"Senior Sister, who would've thought we'd face off so soon?"
Staring at the screen where their portraits had appeared, He Yongsen felt a blazing fire ignite in his eyes.
Ever since Teacher Guo made his arrangements, he had eagerly awaited the day he'd face Su Qingxue.
And at this moment, Su Qingxue wore an equally confident smile on her face.
"You're right!"
"I never expected us to meet this early, in the Top 16."
She had long anticipated a clash with He Yongsen, too.
After all—besides He Yongsen, no other freshman could truly pressure her in battle.
And it wasn't just the two of them who felt this way—the people around them also eagerly awaited this showdown between disciples.
Su Qingxue needed no introduction.
Her Beedrill and Nidoqueen had both delivered dazzling performances throughout the freshman competition.
As for He Yongsen—though each of his battles thus far could be described as arduous...
Those who understood his circumstances clearly knew—how terrifying his ace Arcanine's true strength was!
Thus, the coming match was destined to be an intense dragon-tiger clash.
Aside from those two—Hu Yan'er, whose opponent was no longer deliberately arranged by Guo Yi, had finally shown her innate luck.
Her next opponent mainly specialized in Water-type Pokémon—and even their Pokémon's strengths were near the bottom among the remaining sixteen contestants.
One had to admit—as expected from someone possessing Ash's Template!
Perhaps—If not for Teacher Guo's earlier interference, Hu Yan'er might have easily sailed straight into the quarterfinals.
However, after reaching the quarterfinals, luck would no longer play such a significant role.
After all...
Even Ash himself, in the original series, had stumbled countless times in quarterfinal rounds.
...
Night fell.
Shanghai Pokémon University was still busy making preparations for tomorrow's Top 16 battles.
Outside the university—Ling Si, the leader of the Flying Eagle Gang, was already in a state of deep frustration.
"Boss, several more of our territories were snatched away by the Azure Dragon Society."
"Not only that—many of our underlings have run off," Lin Ke reported cautiously, keeping his head lowered.
Previously—Lin Ke had failed disastrously during the attempt to kidnap Su Qingxue, suffering heavy losses among his Pokémon.
At one point, he'd nearly been cast out of the gang's inner circle entirely.
Who would've guessed—Lie Ke's crushing defeat would cause a huge exodus within the Flying Eagle Gang, giving Lin Ke another chance to regain Ling Si's trust.
Now, upon hearing Lin Ke's report, Ling Si's brow furrowed tightly, like a twisted rope.
"Where did the Azure Dragon Society suddenly find so many people?"
After years of conflict with the Azure Dragon Society, Ling Si wouldn't say he knew every detail about them—but at least, he had a good grasp of their approximate strength.
Ever since Lie Ke abandoned the Flying Eagle Gang, Ling Si had intentionally surrendered several territories, avoiding direct conflict and buying time to prepare.
Given Azure Dragon Society's current size, it should've taken them at least half a month to digest those abandoned territories.
How could they possibly have spare energy to continue attacking the Flying Eagle Gang?
Faced with Ling Si's questioning, Lin Ke's expression turned increasingly ugly.
"Boss, while it's true that these recent attacks are attributed to the Azure Dragon Society—"
"The majority of attackers are smaller gangs that used to depend on us. The Azure Dragon Society itself only sent a few key people."
Who could've imagined...
Before Azure Dragon Society even made a significant move, these minor gangs had eagerly betrayed their former master, currying favor with the Azure Dragon Society.
These smaller gangs' demands were extremely simple:
All they wanted was amnesty and a guarantee of keeping their own businesses intact.
As for territories seized from the Flying Eagle Gang—they handed them over willingly.
Faced with such generous terms, Ye Qing naturally had no reason to refuse.
She even deliberately offered additional benefits to reward these smaller gangs—
Ensuring they'd attack the Flying Eagle Gang with even greater enthusiasm.
Bang!
Hearing this, Ling Si slammed his fist furiously onto the table.
"Those damned, ungrateful dogs!"
"How has my Flying Eagle Gang ever mistreated these groups?"
