“This is your opponent – Lugia, the Sea God.”
Sea God… Lugia…
The moment Lugia appeared behind Mu Li, Ren Wei and Wu Bing’s expressions changed simultaneously.
A Pokémon that could be called the Sea God – that title alone was enough to convey its strength.
“This pressure… is it God Level?” Wu Bing murmured involuntarily.
Mu Li smiled calmly: “That’s right, God Level, and even among God Level Pokémon, Lugia is one of the best.”
“Oh my goodness, A Li, you’re not joking, are you?” Wu Bing was greatly alarmed when he heard this. “You’re making Ren Wei fight against a being of that level? Even I probably wouldn’t last a single round against it.”
“Heh…” Mu Li sneered, “You’re a Champion yourself. Do you think your journey here was easy? Champion isn’t just an empty title; it’s a responsibility.”
“If you don’t even dare to act when facing an opponent with overwhelming strength, then don’t talk about being a Champion, because you don’t have the courage to bear that responsibility at all.”
“This…” Wu Bing did not refute Mu Li’s words. In fact, he couldn’t agree more with what Mu Li said.
He himself was a Trainer who had walked the path to become a Champion. He understood the responsibility carried by a Champion more than anyone else.
When he encountered Champion Level players from other National Teams at the Heavenly King Level, the despair in his heart was probably no less than what Ren Wei was feeling now. But it was precisely because he didn’t succumb to that despair that he was able to transform despair into strength and desperately battle his opponents.
This despair was an unparalleled pressure, and also the motivation for transformation.
To live as if facing death was never just empty words. Almost all of these Champions held the belief that they would readily die to protect their country and their people.
It was precisely because of this that Champions deserved to be called Champions.
“But this is too exaggerated!” Wu Bing couldn’t help but complain, “Even I find it hard to resist this level of pressure!”
Mu Li smiled and said casually, “Then you come too.”
With that, a Twister rose out of nowhere, directly attacking Wu Bing.
There was no fear in Wu Bing’s eyes, but rather excitement: “Bring it on, I’m not afraid of you.”
With that, six red lights flashed across the field, and Wu Bing’s six Pokémon appeared simultaneously.
Almost instantly, the sea surface was frozen, extending several hundred meters outwards from Wu Bing.
“Ren Wei, let me give you a lesson first.” A wild smile appeared on Wu Bing’s lips. “When facing a monster like this, don’t bother with battle rules. Summon all of your Pokémon. Only by fighting with all your might is there even a sliver of hope to survive.”
Early the next morning, He Lin got up to prepare breakfast for everyone, but after waiting for a long time, he didn’t see the two guests get up.
“Eh? Didn’t Big Bing used to get up quite early?” He Lin was a little worried, so he went directly to the second floor to check on the two of them. But he didn’t expect that out of the three people’s rooms, only Mu Li was still lying in bed.
“What’s going on? Where are they?” He Lin was a bit confused. “I didn’t see them both early this morning? Could they have gone out for a run or training?”
But the two of them still hadn’t appeared by lunchtime, and the production team couldn’t reach them for a while either.
What was going on? Had the production team lost their guests?
The production team immediately panicked. Just as they were about to split up to look for the two, Mu Li came down from the second floor with messy hair.
“What’s wrong?” Mu Li looked at the chaotic crowd with some confusion.
“A Li, do you know where Wu Bing and Ren Wei went?” He Lin asked urgently, “They both disappeared early this morning, and we’re about to go look for them around here.”
“Them? They’re fine. They said something came up with the National Team early this morning, so they left in a hurry and asked me to tell you all.” Mu Li scratched his head and explained, “They should be on a plane by now, so it’s normal that you can’t reach them.”
“Oh, I see.” He Lin then asked, “Did they not take their clothes?”
“Ah, right, they had a temporary mission and didn’t have time to take them.” Mu Li nodded and continued, “Just help mail them over later.”
