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The impact of the Spring Tournament far exceeded Li Xiang's expectations.
Because, within half a day of the tournament's conclusion, over ten incidents of people sneaking onto the campus and dozens of incidents of unauthorized individuals being brought onto campus had occurred at Mist City University.
For a while, the campus was thrown into chaos, but the hospital wasn't completely safe either.
Who knows who leaked the information, but while Li Xiang was lying comfortably on his side after dinner, playing on his phone and waiting for someone to pick him up, two Chatot flew in through the window, one clutching a recorder and the other a camera, frantically asking all sorts of strange questions.
If it hadn't been for Rotom being clever enough to find a chance to slip into the devices, turn them off, and delete the memory, his lazy appearance might have been on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.
It was only then that Li Xiang realized how even more insane the paparazzi in the Pokémon world were compared to his previous life—daring to use Pokémon to break into someone's hospital room for an interview.
Thoroughly startled, while Incineroar was pinning the two birds to the floor and they kept shouting, "I'll sue you!", he quickly packed his things and started observing the situation outside the window.
In the small flowerbed downstairs, a middle-aged man was hiding behind a dense tree, his figure faintly visible.
Probably the trainer of those Chatot.
Li Xiang reached out to stroke the now-cursing parrots until they were nearly rolling their eyes from his skilled handling.
Meanwhile, he communicated with Riolu, who was using Aura to monitor outside the room.
After confirming no one was outside, he recalled Incineroar and the others, put on a mask, and prepared to leave.
The team uniform was conspicuous, but by turning it inside out to reveal the gray lining, it was a bit better.
He called Miao Shuang.
This assistant coach was shocked to learn that paparazzi had invaded Li Xiang's hospital room and hurriedly told him not to move, to stay in the hospital and wait for her.
But by then, Li Xiang had already left the hospital, found a taxi, and was on his way back to campus.
In this day and age, ride-hailing apps were still only popular in Tian Du; who knew when they'd officially launch across all of Zhu Xia.
Upon returning to campus, Li Xiang was stopped once by security at the gate, three times by patrol cars, and six times by students—all because of the mask on his face.
But without the mask, he probably wouldn't have made it home today.
Looking at the students who became quite excited upon seeing his real face, grabbing him and saying things, Li Xiang thought this to himself.
'And also... you guys weren't like this a month ago!'
Li Xiang still remembered his experience during the selection matches.
Comparing those memories to the fanatical expressions of the students before him now was truly a complex feeling.
These guys were way too pragmatic.
Finally making it back to the villa area, he found some peace.
Generally, only varsity team members or teachers could enter this area.
The security was also very strict; the wild Pokémon living nearby were all responsible for safety here.
If any unauthorized person entered without credentials, they would be caught by the Pokémon, and armored police would be called to handle it.
The Pokémon responsible for the area around Li Xiang's house were two half-human-sized Galvantula and a group of palm-sized Joltik.
They were extremely, extremely cute. Completely different from the ferocious arthropods of his previous life.
Every time he saw them, Li Xiang felt his heart was healed, and he often shared food with them.
Like today, they were all crouching outside Li Xiang's door, waiting for something like dogs.
The lights were on next door and across the street; the two guys there were up to who-knows-what.
As he approached slowly, the Galvantula instantly stood up, raising their plump rear ends.
But upon hearing his familiar voice, they relaxed their guard.
A group of small, yellow, fluffy Joltik pattered over and began climbing up Li Xiang's body.
"Good work, thank you."
He smiled, watching the Joltik crawling all over him.
These little guys were like moving furballs—furry, soft, with several sapphires embedded as eyes. Their four tiny feet were thinner than his little finger.
"Jolt! Jolt!"
The Joltik shimmered with fine electric sparks, looking quite content.
This wasn't an attack; they were absorbing static electricity from his body. These Pokémon could store it in internal electric sacs, which was very amazing.
The Galvantula guarding the door moved aside on their own. These creatures were purple and yellow all over, with fluffy purple fur on their tails.
This fur was like a taser—touching human skin would cause paralysis, regardless of the Galvantula's intent.
Normally, when they encountered someone suspicious, they would shoot their fur.
"Galv!"
Once the two Galvantula recognized Li Xiang, they called out softly to the Joltik.
The Joltik climbed down reluctantly, all settling on the Galvantulas' backs before disappearing into the nearby woods.
"So cute indeed."
Li Xiang sighed, opening the door to prepare for night training.
He couldn't give up training because of a choking incident. He'd persisted for so long; even if he had to run around the villa, he was going to finish his night training.
...
The next day.
Mist City University vs. Dianzhou University.
Just as Li Xiang and Gong Xu had encountered in the bathroom earlier, and as some senior had guessed, it was an advancing seed team vs. a seed team.
The audience was very enthusiastic. The moment Mist City U took the stage, they began chanting Li Xiang's name, forming a continuous chorus, maximizing the home-field advantage.
But upon discovering that Li Xiang wasn't in the lineup, they let out a long boo.