"Our gang hasn't even completely fallen yet, but these bastards are already eager to bite the hand that feeds them!"
Back then, Ling Si had granted these smaller gangs numerous benefits to rapidly expand his own power.
Who would've thought—that before the bigger powers even made a move, these "rabid dogs" he had raised would betray him first?
Facing Ling Si's rage, Lin Ke simply lowered his head in silence.
To be honest—Lin Ke secretly agreed with the actions of these smaller gangs.
After all, anyone with eyes could see that the Flying Eagle Gang was doomed.
If they didn't take action now while the Azure Dragon Society was still short-handed, were they supposed to wait until the Azure Dragon Society had utterly crushed the Flying Eagle Gang?
By that time...
Even their own survival would be in question.
If Lin Ke hadn't been deeply bound to the Flying Eagle Gang...
Perhaps—even he would've fled long ago.
The reason he hadn't left yet was partly because he was still curious about whether Ling Si had any hidden trump cards. Another part was taking advantage of this chaos to rapidly increase his own strength.
If the day truly came when the Flying Eagle Gang collapsed, at least he'd have the means to protect himself.
"You can leave first," Ling Si coldly ordered Lin Ke.
"In the next few days, find a chance to teach these traitors a harsh lesson."
"The Flying Eagle Gang might be in decline, but we're certainly not weaklings to be bullied by any random cat or dog."
Ling Si's eyes flashed dangerously as he spoke.
"Yes, Boss!"
"I'll get it done immediately."
Lin Ke nodded obediently and turned around, quickly leaving the room.
Watching Lin Ke's departing figure, Ling Si's cold gaze no longer held any hint of concealment.
These past few days, Lin Ke's actions—Ling Si had seen them all clearly.
Resources, Pokémon…
In just these few short days, Lin Ke had applied for supplies five or six times.
As for his reasons?
Simply claiming that his current strength was inadequate—and thus, he couldn't fulfill important tasks.
Actually, Ling Si knew exactly what Lin Ke was thinking, but right now, he truly had no one else he could rely on.
He had no choice but to let Lin Ke's actions slide.
What Ling Si hadn't expected, though, was that this indulgence would cause Lin Ke to grow even bolder.
With Lin Ke's strength, those small gangs were nothing—there was no way he should have lost territory to them.
Yet he still did.
This clearly meant Lin Ke was intentionally slacking off to avoid further clashes with the Azure Dragon Society.
He was the very definition of an ungrateful traitor among traitors!
"One day, I'll make all of you regret this."
Ling Si let out a cold, disdainful snort.
At the moment—the Flying Eagle Gang was already falling apart internally. If he tried to deal with Lin Ke now, the whole gang would collapse completely.
"Dad, I'm back!"
At this moment, Ling Yun entered the room with his head down.
Seeing him, Ling Si hurriedly stepped forward.
"Son, how was it? Did you manage to contact your teacher?"
Although Lie Ke had already said he would abandon the Flying Eagle Gang, Ling Si still clung desperately to a sliver of hope.
He hoped Lie Ke might still lend a hand, if only for his son's sake.
If Lie Ke intervened, the current crisis facing the gang could instantly stabilize.
However—right now, Ling Yun was also visibly gloomy. He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but his throat felt blocked as if stuffed with a bitter, unripe persimmon, making him lose any desire to say a word.
He had exhausted every method he knew.
Forget contacting his teacher—he couldn't even reach his senior brother, Su La.
From this—Ling Yun understood clearly that he'd been completely abandoned.
Seeing his son's defeated expression, Ling Si knew immediately that he'd failed.
"Damn it!"
"If only Lie Ke had stayed a few more days, the gang wouldn't have ended up in this state!"
Ling Si bitterly beat his chest, frustration evident in his eyes.
Truthfully...
At the very beginning, the Azure Dragon Society's counterattack wasn't particularly fierce.
After all, even though Lie Ke had lost, he wasn't someone just anyone could provoke.
Because of this, the Azure Dragon Society had been cautious in its initial attacks.
