Chapter Twenty-Seven: At That Moment, I Rushed Forward with a Swift Slide

After leaving Arena Eight, Tang Yi returned to the lounge hall and found that many people had already gathered there. The young trainers huddled in small groups, sharing their impressions of the matches, some excited, some dejected.

Jiang Chen was happily chatting with a few other classmates. Having had a bye in the first round, she felt completely relaxed. When she saw Tang Yi and Qin Donghai emerge from the competition corridor one after the other, she immediately waved and shouted, “Over here! Over here!”

Tang Yi had intended to take Ralts to a quiet corner to rest, but Jiang Chen’s voice was loud enough that he couldn’t pretend not to hear. So he walked towards her first.

“What took you so long to come out?” Jiang Chen asked curiously.

“I was mainly waiting for Ralts to be treated,” Tang Yi replied offhandedly, his attention more focused on the girl by his side.

“Huh? Why did the class monitor leave just like that?” another classmate exclaimed, noticing that Qin Donghai, without a word, had walked straight through the lounge and pushed open the exit doors.

Jiang Chen was momentarily stunned. “Hey? Aren’t we not allowed to leave the venue during the tournament? Leaving at will is considered forfeiting! Doesn’t the class monitor know this rule? We have to bring him back! Class monitor! Where are you going?”

Tang Yi glanced at the girl shouting so loudly and shook his head calmly. “No need to call him back. He’s already been eliminated. I remember the rules say you can’t leave the venue without reason, but once you’re out, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Though those eliminated could choose to stay and observe other matches—a small kindness from the Ministry of Education for the students—Qin Donghai, who had come brimming with confidence, found it humiliating to stay and watch. All he wanted was to leave quietly.

Unfortunately, some people did not want to let him slip away unnoticed, and the ever-enthusiastic Jiang Chen was still recovering from her shock at Tang Yi’s explanation.

The lounge was filled with hundreds of students from Tianying High School who had signed up for the tournament. After the first round, half were eliminated, but only a few chose to leave.

“No, that’s impossible. Are you kidding me? The class monitor was eliminated? By you!” Jiang Chen’s naturally loud voice drew the attention of many nearby, and people finally began to notice Qin Donghai’s unusual behavior.

“Isn’t that the class monitor from Class Three? I heard he’s really strong. Did he really get knocked out?”

“No way. Who’s stronger than him in Class Three?”

“I’ve seen his Squirtle—really impressive.”

...

Qin Donghai trembled all over; the murmurs behind him felt like daggers stabbing into his back. At last, unable to bear it, he shoved open the exit doors and fled at a run.

“Look! The second-round matchups are out!” someone shouted.

After all the results were tallied, the giant screen in the lounge displayed each trainer’s opponent for the second round.

Jiang Chen, not even bothering to search for her own opponent, eagerly scanned the list until she found number 145—Tang Yi’s badge. That confirmed it: Qin Donghai had indeed been eliminated by Tang Yi in the very first round.

Not only Jiang Chen, but everyone who knew Tang Yi was now staring at him as if he were some oddity.

Tang Yi had always kept a low profile in class. He wasn’t top of the academic rankings, nor was he considered the best at training spirit maidens.

Many had even heard of his unconventional methods for raising Ralts and found them utterly baffling, assuming he had given up on getting into a top university. If he was content to coast along, then his methods didn’t matter—after all, it was his spirit maiden to train as he pleased.

But now, this supposed slacker had quietly eliminated Qin Donghai—the class’s brightest hope for admission to Yanjing University—in the very first round!

“How did you do it?”

“Do you have some secret trick for the matches?”

“Tell us how the battle went!”

...

Since almost all students were busy with their own matches in the first round, Tang Yi’s had practically no spectators, so no one knew what had actually happened. The way people looked at Tang Yi had completely changed, and even students from other classes who didn’t know him came over, eager to hear how he had defeated the much-favored Qin Donghai. There had to be some secret, surely.

With more and more people gathering, Tang Yi felt a headache coming on. He glanced sideways; sure enough, Ralts had lowered her bangs completely over her forehead, as she always did to hide her shyness when surrounded by crowds.

“All right, all right. There actually is a little trick. Let me tell you briefly,” Tang Yi cleared his throat and raised his voice so everyone could hear.

“Do tell!” the crowd urged him on.

“Squirtle lunged at Ralts, and at that moment, my Ralts slid right under her, and with one punch, sent Squirtle flying.” Tang Yi recounted the scene with a straight face, even demonstrating the movement for effect.

“A sliding tackle?”

“That’s right, the key is in the sliding tackle. That’s all I’ll say—you’ll have to figure out the rest yourselves.”

With that, Tang Yi took Ralts by the hand and paid no further attention to the flurry of questions, squeezing through the crowd and heading straight for a quiet corner.

Some onlookers just laughed it off as a curious anecdote and dispersed after their curiosity was satisfied; but others frowned thoughtfully, genuinely pondering the possibility of a sliding tackle.

In the corner, as Ralts rested, she spoke with some exasperation, “You’re tricking people again. I can’t do a sliding tackle at all, you know.”

Her trainer really never missed a chance to fool people!

“That’s not important,” Tang Yi replied, unconcerned about whether anyone believed him—he just wanted to avoid being disturbed while they rested.

There was still more than half an hour before the next match. Due to the possibility of injuries, actual battle time was short; most of the interval was spent waiting and in treatment and recovery.

Tang Yi, still worried, said, “If you feel unwell at all, you have to tell me, okay? Don’t try to tough it out.”

“I’m fine. The doctor said it was just some mental exhaustion. Once I recover, I’ll be okay,” Ralts said, gently trying to pull her hand free from Tang Yi’s grasp, but to no avail.

What a bad man!

Hmph!

Fortunately, her bangs had already fallen over her eyes, hiding the shyness in her gaze.