France, having just concluded the All-Star event, was still bustling with a celebratory atmosphere.
As night fell, under the dazzling lights, everyone danced in the city.
Unbeknownst to anyone, outside the city, in a certain clearing, Pokémon gradually appeared in mid-air, carrying their respective Trainers.
“Oh dear, why are so many people here…?” Mu Li looked at the familiar faces in the sky, suddenly feeling a headache.
He had thought this battle was just a private match, but he didn't expect more and more professional Pokémon battle players to gather here.
“Are you all that free?” Mu Li looked at the group of people, somewhat helplessly.
Besides the Chinese players, those who had arrived included the current American player representatives Eddie, Adams, Bell, Rodney; South Korean representatives Choi Soo-hyun, Jin Yingjun; Japanese representatives Kageyama Kazuma, Yoshimoto Yamato; French representatives Turner, Hall; Russian representatives Karnov, Korkraf…
Almost all professional players from around the world had arrived at the scene.
The Champion players flying everywhere, just their aura alone was enough to make one's heart stop.
Even veteran Champion players like Long Cheng and Austan were present, none absent.
“Hahaha, it seems I’ll have to be the referee this time!” During this All-Star event, a certain person who had always served as the host but whose name was not mentioned suddenly appeared.
His name was Carter, also a French Champion player who had retired over ten years ago.
Mu Li couldn't help but cover his face: if this lineup were to fight, wouldn't it be the Third World War?
The news of Mu Li and Qin Mo's battle somehow leaked out.
The players for this competition were all staying together, so how could there be any transparent information?
Originally, Mu Li had wanted to find a rural place to have a quiet match, but now, what was the difference from a public live broadcast?
This group of people was clearly here for Mu Li.
Among everyone present, the only person who wasn't a professional player was probably Fu Peiyao, who had come along to join the fun.
Although Fu Peiyao had always known Mu Li's true worth, at this moment, she still felt that she had underestimated this man.
Just a practice match, not even an official one, had managed to gather so many people to watch.
This kind of appeal was terrifying.
Without cameras and media present, the people on site clearly didn't have as many airs; some players even gathered together and started munching on melon seeds and popcorn.
“No, this is an internal Chinese battle, what are you guys doing here?” Mu Li complained, looking at Austan, the leader of the American team.
Austan, the old man, shrugged with a sly look: “Came to see if you’re still alive? You haven’t appeared for so many years, everyone thought you were dead.”
Mu Li retorted, annoyed: “You’d better worry about yourself.”
Mu Li glanced at Qin Mo and probed: “This situation, are you okay with it? Losing would be very embarrassing…”
Qin Mo retorted, annoyed: “It’s not certain who will lose, okay?”
Mu Li couldn't help but give a thumbs-up gesture: “I admire you!”
Looking at the crowd overhead, Mu Li sighed slightly: “Um, before we start fighting, I have something I want to say to everyone…”
“What is it? Hurry up and say it…” Carter urged excitedly, “I ran out halfway through my shower just to host this battle…”
Mu Li smiled at everyone: “Hehe, it’s just that I’ve been a singer lately, right? Album sales are just so-so, so all you big shots, remember to find someone to help me promote it later… Don’t promote it yourselves, if you all act together, my identity will be exposed…”
Everyone immediately looked at Mu Li speechlessly, and Fu Peiyao was even amused by him.
He's still trying to promote his album at a time like this?
However, besides the Chinese, the other players didn't know that Mu Li had become a singer, and they started discussing it then.
“A Li, this guy can even Sing?”
“He even released an album? I’ll buy one to listen to later.”
“He’s not trying to trick us, is he?”
“Then doesn't he also perform? Can we invite him to Sing at our matches? Chinese singers should be very cheap, right?”
“One million to have A Li perform privately for me?”
…
This group of people didn't hide it at all, chattering directly in front of Mu Li.
“Hey, hey, hey… don’t go too far!” Mu Li's mouth twitched.
Carter also said somewhat helplessly: “Are you done? If you’re done, let’s start fighting… I’m still waiting to go back and wash the second half of my body…”
Mu Li sighed softly, then snapped his fingers.
With a whoosh, a huge black space instantly enveloped everyone; the Bug Buzz and Growl within the space, and even the sound of the wind, disappeared.
Only boundless silence remained.
Everyone's expressions changed as they looked in disbelief at the black barrier enveloping everyone's heads; under the barrier's cover, they had directly entered another dimension.
“Just to shield the entire area, so the commotion isn’t too big when we fight.” Mu Li briefly explained.
Everyone looked at Mu Li somewhat speechlessly: No, what is this thing? How did it just appear out of nowhere?
Everyone present was not weak; the strength of this barrier had already been fed back into their hearts by their Pokémon.
The result was that not a single Pokémon said it was confident it could break this black barrier alone.
At this, these players who hadn't seen Mu Li in five years instantly perked up.
Only one question remained in everyone's minds: “How strong is this guy now?”
Even Yan Jin and the others weren't entirely sure about this question.
Although they had trained with Mu Li for two weeks, let alone seeing Mu Li's limit, their entire group wasn't even enough for Dragonite to warm up.
Originally, everyone wasn't very optimistic about Qin Mo, but since Mu Li accepted this battle, it at least meant that this battle should still be somewhat worth watching.
“Go, Qin Mo!” Zhang Yi shouted first.
This was followed by everyone's cheers.
“Go, Qin Mo! Get him!”
“Go, Qin Mo! Don’t pity him!”
“Go, Qin Mo! Do you know how to do a wild battle? I feel like 1v1 isn’t very exciting!”
“Qin Mo, grab a wooden stick first, if that doesn’t work, just go for real-life PK!”
…
Qin Mo's mouth twitched violently; it was his first time receiving so much attention, although he'd rather not have it, because he knew that these people, while seemingly cheering him on, actually just thought he couldn't beat Mu Li.
However, even Qin Mo himself wasn't entirely confident.
He believed his strength was very high, but compared to Long Cheng and Austan, he was still slightly inferior, and even Long Cheng and Austan were Mu Li's defeated opponents.
And that was five years ago.
Now, no one knew how strong Mu Li truly was.
The more he thought about it, the brighter Qin Mo's eyes became: “Then let me test your depth! Come out, Sirfetch'd!”