Elite Mages' Academy

“That is the list of participants. Are there any objections?” Yu Mei took over after Bai Ning finished.

All thirteen of them exchanged glances for a moment before noise erupted. Even though the friendly match meant that at least half of them would not be able to participate, even though there were no prizes on the line, being chosen still meant that they were being acknowledged. If they were not acknowledged there, who knew if they would just be benchwarmers when the official tournament started.

The individual list was still fine, since Chen Dao and Xiao Lin’s skills were practically universally acknowledged. Cheng Ming’s qualifications were the most contentious, but the honest man would definitely not voice any dissatisfaction.

The team tournament was another issue. Including Han Manman, all of them had unhappy looks, and all of them were asking why they were not chosen.

“Enough! You want to know the reason?” Yu Mei suddenly shouted angrily.

The crowd quieted down, waiting for an answer.

“The reason is simple, I am your instructor! If you aren’t happy, you can leave now, but if you want me to change the list, dream on! I’ve told all of you before, the list of participants isn’t fixed yet, and before the tournament, I can remove any of you!” Yu Mei’s temper flared and the training hall immediately fell silent.

There were a total of six participants in the friendly match, but that did not mean that the remainder of them could just go back and wash up. They still needed to continue with their training, and also needed to watch the friendly match on Saturday.

Xiao Lin was actually quite surprised as well. If it was just to build chemistry for the team portion, then he should be part of the team event, and Cheng Ming should be part of the individual event.

Xiao Lin quickly found an opportunity to ask Yu Mei a question alone. Only Gu Xiaoyue and himself could calmly face that captain among the monitors.

“I didn’t let you and Chen Dao participate in the team event because I didn’t want the others to get too easy of a win. I was actually just looking for you. Even if it was the individual event, I wouldn’t allow you to use any ability that could harm yourself. Do you understand what I mean?” Yu Mei warned sternly.

Was that not just prohibiting him from using Myth?

Xiao Lin pursed his lips. He had not planned on using that dangerous ability in an unimportant friendly match anyway. However, he curiously smiled and said, “So you mean that the team would win too easily if Chen Dao and I participated. If that’s the case, isn’t the Russian academy too weak?”

“Do you really think they’ll face us with their full power? No academy would send out their full force in a friendly. I actually wanted to ask for the Judge Academy, but it’s a pity that the Americans haven’t been too close to us recently.” Yu Mei admitted that the list would not be the final list of participants, but she had obviously been too lazy to explain it to the others.

“If the Russians use their actual power to fight against ours, what do you think the odds would be?” Xiao Lin pressed on.

Yu Mei stared at the nosy brat before thinking for less than ten seconds and shaking her head. “Do we need to say it? If you use that power, then we might be able to fight them on equal terms, but if you don’t, your chances of victory are less than ten percent.”

That shocked Xiao Lin. Yu Mei obviously meant Myth. Even using Myth, they would only be able to fight the full power of the Russian academy at an even footing.

Looking at Xiao Lin’s doubt, Yu Mei earnestly sighed. “I’m not exaggerating. Dawn Academy’s situation has gotten worse and worse in the recent years. At least this batch of yours could possibly rank at around tenth place in terms of skill. Behind us is Egypt, Argentina, and Turkey, the usual bottom feeders.”

Xiao Lin was a little speechless. “How is this ranking calculated?”

“The number of talent holders and the quality. Setting aside the other academies, according to our reports, the Russian Voyna Akademiya has at least three S-ranked talent holders in their newest batch of students. However, we don’t think that any of them will be making an appearance this time.”

Xiao Lin took in a cold breath. An S-rank talent holder might not compare to an SS-rank, but S-rank talent holders still hold a huge advantage against any other talent holders. He also needed to consider if he could actually hold off three of them by himself after he activated Myth. If he could not, even if it were a team battle, they would be in dire straits.

Yu Mei’s calculations were accurate. Based on skill, and even including Xiao Lin, Dawn Academy’s chances against the Russian academy were too low.

“This year is actually very strange. In the past few decades, S-rank talent holders were rare existences, and only a few would appear in a dozen years. Even A-rank talent holders already stood at the peak. However, something seems to have happened this year, and practically every academy saw a huge influx of talent holders, and it’s incomparable to the past both in quality and quantity.”

“Is there a spring of talent holders?”

“That’s right. It’s a huge influx that came with no omens and no explanation. No one knows if it’s a coincidence or a certain phenomenon.” Yu Mei did not seem to want to dwell on the topic, and quickly changed it. “The academy will probably hold a small welcome party for the students from the Russian academy. After all, we are their allies. When the time comes, some of the department heads from the student union will be there. It’s a very boring social event, so if you don’t want to attend, you don’t have to. I’ll just tell the president.”

Probably feeling that Xiao Lin was not someone adept at social settings, Yu Mei had brought it up beforehand. Xiao Lin had wanted to agree, but he thought of something and said, “No need, I’ll be attending tonight. Yes, I should be exchanging pointers with them.”

“What?”

Even though Yu Mei was curious as to Xiao Lin’s intentions, the woman did not press on. Having Xiao Lin participate was just a small matter. That night, Xiao Lin appeared at the academy’s banquet hall. It was the first time Xiao Lin was there, and according to Yu Mei, it was specifically used to welcome those from other academies.

Xiao Lin had learned about their foreign relations, and even though the five big academies had a mutual alliance in principle, they still had various conflicts. Dawn Academy could be considered closer to Voyna Akademiya, which would explain why they got such great treatment, even when it was only for a friendly match.