Chapter 394 - Secret Weapon
At this point, Wu Siduo still could not accept that she had lost to Tang Wulin. To be accurate, they had both fallen by each others’ hands, but that still hurt her pride. Although she had the edge on him, she couldn’t contend with his body’s absolute strength. Plus, he had the aid of a food-type soul master. His recovery speed naturally would be faster than hers. On the other hand, Wu Siduo would be left severely weakened after using Hell White Tiger. Considering it took three days to recharge, any misuse was a detrimental. Because of this, she could justify her first loss to Gu Yue, pinning it on being weakened after using Hell White Tiger. This time, however, she had no excuses.
The most frustrating part was that Tang Wulin had succeeded in crafting his right gauntlet. Although a single piece of armor was far from a complete set, it still marked an excellent start to the path of a battle armor master. The implication was that the rest of Tang Wulin’s one-word battle armor would be as exceptional as his gauntlet! Not to mention, advancing to a two-word battle armor master would be several times easier in the future. The might of his armor would surpass those of the same level, and he would be far more compatible with it.
Wu Siduo held absolute confidence in her martial souls. However, she understood that be it her, Luo Guixing, or the others, they were all late for start of the race, the race in becoming battle armor masters. Furthermore, without the aid of a fifth-rank blacksmith like Tang Wulin, it would be impossible to craft one-word battle armor with alloys. She already cut ties with Tang Wulin, and it was nigh impossible for her to restore their relationship. There was no going back now. This was the path she chose!
“We didn’t lose in strength. We lost in teamwork,” said Luo Guixing. His brows were relaxed, features permeated with his usual calm.
“Each of us is stronger than any one of them. Just as we anticipated, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue are formidable and the other three pale in comparison. Still, Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Lizhi’s strength went beyond our expectations. This is what sealed their victory. But if you meticulously review today’s events, you’ll recall their confidence in winning since the very beginning. Where did that confidence come from? Well, let me tell you. It’s their team cohesion. They moved together as one while we acted independently. That’s the cause of our defeat.”
He shook his head, a hint of humility in his smile. “It was my mistake. As the leader, I wasn’t able to meld you guys into one whole unit. I was too lacking. This defeat is my responsibility to bear.”
Zheng Yiran stared at him in a daze. “You’ll bear this responsibility? What are you talking about?”
“It’s only natural that there’s a price to pay for making a mistake,” Luo Guixing said. “Once everyone has cooled their heads, I’ll go find Tang Wulin.”
“What are you going to find him for?” Wu Siduo asked in confusion.
Luo Guixing’s smile grew a bit wider. “To apologize! Even if we can’t be friends with him, we don’t have to be enemies either. In the end, we’re still classmates. Wouldn’t it be a waste to not be friendly with such an outstanding class president and blacksmith?”
His words struck them hard.
Slowly rising from his seat, Xu Yucheng stared Luo Guixing straight in the eyes. ”My skin definitely isn’t as thick as yours. I can accept why I’m ranked below you now.”
Luo Guixing sighed. “That’s precisely the issue. We care too much about the rankings. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have underestimated Tang Wulin’s team. I’m not going to treat myself as a genius anymore. No, I’m someone who has fallen behind. We need catch up step by step and not fall behind any further. At the very least, we need to make sure we’re part of the strongest first grade class in all of history! We may have been defeated this time, but failure is the mother of success. We need to improve our team cohesion.”
He extended his right hand, determination blazing in his eyes.
To his surprise, it was Xu Yucheng, the one who had disagreed with him the most, who threw his hand on top of Luo Guixing’s first. The two shared a look, sparks flying. Defeat had roused their competitive spirit. That said, a single loss was not the end of the world for them. They just had to work hard not to taste defeat again.
Yang Nianxia chuckled, then placed his hand on top of Xu Yucheng’s. Zheng Yiran’s mouth twitched. Even so, she slowly added her hand to the pile as well
Watching the scene before her, Wu Siduo sucked in a deep breath. “You’re right. We’re playing catch up now.” She was the last to throw her hand in.
Luo Guixing’s words resonated with all of them, kindling the fire in their hearts. What they needed now was cohesion!
☀
Back in the working students’ dormitory, a knock sounded on the door of Tang Wulin and the others’ room. Xu Xiaoyan was the quickest to jump off her bed and ran over to answer it.
To her surprise, it was Yue Zhengyu. There was a strange gleam in his eyes, a hint of hesitation in his stance.
“Zhengyu, come on in!” Tang Wulin was fully recovered by now. Two Bloodthirst Bean Buns were nothing to his body. In contrast, Xie Xie still lay immobile on his bed.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Yue Zhengyu as he entered the room. Since it wasn’t bedtime yet, the curtain wasn’t pulled up to seperate the boys’ half from the girls’. Out of Tang Wulin’s team, only Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and himself were present.
Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were nowhere in sight. Because they weren’t working students, they didn’t live in the working students’ dormitory, and slept in the dormitory in the school building instead. However, for the sake of convenience, they applied to become working students as well and were preparing to live together with Tang Wulin and the others. With three boys and three girls, it would be easy to split the group into two rooms when the time came.
He flashed them a smile in return. “I heard you guys won in your class’s tournament. Congratulations.”
Tang Wulin turned to him, suspicion thick in his stare. “You’re not here to probe us?”
Yue Zhengyu laughed. “Of course not. Do you really think I would do something like that? It’s just that I heard some rumors about you equipping a piece of battle armor in your battle. Is that true? Have you already made a piece of battle armor, and from spirit alloy?”
Tang Wulin struggled to suppress the bubbles of laughter from erupting from his mouth, failing in the end. “Wow. You heard about it real fast. It’s true, all thanks to Xinglan.”
“Xinglan? Who’s that?” Yue Zhengyu stared blankly at Tang Wulin.
“We’re about to face each other as opponents. Why would I give you any info?” Tang Wulin smiled mysteriously.
Yue Zhengyu chuckled. “I’m a mecha maker. I was about to start making my battle armor. I’m not trying to take advantage of you.”
At the sound of those words, Tang Wulin’s heart thumped hard within his chest. “We have our own secret weapons, you know? All I’ll tell you is that with them, our success rate for making battle armor rises to thirty percent.”
Yue Zhengyu’s eyes lit up. “Thirty percent? Are you sure?”
Tang Wulin nodded. The Bloodthirst Bean Buns certainly increased their chances that far! Although food-type soul masters were weak in battle, their versatility was matchless, even better than support type masters’! If not for Xu Lizhi’s talents, directly entering the inner court would have been a fruitless dream.
Yue Zhengyu could barely keep his excitement from bursting out. His eyes were lit ablaze as he stared down Tang Wulin. “How about you lend me your secret weapon? I’ll pay you contribution points.”
Tang Wulin shrugged. “Sure! But you’ll have to wait until after our match.”
In a flash, Yue Zhengyu’s expression soured. “That’s so petty. The match is just three days away. Even if you lend me your secret weapon, I won’t be able to make a piece of battle armor that quickly. The designs for my battle armor aren’t even finished yet.”
Being in the second grade, he was in a greater rush than a first-grade student in creating a battle armor set. When he heard Tang Wulin had created a piece of armor with a spirit alloy, his heart was provoked.
All of a sudden, there was knock on the door. Xu Xiaoyan laughed, jumping to let in the guest. “There sure are a lot of people visiting today. I bet it’s Yuanen. If you guys don’t believe me, then just watch.”