What exactly did they say when they encountered the green-haired caterpillar? And did the caterpillar take note of them?
Eating the brains of other desolate beasts to compensate for their own deficiencies and expand their knowledge, the more they eat, the higher the intelligence these desolate beasts will inevitably possess!
Strong but simple-minded desolate beasts are not frightening; the most terrifying are those with high intelligence!
Currently, it is unknown what kind of impression this green-haired caterpillar, crushed to death by Long Guocheng, had of them.
Li Zimu's stone house was made up of many rooms, everyone had separate rooms, there were no beds, no blankets, although crude, such things weren't particular in the foreign desolate lands.
When Xiang Beifei returned from his shift, Long Guocheng, with his hands crossed in front of him, leaning on the door, said, "May I ask you a question?"
"What?" Xiang Beifei said.
"You're not an N-level Awakener, right? You're at least SR, right?"
"Does that matter to you?"
"It would make me feel better," Long Guocheng said reluctantly.
If he lost to SR-ranked Li Zimu, he wouldn't feel too embarrassed, as the opponent's talent was not inferior to his, both being SR, losing today meant he could win back another day.
But losing to an N-level Awakener kept nagging at him.
"That's your own problem, not mine," Xiang Beifei did not like to explain his system to others.
Because he quite simply had no system.
"We are a team! I've told you about my abilities! But we know nothing about yours! Since we're a team, we should have some understanding of each other," Long Guocheng emphasized.
"You're admitting now that you're part of a team? I thought you always liked to show off," Xiang Beifei said.
Long Guocheng snorted but didn't refute this point.
He did indeed like to show off; without doing so, he couldn't accumulate system values.
"If you tell me you are SR or SSR, then I would accept my defeat wholeheartedly," Long Guocheng said.
"Do you really look down on people with system levels lower than yours? What's wrong with being N-level? Or R-level? Or S-level? Aside from their cultivation progress, in what ways are their character, morality, or comportment inferior to yours? Do you need to despise them? Do you really enjoy feeling superior over those with lower system levels?" Xiang Beifei said sternly.
"I..." Long Guocheng was left speechless.
He looked down on those with less talent than him because, in his view, these people would never amount to anything, especially the lower-tier N-level Awakeners.
He only revered the strong.
Yet, his arrogance was always shattered by Xiang Beifei.
He hoped in his heart that Xiang Beifei's system was SR or even SSR, which he could accept. Being defeated by Xiang Beifei wouldn't be too hard to endure, and it would let him keep his cherished principle of pride.
But the one thing he could not accept was the fact that Xiang Beifei was N-level!
"I just don't believe that an N-level Awakener has such potential. Their systems are so weak, they'll only achieve so much in their lifetimes, incapable of such strength," Long Guocheng gritted his teeth and said.
"Why can't an N-level Awakener defeat an SR? Shang Tianxiong is also an N-level Awakener; how many can surpass him? A capable person can kill an SSR even if they're only SR-level! We all live in this world, we are all human, you are not nobler than anyone. You simply had a higher starting point; it doesn't mean your future will be above others. Be humble," Xiang Beifei said.
After saying this, Xiang Beifei went back to his own room.
Long Guocheng's expression fluctuated, pondering Xiang Beifei's words.
Late at night, around nine o'clock, Ye Changfeng gathered everyone together as he had obtained a copy of the competition schedule and rules for the next day.
Elder Luo said, "We need to discuss tomorrow's situation first, everyone must stay alert."
Actually, everyone was already clear about the rules: the freshman competition consisted of individual and team pioneering challenges.
In the individual challenge, the nine schools would compete in a round-robin format, facing each other only once, meaning each school would fight eight matches, totaling thirty-six matches over two days.
At that point, deciding whether a participant was in the Meridian Opening phase or the Qi-Controlling phase would be determined by rolling dice.
"Tomorrow's schedule, the first match, Jizhou University versus Yanzhou University, we're not the first to compete, which is good, allowing everyone to observe the strengths of other schools first. However, the second match will be Qingzhou University versus Liangzhou University," said Ye Changfeng as he distributed flyers to everyone. They all looked at the schedule with grave expressions.
"Yuchi Shen, tell them about the current strength of each school this year," suggested Elder Luo.
Yuchi Shen, expressionless, glanced at Xiang Beifei before beginning his introduction.
"But it's stipulated that a person can only participate in two matches at most, so later, the teachers and I will need to analyze the situation and decide the sequence of your appearances and opponents among you five," he said.
This was akin to deploying stratagems in a race, yet not quite the same. In a direct confrontation, there's space for performance as it involves three matches, whereas between two schools, there's only one face-off and is largely random. Therefore, it's generally more advantageous if other schools could first deal with strong students from other institutions, using up their two participation quotas, and then face weaker opponents when it's their turn.
Just like Qingzhou University and Liangzhou University, Qingzhou University has two SSR this year, with each person up for two matches, meaning those two SSRs can at most compete in four matches.
Thus, Ye Changfeng hoped that Qingzhou University would use the four opportunities of these two SSRs against the other seven schools, and by the time they faced his school, their quotas would be used up, leaving only SRs to compete, which would increase their chances of winning.
However, since all the schools are elite, the coaches leading the teams are sure to understand this tactic, so the distribution of players for the matches becomes a psychological gambit. Before the match, no one can be sure whether the opponent will send forth their strong or weak players.
"You must also be aware, this year our school doesn't have any SSR, which means our strength is weaker than other schools. In the singles competition, it will be hard for you to gain any advantage," Yuchi Shen said, staring pointedly at Xiang Beifei.
"Besides Qingzhou University, Yanzhou University, and Jizhou University, other schools also only have one SSR, meaning just one in the Meridian Opening phase. We shouldn't worry too much; after all, we have student Xiang Beifei," Xi Keyao timidly commented.
"The situation isn't that simple," Elder Luo said, "In the singles challenge, there are only eight matches, each worth one point, so the total score is very important. Have you considered, to get a higher total score, the other schools definitely want to secure a point; and almost certainly, whom they win that point from?"
Long Guocheng and the others realized, "From us, Liangzhou University?"
Now the other eight schools all share a common understanding: this year Liangzhou University doesn't have an SSR, which means no students in the Meridian Opening phase.
So to secure a guaranteed point, they will definitely send their Meridian Opening SSRs against Liangzhou University!
Because if SSRs face SSRs from other schools, where everyone is in the Meridian Opening phase, one will inevitably lose.
If it happens to be their own loss, it wouldn't be worth it.
But now the other schools all assume that all Liangzhou University students are only in the late Qi-Controlling phase, so sending an SSR in the Meridian Opening phase against Liangzhou University, who only has Qi-Controlling students, would almost guarantee victory.
Everyone likes to pick the low-hanging fruit, to secure a point early on!
"Yes, that means each of our opponents in the matches might be Meridian Opening SSRs!" Elder Luo said meaningfully.
Everyone's expressions grew more solemn.
Elder Luo said, "Alright, next, how we distribute our players for the matches and how we break this situation are things you five need to discuss."
"Really, why do they have to make a simple freshman competition so complicated?" Ma Ziqian muttered on the side.