Fang Yuan… Shang Ren… Mu Fan… Tang Xinlan… Zheng Hongyi...
At this moment, each of the five people at the table had a dossier in front of them.
"This is about the changes in the rules for the World Championship, and the responsibilities that the members of the second team will bear are more significant than ever before, but correspondingly, this can also bring you greater honor. I believe you all are already acquainted with the new rules before coming here," Ms. Liuqin said.
The five of them nodded. Although the final rules had not been set, the basic pattern was unlikely to change.
"Next, there are two things you need to pay attention to. You have two sets of materials in your hands now, please look at the one below," she continued.
Hearing Ms. Liuqin's words, Fang Yuan opened the other document besides the rule book.
"Huh..." He was surprised to find that it contained the information and tactical analysis of five Trainers' Pokémon.
The Pokémon information was basically collected from public competitions and had been gathered some time ago, so there was a special note saying it was for reference only.
"Japanese names? Who are they?" Shang Ren asked with confusion.
"They are the members of Japan's second team. On March 2nd, which is four days from now, they will be having a pre-World Championship exchange match with the members of our second team, and you five will be the ones to compete," said Yun Kai.
"Before that, the initial elimination selection phase will continue for three days. After three days, you'll first compete in an exchange match with Japan's second team. Once that match is over, the selection will continue. The five who won previously will have the opportunity to challenge you. You can also consider this exchange match as a part of the selection process. Combining the performances in the exchange match and the challenge matches, we will determine the list for the second team anew," Yun Kai explained.
Is that so... The five shifted their attention back to the information.
"Although it's not an official world championship match, please do your utmost. If your performance is too poor and you lose to the newcomers in the final challenge matches, it will be difficult to handle," Master Ma Chenzong said with a smile.
His implication was clear: the spots on the second team were up for grabs at any time, and the strong prevailed.
Apart from Fang Yuan, the expressions of Shang Ren, Mu Fan, Tang Xinlan, and Zheng Hongyi were all very solemn.
The data cards indicated that the leader of Japan's second team possessed a top-level power, and although the other four didn't have top-level powers, the analysis suggested there were quite a few which were nearly top-level. All in all, this presented a formidable opponent on par with China's second team.
Moreover, the latest update on this information was two months prior, making it impossible to accurately judge the current strength of the opposition.
"What about the rules for the exchange match? I should be fighting their team captain, right?" Fang Yuan casually glanced at the data card and then set it down.
"The rules haven't been confirmed yet," replied Ms. Liuqin.
"Fang Yuan, this Fujiwara Haruka has top-level power; are you sure you can handle it? If you're not confident, I can take him on," Shang Ren set down his data card and said.
The implication was pretty obvious!!
Upon hearing Shang Ren speak, everyone looked at him—this guy was so confident. Did he have top-level power now?
And he was also eyeing Fang Yuan's position as team captain hungrily.
Mu Fan, Tang Xinlan, and Zheng Hongyi wondered, just how strong was Shang Ren now?
Yun Kai also gave Shang Ren a glance. Had Shang Ren finally crossed that threshold? Indeed... as a former King, he should be at this level.
"If the rules aren't too strict, I could let you practice with them," Fang Yuan mused. "If their abilities are only what the data card indicates, I don't think there is a need for me to act."
His words implied that the opponent was so weak that the four of them should have no problem dealing with five.
Hearing Fang Yuan's answer, Shang Ren was taken aback—this kid was even more arrogant than he was.
Mu Fan, Tang Xinlan, and Zheng Hongyi once again pondered on how strong Fang Yuan had become.
Maybe they too should speak up to assert their presence?
"Apart from this Fujiwara Haruka, the others don't pose much of a threat," Zheng Hongyi declared.
"Yes," Mu Fan said, not knowing what else to say after the others had grabbed all the cool remarks.
Tang Xinlan stayed silent, watching them show off and chose to be a quiet beauty of wealth and grace.
