Chapter 9

Although Li Xing received the highest praise in the first round of the competition and even created a new martial art called "Shenxing Baise" that left everyone amazed, his paper strength was still not strong enough.

The contestants were not fools; they could see that Li Xing's victory over Wang Xin was mainly due to his targeted preparation. However, while "Shenxing Baise" was effective against Wang Xin, it didn't mean it would be effective against others. Even if Wang Xin were to fight Li Xing again now, the outcome would be uncertain.

As for Li Xing's creative talent, although it was recognized by the five mentors and even highly praised by the King Yan Hailong, no one could predict how many more times Li Xing could experience "enlightenment."

Who knows how many more times Li Xing can have "enlightenment"? And without relying on "enlightenment," it would be impossible for him to create such profound martial arts based solely on his current level of martial arts.

His paper strength was not strong enough, and his creative talent was unstable, which was why no one had chosen Li Xing.

"Maybe I shouldn't have put him on the list?"

At this moment, Liu Yunqing, sitting in the mentor's seat, looked at Li Xing standing alone below and suddenly felt a bit regretful.

If no one chose Li Xing until the end, and the remaining 9 contestants who no one wanted were "forced" to join his team, Li Xing, as the team leader, would become a laughingstock.

At first, she didn't think much about it; she just wanted to help this junior casually. But now it seemed like she might be doing more harm than good.

On the contrary, Liu Yunqing noticed that Li Xing didn't seem nervous at all, and his calmness surprised her.

"This Li Xing has a pretty good mindset," Jiang Meiqi, who was sitting next to Liu Yunqing, also noticed Li Xing's demeanor and said softly.

"Indeed, he does."

Yan Hailong also agreed, smiling, "I didn't have his composure when I first started."

"It seems you really appreciate him, Senior Yan."

Liu Yunqing turned to look at Yan Hailong, and the other three mentors also looked at him.

Yan Hailong said frankly, "Talent is one thing, but I also admire his courage in choosing Wang Xin as his opponent in the first round. Even if it was because of a targeted martial art, there are still older contestants who have similar styles to Wang Xin but are not as strong. Yet, he still chose Wang Xin, the strongest opponent. This kind of courage and boldness is rare. Now, he has another quality that I admire, which is his mindset. This is even rarer than the first two."

"If you appreciate him so much, do you want to sign him, Senior?"

Jiang Meiqi asked half-jokingly.

Although Yan Hailong was a contracted martial star of Xuanjian, one of the five major companies, as a "King" level superstar, he had his own studio. So if he liked someone, he had the right to sign them directly.

"Ha ha, let's see how he performs in the future."

Yan Hailong smiled and said.

Hearing this, Jiang Meiqi didn't press further but her gaze towards Li Xing changed. Yan Hailong was known for his willingness to help juniors. If Li Xing was really chosen by him, he might not become an instant star, but his starting point would be no worse than the champion of this show.

Li Xing didn't know that his performance had once again won Yan Hailong's admiration. If he did, he might have laughed, because his current calmness wasn't due to his composure but because he was confident and had nothing to fear.

"Shenxing Baise" was just the beginning. If he could "materialize" all the martial arts in his mind, not to mention the champion of a talent show, even a "King" would be within reach.

This was Li Xing's mindset, so he really didn't care whether anyone would choose him. After all, after the successful test last night, he hadn't planned to rely on his teammates in this talent show.

Teammates? Just lie down and be good...

"I want to choose Li Xing."

Just as Li Xing was getting bored and starting to daydream, a voice brought him back to reality.

The person speaking was a boy wearing glasses, with a somewhat delicate appearance.

"Do you mean you want to choose Li Xing as your team leader?"

The host asked again.

The boy nodded and smiled at Li Xing, "Is that okay?"

"Li Xing, do you agree to let Chen Youxing be your teammate?"

The host, following the rules, turned to ask Li Xing.

Li Xing was taken aback. He could sense the obvious kindness in the boy's smile, but he didn't know where it came from.

"I agree."

Without much thought, Li Xing nodded.

Although he hadn't planned to rely on his teammates, it was better to have someone supporting him than not.

"Why did you choose me?"

When Chen Youxing walked over, Li Xing asked in a low voice.

Chen Youxing replied, "I'm also from Jingwu, the Sword Technique Department, and I'm a sophomore. Don't you remember?"

"Oh."

Li Xing remembered. This time, more than just him, two other students from Jingwu were selected among the 100 contestants. One of them was eliminated in the first round, while Chen Youxing advanced.

"Did you choose me just because we're schoolmates? Not afraid of being betrayed?"

Li Xing asked with interest.

Chen Youxing smiled, "We're from the same school, so we wouldn't let each other die, right?"

Hearing this, Li Xing felt a warmth in his heart.

His situation wasn't as dire as "dying," but Chen Youxing's meaning was clear: he chose him purely to avoid making him, the team leader, too embarrassed.

"So, the student days are still simpler."

Li Xing sighed and then said to Chen Youxing with a joking tone,

"Since you saved me today, I'll repay you with more in the future."

"Huh?"

Chen Youxing didn't quite understand Li Xing's words.

"Nothing, thanks anyway, Senior Chen."

"Ha ha, no problem, let's work together in the future."

...

After the first round of nominations, 11 contestants were still left without a team. They were all rejected in the first round, and their situation was already quite awkward.

The second round of nominations started quickly.

"I choose Li Xing."

"I choose Li Xing."

"..."

This time, there was almost no choice. There were only two teams with open spots left, and Li Xing's team had 8 spots available, making it almost impossible to reject anyone. So choosing him was the safest option.

No one wanted to be rejected again.

Thus, the first 8 people all chose to join Li Xing's team, and the remaining 3 automatically joined the other team.

With this, the team formation was complete.

"The next round's main examiner will now announce the task. Then, the six teams will prepare according to the task, and the second round of the competition will take place in seven days."

The host announced.

After speaking, all the contestants looked up to the second floor where the mentors were seated.

Weapons mentor Jiang Meiqi stood up from her seat with a smile, "Hello everyone, I am the next round's main examiner, and the task I have given is—"

"Killing Sword!"