Although they heard Mu Li’s explanation, everyone’s worries finally subsided, but they still seemed a bit confused: “What kind of urgent matter was it? They left so early, they didn’t even have time to say goodbye.”
Seeing this, Mu Li quickly let out a deep sigh: “Oh, it’s all my fault for waking up late and conveying such an important matter so late to you all.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, you didn’t do it on purpose.” He Lin comforted Mu Li, and everyone also returned to their respective work positions. Seeing this, Mu Li also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, Wu Bing and Ren Wei were receiving treatment at the National Pokémon Training Center’s South Island branch.
A burly middle-aged man frowned tightly, staring at the somewhat dejected duo, and asked sternly: “What happened? How did you get such serious injuries?”
The two exchanged glances, both sighing simultaneously. Finally, Wu Bing explained: “Nothing much, just ran into an old friend, had a fight, and lost.”
“Oh? An old friend?” The middle-aged man’s expression immediately relaxed a lot. This kind of Trainer-on-Trainer battle was perfectly normal. The reason he was worried before was that he feared they had encountered some terrorist organization or evil Pokémon. After hearing Wu Bing’s words, he instead smiled, “Who was it? Who taught you such a harsh lesson?”
“Hehe, Director Ling, don’t laugh at me. It would be the same if you encountered him.” Wu Bing retorted angrily.
Ling Fei, the head coach of the Pokémon Battle National Team, had already been a Champion Level Trainer decades ago.
“Oh, really? I don’t believe it.” Ling Fei was a bit curious. “Although I’ve been leading you all these years and my strength has deteriorated a bit, I’m still more than capable of handling one or two Champions like you, alright?”
Wu Bing couldn’t help but roll his eyes: “Yes, yes, you’re amazing.”
“What? From your tone, you seem a bit unconvinced?” Ling Fei’s eyebrows furrowed, revealing a strong sense of pressure in his gaze. This was the aura only a Champion possessed. He rolled up his sleeves, looking like a street thug about to pick a fight, “Don’t believe it? Let’s spar.”
“Give it a rest.” A middle-aged man suddenly walked out from the side. He looked a bit slender and wore gold-rimmed glasses, somewhat resembling Ren Wei’s demeanor. This person was Zhu Yuping, one of the National Team’s vice-coaches, and also a Champion Level player.
Zhu Yuping brought them some Potions and then complained, “With your old bones, don’t try to act tough.”
He looked at their injuries and couldn’t help but frown, saying, “Your injuries aren’t light.”
The two couldn’t help but show a bitter smile: “This is after being treated with Life Dew.”
Zhu Yuping’s expression changed, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes. His tone also became stricter: “Is someone trying to kill you two? Who is it? How dare they act like this? Are they not even giving face to the National Team?”
Wu Bing shook his head and said, “It was just a normal spar. The other party knew when to hold back. It’s just that our strength was too weak, we couldn’t even take a single move.”
“Oh? You couldn’t even take a single move?” Zhu Yuping was genuinely shocked now.
Although Wu Bing was a newly promoted Champion player, a Champion was still a Champion. Let alone him, unless facing severe type and strength double-counters, even the strongest Champion would find it difficult to defeat Wu Bing in one move.
“Sigh.” Wu Bing sighed, “We summoned all of our Pokémon, but the other party only used one Pokémon. Even so, we couldn’t even take a single move.”
“What?” Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping were completely unable to sit still now. “What Pokémon did the other party use? You combined the strength of all your Pokémon, and you still couldn’t take a single move?”
“That Pokémon is called Lugia, the Sea God.” Wu Bing uttered Lugia’s name word by word.
“Sea God… Lugia…” Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
Ling Fei immediately sat down in front of the computer, opened a locked, hidden folder, and displayed an image inside to Wu Bing and Ren Wei: “Take a look, is this the Pokémon you saw?”
Although the image was a bit blurry, and the weather at the time seemed to be a heavy rain, the image still captured the white figure relatively completely.
