Long Aotian looked at the two of them looking smug and immediately curled his lip:
"You're only bullying me by relying on your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. If we really fought one-on-one, you might not come out on top."
Hearing this, Xiao Hongchen didn't feel the least bit embarrassed; instead, he raised his chin and spoke righteously:
"You can't put it like that. The Martial Soul Fusion Skill is the trump card of us siblings working together; it's a core component of our strength."
"Just tell me, is this our genuine strength or not? Winning against you with our own abilities, how can that be called bullying?"
Long Aotian was momentarily speechless by this twisted logic and immediately rolled his eyes: "Stop using that nonsense to brush me off!"
"If you've got the guts, set aside the Martial Soul Fusion Skill and let's have a one-on-one duel, a real contest. Stop always showing off by relying on teaming up!"
Xiao Hongchen chuckled and said slowly, "I've never been afraid of a duel with you either."
"As long as I'm not caught in close-quarters combat with you, relying on my spirit tools and spirit power for long-range suppression, my chance of winning against you is at least seventy percent."
"Seventy percent?" Long Aotian sneered, patting his sturdy chest. His muscles were taut, exuding a sense of overwhelming power.
"If I can just successfully close the distance, after a series of combos, my chance of winning against you is easily ninety percent!"
"Taking everything into account, I'm the superior one after all. You're just relying on the advantage of your spirit tools."
Listening to the two of them bickering back and forth without yielding, everyone else couldn't help but smile.
This guy Long Aotian seemed careless and unconventional on the surface, speaking and acting straightforwardly.
But in reality, there was a streak of tsundere in his bones; he refused to lose even an inch in an argument.
He even had to calculate the probabilities of their strength clearly, insisting on determining who was superior.
Standing to the side, Xu Tianzhen and the other girls couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle at their childish yet serious conversation.
At this moment, Xu Tianhao walked forward slowly, raised his hand to pat Long Aotian on the shoulder, a faint smile playing on his lips:
"Alright, stop bickering with Xiao. Come on, we haven't had a proper match in half a month. Let's take today as an opportunity to spar."
Hearing this, the indignation on Long Aotian's face instantly turned into an excited smile: "Let's do it! I've wanted to have a good match with Your Highness for a long time!"
As soon as they finished speaking, the people around them stood up familiarly and headed toward the spectator seats on one side of the training hall.
Such sparring scenes were already commonplace in the Seven-Person Squad. Everyone was in perfect sync, even their footsteps following a familiar rhythm.
Xu Tianzhen was the most relaxed. She strolled to the center of the spectator seats and sat down. With a flick of her wrist, she took out potato chips, dried fruit, and drinks from her storage spirit tool, lining them up in a full row.
One could tell at a glance she was a veteran snacker, perfectly prepared.
She opened a bag of chips, took a crunching bite, and while chewing, waved at Xu Tianhao in the arena, shouting crisply, "Hao Hao, go for it! Fight well!"
Xiao Hongchen also immediately joined in the fun, his tone carrying a hint of teasing as if he enjoyed the chaos: "Your Highness, give Long Aotian a good lesson!"
"This kid has been getting ahead of himself lately, being arrogant every day. It's the perfect time to show him how high the sky is and how deep the earth is!"
Xu Tianhao and Long Aotian in the arena ignored the heckling from the cheerleaders behind them.
The two walked slowly to the center of the spacious training hall and stood facing each other. The relaxed atmosphere from a moment ago instantly became heavy with the solemnity before a match.
Long Aotian looked up at Xu Tianhao, who had a gentle temperament but carried a natural pressure. The smile on his face became more serious as he spoke slowly:
"Your Highness, let me see today exactly how much of a gap still remains between us."
Xu Tianhao's brow twitched slightly, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes as he said calmly, "Oh? Are you saying I shouldn't hold back?"
"Weren't you clamoring for a physical brawl before? What, do you want to fight with full power now?"
Long Aotian's gaze became exceptionally determined: "I've changed my mind. Now I want to see if my full strength has any chance of defeating you."
Hearing this, Xu Tianhao chuckled, his tone knowing: "Alright, it seems you must have gotten some good things over the past half month to have the confidence to say that."
During their conversation, Xiao Hongchen suddenly seemed to remember something and shouted urgently to Xu Tianhao, "Your Highness! You must be careful!"
"This kid Long Aotian got a rank-seven spiritual protection spirit tool from my grandfather. He's trying to hide his trump card and play dumb to ambush you!"
The term "playing dumb" was naturally taught to them by Xu Tianhao, and now Xiao Hongchen was using it to warn him.