"I hope it's as you say..." Yun Kai finally spoke.
Seeing the confidence of Fang Yuan and the others, Ms. Liuqin and Master Ma Chenzong nodded their heads.
Though it was just an exchange match, as the responsible parties, they definitely didn't want to see the Trainers they had selected lose to those from another country.
"Japan's Second Team, huh."
"Who will they send to compete?"
Fang Yuan hadn't paid much attention to this exchange match. Although Japan was the second largest country in Asia, his strength had long surpassed that of a second team level. Perhaps if one of the Four Heavenly Kings or the Champion from Japan came over, Fang Yuan would take it more seriously.
Unless something unexpected happened, the next three days would be the competition among the initial selection eliminees.
During these three days, the current members of the second team could go and observe the strength of these returnees from their trials.
After three days, the China-Japan exchange match would take place, and the five individuals who stood out in the selection could observe the strength of the current second team members.
What would follow was the challenge phase.
The five people who finally broke through in the selection would challenge the members of the current second team.
Or perhaps, someone would want to challenge the position of the Fifth King, which Fang Yuan held, along with the role of the second team captain. This was indeed their last chance.
..........................
The next day.
The final selection began, and Fang Yuan also arrived at the selection venue.
Unfortunately, this selection was aimed at the master level trainers from before.
Professional level competitors like "Jiang Ran," "Xu Jing," "Yun Guancheng," who were younger trainers with sights set on the next World Competition, would not be participating in this final selection.
This also meant that Fang Yuan's plan to show off his top-level researcher status in front of acquaintances fell through.
The three days passed quickly.
To be precise, the selection ended in two and a half days.
It was unfortunate for Magic City University; the seniors from Mo Da had failed to break through once again and were eliminated.
The five individuals who did break through had very strong abilities, each boasting nearly top-level power. While they didn't have many Pokemon, perhaps just one or two each, their strengths had generally increased by an entire level compared to nine months ago.
However, it wasn't enough!
This level of strength might have given them hope against second team members from nine months ago, but in those nine months, no one would be standing still.
With resources being inherently unequal, the current second team members' progress in strength would only be more terrifying.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that some of the five who broke through were hiding their true strength. However, individuals like Shang Ren and Mu Fan were more concerned with the Japanese exchange team that had already arrived on the Road of Champions than with these five.
The day before the exchange match at noon, right after the final selection results had been announced, the seven members from Japan arrived at the Road of Champions.
The giant ship docked at the port of the Road of Champions, and a group consisting of one middle-aged person and six youngsters disembarked.
"Why was the exchange location ultimately set on an island? It would have been so much better if it were in that city with the United Dojo, the food there was delicious. Speaking of which, when does our lunch start?" asked a short, delinquent-looking blond youth as he was the first to walk out.
"Yu-kun, quiet down. Have you forgotten the instructions from Tachibana Senpai, Longzaki Heavenly King, and Captain Fujiwara?" said a guy with glasses from behind.
"Qingwu, you were just seasick, and now you're suddenly so energetic," the youth addressed as Yu-kun retorted.
"I was just studying the opponent's tactics all night and didn't get enough rest," replied Qingwu defensively.
"Enough, stop arguing." Before the two could interact much longer, a middle-aged woman walked out. As soon as she spoke, the two team members immediately shut up. Tachibana Senpai was currently going through menopause, and since she was in charge of this exchange match, they needed to behave well, or the consequences would be dire.
The Japanese team had arrived, led by Juzhen Ye, one of the Ten Ninja of Japan, a top-level trainer. Besides her, there was also a well-built, roughly 1.9-meter tall, dark-skinned young man, another leader and the current Dragon King of Japan.
In addition, the captain of Japan's National Second Team was there, a female with an impressive figure, Fujiwara Haruka.
"Takeda… Sen… Qingwu… Ikeda Yu… Fujiwara Haruka organized the second team members and said, "This time, our goal is total victory! Let's all do our best!"