Chapter 165: The Gods Emerge!
Yao Yi didn’t retort; it was common sense that small secret realms wouldn’t have Pokémon above Champion level.
“So you traveled all this way for nothing?” Yao Yi’s tone held a hint of schadenfreude.
It’s normal for beautiful women to repel each other.
Ekaterina’s expression shifted slightly, then she nodded dejectedly.
Lu Li saw dejection on Ekaterina’s face, but not disappointment.
Lu Li didn’t understand why, he just attributed it to Ekaterina having a good mindset.
“By the way, I heard your Jiuzhou Region has been massively expanding its forces recently?” Ekaterina suddenly asked.
Yao Yi nodded expressionlessly, “That’s not surprising, everyone in the world is doing it now.”
Some powerful families and forces have already foreseen the coming storm; a new Truth Contest will sweep the globe, and the Five Great Alliances are also on the verge of collapse, possibly disintegrating at any moment.
Therefore, every region is preparing for the future.
“Isn’t the military expansion in your Great Goose Region the most insane?” Yao Yi sneered.
Ekaterina: “Then why are you, a Gym Leader, acting as a Guardian? You should be very busy at this time, right?”
Yao Yi’s lips twitched slightly.
What she said was indeed true; the Alliance was urging him to establish a Flying Legion in Qingmu City, and fortunately, it was only a small legion of 300.
Flying Legions were easier to cultivate than Trainer Legions, but as a Coordinator, Yao Yi detested war, so he had been dragging his feet on establishing the legion as instructed.
A legion of 300, even if all Elite level, could only fend off invasions from Gym Level Trainers. To Yao Yi, if such an attack truly occurred, one more or less wouldn’t make much difference.
Just as Lu Li was about to interject, his phone rang.
Lu Li saw the caller ID and answered the call.
“Aunt Fengjiao, what can I do for you?” Lu Li asked.
“Little Li, the steel supply I promised you might be in trouble,” Jin Fengjiao said earnestly.
Upon hearing this, Lu Li frowned.
The steel supply was crucial for Onix’s rapid growth, and Jin Fengjiao abruptly cutting off the supply at this time made Lu Li somewhat displeased.
Although there was no contract or agreement signed, the Jin family had made a verbal promise.
Forcibly suppressing his displeasure, Lu Li asked curiously, “Was there an accident?”
“Sigh~”
A sigh came from the phone, and Jin Fengjiao explained, “It’s a problem with my maternal family. My maternal family and your Uncle Yu want to create a steel legion of 1000 people, so the Jin Family Group’s steel will be prioritized for the Steel Legion.”
Hearing this, Lu Li’s brow furrowed.
Qingfeng City already had a Flying Legion; what were the Jin and Yu families planning? The Alliance explicitly stipulated that Gym Leaders could not establish their own legions, nor could anyone privately establish a Pokémon Legion.
Lu Li didn’t question it; if the Jin and Yu Zhonggang dared to openly establish a legion, then the matter must be foolproof.
Lu Li only regretted the loss of the steel supply. While he was somewhat displeased, it was only displeasure; he wouldn’t go so far as to resent the Yu and Jin families because of it.
After all, when he signed the contract with the Jin family, it was a single purchase contract, not a long-term procurement agreement.
Hanging up the phone, Lu Li looked up at the two women.
Yao Yi and Ekaterina had stopped bickering and were eavesdropping on Lu Li’s call.
“Isn’t it strange? The Jin family and Yu Zhonggang dare to privately form a Pokémon Legion?” Ekaterina asked, crossing her legs.
Lu Li, who was indeed quite curious, nodded.
Ekaterina said, “The Asian Alliance does stipulate that private forces cannot form legions privately, but the Jiuzhou Alliance announced the day before yesterday that Gym Leaders can establish Pokémon Legions and will even be supported.”
Lu Li: “???”
Jiuzhou Alliance?
Shouldn’t it be the Jiuzhou Region of the Asian Alliance?
At this moment, Yao Yi sighed, “If nothing unexpected happens, the Asian Alliance will soon be dissolved, and the Jiuzhou Alliance is preparing for a new alliance.”
“This is a good thing for your Jiuzhou Region. I sincerely hope you succeed,” Ekaterina congratulated.
There was no sarcasm or schadenfreude in Ekaterina’s tone, and even Yao Yi seemed pleased about it.
“Our Great Russia Region is also preparing for this. If the Jiuzhou Alliance succeeds, we can take the opportunity to become independent.”
Hearing Ekaterina say this, Lu Li became even more confused.
He had only participated in a few battles; why did it suddenly feel like a world war was about to break out?
“Could the influence of the Truth Contest really be that significant?” Lu Li thought to himself.
