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Fortunately, the agonizing time eventually came to an end.

After swallowing the last bite of food, Xia You wiped her mouth, put down her knife and fork, and let out a soft breath. Without looking at the two people beside her who were still silently confronting each other, she simply said, "I'm done eating."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up decisively, giving the two no chance to talk or tug at each other, and turned and walked straight out of the restaurant.

The dining table fell silent instantly.

Hikaru and Ryukia were both stunned, subconsciously looking at Xia You's departing figure, a hint of astonishment flashing in their eyes.

But the next second, their eyes met again involuntarily.

Their eyes met, there were no words, no extra emotions, only a strong sense of defiance and rivalry.

Immediately afterwards, the two of them gave a soft hum in perfect unison, and turned their heads at the same time to look at their respective sides of the table. Neither of them would look at the other again, their arrogant and childish expressions were exactly the same.

Fortunately, without Xia You, they naturally no longer wanted to pay attention to each other.

Xiao Guang finished the rest of the food in a few bites, and then quickly caught up with Xia You.

As for Rukia, having been an idol for so long and coming from a prestigious family, she still had proper table manners. After Hikaru left, she ate slowly for a while until she was full, and then, led by the butler, went to her guest room.

……

Night fell over the land.

After taking a relaxing shower that washed away the day's fatigue, Xia You went to the balcony and looked out at the city in the distance.

The city lights were all on, as if they were draped in a neon-colored coat.

A cool night breeze blows by, making people feel incredibly comfortable and at ease.

He picked up his phone casually.

As soon as the screen lit up, push notifications started popping up one after another.

The daytime battles dominated social media platforms and news headlines.

Although his public challenge was not broadcast by any TV station and he did not choose to cooperate with anyone, it still attracted a lot of attention.

On the short video page, the battle clip of Crystal Steelix sweeping through the entire team of Lemon was repeatedly edited and forwarded, and the number of views skyrocketed.

The headlines on the front page were particularly eye-catching.

Xia You, the world's strongest trainer, defeats six Elite Four members with his Crystal Steelix!

"A Shock to Unova! The Elite Four Suffer a Crushing Defeat!"

The incredible Crystal Steelix crushes the entire Dark-type army beneath its unyielding steel!

Photos, battle replays, and comments from netizens flooded the internet. From the moment the first battle ended in the morning, almost everyone who followed the Pokémon battle community was talking about this explosive match.

The outside world has embellished his victory over Yueju as incredibly legendary, portraying his one-against-six-times-defeat of the four kings as an almost miraculous feat.

Xia You casually flipped through these news articles, but her heart remained remarkably calm.

What seemed like an impossible feat to others was, to him, merely a normal display of the Crystal Steelix's strength. It was nothing more than a miracle of fighting to the death, a natural result of the difference in strength, and not something to boast about.

If it were someone else, experiencing his exploits, encountering so many amazing Pokémon, and participating in so many great battles, their achievements would certainly not be as high as his, but they would definitely not be any worse. Defeating one of the Elite Four would indeed be a very simple matter.

It's simply a matter of being more calm and more ruthless.

His phone kept vibrating, and a constant stream of messages pulled him back to reality.

Xia You looked down and saw that the latest message was from Xiao Ju'er.

She sent several voice messages. Xia You clicked on the top one first, and the first one that came through was Xiao Ju'er's unique, clear, and lively voice, accompanied by light laughter: "Xia You! You're too outrageous!! I watched the match where you swept through 60 and defeated Yueju Tianwang three times! Your Crystal Steel Serpent was absolutely amazing! My fans are all talking about you too. You've stolen my attention, so tell me, how are you going to make it up to me?"

Even though she couldn't see Xiao Ju'er's face, Xia You could almost imagine what she looked like when she sent the voice message.

Their eyes must be sparkling too.

Xia You smiled slightly, tapped her fingertips lightly, and politely replied with a few words, indicating that she would treat her to a meal next time they met.

