered as the most mediocre mid-level.

As expected, Salamence gave a perfunctory growl, and the leaderboard on the big screen froze: 【32. German Language Academy】 It was perfectly positioned right in the middle of all 64 teams.

The moment the rankings were announced, the previously bustling stadium, filled with tens of thousands of people, fell into an eerie, deathly silence that lasted for two seconds.

Two seconds later, scattered applause broke out, but the earlier frenzied cheers vanished without a trace.

Clearly, for the vast majority of ordinary viewers, they have no idea what's wrong with their star team.

"Click click! (A year's supply of top-tier Dragon-type special energy cubes, thank you for the generous gift, rich lady!)" Lu Sha grinned from ear to ear, and smugly beckoned to Xilona with his shark claw.

"for you!"

Cynthia rolled her eyes in annoyance. She was a woman of her word, and with her wealth, she certainly wouldn't renege on her bet.

"However, I still don't understand why they had to choose this way. This is their home turf, don't they feel ashamed?"

""

"Click! (It's about waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out. This strategy is boring, but it's the most stable one under the current format.)" Lu Sha swallowed another potato chip and continued his analysis: "According to the rules, the first-place team plays against the sixty-fourth-place team, and so on, with the top and bottom teams facing off.

Since we deliberately came in last place, if Devon Academy doesn't want to fight us or Quartz Academy to the death in the first round of the top 64 elimination tournament, their only option is to keep their ranking in the middle!"

With monsters lurking at both ends, ranking too high or too low carries the risk of drawing the worst possible outcome and being eliminated early.

Precisely controlling the score to a mid-range level, perfectly avoiding the favorites to win, is naturally the optimal solution.

Having finally wrested the hosting rights back from Kanto, Hoenn is clearly determined to keep the championship trophy this time.

While they wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics like bribing referees or changing the rules, Daigo and Mikuri felt no qualms about using point control tactics within this fair and aboveboard competition system.

"I see... In order to ensure absolute victory, one can even disregard temporary pride?" Cynthia murmured thoughtfully.

Compared to the unbridled arrogance of Zhuqing Academy, the approach of Dewen Academy seemed far too conservative.

But then I thought about it again and it made sense. Sinnoh has been losing badly in the Academy Cup for the past few years. They have nothing to lose and have no idol baggage at all.

No matter what tricks Cattleya and Lu Sha pull, even if they are eliminated in the first round, they will only get a few more criticisms from the local media. But in contrast, Hoenn, as the defending champion and host, is burdened by the heavy shackles of wanting to win but fearing to lose.

In some ways, they face even greater pressure than those at Quartz College.

"Click! (Don't make being a coward sound so noble. What do you mean by playing it safe? In the end, isn't it just because you're not strong enough?)" Lu Sha scoffed disdainfully, tearing away the veil of pretense: "Crack! (If Daigo were 100% confident he could take on the young lady one-on-one, he would have sent Metagross up for the test long ago. A sure win would still get him into the finals. Conservative? To put it bluntly, it means he wasn't confident and chickened out.) If they truly had the strength, Zhuqing Academy would be the only one at the bottom.

If you are 100% confident of defeating them, you can definitely run into them in the first round.

Isn't it because they're afraid of being eliminated in the first round?

Ultimately, it's because Daigo, for the sake of the region, doesn't dare to clash with the young lady in such an important tournament during the ring match.

Having already lost in terms of momentum, winning in the future would be even more impossible.

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