Not wanting Lu Li to be exposed to these matters prematurely, Yao Yi comforted him, “This is still a long way off for you. Your main task now is to focus on the competition.”
Lu Li nodded.
As the saying goes, when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. These matters indeed had little to do with him at present.
The few of them chatted for a while longer before returning to their respective rooms.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Lu Li woke up, pulled open the curtains, and saw Wei training in the backyard and Milotic playing in the lake.
Looking at this scene, Lu Li’s lips curled slightly.
This was perhaps what peaceful years felt like.
However… the storm was gathering!
Lu Li gazed into the distance with deep eyes.
As the Five Great Alliances crumbled, regional conflicts would become the focus, and the world would only become more chaotic.
After washing up, Lu Li habitually picked up his phone to check the real-time news.
【 Shocking! Ho-Oh Appears in Ancient Capital! 】
Lu Li’s expression changed upon seeing the news headline, and he quickly clicked on the accompanying video.
Although the video quality was blurry, Lu Li could still vaguely make out a Pokémon resembling a Shiny Noctowl.
“It really is Ho-Oh?” Lu Li whispered in surprise.
Holding his phone, Lu Li jogged to the living room. Such explosive news had to be shared.
After all, it was Ho-Oh!
Among the Tier 1 Gods, Ho-Oh might not be the strongest in combat power, but its status was definitely T1 among Tier 1 Gods.
Seeing Ekaterina and Yao Yi on the sofa, Lu Li asked, “Have you guys seen the news?”
“Are you talking about the news regarding Ho-Oh?” Yao Yi asked with a smile.
Lu Li nodded.
The appearance of a Tier 1 God was major global news.
While drinking coffee, Ekaterina calmly said, “As far as I know, Ho-Oh hasn’t appeared for at least 6000 years.”
Seeing Ekaterina’s calm reaction, Lu Li asked, puzzled, “Aren’t you surprised?”
“I was already surprised last night,” Ekaterina replied with a smile.
Lu Li: “…”
“And there’s even more surprising news, would you like to know?” Ekaterina asked, her eyes narrowed.
Lu Li looked at her curiously.
“This is news from the European Alliance.” Ekaterina handed her phone to Lu Li.
Lu Li took the phone curiously.
【 A New King is Born, the Prince of England Blessed by the King of Abundance! 】
Lu Li: “???”
“King of Abundance?”
Lu Li was momentarily stunned, then quickly guessed the identity of the King of Abundance.
The Legendary King—Calyrex!
It was also one of the few legendary Pokémon capable of growing stronger by controlling other Pokémon.
“So… has this world finally gone mad in the way I imagined?”
Lu Li stared blankly at the news report on his phone.
Weren’t deities not supposed to walk the human world?
How, in just one night, did these legends appear one after another this year?
“Calm down, this news might be fake,” Ekaterina comforted him.
“The English royal family loves this kind of false propaganda. They’re probably preparing for regional independence.”
Lu Li nodded.
“But the Ho-Oh news should be real, there’s video evidence,” Ekaterina added.
Yao Yi interjected curiously, “I’m more curious, since Ho-Oh has appeared, does it mean the legendary Rainbow Hero has also been born?”
The Rainbow Hero was not a secret in this world; it was a legendary tale, with over ten versions adapted into films and television series alone.
Moreover, countries were constantly remaking this series. Today, the Rainbow Hero might be from the Asian Alliance, tomorrow from the European Alliance, or even the North American Alliance.
In any case, the core theme was a Schrödinger’s Rainbow Hero.
“I can only hope this news is fake too, otherwise this era would truly be too insane,” Ekaterina prayed earnestly.
The battles of two Tier 1 Gods could collapse the entire world, the Truth Contest was imminent, and now a Rainbow Hero suddenly appeared.
If all these coincided in the same era, Ekaterina couldn’t even imagine the scene.
Lu Li, however, was quite calm about it.
If he hadn’t transmigrated, he might have worried about world destruction.
But now, things were different.
It wasn’t that his strength had increased, but rather that he had learned a way to survive.
When he chatted with Ekaterina in the secret realm before, she had mentioned it.
Many long-standing families that still existed were actually survivors from the previous epoch. How did they survive?
They simply hid in secret realms when the world was about to collapse. As long as they weren’t too unlucky, they could return to the real world once the secret realms reconnected with real-world events.
What if they were unlucky?
Then they would wait to die in the secret realm. The various ruins in the secret realms came about this way.
When Lu Li first learned this news, he was indeed a little shocked.
Secret realms couldn’t accommodate everyone, but he knew of a large secret realm that no one else had discovered.