He closed the chat window with Xiaojuer and scanned the message list. He found that not only Xiaojuer, but also Fenglu, Adek, and other friends he had made after coming to the Union Empire had all sent him voice messages.

Obviously, for these people, the news that he easily defeated Yueju was equally unbelievable.

Xia You listened to each point in detail, her expression remaining calm, showing no arrogance despite the praise.

To reiterate, for him, it was simply a matter of presenting something he could have easily done long ago to the public for the first time.

He casually replied to the group with a few words of thanks, and just as he was about to put his phone away, the screen lit up again, and a call from another region suddenly popped up.

Looking closely, he saw that the caller ID had been labeled as – Karuno.

Karuno's phone call?

I remember the last time the two of them exchanged messages, she seemed to have just finished filming for United and had already returned to Carlos.

Unexpectedly, she also received the news across the ocean?

So it seems that either the impact of this incident was indeed significant enough to attract the attention of people like Karuno who follow the international and regional esports scene, or... she has been keeping an eye on her all along!

Chapter 1470 I also look forward to fighting you.

Staring at the name Karuno, a thought flashed through Xia You's mind.

He thought of the widely circulated rumors about the two of them, and now that they were in contact again, he couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

But that's all in the past.

Without much hesitation, he tapped the screen and answered the call.

Karuno's unique, magnetic female voice quickly came from the other end of the receiver.

"I hope I didn't disturb your rest by calling you at this hour?"

Xia You smiled and said, "Of course not. It's still early, and I'm enjoying the night view."

"Oh? It seems you're in a good mood." After a few pleasantries, without any further preamble, Karuno got straight to the point, "You've caused quite a stir this time; I heard about it all the way back in Carlos."

Xia You leaned against the balcony: "This has nothing to do with me. I didn't do anything special, and I didn't make any fuss. It was just a normal battle."

Karuno naturally knew this, and she also knew that Xia You wasn't the kind of person who liked to show off. She was just teasing him when she said that.

She simply remarked, "I watched the match during the day. Regardless of the circumstances, it's truly impressive that you could defeat one of the Four Heavenly Kings so easily. I feel like even if it were me, I wouldn't be able to do anything to you."

Xia You didn't know whether Kalu was being modest or genuinely believed it.

But based on Xia You's understanding of her, she was a champion after all, and even if she was at a disadvantage in terms of attributes, she wouldn't perform so poorly.

At least we won't be shut out by ourselves with this lineup.

They might even trade away several of their Pokémon, no matter how hard they try.

Of course, this is based on the lineup I used during the day. If I used my full main lineup, Karuno really wouldn't have any chance.

Even if she is a champion.

But he couldn't say that; he still needed to be humble, especially since Karuno was practically his mentor.

"I'm not as good as you say. I was able to win today just because I didn't meet a suitable opponent, and the outsiders were overhyping me."

Karuno chuckled, her voice melodious and tinged with a hint of teasing: "You can't hide this from me, Xia You. You're underestimating your own strength far too much. Regardless of which region's Four Heavenly Kings they are, they are all top-tier powerhouses in the league. Even we champions might not be able to crush them so cleanly and decisively. Your battle has shattered the entire competitive community's perception and made the whole world aware of you."

"It's not as exaggerated as you say."

Karuno smiled again: "You're holding this open tournament to participate in the World Championship?"

Xia You responded, but immediately realized that if nothing unexpected happened, Karuno should also be participating.

"You'll be participating in the Eight Masters competition too, right?"

“Of course.” Karuno’s tone remained relaxed on the other end of the phone. “So we’ll meet on the battlefield soon. Are you… looking forward to a match with me?”

I don't know if it's just my imagination.

From her tone, Xia You sensed that Karuno seemed more interested in fighting him than in fighting him.

Do you want to test your abilities yourself?

However, for Xia You, fighting against a strong opponent like Karuno was something he also hoped for.

He had originally planned to revisit the places he had been to after finishing his travels in all regions, as a second trip, without focusing on the tournament, to see the sights he had missed and to compete with the formidable opponents he had not yet faced.

