Starforce Warriors

Chapter 148: Substitute

Li Xiaofei said speechlessly, "What? Did your sixty-five-year-old girlfriend cheat on you again?"

"Bah, she's devoted to me," Bai Longfei retorted angrily.

"So, what's the matter? Am I being cyberbullied again?"

"This time, it's not cyberbullying, but internet fame," Bai Longfei said gleefully. "That streamer named Little White Dragon in the Waves, Shen Yan, is really something. He made a video that turned the tide instantly. Now, the internet is full of apologies to you."

"Really?"

Li Xiaofei was surprised. Even though he didn't care about online drama, having his reputation restored was still a good thing.

"That guy Shen Yan managed to get his hands on the speech you gave us before the last match. He waited until the peak of the smear campaign against you, and then released the video in a livestream. The momentum shifted immediately."

Bai Longfei added, "In short, you're famous again, explosively famous."

"How boring." Li Xiaofei said, "So what if I'm famous? This kind of internet hype is meaningless. It contributes nothing to the country or the nation and is purely a waste of energy."

"You're raising the topic to that level..." Bai Longfei said helplessly, "How can anyone keep up with you? You'll end up with no friends."

"Enough chatter, let's go to class." Li Xiaofei said.

If you master math, physics, and chemistry, you can travel the world without fear. A student's primary task is still to study hard.

"By the way, what's your ID in the light core virtual world? Let's add each other as friends," asked Bai Longfei, following closely behind.

Li Xiaofei asked back, "Tell me yours first."

Bai Longfei looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned in and whispered, "My ID is Milky White Snowball."

Li Xiaofei almost fell over.

"Get lost." He said righteously, "I'm ashamed to associate with a pervert like you."

They bantered back and forth between their morning classes. In the afternoon, it was time for the Invincible Qin’s special martial arts training class. All the members of the school battle team had made significant progress after the last league round.

Fang Buyi's stick techniques had advanced further, and his starforce qi had broken through to the ninth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, greatly enhancing his strength. Beastmaster Liu Xiao voluntarily proposed stepping down again, nominating substitute Bai Qiqi as the main force of the school team.

"My aptitude is limited, and it's hard for me to make rapid progress in the short term." This time, he had thought it through and said with a smile, "But Qiqi has excellent talent, since she has already broken through to the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Her combat strength surpasses mine; she only lacks experience. I will do everything I can to mentor her. I believe it's time for her to join the main lineup."

This time, Liu Xiao was not retreating out of self-doubt. He was genuinely thinking for the good of the team.

"I need to focus on my cultivation for a while. Once I break through, I will definitely come back to fight for a main position." He said confidently.

After careful evaluation and review, the school leaders agreed to the proposal.

"I-I-I w-w-will d-d-definitely work h-h-hard." Bai Qiqi said, clenching her small fists.

She was very beautiful, with features sculpted as if carved by a knife. However, she had a congenital stutter. It became much worse especially when she was nervous. But the young girl had a very good character. She didn't let it make her feel inferior. Instead, she constantly worked to overcome it, always seeking opportunities to converse with others. Moreover, as a newcomer to Red Flag High School this year, Bai Qiqi's talent was evident to all.

Many teachers privately remarked that with proper training and sufficient resources, she could become the next Yan Chiyu.

"Keep it up."

"Keep it up."

Li Xiaofei and the others cheered and encouraged Bai Qiqi.

"Little Liu, train hard and come back stronger."

They also cheered for Liu Xiao. The team atmosphere remained harmonious and united.

After the class, Li Xiaofei and the others went to the light core virtual training arena as usual. This had become a daily routine for every high school student. However, Li Xiaofei had reduced his time spent fighting in the light core world. He had already completed all the trials for the high school stage. Repeating those cleared levels offered no challenge.

But Li Xiaofei still spent two hours daily in the virtual world to maintain his combat skills and condition. Additionally, he aimed to dominate those two Jiepeng women on the leaderboard and left no chance to breathe.

After all, this was the Liuhe Base City's leaderboard in the Great Xia Republic. How could he let the Jiepeng people occupy the top spot? But Li Xiaofei couldn't be bothered to look at the forum buzz anymore.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the third round of the High School War God League. Red Flag High School hosted the match at the Red Flag Stadium, facing the visiting Riverside High School.

Riverside High School had ranked twenty-fourth in last year's league. They were not very strong. Despite their best efforts, Riverside High School could not cause much of an upset against Red Flag High School, who had won their first two matches and boasted the exceptional Fist King, Li Xiaofei.

In the end, they lost with a score of 1:4 in solo mode and 0:3 in team mode. Their sole victory was secured by Riverside High School's only star player, beastmaster Gao Miao, who used his extensive combat experience to defeat Bai Qiqi, who was making her debut for Red Flag High School.

After the third round, Red Flag High School's ranking dropped to fourth due to the loss in solo mode. The top three positions were held by Duxing High School, Nanshan High School, and Qishen Academy.

Duxing High School's captain, Xiong Zhigang, had an incredible performance in this round of the league. He defeated Liu Linghe, who had ranked eighth in solo mode last season, with a single finger and one move.

After the match, Xiong Zhigang instantly became a hot topic.

Invincible.

Astonishingly strong.

The strongest in Liuhe Base City's high school stage.

The pillar of Duxing High School.

News articles about him were everywhere. Various videos, combat analyses, emotional albums, and more dominated the entire leaderboard forum.

Meanwhile, Quanye High School was ranked fifth in the league. Thanks to the support of the two Jiepeng women, Tsukiha Yaiba and Mizutani Hikaru, the former underdog had also soared in prominence along with Red Flag High School, garnering immense attention.

If it weren't for the significantly weaker performances of the other three team members in solo mode, Quanye High School's ranking could have been even higher.

The sixth rank was occupied by Hongye High School. Their star player was Gu Haochen, the Little Sword Immortal, who had just joined Hongye High School this year. The newcomer was considered a natural-born sword talent, since he was not only remarkably handsome but also possessed extraordinary swordsmanship. He had achieved the improbable by defeating opponents with higher starforce cultivation through sheer sword technique and had secured a pentakill in team mode.

Last year, Hongye High School had ranked sixth in the league. Now, with the addition of the prodigious Gu Haochen, their ranking was expected to climb even higher this year.

Many star-level students had performed excellently in this round of the league. In comparison, Li Xiaofei's performance was relatively standard. He successfully defeated his opponent but didn't deliver an overwhelmingly impressive display. Thus, in the eyes of various media and streamers, his performance this round wasn't as stunning as in the previous two rounds.