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One match lost requires adjusting one's state of mind to absorb more experience from it.

They had also played six consecutive matches today. Considering the principle that too much of a good thing is harmful, Yuan Hanshuang decided to lead everyone back, reviewing the final battle along the way.

"Hello, respected Diamond Gladiator. The vehicle you called has arrived."

They took a dedicated car on the way there, and of course, a dedicated car was waiting to take them back.

However, upon boarding the vehicle this time, the group did not excitedly rush to the refrigerator to fish for drinks. Instead, they sat obediently side by side in their seats, hands on their knees, looking dejected.

Seeing this severely deflated morale, Yuan Hanshuang was both exasperated and amused.

"Come on, let's have everyone share what mistakes they made in that last battle."

"I take the biggest blame."

The first to speak was Xuanyuan Sheng: "At first, I thought it was a simple fight and didn't take the time to observe and analyze the opponent's lineup. When they charged together, I failed to react in time, lagging by half a beat. And they were clearly a well-trained team that excelled at seizing opportunities. Once our rhythm went wrong, it became very hard to recover, leading to a complete collapse."

"No, no, no, Brother Xuanyuan already did his best. It should be my fault."

The second to reflect was Wu Haoxuan: "In the first round, I failed to draw an SSR card and should have stayed put. Instead, I panicked when I saw several people charging across from us. Without calculating the numerical disparity between us, I just hurled N-cards at them, which exposed my passive skill and got me sent off the field first. If I had lasted a bit longer, we wouldn't have toppled like a row of dominoes."

"If we're putting it that way, this young lady should bear the responsibility."

Xia Mengrou crossed her arms and leaned against the car door, her lips pressed into a tight line: "Although I was holding onto the wind blade capable of repelling enemies, I lost my composure without issuing any commands because my analysis of the battle situation wasn't comprehensive enough. I held onto it unused while the situation turned critical, and by the time I used it, it was too late to change the outcome."

The young lady's expression carried an imperceptible gloom: "If I had used the wind blade a bit earlier, maybe—"

"No, it's not Student Xia's fault," Ke Junda hurriedly said. "It was my defensive shield that wasn't deployed properly. I made the elementary-level mistake of wanting to hold onto my skill and wait a little longer. Protecting the back row is my primary duty, yet I only retreated after the support and control classes had already fallen."

Seeing everyone engaged in honest self-reflection around her, Yuan Hanshuang was extremely satisfied.

What she feared most during post-battle reviews was mutual finger-pointing and shifting of blame, but fortunately, everyone in this team was genuinely good at heart. Although Xuanyuan Sheng was proud, his pride ensured he would never stoop to such behavior; the young lady usually appeared spoiled, but in private she was hardworking and diligent; Wu Haoxuan was comical and timid, yet stepped up when trouble arose. As for Ke Junda, who had always followed her lead, needless to say, he was reliable.

"All right, enough with the reflection. Everyone made mistakes, so how did this turn into a blame-shifting convention?"

Yuan Hanshuang sighed helplessly: "The most important issue right now isn't who takes the blame. We need to figure out why we lost so we can avoid repeating it."

"So, do you know why we lost?"

When she posed this question, thoughtful expressions surfaced on everyone's faces, evidently holding different answers.

Without waiting for them to ponder further, Yuan Hanshuang stated the reason directly: "Teamwork. It's teamwork."

"From start to finish, we had no teamwork whatsoever. We were completely fighting our own separate battles. Take that 'Oh-Yeah-Right' team from just now—were their individual strengths exceptionally high? I hardly think so. On the contrary, look at us: we looked formidable on paper, every single one of us possessing high-level mimetic abilities, yet we had zero coordination. The moment someone targeted our weaknesses, we turned into paper tigers that shattered at the slightest touch."

In fact, this issue had been conspicuously apparent since the very first match.

Yet the opponents encountered in the first round had been far too weak; their cultivation ranks alone allowed them to utterly crush the enemy, making it hardly an egalitarian duel. The opponents hadn't even managed to wait for an opportunity to flank the back row like in standard group battles; they couldn't even withstand a single skill from Xuanyuan Sheng in the front line.

"Admittedly, every member of our squad is a favored child of heaven who fought their way through the national college entrance examinations to enter Silver Star, a genius who broke through countless encirclement rings. How many people dream of S-class and A-class mimetics? Upon enrollment, our cultivation ranks and strengths were already comparable to those of senior students. It is precisely because of our squad's formidable individual capabilities that we were able to win the match despite such poor coordination in the first round."

"However, relying solely on individual performance is never a long-term solution. When encountering teams with higher ranks and more seamless coordination, the flaws in our team are laid completely bare. Every single one of us has shortcomings in our combat style, and only by integrating into the team can those flaws be compensated for."

"Furthermore, regarding team issues, everyone has different weaknesses."

As Yuan Hanshuang's gaze swept over each person, their spines straightened in response.

Except for Gudong, who stood off to the side with an air of complete detachment, refusing to express any stance whatsoever.

Seeing this, Yuan Hanshuang decided to make an example of him first: "Young Master Gu. Your flaw is that you vanish the moment the match starts. Not only do you communicate zero with your teammates, but you also ignore orders and act completely undisciplined, which is fatal in team coordination."

The summoned assassin lazily lifted his eyelids.

He hadn't taken it to heart at all, yet high brows arched the very next second.

