Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

On the flight back to Jinling, the group began their usual post-game analysis.

With footage shot by Auntie Lou, the replay analysis became much easier.

"Okay, let's take a look at the footage," Yan Yu said calmly as he dragged the mouse, "Our victory this time was mainly due to the successful execution of our segmentation tactics. As everyone saw, Qin Meng and Zhou Hongyu charged ahead; after turning the corner, they became separated from the three in the rear.

"This separation within the team prevented them from providing good mutual support, thereby creating opportunities for us to isolate and defeat them."

"May I add a question?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile, "Do you guys know why it was Zhou Hongyu and Qin Meng who charged ahead?"

"Is it because those two are good at making breakthroughs?" Lin Ning asked subconsciously.

"It's not that simple," Su Yunjin pondered, "Zhou Hongyu was at the very front because her tactical style is just like that, she likes to lead by example. As for Qin Meng... is it because of Ningning?"

"Exactly." Yan Yu praised highly, "Secretary Su is indeed the type with a clever mind, it's because of Lin Ning."

"Wait, why is it because of me?" Lin Ning was suddenly confused.

"Simple, because their team didn't have a genuine output-oriented Sword Immortal," Chen Lingyun revealed the answer, "Qin Meng follows the Body Cultivating Cultivator's path and is not too reliant on Sword Control Technique; Zhang Huaide, as the deputy leader, already bears the burden of command, and since Zhou Hongyu is brainless, he's the sole planner of the tactics, busy with matters, naturally not having time to specialize in Sword Control."

"When we were jointly clearing the way outside the Mysterious Realm, Lin Ning fully demonstrated her excessively strong Sword Control ability," Yan Yu continued her analysis, "Fast, agile, and of course long-handed, this would make Zhang Huaide realize that once they entered the team combat phase, Lin Ning's Sword Control would pose a great threat to them at a distance."

"Neither Tang Xiaolian nor Meng Qingxi could match Ningning in swordsmanship combat," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Since Zhang Huaide can't outclass her in swordsmanship and he also has to concentrate on command, the task of containing Ningning falls to either Zhou Hongyu or Qin Meng, but Zhou Hongyu needs to be reserved to deal with our Yan Yu... Understand?"

"Oh!" Lin Ning suddenly had an epiphany, exclaiming in surprise, "So that's why in the footage, Qin Meng was at the forefront! In their tactical arrangement, he needed to rush over first to contain me!"

"Exactly," Yan Yu said, "Qin Meng practices the 'Dragon Elephant Nirvana Divine Skill,' with excellent endurance, the only shortcoming being his limited reach. If he had started in the back, by the time he reached you, you would have already stricken the entire field with your Sword Control several times."

"So he had to stand in the front row with Zhou Hongyu, which provided us a tactical window of opportunity, fully isolating Qin and Zhou from the three in the rear."

"Look at this part here." He continued to drag the mouse, bringing the progress bar forward, "Zhou Hongyu cast the Great Bright Fire Dao Method and then unfortunately hit the ghost mansion's Judge. At this point, if Qin Meng had chosen to support the rear and leave Zhou Hongyu here... your side of the fight would have been tough."

The girls stared at the footage, all falling silent. Did she "unfortunately" hit the ghost mansion's Judge?

Why does it look like Miss Zhou was intending to attack you, but ended up being turned against by you, dragging the ghost mansion's Judge in as a shield?

"Exactly," Chen Lingyun said with a radiant smile and a slightly mocking tone, "But why did Qin Meng stay by Zhou Hongyu's side?"

"Why indeed?" Yan Yu knew she had seen through the clues, but there was really no need to discuss personal feelings here, so he feigned ignorance, "It's strange. Although we don't know his motivation, Qin Meng's choice here was undoubtedly fatal, because the trio of Zhang Huaide, Tang Xiaolian, and Meng Qingxi didn't have a strong enough attacker to break through the ambush you four had set up."

"Forced to deal with the disadvantageous situation of three against four, with their best fighters Zhou Hongyu and Qin Meng unable to assist, it was inevitable that Zhang Huaide's team would eventually be defeated," Chen Lingyun said with a twinkle in her eye, "The detachment between the front and rear, having all the assaulters in the front row, this was the key factor that decided the outcome of this confrontation."