As soon as Xiao Hongchen said this, Long Aotian's expression changed instantly. He whipped his head around to glare at Xiao Hongchen, his eyes full of "exasperation":
"Whose side are you on anyway? Didn't we agree to act together? Why did you just blurt it out..."
Before he could finish, Long Aotian snapped his mouth shut, a look of annoyance crossing his face. He clearly realized he had let it slip and shouldn't have shouted about the acting.
Being yelled at by Long Aotian, Xiao Hongchen also reacted instantly, slapping his forehead with a look of panic.
He had been so focused on bickering and undermining Long Aotian that in his momentary excitement, he completely forgot the scheme they had agreed upon beforehand.
Now, the cat was out of the bag.
This sudden turn of events made the four girls on the side unable to hold it in any longer, and they all burst out laughing.
Meng Hongchen and Nana laughed so hard they leaned back and forth, holding onto the railing beside them, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
The chips in Xu Tianzhen's hand almost spilled out, and even Ye Guyi's cool features were filled with suppressed laughter.
Actually, they had known about Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen's little plan from the start. The reason they hadn't said anything was that they didn't want to actively deceive Xu Tianhao.
But deep down, they were secretly curious and wanted to see the core of their squad, who was always invincible, suffer a setback for once.
After all, since the Seven-Person Squad was formed, whether facing powerful enemies or rigorous training, Xu Tianhao was always the most composed one, his strength unfathomable.
The others had almost never seen him fail or get the short end of the stick, so they inevitably harbored a bit of small anticipation.
In the arena, how could Xu Tianhao not understand by now? These two guys, Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen, bickered and argued every day, seemingly incompatible.
Today, they had actually joined forces, using bickering as a pretext to act, all to ambush him when he was off guard.
The smile on Xu Tianhao's lips gradually faded, replaced by a slightly helpless chuckle.
His gaze swept over the "annoyed" Long Aotian and the "panicked" Xiao Hongchen:
"Well, look at you, big-eyed and thick-browed Long Aotian. You usually look so righteous, yet you're playing these underhanded tricks on me?"
After speaking, Xu Tianhao slowly raised his hand and beckoned to Xiao Hongchen, who was still standing aside:
"Since you want to get involved so much and play with him, then come together."
Hearing Xu Tianhao's words, the panicked and flustered expression on Xiao Hongchen's face from exposing the secret vanished without a trace.
A glint of a successful scheme flashed in Xiao Hongchen's eyes; the previous panic seemed as if it had never existed.
With light steps, he leaped directly to Long Aotian's side.
After standing firm, he deliberately turned his head, spread his hands toward Xu Tianzhen and the others in the spectator seats, and put on a helpless and aggrieved look, saying loudly:
"Oh my, beautiful ladies, watch closely. It's not that I'm taking the initiative to team up against His Highness."
"This was His Highness's own request. I am of lowly status and wouldn't dare disobey His Highness's order!"
As he spoke, Xiao Hongchen quietly put his hands behind his back and gave Long Aotian a light fist bump, a shared sense of smugness flashing in their eyes.
The scheme succeeded!
That's right. From the initial bickering and undermining to the "slip of the tongue," it was all a carefully staged act by the two of them.
They knew full well that in a one-on-one fight, neither was a match for Xu Tianhao. Only by teaming up did they have a chance of winning.
But if they took the initiative to propose a two-on-one, it would inevitably seem unsportsmanlike and like bullying.
So after discussing it, they decided to put on this show, deliberately pretending to let the secret slip during an argument to provoke Xu Tianhao into suggesting they fight together.
This way, even if they won, it was at Xu Tianhao's own request.
There would be no issue of teaming up to bully him or an inglorious victory.
With this calculation, Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen thought they were on the second level, keeping everyone in the dark.
But what they didn't know was that as Xu Tianhao looked at their impatient and smug expressions, the smile on his face remained gentle and calm.
Having spent so many years together day and night in the Seven-Person Squad, Xu Tianhao had long since understood Long Aotian's straightforward tsundere nature and Xiao Hongchen's cunning wit.
How could he not see through the schemes these two were cooking up?
Weren't they just obsessively wanting to defeat him once?
One person was already not enough; they even thought teaming up would guarantee victory?
Long Aotian and Xiao Hongchen were on the second level?
Sorry, but Xu Tianhao was already on the atmospheric level.
He had seen through their little tricks from the very beginning but didn't expose them. Instead, he went along with their act,
just to see how much of a surprise these two could bring him by working together.
The atmosphere in the training hall instantly became heated. The four girls in the spectator seats stopped laughing and stared intently at the three in the center of the arena, their eyes filled with anticipation.