Xia Huanao really hadn't expected Malanqi's speech to last for three hours. How long could a script be? Humans speak and read much faster than they count seconds, so the person who wrote the script must have been quite something.
As if sensing Xia Huanao's thoughts, Li Qiufeng explained, "Ah, Coach Xia only saw the battle segments, so you might not know. The speech the Chairman gives is passed down from generation to generation. It's been centuries, and they say not a single word or punctuation mark has been changed."
Xia Huanao scoffed, "Are you kidding me? Not a single punctuation mark changed? Tens of thousands of words, that's a bit too casual, isn't it?"
"Just bear with it. It'll be over quickly."
Back at the villa, Xia Huanao arranged for everyone to rest and recover, while he himself pondered how to avoid attending the opening ceremony.
He was kidding himself. Three hours! Who could possibly stand still and listen to an old man’s speech for three hours? But according to the tournament rules, all participating teams had to be present, or they would be disqualified. This put Xia Huanao in a difficult position.
Xia Huanao racked his brain all night but couldn't come up with any particularly effective solutions. He finally drifted off to sleep, feeling groggy. It wasn't until the next morning that Wei Chiting woke him up.
"Coach Xia, wake up. It's time for the opening ceremony."
Xia Huanao reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, washed up, changed, and ate breakfast. After breakfast, he joined everyone else on the bus to the main venue of the Pokémon Championship.
Looking up at the sun, Xia Huanao complained, "This darn weather forecast is completely inaccurate. The sun is so strong, it's going to be the death of two people. I should catch a Castform, specifically to change the weather for me."
Yan Chunyu sat beside Xia Huanao. "Alright. Stop complaining. It'll be over once the opening ceremony is finished."
Xia Huanao leaned weakly against Yan Chunyu. "Sister, please stop comforting me. The more you say, the hotter I feel!"
...
At 7:40 AM, Xia Huanao and his group arrived at the venue. Looking at the vast open-air stadium, Xia Huanao sighed. All around him, countless students with the same mindset as him were also looking up at the sky and sighing inwardly.
Xia Huanao found a random spot and sat down, then began to complain about the incompetent tournament organizing committee. "Since you're holding an entrance ceremony, why not be more thorough and set up some awnings? You're making us all bake under the sun like this."
A classmate not far from him looked over. "Bro, it seems we're of the same mind. I also think this Pokémon League event is too inhumane. Luckily, I have a good constitution, otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle it."
As they were talking, a girl nearby chimed in, "Two weaklings. You're guys and you're complaining about the sun. We girls haven't even complained yet. Guys like you deserve to be single forever!"
The boy talking to Xia Huanao was about to retort when Xia Huanao stopped him. "It's fine, let her speak. Being single forever and not needing a boyfriend forever are equally tragic fates."
Xia Huanao's casually uttered words ignited the girl's anger. She raised her fist, about to hit Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao stood still, watching as a few girls beside her held her back.
Xia Huanao found it uninteresting and continued to space out.
At 8:00 AM, the opening ceremony began on time. As the music started, Malanqi and other dignitaries entered and took their seats. Looking at the seats on the stage, Xia Huanao's face fell. "I should have asked..."
Lu Bingming, standing nearby, asked, "Asked what?"
"I should have asked Yu Linglong if there was a seat for me on the stage. Theoretically, with my current status, I should be able to sit there. Even if not in the front row, at least in the second row..."
This was the truth. Given Xia Huanao's status as Honorary Chairman of the Grand Festival and Honorary Vice President of the Pokémon Research Association, there would have been no problem for him to sit on the stage. Not only the second row, but even the front row, next to Malanqi, was not impossible.
Everyone consoled Xia Huanao. "Forget it, Coach Xia. The ceremony has already started. Don't dwell on it anymore."
Xia Huanao could only sigh helplessly. "If only I had known earlier."
After the Pokémon League anthem was played, there was a round of salutes. Thirty-three gunshots were fired, symbolizing the thirty-three regions of the Minglong Kingdom. After these thirty-three salutes, the entrance ceremony for all schools began. The order of entry for each school was determined by their ranking in the previous year's competition. Six Spirits University ranked third last year, so they were scheduled to enter third to last. That was not bad; at least they wouldn't have to stand foolishly in the field for too long.
After completing the entrance ceremony with everyone, Xia Huanao faced what was truly his nightmare: Malanqi's speech.
"Dear trainers, and your Pokémon..."
For everyone present, this speech was truly long-winded and tedious. Malanqi started speaking at 8:30 AM and didn't stop until almost 11:30 AM.
