Chapter 344: A Hopeless Crush
“The rankings are on the left side of the screen. We can see the top three are: Lingzhou Light Institute, Yingtian City Academy, and Wen Yuan Celestial Heart Association.”
“Fourth is Hejiang City Academy, fifth Sangluo City Academy, sixth Lian City Light Institute, seventh Baitiao City Academy, eighth Lingzhou City Academy, ninth Lian City Academy, and tenth Tuzhou City Academy.”
“And now, the fourth-ranked Hejiang has initiated a challenge. Their chosen target is—”
“—the first place!”
“Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the excitement! The opening match of the finals is actually Lingzhou Light Institute versus Hejiang City Academy!”
“This is the kind of matchup we usually only see in the final rounds of previous tournaments!”
Amid the commentators’ exaggerated excitement, the five members of Hejiang and the five from Lingzhou stepped onto the main stage.
For added spectacle, the organizers had introduced a “pre-match talk” segment. After both teams arrived, the host posed a question, starting with Hejiang.
“You’ve chosen to challenge first place—anything you’d like to say?”
The Hejiang representative—a tall, striking sixth-year senior with long legs and a bold demeanor—looked straight at Lingzhou’s team and replied bluntly:
“Who wouldn’t want a taste of what it’s like to be number one?”
The audience erupted. The atmosphere instantly heated up, and even a few competitors in the stands showed amused expressions, clearly reading something more into her words.
When the camera turned to Lingzhou and the host asked for their response, their captain Jiang Qing simply shook her head and said in a tone of regret:
“You’ve made the wrong choice.”
“Alright! We’ve heard both teams’ determination!”
As the host wrapped up, Xu Zhi heard Ji Muge mutter beside her, “What determination? Determination to ‘get a taste’?”
Xu Zhi: ?
“Now then, the first match of the finals officially begins!”
“Hejiang City Academy versus Lingzhou Light Institute!”
Before the match even started, most people already believed Hejiang had little chance of winning.
And the match played out exactly as expected. Lingzhou held the advantage throughout. Hejiang managed a few decent offensives, but overall fell short. The result was no surprise—no upset, Hejiang lost.
“Did they strike some kind of deal with second or third place?”
Shu Yushan mused. Xu Zhi found his speculation reasonable. Did Hejiang really not know they couldn’t beat Lingzhou?
Wasting a challenge just to “taste” first place?
They were the strongest team on paper outside the top three. Most likely, they were probing Lingzhou’s strength on behalf of one of the top contenders—forcing them to reveal their hidden cards.
And indeed, Hejiang’s performance had achieved that. Though they lost, they exposed some of Lingzhou’s previously unseen methods. After all, a team being challenged couldn’t hold back—they had to go all out.
“Congratulations to Lingzhou for successfully defending their first-place position. Looks like that ‘taste of first’ isn’t so easy to get!”
the host joked.
“Now, the second ten-minute countdown begins. This round, Lingzhou and Hejiang cannot be challenged.”
With those two excluded, the focus shifted to the lower-ranked teams.
Sure enough, within three minutes, seventh-ranked Baitiao City Academy issued a challenge—targeting fifth place.
“First place is a bit out of reach for us, but maybe fifth is worth a try?”
Hearing Baitiao’s pre-match remark, Xu Zhi couldn’t help twitching slightly. With Hejiang setting the tone, it seemed the pre-match banter was heading in a strange direction. The organizers probably hadn’t anticipated this.
Sangluo, the challenged team, responded without hesitation:
“Seventh place trying to climb upward? Stay where you belong.”
But despite their bold words, Sangluo ended up losing.
Baitiao City Academy, backed by the massive Fixed Star Consortium, possessed resources beyond imagination. Their seventh-place ranking came from earlier indifference toward points—but they knew their true strength. They had originally aimed for first; now, fourth or fifth would do just fine.
“Congratulations to Baitiao for successfully climbing the ranks! Sangluo falls to seventh—today truly belongs to the underdogs!”
Next, Lingzhou was unlocked again. Barely a minute into the next round, a challenge was issued.
Yingtian City Academy challenged Lingzhou Light Institute!
“Ladies and gentlemen! This is a clash worthy of a final match—first versus second!”
No one expected such a high-level confrontation so early—the third match of the finals already delivering this caliber of battle.
[Didn’t people say the new format was trash? Come out and talk now!]
[This is amazing!]
Amid a flood of excited comments, a baby-faced fifth-year from Yingtian looked at Jiang Qing and said:
“You turned down Hejiang—you won’t turn us down too, right?”
Jiang Qing: ?
You’re all playing some strange new kind of pre-match talk… but why is everyone targeting me?
This time, Jiang Qing didn’t respond. Instead, a teammate beside her—barely holding back laughter—stepped forward:
“Everyone knows—only the strong deserve first place!”
That statement was perfectly reasonable.
“Looks like Hejiang really was paving the way for Yingtian,” Shu Yushan confirmed.
Since both teams could become major threats, he watched closely.
The match lived up to expectations—long, intense, and fiercely contested. Lingzhou’s core was Jiang Qing, a [Lamp]-type, but she wasn’t just support—she was both support and secondary carry, the team’s undeniable centerpiece.
Yingtian clearly knew this and targeted her relentlessly.
Xu Zhi also observed carefully. Jiang Qing’s abilities were… troublesome.
In the end, despite Hejiang’s earlier probing, last year’s champion Yingtian still narrowly lost.
[Lingzhou Light Institute is too strong—even Yingtian couldn’t beat them. They’re definitely winning it all.]
Comments like these flooded the stream.
The next match saw Lingzhou unable to compete. Eighth-ranked Lingzhou City Academy challenged fourth-ranked Hejiang—and won.
At this point, Lingzhou had two teams in top positions—first and fourth—making them the most prominent city in the finals.
Before the next round began, Chu Xiaoyue turned to Xu Zhi. “It’s about time. What do you think?”
Xu Zhi rarely showed it, but now she smiled with clear anticipation. “Let’s go now.”
On the main stage, the host’s voice rang out:
“What are we seeing here?! Sixth-ranked Lian City Light Institute is challenging first place!”
“This will be Lingzhou’s third match of the finals—truly tireless contenders!”
“And this match can be called Light Institute versus Light Institute!”
“But as everyone knows, in this year’s internal matchups, Lingzhou has always come out on top!”
“Lian City and Lingzhou are old rivals—can Lian City finally strike back, or will they fall once again?!”
[…Feels a bit overconfident. Has Lian City ever beaten Lingzhou?]
[Answer: no.]
[As a Light Institute fan, Lian City is strong—but Lingzhou is the strongest.]
[So are they just paving the way for someone else?]
[Wasting a challenge—foolish!]
[…Wait, who did Lian City send out?!]
[What the hell—they’re sending a first-year at a time like this?!]
[I bet on them making top five… am I doomed?]
[What are their coach and strategist thinking—just for show?]
Amid the uproar, Xu Zhi stepped onto the main stage.
This time, even the host looked surprised—but immediately handed her the microphone for the pre-match talk.
Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then looked at Jiang Qing.
“When you said only the strong deserve first place… were you hinting at us? That you want to be defeated by us?”
Tong Zhou: …?
Shu Yushan: ??
Ji Muge: I knew she was up to something!!
Xi Min: ?????
Only Chu Xiaoyue barely maintained her calm expression.
Jiang Qing still looked slightly stunned. Taking the microphone, she said helplessly:
“Maybe… my teammate didn’t mean it that way?”
Not convinced.
Definitely a hopeless crush.
