Wang Zheng already knew about all this, so there was no need for so much talk. It was more important to battle first.
He was very interested in ability X. Xie Yuxin seemed to have the ability to make a certain level of prediction. He wondered what special abilities these people had.
Interesting.
Mixiu observed the quartet. Meng Tian was the calm type, Zhang Shan seemed average, impulsive, and careless. Zhang Runan, average. Wang Zheng… average. This particular group from Earth didn’t appear to be special at all. Seemed like it was still only Lear they had to be wary of.
In fact, she thought that her sister was being paranoid. Even Lear wasn’t much of a match for the Sun God, let alone the rest. It was those from Mars and a couple others that they had to watch out for. Earth people were too arrogant for their incapabilities. Plus, they’d rather suffer than lose face.
The more she thought about it, the more relaxed she felt. She continued to introduce some famous architecture and their histories.
Explaining history to Earth people was such a waste of time.
It could have been the beauty’s warmth at work, as the four of them listened attentively. They were guests after all, and it was only right for them to show their host some respect.
They finally arrived at the highly prestigious Moonlight College an hour later.
This place had groomed countless significant characters, including some ground-breaking ones.
Even though it had been a long time and these people were no longer around, the school’s name and status were built up.
On the Moon, changes were seldom made to colleges’ names. Even at their lowest, they would hold on tight to their names. It was a habit as well as a tradition. Earth, on the other hand, did not take things to heart. It may have been because names with good history were the last thing they lacked.
Ares College was not always known as Ares. Nobody could remember which headmaster it was who wanted to bring the school out of the trenches using an extraordinary name. But it didn’t seem to have any effect anyway.
“This is Moonlight College. You may leave your belongings on the vehicle. There’ll be someone to bring your baggage straight to the dormitory where you’ll be staying later,” Mixiu said. “Do bring with you your valuables.”
“Where are we going next?”
“To the Moonlight Assembly Hall. All contestants are arriving today, and everyone is to wait in the hall for a bit,” Mixiu answered. “The contestants who’ve arrived are already there.”
“Well, then let’s go take a look! What are we waiting for?” Zhang Shan could not wait any longer. After so much exaggerated talk, he’d just like to see if the people there had three heads and six arms.
“Please come with me.” Mixu smiled. Moonlight College was truly a beautiful place. The whole school was shimmering silver and yet did not appear too dull. The buildings seemed focus mainly on arts and humanities, unlike the overall high tech status of the Moon. The contrast highlighted how outstanding the college was.
Just a few hundred meters into the college, they could see the striking Moonlight Assembly Hall. It was a typical crescent-shaped structure.
As they neared the Hall, they could hear the unending chatter and laughter. Seemed like many had already arrived.
Every time someone made an entrance, it naturally attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.
There were over a hundred people seated inside. When Wang Zheng and his friends entered, the whole hall stood still immediately. But the moment they noticed their school logo, the bustling resumed.
It was okay to disregard Earth’s Ares College.
Wang Zheng and his friends didn’t give it much thought. They found an empty spot and sat down. It was the first time they had seen so many people of different shapes and sizes, so they looked around curiously.
About then, a young, fat boy appeared. It was Luo Fei from Zeus College. Ares College would not have had the opportunity to be here if not for his mistake. To think that he was allowed to attend the contest despite having made such a grave mistake!
“Do you guys remember me? I’m Luo Fei. From Zeus.” The fatty was all smiles.
“Of course we remember! You’re our benefactor. You’re here too!” Zhang Shan said, mockingly.
“Haha! It’s all luck, luck. This time around we’re comrades in the battle trench. Please treat me kindly, treat me kindly.” The fatty had a positive attitude.
“You’re too polite. We should help one another. Who are all these people? They all look cocky,” Zhang Shan asked.
The fatty laughed. “Almost all the highly skilled players from the top military schools in the Solar System are here. There, that group in the fiery red uniforms, they’re from Mars. Those in black are from the Republic of Caragal. These space city guys have always liked to behave arrogantly. Those in silver are from the Moon.”
“I heard there’s some guy called Achilles who’s extremely good. Who is that?”
“Hush! Softly.” Fatty looked around and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that no one had noticed them. “The big guys are not here yet. They wouldn’t appear in this room anyway. Also, don’t bring up the Five Heavenly Kings here. You’ll get into trouble.”
“Damn! Five Heavenly Kings! Can’t even talk about them when you don’t even get to see a strand of their hair here.” Zhang Shan shrugged. What sort of trashy place was this? They hadn’t even began competing and everyone seemed to be better than everyone else.
Wang Zheng was making his observations too. Lear was indeed not in the room, but there were a few familiar faces. There was Masasi, and Carlos too, but times had changed. They were no longer on the same side.
With so many people, even if it was safe to say that most disregarded Earth, there were some who had spied on them.
Their eyes would light up when they saw Meng Tian, but as they glanced across, they’d turn into stone.
“Ew. Can that even be considered a woman? She’s hideous! Oh, my eyes!”
