Yet, reality crushed the hopes of the various faction leaders. This indicated that they were unlikely to obtain even the slightest share of this big fish that was the New Cadet Regiment. They could not help but secretly sigh in regret. If they had known that the new cadets this year were so outstanding, they would have long taken action instead of watching from the sidelines and allowing Leiting to take possession of this decisive opportunity right now.

The various leaders could already envision the future. After Leiting swallowed the entire New Cadet Regiment, their influence would definitely expand once again. With that, the position of the number one faction in the Military Academy would not be changing in the slightest for several years, firmly belonging to the Leiting Mecha Clan.

Putting aside the bitterness and regret of the major factions, the senior students observing the fight believed that the Leiting Mecha Clan would inevitably obtain victory in this last match without any suspense. While everyone was in shock and excitement due to Huo Zhenyu's appearance, the new cadets' reactions caused the surrounding people to raise their eyebrows, to the extent that those senior students believed that the new cadets had limited outlook and experience, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.

It turned out that, after beholding Ling Lan, the powerhouse of their hearts, ascending the stage, the new cadets were unable to restrain their excitement as they stood up in succession, raising their arms and shouting, "Boss Lan will certainly win!"

That's right, in the hearts of every member of the New Cadet Regiment, especially students from Central Scout Academy, Boss Lan who had guided them in winning the grand armed melee and taking control of the s.p.a.cecraft would never be defeated.

This display of the New Cadet Regiment caused the others to be secretly shocked at the position Boss Lan held in the members' hearts. Previously having considered them to already be in their grasp, Lin Zhidong's expression changed subtly upon witnessing this scene as he recalled Boss Huo's warning. He began having misgivings towards Ling Lan while pondering on methods to diminish Ling Lan's prestige among the new cadets after taking in the New Cadet Regiment.

At this moment, no matter how slow-witted the various leaders of each faction were, they were now clear about the devil who had caused Zhang Jing-an to be so apprehensive.

In Wuji's cabin, Han Yu's face suddenly darkened after hearing the fanatic shouts from the new cadets. "Apparently, the aberrant Zhang Jing-an mentioned should be this person." Besides him, there should be no one else who could achieve this.

Han Yu's gaze was shadowed as he looked at that stern, lean youth on the stage, and he felt a complicated emotion silently emerge within him. Thinking back on the time when they themselves had entered the Academy, even though they were proud and arrogant, they had had no option but to join the Wuji faction which belonged to their galaxy as they were under pressure from all sides.

Even so, as 1st-year cadets, they had always been ordered about and lectured by the older cadets with seniority and no one would help them. They could only clamp down their tails and endure the toughest first year, and then work their utmost hardest to increase their strength later on. After that, he had expended great effort to climb up the hierarchy, fighting and scheming, to finally become one of the leaders of Wuji Mecha Clan.

Han Yu was simply unwilling to recall how much hards.h.i.+p he had endured during that time. He had originally thought that this was an inevitable route every cadet had to walk without exception, as even the formidable Thunder King, Qiao Ting, had walked that same path.

Yet against everyone's expectations, the new cadets this year had taken an unprecedented path. To avoid being bullied and enslaved, they had established a faction belonging to them alone that was not weaker than the other influential powers almost immediately after entering the military academy. Then, soon after, they had accepted Leiting's challenge in a high profile manner, causing the new cadets to become the focus of the entire academy. And at present, they were tied against Leiting, proving their strength.

Despite all this, Han Yu did not believe the new cadets would be the final victors. Still, based on their performance on the stage, the senior members of Leiting would certainly refrain from provoking them even if they joined the Leiting Mecha Clan. It was apt to say that, in the military academy, the strong were respected, and honour was obtained through strength.

Wei Ji heard Han Yu's words and quietly sighed. "Seems like we've belittled this aberrant. It's no wonder Zhang Jing-an regarded him with importance while simultaneously avoiding him."

Since the third contestant from the New Cadet Regiment was already at mid-level intermediate stage Qi-Jin, it was reckoned that Ling Lan should be at mid-level advanced stage Qi-Jin at worst. Even he had to look up to this realm as his physical skills had only entered the early stages of Qi-Jin, because they had concentrated on mecha piloting all these years …

Wei Ji felt lingering fear just thinking about it — the strength of new cadets this year had exceeded his expectations. Fortunately, he had not provoked them on impulse from the start, as Wuji did not have a solid foundation like Leiting. If they were to have fought on the stage, the outcome of the battle would have been hard to say.

Zhao Jun heard them, but he was unconvinced. He sneered and said, "Being good at physical combat doesn't mean he'll also be outstanding as a mecha operator…" That dismissive look of his caused Han Yu and Wei Ji to involuntarily purse their lips. However, they were aware that Zhao Jun was a frank and outspoken person, so they did not refute his words.

Having heard what was said, Li Lanfeng smiled. "Zhao Jun, you shouldn't speak this way. A person who performs well in battles won't be too inferior as a mecha operator." A person with robust physique would often possess a slight advantage in mecha piloting. This was also the reason why the military academy had emphasized training up their physiques as it was unlikely for the majority of experts to have bad physiques.

