Merging with Demon Spirits

Chapter 83: Chapter 75: Juxing Team

Shangjing.

Outside the Juxing Building, towering over a hundred meters and resembling a purple-red steel giant, crowds surged back and forth.

The Juxing Building was where Juxing Team trained and lived.

Whether for locals or tourists, the Juxing Building was an unmissable landmark.

On the exterior wall of the building, there were twelve light curtains.

Each light curtain played highlight reels of team members in action, drawing people and cars to stop and watch; pedestrians would often pause and chat, and many went straight inside.

The first floor of the Juxing Building was the exhibition hall.

It showcased the history of Juxing Club, all their championship trophies, and, of course, their team members.

Many tourists, phones or cameras in hand, posed for pictures with their favorite Glory Players shown on the walls.

Without a doubt, the captain of Juxing Team, Berserker Ye Xing, was the hottest star here, followed by Little Thunder God Xie Yixiao.

The lobby on the first floor was open to the public for free, and every day, hordes of fans would come early, waving posters of their idols, eyes scanning the place, hoping to catch a glimpse of them.

They knew Juxing Team trained in the building, but which floor exactly, no one really knew.

But even so, it never dulled their enthusiasm. For most, just sharing the same roof with their idols was enough to get their hearts racing.

In the viewing hall, the light curtain was playing last week’s Juxing Team vs. Wind-Grabbing Team match.

Thousands were watching, and even if they’d seen it many times, the best moments still made people scream and chatter with excitement.

Juxing Building, 97th floor.

Outside the forest training hall, figures in red T-shirts walked out in small groups, many soaked and breathing hard—obviously just finished training.

”Lost again. Ye Xing’s Frenzy is honestly unbeatable. Heavy Armor Wen was in full gear, his armor must weigh over 500 pounds, but he still got smashed and sent flying—didn’t even have a chance to resist.”

”Us substitutes are only here to help the main team. When are we ever gonna play?”

The young men complained, voices tinged with frustration and anger.

Back when they were recruited, it was mostly during their senior year Awakening Day—signed directly with Ju Xing.

Some got picked for outstanding performance in the college Glory League, others made it through the Glory Draft as top ten rookies after graduating university.

But regardless of how they got here, every one of them was a Martial Arts prodigy, had refined Eighth and Ninth Grade Demon Spirits—they were the chosen ones.

They thought joining Juxing Team would mean instant stardom, but reality was two-thirds of them never even played an official Glory match; the other third only got called up when facing trash teams, matches the main squad didn’t bother with.

Most of their job as substitutes was just supporting team training.

They came to Juxing with dreams of becoming Glory Stars; now, forget being a star—even brands wouldn’t hire them as endorsers.

From the outside, they looked like signed Juxing Team members. But only they knew how bitter it really was.

”What’s there to complain about? We lose every day, I’m used to it. I just wanna know if my Demon Spirit evolution plan came out yet?” one asked.

”Go ask the Demon Spirit R&D after this, if there’s nothing new, then what’s the point staying here?” someone grumbled.

If Juxing Club didn’t have the Demon Spirit and Combat Skills R&D departments, they probably wouldn’t stick around either.

Sure, the club had contracts with them, but if their training sucked, the club could just freeze them out—no one forced them to train.

Boycotting practice was the worst possible move.

No one would want to go that far unless they had no choice.

”Keep it down, the first string is coming out.”

Someone quickly whispered, and under the complicated gazes of the substitutes, five figures in purple T-shirts walked out of the training area.

Four guys, one girl!

Leading them was a buzz-cut young man, about twenty-three or twenty-four, six-foot-three, tall and handsome. This guy seemed to glow—he drew every eye the instant he appeared, and even the complaining substitutes shut their mouths immediately.

If any fans had been there right then, they would’ve started screaming. That youth was none other than Juxing Team’s captain, Berserker Ye Xing.

At just 23 years old, Ye Xing was actually on the younger side among the main team.

But ever since joining the team at twenty, he’d locked down his spot on the starting lineup. Last year, he even became captain. No matter how jealous others felt, no one questioned his talent or skill.

At 23, Ye Xing was already a Fifth Grade Martial Artist, his refined Demon Spirit was the Frenzied Giant Beast ranked 68th on the Earth Chart. When he activated Demon Possession and Second Frenzy, no Glory Player could face him head-on.

His intensely wild fighting style got everyone’s blood boiling—major reason his fans loved him so much.

”Why aren’t you guys eating yet?” Ye Xing glanced at the clock—almost one o’clock—and saw the substitutes were still there, looking confused.

Seeing Ye Xing ask, no matter how much they’d bitched or resented the team, the substitutes were instantly respectful: ”Coach said he’s coming over soon, told us to wait!”

”Oh, then just wait, I guess.”

Ye Xing smiled, looking easygoing.

”Captain, I heard Blue Sea Team just got a new beauty in the second squad?”

Behind Ye Xing, first-stringer Xie Yixiao spoke up conspiratorially, all ’quick, ask me!’ vibes.

