A Failure's hopeful Journey

Chapter 175: The Gathering.

As soon as the principal spoke, the whole atmosphere turned solemn. You Xi Wang would be lying if he said that he was not nervous or scared but when he saw that he was not alone then he calmed down a bit. He took a step forward and You Zhichi followed him. The two walked up to the principal and saw that the other teammates were all still standing in their spots. You Xi Wang turned and spoke, "Are you going to give up before you even try? If so then get lost. Our team does not need weaklings." he did not try to hide the disgust in his voice.

The parents who came to send off their kids did not show any dissatisfaction with the way You Xi Wang spoke but on the inside, they still felt a bit uneasy.

Hercules smiled helplessly and said, "Captian, do you really have to be so ruthless?"

You Xi Wang spoke in a sonorous voice, "To cultivate is to go against the heavens. The heavens will never be hesitant to deal with you but right now your hesitation showcased your resolve. If you are hesitant to take on this assessment then are you worthy of praise? Your resolve is weak. Humph, my Maya is better than you all." with that said he did not speak anymore and turned around to walk to the pier of the school campus to wait for the airship to come over. 

You Zhichi and Maya followed, Yuki, Allan, Fenny, and Neo followed him with their spirit beasts. Watching this Rafael Sterling, Illahi, Lena and Snow also followed them. The rest of the guys did not hesitate anymore and walked forward. Madison Midnight was already standing on the pier. You Xi Wang greeted her and talked about the beast formation she had told him about earlier. He had no intention to cheer up the team. The reason was simple, you cannot depend on others to uphold you. You need to learn how to control your emotions.

After a few minutes, an airship docked to the pier. This airship was a standard model owned by mostly all the council affiliated organizations. The ship docked and the principal of the school, William Trevor, came over and he was about to give an encouraging speech when You Xi Wang spoke, "Sir, save the words. They need to cheer themselves up." his bland voice was similar to a knife in his heart. William Trevor could only shake his head. He still said, "Do your best everyone. Pay attention to your safety."

You Xi Wang held Madison Midnight gently and took her to board the airship. After everyone got onboard You Xi Wang came back to the trap door and spoke to his aunt, "Beauty Bei, take care of yourself and don't become a wrinkly old hag like Granny Xin."

Chen Qianbei just thought that this brat did not greet her farewell when he took off but hearing his words she wished he left quietly. A blue vein popped on her forehead. She replied, "Brat if you did not score well. Then I will break your buttocks to pieces."

All she heard was a burst of hearty laughter. It was You Xi Wang who laughed of course. Chen QIanbei shook her head and drove off his Countach back to You Mansion. You Xi Wang passed the keys to her the moment she came here. 

The airship took off with the team leaving only an empty pier and the retreating backs of the anxious families. The team was to report at the Imperial Sector. They would all gather in one place. Under the watchful gazes of the council officials. The council headquarters was located in the imperial sector as well. This venue was selected to keep the event safe from the attacks of the dark dwellers. No matter how brazen they are, they would never attack the Imperial Sector. 

The team flew in the airship for a period of 24 hours. Onboard, the team finally cheered up. They all held a meeting to talk about different strategies they could use in the assessment. Madison Midnight also joined the meeting and told them about the rules. They were only allowed to carry on some basic medical supplies, arms, and ammunition. Only the technical advisor was allowed to carry some ready to eat supplies but that was also limited so that the others do not exploit this provision. The spirit beasts are not counted as separate members as long as they share the bond of equals. 

You Xi Wang pondered a bit and then said, "Download the medical books from the codex hall. prioritize the books with first aid skills where you don't need to use medicines. Store a big amount of Sugar and Salt in your space rings. Glycerinite as well. Hercules, you are responsible for buying the supplies as soon as we land in the Imperial Sector. I will go with Teacher Madison to buy some text slips on survival. Get it done we only have a limited time before the gathering assembly."

