"I have a question."
As Yan Jiaojiao finished speaking, Jiang Yiling raised his hand: "For the first round of the individual competition, do we all participate, or do we just send one person to secure the minimum number of participants as per the grand competition rules?"
Yan Jiaojiao had already learned the rules from Wei Congling, so she wasn't flustered when Jiang Yiling spoke. She calmly said, "Of course, we only need to send one person to secure the minimum number. Furthermore, I intend to lead the team and choose the person with the lowest spiritual energy level to accompany me."
"Why?"
Sheng Mobai was clearly displeased. "That would put you in great danger, and you would be the first to be exposed in the eyes of others. I actually think it would be better for you, as the ace of our Gunan Academy, to only appear in the team competition."
Sheng Mobai had his own selfish reasons. Yan Jiaojiao had been severely injured before. Although she seemed to have recovered quickly, it wasn't that simple to heal a damaged spiritual power.
The formation that killed Tang Xiye was casually dismissed by her as something she had accidentally discovered and decided to try. However, after Sheng Mobai and Jiang Yiling discussed it later, they inferred that the ancient formation they encountered when hunting the Night Ghost Demon was also orchestrated by her.
At that time, Yan Jiaojiao had been the most depleted. They had initially assumed it was due to her insufficient cultivation. But now, it seemed that was not the case at all.
Sheng Mobai had witnessed the power of formations and naturally didn't believe Yan Jiaojiao would recover so quickly.
Although he knew that delaying for a few days wouldn't make a difference, Sheng Mobai still hoped that Yan Jiaojiao could recuperate under the protection of other academy members during this period.
They couldn't possibly let Yan Jiaojiao bear everything alone, could they? Wouldn't that make them, as disciples, seem too useless?
"I know what you mean." Yan Jiaojiao looked deeply at Sheng Mobai. Although this guy was annoying, she couldn't ignore his good intentions.
"But we can't do that."
Yan Jiaojiao set up a barrier around them, completely preventing anyone else from eavesdropping, and then said with a solemn expression, "Gunan Academy was targeted precisely because there was an informant within. Everyone here is clear about this. Therefore, other academies already know our true strength."
"We need to show them our mettle. Merely hiding our strength is useless; otherwise, they will think we are easy to bully and dare to use any means against us. I know what you're worried about, Senior Brother. Look."
Yan Jiaojiao spread her five fingers, and a green spiritual energy ball slowly appeared in her palm.
"What!"
The other disciples immediately erupted. "Am I seeing this correctly? Junior Sister Jiaojiao, you've already reached Green Rank?"
This speed of advancement was simply heaven-defying!
Sheng Mobai was also taken aback.
He clearly had not expected Yan Jiaojiao's talent to be so astonishing.
But considering that Yan Jiaojiao had always been a legendary prodigy, it was not entirely surprising that she could cultivate to such a realm even after her core was destroyed.
"It's true that I can be a trump card, but in the first round, we must first make them both fearful and unafraid."
"If the opponents are too scared of us, they might send all their high-level disciples to deal with us, which would make it very difficult for us to cope. However, if they are not afraid of us, even a cornered dog will bite. Who knows what those people might do then? My appearance is meant to make them understand one thing—
"No matter how down on our luck Gunan Academy is, we are not so weak that anyone can bully us. Compete with us honestly, and don't think about playing any dirty tricks!"
The crowd understood, and their gazes towards Yan Jiaojiao were filled with admiration.
"So, you not only have to participate in the first round, but you have to be the first one to appear, right?" Jiang Yiling's eyes were sharp, and his brows were filled with admiration.
In the past, he had only thought Yan Jiaojiao was very distinctive, but otherwise not that astonishing. After all, her actions often caused him to sweat.
Now, he realized that only someone with Yan Jiaojiao's character was worthy of her strength.
The strong feared nothing.
"Yes. The others don't need to go all out. I will gather information on our opponents before the competition begins. If you think you can win, then go ahead and fight. If you think you can't win, don't waste your energy and concede directly."
"Our current actual strength is no match for them, so we can only rely on strategy."
"After the results of the first round are out, everyone will surely underestimate us. But they will soon realize whether there are other strong individuals besides me, or if there are still more weaklings. Therefore, in the second round, the opponents will adopt a probing attitude and send a group of mediocre fighters to compete against us. The group stage is our time to shine."
"After winning with overwhelming force, when the team competition starts and the opponents have figured out our strength, they will undoubtedly go all out. But in the team competition, we will win!"
Yan Jiaojiao's eyes were full of confidence. At this moment, she seemed to glow, making people instinctively believe in her.
Initially, they were all quite unconfident. But after listening to Yan Jiaojiao's analysis, the passion within everyone ignited instantly.
They even felt completely confident now that they would definitely win this grand competition.
Seeing that everyone's confidence had been ignited, Yan Jiaojiao's tense expression finally relaxed.
In reality, the disciples of Gunan Academy were not lacking in strength. After all, anyone who could enter the top academy, no matter how untalented, would still be a genius among their peers.
It was just that the series of events after Anruoxi had dealt too heavy a blow to everyone. Yan Jiaojiao's deliberate use of "chicken soup for the soul" was precisely to help them regain their confidence. It seemed to be working very well.
Yan Jiaojiao said no more and began to explain the tactics for the group stage and the team competition to everyone.
...
In the dormitory, Yan Ruxue sat with a few female disciples, her face full of dissatisfaction.
"Why can't we participate in the special training?"
During this period, Yan Jiaojiao had been leading those disciples to cultivate directly in the Scripture Repository. The spiritual energy there was so dense, and it also had the effect of a spiritual energy gathering cauldron. Just standing there, one could feel the spiritual energy surging into their bodies. They also wanted such treatment!
"Yan Jiaojiao is too dictatorial. We are all disciples of Gunan Academy, and we all stayed behind during the most difficult times. Shouldn't she treat everyone equally?"
Yan Ruxue listened to the complaints around her and said impatiently, "Enough! What's the point of constantly complaining about this? Instead of worrying about this, why don't you think about what Yan Jiaojiao and the others are planning? Do you really want them to win the competition? Don't forget what you promised the other academies."
Yan Ruxue had brought others along this time, and they had stayed behind with their respective tasks.
"Yan Jiaojiao has set up barriers all around, so our spiritual beasts can't even get in, and we can't eavesdrop on anything. The other academies have been urging me to tell them Yan Jiaojiao's tactics, but what can I do?"
The same was true for the Holy Grail Academy. Yan Ruxue silently agreed. Although she was also somewhat impatient, she still said, "Find a way. If you can't eavesdrop directly, then find a way to approach those people."