Xie Yixiao was also a Fifth Grade Martial Artist, his Demon Spirit was a Ninth Grade Thunder Demon, and his Thunder Control Technique was second to none—he was the team’s main damage dealer as Thunder Mage.

”Quit being so mysterious, like we don’t know already.”

”Yeah, you think Captain Ye doesn’t read the news?”

The other regulars immediately teased him.

Xie Yixiao looked dejected, forced out a smile.

”Her name’s Ya Ge, right? She is really pretty,” Ye Xing also grinned.

Even as captain, Ye Xing was only 23—of course he noticed cute girls. Plus this Ya Ge had signed with Juxing, too.

”It’s decided, I’m gonna chase after her. No one better get in my way!” Xie Yixiao declared, dead serious.

Everyone just stared, Ye Xing helplessly said, ”Yi Xiao, you’re already 24—older than me—and you’re after a 16-year-old girl?”

”Seriously, don’t cross the legal limit.”

”Cradle snatcher, that’s low even for you.”

The rest of the starters laughed, and even the substitutes chuckled, but they didn’t dare go too far—certainly not openly mock.

Xie Yixiao seemed easygoing, up for jokes, but if you actually believed that, he’d ruin you.

Main team’s authority was never to be challenged, and besides, Xie Yixiao was an All-Star Player—except for Ye Xing, he had the highest status on the squad.

”Who says I’m chasing now? Ever heard of the ’growing up together’ plan? When she’s twenty, I’ll be twenty-eight—perfect!” Xie Yixiao snickered, everybody teased him a bit but no one took it seriously.

”Speaking of Ya Ge, reminds me of Ye Qiu!”

”That kid who refined Thorny Demon Dragon—rumor is Thunder Team might sign him.”

”Apparently Thunder Team promised Ye Qiu that if he joined, in five years he’d get a starting Warrior spot. Ha, wonder how Double Blade Yun Tianqi feels about that.”

”It’s fine—Yun Tianqi’s already 25. By the time Ye Qiu finishes college to join, Yun Tianqi will be retiring.”

Glory Alliance had a rule: Glory Players had an age cap of thirty, after which you’re forced to retire.

”Ye Qiu doesn’t need the cash, bet he’s got his own plans. If he was signing with Thunder, you’d see the news everywhere by now.”

Everyone was chatting away.

Juxing and Thunder were long-time rivals. Even though Thunder’s Double Blade was super strong and had rocketed up the rankings these past two years, they still played second fiddle to Juxing.

”Hey Brother Ye, if your Frenzied Giant Beast went head-to-head with Thorny Demon Dragon, who’d win?” someone asked curiously.

That question triggered everyone’s interest.

Ye Qiu’s Thorny Demon Dragon was ranked 46th on the Earth Chart; Ye Xing’s Frenzied Giant Beast was 68th. The difference was 22 places—looked like Ye Xing was weaker, but you couldn’t really judge Demon Spirit strength by rankings alone.

Especially if both were close in tier.

The strength of a Demon Spirit depended on long-term development, number and synergy of fused skills, plus the combat prowess of its owner—all of it mattered.

In the Glory League, Thunder Team’s captain, Double Blade Yun Tianqi, had only an Eighth Grade Demon Spirit, but thanks to his signature Double Blade style, nobody underestimated him.

”Heh, never tried, so who knows? But it’d be tough, for sure.”

Ye Xing grinned, but his eyes grew serious.

Ye Qiu was only sixteen, seven years younger than him—by the time Ye Qiu made it big, Ye Xing would probably have retired. They’d likely never get to clash.

”Ye Qiu’s not the only one. Did you see the Martial Artist forums? Jiang City’s got a Lin Feng—Body Cultivator Seventh Rank who wrecked a Body Cultivator Ninth Rank, and the Eighth Rank straight-up beat down a First Grade Martial Artist.”

”That kid’s Ya Ge’s ex.”

”Big drama on the forums. They’re calling Lin Feng a once-in-a-generation genius...”

Everyone chuckled and gossiped, but didn’t take it too seriously. For them, they’d seen every kind of prodigy there was.

In the Glory Professional Alliance, talent alone wasn’t enough.

Plenty gifted in Martial Arts, with Ninth Grade or even Earth Chart Demon Spirits, still ended up just warming the bench—not qualified to play.

”Hey, look, Coach and the second squad are here too!”

At that moment, Ye Xing and the others spotted a middle-aged man in a suit coming up the stairs; behind him, over a hundred teens in black training uniforms were looking around-wide eyed and curious.

”So young!”

”Makes me think of my own youth. I heard the second squad’s got a few pretty talented newbies this year.”

”That’s Ya Ge, for sure—she really is pretty!”

”She’s got that vibe, too—just way too young. I’d feel bad chasing her.”

The main team members watched the boys and girls, murmuring to each other.

No doubt, among the group, the pure-looking girl with just a hint of allure in her vibe was easily the most eye-catching.