"I suspect this relates to your combat habits." Seeing Gudong still wearing that deadpan expression, Yuan Hanshuang decided to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and strip away his pretenses: "As an assassin, you are accustomed to lurking in the shadows to seek opportunities, only making a move when you are certain of a fatal strike. In a sense, you are a pure opportunist. By the way, your speed is indeed very fast, but you undoubtedly lack formidable offensive means; otherwise, you wouldn't have bothered buying fist techniques from me."

Having finished critiquing Gudong, Yuan Hanshuang couldn't be bothered to look at his expression and turned to Wu Haoxuan: "During sudden combat emergencies, there are times when command instructions cannot be relayed promptly. Moments like this test the observational acuity of a support-class talent."

"A qualified support-class user should be able to analyze the battle situation and deliver buff cards to teammates even before being reminded. Of course, that includes debuff statuses as well. When your teammates engage in battle, you could easily follow Ke Junda's footsteps and maneuver around the arena instead of relying on your passive ability to stand rigidly in one spot. You must understand that if you cannot draw an SSR or inflict debuffs on the enemy, your value to our team becomes entirely redundant."

This sharp critique hit terribly close to home. Yet it accurately exposed Wu Haoxuan's existing problems, causing the latter to lower his head in shame.

"And Mengrou, your biggest problem in the team is that you don't trust your teammates enough."

Yuan Hanshuang struck the nail on the head: "Your wind blade is a very useful skill. Its purpose goes far beyond merely pushing away enemies attempting to approach you; in group battles, it can also be used to fracture the battlefield and alter positioning."

"Imagine this: if an enemy defense makes a positioning error, and you use your wind blade to push them in the opposite direction, wouldn't that directly allow us to backdoor their back row?"

Watching Xia Mengrou's pensive expression, Yuan Hanshuang spoke earnestly: "This skill can unleash even greater utility within a team. I know that holding onto this skill feels very useful for the back row. But since you've already joined a team, why not place a bit more trust in your teammates and entrust your backs to one another?"

"As for Ke Junda, your problem remains the same as it was a few years ago: you are overly indecisive at critical moments, lacking the grit to thoroughly protect the back row. In fact, if the opportunity arises, your Tai Chi could easily coordinate with the two members of the back row."

Finally, Yuan Hanshuang looked at the last remaining person, Xuanyuan Sheng.

To be honest, she felt that the person with the biggest problem in the team wasn't anyone else, but him.

"Xuanyuan Sheng, your strengths are formidable close-combat abilities and immense mimetic advantages. Your pursuit capability is strong, allowing you to tear a gaping hole through the enemy's defenses. But your weakness is that you easily lose your head, and when you do, you completely abandon command authority. In many situations, a commander cannot charge to the forefront; instead, they must keep watch over the teammates' conditions, observing all directions and listening to all sides."

Regarding this, Yuan Hanshuang levied strong criticism: "You must understand that a commander's importance in a team is no less than the team's soul. Abandoning command authority means abandoning the entire team."

The called-out Xuanyuan Sheng drooped his head, completely lacking his usual arrogance, looking like a student obediently taking a reprimand.

Seeing him like this, Gudong unusually chimed in: "Handing him command authority was hardly a good idea. After all, who knows if he might suddenly— Oh, my mistake, disregard that."

Given Xuanyuan Sheng's temper, how could he possibly tolerate such thinly veiled sarcasm from this guy?

Yet unexpectedly, not only did he not get angry this time, but he even lowered his voice and said: "You're right."

After uttering those words, Xuanyuan Sheng took a deep breath: "I am indeed unsuited for it. In truth, what I've always been exposed to is large-scale military command; I excel at boosting morale, not leading small-scale teams."

Having said this, although Xuanyuan Sheng felt disappointed, he also seemed to have let go of a knot in his heart.

He raised his head to look at Yuan Hanshuang: "Whether it's team analysis, macro perspective, or even combat awareness and resource allocation, you are far more suited for this than I am."

"Fine."

Yuan Hanshuang hadn't harbored strong ambitions for command, but given the current situation, Xuanyuan Sheng was indeed unfit for the role, so she readily accepted the burden.

However, Yuan Hanshuang remained somewhat bothered by Xuanyuan Sheng's abnormal behavior. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have given up so easily without even attempting to argue his case.

When getting out of the car, she deliberately lagged a few steps behind, falling in beside Gudong: "What did you mean earlier about Xuanyuan Sheng suddenly doing something? Why did you stop halfway?"

Gudong: "Heh, guess."

Yuan Hanshuang: "..."

Get this riddler out of Silver Star!

Perhaps sensing her speechlessness, Gudong showed a rare shred of mercy and added: "Aren't you fixed teammates? It won't be long before you find out."

Harboring this lingering doubt, the entire squad spent the following week undergoing intensive overtime coordination. With the change in command and the explicit emphasis on teamwork, the squad's synchronization skyrocketed. Even Gudong, who usually turned a deaf ear to outside matters, was forced to quietly obey commands under the threat of Yuan Hanshuang's fist techniques.

Once the team's synchronization improved, they began leading the freshmen in mapping out the terrain within Silver Star.

However, regarding overall military deployment, Xuanyuan Sheng's command still had notable merits. After some discussion, the group decided to let Xuanyuan Sheng command the other freshmen while Yuan Hanshuang took charge of the elite squad.

Thus, amidst the tension and anticipation of everyone involved, the Inter-Academy Freshman Confrontation Tournament slowly pulled back its curtain.