Am I the only one who didn't ascend?

Chapter 558 There is a sky outside the sky
Ye Gong likes dragons, which means that a person's love for something is only superficial, and he will be afraid and retreat when the time comes. In modern society, it is often used to describe those who talk a lot about gender issues in Taixu Zhaotang, but in reality cannot speak in front of girls.

As a middle-aged man with a rich past, Luo Xiao has always looked down upon such young people who are merely interested in the pursuit of excellence.

It was not until he was selected into the Taixu National Team that he realized that he was just a hypocrite.

In fact, when he first signed up, he himself did not have high expectations. Although he had a little-known skill, it was hard to expect that this skill, which was so unpopular that even he was about to forget, could add many points in the national team selection. But not long after, before Zhuwang officially announced the results, in the Taixu Illusion, a letter with the unique seal of the Taixu Division was lit up in his consciousness.

Although the letter only stated that he had entered the re-examination stage and needed to submit some additional information, and did not mention the candidate's admission, Luo Xiao intuitively knew that he was most likely to be selected, so he ordered a white-bottomed long gown with his own theme early on to show off.

Of course, he didn't really expect to form a Luo's Army, but in front of the Shijie residents who lived with him day and night, if he couldn't show off, wouldn't it be like walking in the night in fine clothes? On the day the list was announced, Luo Xiao really felt that he had reached a peak that he hadn't experienced in decades. Even in that youthful and passionate era, it was far less comfortable than the moment he stretched out his long gown.

However, the comfortable time was short-lived. When the farce was over and everything started to get back on track, Luo Xiao realized that he was not ready to be selected for the national team at all.

Those who really wanted to make a name for themselves in this Nine Lords Competition were all extremely talented and persistent people in the Taixu Painting Scroll. They had already started preparing for training almost before the list was announced. Only he, after a brief farce, even fell into confusion.

After being selected for the national team, what next?
After that, naturally, according to the procedure, Taixu Division sent someone to take him to the manor outside the capital, Youcheng, for special training. The whole process was arranged in an orderly manner, showing the amazing organizational ability of Taixu Division. During this period, Luo Xiao really met many "superiors" in the industry.

The top scroll of the Immortal Alliance, the three-time champion of the Immortal Alliance in "Dinghuang Glory" which has been popular for a hundred years, and Li Mo, who is known as the number one person in glory.

The newly crowned champion of the emerging top-tier painting scroll "Feiyuanlu"'s battle for supremacy across the country, Xu Shanbei, the professional Qinglu master who is known as the king of the new generation, has defeated foreign masters such as Mr. Jiaozi and Short-sleeved Tianzun.

Fang Dong, the top master in "The World's Sword Master", who is recognized as the best in the competitive scroll, and the former Tiger-Roaring General of the Dinghuang Army of Nanxiang.

Then, there is Lin Yin, a talented girl who won third place in the individual competition in "Ping Long Shou", which has gradually become a national picture scroll in recent years... and Bao Yongming, the former national runner-up who came from Xianyue Society, the Fireworks Immortal.

The weighty names seemed to weigh on Luo Xiao's heart. Perhaps in the eyes of those high-ranking dignitaries, no matter how high the achievements of the scroll walker were, he was just an actor. But for Boss Luo, who ran the Taixu Station, any of these people were like gods, with wealth and influence totally different from his.

So, what was my merit to be on the same level as these people? Was there really nothing wrong with the national team's roster?

The same question naturally exists in the hearts of all the people in heaven.

It goes without saying that Li Mo and Xu Shanbei are recognized top players, and they are also dazzling stars even in the national team. The selection of Lin Yin and Bao Yongming is somewhat controversial. The former is jokingly called the third place winner, and the latter is one of the culprits of the fireworks tragedy that is comparable to the national humiliation... But no matter what, these people are all famous masters in the professional circle.

But in this manor, there are still a few "invisible people" whose existence cannot be felt at all, and even their backgrounds cannot be found out in Taixu Zhaotang.

Of course, since you have been selected for the national team, no matter how invisible you were before, you will definitely be successful from now on, so naturally there will be top stars who are good at socializing and will take the initiative to go over and talk to you in order to establish a good relationship.

For top stars, this is just an almost daily action, which is something they do casually, but it may lead to an important partner in the future.