"...Hereby, I sincerely wish all trainers, in this university Pokémon championship, to compete with character and showcase their style..."
When Malanqi's address concluded, there were only scattered claps from the audience. This was understandable, as the speech was like a lullaby; very few people could endure it. The fact that they managed to stay awake and not leave early was already a demonstration of good character.
Following the address was the oath of the judges and the contestants. After that, the entire opening ceremony concluded. Each team was guided by an usher to exit the venue.
Outside the stadium, everyone from Six Spirits University looked at Xia Huanao. After enduring three hours of speech bombardment, they were all listless. Why was Xia Huanao so energetic?
Li Qiufeng asked, "Coach Xia, you were complaining the whole time. Why are you so energetic now?"
Xia Huanao didn't respond. Li Qiufeng asked again, "Coach Xia, why are you so energetic?"
Xia Huanao still didn't reply. Just as Li Qiufeng was about to ask for the third time, Wei Chiting came over and patted Xia Huanao's shoulder. Xia Huanao then turned around. "Is something wrong?"
As he spoke, Xia Huanao took out a pair of earphones from his ears.
Looking at the earphones in Xia Huanao's hand, Li Qiufeng asked, "So you were listening to music the whole time?"
Xia Huanao nodded. "Yes. There's no rule against listening to music during the chairman's address. And let me tell you, the chairman can really talk. My earphones are almost out of battery."
The others were silent. Xia Huanao's method was truly daring. Fortunately, no one had noticed at the time, otherwise, the public outcry would have been deafening.
Xia Huanao looked around. "So, where are we going for lunch? Our opening match is at 1 PM this afternoon."
Li Qiufeng pointed to a restaurant not far away. "We ate there last year. The taste was pretty good."
Xia Huanao didn't hesitate. "Let's go, let's go! I'm starving."
Led by Li Qiufeng, Xia Huanao and his group arrived at the restaurant. It was quite crowded, but mostly with schools that had matches in the afternoon.
This was also due to the unfortunate tournament format arranged by the league. Over a hundred school teams were divided into ten groups, with thirteen teams per group. Even with a single round-robin, there would be over seventy matches within each group. Ten groups meant seven hundred matches. Fortunately, the group stage format was simply five one-on-one matches, with the top three determined by total points. If it were an elimination format, these seven hundred matches would likely take half a year to complete.
At Xia Huanao's suggestion, they found a private room in the restaurant.
Sitting down, Xia Huanao asked Wei Chiting, "Wei Chiting, how many matches are there this afternoon?"
Wei Chiting thought for a moment. "There should be ten matches. The first and second ranked teams from each group are scheduled for this afternoon."
Xia Huanao asked again, "Are there any matches that require special attention among these?"
Wei Chiting took out his tablet and scrolled through it. "There shouldn't be. Only our team has a match today among last year's top thirty-two."
Xia Huanao took the tablet and began to study it. At that moment, the waiter started serving the dishes.
"Coach Xia, time to eat."
Xia Huanao stuffed food into his mouth while studying the match schedule. Yan Chunyu and Xiao Shui quickly took the tablet away.
"Coach Xia, you should eat with peace of mind. This is bad for your health."
"Yes, we are team doctors. We have a responsibility to ensure your health. If you have any arrangements to make, please do so after you finish eating."
Under the gaze of the two gentle and lovely, but currently fierce as mother tigers, team doctors, Xia Huanao had to speed up. He wolfed down his lunch. Watching Xia Huanao's movements, Yan Chunyu asked Xiao Shui, "Do you think we did the wrong thing? He might be worse off now than he was before."
...
After lunch, Xia Huanao picked up the tablet again and began his rapid planning. The others also ate quickly. By 12:30 PM, everyone had finished lunch on time and returned to the venue.
On the way back to the venue, Xia Huanao started complaining again. "So the league's arrangement is flawed. It's strange enough that the opening match starts an hour after the opening ceremony. It's even stranger to include a lunch break in this one hour. Everyone knows you need at least half an hour to rest after lunch before engaging in strenuous activity."
The members of Six Spirits University returned to the main venue amidst Xia Huanao's constant murmuring. Li Qiufeng looked around and pointed to a tent. "Coach Xia, that tent is our preparation area for the preliminary rounds."
Xia Huanao followed Li Qiufeng's gaze. He saw two large tents placed side by side, with a sign bearing the name "Six Spirits University" hanging above them.
Looking at the sign, Xia Huanao shook his head. What was the difference between this and the darn university sports meet he was forced to participate in during his previous life? It was too cheap!