Shen Yu arrived in Linglong City via a helicopter from Rainbow Star. After visiting his parents, he accompanied Tong Ruo and Mu Zhi Shui to Liu Ling University's accommodation for the current competition.
"Lu Bingming, everyone's here. Hurry and take them to register. We have a meeting after registration."
Lu Bingming, who had been studying tactics with Chu Xiao Die under Wei Chi Ting, heard Tong Ruo say everyone was present and quickly shouted to gather the others: "Let's go, let's go, we're going to register."
Liu Ling University's smooth registration always drew the attention of all participating teams. Last time it was Xia Hu Nao, this time it was Shen Yu.
"Is your talent cultivation at Liu Ling University a bit too outrageous? This is a freshman, you dare to let them compete?"
Lu Bingming smacked his lips: "Our Liu Ling University emphasizes selecting the virtuous and capable. Just as a high school coach could easily defeat you back then, what's wrong with a freshman easily defeating you now?"
There was no way to refute that. Although the team led by Xia Hu Nao didn't win the championship last time, wasn't that the year Mu Zhi Shui's team cheated their way in? Who would use an Ultimate Beast to compete?
After completing registration, the Liu Ling University team, keeping Teacher Tong Ruo's instructions in mind, did not waste time on the road and quickly returned to their lodging. They arrived just as Tong Ruo put down her phone: "You're back. I have something to tell you. We've made arrangements with other schools for tonight, so everyone should plan their time accordingly."
Lu Bingming was taken aback: "What? An early training match so soon? Isn't it a bit too early? The opening ceremony hasn't even started yet."
Chu Xiao Die and Feng Bing also agreed, why the rush for training matches?
Tong Ruo explained: "No, I haven't arranged training matches with them. We've arranged for all participating schools to collectively use the dreamscape for practice tonight."
Wei Chi Ting and the others exchanged glances. Isn't that pretty much the same as a training match?
"Tonight's arrangement is mainly for mutual learning, to gain experience in fostering bonds between oneself and one's sprites from other schools."
Speaking of which, Tong Ruo glanced at Shen Yu: "All the schools are using dream training devices, the competition prospects are even more unpredictable."
"So, why use dream training devices? Couldn't we arrange something like this offline?"
"I thought so too at first, but they said that discussing dreams is more direct within the dreamscape."
After everyone accepted the reality of the dreamscape arrangement for the evening, Feng Bing took out a calculator and pressed some buttons: "With just one school, counting the coach, it's a double-digit number. This time, there are even more schools participating in the University Sprite Competition than last year. With over a thousand people entering such a dream, it all feels a bit unreliable."
Indeed, just like three monks having no water to drink, one school tries to organize, two schools have dreams, three schools can't. A dream for over a thousand people, one wonders how the Dream Legendary Pokémon maintains the dream world.
With Feng Bing pointing this out, Shen Yu and the others were also a bit surprised. A dream involving over a thousand people, perhaps no one in this world has ever experienced anything like it.
Mu Zhi Shui, who was adjusting equipment nearby, agreed with Feng Bing's doubts: "I was thinking the same thing. Although Cresselia does possess dream abilities beyond our comprehension, I still feel that overseeing such a vast dream world might be a bit strenuous. However, the majority's will is hard to defy, and since our brother schools have proposed this, we can't directly refuse. So, we'll just have to grit our teeth and go with it. But you should be prepared for the dream to be influenced by both Cresselia and Darkrai simultaneously."
Influenced by both of them at the same time? What kind of dream would that be? Amidst this great anticipation, and possibly unease, of a thousand-person dream, time slowly passed into the night.
At 7:55 PM, Shen Yu and the others were gathered by Tong Ruo in her room. Looking at the pre-set equipment, everyone put on their devices.
As they closed their eyes, they didn't feel the familiar sense of hypnosis. Lu Bingming asked why, and Tong Ruo replied: "It's 8:00 PM. The agreed time is 8:00 PM."
"Is this some strange sense of ritual?"
"Less talk, just close your eyes and rest."
...
At 8:00 PM, the familiar drowsiness arrived as expected. Shen Yu relaxed and immersed himself in the dream.
This time, perhaps because the University Sprite Competition was imminent, the main venue was the competition arena. Over a thousand people were crowded and noisy inside the massive stadium. Although the trainers from various schools were not new to using dream training devices, this was the first time they had witnessed such a grand scene in a dream.
