CSMCDB - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Wen Yuncheng had anticipated this. After all, in the eyes of others, her skills were formed from Star Power, whereas the items she made from blueprints were constructed from various materials and parts. This was also why, when she learned that the Mechanical Apostles required materials, she had asked the System if they could be used in the arena.

Of course, they could. As long as it was a skill-whether it was the Pursuer, the Self-Destructor, grenades, flame throwers, the G-Series, or the new Mechanical Apostles-in the eyes of others, they were all purely constructed from Star Power. They were a manifestation of her ability-a special attack method brought about by her mutated Star Power.

As someone with a Star Power mutation, the academy had allowed her to enter S-Class directly, and both the academy and Yan Ling had supported her during the incident with the Third Prince. Wen Yuncheng kept all of this in her heart. Whether it was the academy, Yan Ling, or even Lin Jinyu, none of them knew that Wen Yuncheng didn't actually have a Star Power mutation. Among the continent's cultivators with such mutations, there was no shortage of "geniuses" who rose quickly in their early stages only to fall just as fast later on. Perhaps a thousand years ago, Star Power mutations were sought after, but now... no one knew if Wen Yuncheng would suddenly find herself unable to break through for the rest of her life.

This was also why, when Wen Yuncheng went a long time without leveling up, rumors began to circulate in the academy that she had already "reached her limit."

I'll work hard and bring home first place for Star Academy with everyone else, Wen Yuncheng silently resolved. As for Yan Ling... Wen Yuncheng didn't have the strength to repay her yet, but she believed that day would come sooner or later. Yan Ling had invested so much in her... she couldn't let it all be for charity.

Seeing Wen Yuncheng's calm acceptance, Tan Qing smiled and patted her shoulder. "Your creativity is excellent, and the things you invent are very good, but due to the rules... you know, although scrolls can't be used in the arena, their power and damage are quite considerable, and they have their value. The arena is about fairness, so..."

"I know, Teacher! I'm fine, I pretty much guessed it anyway~" Wen Yuncheng smiled shyly. She knew that if she put all her turrets, Guardians, and the new Enemy-Annihilators on the stage, no one else would be able to play. And if she did that, it would only be natural for other contestants to want to use scrolls, and the competition would spiral out of control.

Tan Qing didn't elaborate further. He smiled and told the students to wander around as they pleased, but to be mindful of their safety and not to go into secluded alleys alone. Then, he prepared to head to the tavern to find Yan Ling and Qiu Fei.

Wen Yuncheng decided to check out Breeze Academy's competition stage with Lin Jinyu to see if it was any different, and then take a stroll around Liang City.

Breeze Academy's competition stage was identical to Star Academy's in both size and specifications. Wen Yuncheng guessed that perhaps all the academies' stages were the same, so that when competitions were held at different locations, their own students could adapt more quickly.

By the time she and Lin Jinyu left Breeze Academy, a light snow had begun to fall again. Wen Yuncheng took Lin Jinyu's hand. The Little Ice Mountain's fingers were as cool as ever, making Wen Yuncheng want to rub them warm.

"My hands and feet are naturally this cold," Lin Jinyu said, a little embarrassed. "They've been even colder since the fortuitous encounter in that cave. It's normal."

"Mm, it's just that my hands are too warm. I wanted to borrow some of your coolness to cool down," Wen Yuncheng said with a smile, then began to wander through Liang City's commercial and food streets with Lin Jinyu.

"I actually quite like the scenery when it snows. I think it's beautiful," Wen Yuncheng said, looking up as a snowflake drifted down and landed on the tip of her nose, the cool sensation quickly melting away. "It makes the buildings look so pretty, as if the city's hair turned white overnight."

Speaking of which, Wen Yuncheng recalled a romantic line she had heard in her past life: "It's snowing. If we hold hands and walk through the snow, we might just find our hair has turned white together." In her past life, she had scoffed at such words, but now, her heart suddenly fluttered. She didn't let it show, however, and simply squeezed Lin Jinyu's hand as if it were a casual gesture.

"It doesn't snow at the Flowing Cloud Sect," Lin Jinyu remarked with a sigh. "Father set up a grand formation to provide the most comfortable cultivation environment for the disciples. The Flowing Cloud Sect is like spring all year round."

"...That's impressive." Forcing the seasons to be spring year-round was quite something. Wen Yuncheng hadn't expected Sect Master Lin to pull off such a feat.

Lin Jinyu didn't reply. She held out her hand to catch a snowflake, watching it slowly melt. She suddenly felt that Wen Yuncheng was right-the snow was very beautiful.

Or perhaps, every season had its own beauty. It was just that she, engrossed in her cultivation, had never paid attention, had never truly looked.

Thinking of this, Lin Jinyu felt that if her father knew, he would surely scold and punish her, then resent Wen Yuncheng for leading her astray. She gave a slightly helpless, bitter smile, yet her heart felt lighter.

Being with Wen Yuncheng was always so relaxing.

In the first round, Star Academy was matched against Qingwu Academy.

