NOVEL WEB Chapter 127 - Holding Back
When Mai Dongzi arrived at the Phantom Team’s training room, she noticed several team members sneaking glances at her, trying to gauge her mood, and she knew what was on their minds.
“Captain, did you see the campus website?” Zhuang Huiya asked.
His teammates behind him looked at him with a mix of admiration and disbelief.
“Are you asking if I can use my psychic powers to hit you? Want to give it a try?” Mai Dongzi replied.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Zhuang Huiya quickly defended himself, his survival instincts kicking in. “I meant those people are being outrageous. When the team competition starts, you should give them a good slap in the face.”
Zhuang Huiya was so anxious that he even called her “sister.” He had never believed the rumors online, and hearing Mai Dongzi’s response eliminated any doubt he had left.
However, because he was usually quite cunning, it was natural for him to refer to Mai Dongzi as “sister” in situations that wouldn’t raise suspicion.
So now that he accidentally called her “sister,” the other members of the Phantom Team took it as a respectful title.
“What are you in a rush for? I can easily take those people down with just my martial arts,” Mai Dongzi said, uninterested in the fool’s antics.
With the team competition starting tomorrow, hiding her true strength would work to their advantage; it would leave their opponents clueless about their capabilities, allowing them to catch them off guard at a critical moment.
“Zhuang Huiya, don’t forget how the captain subdued us the first time we met. She used her psychic powers to pin us down completely,” Wang Yiyi reminded.
Initially, Wang Yiyi thought Mai Dongzi had intimidated them with sheer presence. However, she later realized that to suppress five Level 4 cultivators like that, Mai Dongzi’s martial skills had to be at least Level 7 or higher.
So, she deduced that Mai Dongzi had used her psychic powers to restrain them, rather than relying on martial pressure.
If the captain could use her psychic abilities to render them immobile, how could her psychic powers not have offensive capabilities?
“I know, I just can’t stand those people talking about our captain like that,” Zhuang Huiya said.
No matter how strong his cousin was, she was still just an eighteen-year-old girl, and he was worried that seeing those discussions would upset her.
Although many didn’t dare to say it outright, the implications made Zhuang Huiya uncomfortable and left him wanting to challenge someone to a fight.
Zhuang Huiya had indeed targeted two individuals, dragging Tony to investigate their identities and classes. He confirmed that their cultivation levels were even lower than his, and he planned to “play” with them in a challenge match after the competition.
“We checked thoroughly, and those making the unpleasant remarks are all first-year ability students,” Tony said.
Erica was causing trouble again, a thought flashed through Mai Dongzi’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it; it was a trivial matter.
“Our identities are special. If we go up to defend you, it will only escalate the rumors, so we didn’t say much and wanted to ask for your opinion first,” Chen Xinhe implied.
“This is just a minor issue; it’s not worth worrying about,” Mai Dongzi replied, understanding Chen Xinhe’s meaning and immediately dismissing it.
Hearing her response, Chen Xinhe nodded in agreement.
Although she hadn’t experienced Mai Dongzi’s psychic pressure firsthand, she had information channels that others did not and knew Mai Dongzi’s true strength. Therefore, she viewed the online rumors as a joke.
“Then let’s work hard and aim to eliminate the ability team’s group tomorrow,” Mai Dongzi said.
“Okay!” the five of them responded in unison.
“The rules for the team competition have yet to be announced,” Tony said.
“In previous years, they were released in advance,” Wang Yiyi added.
“So the competition committee wants to catch us off guard tomorrow,” Zhuang Huiya concluded.
“I wonder if we can use weapons in this year’s team competition; we should be prepared,” Chen Xinhe said.
Mai Dongzi had been training in unarmed combat for the past month, and she called everyone over today to assess each teammate’s weapon proficiency and combat power.
Though her intuition suggested that the team competition rules would also prohibit weapons, it was good to have a backup plan.
After exchanging moves with her teammates, Mai Dongzi had a clear idea of their weapon skills.
By evening, the competition committee announced a rule: weapons were not allowed.
Everyone was somewhat mentally prepared, so they calmly put away their weapons and continued practicing their fist and palm techniques.
Mai Dongzi’s experience from yesterday’s match benefited her, but Zhuang Huiya gained even more.
After practicing together, Mai Dongzi estimated that with Zhuang Huiya’s current combat power, defeating David would still be quite challenging, but at least he could push the match into overtime.
Since the competition was set for 7 AM the next day, Mai Dongzi only allowed the team to conduct regular training before dismissing them for the night.
In the morning, Mai Dongzi led the Phantom Team to the competition square.
As soon as they arrived, those who had been sizing up Mai Dongzi felt her overwhelming presence, stronger than the others, and most silently looked away.
“Our captain’s psychic abilities, even if they lack offensive power, are more than enough to crush them with just her martial arts skills. I don’t get what those people are so riled up about,” Zhuang Huiya remarked comfortably after noticing the change in people’s expressions.
“Just looking for psychological balance,” Chen Xinhe replied.
Last night’s rumors about Mai Dongzi’s lack of psychic power not only weren’t quelled but seemed to grow more intense, as if they wouldn’t rest until they pulled her down from her pedestal as a genius.
Zhuang Huiya couldn’t help but want to say something, but Mai Dongzi stopped him.
She sensed someone was fanning the flames; otherwise, the situation couldn’t have escalated so much with such outrageous claims.
This was the campus network of the University, which had monitoring in place to quickly delete inappropriate comments.
Yet discussions about her psychic abilities had gone unchecked, making her suspect that the school itself might be behind it.
Every student had their combat power assessed upon enrollment, so the school was aware of whether Mai Dongzi’s psychic powers had offensive capabilities.
Not only had the school not clarified the rumors, but it seemed to be encouraging them, leading Mai Dongzi to think that the administration might be using this situation to teach a lesson to those who spread gossip, ensuring they learned their lesson.
As for the innocent victim, Mai Dongzi, there was a complaint portal on the campus network; if she couldn’t handle it, she could file a complaint with the school.
Mai Dongzi figured that if she did file a complaint, she would likely get some sort of response.
But she preferred to wait and see how the situation would turn around and play out, so she decided to hold back for now.