Chapter 172 In the Hearts of Men

In Tianjing City, Earth, at the Tianjing Mecha Combat training grounds.

Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the gossip. They had been truly infuriated a few days prior. That Pading had been messing with their heads, accepting challenges from the weak and avoiding those with risk, specifically targeting Mu Ou and Ophy. However, Ophy had completely ignored him, and then in the blink of an eye, he was eliminated by his own people. This feeling was exceptionally satisfying.

"Have you guys noticed? San Lang seems to know Mu Ou," Ma Long said while eating. "I really get that feeling, even a sense of awe. I watched their interview videos, and Romero and Duan Wu never mentioned Mu Ou's name from beginning to end, as if they were avoiding something?"

"Ma Long, are you talking nonsense?" Arz laughed. "Romero is the number one ruthless person on Mars. You haven't seen him, so you don't know how fierce he is."

"Are *you* talking nonsense?"

"We can't be as senseless as the Martians. Mu Ou is strong, but at most he's at San Lang's level. That's the highest praise already. Du Lang has achieved excellent results in two S-Leagues. Anyone facing him has at most a fifty-fifty chance."

"I wonder where Mu Ou went. It's already like this, isn't he going to fight?" Mirsannuo couldn't help but say.

He respected Li Hao, but that came from Robbie and he didn't know the inside story.

Mo Yu and Chen Ang buried their heads, eating like crazy, barely suppressing smiles. They knew, but they couldn't say. Actually, they only had a vague understanding of many things. They hadn't experienced much, after all, they had very little seniority back in Tianqi.

"I'm not exaggerating, think about what kind of people Martians are. How harsh and foul is Romero's mouth? When have you ever seen him talk nicely to anyone?" Ma Long said. "Of course, I also find it strange, but analyzing it from a logical perspective, only Mu Ou responding makes sense. I still have faith in Mu Ou. Mo Yu, Chen Ang, what are you two whispering about?"

"I also think Mu Ou will definitely win!"

"That's for sure, a god is invincible!"

"Damn, how come you guys sound like Zhuang Zhou? You know Zhuang Zhou, right? From our school, Mu Ou's earliest fan. Damn, he's amazing now, a big streamer, incredibly popular." Teacher Ma felt a little emotional. His fans didn't even amount to a fraction of Zhuang Zhou's. The current students were truly formidable. Then again, Ma Long really felt something was wrong. Martians were never this "righteous." The so-called reasoning was completely irrelevant, opportunistic and mercenary was more like it. But one thing might be related to the rise of the Martians, they particularly admired the strong, especially those who could beat them into submission.

But… Ma Long felt he was overthinking it. Maybe it was just Martian infighting.

After finishing her meal, Tita also knew a lot had happened recently. She and the team had been on Earth for a bit too long. The school also required them to return quickly. The mid-season competition was about to begin, and they needed to make final preparations. Recently, the Martian commotion had drawn away the public attention from Tita, and everyone was waiting for Mu Ou's decision, the challenge from the Alliance-level top expert Romero.

This wasn't Pading's crazy biting, this was very serious, and at Romero's level, Ophy wasn't qualified to accept the battle. At most, the two were at the same level, and in everyone's view now, Romero was even stronger.

Although there was no immediate response from Mu Ou, Romero didn't urge him or make any comments. This wasn't really Du Lang's habit, because he was actually very venomous.

Since Mu Ou's sudden emergence, many things had happened. During his winning streak, he had encountered many S-League players from various alliances. But strangely, it seemed that some people actually knew him. Even stranger, these people weren't limited to Earth, but came from various federations, and yet, they all denied it.

Who exactly was Mu Ou?

Regardless of who he was, he was someone that San Lang gave face to. If Romero and Duan Wu's comments were due to the competition between the three major Martian academies, then Basta's direct elimination of his own general was inexplicable. Of course, some people tried to get information from Basta, but all attempts were fruitless.

All eyes of the Alliance's mecha world were drawn to Mars.

Tita dialed Li Hao's Skylink. Rarely, she got through on the first try. Li Hao on the other end yawned, as if he had just woken up.

"Tita, are you going to treat me to a meal?"

"Hehe, your mouth is poisonous, you wish. We're going back to the moon this weekend, shouldn't you show your face?"

"Ah, so early? Stay a few more days, I still feel a bit guilty."

"I don't feel it at all!" Tita gritted her teeth. It was better to go back sooner, she couldn't beat him anyway, just getting angry.

Li Hao had just finished some business. He had run away from the underground cave last time, but he had also alarmed the giant worms. Forget going to that place, the entire cave was on high alert. Higher-level giant worms were out of the question. It would be difficult to control them without surprise. Last time was a huge accident. He finally managed to take a chance and get a Lurker to get the thing out, and bringing the Ocean Heart back was the most difficult. It took three days and three nights, and he finally got it back. Now he was completely drained.