They loved drama without caring about the consequences. After all, they had enjoyed yesterday's match—a freshman soloing five starters from Meicheng University, winning all the way.
At night, while browsing blogs, they had excitedly spammed comments under the official post with things like—『On site +1』.
And the topic of whether Li Xiang could solo Dianzhou University had also sparked heated debates.
Some said yes, some said no. Some even analyzed frame by frame the condition of Li Xiang and his Pokémon.
All sorts of memes were flying everywhere.
Memes of Li Xiang, Incineroar, and the others were everywhere.
With their expectations full, they were informed that Li Xiang wouldn't be playing!? He wasn't even coming to the stadium?
He's gotten arrogant, arrogant!
Of course, soon, under the deliberate control of the commentators, the noise died down, and the focus shifted to the current match.
As for the other side, Dianzhou University heaved a huge sigh of relief upon discovering Li Xiang wasn't there.
The tragedy of Meicheng University's entire team being shut out after Hongcheng University's starters and captain were crushed made this perennially qualifying school extremely nervous, afraid of becoming the third stepping stone brutally trampled by Li Xiang.
Because they were also the type whose strength would drop somewhat once their sixth-year students graduated, perennially at the bottom in regionals.
Who knew if Li Xiang was still hiding his strength? Even if he wasn't, if he could take down three of their starters, he would slap their faces hard.
Especially the two who had encountered Li Xiang in the bathroom.
They were terrified Li Xiang would launch a revenge match and then reveal the earlier incident on his blog.
They would probably be cursed to death.
Fortunately, Li Xiang wasn't there. As long as that terrifying cheater wasn't around, even if they lost, they could still save face.
Losing to Mist Mist City U's starters and losing to a freshman were not the same thing!
Hadn't they seen how Hongcheng University's students went crazy laughing after Meicheng lost? The fire was diverted.
If Dianzhou University became the next, they would truly be out of luck.
It could be said that Li Xiang had successfully become the most welcomed and most unwelcome person at other schools.
His outstanding performance made the other Big Six constantly regret why they hadn't been more persistent in recruiting him back then.
Now look, such a talented person went to Mist City University.
He soloed five!
Even if his Pokémon could take it, could the trainer hold up?!
Thus, even though Li Xiang didn't come to the Spring Tournament venue, his name still resounded throughout the entire arena.
Until the single round ended, with Mist City U fielding a lineup of three starters and two alternates, winning 5-2 against Dianzhou University, the audience was still regretting not having the pleasure of watching him.
Meanwhile, Dianzhou University was overjoyed, thinking that even losing three points was better than facing Li Xiang.
The next round's opponent, Jizhou University, was in constant fear.
Dianzhou University had survived. What about them?
The fifth day of the Spring Cup ended.
There would be a two-day break, and then the fifth and final round would begin.
...
At Mist City University.
The University Council was arguing like a boiling pot.
On one side were the progressive faction who wanted Li Xiang to play, at least defeat three Jizhou University students, to stir up the hype.
The recruitment season was approaching; Li Xiang's outstanding performance would give them a higher advantage in this year's Youth Training Camp recruitment.
They believed that as long as they defeated Jizhou University, they could pick and choose from the top five.
Additionally, they wanted Li Xiang to develop in the direction of a celebrity trainer. Like the current Elite Four and Champion, who had huge fan bases. Just releasing some related merchandise could earn who-knows-how-much money.
For Li Xiang, money also equaled endless resources.
This was very similar to the ideas of the Galar region's League.
In Galar, things like the Galarian Star Tournament, Champion's Cup, etc., were plentiful. Using Dynamax as a selling point attracted countless people, making the Gym Leaders like movie stars. Leon's cape was practically covered in ads.
On the other side, were the cautious faction led by Bai Wanhua, with Xu He as the mainstay.
They believed Li Xiang had already exposed enough. Yesterday's events were clear for all to see—how eager the media was to interview him and the price they were willing to pay were very clear.
Considering the future, Li Xiang shouldn't play. He needed sufficient room to grow, not be pushed into the spotlight so early.
Let him grow a bit more before considering those things; he was far from reaching the stage of being a pillar yet.
The progressive faction said the media just wanted news material; holding a press conference would be enough. Li Xiang surely wanted to make a name for himself too.
The cautious faction said the media were insatiable Mightyena; one press conference couldn't satisfy everyone. It would affect Li Xiang's growth, and Li Xiang himself might not agree.
Both sides argued fiercely.
Xu He frantically slammed the table, putting on an 'if you dare do this, I'll fight you to the death' attitude.
The argument ended inconclusively.
The progressive faction conceded half a step, saying that as long as there was one press conference, other things could be considered later.
Seeing this, the cautious faction also stepped back, saying holding a press conference was okay, but they had to ask Li Xiang's personal wishes first, and then they would choose the media.
The matter ended there.
The progressive faction's goal was successfully achieved.
By threatening to tear down the house, they successfully got the cautious faction to open a window, even if only a small one.