Travelling through the interstellar world, starting with the real and fake daughter

“Captain, Wang Yiyi’s tactic is quite good, can you teach me?”

While others sighed over Wang Yiyi’s defeat, only Zhuang Huiya was eager to try.

Having faced David in battle before, Zhuang Huiya quickly saw the benefits of Wang Yiyi’s tactical change not long after the match started, while Yu Lan and Chen Xinhe hadn’t noticed.

Zhuang Huiya had also advanced to the second round of eliminations, and he was luckier than Wang Yiyi as he drew an opponent of similar strength.

Yesterday, his cousin had analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent. With her guidance, his tactics earned her praise, and his chances of winning were high.

If he could advance to the quarterfinals, he might face David again.

Mai Dongzi glanced at Zhuang Huiya before saying, “The boxing technique I taught you is based on using softness to overcome hardness. Practice well, watch David’s fight videos, and figure out how to deal with him. Once you have a plan, I’ll spar with you.”

“Alright!” Zhuang Huiya said cheerfully.

Ever since joining the Phantom Squad, it felt like his life had been split into two parts. The poverty and suppression he once endured became a thing of the past after his cousin appeared. Now, all he needed to do was focus on training diligently.

Whether for his family, himself, or to live up to his cousin’s kindness, the only thing he could do now was to train—train hard—so that one day he could stand behind his cousin.

Seeing her obedient younger cousin immediately dive into studying tactics, Mai Dongzi was quite satisfied. Although the boy had a cunning side, he wasn’t an angry rebel, and he was genuinely respectful toward her.

With a kid like this, Mai Dongzi had no reason not to teach him sincerely.

Zhuang Huiya’s situation was different from Wang Yiyi’s, so naturally, he couldn’t use the same tactics against David.

The Zhuang family was a humble one and didn’t have the kind of martial arts legacy that Wang Yiyi’s family did. All the martial techniques Zhuang Huiya had learned were from school instructors.

It’s important to know that while the instructors were solid, students came and went. As the students moved up grade levels, their instructors wouldn’t stay consistent.

As a result, Zhuang Huiya’s martial arts, to put it nicely, were more generalized; to put it bluntly, they were a mixed bag.

But as the saying goes, poor children grow up early. This kid was determined, and despite his difficult circumstances, he worked hard to achieve some success.

In terms of potential and talent, Mai Dongzi actually believed Zhuang Huiya was better than Wang Yiyi. After all, Zhuang Huiya achieved everything on his own.

While Wang Yiyi’s efforts couldn’t be denied, she had the support of her family.

So, even though their accomplishments seemed similar now, in reality, Zhuang Huiya had put in much more effort than Wang Yiyi.

Zhuang Huiya didn’t have systematic instruction or the resources for cultivation, so it’s no surprise that with a little help from Mai Dongzi, his cultivation level skyrocketed. This was likely the result of his long-term efforts finally paying off.

However, due to not having a good environment for cultivation, Zhuang Huiya lacked real combat experience. Over the past month or so, under Mai Dongzi’s rigorous training, his overall combat strength had improved rapidly.

Martial arts techniques like those of Wang Yiyi and David were indeed highly powerful, but these required training from a young age, with years of accumulation to reach such high levels of combat ability.

Mai Dongzi also knew a set of such techniques, and if Zhuang Huiya wanted to learn, she could teach him.

However, there wasn’t enough time, because achieving proficiency in this type of martial art requires at least four to five years of training. With the impending apocalypse expected to arrive in two or three years, it was too late for him to train thoroughly.

Mai Dongzi could only teach Zhuang Huiya a fast-paced boxing technique that focuses on using softness to overcome hardness and winning through clever tactics. As long as he trained diligently and developed his strategy during battles, not only would his combat power increase quickly in a short time, but he would also learn to adapt and react on the fly.

In the doomsday scenario, when you have no idea what kind of opponent you’re facing, the ability to think on your feet becomes incredibly important.

Although this method of rapidly boosting combat ability would only work temporarily, over time, the lack of a solid foundation would eventually cause his future progress in cultivation to stagnate.

But that problem wouldn’t arise for another five or six years.

If they survived until then, Mai Dongzi could guide him to start over and train properly, and it wouldn’t be too late.

There was another reason for Mai Dongzi’s approach. People like Zhuang Huiya, who hadn’t cultivated any inherited martial arts, had not yet discovered their own path.

In the life-threatening battles that come with crises, some people naturally realize their path and find a training method that suits them.

Once such people find their path, their growth accelerates, as if they’ve taken a fast track.

For people like Wang Yiyi, whose direction in training has been set since childhood, it’s rare for them to realize their path in life-or-death situations.

After hearing Mai Dongzi’s advice, Zhuang Huiya immediately understood a few things. He went straight to the Phantom Squad’s training room and buried himself in training.

Meanwhile, Mai Dongzi, who had recently spent much of her time outside the treatment pod, had to return to the treatment room to accompany Wang Yiyi.

It’s important to note that this was the command department, so it was always lively. While the boys didn’t dare approach Mai Dongzi, the girls were different. Mai Dongzi had enough patience for these curious and admiring girls.

Although the one they had high hopes for, Wang Yiyi, had been eliminated, there was still Zhuang Huiya, so Instructor Fang and the others weren’t too disappointed.

Moreover, Wang Yiyi’s battle had been extremely exciting. The video of the fight was shared by countless people, and although Wang Yiyi lost, she did so with honor.

“Captain Xi, you truly are a natural-born commander,” Instructor Fang on the other end of the video praised.

Instructor Fang, with his rich experience, immediately saw from the video that Wang Yiyi had changed her usual combat style. This tactic was well-suited for battling a strong opponent like David, and Instructor Fang quickly guessed that Mai Dongzi must have been involved.

All of the command instructors knew that Mai Dongzi had an excellent character. Over the past month or so, she had selflessly taught the members of the Phantom Squad, and everyone’s overall combat ability had improved significantly.

“It’s just that the time was too short. Yiyi didn’t have enough time to master it. If she had been given just one more day to train, and if I had sparred with her a few more times, Wang Yiyi might have been able to last twice as long,” Mai Dongzi said, a bit regretful.

Instructor Fang also shared the regret. Just twice the amount of time could have led to a tie.

When two opponents are evenly matched, Imperial University’s approach is to have them draw lots again, meaning their next opponent won’t be each other.

As long as Wang Yiyi’s opponent isn’t David or Erica, with Mai Dongzi’s guidance, her chances of winning are very high.

Instructor Fang’s only consolation is that not all of their first-year command department students have been eliminated—they still have Zhuang Huiya.