NOVEL NEXT Chapter 93 - The Competition 1
Because Mai Dongzi had openly stated that she stayed in the Arts Department for the sound attack skills, Professor Wen personally taught her the sound attack techniques.
Since Mai Dongzi was extremely busy, she never participated in the regular training sessions for Arts Department freshmen and did not spar with Instructor Lan and the others. Therefore, aside from Professor Wen, no one else had experienced just how skilled Mai Dongzi was in sound attack.
However, when Instructor Lan tested Mai Dongzi’s overall strength after school started, she was well aware not only of Mai Dongzi’s martial arts level but also of the power of her mental-type abilities.
Instructor Lan was confident that if Mai Dongzi represented the Arts Department in the individual competition, she would not only secure the freshman champion title but also have a strong chance of winning the overall individual competition in the school.
As long as Mai Dongzi performed well in the competition and demonstrated the attacking power of her sound attack skills, the Arts Department would have fewer worries next year.
This year, because Mai Dongzi chose to stay in the Arts Department, the number of freshmen in the department had doubled compared to previous years. More students meant more resources.
In the past, students from the Arts Department, regardless of their year, were merely participants in the various school-wide competitions, showing their faces briefly and then fading into the background.
This was because the Arts Department traditionally focused more on artistic cultivation, valuing students’ achievements in various art fields over their performance in school-wide competitions.
However, in recent years, the entire empire has suddenly experienced a cultivation craze. For any discipline, the primary criterion for assessing student excellence is their cultivation level.
Even in specialized departments like theirs, where artistic talent is emphasized, the focus has shifted to cultivation. The school’s resources are now predominantly directed towards departments with stronger cultivation levels.
Since three years ago, the results of the school-wide competitions have directly impacted the allocation of school resources.
This has placed the Arts Department in a difficult position. Traditionally, they recruited students with average cultivation potential but high artistic talent, and even their instructors had lower cultivation levels compared to other departments.
The Arts Department has been at the bottom of the school rankings for three consecutive years. If they cannot produce any individuals or teams that place in the top three of their year this year, the department’s resources will be further reduced, and their enrollment quotas will be cut even more.
Thus, having a talent like Mai Dongzi remain in their Arts Department was like a stroke of luck from the heavens for the faculty and students.
As a result, the entire Arts Department was careful to cherish Mai Dongzi, fearing that she might leave the department if she was unhappy.
Although they could block Mai Dongzi’s request to switch departments and prevent her from majoring in other departments, a reluctant student is not likely to be motivated. If her heart is not in it, keeping her in the department might even lead to resentment.
Of course, Instructor Lan and the others wouldn’t tell Mai Dongzi about these matters.
However, Ren Guang was aware of the situation. After the information about the upcoming competition was released, he informed Mai Dongzi about it.
Since she was usually engrossed in her cultivation and studies, to stay connected with the outside world, Mai Dongzi made sure to meet with Ren Guang for a meal every week.
Ren Guang understood Mai Dongzi’s intention and used their meetings to update her on matters related to the Xi family and the school.
To outsiders, it appeared that during these meetings, the cousin was always chattering away, while the cousin’s sister seemed aloof, focusing on her own food and showing little interest in engaging with him.
Under Instructor Lan’s hopeful gaze, Mai Dongzi agreed without hesitation to participate in the individual competition as a representative of the Arts Department.
She did not reveal to Instructor Lan that the Command Department had attempted to use resources and points to persuade her to represent them in the competition two weeks earlier.
Mai Dongzi remained unmoved. Since she had chosen to major in the Arts Department, she naturally prioritized its honor.
However, for the team competition after the individual event, Mai Dongzi planned to participate as a representative of the Command Department.
Firstly, the Command Department had already discussed this arrangement with her, stipulating that she would compete in one of the events under their name.
The most important event in the competition is the individual contest, followed by the team competition.
The individual contest focuses on personal strength, while the team competition assesses overall team capability.
The Arts Department simply does not have many strong fighters. After all, the department emphasizes various artistic talents rather than combat skills. Mai Dongzi certainly doesn’t have the ability to carry a team on her own.
The team competition includes not only arena matches but also wilderness survival events.
The locations for the team competitions are always harsh and difficult to survive in, places that ordinary people could not withstand.
At this time, it is also the annual period when students of each grade undergo wilderness survival training.
The three major departments—Elemental, Combat, and Command—face extremely harsh and challenging environments for their survival training.
In contrast, for the Arts Department, which is less focused on combat, the locations for wilderness survival training each year are significantly more manageable.
Naturally, Mai Dongzi wanted to align with the Command Department, so she had to participate in the team competition under their name. Otherwise, she would have no teammates to join.
Instructor Lan likely anticipated these issues, which is why she only mentioned having Mai Dongzi participate in the individual competition for the Arts Department and did not bring up the team competition.
After Mai Dongzi readily agreed to her request, Instructor Lan handed over the supplies awarded to Mai Dongzi by the Arts Department and happily returned to report back.
On the other hand, Instructor Fang from the Command Department was disappointed that Mai Dongzi could not represent them in the most important individual competition. However, they were still somewhat satisfied since Mai Dongzi could participate in the team competition.
Typically, students are required to organize their own teams for the group competition, starting with selection within each grade. The top three teams then advance to the school-wide team competition.
The school-wide team competition includes both arena matches and wilderness survival challenges.
Therefore, the composition of the team is crucial; having even one weak link can jeopardize their chances of success.
However, because Mai Dongzi’s situation was unique, the Command Department made an exception for her.
Mai Dongzi had rarely been seen in cultural classes and never attended regular training sessions. Additionally, her usual activities were mostly within the Arts Department, and occasionally she visited the Combat Department.
Given that the students in the Command Department rarely saw her and had little interaction with her, it was unrealistic to expect her to select her own team members.
After receiving Mai Dongzi’s definite answer, the Command Department felt a renewed sense of hope. They had always been the perennial third place, whether in individual or team competitions.
However, with Mai Dongzi this semester, the instructors in the Command Department naturally developed ambitious plans to win the team competition championship.
Thus, the Command Department assembled the five strongest freshmen in the first year and appointed Mai Dongzi as their team leader.