Ma Xiaotao's challenge echoed through the air, instantly igniting the entire Star Luo Plaza.
"My god! This is a blockbuster match!"
"The two captains going head-to-head? Isn't this more exciting than some tactical maneuvering?"
"This is a collision between the two strongest teams in the Round-robin Tournament. If these two really fight, it'll be like Mars crashing into Earth!"
The spectators were flushed with excitement, each craning their necks, wishing they could press their ears between the two to hear Liu Yuan's answer.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the response from the captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Liu Yuan looked at the overbearing and Battle Intent-filled Ma Xiaotao before him, his lips curling into a faint smile.
"You want to go up against me?"
Liu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, exuding a sense of calm and unhurried confidence.
"Since Captain Ma Xiaotao is so inclined, if I don't agree, wouldn't it make it seem like the Sun Moon Royal Academy has no one, and that I, Liu Yuan, am afraid of you?"
"Fine!"
Liu Yuan nodded, and a sharp glint flashed through his ink-black eyes as well.
"In tomorrow's match, I will be the first to step onto the stage."
Hearing Liu Yuan agree, the Battle Intent in Ma Xiaotao's eyes grew even stronger. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Liu Yuan suddenly change the subject.
"However..."
Liu Yuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the Shrek crowd before glancing back at his teammates who trusted him implicitly. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Liu Yuan looked at Ma Xiaotao and spoke slowly:
"Captain Ma Xiaotao, since we're both going first, why don't we make a more interesting bet?"
"A more interesting bet?" Ma Xiaotao frowned slightly, looking at him in confusion. "What do you want to bet?"
Liu Yuan smiled slightly and held up a finger:
"One match to decide it all!"
"Tomorrow's match will be decided by the outcome of our duel, determining the winner between our two teams."
"If I win, the entire Shrek Academy team forfeits."
"If you win, the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team forfeits."
"How about it? Do you dare to play for such high stakes?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire audience was shocked!
This Liu Yuan actually proposed such a bet?
This was placing the honor and disgrace of the entire academy on a single person!
Ma Xiaotao's expression also changed; she clearly hadn't expected Liu Yuan to make such a request.
Although she was confident in herself, this concerned the honor of Shrek Academy after all, and even more so, the participation experience of her teammates behind her.
What if... what if she lost?
Wouldn't that mean everyone else wouldn't even get a chance to fight?
She subconsciously looked back at Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei, and the others.
Dai Yueheng's brow was furrowed, clearly hesitant.
Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei also exchanged glances. Although they trusted Ma Xiaotao, the feeling of entrusting their fate entirely to one person was not pleasant.
However, while the Shrek crowd was hesitating, the members of the Sun Moon Team behind Liu Yuan shouted in unison:
"Captain! We support you!"
Seeing the Sun Moon Team's uniform and unhesitating support, the entire audience couldn't help but be moved.
This was team trust!
This was leadership charisma!
On the other hand, the Shrek side's Aura instantly plummeted due to their previous hesitation, making them seem lacking in unity and even somewhat timid.
Ma Xiaotao's face became even more unsightly. She gritted her teeth and was about to force herself to agree when an old but majestic voice suddenly rang out.
"Fine! This old man agrees on their behalf!"
Xuan Zi strode over while gnawing on a chicken leg, his murky old eyes flashing with brilliance.
"Since you want to play this game of heroism, then we Shrek will accompany you to the end!"
"Xiao Tao!" Xuan Zi looked at Ma Xiaotao and shouted in a deep voice, "Tell him what you're going to do!"
With Xuan Zi's final word, Ma Xiaotao's concerns instantly vanished, replaced by an even more violent Battle Intent.
She whipped her head around, staring fixedly at Liu Yuan, and said word by word:
"Fine! It's a deal!"
"Tomorrow, I'll make you accept your defeat wholeheartedly!"
After saying that, Ma Xiaotao snorted coldly, turned around, and led the Shrek group away.
Watching the departing backs of the Shrek Team, a playful smile curled on Liu Yuan's lips.
"Since you've accepted the challenge, tomorrow's show will be quite a performance."
...
On the way back.
Liu Yuan looked at his teammates chattering excitedly beside him and was about to explain his intentions for doing this.
"Um, everyone listen to me. Actually, the reason I proposed this bet was mainly because I wanted to..."
"Captain! No need to explain!"
Before Liu Yuan could finish, Lin Xi interjected with an "I understand everything" expression:
"We all understand! You're doing it to help us conserve our strength!"
"After all, the subsequent Elimination Round are what matter. It wouldn't be worth it to reveal too many trump cards in an inconsequential Round-robin Tournament like this."
"That's why you wanted to shoulder everything yourself, right?"
Lin Xi spoke with great emotion, voicing all the conjectures in everyone's hearts.
Mi Jia also nodded repeatedly beside him. "Yeah, Captain, we understand your good intentions! Just go ahead and fight boldly. It doesn't matter even if you lose; we've already qualified anyway!"
"Ptooey, ptooey! What kind of unlucky talk is that!"
Meng Hongchen gave Mi Jia a punch and said huffily, "Captain won't lose! Although Ma Xiaotao is strong, if it's Captain, there will definitely be no problem!"
"Exactly! Captain is sure to win!"
Looking at this group of teammates who trusted him implicitly, Liu Yuan smiled contentedly.
It seemed he truly did have a group of good teammates.
...
The next morning.
The atmosphere at Star Luo Plaza reached its highest peak since the start of the tournament.
Countless spectators flooded into the arena early, with even the aisles packed with people.
Even the Emperor of Star Luo, Xu Jiawei, arrived early at the top of the imperial city wall to watch the match.
Everyone knew that today's match, while not affecting qualification, concerned the reputation of the two top academies and, even more so, the title of the number one person among the younger generation!
"Hello, everyone in the audience!"
The announcer's voice trembled slightly with excitement:
"Today, we will witness the most anticipated duel of the Round-robin Tournament stage!"
"And that is—the Shrek Academy representative team versus the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy representative team!"
"And yesterday, the captains of both sides made a shocking bet! Today's battle will be decided in a single match!"
"Will it be Shrek's Flame Demonic Madwoman Ma Xiaotao defending their honor, or the Sun Moon Team's mysterious captain Liu Yuan creating another miracle?"
"Let's wait and see!"
As the announcer's high-pitched voice faded, the referee strode to the center of the competition stage, took a deep breath, and announced loudly:
"The match begins!"
"Will the members of both teams please enter the stage!"
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