“Yes, it’s him.” Wu Bing and Ren Wei nodded.
“Then there’s no mistake.” Ling Fei let out a heavy breath, “Lugia, known as the Sea God, a Legendary Pokémon. Even among all Legendary Pokémon, its strength is among the very top.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two suddenly realized the problem. Zhu Yuping’s expression was already very grim: “So you’re saying, someone captured him and battled you?”
Wu Bing nodded, saying seriously, “That’s right.”
“Who was that person?” Ling Fei asked impatiently.
“Our old friend – Mu Li.” Wu Bing said word by word.
“Mu Li…” Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping were stunned, then reacted, “Wait, you mean A Li?”
“That’s right, A Li.” Wu Bing confirmed.
As soon as they heard that name, Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping’s worried and anxious expressions immediately faded, leaving only faces full of pleasant surprise.
“A Li actually appeared?” Ling Fei said in surprise, “That brat, there’s been no news from him for years, and he doesn’t even bother to contact us.”
“It’s good that he appeared, it’s good.” Zhu Yuping couldn’t help but wipe away tears from the corner of his eyes, “We wronged him back then, so it’s only right that he avoids us.”
Wu Bing couldn’t help but roll his eyes and mercilessly retorted: “Come on, Director Zhu, that kid just went to college. You know he’s lazy, and he has a lot of classes in college, so he probably just can’t be bothered to contact us.”
Wu Bing understood Mu Li’s personality quite well, after all, they used to be comrades for a period of time.
“That’s true, that brat.” Zhu Yuping immediately laughed, “By the way, how did you run into him? Didn’t you go to participate in that show?”
“Oh, don’t even mention it. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Wu Bing said angrily, “That guy actually debuted as a singer now. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Nonsense, how did he go and become a singer?” Ling Fei said sternly, “Isn’t that wasting his talent?”
Wu Bing spread his hands and said, “I told him the same thing, but he said, since he can’t compete anymore, what else can he do? Then he beat us both up.”
Ling Fei couldn’t help but laugh: “This kid, really, after so many years, his temper hasn’t changed at all.”
But then he sighed again: “But he’s right, he can’t compete anymore, so he might as well do something interesting.”
Wu Bing couldn’t help but complain: “I believed him too, until I fought that guy.”
“It’s not me criticizing him, but when I saw that guy, he had two Legendary Pokémon and a Gardevoir with him. Their strength was at least God Level.”
“If you ask me, that guy’s strength is probably unmatched anywhere in the world.”
Ling Fei and Zhu Yuping exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.
Zhu Yuping explained: “Actually, five years ago, he was already unrivaled.”
“Huh?” Wu Bing and Ren Wei were stunned. “What do you mean?”
Zhu Yuping continued to explain: “Five years ago, before Mu Li retired, he challenged Austan, the world number one. They fought ten battles. Mu Li won eight, lost one, and drew one.”
Wu Bing and Ren Wei were already too shocked to speak.
“Everyone thought Mu Li was forced to retire, but actually, the country wasn’t completely unable to protect him at the time.” Zhu Yuping sighed, “Worst case, we just wouldn’t have those technologies, right? Even without the help of other countries, our country’s researchers would still be able to develop them.”
“Part of the reason Mu Li insisted on retiring was because he himself was tired of playing.”
“These medals, they held no challenge for him anymore. If it were you, would such competitions still be interesting?”
“So he simply retired, and it also allowed us to gain a lot of advanced technological support.”
Wu Bing and Ren Wei remained silent for a long time.
“Sigh…” Wu Bing couldn’t help but sigh, complaining a little, “You should have told me earlier. If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have been so foolish as to fight him. His initial target was only Ren Wei.”
Ren Wei: “…Let me say thank you…”
In the Mushroom House, Mu Li said to He Lin and the others: “They’re definitely fine. One Champion, one Elite. What in this world could threaten them? Everyone, don’t worry.”