"We're very lucky this time. Qingwu Academy's second-years only have three Star Warriors at the third layer; the other four are at the second layer. Their third-years did produce a rather outstanding genius, but he's only a Star Master at the first layer." As Tan Qing said this, he realized something was off. He glanced at the level column for his own academy's third-years. Their strongest, Yao Mu, was a Star Master at the second layer, and the rest from A-Class were at the first layer. He cleared his throat, having almost mixed up the second and third-years. "For the second-year matches, I suggest Lin Jinyu and Wen Yuncheng sit out to conserve your strength. The first round doesn't use a point system, so let's give the A-Class students a chance to show their skills. The same goes for the third-years. Yao Mu, you won't participate. As for the match order for 3-A, we'll decide by drawing lots."

"Teacher! No, we can fight to decide the order! Let the weaker ones go first, please! My luck is terrible, uwaah, I don't want to be a tourist..." a senior from 3-A with the worst luck wailed.

However, his proposal was immediately rejected, and the senior was forced to draw a number-6.

Since Yao Mu was sitting out the first round entirely, this "6"... was as good as no hope at all.

"Teacher, I'm going to try to break through to the third layer of Star Master soon," Yao Mu said, scratching his head. "Since I'm not participating in the first round, I'll go into seclusion for a few days to attempt a breakthrough. That way... it can be a surprise later on."

"Alright. If you need a teacher to guard you during your breakthrough, you can contact me at any time." Tan Qing paused for a moment. "You can also ask Teacher Yan and Teacher Qiu." Although those two had been slacking off and dumping their work on him lately, a student's breakthrough... that was something he could entrust to them.

"Okay, the exchange tournament officially begins tomorrow. I want you all to go watch the matches of these few academies if you can. Based on this year's strength, they might be Star Academy's rivals." As he spoke, Tan Qing placed a strength analysis chart of the various academies on the table. "Our academy's match is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I expect everyone to be on time. Dismissed."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Wen Yuncheng carefully studied the strength chart. Ranked first was Yaoxing Academy, which was on par with Star Academy. They also had two first-layer Star Masters among their second-years, with the rest being third-layer Star Warriors. One of those two was Di Yuanhao, the youngest son of Di Feng, one of the Empire's Protectors.

Before becoming a Protector, Di Feng was often called "Madman Di" because he had a combat technique that increased his strength through self-harm. The more severe his injuries, the more he bled, and the more pain his body felt, the greater his power would become. He often engaged in spars that he would forcibly turn into deathmatches, risking his life to secure victory. As Di Feng's youngest son, Di Yuanhao had naturally learned this technique as well.

Ranked second was Xuancheng Academy. They had one first-layer Star Master among their second-years, with the rest being third-layer Star Warriors. However, according to rumors, someone among them might break through to Star Master soon. Xuancheng Academy's combat techniques were mostly defensive, making them extremely effective against close-combat fighters. The specifics for this year were unknown, but they were a team to be wary of.

Ranked third was Breeze Academy. Their combat techniques were famous for their agility and nimbleness. Their library of movement-based techniques was second to none among all the academies. Looking at the description, Wen Yuncheng felt like it was an academy for assassins.

The academies ranked further down were all composed of third-layer Star Warriors. Of course, some academies had many second-layer Star Warriors participating, but generally, without a special combat technique, a second-layer Star Warrior couldn't defeat a third-layer one. Wen Yuncheng didn't read any further. She noted down the match times for these three academies, planning to observe their performance in the first round. Even if they were holding back, she could still get a glimpse of their overall strength.

Because the second round was a point-based system, most of the stronger academies chose to conserve their strength in the first round, sending out their relatively weaker team members to fight.

"That's Di Yuanhao." This match was Yaoxing versus Mankong Academy. Lin Jinyu pointed to a person in the rest area below the stage and explained to Wen Yuncheng.

Wen Yuncheng looked from a distance and thought he looked like a pretty boy, just like herself. She was a bit confused. "Is it the fair-skinned one, or the big, dark-skinned guy next to him?" Didn't they call his father a madman? Self-harm? It was this refined-looking fellow?

"The fair one."

"..." Wen Yuncheng thought to herself that this kind of surprising contrast must be really popular on the Starry Sky Continent. Was this a tactic to deceive opponents with one's appearance, then tear away the facade to scare them to death? Clearly, Wen Yuncheng was reminded of the delicate, hammer-wielding Zhao Qiuyu.

[...I've noticed you really enjoy giving people nicknames,] 1947 said, exasperated.

Wen Yuncheng chuckled inwardly but didn't argue.

As expected, Yaoxing didn't send Di Yuanhao out this time. The first to step onto the stage was a tall, slender girl who flicked out a long whip covered in fine barbs. A third-layer Star Warrior.

Mankong Academy also sent out a male student at the third layer of Star Warrior, but he didn't seem very confident. As soon as he got on stage, his nervousness was obvious. He held a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right. After the match began, the girl didn't attack immediately, and he hesitated, not daring to advance.

Wen Yuncheng suddenly realized that perhaps for some of the smaller academies, even if they were at the same level as their opponent, the dazzling reputation of the other academy was enough to make them feel that victory was impossible.

They had no confidence.

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