However—several days later, once they realized Lie Ke was no longer with the Flying Eagle Gang...
Once they saw the Flying Eagle Gang was truly abandoned...
The Azure Dragon Society's assault turned swift and ruthless. And other gangs, catching wind of this, began quietly attacking as well.
Sending charcoal during snowstorms was rare, but kicking a drowning dog was common practice.
Just like years ago, when the Azure Dragon Society's own leader vanished, they too had pounced without hesitation.
Between gangs, there were never eternal friends—only eternal interests.
"Son, since Lie Ke is unreachable, what about the other matter?"
"Did you find any factions willing to absorb our Flying Eagle Gang?"
Ever since Lie Ke announced he was abandoning them, Ling Si had no more illusions about Lie Ke's support.
His attempts to reach Lie Ke were only meant to buy some time by continuing to bluff using Lie Ke's name.
Meanwhile, he needed desperately to find a new backer.
Ling Si understood clearly:
With his current capabilities, holding the gang together was impossible. Finding another powerful organization was his only hope.
Even if it meant being swallowed whole, as long as the gang survived in some form, he could accept it.
However—facing his father's question, Ling Yun only shook his head in defeat.
"Dad, right now all those factions treat us like we're snakes or scorpions—they can't avoid us fast enough."
"I approached several of them personally, and they didn't even bother to listen before driving me out."
"What about the Bai family? Didn't they always want to recruit us?" Ling Si persisted, unwilling to give up.
"It's no use!"
"The Bai family's the same. Right now, they don't dare provoke Guo Yi," Ling Yun replied helplessly.
Who could have imagined that a few months ago, the Flying Eagle Gang that was once a prize every faction wanted their hands on.
Was reduced to this! No one even wanted to lay their hands on them!
Still...
This outcome wasn't entirely unexpected.
After witnessing the terrifying power of Beedrill and Zapdos firsthand, how could any of these family leaders possibly dare offend Guo Yi just to shelter the Flying Eagle Gang?
"Ai…"
"Could it be… the heavens truly wish to destroy my Flying Eagle Gang?"
Ling Si slumped weakly into his chair, despair settling deeply in his heart.
His subordinates fleeing, no allies willing to shelter him—Ling Si was utterly helpless, unable to preserve the legacy of his lifetime's work.
At that moment—one of the gang members rushed into the room, breathing heavily.
"Boss, Boss!"
"Some…someone's looking for you outside!"
Ling Si waved him off weakly.
"Who is it?"
"It's Tang Hu—the Tang family's third elder."
Hearing this name, Ling Yun immediately exploded in anger.
"Tang Hu? What's he doing here?"
"Didn't the Tang family just come a few days ago, explicitly declaring they no longer had anything to do with us?"
"And now he dares show up again—is he here to humiliate us?"
Only a few days prior—the Tang family's first elder had personally led people to the Flying Eagle Gang specifically to cut ties, preventing his foolish younger brother from making any more mistakes.
So naturally, Ling Yun was furious to see Tang Hu here now.
However—Ling Si remained calm, asking again: "Is Tang Hu alone?"
The gang member shook his head, "There's a young man with him. Judging by how Tang Hu's treating him, he seems to respect him quite a bit."
"A young man?"
Ling Si's eyebrows knitted together tightly.
If Tang Hu had come alone, it'd still be understandable.
After all, the earlier visit had clearly been arranged by the first elder and didn't necessarily reflect Tang Hu's personal intentions.
But now, with this unknown young man appearing as well, Ling Si had no idea what Tang Hu was planning.
"Well, let's meet first and see what they're after."
In any case, the Flying Eagle Gang was already like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
For Tang Hu to visit at this moment, there must be some important matter involved.
Thus, Ling Si instructed his son carefully:
"Xiao Yun, go and politely invite Tang Hu inside."
"Mind your attitude. We can't afford to create more enemies now."
"Alright, Dad."
Although Ling Yun felt reluctant, right now he had no choice but to obediently comply.
Shortly after—Ling Yun led Tang Hu and the young man into the reception hall.