But for those who are befriended, the attention from top stars can constitute extremely heavy pressure.

Luo Xiao had never thought that he would break out in a cold sweat, freeze in his thoughts, and even fail to speak politely just because of talking to someone... As a result, a meeting that could have been a good story ended up being ridiculous and rude. Although the top star was easy-going and didn't care about Luo Xiao's gaffe, Luo Xiao himself had the urge to commit suicide on the spot.

Before this, he had imagined countless times that he would take advantage of this opportunity to be selected for the national team to get close to his idol, sign autographs, shake hands, and ask about gossip... He would go through the whole process. However, when he actually met the legendary triple champion, Luo Xiao was speechless.

Because the first thing the other person said when they met was...

“It’s nice to see you here, and I wish you good results in the future.”

In one sentence, Li Mo made Luo Xiao realize that he did not come as a fan of the legend, but as a comrade-in-arms. However, is he really qualified to be Li Mo's comrade-in-arms?
Li Mo himself is a legend of Dinghuang Glory, but what about his teammates? Behind the triple crown, there are countless runner-ups, third-place finishers, and even defeats in the qualifying rounds. And every time there is a defeat, the biggest pressure is definitely not the legend himself.

Now, as a representative of the national team, Li Mo once again shoulders the expectations of countless people, but what about Luo Xiao?

This question almost caused him to suffer from indigestion on the spot. Not long after, the gaze of Wanghaihou Yuanye who suddenly appeared above his head caused some of his muscles to relax.

How could Luo Xiao deserve to join this national team?
That night, before the training camp started, Luo Xiao made up his mind and started writing a withdrawal application. Although it was embarrassing to be a deserter, it was better than losing face in an international competition.

This application letter, which contained Luo Xiao's determination to die, was soon delivered to the desks of several Taixusi officials... adding fuel to their already busy night shift lives.

However, as skilled workers of the Taixu Division, several middle-aged officials quickly came to their own conclusions.

"Since he has no intention of staying with the team, let him go." Liu Fei hesitated for a moment and suggested, "He only came here because of his small achievements in an extremely unpopular scroll painting. He may not be able to be of any use when the time comes."

On the other hand, the kind-looking Zhang Xiuyi was a little hesitant: "That being said, it's only the first day of the team's assembly. Isn't it a bit too hasty?"

Another person at the side snorted coldly, "It's convenient to operate on the first day of assembly. It will be more conducive to team unity if such people with unstable morale and unclear intentions are fired early. Anyway, he's just a relative who squeezed in somehow..." After these words came out, Zhang Liu and the others couldn't help but smile bitterly. The person who spoke now was an absolute veteran who had served in Taixu Division for more than 60 years. However, despite his seniority and strong working ability, his official rank was not as good as Zhang Liu's. Most of the reasons for this were in this unrestrained mouth.

But when working overtime late at night, there is no need to demand that everyone's every word be precise. The two of them smiled and pretended not to hear anything.

However, a serious voice came from outside the door.

"The selection of the Taixu national team is now strictly based on the points rule, calculated point by point, without any favoritism, let alone so-called connections. The list issue is of great importance now, and even jokes should not be made lightly. The others are officials of the Taixu Division, so they should have a clear attitude towards this issue."

As he was talking, a middle-aged man who was not tall but had a strong build walked over with an indifferent expression. When the officials who were working overtime late at night saw him, they all stood up in fear and trembled as if they had seen a ghost.

The person who came was Yuan Ye, the former pacification officer of Qingping Division who had recently been transferred. Although he had been demoted from Qingping Division and his current official rank was only equal to Zhang Xiuyi, under Taixu Envoy, people naturally did not really regard him as a colleague of the same rank, but were more nervous than meeting their immediate superior.

Yuan Ye turned a blind eye to this and walked straight to the complaining old man. Under the other's extremely complicated gaze, he said word by word: "Please understand this matter."

The old man swallowed hard and wanted to argue, but in the end he just nodded vigorously with cold sweat.