“This is IG training, not Jurassic Park! Who let her out here?”
As the discussion grew louder, so did the laughter. Zhang Runan continued to snack, her expression unchanged.
But Wang Zheng noticed that Zhang Runan’s hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Luo Fei shrugged. “Ignore them. These people are uncultured.”
“Fatso! Who are you talking about?” Four people made their way over.
Luo Fei pouted his chubby face. “Ah, I was talking about uncultured people. Why? That got you nervous?”
“Yo. Have the ways of the world changed? Zeus College?”
“What’s wrong with Zeus College?” Fatty was unafraid. He stuck his tummy out, showing his school crest off.
The four looked at each other. “We’ll give King Lear some face. You, watch your tongue.”
These signs were useful everywhere.
“No need for that. You four should wash your mouths. Your breaths stink!” Zhang Shan said.
The quartet was ready to leave, but they stopped immediately and said, “Tsk tsk. This is interesting. Did we say anything wrong? She is hideous, right, bros?”
Wang Zheng smiled and stood up. “You better apologize. Or things will get out of hand.”
The four clad in purple clothes were from the Europa Federation, Europa Military School.
“So what if we don’t apologize? We don’t see a need to!”
They were a bunch of youngsters with raging hormones, and all of them were overly excited to show themselves off. They had nothing to watch out for since the ‘big guys’ weren’t around.
“So I’ll beat you till you apologise,” Wang Zheng said coolly.
“Please don’t, don’t. Fighting is prohibited here. You’ll be asked to return.” Luo Fei tried stopping them, but he quickly changed his stance. “However, there’s a way to resolve conflicts. How about an arm wrestle? Losers shall apologise.”
The leader of the Europa group burst out laughing. “You asked for it! You’re pretty big, eh? Let’s see if you’re big for nothing! Come on!”
“Are those guys from Ares crazy? Competing with strength against people from Europa?”
“Earth people are always like that.”
Because of their physical environment, the Europa College from the Europa Federation groomed herculean men. Even the soldiers in their armed forces mostly rode heavy mech. They were immensely strong.
Fatty blinked innocently. “Zhang Shan, you’re bulky, so you’ve got to be the strong type. Take care of them, you have my support!” he whispered.
Meng Tian looked coldly at Luo Fei. He was no good guy, hitting others when they’re down.
“Here! Who’s afraid!” Zhang Shan had been waiting for this opportunity. He had been training for a long time and could not wait to give it a shot.
The tables were immediately cleared out, but the people in the room did not crowd around because of that. They simply watched from afar.
Highly skilled people all had a high self-esteem. This was merely child’s play.
As long as they didn’t break or smash anything up, nobody would be bothered by them. Zhang Shan rolled his sleeves up. “Come on!”
“My name is Yuan Ye. Remember my name. You are the first person ever who dared to compete in strength with me.”
The name attracted some attention. Yuan Ye was one of the names in the list of top fighters. His immense strength and ability to sustain it allowed him to ride in heavy mechs.
It was evident that the contestants were now paying more attention. Yuan Ye was pleased with himself. Pride was very important out here in the field. To be able make people who were equally skilled remember his name, he had to have some kind of specialty.
Comparing their body builds, Zhang Shan was slightly bigger than Yuan Ye. But when Yuan Ye removed his jacket, everybody’s eyes widened.
His body was not just muscles, it gave people the illusion that it had a golden shimmer. From what the naked eye saw, the muscles’ strength was unlike that of ordinary men.
Leaving one’s name in IG was indeed no small feat.
“Lad, I will not use any strength in the first three seconds!” Yuan Ye said, full of himself.
“Don’t be too cocky! Show me what you’ve got!”
“Haha, I shall be the judge. Friendship before competition. Fair play. Only start when I count to three!”
Fatty Luo Fei placed his hand on the two’s hands. Any tricks played would only cause embarrassment in front of everybody present, so nobody would try to play foul.
“Three, two, one, go!”
Fatty had just finished when Zhang Shan roared. His biceps bulged and there was an outburst of strength. But seated opposite him, Yuan Ye smirked. He did not move a single bit.
“One. Two. Three.” Yuan Ye began using force. Zhang Shan’s veins popped. He tried to withhold it as much as he could, but he still couldn’t stop his arm from being pushed back.
This was the strength of the Europa College. The students from the college mainly rode on heavy mechs, and they adapted extremely well to harsh conditions. They were similar to professional truck drivers in ancient Earth.
Bang!
Zhang Shan was completely flushed, but he still failed to stop his arm from falling back. It was finally slammed against the table.
Yuan Ye smiled. “Lad, declare your name! You’re considerably strong.”
While he appeared relaxed, Yuan Ye was surprise for a moment. How could Earth produce someone so strong? He had wanted to defeat Zhang Shan in an instant, but his opponent managed to hold on for some time.
Having remained silent all this while, Zhang Runan made her way over. “If you can hold me back for three seconds, you win.”