Uma Musume: From Being Knocked Ten Meters Away

Chapter 570 We're Not That Kind of Horse Girl
"This one……"

Although she usually has a melancholy and weak-willed image, she seems even more indecisive during this dream journey.

Upon hearing the question from the Northern Black Steed, she hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"That's the theory, but in recent years, our Shining Series has actually... become somewhat out of touch with the international scene, or you could say... is going against the original intention of this event, the Shining Series."

"Huh, huh...? This..." Northern Black Horse opened his mouth wide involuntarily and stammered.

Seeing that the Northern Black Steed didn't understand, Dream Journey seemed to sigh, then rubbed his temples and added:
"The Japan Cup was initially intended to give our horse girls a world-class stage, allowing everyone to compete against strong overseas teams. Kobe should know all of this..."

The Dream Journey clearly had more to say, but then, the Golden Ship suddenly appeared next to All the Way:
"Sister Meng, wait a moment. I'll show Xiao Bei something so she can understand it."

As she spoke, she urged everyone to hurry through the passage:

"Hurry up, hurry up, you know what I was going to say, right? It's... wait, how do I find the official website for that event?"

Although Meng Zhi Lu felt somewhat helpless after being interrupted, he did not try to stop her.

After sighing helplessly, Yi Lutong followed Golden Ship's advice, turned on his computer, and clicked on the official website of the Shining Series.

Not understanding what the Golden Ship was trying to do, but seeing that the senior was gesturing for him to come over and take a look, Beifang Xuanju obediently went to the computer.

And after she saw that Yilutong redirected the page to information on past Japan Cups, the voice from Dream Journey's side seemed to have guessed what Golden Ship was about to do, and it followed:

"As I just said, Xiao Bei, you can see from the website's history that when the Japan Cup was first held, our training level, competition level... were actually not as good as those overseas."

"The champions are mostly overseas riders, which is why there is a saying that 'the champion of the Japan Cup is not a Japanese horse racer.'"

"And then this statement..."

"I know this!"

The Northern Black Steed immediately chimed in, its eyes sparkling:
“Azhen has talked to me about these things these days, and she has mentioned them before.”

"This situation was only broken by the appearance of Katsuragi Ace and Rudolf, but it changed back later. When the overseas opponents broke the Japanese Cup championship... 'monopoly'? Yes, that's the word he used."

"In short, when our racehorse girl wins again, it will be the time for the Emperor!"

When the topic turned to the Emperor of the East Sea, she became very enthusiastic, her tone filled with admiration.

All the racehorse girls knew she had always admired the Emperor of the East Sea, and they all smiled upon seeing this. After smiling, Dream Journey continued:
"You're right. After Emperor, the performances of the subsequent seniors in the Japan Cup can be said to be on par with those of overseas players."

"For example, the seniors Shenying, Special Week, Good Opera, former World, and Beautiful Crown all won beautifully, but..."

She paused, then sighed: "But then, things started to get strange."

Northern Black Steed paused for a moment, but this time she quickly remembered what the Dream Journey was going to say:
"What you mean, senior... is it about the setup of the venue?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Meng Zhilu's eyes, quickly replaced by admiration:
"As expected of Xiao Bei, she can notice such details. She's no longer the clueless little girl she used to be."

After the praise, her expression became serious:
"That's right, it's the venue."

"The Japan Cup... or rather, the venues we use in recent years have become increasingly high-speed or hard, making them increasingly different from other venues around the world."

"This point... happens to be something that Qingdian, Jujiang, Achuan, Xiaotong, and many of our friends have experience in overseas expeditions, so we can be sure of that."

"Then……"

She paused, then looked at the black steed to the north. "Do you know what this means?"

While listening intently, Beifang Xuanju was caught off guard by Meng Zhilv's sudden question. After realizing what was happening, she frowned and thought for a long time, vaguely sensing something but unable to articulate it clearly. She could only honestly shake her head: "I don't know, um... I'm sorry, Meng Zhilv-senpai..."

"It's okay, it's no one's fault or anything."

Dream Journey smiled gently, then pondered for a moment:

What I mean by this is that we clearly want to strive for a world-class stage, but because the venues are different, we are getting further and further away from the world.

"Moreover, many strong overseas players feel that the venue is too different and it is not easy to perform well, so they do not want to come to Japan to compete."

"They noticed it when they were chatting with their friends overseas during the celebration, and the master even confirmed it with Zhuo Fu."

She looked at her phone screen and said, "Master, am I right?"

Mentioning Zhuo Fu, the Golden Master's expression became somewhat complicated, while the Golden Ship on the other end of the video rolled its eyes, and Yi Lu Tong puffed out its cheeks, but neither of them said anything.

The Golden Master took a deep breath and nodded to the Northern Black Steed through the screen:
"Sister Meng is right. When I went to Europe, the academy asked me to communicate with them about my intention to participate in the Japanese competition, and the reply I received was... just like that."

"Many overseas female racehorses and trainers feel that the tracks in Japan are far inferior to those in their country, and... even if they win, it is difficult to prove their strength."

"Zhuo Fu is the one leading the European team this time. We met recently and talked about this again, and then... it's still the same story."

The room suddenly became quiet.

Regardless of their personality, when it comes to a race, no racehorse girl can admit defeat.

The words conveyed by the gold master subtly implied a sense of disdain, which would be unpleasant for anyone.

However, judging from the overall strength and evaluation of various aspects, the level of the Japanese Shining Series is getting closer and closer to the world's top level, but it is still a step behind. Even if those remarks were not meant to belittle anyone, even if they were really being looked down upon... there seems to be nothing that can be said.

Let's break the silence first with a dream journey:

"In short, it's just as the master said, and... Xiao Bei, you deserve a lot of credit for having such a strong lineup in this Japan Cup."

Still absorbed in the remarks he had just heard, Beifang Xuanju was momentarily stunned by this evaluation, then pointed to himself with a look of surprise:
"Eh...? Me...me...?"

"Of course it's you."

Dream Journey nodded, "I heard from the master that California Shining and Frostfall are the strongest female racehorses in America right now. Although they didn't win the Arc de Triomphe Prize, they are still very strong."

"They hadn't planned to participate in the Japan Cup before, because of the venue issue that the master mentioned."

"I'm here now because of our promise."

Northern Black Steed suddenly realized, but before she could speak, Dream Journey continued:
"But that's precisely why the players participating in the Japan Cup have an even greater responsibility this time."

"It's good that we won."

"If we lose, it might mean that the URA Association's detours over the years were correct, and that some people were right."

"That's us... we need to be more suited to our track and field in order to run a beautiful race and win against opponents from overseas."

"but……"

As he spoke with increasing heaviness, a sudden, intense light flashed in the light blue eyes of Meng Zhilv, whose face usually carried a hint of melancholy:

“We’re not those kinds of racehorse girls, right, Kita?”

(End of this chapter)