Chapter 184: Obviously, Tang San Should Have Been the Protagonist
Qin Ming stood in the middle of the resting room.
Looking at the seven people slumped in front of him, he let out a heavy sigh.
The team members who had just come down from the arena had long lost their usual proud demeanor.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
"Ahem."
Qin Ming cleared his throat.
"I know everyone feels bad, but victory and defeat are common in battle. This time, we…"
Before he could finish, he stopped himself.
He had already repeated these same words over and over for nearly ten minutes since they returned to the resting room.
Did it help?
He knew himself that it was only of minimal use.
Being wiped out in one versus seven battles in less than a minute, without even the slightest chance to fight back—
This kind of complete crushing defeat wasn't something a few words like "try harder next time" could smooth over.
Just as the silence hung heavy like death,
a distinctly impatient "tsk" suddenly broke the stagnant air.
Dugu Yan had been leaning by the innermost window the whole time, arms crossed, back facing everyone.
Listening to Qin Ming repeat the same useless words.
Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter until she finally reached her limit.
She suddenly straightened up.
The movement was so abrupt that the chair by the window scraped harshly against the floor.
It startled Ye Lingling beside her, causing the water in her cup to slosh.
"That's enough, Teacher Qin. Stop talking."
Dugu Yan turned around and directly cut him off.
Her sharp phoenix eyes were filled with undisguised impatience and anger.
"You keep repeating the same few lines; it's annoying just listening to it."
"A loss is a loss. No matter how much nonsense you say, can it change the fact that we got wiped out by one person?"
Qin Ming was stunned, his expression freezing instantly.
Then he frowned and said in a deep voice, "Yanzi, what are you doing? Everyone's already in a bad mood. Don't throw a tantrum here."
"Heh."
Dugu Yan didn't even respond to him.
She reached out and pulled open the resting room door, cold air rushing in through the gap.
Without even turning her head, she stepped out in her high heels.
The heavy wooden door slammed shut with a bang, making the team posters on the wall tremble.
Yu Tianheng raised his head at the noise. Seeing the empty doorway, he froze for two seconds.
After hesitating for two seconds, he stood up as well.
Forcing a slight smile toward Qin Ming, he said, "Teacher Qin, I'll go check on Yanzi."
Without waiting for a reply, he quickly followed her out.
The remaining people in the room looked at each other.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The resting area of Shrek Academy was the complete opposite scene.
It was boiling with excitement, almost on fire.
Crowds of spectators packed the area in layers upon layers.
All pushing forward, wanting to see with their own eyes the legendary contestant "Azure Star," who had just wiped out the Royal Fighting Team single-handedly.
Cheers and praise mixed together.
Lin Qingmo had just walked up from the contestant passage.
Before he could even reach his seat, a pink blur rushed over and grabbed his arm.
"Ah Qing! You were way too amazing!"
Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled like they were filled with stars, her face flushed red from all the cheering.
She clung to his arm, shaking it back and forth, excitement and admiration overflowing from her voice.
"Rongrong and I were shouting so much our throats went hoarse, and you didn't even hear us!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Ning Rongrong immediately trotted over in her small leather shoes.
The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had completely dropped her usual airs, her face flushed red.
She still held a small, wrinkled flag in her hand, squeezed out of shape from all the cheering, with the words "Azure Star is Invincible" nearly smudged.
Lin Qingmo's brow twitched, thinking, 'Where did this flag even come from?'
Zhu Zhuqing stood a little farther away, not coming over like the two of them to act spoiled.
But her usually cold expression had softened slightly, her lips curving into a faint yet beautiful smile.
Her gaze remained fixed on Lin Qingmo.
Those cool, cat-like eyes were filled with admiration.
After the commotion around them calmed slightly, she stepped forward and handed him a bottle of water.
He took it.
"Thanks, Zhuqing."
"Mm."
Zhu Zhuqing responded with a soft smile.
"Good job, kid! That was beautiful!"
Zhao Wuji strode over, laughing loudly.
His large palm slapped heavily onto Lin Qingmo's shoulder.
"I knew your move would be steady. You easily took down all those little brats. You truly brought honor to our Shrek. Let's see who dares to say we're just a broken academy from the countryside anymore!"
Flender stood beside him, pushing up his crystal glasses.
Behind the lenses, those eyes that always carried a calculating gleam were now filled with undisguised satisfaction and approval.
He didn't act as exaggeratedly as Zhao Wuji and just nodded at Lin Qingmo.
His tone carried clear approval. "Not bad, Qingmo. You didn't disappoint us."
"This match, you've earned Shrek plenty of face. For the celebration feast tonight, order whatever you want; it's on me!"
Lin Qingmo's gaze flickered. He didn't say much, instead looking toward three people whose atmosphere felt much heavier.
Dai Mubai leaned against the railing at the back, his back to everyone.
'Damn it, why is it him again stealing all the spotlight?'
His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He had always thought of himself as Shrek's captain, the top combat power in the team.
Yet all the cheers around were for Lin Qingmo; no one remembered him, the captain.
And Zhu Zhuqing personally handing him water made his anger surge even more.
Tang San stood beside Yu Xiaogang.
His hands hung at his sides.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges at his waist, the fingertips nearly digging into the belt.
There was no extra expression on his face.
But in his lowered eyes, gloom and resentment were churning.
This match had drawn everyone's attention.
All the spotlight and cheers were on Lin Qingmo.
No one remembered him, the Thousand Hands Asura.
Even Xiao Wu was cheering for him.
Jealousy and unwillingness grew wildly in his heart like weeds.
Yu Xiaogang gripped his notebook filled with martial soul theory so tightly that the pages crumpled.
He had spent his entire life studying the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls and had prepared a full set of tactics.
Yet, from start to finish, none of it was used.
Lin Qingmo hadn't used any tactics at all—just pure overwhelming strength.
The theories he took pride in looked so pale and powerless in the face of such an absolute gap in strength.
He looked at Lin Qingmo surrounded by everyone, then at Tang San beside him, whose face had turned pale.
'Clearly, Xiao San should have been the genius everyone focuses on. Why did all the spotlight get taken by this guy?'
This made Yu Xiaogang extremely displeased.
Today, he had originally wanted Tang San to rely on the martial soul theory he had spent his life researching to shine brilliantly.
To let everyone see how outstanding his disciple was and how powerful his theory was.
And the result?
All the tactics he prepared, all his planned words, turned into a joke.
The entire arena was shouting Azure Star's name.
No one mentioned him, and even less mentioned his prized disciple.
End of Chapter