"How about tomorrow night? Let's meet tomorrow night. Oh right, the Dean asked me to thank you, but don't spend any more money." Li Hao said, but he didn't mean he didn't want it at all, he even wanted more.

"Okay, just the two of us, I have something to tell you too."

After finishing the Skylink call with Tita, Li Hao fell asleep again. He was really sleeping this time.

Ma Long and the others were used to it when they came back. It had been like this since freshman year. They used to think it was hypersomnia, but now it seemed to be some quirk of experts.

Ma Long, Musashi, and the others wanted to discuss Romero, but seeing Li Hao sleeping soundly, the three of them quietly cleaned up and entered dreamland.

With Robbie's guidance, Ma Long was also making rapid progress. After all, what Ma Long knew, Robbie knew. What Ma Long had experienced or hadn't experienced, Robbie had experienced. And some things that were difficult to say between teammates, Robbie had no scruples about. Teacher Ma's mentality had changed now and he could listen. Of course, Mad Lion was qualified to do so.

Zuo Xiaotang… trained very seriously and fought fiercely, more actively than before, but his performance was a bit up and down. It had to be said that Brother Zuo was usually a silent person, but this incident had aroused the rebellious spirit in his bones, and his style had changed to some extent. As a warrior, he had to be ruthless, and training allowed Zuo Xiaotang to gradually vent his emotions in battle. More importantly, he and Lu Ying were only a bit ambiguous and hadn't gone deep yet, so the timing of the withdrawal was good.

As for Lu Ying, it was said that she had a big fight in the dormitory, cursed everyone, and moved out. Anyway, she didn't lack men.

Li Hao slept until the evening of the second day before waking up. He looked at the time and rushed to his appointment with Tita.

When he arrived at the cafe, Tita had been waiting for a while, in a private booth by the window where she could quietly watch the night scenery of Tianjing Mecha Combat. The surrounding area was also filled with the private spaces of couples, with pleasant laughter coming from time to time.

"I thought you overslept again." Tita didn't blame him, she saw that Li Hao's hair was messy, as if he had rushed over in a hurry.

"Sorry, it's been too tiring these past few days." As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach rumbled mercilessly.

Tita couldn't help but giggle. "You're doing it on purpose, making me treat you again."

"That, it wasn't on purpose, but it would be even better if you let me eat something."

Tita called the waiter and ordered a large pile of food. Li Hao wasn't polite and devoured it, eating and drinking. Tita rested her chin on her hand and watched quietly. How could someone eat so deliciously?

"Um, do you want to eat something too?" Li Hao was a little embarrassed, but not really. He knew Tita was rich.

"I've already eaten." Tita declined. This person's politeness was so fake, there was no sincerity at all.

"We originally wanted to stay a few more days, but the school notified us that we have to go back tomorrow."

"Ah, so soon?" Li Hao stopped eating, feeling a little reluctant.

Tita smiled slightly, at least at this moment she felt that Li Hao was sincere.

"Before I leave, I have a request, let's fight a match. I can't learn the Battou Technique, but I want to see if I can break it."

Tita hadn't been idle during this time. Being close to Li Hao greatly stimulated her fighting spirit, and with Ophy and Robbie around, her condition was very good. Learning the Battou Technique didn't necessarily mean learning it, but rather to understand things that were useful to her.

"Okay, I'll accompany you later, as many times as you want, I have nothing to do today!" Li Hao said.

After the two finished eating, they didn't go to the training ground, but went directly to the EMP building.

In the arena, Li Hao chose Night Saber, yawning several times, his eyes a little unable to open. He felt that he would have to sleep again later. Tita chose Radiance Athena with a serious face. Two stylish mecha warriors descended on the arena.

In the sparring with Ophy, Tita's spirit was also climbing towards its peak. She could feel that Ophy had a high probability of reaching the Burning Will state, and she would definitely reach it too. There was enough time before the S-League, so there was no need to rush, but rather to take steady steps. This process of understanding was more important.

Oathkeeper Sword popped out and was held horizontally in front of her chest. "Li Hao, no need to hold back, show me your full strength!"

Night Saber's engine roared, its center of gravity lowered, its right hand on the Bloodmoon Battleblade. Neither mecha warrior moved, their momentum constantly rising. Tita had entered the Red Eye state, her mental power constantly rising. Under the powerful pressure of Night Saber, this mental power was still strengthening, and had been raised to her peak state. Several faint trajectories appeared, gradually turning into one, and it was clear.

Tita's red eyes emitted a strong light. Radiance Athena held her sword in one hand, in perfect harmony. At this moment, the person and the mecha were completely integrated.

She had predicted the opponent's attack route, but how could she defend?

Since being defeated, this scene had appeared in Tita's dreams countless times. That white light was like a nightmare.

She had been waiting for this moment!

Boom…