Yuanye hummed, but turned to another person: "Although the players on this list are from different painting scroll projects, their fame and commercial value are different, even worlds apart. But in the national team, we should treat everyone equally. Whether it is the top painting scroll Dinghuang Glory, or the unpopular "Pushing Sister Battle" that almost no one knows about, there is no difference in the Nine Honors Competition, and the contestants are naturally equal. So, if the person who submitted the application for withdrawal now is not Luo Xiao, but Li Mo, what should we do? Approve it as soon as possible and let him leave?"

Liu Fei was questioned so closely by Yuan Ye that he broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

Fortunately, Yuanye only looked at him for a while, then took a few steps back and walked to the corner of the room, where a number of miscellaneous items were piled up... and only then did people notice that the pile of miscellaneous items could be roughly divided into two piles, high and low. The high pile was Yuanye's desk, and the low pile was naturally the cushions, so...

"Wa ...

Amidst a flurry of activity, the long night shift finally officially began.

-

On the next morning, when Zhang Xiuyi personally brought her application to withdraw from the team and found Luo Xiao in the dormitory area, this farce caused by the middle-aged Ye Gong finally had a relatively satisfactory ending.

Luo Xiao's determination to quit the team was naturally firm, but this so-called firm determination was nothing more than an interesting subject in front of the old officials who were well versed in the ways of the world.

Zhang Xiuyi simply said two sentences and completely shattered all of Luo Xiao's thoughts.

The first paragraph is: "When Li Mo learned that you were going to quit the team, he felt very guilty."

The second paragraph reads: "Officials responsible for recruiting candidates may be held accountable for this."

Luo Xiao was undoubtedly a greasy and accidental person, but he was able to run a small station in Shijie so successfully, and in essence he was still a person who valued human feelings. And it was too easy for Zhang Xiuyi to control this kind of person.

After casually burning Luo Xiao's application for withdrawal from the team, Zhang Xiuyi took the opportunity to make a lot of big promises, such as emphasizing that in the Nine Zun Competition, there is no distinction between the top and the bottom in each event. In other words, even if it is the unpopular and shameful "Pushing Girls Battle", if you can win the international championship, it will be the highest honor no less than the Dinghuang Glory Five States Championship. For the painting scroll walker who only has a niche skill, this is undoubtedly a good opportunity to rise to the top in one step!

In addition, considering the importance that the various countries in the current Immortal Alliance attach to the Nine Venerables Competition, the gold content of the champion of the Nine Venerables Competition is actually better than a purely commercial competition like the Five States Competition. If you win the championship here, you no longer have to look up to other legends, because you are part of the legend.

In short, when Zhang Xiuyi left the dormitory calmly, Luo Xiao was like a scarecrow on fire, exuding a generous and passionate aura... Many times, no matter how smart a person is in life, he will show youthful spirit in the Taixu scroll.

Similar situations to Luo Xiao's also occurred in other places in the manor dormitory.

Most of the recruited national team players have strong personalities and are not easy to get along with. For example, the talented girl Lin Yin is extremely picky and troublesome. Taixu Division went through great pains to get sponsorship from the Youhua Business Group and provided its high-end manor for free for the players to live in. But on the first night of her stay, Lin Yin complained about the cramped room, poor environment, and poor food... Of course, this girl from a wealthy family has the right to complain, but the reality is that Taixu Division can no longer provide her with better conditions.

So they had to trouble the officials who were well versed in the ways of the world to come forward and finally calm him down with a mixture of coaxing and deceiving. But on the other hand, the special attention paid to Lin Yin naturally caused dissatisfaction among the other team members, as if suppressing one problem only caused another to pop up, and for a while the officials of the Taixu Division who worked overtime all night complained bitterly.

Fortunately, all this hard work finally came to an end after noon that day.

Because according to the training process, after a short period of settlement, they will quickly enter the working state. Taixu Division specially hired professional instructors to provide guidance and special training for all members of the national team.

The star players naturally disagree with this, because when it comes to their qualifications and strength, they are basically at the ceiling of the industry... Even the meritorious coaches, professional analysts, etc. in the clubs and teams can only assist from the side, which is far from being a condescending guidance.

The so-called professional instructors of Taixu Division, in the eyes of all the contestants, were nothing but self-deception of the bureaucracy... and with such a mentality, the entire national team was beaten badly by the instructors in the confrontational baseline test in the afternoon, and began to doubt their lives.

(End of this chapter)