Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 687: Victory Pose

Luo Xiangshi's protests were fruitless, and his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

The progression of events was completely different from what he had anticipated. Despite having deployed their ace players, the Hero faction had still consecutively lost two individual bouts, and he was actually starting to feel a bit panicky now.

Although there had been some unforeseen factors along the way, Luo Xiangshi was well aware that the fundamental reason was the significant improvement in Hou De students' abilities compared to when they fought against Heroic Concealment.

Their rate of progress was nothing short of astounding!

Luo Xiangshi racked his brains but could not understand how the students of Hou De had managed to master so many powerful talismans, previously unheard of, in just a few short weeks.

He even suspected that this was all a conspiracy by Ma Lu, who had dug a trap during their last contest by pretending to be weak, causing him to mistakenly believe that Hou De's strength was only slightly better than Heroic Concealment.

That's why he had agreed to decide the ownership of the iron box through a competition between schools.

How cunning!

Thinking this, Luo Xiangshi couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat.

But if Hou De's students were truly that strong from the start, who had taught them? Could it be Cao Jinhua? But Cao Jinhua wasn't very strong himself, or he wouldn't have died in the catastrophe belt.

Luo Xiangshi furrowed his brows, still pondering when he might have fallen into Ma Lu's "trap." When he looked up, he saw Fan Guojun standing before him.

He asked casually, "What is it, do you need something?"

Fan Guojun appeared somewhat awkward, "Chairman, I'm up next. President Jin asked me to find out if you have any instructions for me."

It was then that Luo Xiangshi realized the third contest was about to begin.

He temporarily set aside the messy thoughts in his mind and solemnly cautioned, "Win, you must win this match no matter what."

Hero had already lost two matches. If they lost another, they would be on the edge of a cliff.

According to the agreement between the two parties, a draw would count as a victory for Hou De.

In other words, out of the five individual bouts, the Hero faction had to win at least two in order to keep the suspense alive for the group match.

Considering there were three matches left, Hero really couldn't afford to lose again.

Luo Xiangshi could only pray that the Hou De students coming up next would not be as strong as the ones before.

Fan Guojun hesitated, but still nodded in agreement.

Of course, he wanted to win as well, but having witnessed the first two matches, Fan Guojun was also unsure. He had thought Luo Xiangshi would have some more specific advice and strategies.

Unexpectedly, the latter had simply told him that he had to win, which placed a heavy burden on Fan Guojun's shoulders.

In the third contest, Hou De sent out Wang Chongyang.

Fan Guojun had some recollection of the name. Just like Yu Zimei, Wang Chongyang had also performed remarkably in the previous battles against Lingnan and Heroic Concealment, and it seemed his record was undefeated thus far.

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

Facing a formidable opponent, Fan Guojun was extremely cautious. He had learned from the previous two's lessons. He constantly watched Wang Chongyang, ready to interrupt the moment he saw him attaching a talisman.

He was determined not to let him activate his Water Spirit Body. However, five minutes later, Fan Guojun still lost.

And he lost without a trace of temper, simply because he was indeed no match.

His body was also equipped with a talisman treasure given by Luo Xiangshi, but after Wang Chongyang threw a talisman, it not only shattered Ma Lu's talisman treasure, but also struck him with such force that he was rendered unable to fight back.

Under the enhancement of that talisman, as long as Wang Chongyang extended a finger, a Water Arrow would shoot forth from his fingertip. Although the power was only on the level of low-level talismans,

its rapid-fire capability was like that of a machine gun, shooting continuously without pause. Fan Guojun had no chance to use his own talismans, especially High-level Talismans.

Having resisted for a while with the aid of the talisman treasure, he finally succumbed to defeat.

Three defeats in a row plunged Luo Xiangshi into complete panic and this loss was so swift that he couldn't even find an excuse.

After Fan Guojun stepped down, Luo Xiangshi berated him harshly, but deep down he knew it wasn't Fan Guojun's fault.

Fan Guojun's strength was not much inferior to Zhou Hanmin and Liao Guangyao, ranking within Hero Group's top three for his solid and steady approach, which was why Luo Xiangshi had placed him in the third battle. He had not anticipated his loss.

Now Luo Xiangshi had no retreat left, the following two matches could not afford to be lost, otherwise, the competition would end prematurely.

But the problem was that the next two fighters' strengths were not even superior to Fan Guojun's, and the strongest, Chen Guanquan, was not listed for the individual combat, as Luo Xiangshi intended to save this trump card for the team battle.

But now, Luo Xiangshi was worried they wouldn't make it to the team battle.

Because in the fourth round, Hou De fielded Qiutong, and it was Qiutong with the added buffs of "Class Break Exercise" and "Duty Student."

Although it was gauche to pop champagne mid-game, Ma Lu genuinely didn't see how they could lose.

With this thought, he simply pulled out a cigar and, without lighting it, clamped it between his lips. Then he flashed Luo Xiangshi a V-sign.

This scene was also captured by the photographers and journalists present.

However, Luo Xiangshi was already past the point of anger, his eyes bloodshot as he said to the student about to go on stage,

"If you can't win, don't bother coming back!"

Clearly frightened by his words, the student asked, "Will I be demoted to other schools within the Group?"

"No, you won't be able to go to any school," Luo Xiangshi dropped his usual scholarly and amiable facade, his voice harsh.

"With my influence in the Ministry of Education, I can ensure that no school dares to accept you."

"You can't ensure that, Hou De dares to take him in."

Ma Lu interjected, assuring the student, "Don't be afraid, fight hard. Even if you're expelled, you can still come to me."

Luo Xiangshi flew into a rage at first, but then a trace of smugness crossed his face and he rushed up to the three referees, "Did you hear that? He's bribing my student, I think this matter must be thoroughly investigated, and today's competition can't count. Yes, there's a clear case of foul play in this competition, otherwise, there's no explaining how Hou De could win so many matches!"

However, this time the three officials from the Ministry of Education were slow to respond to him. After a moment, the eldest among them sighed and advised,

"Boss Luo, so many people are watching, let's discuss this after the competition is over, shall we?"

Only then did Luo Xiangshi come to his senses and he looked towards Governor Zheng's direction, noticing an impatient expression had appeared on the latter's face.

Clearly, Hero Group's earlier performance had caused him, their supporter, to lose face as well.

Despite Hero Group's financial clout and influence in Xindu, he was not afraid. He had agreed to help this time partly because an old friend had facilitated the connection, and Luo Xiangshi had also shown enough sincerity by gifting him a hundred pounds of gold.

But now, with Hero Group losing so pitifully, it had embarrassed him in front of his archrival Li Xuebin, which consequently made Governor Zheng's attitude towards Luo Xiangshi grow increasingly cold.