If the world truly ended, he would hide in the secret realm and cultivate. As a cultivator, Lu Li believed his survival rate would be higher than others.
“You don’t need to be so pessimistic. If it really comes to that, I’ll take you into a secret realm,” Ekaterina comforted him.
Yao Yi, clearly lacking confidence, retorted, “It won’t come to that, will it? Having gone through three epochal cleansings, our world has become more resilient. The things you’re worried about shouldn’t happen.”
Ekaterina just smiled and didn’t say anything.
For families like theirs, it was always best to prepare for the worst.
Although Yao Yi came from a prominent family, he was only a collateral branch, hence his wishful thinking.
Lu Li, who had never truly seen a divine beast, didn’t offer an opinion, as he didn’t even know the destructive power of a Tier 3 God, let alone a Tier 1 God.
Ekaterina suddenly said, “Right, I might have to leave today. My family wants me to go to the Ancient Capital to investigate the authenticity of this matter. I’ll come to cheer you on at the Alliance finals.”
Lu Li nodded, then shamelessly said, “Tell me when you get results. I’m also quite curious about this.”
“Okay.”
Ekaterina agreed with a smile.
Without even eating breakfast, Ekaterina left.
After Ekaterina’s departure, Yao Yi’s mood instantly improved.
“I’m going to the orchard to check on Vespiquen. If nothing unexpected happens, the Combee should arrive this afternoon,” Yao Yi said.
Lu Li smiled and said, “Then I’ll trouble you.”
“It’s nothing, we all get what we need,” Yao Yi waved his hand dismissively.
After Yao Yi left, Bao Bao teleported in front of Lu Li with Ralts in her arms.
“Bao Bao heard all your conversation just now,” Bao Bao said with a serious expression.
“And so?”
Lu Li vigorously rubbed Bao Bao’s little head with both hands.
“Uh…”
Bao Bao froze.
This matter seemed to have no value, as she couldn’t use it to threaten Lu Li.
Bao Bao’s small face emphasized earnestly, “What I mean is, we should prepare in advance.”
“Such as?” Lu Li asked, smiling at the serious Bao Bao.
Bao Bao counted on her fingers, saying, “I’ve watched apocalypse anime; we should collect grains and crop seeds in advance, and then collect all sorts of technology.”
These were things she learned while watching TV.
Bao Bao looked as if she couldn’t wait for the world’s end to arrive.
“Excellent suggestion, I’ve decided to adopt it all,” Lu Li said, patting Bao Bao’s little head again and encouraging her, “I’ll give you a reward when I come back from the competition.”
“En!”
Bao Bao nodded heavily.
After seeing Bao Bao off, Lu Li sat on the sofa and pondered.
The situation was indeed getting worse; the Asian Alliance was on the verge of collapse, and the Jiuzhou Region was already preparing for independence.
The Asian Alliance had two behemoths, the Jiuzhou Region and the Boro Region, in addition to various smaller regions like the Golden Triangle Region and the Yamato Region.
Within the Asian Alliance, the Jiuzhou Region was undoubtedly the strongest, followed by the Boro Region.
In previous Alliance confrontations, it was basically the Jiuzhou Region dragging along a bunch of underperformers against the North American Alliance.
It was similar on the North American Alliance side; the Yamato Region led teammates who weren’t dragging them down against the Asian Alliance.
If the Asian Alliance truly dissolved, the Jiuzhou Alliance could indeed shed a group of underperformers, but it would also escalate internal strife into open conflict.
It could be said that there were pros and cons, but the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
What Lu Li truly cared about was the upcoming competition.
Lu Li lowered his head and looked at the new rules for the Grand Festival on his phone.
In the past, there were no rewards for the Grand Festival because the rewards for the Grand Festival were generally distributed by the School after students joined the University.
But this time is different. Although the basic rules of this Grand Festival have not changed, a reward rule has been added.
The reward for first place in the competition is a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Egg, a Pokémon Secret Treasure, and 30 million League Coins. The Pokémon Egg and Secret Treasure are chosen by the winner.
Second and third place also receive a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Egg, a Pokémon Secret Treasure, and 30 million League Coins, but the winners cannot choose freely.
The rewards for 4th to 10th place are a choice of Starter Pokémon, Pokémon Items, and League Coins.
How exaggerated are the rewards this time?
There are three types of official large-scale competitions: the first is the Grand Festival, the second is the Youth Trainer Competition（ Trainers under 35 years old can participate, once every five years.）, and the third is the Heavenly King Selection Tournament.
The rewards for the Pokémon Grand Festival Trainer Competition are benchmarked against the Heavenly King Selection Tournament.
From this, you can see how outrageous the rewards are this time.
