Chapter 21: New Teammates

  Early in the morning, Winter and I got up. Thinking of the good practice effect last night, we smiled at each other, full of confidence in the competition. We didn't see Teacher Wen in the house or around, maybe he went to find teammates for us. I'm also looking forward to new partners joining.

  Waiting is the most unbearable thing. It wasn't until almost noon that Teacher Wen came back. I asked him, "Have you found our partner yet?"

  "How come it's been so long." I said with some resentment.

  "Look at you rushing, I'm more anxious than you are. That also needs to go through screening and find the most suitable one."

  "So you've already found a suitable candidate, where are they?" I asked anxiously.

  "They will come in the afternoon, and we need to have lunch at noon. I asked them to report in the afternoon, and when they arrive, I'll explain the rules and format of the competition with you all. You two can practice a bit more before having lunch first. Don't get too tired, adjusting your state is most important, it's impossible to make any qualitative leaps in such a short time."

  "Oh, let's go practice then." I said somewhat discontentedly. Dragging Dong Ri along to continue practicing.

  Afternoon soon arrived, we were resting in the house when someone outside the courtyard shouted: "Shūshi Marī, Yukue Risu, Kōtoku Kin come and report." It seems our teammates have arrived.

  "Alright, come in," said Teacher Wen. I and Dong Ri quickly ran out of the house to welcome our teammates.

  From their appearance, the three people are different. Two of them are quite tall and sturdy, around 2 meters in height, with a strong physique that exudes masculinity, although they are not particularly handsome. Their rugged facial features suggest that they have undergone rigorous training. They appear to be around 27 years old. The third person is slightly shorter, about 10 cm shorter than me and Dong Ri, with a refined appearance and deep eyes that shine with wisdom, likely around 24 or 25 years old.

  The teacher also walked out of the house, smiling and saying: "Come on, I'll introduce you. This is Longbow, who is from the Kingdom of Aisha, skilled in magic. And this is Winter Day, my apprentice, who is also the weakest among you, so take care of each other."

  "This is Kaito Risu, who has a strength close to that of the Sky Knights. He could have graduated long ago, but he chose to stay in the academy to learn even more advanced martial arts and is one of the top students in the Warrior's Hall."

  I quickly walked over with Dong Ri and exchanged greetings with him. Although his courtesy was very thorough, I could tell that he didn't think much of me and Dong Ri.

  "This is Gao Dejin. His situation is similar to that of Xing Ao, and he is also a master of the Wu Shi Tang."

  It's pretty much the case, including not looking up to me and Dong Ri.

  Finally, Teacher Wen came to the quiet young man's side, patted his shoulder and said to us: "This is Xiū Sī Mǎ Lǐ, the number one master of Wǔ Shì Táng, deeply respected by everyone, with the title of Sky Knight." Indeed a very strong power, Xiū Sī stared at me tightly, extended his hand proactively and said: "Hello, I am Xiū Sī."

  I smiled and shook his hand, saying: "Hello, I'm Chang Gong, welcome to join us." Seeing Xing Ao and Gao De standing behind Xiū Sī, I knew that Xiū Sī was their leader.

  "Alright, you all get to know each other first, practice together in the courtyard and take the opportunity to bond with each other. Later, I'll talk to you about the competition."

  The five of us bowed together and Teacher Wen went back into her house.

  Before I could even speak, Dong Ri said: "So you're Xiu Si big brother, I've long heard of your reputation. You're the top expert among the disciples, in the future please instruct me often, little brother."

  Shūji said faintly, "I dare not instruct you. From now on, let's just mutually polish each other." Dong Ri smiled awkwardly.

  "Ugh, I don't like people like that. I immediately said: 'Is the competition going to organize a team? We need to elect a captain and give the team a name.'"

  Xing Ao spoke up and said generously: "What's there to choose from? The captain is naturally our Xiaosi boss."

  Shouji frowned and said: "Xing Ao, don't talk nonsense, I'm not capable enough to be the captain."

  "I didn't speak nonsense, Captain. With your strength, if you don't become the captain, who will? Are we supposed to let them?" He said, looking at us with disdain.

  I couldn't help but smile and say, "I hope everyone can get along peacefully. Our common goal is to surpass the team of Duke Beichi and even win the final championship, bringing glory to our academy. There's no need to argue over such a small matter. How about this: each person shows off their skills, and whoever has the best martial arts skills will be the captain."

  Shūji thought to himself: "Although he's just a kid, he's quite perceptive. He must have some unusual abilities."

  "Okay."

  Kou and Gouda both forfeited, Winter also forfeited, he didn't have the slightest desire to win, originally I didn't either, but in order to prove to them that Winter and I are not weak, I want to compare with Shoushi.

  Xing Ao and Gao De obviously think I'm overestimating myself, Gao De even said that it's too embarrassing to lose after giving up.

  I ignored them and said to the calm and collected Xiūzi: "You go first or I'll go first." Xiūzi still calmly said: "Guest follows host, you make a move (meaning to set an example, I guess Xiūzi is from Shandong province, haha)"

  "Right."

  I didn't hesitate, responding with a simple "Alright." I walked to the center of the courtyard, closed my eyes, and began to move slowly in place. My speed gradually increased, and soon the entire courtyard was filled with my shadowy figures. Suddenly, the moving silhouettes vanished, replaced by 10 identical versions of myself surrounding them in the middle.

  Xing Ao exclaimed in surprise: "What kind of magic is this? How did so many people suddenly appear?"

  "Ten of me spoke in unison, 'This is not an optical illusion, but a type of spatial magic that I created myself - a short-distance instant positioning magic. Each shadow is me, yet none of them are me.' This is my original magic, something no one has ever seen even in Aisha. It's based on the principle of short-distance instantaneous movement, essentially just transferring at an incredible speed. However, it requires an extremely powerful magical force to execute, and I was only able to complete this magic after reaching the realm of a Magic Conductor."