"Hmph, that might not be true. Isn't Zhang Jing-an a mecha cripple?" When Zhang Jing-an had entered the military academy, he was the only new cadet who reached Qi-Jin stage and was top-ranked among the new cadets. Unfortunately, after starting to learn Mecha Piloting from the second year, the other cadets had caught up with him, and he was currently on the verge of being lost in the vast sea of cadets. His figure was nowhere to be seen in the top fifty, and he had become a laughingstock between the upper echelons of the various large factions ...

If not for the fact that the Doha Central Academy faction that Zhang Jing-an belonged to had a strong foundation, just based on his strength, they might not have been able to maintain the ranking of being the military academy's number four faction.

Hearing Zhao Jun mention Zhang Jing-an, everyone was silent as this was a fact that could not be refuted. In reality, there were many cases similar to Zhang Jing-an's, of students having powerful physical skills but not excelling in mecha piloting.

At this moment, seated in a certain area among the New Cadet Regiment, Gao Jinyun spoke to a few people seated beside him. "Boss Lan is about to appear on stage. You all had better watch attentively."

One of the people he was speaking to asked nervously, "I heard that the opponent is the top-rank in combat skills. No matter how powerful Boss Lan is, he won't be able to win against the opponent, right?"

"Yeah! Although Boss Lan has capability and charisma, Leiting is ultimately the number one faction. Is it really appropriate to go against them so early?" Another person voiced this question. In reality, he was not optimistic about how the New Cadet Regiment's battle would turn out this time; if Gao Jinyun had not warned him in advance not to try anything, he might have already followed the other team leaders and considered alternative options.

Hearing what they had to say, Gao Jinyun sneered. "I specially reminded you all because of our relations.h.i.+p. Don't be short-sighted like the others and collude with outsiders when the outcome has yet to be revealed. Furthermore, even if Boss Lan were to lose, I'd still advise you all to follow Boss Lan… Don't foolishly think you would become a true member of Leiting after joining them."

Gao Jinyun's words caused the others to become wordless and silent. If they truly joined Leiting, could Boss Lan keep the New Cadet Regiment from disbanding? Leiting would never allow such a situation to happen, and the first person to be suppressed was most likely to be Boss Lan.

"Do you think anyone can suppress a person like Boss Lan?" Gao Jinyun's question caused everyone to s.h.i.+ver. Would that chilly and domineering Boss Lan acknowledge allegiance to another? Oh my G.o.d, please forgive their inability to imagine that.

Gao Jinyun sneered, "Leiting wants to devour the entire New Cadet Regiment but that would depend on whether they have the ability."

Ever since the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p incident, Gao Jinyun had had an inexplicable trust towards Ling Lan. While many hearts wavered, he resolutely believed that Ling Lan would never become a subordinate to another faction. In his heart, no one could become boss of Boss Lan.

"Besides, would Boss Lan lose?" Gao Jinyun concealed this sentence deep in his heart and did not say it out loud.

He was not convinced that the Boss Lan who could calmly confront the captain of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p and not be at a disadvantage would lose to a mere academy cadet. Even if that cadet was in their 5th year or was about to enter the military as a combat expert. Compared to the captain who had climbed out from a sea of blood, the force of presence of a cadet was obviously weaker and completely incomparable.

These leaders had been roped in by him into the New Cadet Regiment, and thus, he had to live up to his responsibility towards Boss Lan and prevent the others from betraying him.

Perhaps Gao Jinyun's words had proved effective, for a few of the originally hesitant leaders became determined. Regardless of the result, they decided they would follow alongside Boss Lan. In any case, Boss Lan was similar to them — as new cadets of the same enrolment year, it was more likely that he would look after them. Without a doubt, this was a better choice compared to the other factions.

Hearing them say that they would not turn traitor, Gao Jinyun immediately relaxed and settled down quietly to watch Boss Lan's match. Currently, he was unaware that Ling Lan already had intentions to seize this chance to clear out those opportunistic cadets who were clearly only trying to benefit from the regiment. 

Of course, these actions of his were not meaningless, because he settled the hearts of these small team members so they did not betray the New Cadet Regiment, which led the Central Academy students to truly acknowledge those students who came from the other Doha scout academies. This built a great foundation for Ling Lan to genuinely become the king of the new cadets, and it could truly be said to be an unintended side benefit ...

By this time, Ling Lan and Huo Zhenyu had moved onto the elevated stage. The two of them did not make any preparations for battle; they were merely standing casually on their respective sides. It was as if they were not partic.i.p.ating in the final decisive match, but instead taking a stroll.

However, as the referee, Colonel Tang Yu nodded mentally in approval at the situation. Although both fighters seemed relaxed, their casual stances were, in fact, without any openings. Tang Yu believed that, as long as there was the slightest sign of movement, they could instantly enter a battle state. This was the result of a.s.similating combat into their basic instincts, and it could be seen that their combat realm had already exceeded that of every cadet here.

Right then, no matter how unperturbed Tang Yu was, he could not help but shoot a glance at Ling Lan while wondering to himself, where exactly had this aberrant come from …?

Colonel Tang Yu quickly sorted out his thoughts, and without asking if the two fighters were prepared, he waved his hands and announced loudly, "The match begins!" With their capabilities, it did not matter if they were prepared or not, so Tang Yu would not ask unnecessary questions.

Following Tang Yu's declaration, silence fell around the stage as everyone's attention became focused on the two combatants.