The clamor was incessant, making heads spin. Fortunately, a student quickly manifested a large loudspeaker, calling for everyone to line up by their respective schools before considering other matters.
Well, the idea was good, but a bit difficult to implement. The captains of over a hundred schools were each calling out to their students, and the chaos had not improved at all. Fortunately, with over a hundred schools and only a little over a thousand people in total, it took a bit of effort, but they eventually managed to form orderly lines by school.
What next? What should they do after that? The individuals standing at the front of the lines looked at each other. When they came in, they only knew they were here to share methods for quickly improving bonds in the dreamscape, but no one had heard their teachers mention any specific agenda.
On Liu Ling University's side, Shen Yu and his classmates were sitting at a table drinking juice. Feng Bing looked at the over a hundred captains: "So, everyone just came on a whim, and I thought the teachers had it all planned out."
"Who said not? So, what do we do? We can't just sit here."
The trainers from other schools were thinking the same thing. For a moment, everyone was in an uproar. The over a hundred captains briefly discussed and decided to go one by one in order.
So, the problem arose: who goes first?
This matter, in all fairness, wasn't particularly important. But everyone present was young. It's very difficult to make young people willingly fall behind. This is not just about personal pride; it's about the pride of their school!
More importantly, with over a hundred schools sharing one by one, there would inevitably be some repetition. By the time only a dozen or so schools had shared, they might have covered everything. What about the schools that came later? That's absolutely unacceptable. Of course, it's not impossible for some exceptional schools with exceptional students to develop methods that no one in the world has ever seen before. But even if such methods are to be shared, it shouldn't be now. The competition is about to start, isn't this essentially aiding the enemy? It's possible someone could use borrowed feathers to make a peacock, improve themselves with my methods, and then defeat me.
Therefore, ranking became a very important issue. So, what order should they use?
Someone said: "Let's just rank them by last year's standings. It's simple and reasonable, any objections?"
As soon as this was said, someone objected: "Rank by last year's standings? No, last year was last year, this year is this year."
Everyone looked at the speaker, who was the captain of a university from Baiyang City. They had barely made it past the group stage last year, and by rankings, it was unlikely they'd have much to say.
"Then how do you propose we rank them?" someone retorted.
"What else? Of course, we rank them alphabetically by Pinyin, starting with consonants and then vowels."
Before he could finish, someone slammed the table in objection: "I object!"
The captain of Anning Sprite Technology University expressed extreme dissatisfaction. Ranking by Pinyin, with "bpmf" at the beginning, whatever he said didn't matter. His "an" was a vowel, and in the entire Ming Long Country, with such a ranking, only Enzhou University would be behind him. What's even more infuriating is that Enzhou University did not participate this time. How could An Jing Ke Da, at the very beginning, command authority?
"If you ask me, we should align with international standards and use alphabetical order. After all, the Pinyin table is derived from the alphabet, right?"
"Hmm, you're quite shrewd with your calculations. This way, you'll be at the front, but what about us?"
As the captains spoke, the situation began to feel a bit like drawing a dagger. Everyone's attitude was clear: whoever wants to be at the back can be at the back, but I must speak first!
Seeing the escalating tension and the rising animosity, a rogue student from some unknown corner, seemingly wanting to stir up trouble, exclaimed: "Why don't you just have a fight? Whoever wins, wins."
Before the captains could say anything, quite a few of the assembled students agreed. This wasn't entirely because their captains were strong, but mostly because it was too boring. They couldn't just play cards with their sub-sprites, could they? Although that wasn't impossible, they needed a leader, didn't they?
Many responded, putting their captains in a difficult position. A fight before the Sprite Competition, what if something is accidentally revealed?
But surprisingly, there was a captain who agreed: "I think it's possible."
Wenhua University, shortened to Wen Da, is a university that specializes in sprite-related arts. Yu Linglong is a well-known alumna of this university. People who graduate from this university generally have good development in culture and entertainment, and it is one of the few universities that has found a path outside of combat and research. Because of this, the Ming Long Country's combat and research competitions generally have little to do with this university.
Therefore, everyone could understand why he agreed. Whether it was the consonant 'w' or the letter 'w', even based on last year's results, this university would be ranked outside of the top eighty. Without a clever move, tonight they might truly just be here to learn.
However, one might wonder, why would an art-oriented institution believe its captain could stand out?
Just as everyone was filled with doubt, the captain from Wenhua University stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves, and said: "I really think it's possible. Who among you will go first?"