Chapter 98 : Chapter 98

Chapter 98. Phoenix Is Defeated, Jiang Feng Disbands and Blacklists Them, and Only Then Do They Regret It

As expected, anything produced by the system was top quality.

All kinds of food and entertainment had already been arranged.

“Young Master, the red wine and cutlery you asked for.”

A maid carried over a glass of red wine and respectfully placed it in front of Jiang Yichen.

He gave a slight nod and was just about to drink it when Su Linyu, seated beside him, touched the wineglass and quickly shook her head. “No, this is wrong. Brother Yichen likes his red wine at 15°C.”

“And you placed the knife and fork in the wrong position too. If you set them like this, Yichen will not be used to it.”

Su Linyu stood up and adjusted the placement of the cutlery, frightening the maid so badly that cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I wasn’t attentive enough,” she hurriedly apologized.

Su Linyu waved her hand. “You may go. I’ll take care of Brother Yichen.”

The maid froze for a moment and looked toward her young master.

Jiang Yichen gave a faint nod. “It’s not your fault. Someone is just a little too attentive. You may leave.”

The maid bowed and withdrew. Su Linyu heated the red wine to 15°C with Radiant Flame, then handed it to him with a bright smile.

Jiang Yichen could not help but sigh inwardly. She could tell the temperature was wrong with a single touch. Just how much effort had this girl spent studying his preferences?

“Go on, Brother Yichen, drink it. Plumfall tastes best at 15°C, and it used to be your favorite,” Su Linyu said, propping up her cheeks with both hands as she looked at him.

Jiang Yichen took a small sip. The slightly cool temperature brought out the fruit aroma even more vividly.

His taste in his previous life had actually been quite good.

Only now, he no longer cared much about such things. If it was drinkable, he would drink it. If it tasted bad, he just would not drink it next time.

“Uncle Lei, you’re exaggerating, aren’t you? If you ran into Thunder Team, could you really take on all five of them by yourself?”

Lei Zhen lifted his flushed, drunken face with confidence. “Of course I could. One thunder strike from me would shatter the darkness. Not a single one of them could stand against me.”

“...”

Listening to them boast and watching the smiles on everyone’s faces, Jiang Yichen sincerely felt that this was different.

In his previous life, when Yanhuang Team won the championship and became the number one team in Huaxia, the entire celebration banquet had been filled with flattery toward him. Not a single word out of their mouths had been sincere.

It was as though they saw him as nothing more than a wealthy fool, the team’s personal bank. They fawned over him with false smiles that never reached their eyes.

But Spark was different now. He could truly feel the genuine joy they shared after winning the match.

That feeling made him feel extremely at ease.

Jiang Yichen quietly enjoyed the cheerful atmosphere.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the mood was completely different.

Jiang Feng was holding back a bellyful of rage as he kicked open the conference room doors with one foot.

The members of Thunder Team and Yanhuang Team who had already gathered there all shuddered involuntarily.

They had watched today’s preliminary match and truly had not expected Phoenix Team to lose to Spark Team, a team that had only been formed not long ago.

Phoenix Team had been the second-ranked powerhouse from the previous season.

An oppressive pressure that made hearts tremble spread through the conference room.

Jiang Feng’s gaze swept across the room before settling on the four members of Phoenix Team. “Phoenix Team is disbanded as of this moment. Your contracts are terminated.”

“If you cannot even win a preliminary match, you are not qualified to stand before me.”

The moment those words were spoken, the members of Phoenix Team all revealed stunned expressions.

Jiang Feng was terminating their contracts over a single defeat.

“Boss, you watched the match too. We only lost because of the gap in weapons and equipment. What were we supposed to do against ninth-rank Magical Artifacts?” one of them stood up and protested.

Jiang Feng’s eyes instantly turned icy. “You are the first person who has dared speak to me like that. Men, take them away. Throw every member of Phoenix Team out.”

He had poached those people from Phoenix Team to defeat Spark Team and secure his position as heir to the Jiang family.

He had not brought them here so they could fail and then talk about learning from the experience.

Phoenix Team had lost, which meant they no longer had any value.

Eight bodyguards entered the conference room and hauled the four members of Phoenix Team out.

All four of them wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Jiang Feng was disbanding the team over a single lost match!

Their thoughts drifted back to the time when they had served under Young Master Jiang. When they lost matches, Young Master Jiang would blame them too, but more often than not, he would lead them in finding the reasons for their defeat.

At this moment, they finally woke up.

Jiang Feng had poached them only as tools to win matches. He had never intended to nurture them at all.

Their eyes dimmed, and they began to regret leaving Young Master Jiang.

Although they had not been treated fairly under Young Master Jiang, he had truly been trying to cultivate them with care.

After the bodyguards dragged them out, the conference room fell into dead silence.

Jiang Feng let out a long breath, sat down in his chair, and remained silent for quite a while.

“Thunder Team, Yanhuang Team, listen carefully. If any of you dares lose again, your fate will be the same as Phoenix Team’s.”

“And I can guarantee that from then on, not a single family force will dare take you in.”

Thunder Team and Yanhuang Team were both alarmed. He was cutting off their retreat.

Their profession was competing in the team league. If they were blacklisted, that would mean they would never be able to participate in the league again for the rest of their lives.

That would leave them with only one path: becoming mercenaries and heading into the peril-filled wilderness to kill monsters.

Judging by Jiang Feng’s attitude just now, he absolutely dared to do it, and he absolutely had the power to do it.

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, their brows tightly furrowed.

Defeating Spark Team while they were equipped with ninth-rank Magical Artifacts was no easy matter.

“Boss, it’s not that we don’t want to win, but with such an enormous difference in equipment, I truly don’t know how we’re supposed to win,” Zhu He, the new captain of Thunder Team, said helplessly.

Jiang Feng also nodded. “Boss, I watched the replay of the Phoenix versus Spark match. The sword move used at the end by that fifth-realm sword cultivator was extraordinary. Paired with a ninth-rank Magical Artifact, it actually allowed him to defeat Huang Lu, who was at the peak of the sixth realm. There really is no answer to that.”

After watching the replay himself, even he had been deeply shocked.

Back when they were still under Young Master Jiang, they had never even seen a ninth-rank Magical Artifact.

Yet the new team Young Master Jiang had formed had actually been equipped with one ninth-rank Magical Artifact per person. To say they were not envious would have been a lie.

A ninth-rank Magical Artifact. From the day they were born until now, this was the first time they had ever seen one. Most of the time, they had only heard legends about such artifacts.

Jiang Feng took a deep breath. “You do not need to worry about that. I will make the league chairman revise the competition rules and prohibit the use of ninth-rank Magical Artifacts.”

“If you still cannot win even under those conditions, your ending will be even worse than Phoenix Team’s.”

Hm?

Hearing that, everyone was delighted. If Spark Team had no ninth-rank Magical Artifacts, then to them, they would be no different from roadside trash.

Jiang Feng’s brows finally eased. “Boss, if you can truly make the league chairman revise the competition rules, then our Yanhuang Team definitely will not disappoint you.”

“Thunder Team won’t either,” Zhu He said firmly.

Only then did Jiang Feng’s expression soften a little.

“Good. I’ll be waiting. The meeting was adjourned.”

Everyone stood up, gathered their things, and left the conference room.

Only Lin Wan, who was seated in the corner, remained motionless, like a statue.

She stared at the replay of the Phoenix versus Spark match on her phone. Her eyes trembled, and she bit her lower lip tightly.

If she had not broken up with Jiang Yichen, would she also have had a ninth-rank Magical Artifact?

A wave of regret surged through her heart.