Just one day later, Ella called Julian to inform him that all ten participants for the World Youth Championship had arrived, and asked Julian, the team leader, to come over.
With a look of reluctance, Julian walked toward the door.
"Slow~"
Slowking: "Will you be back for dinner tonight?"
"I'll be back. Slowking, I feel like having seafood tonight."
"Slow~"
Slowking nodded.
Celebi quickly chimed in, "Slowking, I want barbecue!"
Jirachi raised its tiny hand: "I want hot pot!"
'Seafood, barbecue, hot pot—you three really have no shame. Just work me to death, why don't you?'
Slowking called out to its little apprentice and went out shopping, while Julian also left the villa, bringing along the two little ones.
At the sports center in the eastern part of the imperial city, Ella and the ten selected participants were already gathered. Among them were four people Julian knew—the other six, however, were complete strangers.
"It seems our team leader really is Julian," Rowan said glancing at Ella, knowing that she was Julian's secretary. Since she was here now, it was highly likely that Julian would be their team leader.
They had once been teammates exploring secret realms together, but now he was going to be their team leader.
"Ah, should I call him Julian or Teacher Walker?" Asher was a bit confused.
"Hmph, no matter how high his status, he's still my cousin," Ember said confidently. She was Julian's distant cousin—and that identity was already firmly established.
Compared to these four, the other six participants looked both eager and nervous about the arrival of their soon-to-be teacher.
Then—
"TRESSS!"
A piercing cry echoed above the stadium as a fiery-red figure appeared in the sky. With each flap of its wings, flames scattered downward.
At the same time, an overwhelming pressure descended from above.
The expressions of the ten instantly turned serious. After ten seconds, some began to sweat profusely, large beads of sweat rolling down their cheeks.
As the pressure intensified, they felt the air around them grow as heavy as mercury, making even breathing feel like a luxury.
Fifteen seconds… thirty… fifty…
Just as some were about to faint from the strain, the pressure vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there.
With the pressure gone, six of the ten completely collapsed to the ground. Only Ember and other three remained standing, though they looked somewhat disheveled, with strands of hair sticking to their faces.
"Tres~"
Moltres descended, carrying Julian on its back. Its fiery eyes swept over the people below, filled with unmistakable disdain.
'Pathetic. I didn't even exert my full strength, and you're already about to collapse.'
Having only recently become a Champion, Moltres was still brimming with energy and looking for a way to vent. It had expected these ten to provide some entertainment—but the result was a total disappointment.
Julian stood quietly in place, watching as the six who had fallen struggled to catch their breath. It took about a minute before they slowly rose to their feet.
His gaze swept over Ember and the other three who had remained standing. Their endurance was within his expectations, with Pierce performing the best among them.
After all, unlike Ember, Rowan, and Asher—who all came from major families—Pierce's background was far more modest. The fact that he'd managed to rise through the military ranks to his current level was entirely due to his relentless determination and innate talent.
Once everyone had managed to stand in line again, Julian remarked lightly, "Not bad."
"Ella, hand me the list."
Ella, who stood nearby, immediately handed him the roster. She hadn't been targeted by Moltres's aura earlier, so her expression remained perfectly composed.
Julian only knew the participants' names before now—he hadn't reviewed their detailed profiles.
He skipped over Pierce and the other three he already knew, then read through the rest:
- Evan Frost, from the Frost family in Imperial Capital, an Ice-type trainer, 29 years old, peak Elite.
- Noah Marsh, from the Marsh family in Yale Province, a Water-type trainer, 30 years old, peak Elite.
- Adrian Greenfield, third son of Champion William, a Grass-type trainer, 28 years old, early-stage Pseudo-Champion.
- Marcus Gray, a military trainer, Psychic-type trainer, 29 years old, early-stage Pseudo-Champion.
- Sky Kingston, from the Kingston family in Eastvale Province, an Electric-type trainer, 28 years old, peak Elite.
- Ian Forge, from the Forge family in Mountain City, a Ground-type trainer, 29 years old, peak Elite.
---
Among these six, aside from Marcus—who, like Pierce, hailed from the military—the others all came from major aristocratic families, and all were heirs of prominent clans.
It was nearly impossible for small or medium-sized families to cultivate trainers who could reach the peak Elite-level before the age of 30.
As for civilian trainers, it was even more unlikely for them to reach that level.
Champion William was the only one of his kind to emerge in Drakoria in nearly a century. For a civilian trainer to become a second William was an exceedingly difficult feat.
All ten individuals had strength levels of at least peak Elite.
Counting Ember and the other three, that made four at the Elite peak, and six at the Pseudo-Champion level.
All ten of them were between the age of 28 and 30.
Looking at the ten people standing before him, Julian suddenly sighed and said, "I really envy you all—you get to represent Drakoria in the World Youth Championship. Unlike me—though I'm younger than you—I can't participate. I can only go as your instructor."
He even shook his head lightly as he said it.
'It seems I'm really not the protagonist of some novel. If I were, I'd definitely qualify for this competition, shine brightly on the stage, win the championship in the end, and rely on the tournament's prizes to significantly boost my strength.'
Hearing those words, all ten of them, including Ella, felt that Julian was just showing off. But even though Julian was bragging, there was nothing they could do about it.
After all, he had the strength to back it up. They couldn't even withstand the aura of his Moltres—what right did they have to complain?
Seeing that no one stepped forward to challenge him, Julian cursed them inwardly for being cowards.
"There are hundreds of countries participating in this competition. But you only need to pay attention to the contestants from Celestria and Volkaria. As for the rest—they're all trash."
Although there were many countries on this planet, only three powers truly held sway, and Drakoria was currently the strongest among them.
That was precisely why the World Youth Championship Tournament was being taken more seriously by Drakoria than ever before.
There thoughts were simple:
'Since we've become the world's strongest nation, aside from Julian, shouldn't we also showcase our other talented youths? So for this competition, we simply have to win first place—that would befit our status as the world's leading power, wouldn't it?'
Thus, the Elder Council hoped that Julian would serve as the team instructor this time, training these ten individuals for a month to enhance their abilities.
Ideally, in a month, all of them would reach the Pseudo-Champion level—that would really make a statement.
"Even for Celestria and Volkaria—don't worry too much," Julian added lazily. "Celestria's pretty much crippled anyway—I took out five of their top trainers last time, so their threat level has dropped significantly."
"That leaves Volkaria as our only real opponent. Just… go easy on them when you fight—they're our allies, after all."
The ten were completely dumbfounded.
The competition hadn't even started yet, but from the way Julian was talking, it sounded like they had already won the championship.
*****
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