"The key factor that decided the outcome of this confrontation, isn't it me, Yan Yu, the strongest Yan team leader, who alone restrained the ghost mansion's Judge, Zhou Hongyu, and Qin Meng on the spot in the earlier phase?" Yan Yu corrected with a slight frown.

"Indeed," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "Zhou Hongyu suddenly shot the Flame Spear toward the rear midway through, not only forcing Sister Zhao to move aside but also causing Yun Jin to lose control of Zhang Huaide. Our leader indeed played an indispensable role in this regard."

"That's right!" Zhao Yuanzhen joined in. With a rare chance to knock down the thief's arrogance, she would not hold back, "If it weren't for that Great Bright Fire attack, I would have taken Zhang Huaide out of the game long ago! The battle was dragged out another ten minutes or so because of Yan Yu's fault!"

"Bullshit!" Yan Yu said with disdainful contempt, "I'm already taking on three by myself, and you expect them not to be able to make a move? Why don't you just tell me to instantly kill everyone on the field?"

"Oh really?" Chen Lingyun covered her mouth with her hand, pretending to be shocked, "Isn't it normal for the strongest captain in the world to instantly kill everyone on the field?"

"Alright, let's continue with the review of the game," Yan Yu glossed over the comment and said, "Let's start the analysis one by one. First is your vice-captain's ambush strategy—the position she designed, I have one word to describe it, 'terrible'! Two words, 'very terrible'! Three words, 'extremely terrible'!"

"Isn't saying 'extremely terrible' a bit too much?" Lin Ning couldn't help but retort, "I mean, we did win the game with that ambush strategy!"

"Okay," Yan Yu swiftly switched gears, "Based on Lin Ning's feedback, I've decided to change my evaluation to 'very terrible'. Why do I say that? Because the positioning was just not clever enough. If I were Zhang Huaide, I would have at least three ways to instantly see through your ambush."

"If you were Zhang Huaide, I wouldn't need to design such a position," Chen Lingyun was still smiling, "Because Zhou Hongyu would go straight for a life-or-death internal fight with you."

"Stop it, you two!" Seeing the captain and vice captain starting their usual bickering, Lin Ning finally lost her cool, "Can we just seriously finish reviewing this battle?!"

——————

Back at Jinling Airport, Qi Changping routinely came to pick them up.

"Let me make this clear," Yan Yu reminded as soon as he got into the car, "Don't throw some commendation meeting again and drag me up there to speak on short notice."

"Don't worry," Qi Changping smiled and said, "That's only done periodically, not after every Mysterious Realm. Otherwise, the students and faculty can't handle it either."

"That's a relief... So, how much is the prize money this time?" Yan Yu asked.

"Each person gets 7 million. Why do you ask? You're not short on money now, are you?"

"I am," Yan Yu said righteously, "I just bought a house near the school, and a big chunk of money went into that. Moreover, I still have to get married and have kids. I need to start saving for things like baby formula."

"The military should have a unified arrangement for the progeny of you Cultivators, surely there will be great welfare policies," Qi Changping held the steering wheel and said with a laugh, "But instead of thinking about marriage and children, shouldn't you first find a girlfriend?"

"What?" Yan Yu immediately became alert, "Is the army planning to set me up on a mixer?"

The conversation among the girls in the back had been lively, but suddenly it fell as silent as a graveyard.

"Not a mixer, an interview," Qi Changping replied, "There's a media team within our military forces. They're planning to interview you in a while, make a special feature—incidentally boosting your popularity in front of Cultivators nationwide."

"Why interview me?" Yan Yu was somewhat bewildered, "Although I am handsome and powerful, wouldn't it make more sense to go for someone who's good at talking for an interview?"

"The general thinks that your statements will have a... certain interview effect," Qi Changping said truthfully, "These days, young people don't like the official-sounding stuff; they prefer your kind of informal speaking style. Didn't you do pretty well improvising during the last commendation meeting?"

"When have I ever spoken informally?" Yan Yu immediately protested, "As a team captain, every word I say is thoroughly thought through, you know?"

"Can I retort to that statement?" Lin Ning poked her head forward from the back.

"No, shut up!"