Universe Infinite Canteen

Before leaving, Su Bicheng had always thought this mission was simple, as her opponents belonged to a perennially underperforming school.

Although they had changed to a new principal and seemed to have improved somewhat, educating and nurturing were never overnight tasks.

Winning against Lingnan, which was similarly at the bottom, was easy, but that didn't mean they were qualified to challenge Heroic Concealment, which was among the top 100.

For Hou De to really stand on its own, it wouldn't be able without two to three decades of management.

And clearly, the Hero Group wasn't planning to give Hou De that time.

At Su Bicheng's level, she was not aware of why the group wanted to target Hou De; nor did she care about it—she just needed to complete the task assigned by the principal.

In her opinion, this should have been an easy contest.

The students of Heroic Concealment would have an overwhelming advantage, ruthlessly destroying the confidence of the Hou De students and the hard-won momentum of the school.

Yet now, after five individual battles, Heroic Concealment had already had a close brush with disaster, barely securing victories in the first and last battles.

They lost the three middle battles to Hou De, and those losses were of the kind where they had no real capacity to fight back.

Three students from Heroic Concealment were toyed with by the Water Arrow Talismans, failing to release a single talisman during the entire event.

She had envisioned such a scenario, but it was supposed to be with the roles reversed.

In the fifth battle, seeing Hou Junde immediately suppressed again, falling into the opponent's rhythm, Su Bicheng almost thought they were going to lose like this.

In that case, they would lose this friendly exchange as well.

Losing to Hou De, ranked 157th, would not only cause a sensation in Ping City—if word got out, it would shock the entire Ministry of Education.

And she, as the team leader for Heroic Concealment this time, would be thoroughly nailed to the pillar of shame.

That wasn't even the worst part—for with the Hero Group's tradition of survival of the fittest, she would almost certainly lose her job upon returning.

Thinking this, Su Bicheng felt dizzy and short of breath.

Luckily, Hou Junde was steady enough; in the end, he seized the opportunity to turn defeat into victory, giving the nearly suffocating Su Bicheng a moment to breathe.

Hearing that the victory was Heroic Concealment's, she couldn't help but breathe heavily.

Just then, a voice came to her ears.

"Huh, who knew Director Su liked the air of Hou De so much? Is the air at Heroic Concealment hard to breathe? Should I pack some for you to bring back?"

Su Bicheng's cheeks flushed red, and she clenched her fists, furiously glaring at Ma Lu, who she didn't realize had approached.

"Principal Ma, don't be too pleased with yourself! The, the team battle is up next."

Although Su Bicheng said this, she no longer had her previous arrogance but instead revealed a touch of unease.

After all, having already lost three individual matches, the team battle didn't seem so certain either.

"Oh, but I heard from someone that Director Su was so angry because I, the principal, did not come out to greet her, and then she fiercely declared she'd utterly defeat us. So, what, has your anger dissipated, and now you are ready to compete with us in the team battle?"

Ma Lu feigned surprise.

As the director of academic affairs, Su Bicheng was usually high and mighty, always the one doing the rebuking and never having been rebuked like this.

Moreover, Principal Ma was known as a famous internet troll in another Plane, and his skills at insinuation were fully developed.

Su Bicheng was so infuriated she trembled all over, yet she was utterly unable to retort and ultimately could only act as if she hadn't heard.

Satisfied with his successful provocation, Ma Lu contentedly returned to his original position.

Unfortunately, the "Wind and Clouds Change" only lasted for 40 minutes, roughly around the time when the individual battle ended and the rain stopped, and the clouds looming over everyone's heads also disappeared.

Su Bicheng couldn't help but rejoice.

To be honest, she had been scared by Hou De's Water Arrow Talisman, fearing that it would be used again in the team battle. Fortunately, it seemed that even the heavens couldn't stand to watch anymore.

The sun came out just at the critical moment, truly a heavenly aid to Heroic Concealment.

Su Bicheng looked toward a young man in the crowd with thick eyebrows and big eyes. "Yin Mo, it's all on you now."

The student named Liu Yinmo nodded, flashing a sunny smile. "Don't worry, Director Su, I'll bring back the victory."

Li Zhengwei also looked up at the sky, noticing the sun had reappeared, a bit disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it.

Relying on the previous five individual battles, he had essentially figured out the opponent's capabilities.

In terms of strength, Heroic Concealment was definitely stronger, even though every student in Hou De had become an Instant Enlightenment King, mastering dozens, or even more than twenty talismanic magics in a week.

They had closed the gap in quantity, but when it came to the use and understanding of talismans, they were still no match for the long-practicing students of Heroic Concealment.

However, Hou De also had advantages, such as stronger discipline and bravery.

Li Zhengwei had always trained his students in a militaristic fashion, and after two weeks, the initial results were showing.

The five-person squad had a designated leader to issue commands and team members responsible for obeying orders, with clear roles and coordinated teamwork.

This detail should not be underestimated; even those top-ranking talisman master schools couldn't achieve it because the Ministry of Education's reforms had only been released less than a month ago.

Everybody's mindset was still stuck in the stage of teaming up to defeat monsters. The complex and ever-changing environment inside the catastrophe belt meant talisman master schools emphasized adaptability over discipline and obedience.

They encouraged everyone to act according to the situation and fully leverage each person's strengths.

But fighting people was entirely different from fighting monsters.

In the previous fight with Lingnan, everyone didn't have a full grasp of talismans, limiting the space for Li Zhengwei to maneuver. Now, the students participating in the competition each mastered no fewer than twenty talismans, allowing for more collaborative tactics.

Differences in strength could be compensated with tactics.

Li Zhengwei felt confident about the upcoming battle.

The battle began and Hou De took the initiative, starting with a Blast Talisman.

However, learning from Lingnan's previous lesson, the students of Heroic Concealment were prepared with cotton stuffed in their ears and were not disrupted by the blast.

But this time, they didn't expect Hou De to escalate their harassment tactics. Immediately following the Blast Talisman was a Yellow Sand Talisman, summoning a cloud of sand that enveloped the field.

Now, the Heroic Concealment side, unable to hear and see, were blind and deaf, each fighting on their own.

Just as the Hou De side planned to approach and defeat them one by one, the overwhelming sandstorm suddenly stopped.

— Wind Stabilizing Talisman.

Someone from Heroic Concealment had reacted quickly, using a Wind Stabilizing Talisman at the perfect moment to disperse the sandstorm and reveal the figures of Hou De's students.

Afterward, a curly-haired girl from Heroic Concealment finally completed her lengthy incantation, summoning a massive Fire Dragon nearly seven meters long.

Every scale on the Fire Dragon seemed to burn as it charged towards the five Hou De students, turning the sky a fiery red.

Seeing this, the five from Hou De ceased their advance and scattered in all directions.

The curly-haired girl from Heroic Concealment directed the Fire Dragon towards a target, and just as the Fire Dragon was about to collide with it, that person's figure suddenly vanished.

— Invisibility Talisman.