The team sprang up in action. You Xi Wang went off to meditate and comprehend the arrays. He has reached the peak of level one arrays and was now trying to break the barrier of level two. He sat down in his cabin and entered the state of comprehension while the team was collecting data. His Codex Account was unavailable because Lily and Celestia were using it for him. The system in the meanwhile communicated with LUCY and checked her growth process. It was estimated that by the time the team came out of the dimensional space. LUCY would be able to communicate with them just like a normal human would. 

...

The airship landed and docked to a pier it was assigned to. Inside the ship, You Xi Wang addressed the team, "You guys, whatever you see out there act calm. Even if you are amazed by the city do not show it on your face and act calm. Lest some native call you a country bumpkin. If that happened, you will not be able to tolerate it and will definitely cause a ruckus that will affect our image. The survival test will not start in the dimensional pocket. It starts the moment you step out of this ship. Do you get it?" his tone was firm with a calm voice. 

Everyone nodded and got off the ship. You Xi Wang told Maya to hide inside their shadows. Night Hounds and Snow Hounds have a special ability to hide in the shadows of their companions. The beasts followed the order and hid inside the shadows as told. This was done to keep the cards hidden. You Xi Wang led the team off the ship and was attended by an official tasked to lead them to the Imperial square. You Xi Wang asked the official if they can have the location of the square and go there by themselves. The official asked why did he want to delay. You Xi Wang told him honestly that they would like to make some last-minute preparations. 

The official expressed his understanding and allowed them to leave. Hercules and Neo left to get the bandages and sugar packets while You Xi Wang and Madison Midnight left to shop for some text slips. The rest were taken to the square by the Official. In absence of You Xi Wang and Madison Midnight, You Zhichi and Fenny took the command. You Zhichi, Yuki, and Snow wore a mask as soon as they got down from the ship. The mask covered almost all of their faces leaving only eyes to be visible. The mask gave off a weird feeling. They did this so that silk pant boys don't bother them. 

This also had another use, to prevent You Xi Wang, 'Mr. Possesive' from raising a storm. The team followed the official while keeping in touch with You Xi Wang and Hercules. They were transmitting their live location to the two teams. You Xi Wang walked with Madison while holding her hand. Madison was prone to falling and colliding with the people on the bustling streets of the Imperial Sector. This place was a hub for every trade union and you can find anything and everything here. Madison Midnight was once a special task force operative and was familiar with this place. She led You Xi Wang to a derelict shop. The two entered the shop, and an older man greeted them. He recognized Madison and spoke, "Maddie, long time no see, child."

Madison smiled and greeted back, "How have you been, Uncle Logan."

Logan smiled and replied, "Been fine. What wind blew you here?" he turned to look at You Xi Wang and said, "Boy, this little girl is family, be good to her and you can have a discount here." he mistook You Xi Wang to be Madison's boyfriend. 

Madison did not understand what Logan meant and took it as a gesture of kindness. You Xi Wang was the same as his mind was not focused on gossip now. You Xi Wang spoke, "Sir, can I get some text slips recording Medical tips and tricks?"

Logan smiled and pointed to a shelf. You Xi Wang spotted a chair and helped Madison to sit down. he spoke, "Teacher, You can catch up with your friend, I will gather the text slips."

With that said he walked up to the shelf and started scanning through the text slips. Text slip was a piece of jade that recorded the text inside an array. This array could be triggered by channeling the spirit energy through it and the people could read. These slips were an ancient method and so they were rarely found. As Madison and Logan talked about what was going on with them in life. You Xi Wang has scanned through almost all of the text slips on the shelf. He turned and spoke to Madison, "I am done, teacher. We should leave, the team is at the square and the assembly is about to start. Hercules and Neo are on the way too."

Madison nodded and stood up. You Xi Wang walked over and took out 20 slips and paid the bill. Then he held Medison's hand and walked to the square. 

Madison spoke, "Xi Wang, there will be a speech by every team captain. It will take time and our team is placed at the last spot." her voice was serene and soft. 

You Xi Wang frowned and said, "Why such special treatment?"

Madison spoke, "First come first serve and our team reached here last."

You Xi Wang snorted, "What is this basis?"

Madison replied with a chuckle, "We could have been here early but someone was in seclusion."

You Xi Wang immediately deflated right then and there. He shook his head and led Madison to the square.