But now that he has the opportunity to face off earlier, he won't deliberately miss or avoid it.

It's simply that we defeated some people ahead of time.

“I am indeed looking forward to fighting a strong opponent like you. After all… you were already a champion before I even started my journey, so catching up with and defeating you is one of my goals!”

"Oh dear, I've gotten so old." Karuno sighed, stroking her face. "Just kidding, I'm still in my prime. But you, your growth rate is terrifying, far beyond my expectations. So, fighting you now is exactly what I've been hoping for, and..."

"And?" Xia You was somewhat surprised when Karuno stopped talking. "And what?"

"It's nothing, we'll talk about it after you defeat me."

……

The competition was held as scheduled the next day.

Compared to yesterday, today's opponents are still not any particularly famous figures; at most, they are just trainers who are somewhat well-known in a certain area.

But the intensity of the battles is by no means low.

Indeed, some people backed down after witnessing yesterday's match, but many more replaced them and flocked to challenge Xia You.

These new challengers, having watched Xia You's battle yesterday, thoroughly studied his Pokémon and made targeted adjustments and training, making it increasingly difficult for Xia You to fight.

Especially the remaining trainers, whose world championship rankings are higher and whose points are higher, are naturally stronger.

In the first battle, a female trainer's Magmar displayed formidable strength and targeted training, nearly pushing Xia You's Lucario to the brink of defeat. Fortunately, at the final moment of the battle, Lucario unleashed its Aura, turning the tide of the battle and defeating Magmar.

Although Xia You won, it wasn't an easy victory, and she almost suffered a setback.

However, not all opponents are like that, not to mention that his second and third-tier lineups are by no means mediocre.

The stronger the opponent, the more it can stimulate their potential, making them more focused, more serious, and able to unleash their full potential.

It simply means more physical and mental exertion, requiring more time to rest.

Fortunately, Xia You has enough depth in her team and a sufficient number of Pokémon to rotate.

When the exhausted Pokémon were replaced by some Pokémon that had not yet appeared, the battle instantly became one-sided again.

These people had not studied Xia You's new lineup in depth at all. Even if they had seen them fight before, actually fighting them was another matter. Even though they were cautious enough and had prepared themselves mentally, they still underestimated the strength of these Pokémon.

When they fought against Xia You's Pokémon, they discovered that their strength was completely different from the Pokémon of the same species they had seen before. With Xia You's command, they were like fish in water, defeating these people in a sorry state.

This caused the other challengers watching the match to scream and howl in despair.

After all, this also means that they will have to work day and night to re-research these new Pokémon.

Everything has to start all over again!

Chapter 1471 He Doesn't Look Like a Trainer Anymore

After several intense battles and several advantageous matches came to an end, Xia You could finally catch her breath.

But when I checked the time, only an hour and a half had passed.

There's a feeling that time is moving very slowly, yet a lot is happening.

Despite the short duration, some battles were not easy for him, and things only improved slightly after he changed his Pokémon lineup.

Even so, he still felt somewhat mentally exhausted.

This is understandable, given that it's a continuous series of back-and-forth battles.

Fortunately, although he hoped to keep gaining points, he wouldn't force himself. Since he was a little tired, he naturally stopped to rest.

The subsequent challengers, though disappointed, said nothing.

Stepping out of the battlefield, he took the bottled water handed to him by Cattleya, took a sip, and then casually asked, "Where are Hikari and Rukia?"

“I thought you didn’t have time to deal with them,” Cattleya chuckled. “They just went to the open-air training ground in the castle garden, the place where Xiaoguang used to train. They all looked very aggressive, like they wouldn’t give up until they defeated each other. By now… they should have already started fighting.”

Fortunately, this is the Pokémon world, not the real world.

Here, the two girls battle using only Pokémon, unlike in real life where they pull each other's hair or slap each other. It's a more 'civilized' way of fighting.

and many more……

Xia You couldn't help but imagine that scene in her mind.